“You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” – Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo.
This is a quote from Matt Damon’s character, Benjamin Mee, in the movie We Bought a Zoo. If you haven’t seen it, the movie is about a recently widowed husband, Benjamin, and his two kids as they embark on the journey of buying a house that also hosts a zoo. During the movie Benjamin references “20 seconds of insane courage” several times to encourage his family and the zoo workers to take leaps of faith. At the end of the movie you learn that it was 20 seconds of insane courage that allowed him to meet his late wife.
I know the title sounds corny but it is actually a good movie.
Anyway, I was very drawn to Benjamin’s philosophy of “20 seconds of insane courage”. It seemed so simple yet so powerful.
So often we live our lives in fear, especially during the big moments of life. I’m not saying we walk around trembling all day long but we do have a tendency to avoid big moments because we fear the potential negative consequences. We are afraid to push for the promotion, scared to go for the close, or afraid to say that bold statement in the interview.
We tend to stay in our lanes and play it safe. People are inherently afraid of failure, so it makes sense. We think first of the negative consequences as opposed to the potential positive outcomes.
Those big moments can be scary because we are not used to them. Asking for a raise is not an everyday occurrence. And because we don’t experience it often it is different and uncomfortable.
Even if you do work up enough courage to ask for the raise it usually isn’t “insane courage”. It’s a little bit of courage. Your boss, like a dog, can smell the fear and thus offers you a 5% raise when he knows full well he could give you a 10% raise.
It’s moments like this when we need just 20 seconds of insane courage. And when you think about it, 20 seconds of insane courage is not only completely possible, it’s liberating.
“It’s not just telling you to do something uncomfortable for 20 seconds, it’s telling you to come in like a tornado with boldness and audaciousness for 20 seconds.”
It’s the phrasing of Benjamin’s philosophy that really makes it freeing. First of all, it’s only 20 seconds. 20 seconds is incredibly short. Anything is endurable for 20 seconds. You can tolerate torture for 20 seconds, so asking for the raise in a bold way is not going to kill you.
The second part of the philosophy that is both illuminating and liberating is that it’s “insane” courage. This really amps it up a level and is the heart of the philosophy. It’s not just telling you to do something uncomfortable for 20 seconds, it’s telling you to come in like a tornado with boldness and audaciousness for 20 seconds. That’s how you make an impact, that’s how you affect the type of change you want.
Look at it this way. Let’s say you are in an interview and you want to go for the close. You are nervous because it may very well all come down to this. You work up your little bit of courage and say, “Thank you for your time today. I believe I can be a great asset to the company and would love to work here with you and the team.”
Blah, blah, blah. The hiring manager has heard that line hundreds of times, so much so that it probably didn’t even register in their mind when you said it. He or she forgot it the moment you said it and you are then grouped in with the rest of the candidates, not memorable in any way.
Now, let’s go at that scenario with 20 seconds of insane courage. You come in bold and assertive and make great eye contact as you say, “Thank you for your time today. This is the job I want. My plan is to come in here and be your #1 sales professional. I have no interest in being #2 or anything less. I am coming here to be the best. Give me a chance, and it will be the best decision you make all year.”
“So the next time the big moment stares you in the face and makes you a bit nervous just remember that you only need to be courageous for just 20 seconds.”
Wow! You just said something that I guarantee no other candidate has said. In one fell swoop the hiring manager just heard you say that you are assertive and confident, you are passionate about the role, and you will work your tail off to be the best. And forget qualifications, those really are the most important traits hiring managers look for. When he or she goes back to their desk and sorts through all of the resumes and thinks back to all of the interviews everyone is going to look pretty much the same, with small differentiators here and there. Everyone’s resume is on a nicely formatted white piece of paper and everyone gave pretty good answers with some being slightly better or worse than the others. Everything seems to blend into one as interviews have a tendency to become very mundane or even robotic.
As they discuss with their colleagues I guarantee they are saying, “Some were good, some were not so good. But, this one person really stood out. At the end of the interview they said a really bold statement, telling me that they would be the best decision we made all year. It was a bold statement to be sure but they said it with such conviction that I kind of believe them. That’s the type of attitude and work ethic we want around here.”
20 seconds of insane courage just landed you the job.
So the next time the big moment stares you in the face and makes you a bit nervous just remember that you only need to be courageous for just 20 seconds. And since it’s only 20 seconds, be insanely courageous. As Benjamin Mee said, if you can do that, “I promise you, something great will come of it”.