WALKING THE WALK LIKE YOU MEAN IT, THEN TALK THE TALK

Walking the walk? I’ve heard it, so have you, but what’s it really mean?

Really? It seems so obvious, but not when you hear people talk the talk without walking the walk.

How can we tell the difference?

Education:

Which expert would you follow, the student who struggled to get into college, struggled to stay, dropped out once, twice, three times, then found a path to graduation.

Or,

The student who left high school before their senior year to enroll in college, finish in three years, ace their GRE, finish a Masters in one year, before spending the rest of their lives complaining they should have stayed for a PhD.

Leadership:

Who would you follow through hard times, one who has experienced harsh circumstances and pushed through against the odds?

Or,

A theory-based researcher who maps out every possible solution to a problem, along with probably causes and likely outcomes?

Relationship:

With these questions, would you ask a long married person who invents new ways to show their partner they care about them more than anyone else in their life?

Or,

The polyamorous guru relationship therapist who explains that following your heart, following your bliss, is excuse enough for causing havoc in every life you touch, for a fee.

Blogger

Would you read the blogger who looks at trending data and constructs posts based on those numbers, fits them into Yoast SEO templates, and floods social media with links?

Or,

The business blogger with a carefully curated personal story that ties into their pitch, presented on a platform they had built for them, that includes pop-ups every five seconds to remind you to join, contribute, donate, support, and sign up?

Writer

Do you buy a book with two authors, one a ghost writer, who extend a franchise past its expiration date to milk as much as they can from characters who they can’t let go of?

Or,

The writer who pens a masterpiece that gets rejected a hundred times until the author kills himself and his mother persists, gets the book published, and wins a Pulitzer Prize?

Talking The Talk

After walking the walk, feel free to talk the talk, but keep it on the humble side. No one wants to feel worse for their effort compared to the experts, at least not in public. And this is a public deal.

For example, I’m interested in knowing new things, and how old things work. Like what? When confronted by an unknown object, a trained museum sleuth breaks it down by the materials it’s made of, and the wear and tear shown. Like a boot jack.

If something is metal that looks like gold or silver, the bigger it is, the more likely it’s electro-plated to look like gold or silver. Clue #1: Does a magnet stick? That’s the answer to ferrous, or non-ferrous.

Two classifications of wood is just as simple: Hard, or Soft Wood.

Leaders who show little regard for common decency should not get a second chance to express themselves from a national stage, or regional stage. If they have a backyard, stay there; if no yard, save ears and stay behind a locked door.

Avoid relationship professionals who start out by wondering if they can save a relationship instead of providing better communication ideas. They want to pad their appointment list more than share their skills too soon.

For some people the word blogger is a negative. They hear blogger and think ‘Blowhard.’ To them a blogger is someone with too much time on their hands, an English degree, and a chip on their shoulder to prove it was a good choice of major.

Who among us understands what writers go through to get their work out. Harper Lee did one book; William Styron seemed like he had more to say; John Kennedy Toole wrote his book, then fell into despair.

In every case we get fooled by confidence and braggadocio when we throw our trust and faith in the wrong direction.

If you’ve walked and talked with the sort of gravity that shows deep experience, good job. You have standards. Keep walking and talking.

Don’t expect anything less from others.