Intern Q&A with the President (a West Wing Week Special Edition)
How do you remain optmistic? 00:08
Taking the long view on things.
So much stress arises out of looking at things in very narrow here and now.
The day to day sort of ups and downs and swings, it's like the weather. (Mean, you are okay get an umbrella sometime, sometime you take off your jacket)
The things that last, that are important usually have to do with how do you behave. How did you treat other people. Did you work as hard as you could have. Did you do your best. The things that you have control over.
When I am on the deathbed, the things I will remember will be walking a four-year-old daughter to the park, not remember some headline.
How do you know when to compromise? 06:29
If the compromise makes things better but just not as good as I think they need to be, then my instinct is that's a good compromise.
Once we get the structure in place, it's like a starter home. It would be nice if we had granite countertops in the kitchen but we can't afford those yet.
Now it's far from our ideal, but every single step in our social progress in this country has started with a starter home. (The political process in this country is incremental.)
Democracy of our sort requires reform as a general proposition and not revolution. And that's okay.
Message
Message for all the interns at every period.
Don't get bored, don't get cynical.
You guys are the most privileged people in human history.
So, no griping, no moping. The possibilities of what you can do are enormous.
Becoming president involves a lot of luck. Becoming Steve Jobs requires certain amount of breaks that you get.
It is not because you are so much better than anybody else. But a lot of times it's just happen stance or things worked out.
But being useful and having a satisfyng life and making a contribution. That is entirely within your control.
Orient yourself towards having an impact and making a difference.