Hi good people.
A new year is here.
It even feels like winter today in the 505.
So, what should we talk about today?
Something random?
Something inspirational?
Something both random and inspirational?
So….
I was asked to serve as a judge for an elementary school
spelling bee recently. It checked off something that had been on my bucket list
for years, so I decided to say yes.
The school library was transformed into a spelling bee
space. Announcer on a sound system. Nervous students with their nervous parents
seated behind them as a studio audience. And a list of official do’s and don’ts
to conform to the Scripps National Spelling Bee rules. “If you rub your nose to
the right, and only do it once, that won’t disqualify you. However, if you rub it
more than once, rub to the left, or pick it…”
The wonderful little ones came up one by one and spelled
their words. Some words obscure and obsolete. Others that intimidated me (e.g.
ones longer than four letters). Luckily for me, I had a cheat sheet or I might
have been in trouble in the later rounds.
When they got a word right, they went back to their seats. If
they missed the word, they went to sit in a group of chairs on the side.
Eventually, one speller remained.
Confetti letters showered down from the ceiling.
The ESPN reporter rushed in to get a post-game interview.
Parents googled words like “acquiesce” and “fuchsia” on
their phones to see if their child was erroneously exited from the competition.
Here’s the inspiration part, my friends.
The kids in this spelling bee walked into the room knowing
that their chances of winning were slim. If they were really advanced in
elementary math, they might have figured out it was about 5%.
Many of us walk the other way when presented with a
challenge that gives us a 5% chance of winning. We think about the 95% chance
that we will lose and say “no thanks”.
Today, this week, this month, and this year, may we be
courageous in accepting challenges. May we challenge the math and instead see a
100% chance of growth in the spelling bee opportunities that 2025
presents.
Just don’t make the mistake of rubbing your nose the wrong
way.
