Wise Words

Do you know who Seth Godin is?
Note: He's NOT this guy:

This is Seth ROGEN. The actor.
Seth Godin is (and I quote) " a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. He is the author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world. His riffs on marketing, respect and the ways ideas spread can be found on his blog, here.

And one of my favorite posts is this. Read it:

Next!

The assembly-line mindset is a natural defense mechanism for the work we're asked to do all day.

One more form to fill out. Six more articles to write. Yet another soundcheck for yet another band playing at the venue where you work. You know there were hundreds before, there's one now, and there will be another soon, perhaps in just a few minutes.

So you sit down to remaster a classic album and you can't help but phone it in. There's another around the corner. You sit down to write another blog post and perhaps you cut yourself a little slack, because another one is due soon. This sales call? Don't worry so much, the call list is endless...

Next!

You might have already guessed the problems (there are at least two.) The first is that this is no way to do your work, your art, your chosen craft. Averaging the work down, achieving the least, getting it done--that's no way to spend your day. You deserve more than that.

The other problem is that you have competition. And for them, perhaps even this time, it's not just another in a long line of tasks. It's the one. The one that matters. The competition will bring more to the table than you do, and you suffer.

Perhaps the alternative is instead of thinking, "next!", we can think, "last!"

This might be the last time I get to do this.

If I do it that way, it increases the chances that it won't.

He's talking about your WORK. And how, in our competitive world, someone will always try to do it better. Cheaper. Faster. Prettier. So stay alert. Do your best everyday. Say to yourself "This might be the last time I get to do this"...

KNOW WHAT? This is also true for those things you do over and over again in parenting. And it's true for those things you do over and over again in your marriage. Or at church. Or with your friends. Or ...

Do it as if it's might be the last time you get to. 

Along those same lines is a one minute video that Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project author) posted to her blog. Especially if you have young children, you should totally watch. Here. Or especially if you hate something that you do everyday you should totally watch. Know why? Because the days are long but the years are short. 

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. It was Oct 14 today and I barely noticed. It wasn't until after my mom and my sister both called and kept me on the phone for almost 3 hours total that I realized maybe they were wondering if I was sitting at home, alone, being all sad, because 27 years ago today I wore the big white dress (or in my case, the tight lace dress) and said, "sure do, forever and ever, amen". 

I was home alone because my date for evening stood me up again. But I was half expecting her to, so it really was no biggie. 

Hear that all you newly divorced people? ONLY takes 12 years to have no emotional attachment to your wedding anniversary. 

So yay. 

And let's move on.

2. Three new blog links to pass along:

 - My friend, Maxine's daughter - Megan has a blog. Check it out here.

 - My friend, Lynne's daughter - Becky has a blog. Check it out here. (She's in New Zealand, at YWAM)

 - And Max's friend, Halee, has a blog. Check it out here. (She's attending a university in CA. She calls Max "Maxwell". I know, weird for me too.)  :)

3. Just read a blog post from a woman who is organizing a holiday in France for up to 18 friends who want to rent a chalet and eat, craft and shop. Here is how she describes the anticipated trip: 

We usually spend our mornings sitting around a large table - in the dining room or on the patio - sipping tea and eating a warm chocolate croissant - listening to the church bells at 8am. We craft - spending a good amount of hours in the old barn - heads down - diligently working on some project or teaching the person next to us a skill we have recently learned. We look for vide grenier or flea market signs along the road and then we follow any lead we can possibly sniff out - sometimes we find gold and sometimes we come home with empty pockets. And then we eat again...and drink a bit of the local grape.

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?

I so have to plan a trip exactly like this. Anyone interested?

(Her blog is here, by the way.)

And that's it fer today.

Shalom friends,