Kay:
Well, hello there Questers! And, welcome to Episode 136! It is Monday, July 13th, and we have an Emily Dickinson quote for you today. She says that, “Fortune befriends the bold.”
Shi:
Four little words, playing on the, “Fortune favors the bold” Latin phrase and saying that all of us are probably familiar with…But, we love the fact that she chooses the word “befriends” here. So, four little words, and yet so very powerful…
Kay:
Well, I think it was Emily Dickinson who said that, “Nature is a haunted house–but Art–is a house that tries to be haunted”…AKA, she likes it when things get a little bit darker than they might seem at first glance!
Shi:
She’s definitely an interesting character. And, we were laughing before recording this about some of Emily Dickinson’s more flowery dramatic language.
Kay:
She’s like Billie Eilish, but in like 1890!
Kay & Shi:
*(Laughter)*
Shi:
Totally the 1800’s Billie Eilish was Emily Dickinson. But, her quote here is, “Fortune befriends the bold.” And, we like this word “befriends” because it’s really this idea that in order to have a relationship with a person, and a friend, there’s always going to be this give and take – this back and forth – favors and payment – and everything in between, within that relationship. And so, fortune befriending the bold means that if you are bold and you are looking to be friends with fortune, that you’ve got to expect to pay a bit of a price for that…
Kay:
So, maybe you’ve been the kind of person who has heard the quote, “Fortune favors the bold,” and you’re like, “You know what? That’s great…So I’m going to go out and I’m going to be bold!” And, you wear a neon shirt, or you ask that girl to dance, or you do whatever it is that seems bold to you, and…you fall on your face. The girl says no – somebody says that the neon shirt is ugly – and, even though you do something outside of your comfort zone, it doesn’t work out so well. And, many of us will then say, “Well, I guess that fortune doesn’t really favor the bold” – but the fact that fortune is a little bit more of a friend in this quote, means that sometimes – like Shi said – there’s that give and take…
Shi:
You can get something great from your friends, and you’ll never forget that deep conversation that goes on for hours, but there’s also tense times with friends…There is expectation for support…There is the expectation for listening, care, and understanding. And, oftentimes it doesn’t come at the time that’s convenient for us in friendships. It comes at the time that the friend needs it. And so, fortune sometimes needs you to do things that you don’t necessarily feel comfortable with. And, of course, getting uncomfortable is what being bold is all about! In fact, the definition of bold is: showing an ability to take risks, confident, and courageous. So, fortune favors the people who have an ability to take risks, but what’s the thing about risks?…They’re risky!
Kay & Shi:
*(Laughter)*
Kay:
Which means they don’t always work out! Which also means that sometimes you’ll go in for the bold thing, with the friend, and it won’t work out, or they’ll need something from you at an unexpected hour. And, you know, I think it was John Maxwell who says that it’s when preparation meets opportunity, you can call it luck. And, I think that quote originally started with the great philosopher Seneca, but a lot of the greats say that, “Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.” And, I think that’s something that’s really similar to today’s quote. When you are a bold person, Fortune befriends you…which means that when you start with those larger risks, you start getting bigger gains – which then starts demanding more of you as those gains get larger! But, if you’re prepared for it, and you’re working hard along the way, then you tend to get lucky. And that’s when fortune really starts making it rain!
Shi:
And, sometimes it doesn’t….and that’s the risky part too! But, I’m glad that you brought that forward, because something that we’ve been doing, that’s been making us feel a little bit uncomfortable, is our series BOLD Conversations: Bridging the Racial Divide. This week will be conversation #10, which means we’re also going into 10 weeks now of hosting a different influential black community member on Facebook Live, where we ask them some of the questions that white people have been wanting to ask black people for awhile. And, it’s not always comfortable. And, what we’ve learned has definitely not always been easy to hear – or digest – or understand about our country, but it is definitely progressing the kind of fortune we want to see unfold. And so, we’re going to continue our BOLD Conversation Series as it helps us befriend the fortune towards more equality and justice!
Kay:
As Emily Dickinson says, “Fortune befriends the bold” – which leads to your bold quest today! Which is to: Make a bold choice. This will be something that – right before you do it – leaves a little bit of butterflies going on in your stomach, and something that’s so outside your comfort zone that you might even consider it BOLD! Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
