Month: July 2021

When I drove in Costa Rica for the first time it was an overwhelming experience.

The lines on the road were hard to see. Drivers frequently honked and drove around you. The roads were narrow.

I had grown so used to driving in the states that I assumed this is how everyone else drove.

When we draw a bigger box, we can see more than what our worldview tends to narrow.

When words can’t express the meaning, we use a gesture. Amplifying the message we are trying to convey.

“I love you.” And here is a hug.

“Nice to meet you.” And now a handshake.

When we forget to follow our words with action, we are not as effective in conveying our story we are trying to tell.

What does a magician, a comedian and a banjo player have in common?

Steve Martin.

It took over a decade of traveling around the country before he made traction in his comedy career. Perfecting his craft. Understanding how to create and release tension.

Mis matches make heros.

We need to be better about separating decision making from the outcomes.

You can still make a good decision and have a bad outcome. The opposite can be true too.

In the US, 99% of those dying from COVID-19 have not been vaccinated. Out of the 331,000,000 vaccines administered, three deaths have been attributed to vaccine complications.

If we were to play Russian Roulette with these numbers there is no doubt you play the vaccine line.

There is no debate about mortality rates about COVID and vaccines.

So, why are there people still hesitating to get a vaccine?

The biggest one I hear is: “My neighbor got the vaccine but they still got COVID.”

The COVID vaccine is only 95% effective and that leaves a 5% chance of still getting it. Good decision to get a vaccine, just a bad outcome.

It isn’t full proof. But it very well could save your life.

Get a vaccine and tell others to do the same.

Most adventure sports have a saying,

“Where you go is where you look.”

That really can be applied to our lives.

If you are getting your news from a Facebook feed, you’re probably not informed.

And if you spend hours a day in front of the television, should you be surprised in 20 years you are full of regrets?

By contrast, getting up one hour early to go to the gym, in 18 months, you will be happy with the results.

When you sitting down and writing that book you always imagined, are you satisfied when it is complete?

Pick your heading. While the wind may push you different ways having a direction with your compass is invaluable.

The culture likes to remind us that we failed the culture not that the culture has failed us.

That when the system is set for the Haves to continue to get richer it creates a gap.

One that can’t ever be closed without radical reform.

You can then choose to accept this outcome. But that is pretty terrible. The alternative is to measure success in other ways.

Art. Am I making a difference in my community? Did I make something that changed the way someone felt? Will I be missed when I am gone?

Not everyone that who is poor lacks money.

Because when you get paid by the hour, you don’t want someone to get a larger slice that didn’t earn it.

It’s a zero sum game.

That money is what you traded for with your time and effort.

However, when we talk in terms of community, no one gets upset that someone volunteered less than someone else.

Because we are trading our time for something else.

We used to do all sorts of things for free. But thanks to industrialism, trading our time is our job.

Your purpose isn’t to grow profits. A whole world opens up to us when we find new ways to measure.

This is silly. It should be:

“If you build it, maybe they will come.”

There’s no guarantee that the outcome you seek will come to pass.

But one thing is for sure:

“If you don’t build it, no one will come.”

“Put your head down, do what you are told and we will pay you.”

The promise was if you worked hard enough you can improve your life.

That is a myth.

Unless you own the asset, own the means of production; you probably are not going to get ahead.

The shackles of debt and compound interest are not easy to break.

And a bunch of magical digits and bits on a screen isn’t happiness.

We live in a world of widely held but false believes. The way to move forward as a collective is to change the story.

When there are no jobs because all of the robots can do them for us, what does it mean to be human?

For too long, we have used our paycheck as a signal that we must be doing something right. Time for a new way to measure.

Every hero needs a journey. Some cause that she must fight for. Adversity to overcome.

We fret so much about discomfort. But isn’t this what is supposed to be?

Half the fun is in the journey.