Guy Reams (00:01.198)
This is day 139, the turtle in the vortex.
My home office is typically chaotic. A whirlwind comes and goes, leaving devastation in its wake. Paper stack up, cables get tangled, books shift around, and no matter how many times I restore order, entropy eventually wins. Yet amid the chaos, there is one constant, a small carved rock turtle that sits beneath my monitor, always in the same spot.
No matter how much turbulence surrounds him, he remains unmoved. Today as I sat staring at this tiny unshaken presence, I found myself wondering, could I be like this turtle in the vortex?
I think there's power of being still amid chaos. In any storm, whether physical, emotional, organizational, there are two kinds of people. Those who are swept up in the current and those who become a stabilizing force. The turtle is the latter. Not because he fights the chaos, but because he remains steady in the middle of it, despite it. This is an essential principle of leadership.
resilience and even personal peace. True strength is not about controlling the storm, but about being the unmoving center within it.
Guy Reams (01:29.198)
So, how do you become the center of the swirling vortex? First, calmness creates stability. When people are overwhelmed, they instinctively seek stability. Whether in families, businesses, or societies, those who maintain composure in difficult times become a gravitational anchor for others. This is why history seems to remember leaders who remain steady under pressure.
Winston Churchill during the Blitz, Marcus Aurelius in the face of a crumbling empire, or even quiet mentors and parents who provide unwavering support in difficult moments. They did not eliminate the storm, but they refused to be consumed by it. Second, the psychological magnetism of presence. In uncertain times, people are drawn to those who exude confidence and assurance.
It's a basic human instinct. If a fire breaks out in a building, people will look for the person who is not panicking. The power of presence is not about shouting the loudest or forcing control. It's about being the quiet force that others instinctively trust. In this way, leadership is often less about action and more about being. Third, order emerges from the still point nature provides.
So, nature provides countless examples of this principle. Hurricanes have an eye of calm at their center. Planets orbit around stable gravitational fields. Whirlpools create a structure flow of water, not because they fight the current, but because their presence shapes it. In social dynamics, the same effect happens. A person who remains steady in crisis naturally creates order.
even without force or authority.
Guy Reams (07:33.295)
your reaction and not the storm. Most chaos is beyond our control. The only power we truly have is how we respond to it. A steady mind influences those around it. You can also be the quiet force in the room. The loudest person is rarely the most influential. In meetings, conflicts, or crisis, the one who remains composed usually has the greatest impact.
I look again at the small turtle under my monitor. He does not fight the vortex. He does not flee from it. He simply remains. And in so doing, he becomes the center of something greater than himself. Perhaps the greatest leadership is not about what we do, but who we are when the storm rages around us.