Last week, I watched an interview with American poet Amanda Gorman. She recounted her experience writing the inaugural poem earlier this year: "I set a really high standard for myself," she said. "Only keep the gold. You're going to create a lot of bronze and a lot of silver in these writing sessions, but only keep the gold so you can say what needs to be said in your six minutes.'"
Only keep the gold.
It seems fitting, right? Three weeks from now, we'll celebrate the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. In a time when our world stands divided on a lot of things, I find it inspiring and hopeful to have an event that brings people together – across nations – to celebrate excellence, dedication, and achievement.
Whether you consider yourself an athlete or an artist, a manager or a musician, a counselor or a coach, I think we can all relate to the relentless pursuit of something beyond ourselves, the drive toward excellence, the commitment to not give up or give in, and the vision of being our best selves.
We know what it's like to challenge ourselves to greatness. But the truth is, not all our work is great.
Not every lesson we teach is successful. Not every conversation is meaningful. Not every piece of music we perform is transformative. Not every story we tell is purposeful.
But if we're committed to the process, if we're willing to put in the time and effort to create and revise and edit and write, some of what we create will be gold. It's just a matter of seeing it.
What does this look like for you in your work? What is your gold?
