I was reading a speech by Elizabeth 1 of England.  She ascended to the throne in 1558.  Such was her influence that the period of her rule was called “the Elizabethan age.”
The speech she gave as the Spanish Amada approached is the subject of the book of speeches I am reading.  In it she said “I know I have the body of but a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king…”
There are both good and bad kings.  I think what she referred to as “king” was one who ruled fairly and was willing to make tough decisions for the good.
What I really like about what she said, apart from the poetic nature of it, was where she said it.  She was in amongst her people as they prepared to battle the Spanish, whom they were not expected to beat.
I love that they saw her as one of them.  In her speech she said, “…being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live and die amongst you all…”
To me that sort of thing is huge.  Loyalty is born of love.  It seems to me the unexpected can be the outcome of a people passionately united.  She was willing to get down and dirty with her subjects - such was her belief and passion for what was at stake.
No doubt she had much to lose personally, but she was able to convince those that mattered that her loss would be their loss too.
I have worked for both good and bad bosses.  The good ones are those who I know are willing to experience life at my level.  Those who will go into bat for me where the cause is just.  The result is what I see all the time.  A willingness from both parties to get in and do what needs to be done.  A helping of each other to fulfil a task.
I do not know much about the history surrounding the speech, but I do know it still inspires me around 400 years later.

​To me there are few things sadder than someone who for a long time beavers away at something - that may have great benefit for others, but who remains discontent and disconnected from benefits.
I do not mean one who invents a cure for some disease but fails to benefit from it because they do not have the disease.  I mean one who remains discontent while contributing to the contentment of others.  Or one who resents what they do but remains doing it out of a sense of necessity (feeding the family).  Absent is than desire built on a belief that this is what I was born to do.
Contentment to me is not about more but about enough.  I may have a little of something or a lot of something, but as long as it is enough of something, I am content.  Some imagine that if some is good then more must be better.  I personally would dispute that.  I have seen those who have enough convert it to more and come acroper as a result.
Studies have been done to determine what is considered enough for a person.  Monetary figures were supplied but I leave them as they reflect the time and may not reflect now.  What was found was that when what was considered enough was reached, the gaining of more saw the contentment graph remain the same and in some instances dip.
The point for me is the belief that more must be better is a mistaken belief.  It is not a harmless mistaken belief but one when pursued often leads to heartache and discontent.  Contentment to me does not equate to high status.  But where I am, and what I do, is regarded highly.
So often the most content are those doing the lowliest tasks.  It does not need to be that way but it seems to me the higher one climbs, often the more precarious the position.  If one is content in a position whether high or low, then they seem to be more likely to endure.   Whereas those fulfilling a role more out of “have to” than “want to” are more likely to abandon their post at the first sign of trouble, rather than learn from trouble and grow.
That is easy for me to say, and so far so good.  A foundation is laid to handle both a trickle and a flood.  

Here I was wondering what today’s post would be about.  I had forgotten that today is the day I get an email from James Clear.  I looked at it to see if there were any topics close to my heart that had been written about.
The format is three ideas from him, two ideas from another and one question.  It was one of the things that he said that resounded within me.  It is something I have written about before but something I am passionate about really.
“When you're younger, it's easy to underestimate how fleeting the days can be. Each choice matters. Each day matters.  When you're older, it's easy to underestimate how much opportunity you still have. Don't talk yourself out of it. It's never too late to start.”
One of the things I want to see avoided where possible is the thought of older people that it is too late.  That changing things was possible and possibly something done but when older opportunity is lost.
I will never deny that something ay be harder.  It is just a fact that age slows a person down and ill health is a constant possibility.
Yet to me those things do not represent stop signs or “no entry beyond this point” signs.  It is true that things may need to be done more carefully but things can still be done.  To me it is possible that my greatest contribution lies ahead of me.
In some ways I feel old age is a benefit in that when younger the temptation is to attempt all myself.  The older I am the more I realize I need others.  Together we can make a difference.  A team generally can have a greater impact than an individual.
To me dismissing the lie of show stopping lack is the first and most important hurdle to overcome.  Possibilities remain.  There are more jobs available than people willing to fill them.