The Tao of the Two Kinds of People

There are two kinds of people in the world.

Those who live in abundance.

Those who live in lack.

The Tao of The Fool

 

The Tao of the Fool

It's hard not to care what other people think about us, especially in this Brave new World of instant likes and comments and shares.  So much of the internet is about seeking approval.  Followers, traffic, subscribers, influence scores, connections...all of these metrics and measurements can make your head spin if you're not careful.

The Sell Out

The Sell Out: How to Stop Making Excuses and Start Choosing Joy

People are very good at making excuses for not taking control of their lives.  It's a kind of anti-magical thinking. Because if you can convince yourself that not taking control makes you special and taking control makes someone else a sell out, you can rest comfortably in your state of superiority. 

This is a fear of success and also a fear of failure.  Yes, it's a dichotomy indeed.

The Power of Apology

I've been watching a drama unfold on Facebook.  It involves two prominent craft industry professionals.  A company caught blatantly copying and a designer unexpectedly blindsided.  It was, to anyone observing, completely obvious.  It was extremely unfortunate.  The copycat had an opportunity to admit, yes, they made a mistake.  They could and should have turned a very public PR nightmare into an opportunity for dialog and transparency. The situation has escalated.  The designer has moved forward and is back to posting positive, uplifting, inspiring posts. The offending party has refused to let it go.  They have continued posting a series of snarky, unfortunate comments and pictures in a desperate attempt to prove themselves innocent.   With every post, I wince a little more.  It appears that they fully believe that they can win in the court of public opinion.  They've already lost.  They got caught with their hand in the glitter jar and they have refused to back down.

Write a New Story

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours."  Illusions Richard Bach

One of the fascinating things about the human brain is it's ability to create reality out of ideas.  On the one hand, this can be your secret to success, joy, happiness, possibility.  On the other hand, it can be the anchor that drags you down and keeps you in poverty, sorrow and immobility.

Because we tell ourselves with absolute conviction that something is true and we carefully construct a reality that supports it.  I have for many years referred to this as our Personal Mythology.  These are the stories we tell ourselves and tell others.  We tell it so well and with such conviction, it becomes real.

Trusting Your Dreams

In my lifetime, I have had multitudes of big ideas and a few big dreams.  Some have passed along the wayside and a few have stayed with me, waiting patiently for their time to shine.  I have pitched the same big idea many, many times over the past six years.  I know it's a great idea, the few people with whom I have shared it have all been resolute in their belief that it is a great idea they'd get behind.  Yet getting past the gate keepers has proved impossible.

The thing about big dreams is that it's almost always a matter of timing.  When your big idea meets with the big moment, that's when ideas and dreams become realities.  I never gave up on this idea.  I've just been waiting for the right moment, the right team, the right set of possibilities to reveal themselves and it's here, now.

My big idea, that big dream I've been working towards is finally getting ready to unfold.  I've got a team of smart, motivated, talented people, we have a game plan and we're working behind the scenes to make it real.

It's easy to say, "Don't give up," because those are words and words are easy.  But not giving up is much harder to actually put into practice.  Rejection is painful.  Putting yourself out there is hard.  Staying the course requires patience and focus.

The Asshat Solution

No matter how nice we are, we all have to deal with asshats.  It's part of the deal of putting yourself out there.  Even if you don't put yourself out there too far, they're everywhere.  There is no shortage of people who feel gleefully compelled to be mean.

This past week four different women contacted me to thank me for my positivity and support.  It's quite lovely to get confirmation that the messages you send out reach safe shores.  The truth is, we're all in this together.  Reaching out, paying it forward, supporting and inspiring others, sharing the journey are all ways to stay connected and find true joy. 

On the flip side, three of the women who contacted me admitted that they'd  lost heart, faith and focus because of the competitive and negative actions of other women.  That made me sad.  I just don't get that.  Yet, I've faced it over and over again along the journey.  Live long enough, and you'll be faced with that nasty green eyed monster too.

I wish I could say it was easy to ignore asshats, but the truth is, they're often quite invasive, like a fast growing poisonous weed.  They're also usually skilled at making the right people think them sweet as a rose while presenting their nasty thorns to anyone they deem competition.  They'll steal ideas, present them as their own, shove people out of the way, take full credit, embrace the accolades, dig a razor sharp stiletto heel into any shin they choose and they get away with it.  That's the crazy, scary, truly sad part.