Legend has it that the name for Led Zeppelin, the British rock band, resulted from a quip about the likelihood of its music—along with the band—going down like a lead balloon. ✨ Giving the world its first taste of heavy metal rock, Led Zeppelin did the contrary: Rising, breaking countless “records,” including “Stairway to Heaven”—reputedly the most-played song of all time on radio, even though it was never released as a single.✨ When introducing an idea that suggests an alternative direction or different way of thinking in a business meeting, I find it helpful to start with: “This may go down like a Led Zeppelin…” It’s not original, but it sure is visual for those who know either music or aviation history. The smiles it triggers usually make the introduction of my contrarian thinking go over more smoothly, enhancing my audience’s receptiveness. ✨ There’s always a risk that trying something new won’t work out. Will the direction we choose be the right one? ✨ Here’s the thing: When traveling the road of life, whichever direction we choose is right at the right time. We can’t second-guess this. Too often, there’s the temptation to play the game, “What if I made X’s choice instead?” ✨ Such silly thinking! It carries the humongous fantasy assumption that a beautiful and glorious series of events would have unfolded with less adversity than the path we actually traveled. Life doesn’t work this way. ✨ The Hindenburg was developed over countless hours of engineering and aeronautical research by arguably some of the best minds, but a docking error sealed its fate. While Led Zeppelin—with a name that implied imminent failure—went on to create music history, combining perseverance, talent, and practice plus luck, they didn’t crash (although they came close on countless occasions). ✨ We make choices daily. Each will unfold as it will. No guarantees. Just life unfolding in any number of directions. Keep going, knowing you’re going in the right direction no matter what you’ve chosen in the past and what you’ll choose today.
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