Moreover, showing up includes risking imperfect attempts. The Wright brothers’ glider experiments (1900–1903) reveal progress as revision, not epiphany. Public life follows a similar pattern: Frederick Douglass wrote, “Power concedes nothing without a demand” (1857), reminding us that demands often require return visits, revised tactics, and thick skin. By treating setbacks as data rather than verdicts, we turn presence into a laboratory for better strategies. [...]
