Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Passion Party #390 - Fear of Flying

We all know the lesson of Icarus
even if we don't know our Greek mythology.
Icarus put on wings and dared to fly.
Not only that, he dared to fly higher than anyone else.
The gods got angry at his daring
and the penalty was death.

We spend so much of our lives
being trained to fit in
to follow the rules
to stay in line
We are taught not to stand up
or to stand out
lest we anger the gods.

But what if
you were born to fly?
What if
you see something that needs to be done
and you have the will to do it?
What if
God smiles on your essential being
and does not see it as pride or arrogance
that you want to fly?

Friday, August 26, 2011

Passion Party #389 - The Un-Pursuit of Happiness

Just because our founding fathers
gave us the right
to pursue happiness
does not make it the best path to becoming happy.
For some the pursuit of happiness
is like a money chase:
the more you chase it,
the harder it is to catch it.

It is possible that happiness,
one of those ephemeral emotions,
sneaks up on you
like a life well lived.
A recent study found that the most cheerful people
don't give happiness much thought.
Chasing happiness
or planing for it to arrive at some future date
is an easy way to get depressed.

Working in the garden
reading a novel
building something with your own hands
listening to music
looking in the mirror and smiling
Repeat often
see what happens

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Passion Party #388 - Vacation Planning

One of the first things I do each December
is get one of those big wall calendars
and map out vacations for the year.
This is a challenge
because life is not always agreeable
in allowing the plans to take place.

But I do it anyway
in permanent marker
knowing that I can always cross it out
cancel reservations
and start again as needed.

This allows me to
enjoy the anticipation,
have something to look forward to
and almost always be pleasantly surprised when the date arrives
and I am on my way.

Vacations are fun
but it is the joy of anticipation
and the pleasure of the memories
that are often greater than the actual event.
I stay happy
by always having another vacation
on the horizon.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Passion Party #387 - The Jukebox In The Sky, Part 2

What if I told you
"Give me $5.00 and
I will give you access to every recording ever made for 30 days"
would you take me up on that?

You don't own the recordings, but
you can listen all you want
any time you want on your computer.
Classical, pop, jazz, etc.
15,000,000 songs and compositions
all cataloged for you
so you can search by artist name,song title,
album name, composer
from Adele to Zappa,
from Albinoni to Zorn

An "alternative universe" iTunes
where you have access to
not just your music collection (organized and cataloged for you)
but the music collection
of virtually every one on earth,
the "Jukebox in the Sky".

A game changer, right?
I have seen the future
and it is Spotify.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Passion Party #386 - The Jukebox In The Sky, Part 1

Music is the most ephemeral art
It exists only in space and time
You can't hold it
You can only experience it.

Music has a way to connect
directly to our emotions.
How many times has a painting made you cry?
But music does that to me, all the time.

Perhaps this is why,
in the new world of portable music
where every computer can connect with
The Jukebox In The Sky
I still buy CDs
and digital songs to own,
purchase scores of my favorite music
to study and cherish
to try to hold what cannot be held
to own the experience.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Passion Party #385 - Old Photos

It was time to go through the old photo albums.
They end around 2006
when the digital camera arrived.
Until then, the photos would collect in a pile
waiting to be sorted, put in an album
and then added to the shelf
filled with other albums of photos.

Now its time to put them away
or throw them away.
This is hard
sorting through memories
deciding which you don't need to hold any more.
Most scenes were easy to recall
but one trip to Yosemite was a revelation:
We did that?
When did we do that?

Most all the books go into storage
I am not ready to say goodbye
I want to be able to see proof
that I was really young
I really did that
Our children really did grow
All the good times really did happen.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Passion Party #384 - My Job

My job
is to define my client's pain,
explain how I can help,
and then fill that emotional need.

The rest is just details.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Passion Party #383 - Surround Yourself With What You Love

It doesn't cost a thing
to open the curtain and let in the sunshine.

There is a lot of darkness in the world
but you do not need to live in darkness
A lot of sadness in the world
but you do not need to live in sadness.

Think - what do you love to do?
Who do you love to be with?
Then, surround yourself with these people or things
a flower on the table
a poster on the wall
a favorite photo, framed as a reminder
or a Vision Board filled with images

Suddenly
a life filled
with light and love and desire

Monday, August 1, 2011

Passion Party #382 - Important vs. Urgent

I used to spend my days as a fireman
running from crisis to crisis
putting out fires.

There are whole companies that seem to run
on Crisis Management:
If it is not a crisis
it does not get managed.

Now I create enough time and space
to focus on the things that are most important:
- being profitable
- taking care of customers
- trouble shooting up front before problems arise
- attracting "five star" clients
- meeting new people who can refer me business

I am doing the things that are important
versus what is urgent
and surrounding myself with
people who know the difference.