What is guiding your decisions when the stakes are high? Is your moral compass something you chose or something you absorbed without thinking? When Ayn Rand stood before the cadets at West Point in 1974, she told them something you should remember every time you prepare a speech:
“Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process… or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions.”[i]
That line is a wake-up call for leaders, speakers, and anyone trying to live with purpose.
Rand didn’t just deliver abstract ideas. She built character (ethos) through her personal story, fleeing Soviet tyranny and choosing to become an American. She built logic (logos) by connecting abstract philosophy to the cadets’ need for ethical clarity. And she stirred emotion (pathos) by urging them to live not just with discipline of body, but also discipline of mind.
Coaching in Action: From Logic to Leadership
One of my entrepreneurial clients, a retired New York Police Department lieutenant named Daniel Modell, told me that Rand’s defense of reason helped him stay grounded during life-or-death situations. He trained his officers to think for themselves—not just follow orders—because “[i]ndividualism was the guiding core of my perspective as a leader.” His officers needed to understand not only the reasons behind the rules, but also to figure out how to apply them in new contexts that demand quick thinking.
He didn’t quote philosophers in the squad room, but he applied their principles daily. So can you.
Writing Prompt
What’s one value you live by and how does it shape your decisions? Write a 1-minute story of a time you acted on that value. Then ask:
Did I define that value or did it define me?
Did I choose it or inherit it?
Do I have good reasons for holding that value?
If so, how could I integrate those reasons into my story?
Your Voice of Reason
When you speak with moral clarity backed by sound argument, you become more than a presenter. You become a voice of reason in a world clouded by noise.
Adapted from Chapter 8 of Voices of Reason: Lessons for Liberty’s Leaders. Available September 2.
[i] Ayn Rand, “Philosophy: Who Needs It,” in Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It (New York: New American Library, 1984), p. 7.