I like order in my home. Clutter drives me crazy. Especially other people's clutter. I'm not great at maintaining a clutter free world. But I do my best. Well, that's wrong. If what I do is my best. My best sucks. Let's say I make an effort. I am great at being a hypocrite though. When the little order that exists in my home is disrupted, my boxers get bunched. Last week, I walked out of the bedroom. Went past the sleeping girls. Walked past the guest room. Then to … [Read more...]
Is this the most powerful wealth multiplier?
December 27, 2012 by
It's been a long time since I let my fingers feel the keyboard. Not including emails, status reports and other organizational pink slime ... my fingers haven't roamed freely in a while. The longer my fingers went without furling words into the world, the more reasons I came with for why they could not do so. Standard stuff ... not enough time, no space for peaceful thought, not the right time, etc. All the excuses were bullshit. They always are. Don't believe me - let's … [Read more...]
Are You a Time-aholic?
October 19, 2012 by
Hi. My name is Eric. And I'm a time-aholic. I have a time problem. I abuse time. Afterwards, I stumble through a time hangover, blacked out wondering what I did for the last few hours. It's easy to let time slip away when you haven't identified how you want to invest it. It's hard to know how you want to invest it if you don't have investment goals. Our investment goals define how we invest our money. If we're retiring soon, we might work to preserve what we have with a … [Read more...]
Have you taken this secret vow?
October 5, 2012 by
I pulled into traffic on northbound 75. I felt my phone vibrate as I took my place in a lane. I reached for my phone. Looked at the message. I started responding immediately. Did the text require an immediate response? No. Was it worth endangering myself and others? No. Was the topic remotely urgent? No. Then why did I let the distraction take over? A - Because I could. B- Because the transaction would be immediate. C- Because rules and consequences don't apply to me. D- … [Read more...]
4 Reasons To Kiss When You’re Angry
September 24, 2012 by
Jen told me about a friend who hadn't kissed her husband in 4 days. They were angry with each other. That seemed odd to me. It seemed like they were dooming themselves to fail. It's Easy to Stay Angry. It's Hard to Move Forward. It's easy to get angry with someone. It's easy to embrace our anger. And it's easy to become justified and obsess about how we're right and they're wrong. It's hard to get past it if being angry is what you focus on. There are so many people and … [Read more...]
Are you in the Rabbit Hole?
September 6, 2012 by
Mobile devices. Text messages. Email. Unintentional side conversations. Web research that turns into an Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole. It's no wonder it's easy to get lost doing nothing (results) while doing something (activity). It's easier than ever to live walking in circles day after day. We call each step progress. Yet the steps lead to nowhere. Then we mount the excuses for why we're not getting anywhere. Too busy. Too much to do. Too tired. Not enough time. … [Read more...]
Do you want something?
July 17, 2012 by
Yesterday I wrote about my mishaps and poor performance at my church's first open mic night. The stakes were low. The mistakes were high. My disappointment matched the mistakes. I was unprepared. I was uneasy. My friend asked me to do this open mic because they weren't sure they'd have enough performers. I got there. I saw no shortage of performers. I could have backed out. I didn't. I committed to my friend that I'd get up there. I also committed to myself. If we won't … [Read more...]
Do you want to be “One and done”?
July 16, 2012 by
I plugged the cable in. No sound. Nothing. Then I tried another cable. Again. Nothing. Thirty people were sitting around. Waiting. I took someone else's guitar. Plugged it in. It worked. I threw the strap around my neck. And stepped up to the microphone. 3 and half minutes flew by in the blink of an eternity. I got through the song. Barely. I was planning on singing two. I changed my mind. I strummed the last chord. Looked at the MC. And said, "That's good enough. … [Read more...]
Out of the eyes of babes
July 12, 2012 by
Jen walked out of the girl's room. Ellie in her arms. She just woke up. Her eyes swollen with sleep. I sat on the couch, typing away. Ellie looked at me for a glance. Then she stared at the laptop. It's a reflex. If we're looking at our phones, the girls look at our phones. TVs on, same thing. We're drawn to the glow of technology. Hypnotized. Flashing lights. Distraction. Detachment. It's our innate state. We think we're in control. We think we're choosing where … [Read more...]
What are you avoiding?
June 28, 2012 by
I was reading the article. I wanted to stop. I was afraid. What if they reveal a theory I've been working on but haven't released to the world yet. I was afraid of being disappointed. In myself, for not getting the idea out soon enough. Avoiding the article wouldn't help though. If my idea was the same, I'd know someone else thought of it. I can shift directions with the idea. I can build on to what's already there. That's all the world of knowledge is any way. At some point … [Read more...]
