Excuse me for excisting, won't do it again

In Italian the word "succedere" means "to happen". The word "un successo" means "success". So basically they're saying that trying is succeeding, go ahead and give it a go and you'll see that success will come your way. You're already a winner if you just try.

The Americans have Nike. "Just do it". Just go for it, without fear, without hesitation, and you'll achieve your goals. Or not, but who cares, then you'll "Just do it, again".

What do we Finns have? Sayings like "hiljaa hyvà tulee", which means "take it slow and maybe you'll get there", or "parempi pyy pivossa kun 10 oksalla", which means "it's better to have 1 bird in the birdhouse than 10 sitting on the branch outside". Or what about "vaatimattomuus kaunistaa", loosely translated "being modest makes you pretty". Oh, sorry, there is one saying that encourages us to give it a go. It says "yrittànyttà ei laiteta". Meaning "if you at least try it, nobody can hold it against you if you fail".

climb every mountain...

So, basically we're mentally set up to fail from the get go, or not to try even, to be quiet and settle for what we have. To not boast if we've discovered to have a magnificent talent, just keep it to ourselves and maybe use it to enlighten the lives of our loved ones every once in a while. There's a reason why we Finns aren't all that known in the world. It's not because no one of us never has good ideas or cool projects, it's just that we never dare to give it a go. We keep it all inside, or at least inside the country limits. We're pansies. A bit wuss. We're a bunch of chickens. (imagine me making chicken sounds here).

Also, there seems to be this attitude to bring down those who would be interested in trying. For example, here in Italy all the musical groups just starting out are given a chance to play in nice places, and not just some charity events or "somewhere in the back room" where nobody even hears you. There's tons of opportunities to play if you want, especially if you make your own music. In Finland, at least when I was still living there, it seemed that there was room only for the best. Now what's that about? It's like people are afraid you'll embarrass them with your beginner's music. But how the hell are these people going to grow if they can only play at the rehearsal studio? Enthusiasm counts for squat. In general, no matter what the field, we bring things out in the public only when we're 100% sure that it'll be amazing. No room for error, no room for embarrassing try-outs. If there's any doubt of not being anything but mind blowing, better to stay in the shadows.

..make it to the top...

We Finns are proud of having this thing called Sisu. Basically it means having guts. Or better yet, it means trying one more time even when we're beaten and we've almost lost the battle. But again, this is something that comes into play only when we're already down and defeated. Why can't we have Sisu when it comes to trying in the first place? Why can't we have the same drive to begin with, why does it only come in play when there's absolutely nothing else to do? We always seem to start everything with an apology. "Sorry that we had this idea, sorry that we're trying to win, sorry that we're trying out something new". It's clear that in this world you're not going places apologizing.

Sometimes I find myself in situations where I have to defend my home country.
"Well what do you Finns have?"
"We got lots of cool stuff"
"Yeah, like what?"
"Well, we have beautiful nature.... and we have Nokia..."
"Yeah, and what else?"
"Eeeee, we have design..."
"Like what, whatcha got?"
"Well I don't remember the names but we got many nice designers"
"Ok, what else?"
"We have nice architecture"
"Where exactly?"
"Well I don't know, like there's the Finlandia house in Helsinki..."
"One house and that's it?"
"No, there are others, I just can't remember what and where..."

There are two things wrong here.
1) the foreigners don't know anything about us
2) we Finns ourselves don't know anything about us, and are uncomfortable talking about what we're good at

...and don't give up!

It's not that we don't have cool things, it's just that even we ourselves don't know exactly what they are. Apart from nature, Santa Claus and aurora borealis. Oh, and the school system.

In fact, seeing that our school system is supposedly so wonderful, it should also include a class where they tell you what the cool things Finland are in case some stranger asks you. And how to bring your brilliant new ideas forward without shame, and "just do it", even if there's a chance of failure. A course in self confidence is what's lacking from the curriculum.

We still have a lot to learn as far as getting our ideas out there. It's not about being Nordic either, since our friends in Sweden are much more active and better know in the world. We have no excuses. Who's going to respect us if we don't respect ourselves?

Just do it Finland. Happening means succeeding.

PS. In the end I'd like to add this wonderful tune, it's called "I volunteer" by my favorite Norwegian group called Making Marks (hear the tune HERE ). It talks about how we can't all be winners, and that being mediocre is actually a nice thing. I dedicate this to myself, the true image of being "just fine"