This week our final assignment included a course summary. I had 22,000 classmates from around the world. Seeing their work, the potential for innovation and change is huge. The bad news is there are relatively very few people my age taking this course. The good news is that a huge proportion of those taking the course are under thirty. Below is the coda I wrote for my summary.
Coda
– Looking Ahead
In early
December of 2012, almost exactly six months to the day as I write, our son and brother, William, died of an accidental heroin overdose. At his memorial service, our family made a pledge to
William. “We promise to do
everything in our power to educate and inform people about drug abuse and its
prevention, to provide ever more enlightened treatment for addicts, to help
make treatment options for addicts more readily available, and to remove the
stain of shame surrounding this disease.”
That is where I hope to devote the time and energy to apply what I’ve
taken from this course. It is work
that requires the mindset of an innovator. There are assumptions to be challenged, problems to be
reframed, and patient observation always.
It is about taking the chewed gum and dog shit of my life and turning it into something beautiful and
meaningful. The task is ahead of
me. I’ve new tools to use.
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