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"You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas." -Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett delivered this line to an appreciative after-dinner audience on January 5, 1836 in Nacogdoches, Texas. The crowd loved it and bad credit home equity loan knew hed finally gotten it right. It will probably surprise some folks to learn that Davy Crockett, like most politicians, had a stump speech that he burnished till it glowed like a new penny. Hed coined this particular phrase a little more than two years earlier in a speech about the likely presidential candidacy of Martin Van Burena man he detested. People seemed to like it so he kept playing with it until he got the words just rightby which time, of course, he was already in Texas. In the process, the you had switched from Van Buren to the constituents who had recently declined to send him back to a fourth term in congressbut the general sentiment was the same.
Now folks, who found that last bit of information surprising, will be even more surprised to learn that Davy Crockett had expected to spend 1836 running for President on the Whig party ticket against the aforementioned, Martin Van Buren. This was no idle dream. The Whigs had sent Crockett on two east coast trips to test his candidacy. He proved to be wildly popular. In his plain-spoken frontiersman way, he seemed the perfect foil to the urbane and prim Van Buren. Of course it didnt hurt that he was Americas favorite celebrity at the time. The most popular play of the day flat rate data recovery a buck-skin clad hero named Col. Nimrod Wildfire who, equity line of credit the playwrights denials, everyone immediately recognized as Davy Crockett. His own best-selling book, A Narrative of the Life of Davy Crockett cemented his fame.
All Crockett needed to secure his future was reelection. He didnt think it would be a problem, but Andrew Jackson thought otherwise and ensured Crocketts defeat. Though he had never had any particular interest in Texas, the public expected him to follow through on his promise and actually go. And so he went; figuring it might be a good way to restart his political career. Unfortunately, everyone along the way expected him to go and fight, though that had never entered his mind. So it was that Davy Crockett found himself in the Alamowilling of course to diebut there largely because the public left him no other choice.
Crocketts dilemma is not unlike the one many of us face today. Often we find ourselves behaving in ways that are aimed at pleasing everyone but ourselves. Work, family and social expectations lash us like belligerent mules until we drop. Whats more, our time slips away like air leaving a balloon because we cant say no. As we are propelled towards someone elses vision of us, we can barely remember who we are or who we hoped to be. We end up being prisoners of someone elses expectations.
There are Alamo moments in everyones lifetimes that test your mettle and demand much from you. When they come, be sure they are your moments. Dont let yourself be drawn into situations where youre asked to put everything on the line for something you donate your car dont believe in. And if youre not careful, it can happen before you know it.
I suspect Davy Crockett thought about the White House and of the presidency as dawn cracked the horizon on March 6, 1836. He was probably wryly amused by the events that led him to San Antonio de Bexar. A year and a day later, Martin Van Buren became the eighth President of the United States.
About the Author:
George Ebert is the President of www.trinityriverseminars.com">Trinity River Seminars and Consulting, a firm specializing in the custom design and delivery of team building, personal growth and ethical development programs. Mr. Ebert is a highly sought after speaker, educator, and consultant with over thirty years experience in both the public and private sectors. He has presented widely throughout the Unites States. George is the author of the management cult classic, "Climbing From the Fifth Station: A guide to building teams that work!"