The Lesson From The Man With One Shoe: to start any journey one must take the first step
The Lesson From The Man With One Shoe: to start any journey one must take the first step
Man walks into shop wearing one shoe. Shop owner asks, ‘Lose one?’ Man answers, ‘No mate – found one!’
Such a simple and comical scene, and yet our world is framed by two such individuals.
The amazing thing about a point of view is this: ‘to one point there are many views’.
First there is the shop owner’s view.
Second there is the view of the man with one shoe.
Unveiled in this moment in time are two completely opposing forces that represent the world that you and I live in.
So let’s take a closer look at the philosophy of the two.
And as you read this piece please pause for just a moment to ask yourself the question: ‘who am I?’
Am I the shop owner, or am I the one wearing the one shoe?
The Philosophy Of The Shop Owner
‘Lose one?’
The world of shop owners looks upon the world and sees it from the perspective of loss, of lack, and of half empty.
This is the perspective that always perceives things as not being quite up to scratch. There is always a lack of perfection. There is always something that just doesn’t quite line up with the status quo.
To them impossible is the way. To them to every lining there is a cloud. To them to every rainbow there is a storm. To them for every solution there is a problem. To every success there is a tragedy. To every diamond there is a flaw. To every good there is a bad. To every happy there is a sad. To every success there is a thing called luck.
There is nothing that will ever convince them that all things are possible to those who believe. They are blinded to the fact that life is a journey – a series of multitudinous photos that are taken each and every moment of the day in our mind that will ultimately build up into a powerful and beautiful portfolio known as a magnificent life.
They fail to realize that one photo; one snapshot captured in a second of time does not necessarily define a life. For life is made up of a series of millions upon millions of snapshots. Many out of focus. Many in black and white. Many in full-blown colour. Many we would rather not have copied. Some we would wish to have erased. And yet this amassed collage produces the stories that inspire others to create their very own.
But beware of the shop owners who are saying, ‘It’s too good to be true?’ For they are the ones who will declare, ‘You’ll never make it’, and that ‘There’s just no way that’ll ever happen for me or for you.’
Their lives are defined by, ‘I can’t’, ‘I won’t’ and ‘I’ll never’.
Before they walk they stumble. Before they get up they fall. And it all happens in their mind long before it ever manifests in their life.
For they are the ones who declare, ‘Lose one?’
The Philosophy Of The Man With One Shoe
‘No mate – found one!’
And then there is the man with one shoe. He is a man on a search of discovery. Here is someone who lives in a state of building – even if it is one shoe at a time.
No matter what attire he has on his feet he will just keep walking. He’s unphased and quite matter a fact.
He understands that to start any journey one must take the first step.
He knows that life is a series of stops, starts, fast bursts, long hauls, desert treks, jungle maneuvers plus a whole lot more – and yet even when a brick wall stands between him and success he stands back – sizes up the opposition and shouts – ‘There must be a way through!’
And there always is.
He understands that life is a journey, and that in the pursuit of a goal one doesn’t necessarily have to have a pair of shoes on their feet to get started. All the ducks don’t have to be perfectly lined up in a row before one can pursue their dream. One doesn’t necessarily need to have all the answers, nor all the equipment in place, before one gets moving. He knows that you just have to begin.
Having already found one shoe he knows for certain that if he keeps walking he will one day find the other one – and yet if perchance he doesn’t it really doesn’t matter. He will just keep walking. And anyway, who wrote the rulebook saying that man must have two shoes in order to walk tall in this world?
He is radical. He is creative. He is innovative. He is adaptive. He is happy. He is himself.
A non-conformist. A unique. A statement. A challenge to whomever he presents himself.
Positive. Optimistic. A half-full kind of guy. One who sees a rainbow in every storm. To him all things are possible if you simply believe. He is a man of action, and he is the one who dreams big dreams.
‘No mate – found one!’
And lastly before you go, I leave you with just one question: ‘who are you?’
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