Word-Of-the-Week #699: Adventure
December 28, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #699: Adventure
Adventure – an exciting or very unusual experience.
When was the last time you had an exciting and/or unusual experience? Is there something you’ve always wanted to do? Have you ever dreamed of having an adventure in some exotic or faraway place?
Last year I wrote a WOW on Finality and how good it felt to know I would never have to do some things ever again. This year I got a Holiday letter from one on my friends that was all about the “Firsts” she had experienced in the past year. She was excited about doing all of them and how good it felt having adventures this late in life. Today she left for a trip to Egypt to see the Pyramids and the Tombs while “floating down the Nile.”
How’s that for an adventure! It brought back fond memories from ten years ago when we did the same thing. Some of you may think that going to Egypt now would be dangerous. But any place in the world can be dangerous in the times we live in. I never let fear stand in the way of my travels. I can’t wait to hear all about her trip when she returns. I am pretty sure it will be one of the most exciting and very unusual experiences she has ever had!
This week I want you to think about adventure. At this stage of your life how would it feel to have an exciting or very unusual experience? Where would your adventure take you? And who if anybody would you want to share that with?
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Word-Of-the-Week #698: Holidays
December 21, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #698: Holidays
Holidays – that “special” time of year that brings joy and/or stress.
How do the holidays make you feel? Do you travel to be with your family? Do you spend time with family that lives out of town? Or do you leave town so you don’t have to be around any of them?
Since we are in the thick of the Holiday Season, I am taking the liberty of running this past WOW. Long time subscriber John always makes me belly laugh when he replies to my WOW’s. This is what he wrote after my WOW on family.
“I recall a quote from an elderly Aunt of mine back in the 50′s that always stuck in my mind which occurred after a family “tiff” during the annual Thanksgiving
family get-together many, many years ago.
Three members of the family were particularly known for getting on each others last nerve. During a particularly “animated discussion” my Aunt, who was known to enjoy her homemade Elderberry wine, stood up and proclaimed, “A toast to Thanksgiving, that special time of the year that we get together to remind us why we all moved apart.”
The saying goes, “You don’t get to pick your family, but you do get to pick your friends.” You may not be able to control their behavior but you can control yours. You can either choose to not be reactive or to not be around them. My mother used to tell me to “ignore your brother” a lot. As I have gotten older I don’t need to ignore him as much as just understand “he is who he is.” And “I am who I am.” We get along a lot better now!
This week’s focus is on the Holidays. Do they make you feel festive and/or joyous? Or do you feel stress? In a perfect world what could you do to make them more joyful? What behavior could you change to reduce your stress?
And just for a little FUN, stressed spelled backwards is desserts! Maybe you need more of those. Here’s to having a wonderful Holiday!
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Word-Of-the-Week #697: Education
December 14, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #697: Education
Education – knowledge and skill obtained through a learning process.
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” – Young & Rubicam Advertising Agency
“Without continuing to open one’s mind and allowing oneself to be taught, a person becomes stagnant, ignorant, and frozen in time.” – Kristine L. Mackey
Once again Neil Senturia wrote a great article, “Why learning a trade is just as valuable — if not more — than being an entrepreneur.”
“I play golf on Sundays with some charming Republicans. Last year, we haggled over the Clinton/Trump election with a vengeance, but now peace has returned. It is what it is, and even nicer, my buddies seem to be more willing than usual to concede me the occasional three-footer.
So, as the year ends, we decided to take on a simple problem over 18 holes – income inequality. And to my delight, we found some common ground – education.
But not just schooling per se. It is obvious that early education really matters, that pre-school is critical, that day care is important, that strong mothers are important – we were all in on those. Where we found real resonance though was around the idea of trade schools.
And even more to the point – the entrepreneurial misunderstanding about the value of being able to hammer a nail or cut hair or fix a car or drive a truck or weld sheet metal versus “seeing yourself as an entrepreneur,” and by extension holding on to the fantasy that Silicon Valley wealth is just around the corner. In other words, how do we define ourselves? Are we nothing more than a working stiff – albeit a well paid stiff. (A plumber in the union makes nearly six figures along with health benefits and a pension).
