Wisdom In The Whisper (The Friday Ficks S5 E20)

High school yearbook quotes. A treasure trove of teenage bravado and borrowed wisdom.

From my Class of ’81, there were some classics:

“If the ocean were beer, I would jump in and drown.”

“Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.”

One guy proudly offered: “When choosing between two evils, pick the one you haven’t tried yet.”

Mine? “Sometimes you must be silent to be heard.”

At the time, it wasn’t a statement of strategy - it was simply how I moved through the world: quietly, observantly, making sense of things before making noise.

I wasn’t the loudest in the room, but I knew how to listen. That quote wasn’t about hiding - it was about noticing.

Years later, I stumbled on this line from Mary Carpenter’s The Power of Quiet Leadership: “Quiet leaders are often thoughtful and reflective…they will speak when they have something important to add, rather than speaking for the sake of it.”

That hit home.

Yes, I chose law as a career - a field known, at times, for loudness and bravado. But real leadership isn’t always found behind media microphones or on billboards. Some of the most effective leaders lead without fanfare.

Confident, but never needing to prove it. Collaborative, not controlling. Listeners first, then speakers. Intentional with their words - and their silence.

Pythagoras once said, “A fool is known by his speech, and a wise man by his silence.”

I’m not claiming wisdom at the age of 17 - but I knew even then that there’s power in stillness. That silence, when used well, isn’t absence - it’s presence.

You don’t have to shout to lead. You don’t have to perform to be powerful.

Find your voice - even if it whispers.

Own the day. Own the weekend.

Carl