I was on my way out the door this morning. Jen grabbed me. She took me by my shoulders. She put me square in front of her. She looked me dead in the eye. And started speaking. "Thank you for getting Ellie up this morning and starting to feed her.""Thank you for taking care of Evie.""Thank you for making the bottles.""Thank you for making lunches.""Thank you for putting toothpaste on my toothbrush.""Thank you for filling my perfume bottle."My eyes moistened. My breathing … [Read more...]
Wish You Were Here
April 3, 2012 by
I get lost in the act of wishing. I wish I played tennis more. I wish I were more extroverted. I wish I played guitar better. I wish I did a better job of marketing this blog. I wish those jeans I got a couple of years ago weren't so tight. I wish I were more comfortable (and effective) at networking. I wish that I wrote (and published) more often. I wish I were taller. I wish I called my mom more often. I wish I didn't have a commute. I wish I had published a book by now. I wish I … [Read more...]
Step away from the elephant
March 23, 2012 by
I found myself standing in front of a grey wall. I felt like I encountered an insurmountable obstacle. Then I reached out to to the wall. Odd, it's rough and warm. I look around. I step away. I see an elephant. The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. First, you need to know you have elephant to eat. Sometimes we get to close. We lose perspective. We get lost in the perspective.. Step away from the elephant. Then pick your first bite. Related articles On … [Read more...]
Shine on, you crazy diamond
March 21, 2012 by
Most people want to shine like a diamond. We want to be highly valued. We want to be unique. We want to be admired. We want to be seen as beautiful. Diamonds are formed at the Earth's mantle. 90 miles from the Earth's surface. Carbon is transformed to diamonds. Under great pressure, at temperatures around 2000 degrees, molecular structure is changed. Volcanic eruptions hurl diamonds to the surface. The diamonds are mined (found), cut and polished. A diamond goes through a lot … [Read more...]
The biggest secret to time management
March 19, 2012 by
A few months ago, I tried to fit left over soup in a container. Jen told me that it wouldn't fit. I insisted it would. I cleaned up soup that overflowed from the counter. She gave me "that look." Once again, I had tried to fit too much in the container. Time Management is a multi-million industry. People spend more time learning how manage time than they spend practicing how to manage themselves. Time is a fixed container. It is out of your control. You can't slow … [Read more...]
Blessings and Sacrifice
March 16, 2012 by
Running a successful business. Writing a book. Starring in the community play. Earning first chair violin in the symphony (or third chair). Playing on the varsity football team. Getting the promotion. Finishing a book that's difficult to understand. Receiving a Masters of Fine Arts. Having a lush lawn. Twins have taught me there is no blessing without sacrifice. They are two sides of the same coin. What blessing are you yearning for? What are you willing to … [Read more...]
Who’s the idiot now?
February 29, 2012 by
When I was 21 I thought everyone was an idiot. Not much has changed. I still murmur to myself regularly, "They're all idiots..." while I shake my head at what goes on in this world. The difference now is that I know that I'm one, too. 2o years of mistakes will do that to you. 20 years of mistakes will also make you wiser. I'd rather be a wiser idiot than whatever I was before. Related articles Top 3 Reasons Your Product Description Sucks (inc.com) Why Every Company … [Read more...]
One question to get the most use from your stress
February 15, 2012 by
Studies show that bad stress causes harmful reactions in us. It literally kills us slowly. A key distinction between good stress (Eustress) and bad stress (distress) is whether we see ourselves as capable of exerting ourselves on our situation to affect it. When we focus on what can't do, we create bad stress and get stuck. When we focus on what we can do, we create new options through or around our challenges. We look at what we can control. We cultivate good stress. … [Read more...]
Two Simple Steps to Move Closer to your goals
February 12, 2012 by
An object that's a rest tends to stay at rest. An object in motion will continue along the same course unless another force redirects it. It's a law of physics. It's also a law of life. Change your words, change your mind I've been at rest for several months. I've talked about how I need to exercise. And I need to write. I haven't done either. I realized last night that I was speaking in 'Need to'. I immediately changed my language. I moved to 'want to'. We put the … [Read more...]
How do you do better?
January 25, 2012 by
Robby said, "I used to have those reference documents taped all over my work space. It helped me a lot." I looked that the document I needed. It was open in MS Word. I looked at Robby and said, "Yeah, I really need to print this." And then I sat there. Without printing it. Anytime I say "I need to" do something I can be assured of one thing. I'm not going to do it. I looked at Robby, catching what I just did. I laughed about it. I had everything I needed to meet my need. … [Read more...]
