bcg blog

Excellence of Today

The transcript of the final plea to remain in medical school from the movie, Patch Adams:
Medical Board: You have been accused of practicing medicine without a license, are you aware that it’s unlawful to practice medicine without a medical license? 
Patch: Yes Sir, I am.


Medical Board: Are you aware that running a medical clinic without the proper licensing can place both you and the public in a great deal of danger?
Patch: Is a home a clinic, Sir?


Medical Board: If you are admitting patients and treating them, physical location is irrelevant…
Patch: Sir, Can you define treatment for me?


Medical Board: Yes, treatment would be defined as the care for a patient seeking medical attention, have you been treating patients Mr. Adams?
Patch: Well sir, I live with several people that come and go as they please and I offer them whatever help I can.


Medical Board: Mr. Adams, have you or have you not been treating patients at your ranch?
Patch: Everyone who comes to the ranch is a patient, yes …… And every person who comes to the ranch is also a doctor.


Medical Board: I am sorry?
Patch: Every person who comes to the ranch is in need of some form of physical or mental help. They are patients. But also, every person who comes to the ranch is in charge of taking care of someone else, whether it’s cooking for them, cleaning them or even as simple a task as listening. That makes them doctors. I use that term broadly gentlemen but is not a doctor someone who helps someone else? When did the term “doctor” get treated with such reverence as, “oh! right this way Doctor Smith” or “excuse me Dr Scholls, what wonderful foot pads” or “pardon me Dr. Patterson but your flatulence has no odour”. At what point in history did a doctor become something more than a trusted and learned friend who visited and treated the ill? Now you ask me if I’ve been practising medicine. Well if this means opening your door to those in need, those in pain, caring for them, listening to them, applying a cold cloth until a fever breaks, if this is practising medicine, if this is treating a patient, then I am guilty as charged sir.


Medical Board: Did you consider the ramifications of your actions, what if one of your patients had died?
Patch: What’s wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can’t we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity and decency and, god forbid, maybe even humour. Death is not the enemy gentlemen. If we’re going to fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference. Now I’ve sat in your schools and heard people lecture on transference and professional distance. Transference is inevitable sir. Every human being has an impact on another. Why don’t we want that in a patient doctor relationship? That’s why I’ve listened to your teachings and I believe they’re wrong. A doctor’s mission should be not just to prevent death but also to improve the quality of life. That’s why, you treat a disease, you win, you lose, you treat a person, I guarantee you win no matter what the outcome. Now here today, this room is full of medical students. Don’t let them anaesthetise you. Don’t let them numb you out to the miracle of life. Always live in awe of the glorious mechanism of the human body. Let that be the focus of your studies and not a quest for grades which will give you no idea of what kind of doctor you’ll become.


Medical Board: Mr Adams, please turn and address the board
Patch: And don’t wait until you’re on the ward to get your humanity back. Start your interviewing skills now. Start talking to strangers, talk to your friends, talk to wrong numbers, talk to everyone.


Medical Board: Mr Adams…
Patch: And cultivate friendship with those amazing people in the back of the room – nurses. They can teach you. They’ve been with people everyday, they wade through blood and shit. They have a wealth of knowledge to share with you. And so do the professors you respect, the ones that are not dead from the heart up. Share their compassion. Let that be contagious.


Medical Board: Mr Adams, I demand that you turn and address the Board
Patch: Sir, I want to be a doctor with all my heart …. I wanted to become a doctor so I could serve others. And because of that I’ve lost everything, but I’ve also gained everything. I’ve shared the lives of patients and staff members at the hospital, I’ve laughed with them, I’ve cried with them. This is what I want to do with my life. And, as God is my witness, no matter what you decide today sir, I will still become the best damn doctor the world has ever seen. You have the ability to prevent me from graduating, you can keep me from getting the title and the white coat, but you can’t control my spirit gentlemen. You can’t keep me from learning, you can’t keep me from studying. So you have a choice: you can have me as a professional colleague; passionate or you can have me as an outspoken outsider; still adamant; either way I will probably be still viewed as a thorn but I will promise you one thing: I am a thorn that will not go away.


Medical Board: Is that all?
Patch: I hope not, Sir.
Why Should We Care?
Indifference … the most terrible disease of all.

There’s a fascinating dichotomy concerning our attention. We need to learn from the past, live in the present, all while planning for the future. Yet, the balance must be managed just right in order for excellence to result. Too much focus on the past and we’re held prisoner by what was. Too much focus on the future and we’re frozen by what might be. Both place limits on our potential.

A bias for action is a trademark characteristic of excellent leaders. They DO. And, doing can only happen in the present. For them, consideration of the past and future serve as bumpers to direct their next actions. The mistakes offer an opportunity to course correct. Each success reinforces the chosen process. Consideration of the future pushes them to draw from experience. 

The caveat to this dichotomy is the one, and only, thing we have control over: the present. Those on the path to excellence have realized that today is the only place doing takes place. They use yesterday to improve today and they use today as a step towards tomorrow. For them, there isn’t a dichotomy. There isn’t a balance. There is a clear priority: today.

For the best, there is a constant focus on the excellence of today.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
Staying present is the first step, but there’s more to it than that. How we show up matters. How we engage with people matters. How we perform matters. We are looking to be excellent in the moment, to make today as good as it can be. Here are few thoughts on being at your best today:

• Be Mindful 
  
  • Meditate, breathe slowly, or sit quietly. Clarity of thought is crucial to being your best in the moment. Your today is dependent on your ability to eliminate distractions. By becoming more mindful we become more present. 
    

• Be Purposeful
  
  • Few things in life drive action better than a powerful purpose. Identifying your purpose gets you started, but keeping it the top of mind will quickly become the challenge. Creating a system of reminders that keep you operating in line with it is the action.
    

• Be Engaged
  
  • Talk to people, build relationships, share your appreciation, make eye contact, give hugs, smile, laugh, cry, show compassion, give grace, use names, put your phone down, say you’re sorry, accept compliments, go outside … you know, LIVE.
    

The past and the future are important and should be considered, but the excellence of today will always be the determining factor in our success.

Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!