The man behind the words

Tags

Blogger, colipera, conference, encouragement, nyc, pick yourself, Sasha Dichter, Seth Godin, writer

I subscribe to a few incredible blogs. Time is precious so I only subscribe to a blog if the contents are worth reading every single day. Few make the cut, but the ones I allow to my inbox literally change my life.

You can imagine my happiness and excitement to meet the people behind the words while at a conference recently! I didn’t know they would be there or what they looked like, but somehow we connected and I discovered who they were/are and had the pleasure of expressing my gratitude in person. Very cool.

I came away feeling refreshed and reminded that these bloggers are people too…in need of encouragement and hugs, fueled by sleep, food and exercise, pursuing a variety of enchantments. They aren’t perfect and don’t claim to be. They come to every day bringing their best, hoping to make a difference.

Have you met the man/woman behind your favorite blog? Reach out? Encourage! They will love to hear from you.

Permission

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acceptance, decisions, growth, justification, permission, self-awareness

Permission is a funny thing. We often think it’s something others give or that we seek. Reflecting on the last few years, some of my most profound moments of growth came when I gave myself permission.

• Permission not to take on extra responsibility, problems or concerns that weren’t mine.
• Permission to embrace my personality, strengths and weaknesses.
• Permission to fail while pursuing better.
• Permission to be real.
• Permission to say “no” when hanging out wasn’t going to be fun for me.
• Permission to read, play the piano and sing.
• Permission to dance without abandon in my kitchen by myself or at a wedding.
• Permission to invest financially in important things.
• Permission to have adventures that didn’t have a known ending.

Permission isn’t the same as justification. Know yourself well enough to know when you’re pulling the wrong card out.

Above and beyond

Tags

customer, note, positive, rate, rating, service

We emailed back and forth several times. Chris was looking to purchase something I was selling online but wasn’t sure if the specs of the item would be suitable. At the end of several emails back and forth she decided on a similar item from another seller.

I received THE NICEST EMAIL to close out our business transaction.

I apologize for putting you to any extra effort. On a positive note, when I read your email I saw that you had a webpage and went and downloaded your book on organization. I’m reading it now, and it’s great! Thanks for writing it and for offering it for people to read. I’m enjoying it and already have learned how to think of things differently (Guilty of the variety of shampoos and such!) 

Anyway, thanks again for everything, and I wish you the best! If I could give you a rating, even though we didn’t do any business, I’d give you an A+++++!!!
Chris

Wow, Right?! Authentic and so encouraging I don’t even care I didn’t sell anything to her! 

How many times have I given away the opportunity to write a “Chris-email?” How many times have you?

Turkish get up

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exercise, get up, turkish, wrestling

This is a Turkish get up. Starting position is laying on the back, arm extended straight up. Through a series of specific steps this guy will stand up with the bar directly overhead and head back down to lay on his back (1 rep). Lots of strength, balance, coordination and determination. (Note face above)

It’s an old exercise dating back 200 years in Turkish wrestling. As a rite of passage, a beginner wasn’t allowed to move on in their next level of training until they were able to lie down next to a heavy kettlebell and gracefully move to a standing position with the weight overhead using total control.

No Turkish get up – no Turkish move up.

Some of us want to be the manager and boss of our department but we don’t have the fundamentals mastered. If we’re not where we want to be we probably need to head back to the gym for some Turkish get ups. If we’re “too good” for this exercise we’ve identified our first problem.

Verbal Montage

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business, community, manager, owner, restaurant

I get the privilege to talk with a number of restaurant owners/managers every week. I appreciate business owners more and more. Here’s a panoply of the lives outside their daily grind.

She’s from a big Greek family

He’s married with two small children

He used to be a server for 17 years then bought the restaurant 6 years ago

He makes a weekly SAM’s Club run Monday morning

He owned and sold 3 restaurants before 26

He and his wife are having their first child in February

He feeds a homeless man in exchange for cleaning

He just turned 50 and believes he’s the best “Roaster” in Rochester

She’s a mom of teenagers involved in sports

He doesn’t like cooking at all

He’s 25, loves basketball and soccer, drives an hour to work each day, but loves living in the country

He’s a manager and “loves” his boss, the owner

THEY ALL REGULARLY DONATE TO LOCAL CHARITIES. They’re past the limits of writing it off, and they surely aren’t making any money on these donations. They realize as part of a community, the natural outworking is to GIVE.

 

One lone cricket

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book, crickets, kids, story, tale

The sound pierced the night on 3rd and 19th in Manhattan. Yes, I said pierced. It was a lone cricket, which normally wouldn’t catch my attention since I fall asleep to a chorus of them every night, but this was different. Lower Manhattan isn’t known for its nature. (Hawks aside)

Was the cricket lost? Separated from loved ones and friends? On an adventure? Bushwhacking its own path through life? Enjoying the sound of its own chirp? (Cricket comes from the french, “little creaker.”)

I imagine a hero-like cricket; on adventure, ready for risk and change, pushing the envelope, not paralyzed by fear and the unknown, comfortable to be different. It’s a really charming story book tale we read to kids. Then they turn 6 and we start telling stories that are insufferably more drab. Shame.

universal generosity

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fish, generosity, haiti, rice

A memory of one of the most precious gifts I’ve ever been given. May I share it with you?

Haiti. January, 2001. Beautiful people. Language barrier. Extreme poverty and starvation.

She caught fish early in the morning. After cooking rice and the fish, she headed toward me. It was early afternoon when I saw her beaming with this generous plate of food. I don’t want this. I don’t think I can eat this. Gross! The entire fish is here. Why was she giving this to me? She’s starving. She hasn’t eaten since yesterday morning.

She stood there with anticipation. I did eat…with tears in my eyes.

Generosity can be communicated regardless of culture and language differences.

Unexpected kindness

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ball, baseball, boy, kind

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcpDcrZFFJM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your shirt, your name, your number

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announcer, arena, college, jersey, sports

I was proud to wear my name and number on my sports jersey. I was proud when the announcer called my name to the starting line. I was proud when I was called out for an exceptional play. I can’t play college sports my whole life, and neither can you.

We can still play in the game though. No, not on the court or field, but in the game of life. After college we check out of the arena; we forget the rewards that come from hard work, discipline, goals and desire. We lose the confidence in our jersey, name, number, team, skills and determination. We buy into sitting on the bench, watching others dribble, throw, pass, hit and swing…remembering when. It was never okay before, and we worked hard every day for the starting spot, but now…

Enough. Put your jersey on. The one with your name and number on the back. Get in the arena, and live YOUR life.

Feeling like a million

I was listening intently to someone I admire greatly. I even managed to perch myself in the front row of the theater to make it seem like a one-on-one conversation. (We have shared dinner and ideas, so this isn’t entirely weird.)

Engrossed in the train of thought he was leading the audience on, I was caught off guard when he suddenly noticed me out of the crowd and said, “hi, it’s nice to see you again. Thank you for coming.” The story and point continued on with ease, the audience grateful for his expertise. And there I was…

Happy. Elated. Honored. Valued. It was an interjection of fondness, and I was the undeserving recipient.

Lesson learned – value people and express it.