Conviction

“Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct” – Thomas Carlyle

Oh the fine line between exhibiting conviction and exhibiting stubbornness.  Those able to persist on the good side of that line are poised for success while those stuck on the wrong side are doomed to alienation.  Anyone building a house of conviction on a foundation of stubbornness will soon find themselves without shelter.  Those are dangerous folks.

“Conviction without experience makes for harshness” – Flannery O’Connor

At times I feel my conviction is translucent when it should be opaque, and other times I wonder if I should just keep my tail between my legs and nod along in agreement.  It’s a balancing act.  I don’t want to be a yes-man, but until I’m a go to man, my self loyalty will have to take a backseat to career-progressing conformity.

Then again, many success stories are built on conviction originally perceived as stubbornness.  The roundtable discussion in the following video from the LA Times features James Cameron, Jason Reitman, Kathryn Bigelow, Lee Daniels, and Quentin Tarantino each discussing a moment in their careers when sticking to their convictions led to success.  The stories are inspiring if not jealousy-inducing, but for every one of these success stories, I imagine there are hundreds of opposite stories where conviction was merely senile stubbornness.

How does one stay true to personal conviction without falling into stubborn opposition to the status quo?  Observe.  Reflect.  Adjust.  And learn from those whose success speaks for itself.