The Motivational Minute

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity. - Rollo May
We all have moments in our lives where we can choose to be courageous, or to take the easier path and simply conform.
Those daily decisions may be whether to change jobs, chase our dreams, move to a new city, get married, have a child,
stand up for ourselves, give a speech, or to make that sales call and face the possibility of rejection. The individual
decision at the time may seem small, but when you look back on your life, making the courageous decision may have
huge, life-changing implications on your life.
Twenty-five years ago, on June 5, 1989, pro-democracy protesters occupying Beijing's Tiananmen Square were attacked
by the Chinese military. No one is sure of the exact death toll - anywhere from hundreds to a thousand protesters, many
of them crushed by tanks. After the smoke settled, thousands of protesters were imprisoned. The Chinese government
has gone to great lengths to remove this episode from public records.
One image from this event cant be erased. The Tiananmen tank man. It's an iconic image that defines courage.
Very little is known about the man who blocked the path of tanks in Tiananmen Square 25 years ago. Some reports have
identified the man as Wang Weilin, but his identity has never been confirmed. A South Korean news agency reported that
Wang Weilin was an alias and that the tank man had escaped the massacre in Tiananmen Square and is living in Taiwan.
What we do know about him is that he
had courage. More than his share.
With the knowledge that many
protestors had been run over and
crushed by tanks, the Tiananmen Rebel
walks courageously in the path of a
dozen tanks that were rolling down
Chang'an Avenue the day after student
protesters were also gunned down by
the Chinese military. The tank in front
moves back and forth trying to go
around the lone protestor, but the man
continues to block its path, gesturing
toward the tanks with his shopping
bags. The man climbs up on the tank and talks to a soldier inside. After what appears to be a brief discussion, he jumps
down, the tank commander briefly emerges from his hatch, and the tanks restart their engines. The tank moves forward
and the man positions himself back in front of it. Video footage shows that two figures in blue attire then pulled the man
away and disappeared with him into a nearby crowd.
It's not clear who he was or what happened to him next. Twenty-five years later, we are left with the image of a single
man, armed only with courage and conviction.
So, what happened to the unidentified hero? Bruce Herschensohn, former deputy special assistant to President Richard
Nixon, reported that he was executed 14 days later. Its also rumored that he was executed by firing squad a few months
after the Tiananmen Square protests. Other reporters have stated that he's still alive and hiding in mainland China.
In April 1998, Time magazine included the "Unknown Rebel" in a feature titled "Time 100: The Most Important People of
the Century."
In comparison to the Tiananmen tank man, most of our moments that require courage are small, but could have great
impact on our lives, and the lives of those we love. Be courageous, and in the words of Christopher Robin to Winnie the
Pooh, Promise me youll always remember. Youre braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter
than you think.