You Can’t Do It Alone (January 11, 2004)

The bright side of spraining his ankle in gym class was that my 13-year-old son got to skip the motivational, New Age multi-media presentation that his school inflicts on the students once a year.

Peter told me that last year's theme was The Power of One, and it focused on the difference one person can make. It's true, one individual can make a difference. I think of the father of a friend of mine, Ralph Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt was a godly and humble man who served on the board of his church. One time a proposal was made at a board meeting that struck Mr. Schmidt as unethical. The board members were polled as to how they felt about the measure, and each gave his assent until the last person, Mr. Schmidt, was questioned. He said simply, "I personally cannot lend my support to this matter." The issue went back around the table, and with Mr. Schmidt offering no further input, all the members backed down and found their own reasons for rejecting the proposal.

The proposal was wrong, and one man's very quiet dissent made that plain.

One person can make a difference, but no one person can do it alone. My son found it ironic that The Power Of One presentation at his school used Frodo Baggins (from the Lord of the Rings trilogy) as a symbol of one person's ability to effect change and accomplish good. "It was a Fellowship of the Ring!" Peter noted. Exactly. It took nine diverse individuals working together to break the power of that Satanic little piece of metal. One individual could not have done it. As far as that goes, Frodo himself failed at the crucial moment to bear his individual part of the corporate burden. Maybe the presentation at my son’s school should have been called, The Power of Many.

A Reader's Digest anecdote tells of a young man (I'll call him Bill) who interviewed for a job that required good decision-making and heavy lifting. Bill and several other applicants were given a strength test: try to move a heavy safe across the floor. After a few applicants tried to budge the safe - grunting and straining but making little progress - it was Bill's turn. He didn't even try. He just said, "Are you kidding? I can't move that safe by myself." He got the job.

Sure, one person can make a difference. But that one person usually needs a lot of help. Don't be afraid to ask for it.