Emerson’s Hammer: or, L2 and the Transcendentalist Mind
At times my literary background rears its bookwormy head. This is one of those times.
In the 19th century, American literature witnessed greatness (my non-objective position) through the Transcendental movement.
I’m not going to go into it much today, but this is where the good stuff starts. Backstory is available through links along the way (or by asking me over a pint).
One of the major forces behind Transcendentalism was Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Emerson made a request—a call—for greatness, where he petitioned for a new voice, a new bard to come forth with a hammer, “that they may render back/Artful thunder, which conveys/Secrets of the solar track,/Sparks of the supersolar blaze.”
This Hammer of change was picked up by Henry David Thoreau, who went on to write Walden (that story will cost you another pint).
Here is Thoreau’s hammer swing:
“I would not be one of those who will foolishly drive a nail into mere lath and plastering; such a deed would keep me awake nights. Give me a hammer, and let me feel for the furring. Do not depend on the putty. Drive a nail home and clinch it so faithfully that you can wake up in the night and think of your work with satisfaction -- a work at which you would not be ashamed to invoke the Muse. So will help you God, and so only. Every nail driven should be as another rivet in the machine of the universe, you carrying on the work.”
Pretty inspiring stuff. Probably changed my life all those years ago, to be honest with you.
And how so? Now that I revisit it, I see it's got Tom Peters' L2 written all over this (L2: Develop an Inspiring Vision).
From Emerson to Thoreau to whomever is paying attention--there's your vision:
Bring your tools and do good work. I'll already be on the clock.