Use a Pile Driver

So far, Churchill has yet to disappoint. It’s become increasingly obvious to me, and hopefully to you too, that he has no qualms when it comes to speaking his mind. In the last quote, we learned about his affinity for speaking his mind and standing up for what he believes in, if it results in making a few new enemies. Analyzing another quote along the same lines, this week’s post takes a similar tone.

When it comes to making his point clear, Winston Churchill was not one to hesitate. As this week’s quote explains, “If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack”. Churchill is of the state of mind that feinting around an issue and beating around the bush is useless. Be clear, definitive, and straightforward. Make your point known, and then go back and make it known again. Like he said, “Use a pile driver”. Don’t let the audience have any doubt about what you said.

He starts out with a brief bit of wisdom, like most of his quotes: “don’t try to be subtle or clever”. However, he goes on to emphasize that point with a slightly unexpected twist, telling the reader to “Use a pile driver”. This next section follows a similar format, urging the reader to be confident in their point and be sure to hit it again. At the end, he surprises the reader with the conversational turn of phrase, “a tremendous whack”. Even in his own quote, he follows the message he is preaching – he repeats three times that one should not be subtle or clever, but rather drive the point home. How meta.

Courtesy of R Kemppainen

Yet again, it is the excellent craftsmanship of his quips that make them so memorable. Going in to the quote, one has a certain expectation of pithy advice about being confident and explicit when making points. However, Churchill’s reference to a pile driver, the phrase “a tremendous whack”, and the self-referential nature of the quote create a cohesive and lasting message.

In my own personal life, I could undoubtedly try harder to follow the advice laid out in this quote. When it comes to making definitive points, be it in class, in a spirited debate, or simple conversation with peers, I believe I drive my points home. However, I’m sure a sense of social intelligence and a generally docile temperament often tempers (no pun intended) the point I am trying to emphasize.

Like always, we can all learn a bit from listening to what Churchill said and perhaps trying to do what he did. In this case, strive to make your points clear. Don’t beat around the bush or try to be coy with your point – be forceful, as Churchill truly was. Use a pile driver, and strike your points with a vengeance so that they stick around for as long as this quote will.

You Have Enemies?

In the modern world we live in, too often people stretch themselves in an attempt to preserve political correctness and the sense of fragility that we have to associate with our interactions with other people. There is a distinct presence in our society of the pressure to speak so delicately and deliberately so as to not offend a single individual. This presence, for example, is no more acute than in political debates – except when Trump takes the floor.

While speaking so as to avoid offending anyone is valuable for obvious reasons, there are situations where passion takes hold, and one must speak their mind at whatever cost it may have. If you’ve learned anything thus far, Churchill would be the one to encourage such brusqueness.

He once said, undoubtedly in response to someone worrying about their enemies “You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life”. That’s our boy Churchill – calling them like he sees them.

In general, most people would balk at the idea of speaking of gaining enemies in such a congratulatory manner. To Churchill, the seasoned statesman that we have come to know and love, he is well aware that to get anywhere in life, one has to engage in some no-holds barred stand-up-for-what-you-believe in type rhetoric.

The positive and rewarding nature of this quotation is focal to its value as a gem of wisdom. The initial questions creates a sort of anticipation that one would expect to lead to chastise about making enemies and not being cordial enough. However, Churchill utilizes the tension that he generated to drive home the point that making enemies can be quite valuable by delivering a succinct second sentence: “Good”. His terseness once again adds meaning.

He then goes on to explain why he believes creating enemies is so important. Granted, if one can stick up for what one believes in without offending others and creating enemies, that could be a preferred track. However, the way that Churchill words it emphasizes the notion that one cannot, at any cost, give up standing up for what one believes in, specifically at the cost of making enemies.

Personally, I’ve experience situations countless times where I have done the exact opposite of what Churchill is advocating for in this quote.

Image Courtesy of Brian Katz

Retroactively, perhaps he is right though. The world we live in has become a more and more sugar-coated one, seen through rose-colored glasses by a large part of the population. We must strive not to sit back because we are too worried about making one or two enemies. In my life, I can distinctly recall occasions where someone, most often a student in classes if my memory serves me right, would say something that I vehemently opposed, but I bit my tongue to avoid making enemies.

Why? Why would I do that? Simply because someone else doesn’t agree with my ideas should not warrant me containing my own beliefs. Never compromise your own passions and ideologies in an attempt to not offend someone else. Try to not offend others if you can, because that usually makes for a more compelling and engaging argument rather than that immediately distances the other person from your conversation. However, when it really comes down to it, if you need to, offend that other person. Do what you can to avoid contention, but standing up for what you believe in is what makes you who you are. Don’t sacrifice that – make some enemies.

Going through Hell

Always inspirational while concurrently a rough-and-tumble, hardened statesmen, Winston Churchill’s personality developed a unique combination of motivation and brusqueness. Despite this sort of terse political candor, Churchill left a lasting legacy as one of the best speakers in history. It is his unique personality that cemented his oratorical capabilities.

In an apt characterization of his indomitable spirit comes yet another Churchill-ism: “If you’re going through hell, keep going”.

