Month: July 2018

It always feels like the wrong week to turn over a new leaf.

But the fact is, it never is.

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A colleague recently commended me on my ability to think outside the box.

I confessed that I don’t really think outside the box at all.

I think like there is no box.

Never was.

Nor will there ever be one.

True story.

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“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” – Oscar Wilde.

Well, except for lessons.

Especially the valuable ones.

Lessons can be taught.

Just not through the education system.

Life is the only educator who can teach those.

And those are the things most worth knowing.

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A footnote is defined as an incidental piece of information printed at the bottom of a page.

Most footnotes are overlooked as they are deemed inconsequential.

It is for this reason that the most compelling and revealing information is typically cloaked in a footnote.

A footnote is life’s little reminder to appreciate what most regard as irrelevant.

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Wisdom commences when ignorance concludes.

Sadly, those whose ego prevents them from recognizing their own idiocy will never know.

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“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

That quote describes every last day of camp in a nutshell.

While it is great advice, when all you’ve been doing was smiling as it was happening, how can you help but cry because it’s over?

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I began my financial career in retail.

Although we were called, “Account Managers”, the entire job entailed selling investment products to consumers.

I would spend most of my days on the phone speaking with interesting people – many of whom were retirees.

The retirees loved to tell me their life stories.

Some would even share sob stories.

I tried to cheer them up.

One day, I was speaking with an elderly woman named, Estelle. She told me how depressed she had been feeling lately and how she longed for happiness.

I told her that the city of happiness lies in the state of mind.

She seemed to really like that. She said, “that is beautiful and so very true.”

I confessed to her that I had read it on a milk carton that morning which was really funny considering I never drink milk as it has been known to give some people really bad gas.

She laughed.

Estelle and I would speak once or twice a week.

She never once bought a stock or a bond or even one share of a Dean Witter mutual fund from me.

But, I didn’t care. Because in my State, making someone’s day feels a lot better than making a sale.

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“Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world usually do.” ― Steve Jobs

Insanity is underrated.

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I sometimes write about about waiting. And also about waiting.

It is probably because writing is something I do while I wait.

Today, I read that Steve Tyler was quoted as saying, “The things that come to those that wait may be the things left by those that got there first.”

Yes, they are called crumbs, Steve. Crumbs.

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“The real question is not where ideas come from but where do they go.” – Paul Beatty

Upon stumbling across this quote this afternoon, I began to ponder the journey of an idea.

Ideas are endlessly conceived.

Often, prematurely shared.

Frequently stolen.

Repeatedly criticized.

And at times, suppressed.

Is is any wonder that ideas are so rarely ever carried out?

Origination is meaningless if they never get the chance to complete the voyage.

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Crime breeds cover-up.

Cover-up prompts lies.

Lies impel evidence.

Evidence – or lack thereof – exposes lies.

Exposure triggers fear.

Fear spawns anxiety.

Anxiety precipitates desperation.

Desperation begets hostility.

Hostility engenders aggression.

Aggression leads to crime.

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Only failures view failing as an end game.

And only losers count losing as an indelible loss.

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” – Henry Ford

And by the same logic, losing is merely another shot at winning.

There is no rule that says failure is final and losing is fatal.

If everyone viewed both as rebirths instead of finales, there’d be no failures and no losers.

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Waiting is defined as delaying action or remaining in a state of repose until a particular time or until something else happens.

It is a paradox. It is an action verb that denotes inaction.

But, it is not a synonym for laziness.

Good things never come to those who wait. They come to those who “do” – who work their asses off and never give up.

It’s okay to wait. It’s just not okay to do nothing while waiting.

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There are certain styles that know how to make a comeback.

They re-emerge much better than the original.

Bell bottoms jeans are a great example. They are much classier in the 21st century than they ever were in the 1970s.

So you could imaging my joy when I came across the following post on facebook:

Although I am not holding my breath, whenever morals and loyalty do decide to make a comeback, both will exceed all expectations.

Just like bell bottoms.

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When I was 6 years old I remember, like it was yesterday, talking to my grandmother about school. She told me that she was sure that I was the smartest kid in my 1st grade class.

I wasn’t.

But her confidence in me gave me something to strive for.

Her pride became my motivation.

It was all I needed to get an “A”.

On what would have been my grandmother’s 100th birthday, I’d just like to say, “thanks, Grams. Your belief in me gave me the courage to believe in myself.”

It is undoubtedly the greatest gift I ever received. And one I am forever re-gifting to my children.

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Good things are everywhere – hiding in plain sight.

However, the best things lurk in obscurity.

Over mountain tops.

Beneath heavy rocks.

Behind locked doors.

Beyond thick walls.

While good things are up for grabs, the best things force us to climb, to use strength, keys and curiosity.

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Expression versus Suppression – it is the internal battle that every artist is forced to preside over.

Humanity is grateful for every ruling in favor of expression.

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Obstacles mislead us into believing that we are taking one step forward and two steps backward.

The fact is, time makes going in reverse an impossibility.

Keep treading, for “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lau Tzu

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Life is beautiful.

But, beauty should never be confused with bliss.

A few weeks ago I watched the movie, “Life is Beautiful”, with my 10 year old daughter. It was a story I wanted her to see, especially since she had been reading about the Holocaust.

I remember being very touched by this film when I saw it for the first time many years ago, and I knew she would be too.

In fact, she was as glued to the screen as I was when I first watched it.

As the movie progressed, she wanted reassurance from me that there would be a happy ending.

“The family is going to get out alive, right?”

“You have to watch and find out,” I told her.

“But they are all going to live, right?”

“I’m not giving away the ending.”

When the main character died, she was tears. And she was furious with me.

It was unfathomable to her that a protagonist doesn’t get his “happily ever after”.

I tried to explain that what made the movie so beautiful was the man’s love for his family. Movies, just like life, don’t require a fairy tale ending to be beautiful.

Yes, life is beautiful.

But, it is beautiful – not in spite of heartaches – but because of them.

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Happy Birthday to a great son who never ceases to exceed expectations.

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