Although the 'Ides of March' have passed, it's never too late to find meaning in it. For those who may need a refresher, March 15th is the Ides of March – the day Julius Caesar was warned about by a soothsayer. It would be the day he was killed.
I will freely admit that being forced to read Shakespeare in high school wasn't exactly something I thoroughly relished, but I do recall that The Bard's Julius Caesar was one that I didn't mind. (Hey, I was a kid; my tastes are more refined, now!)
There's a great line in the play. Act I, Scene 2 – Cassius is trying to convince Brutus that Caesar has to be stopped from becoming the ruler of Rome. Cassius expresses that he doesn't want to serve under Caesar, but would rather Brutus join in the conspiracy to assassinate him.
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
That line was written over 400 years ago, yet it's still powerful. You see, Cassius is saying that it's man's actions and decisions that dictate their situations - not fate.
Fortunately, assassination is much less acceptable today than in ancient Rome, but the message still holds true. We're not victims of some unseen force (the stars). We're the ones responsible for being the change we desire (ourselves).
We often hear how something was “just in the cards” or “meant to happen.” Sometimes it's easier just to think the stars caused it. That's tantamount to throwing up our hands and saying, “Oh, well.”
It's not what happens that matters; it's what we do about what happens that's important. Unplanned situations and challenges are always going to arise. Heck, that's the fun of living. It'd be a pretty boring world if we always knew what was going to transpire. The real satisfaction comes from boldly facing and overcoming the situations and obstacles we encounter. Having a plan, setting goals, and monitoring our progress is vital, and so is being able to adapt on the fly and not succumbing to the notion that things are out of our control.
As Cassius also said, “Men...are masters of their fates.”
How do you make a conscious choice, everyday, to be the change that you desire?
Live on Fire!
D. Luke Iorio, CPC, PCC, ELI-MP
President & CEO
Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC)
Luke Iorio, CPC, PCC, ELI-MP, is President & CEO of the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC), provider of the most comprehensive and experiential coach-training program in the world and originator of the Core Energy Coaching™ process. Since 2005, Luke and his team graduated more than 5,000 coaches and Coach Centric™ leaders across multiple platforms – top Fortune 500 execs, entrepreneurs, non-profit founders and educational leaders, and pro athletes. Luke has an avid interest in human potential, engagement and performance. Through coaching sessions with hundreds of clients as well as varied research projects, he seeks out the common threads that produce exceptional individual and team successes. His drive to learn these insights comes from being a dad to two fun-loving children and teaching them to live fully. In fact, Luke’s personal credo, “Live (and lead) on fire!” is omnipresent in everything he does!