To do or to be? That is the question

William James wrote: "Lives based on having are less free than lives based on doing or being." But what is the distinction between a life based on "doing" Vs one centered on "being"?

The career of a highly creative but much maligned military strategist named John Boyd may provide some clues.

Because a "Yes men" mentality prevails in the US military, journalist James Fallows was pleasantly surprised when the US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates brought up the name of the late John Boyd before a gathering 0f Air Force brass. Even if we do not approve of the administration Gates works for, the Defense Secretary's comments regarding Boyd's career are thought-provoking:

Boyd, who was a brilliant, eccentric and stubborn character, had to overcome a large measure of bureaucratic resistance and institutional hostility.

He had some advice that he used to pass on to his colleagues and subordinates that is worth sharing with you. Boyd would say — and I quote — “One day you will take a fork in the road, and you’re going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises, and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club, and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way, and you can do something, something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted, and you may not get good assignments, and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors, but you won’t have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That’s when you have to make a decision: to be or to do.”

For the kinds of challenges America faces and will face, the armed forces will need principled, creative, reform-minded leaders, men and women who, as Boyd put it, want to do something, not be somebody.

Even for those of us not in the military, the distinction between "doing" and "being" is worth thinking about.