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Think Big. Aim Small.
Aiming small may seem counterintuitive in a world of Play-Off games, New York Times Best Seller lists, and Zagat’s reviews. Our society continually seeks to identify the best of the best. In fact the web is full of listicles gone viral — 10 Quick Ways to Simplify Your Life, 7 Most Annoying Habits of Air Travelers, 21 Funniest Cat Videos — which serve to underscore that what you do isn’t valuable unless it is acknowledged by a million likes. But there’s a cheat in that tenet; it’s impossible to connect meaningfully with millions. I can’t look into the eyes of a million people and see them deeply. I can’t have the divinity of my nature recognize the divinity of theirs. It’s not possible. I am…
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Encouragement
Courage – noun The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery This week I’ve been thinking about courage and what prompts people to act. The word courage comes from the Old French (cuer) and the Latin (cor) meaning heart. In fact, one of the obsolete definitions for courage is “the heart as the source of emotion”. It could be said that having courage, or being courageous, is acting with heart. The heart is where our passion and convictions come from. It’s the source of our deepest love. Continuing to extend the definition-being courageous is taking the risk to act…
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What You Do Next
It happened. You did it again—that thing you thought you were done doing, or worse yet, that thing you thought you’d never do. We hate the feeling of that place. Engulfed in shame. Exhausted by regret. Overwhelmed by the embarrassment of what people will think. Good people. Important people. Maybe people we have hurt. People who trusted us. So now what? We’ve all had those moments. Moments of epic failure. Of embarrassment and shame. At least for me, self-loathing is not too strong a word for how I feel the moment it happens. What I want to consider today is the question of what follows that moment. What do we do next? The reason…
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Three Words
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. This quote, or one similar to it, has been attributed to several sources including Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi. Regardless of its origin, its verity is without question. Another way to think of it is “what we focus on…grows”. Or, most succinctly “as you think, so you become”. Earlier this year, I was listening to a favorite podcast, the One You Feed. It is named for the parable of the two wolves at battle within each of us.…
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It Takes a Village – Part II…or How to Find Your Village
Now where am I to find this “village” you ask…? You’re probably in a hurry, I’ll sum up. Your village will find you…if you’re paying attention…and that’s the hard part. Let’s back up… Our “villages” are no longer made up of shamans, bakers, and fish mongers who ply their trades within a reasonable walk of our huts. In the modern world, we come into contact with ideas from hundreds of sources constantly. The internet is literally a network of connections. There is no richer source of tribes and villages. Think of every app and blog, every tweet you read (or send). These are all sources of content—tenants of a virtual village. Then…
