I just read about David Aguilar, aka, “HAND Solo” and how he holds a Guinness Record for building the first fully functional LEGO prosthetic arm. He has gone on to iterate and now is at the fifth version of the prosthetic arm, MK-V, even carries a Spike Prime Hub – a programmable control unit capable of receiving and sending orders from sensors to motors.
You can read his story at the original post by Sanj Atwal, on the website of Guinness world records here. You can also follow his journey on his YouTube channel.
What this story shows me is the power of initiative. All of us can learn from David that if we really want to achieve something significant, there are three things that need to happen.
We need to accept the current reality. This includes all our strengths, weaknesses and the constraints that we need to work around.
We need to realise that all situations and constraints are transitory in nature. Nothing is for ever.
Denial or sulking about the situation is like pouring cement on our feet – a guarantee that we will continue to remain where we are and continue to feel the same way we are feeling right now. However, once we have accepted the reality, we have the power to change it.
We can change this reality by taking initiative. The decision to do something about this reality. This is when we want to paint a picture of the reality that we want to live in and start moving, one step at a time, towards making that vision a reality.
In the journey, we need people who can have our back, like David’s dad. They are our cheerleaders who cheer us on, provide us the necessary support (financial, emotional, social and physical) when we need them the most. These are the people with whom we can be totally vulnerable and pour our heart out. This is important because every one of our negative emotions that we carry make it more and more difficult for us to walk as they literally (and figuratively) weigh us down.
Lastly, we should not forget that we can be that person for someone else as well. This is what I believe David is doing by building prosthetic arms for others and inspiring them with what is possible with initiative.
In what areas of life have you given away your power to take initiative? What are you planning to do about it?
