I worked a party at an expensive house in Hollywood this week. The front door was fifteen feet tall and latched automatically. Instead of twisting a knob, you had to push a button on the wall to unlatch the door and exit the house.
One of my co-workers came to me, asking how to get outside. “I can’t figure it out,” he said.
After examining the door, I pushed the button and the door opened.
“You’re so smart,” he said.
“It’s not that,” I replied. “I’m just the guy who’s willing to push the button.”
Sometimes, life demands that we push the button, even if we aren’t sure it does what we think. You won’t get anywhere if you aren’t willing to risk looking like a fool.
Case in point: Peter Falk in Blake Edward’s The Great Race — the pure manifestation of the button-pushing fool.
joshua chamberlain 