A Story

I heard Kenny Moore, author of The CEO and the Monk: One Company's Journey to Profit and Purpose, speak at JetBlue this morning. Though much of what he said stuck with me, I wanted to share one of his personal examples.

He talked about how you can do whatever you choose, as long as you're willing to live with the consequences. Simple enough, right? Then he told a story about what happened when he said that to his six-year old son. It went something like this...

Son: (Jumping on the bed)
Dad: Stop jumping on the bed!
Son: (Continues to jump on the bed)
Dad: If you don't stop jumping on the bed, you're going to break the bed. Stop jumping on the bed!
Son: (Continues to jump on the bed)
Dad: Okay, forget the bed. If you don't stop jumping, you're going to break your leg! Stop it!
Son: (Continues to jump on the bed)
Dad: Okay, you know what. You can keep jumping on the bed all you like. You'll just have to live with the consequences. (Walks out of room)
Son: (Stops jumping on the bed, runs after Dad, almost in tears) But I don't want to live with the consequences. I want to live here.

I'm still smiling even as I type it. So cute. :-)