“A Quality I Admire”
in Others
“Put your money where your mouth is” is an expression that first appeared in America in the 1930s or 1940s. The idea behind this idiom is that it is easy to talk about doing something, but it is harder to do something about it. This is similar to “put up or shut up”, alluding to a potential fight where an opponent is told to either put up their fists (in order to fight), or back down.
When faced with the absolute necessity to improve a bad situation [a partner is taking advantage, a key stakeholder is offending other key players, you are at a stage in life you’ve never been and want the next chapter to look entirely different] – I LOVE PEOPLE THAT TAKE THE CHECKBOOK OUT, STROKE THE CHECK, AND MOVE INTO ACTION. It’s a quality I admire so much in others, yet it is a quality that I see has held me back at key times in my own journey.
Yesterday, I was able to witness the absolute spectrum of human behavior and decision making in this way. Two people in very different states of economic strength [one having what I would call fantasy level wealth, the other just hard-working and slightly above average] – but both people in tears about being stuck and desperate to move forward. Yet one of them, ironically in a more disadvantaged position financially compared to the other, had the guts-swag-confidence to put her money where her mouth was and “go all-in” for the sake of change. I need to become more like her!
Money isn’t the root issue that holds us back. It’s an imposter. As Pressfield mentions in War of Art, it’s just resistance. Especially when we want to evolve to become a better version of self.
If I have a business or personal problem, and there is a solution that has clear value, I need to stroke the check and man up. Otherwise, I need to shut up and stop whining to others about how difficult the problem is.
Man, I gotta get this right!!!