Energy Leadership, 2nd Edition

15The Energy of Influence

Through every victory and every setback, I've insisted that change is never easy and never quick; that we wouldn't meet all of our challenges in one term, or one presidency, or even in one lifetime.

—Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States

The following week, we sat down at “our” booth. When the waiter came over, I ordered a club soda with a splash of cranberry, and Richard chose a gin and tonic. I didn't ever recall seeing him drink before, and certainly not during the day.

“Tough week, Rich?”

“Eh, a little. I've been thinking about today and honestly, it's causing me a little stress.”

“What's the core thought behind that?”

“I guess that I don't know if I can do it again, you know, make a ton of changes. As fantastic as those changes turned out, I wouldn't say they were easy.”

“First, know that it's natural to be hesitant to change. Not many people enjoy all aspects of the process. Next, you worked very hard to get where you are and a possible core thought is that you might have to start over, which could be a crippling thought. Finally, it takes some energy to get back in the grind with me – and to me, that's the most exciting part. What do you think of all that?”

“Yep, I don't enjoy change and I really don't want to start over, which I'm sure is just an old residual catabolic fear. But I have to ask, what could be exciting about needing more energy that I don't have?”

“It's exciting because you do have it. It's in there just waiting ...