Link (That’s me.)

A friend and I were shooting the bull the other day and we started talking about a great show that only aired for a couple seasons when I was in high school: Sports Night. I was only a teenager but I loved that show. I haven’t talked about it since high school, and I forgot how much I enjoyed it. Try combining Sportscenter with the West Wing. It was great. We then talked about William Macy and he showed me this clip of a superb William Macy monologue. I thought I’d share.

To set it up, obviously the show is about a television program and like all television programs their main concern is ratings. The clip starts off with several corporate execs criticizing the show manager Isaac (he’s the african-american fellow) for the dip in ratings and for the shows unresponsiveness to all the notes, e-mails, memos that they have been send regarding “Sports Night.” They then talk to William Macy’s character (a management analyst/advisor of sorts) about the situation. That’s a good intro but watch from 0:00 to 2:50 to really get a feel for what’s going on.

The next scene consists of the three execs sitting in a meeting room simply berating the writers, reports, and producer for their productivity. You don’t have to watch that part.

After the staff leaves the meeting room for a 5 minute break from the meeting, William Macy steps in to briefly talk with them before their meeting was to resume. Watch the monologue from 6:05 – 8:58. This is the really relevant portion.

So, to recap:

0:00-2:50; 6:05-8:58

Here’s the video:

Direct link here.

Watch the video before you proceed to read.

I have a philosophy. When it comes to stressful/difficult situations, there are two types of people in the world. People who makes things easier, and people who makes things harder. You can either be of use and get something done, or you can make things difficult by just pointing out problems and complaining.

I hope to be one of those people who makes things easier when presented with a difficult situation. Even if it’s hard, even if I don’t get it, even if I don’t see the complete vision, I hope to make things easier. I hope to make glass tubes.

Like William Macy’s character said, as I mature and progress in life, I hope that people come to understand that “when I enter the room, I’m someone who can get something done.” I’m someone who can help. I can do something.

Be of some use. Don’t just sit there and complain and make things harder. Make glass tubes.