Reflections
Nothing new is created
until you do something different;
until you move out of what you know
into what you don’t;
until you set aside the comfortable
and seek to be uncomfortable.
Remember, pearls are made
when a grain of sand disrupts
the life of an oyster.
Just don’t be irritating about it.
If conditions are right,
I will get started.
If conditions are right,
I will be creative.
If conditions are right,
I will be successful.
If conditions are right…
The problem with waiting for the right conditions is,
they rarely are.
If you are going to
get started,
be creative,
do whatever it is you have been waiting for,
you have to decide that your current conditions
are the right ones.
We are told
“making it”
means
limousines and red carpet,
big houses and private jets,
island vacations and designer closets.
We are told
making it
means
we can do what we want,
no compromises and no regrets.
I think you have actually
made it
when you no longer care
what someone else tells you
making it
means.
The first day one becomes a father
is a day of miracles.
But it’s not until a couple of weeks later
that you realize
you’ll
never,
not
be
a father
again.
Today,
the world tells you
you’ve accomplished something,
finished something,
earned something.
And you have.
You have earned the opportunity
to show up,
to do your best work,
to care.
But wait, you don’t need
a diploma
to have permission
to be generous,
to contribute,
to matter.
Maybe every day is
graduation day
without the cap and gown.
When you ask
any little girl or boy,
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
You might hear answers like this:
I want to be
a firefighter,
a police officer,
a doctor,
a singer,
an architect
a mechanic,
an author...
Their answers don’t stop there.
They always have a reason for their choice,
“Because...”
Because I want to help people.
Because I want to make people smile.
Because I want people to feel better.
When you ask adults why they do what they do,
you often get a different answer.
I fell into it.
It paid the bills.
We had a baby.
And there is no “because…”
It got lost somewhere between
child and adulthood.
No wonder we are told
60% of working people are not engaged
at work.
If this is you,
isn’t it time to find your
because?
You didn’t choose
the easy road,
the well-worn path,
the clearly marked trail.
You didn’t choose
to follow the herd,
to fit in,
to be an insider.
Though, if you had,
Life might have been easier.
Might.
But you would have missed
the glorious failures,
the spectacular connections,
the unexpected congruences.
You would have missed
making your contribution
to the world.
Thank you for not choosing.
After
a setback,
a criticism,
a long day,
your goals,
your dreams,
your finish line,
can seem farther away.
But how things seem
and
how they are
do not always converge.
After the setback,
the criticism,
the long day,
check to make sure
you are still headed in the right direction
and
march
on.
Some days,
the monkeys in your mind
don’t want to go back in their cages.
They would rather swing from limb to limb
calling and cackling and cavorting
keeping you stirred up and uncertain.
But if you wait,
patiently.
If you resist the urge to
raise your voice,
wave your hands,
or throw rocks at the trees
to get them going in a desired direction.
If you let their unruliness
make no impression on you.
They will settle,
eventually.
And so will you.
When you offer someone
the opportunity to make
a difference,
an impact,
a change for the better,
you’re bringing on an
ally
not
an employee.
Stop offering people a job.