 
Image Courtesy of QuotesGram

From the first clause of the quotation, “If you’re going through hell”, one would expect the succeeding clause to be a deep and insightful reflection on the tribulations of the human condition. One would anticipate an inspirational mantra to ring out next, inspiring the reader/listener to persevere.

Sorry to disappoint.

Yet again, Churchill fulfills not a stereotypical linguistic role, but rather he manufactures his own unique style. Instead of the aforementioned inspiration, he leaves the reader initially wanting with a terse “Keep going”. At first, one is absolutely dismayed by the seemingly lackluster nature of Churchill’s closing clause, but further inspection yields something truly deeper.

Churchill never was a man to mince words. He never was a speaker to aimlessly pontificate. His words were always crisp, clean, and concise. This quotation perfectly epitomizes his style.

While not the norm, Churchill’s advice to simply keep going is vastly more significant upon further analysis. How much can an absent orator’s commentary on the ceaseless struggles of mankind really impact a contemporary individuals actions? For me, hearing a quote of such a nature has little to no impact. To me, the unexpected nature of Churchill’s comment creates a much more effective quote.

The early part of the quote establishes a well-known situation. The observer simply knows what’s coming next: the standard inspiration that I’ve outlined ad nauseam thus far. It is this exact set up that allows Churchill to truly make an impact.

Keep going. What kind of shoddy advice is that? At first, I thought the same thing I’m sure you probably did. You were probably acutely worried that these 500 words would be useless, but oh well. Here we are.

Diving deeper into simple command, “Keep going” carries significant clout. Practically, there is no better advice. An idealist would spout beliefs about working through discomfort and overcoming obstacles, but a realist and pragmatist like Churchill understands the futility of such a point.

A natural leader and hard-working politician, Churchill has the experience to know what works best in a strained situation.

Keep going is all we can really do sometimes. In life, there are no perfect situations. In theory, the idealism is fantastic, but in practice, theory fails.

In my own life, I’ve witnessed firsthand the human tendency to be poetic when it comes to giving advice. Going through my own tribulations, too many times people give standardized, trite bits of wisdom. For me, it doesn’t do the trick. It’s simply when I put my head down, dig in, and get things done that the troubles dissipate.

In my world, idealism is not the answer. Hard work solves problems. Pushing through difficulties extinguishes the issues. Running straight through a wall is infinitely more effective than being coaxed around it by poetic pieces of advice. Churchill’s realism is refreshing and serves as a reminder, to me at least, of how to go about overcoming obstacles.

You Will Still be Ugly

As Winston Churchill said, a joke is a very serious thing. It is increasingly easy in the world we live in to chortle and chuckle in response to a particularly witty quip. However, in doing so, we deprive ourselves of diving deeper into the meaning shrouded within a collection of words. We hide behind a superficial understanding of literal meaning rather than deepening analysis so as to uncover true meaning.

This blog will be a journey through the true meaning behind Churchill’s quintessential quotes – please don’t be querulous.

Image Courtesy of Lords of the Drinks

One can only imagine the situation surrounding one of Churchill’s most quoted moments: allow me to paint the picture. Good old Winston is at a gala or ball or dinner party or whatever dignitaries of the time would frequent to prattle on about fancy drinks and how delightful the crudité is. Now Churchill was known as a man to appreciate liquor, so one can imagine a quite proper lady warning him of his drunken stupor, only to be rebuked by Churchill’s unfettered candor: “I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly”.

To think that refined, diplomatic Prime Minister Churchill would retort thusly is an interesting notion. Crude, yes. Harsh, indeed. Comical, undeniably. But, this blog is about asking ourselves, “is there more?” Can we learn anything about ourselves, our lives, our experiences as humans from a saying that comes across as simply entertaining?

Analysis will serve us most if done sequentially throughout the quotation: first, Churchill cedes that he is drunk. It’s a good start for our boy Winston – admitting self-fault is the first step to realization of a potential issue, and it’s valuable in most situations to be aware of one’s own state.

Next, Churchill points out to the unknown debutante that he is presumably speaking to that his condition is quite temporary – in the morning, his drunkenness will be a thing of the past, replaced by nausea, headaches,and dehydration. What an improvement! By afternoon, at least, he’ll be back to normal.

Finally, Churchill concludes in asserting that his conversational victim will maintain whatever homeliness she possesses throughout her life. Taken separately, these three portions of the quote make for an interesting portrayal of the distinguished Prime Minister as a self-aware drunken oaf. However, deeper meaning can be extrapolated.

It feels redundant to point out that permanent conditions are longer lasting than temporary ones, but it’s deeper than a simple temporal comparison. We often succumb to the issues of our immediate condition rather than observing our permanent state (I use permanent loosely in that so little of our world is permanent, but you get the idea).

In high school, I almost had to drop my physics class early on because I lacked a solid foundational understanding. That was my immediate situation – this is hard, I’m not doing so hot, I want to quit. However, slight introspection and self-analysis (Churchill had this down pat) demonstrated to me that my dedication and determination would get me through it. My permanent condition of hard work trumped my immediate condition of poor preparation and I overcame. Churchill’s quip might be insulting, brash, and crass, but there’s a lot more than meets the eye. Like he said, a joke is a very serious thing.