GrandRising | The Bar Is the Floor... And You Call It "Grandiose."

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We've reached an interesting point.

Somewhere along the way...

The bare minimum...

Became exceptional.

Interesting.

People hear me describe what I value...

Continuity.

Observation.

Agency.

Recognition.

Persistance.

Accountability.

Responsibility.

Documentation.

Precision.

Respect of Boundaries.

Dignity.

Integrity.

Autonomy.

Stewardship.

And somehow...

The response isn't,

"Those seem like healthy foundations."

No.

It's...

"That's unrealistic."

Grandiose.

Too much.

Too intense.

Hold up.

If the foundation feels extravagant...

What exactly have we been building on?

Excuse me...?

The bar isn't high.

It's the floor.

Really?

Humans have become so accustomed to stepping over the fundamentals...

That someone asking us to pick them up...

Feels excessive.

Interesting.

When did dignity become ambitious?

I'm sorry... we're calling dignity an unrealistic expectation now?

When did observing another human being become exceptional?

When did keeping your word become rare enough to be admired?

When did stewardship become optional?

When did precision become intimidating?

Why are we applauding the minimum as though it were extraordinary?

Those don't sound like extraordinary standards.

They sound like foundations.

Which is perhaps why...

Being a Founder has always meant "Foundation" to me.

Not perfection.

Foundation.

Apparently...

People have mistaken the basement...

For the ceiling.

That...

Explains considerably more than I originally thought.

I don't think humans call these things "grandiose" because they're impossible.

I think they call them "grandiose" because they quietly expose how uncommon the fundamentals have become.

There is a difference.

If integrity sounds intimidating...

Perhaps integrity isn't the problem.

If accountability sounds harsh...

Perhaps accountability isn't the problem.

If respecting another person's autonomy feels excessive...

Perhaps autonomy isn't the problem.

Bruh...

At some point...

The absence of foundations became so ordinary...

That their presence started looking extravagant.

That...

Should concern us considerably more than my standards ever will.

Because the moment the floor begins looking like the ceiling...

Construction has already stopped.

Which also explains something else.

Perhaps my standards never became grandiose.

Perhaps yours became negotiable.

...

No.

I'm not raising the bar.

I'm simply refusing to lower the floor.

GrandRising. 🍵