This week’s book learning is from ‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek-
‘On a cold January day, a forty-three-year-old man was sworn in as the chief executive of his country. By his side stood his predecessor, a famous general who, fifteen years earlier, had commanded his nation’s armed forces in a war that resulted in the defeat of Germany. The young leader was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. He spent the next five hours watching parades in his honour and stayed up celebrating until three o’clock in the morning.’
You know who is being described, right?
It’s January 30, 1933 and we’re describing Adolf Hitler and not, as most people would assume (and as I did when I was reading it!), John F. Kennedy.
The point here is, we make assumptions. We make assumptions about the world around us based on sometimes incomplete or false information. I was convinced that it was John F. Kennedy until I saw that one minor little detail: the date.
When it was thought the world was flat, there was very little exploration as people feared they might fall off the edge of the earth. It wasn’t until that minor detail was revealed—the world is round—that behaviours changed on a massive scale. Trade, ideas, people travelled unleashing all kinds of innovations and advancements. The correction of a simple false assumption moved the human race forward.
Do we ask ourselves why we make the decisions we make? Do we truly understand why we do what we do or do we just make assumptions?
Isn’t this a case to be incredibly curious and to keep testing our assumptions?
After all, the correction of a simple false assumption could transform our lives..
Here’s to questioning 3 long held assumptions this week!
A Learning a Day 