Baby Gator

I'd like to tell you about my friend, Baby Gator. I got to see her this weekend and was reminded why I have always been so impressed with her. At 26, she's clearly on the fast track, accomplishing more than some people do all their lives. She's funny, charming, beautiful and most of all smart. Now before you think this is degenerating into some crazy "ode," let me tell you why I'm telling you this.

BG and I were having a conversation about my new business venture. She seemed positive on the idea and at one point mentioned that she would like to come work for me and that she would even learn Chinese to do it. I was flattered. Even if she was just blowing sunshine up my ass, it was a nice gesture to say that she would work for me. But the thing that caught me were her absolute confidence in her abilities-- even to learn Chinese. Now Aristotle talks about the 5 levels of courage in the Nicomachean Ethics. While the analogy is not perfect, I could tell that BG's confidence is the courage of the optimist or the courage of ignorance. It was based on a proven track record of success in tackling difficult projects and knocking them out of the park. That's very different from the swaggering, unproven bravado masquerading as confidence that I see in most people her age.

I think few people bother to test themselves anymore against a true standard. Why--when it's so much easier to believe yourself competent. But BG's compentencies don't come from such an attitude. They couldn't. They came from being tested over and over. They developed from sacrifice. And like Bruce Campbell says, "If you've never had any of it, people just seem to know." It was nice to see my friend again and to hear about her continued success. I think she's a phenomenal example for people of any age but especially for women in their 20's.