Life in Small Bites

by Michael Josephson

I’ve given lots of commencement addresses and, despite the silly hat, it’s a head-swelling experience to tell a captive crowd how they should live their lives. The problem is, speakers are to graduations what turkeys are to Thanksgiving, except people are much more interested in a turkey on a platter than a turkey behind a podium. What we need is a good one-minute graduation speech. Here’s my platitude-stuffed effort:

“Okay, folks, you got your degrees. It’s a good time to set goals and devise a plan. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail. You need a roadmap, but be prepared for unintended detours, confusing signs and closed roads. Don’t be afraid of change or unwilling to change. Enjoy the journey, wherever it takes you, because that’s your life.

“Chances are, success and happiness are among your goals. But be careful, they’re not the same — all successful people aren’t happy and all happy people aren’t successful. If you have to choose, choose happiness.

“Take control of your life by taking control of your attitudes. Pain and disappointment are inevitable, but suffering is optional and tough times are always temporary.

“Live within your means, and when you mess up, fess up. When you’re in a hole, stop digging.

“Listen to both your heart and your head. Pursue your passions, but don’t confuse feelings with facts, fun with happiness or pleasure with fulfillment.

“Don’t sacrifice a thousand tomorrows for a few todays, and don’t settle for a little life. Live with purpose and for significance. Respect yourself and others, avoid self-righteousness and be kind rather than right.”

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

Live. Love. Smile. Hug. Laugh. Dream!

Do.

Create.

Have fun.

Be intense.

Be audacious.

Be unreasonable.

Act impeccably.

Breathe.

Be you.

Be different.

Be patient.

Get paid to do what you love.

Dance in your underwear on your way to work.

Why not?
Ditch the tie.

Escape the cube.

Leave the 8-5.

Trash the resume.

Ignore the critics and the cynics.

Burn the corporate ladders.

Laugh at the ceilings.

Quit the bitching.

Open your mind.

End the laziness.

Overcome the fear.

Transcend the conditioning.

Why not?
Move the world.

Change the world.

Push the human race forward.

Whatever you call it, go out and do it.

    When?         Now!

Exercise in Discovery and implementation:

1.  Read the passage below from Kierkegaard.

2.  What Insights are provoked?

3.  How does this Apply to your life?

4.  What Actions are required?

5.  What will I Do Now?

“What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die.” – Kierkegaard

I’ve noticed that I shortchange possibilities by not pushing through to expand flashes of insight or creativity.  I will have an insight or new thought with its exciting charge of new energy – but too often I drop it after the ‘flash’ and fail to do the work of expanding it to more fuller discover or application.

Flashes are temporarily exhilarating.  They come in an instant without effort. Yet I am learning that their greater value is only realized when I do the mental work of asking and answering “What could this mean?”  “How might this apply to me?”  “What actions can I take to unleash and embed the new learning?”

Constantly bombarded with ’flashes’ I struggle with harnessing their greater potential power.

What strategies or processes have you used to capture and activate the power of your flashes?  Your suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.  – Jim

by Brian Johnson

Speaking of shadows, another really powerful way to deal with that dis-integrated murky stuff we project onto others is this little game I often play:

Think of someone who recently annoyed you. Identify what it is about them that *really* bugs you.

Are they greedy? Hyper-ambitious? Impatient? Do they cut people off in mid-sentence and never really listen? Do they act like they know it all?

What is it about ’em that gets you all wound up? Got it? Sweet. Now, ask yourself: “How am I that?!?” 🙂

And make that a practice. What you’ll notice, if you’re like me, is that we tend to be most annoyed by people who are demonstrating qualities that we are still working on.

Debbie Ford says it’s kinda like having electrical sockets on our chest. If we’ve recognized and accepted our own greed/selfishness/impatience/whatever, it’s as if we’ve put one of those child-proof covers over the socket and no one can “plug into” that energy—we may notice a certain quality in people but we’re no longer triggered by them.

BUT, run into someone who demonstrates qualities we *haven’t* integrated in our lives and yikes! They “plug into” that open socket and we get all pissy.

Again, the solution is (relatively) simple: Notice when you’re being super critical of other people and know that you’re just observing something within YOU that you need to address. Then celebrate the opportunity to grow as you count how many fingers are pointing back at you, attend your own lectures, and ask: “How am I that?!”