Why don’t we as a society do more to support marketable skills that will never lead to being a unicorn, but will certainly keep you from being gored by one? One thought is that there is such status in “being an entrepreneur” that simply learning a skill can be perceived as a demotion in social standing.
Our four year colleges are teaming with entrepreneur programs. It is the badge for personal achievement. My mother wanted me to be a doctor (Jewish, what did you expect), but my father, who actually was a doctor, thought my bedside manner would kill most of the patients, and so off I went to film school.
Today, if you go to a cocktail party, the “what do you do” question is best-status answered by “I am an entrepreneur.” (Of course, failing to add, unemployed or working for a walking-dead company, or trying to fund an app that does something with big data but with no obvious revenue model – I should have gone to business school or been a lawyer.”)
What is so terrible about learning a trade? There are times that I wish I could actually do something – concrete. Speaking of which I have a friend who pours concrete for fancy homes in Big Sky, Montana, makes 100 grand and fishes four months every year.
I believe deeply in the community college system. Not every person needs a four-year college degree. And as the robotic revolution approaches, the jobs that cannot be automated or outsourced are the jobs of the future.
As many of you know, I am active in supporting jobs for “formerly incarcerated individuals,” and many of those starting jobs occur in construction and in food service. I honor hard work.
A recent Harvard study contends that if you outsourced some of the daily drudgery, i.e. spent money on avoiding household chores, you would be happier. The blow-back was gigantic. The readers screamed that the study reflects privilege, arrogance and wealth. But the ones who get paid to do the work are part of a growing service industry that will continue to grow. It is just fine to cut someone’s lawn or hair. It is a skill.
But here is the kicker, in the study by Harvard professor, Ashley Whillans. She found that many people “don’t outsource unpleasant jobs — even those who can afford it.” They want to do the work themselves. Jiffy Lube lives because many of us do not know how to change the oil in our car. (But with electric cars coming – who needs oil:).
I am intrigued. The issue of time and money are inexorable. But the underlying dark sentence is that there needs to be someone who can actually do that job, who has that skill, who can weld or hang sheetrock or fix your heater – because you either can’t or don’t have the time. And remember this — the people doing that work are good at it and enjoy doing it.
This week’s focus is on education. Are you working at a job you love? Or are you doing it just for the money or status? If you could go back would you choose a different profession? What’s stopping you from getting the education to do the job you’d love?
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Word-Of-the-Week #696: Inspire
December 7, 2017 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #696: Inspire
Inspire – to fill someone with confidence and desire to do something.
Do you have anyone in your life that makes you feel like anything is possible? Do you have a deep down desire to do something? Have you ever been a mentor?
This word came up several times in my WOW’s from November, which triggered me to write about it.
- “Effective leaders deliver an inspiring vision, which the entire team connects with day to day.”
- “Optimists add energy; pessimists drain away energy”.
- “Real leaders are able to consistently inspire, motivate and make people feel better about themselves than they think they have a right to feel.”
Then I found more at BrainyQuote that I really liked:
- To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you. – Tony Dorsett
- Attitude and enthusiasm play a big part in my life. I get excited about the things that inspire me. I also believe in laughing and having a good time. – Dwayne Johnson
- Every day, the people I meet inspire me… every day, they make me proud… every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth. – Michelle Obama
I have been a mentor to former foster youth since 2002. I am on the board of Fostering Opportunities Scholarships and we raise money through donations to help
provide for their continuing education. In 2006, I got Sade. My description of her after our first meeting was, “She’s a very angry, inner city kid.”
Mentoring Sade was like peeling an onion. Every layer I got through allowed me to connect with her on a deeper level. She has turned into the most beautiful young woman and I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments! She graduated from Cuyamaca College in 2009, went on to SDSU with the Alex Smith Foundation Scholarship, and graduated in May 2012 with a degree in Social Work. Then in 2015 she received her Masters of Social Work Degree from USC!
What many didn’t know was that she accomplished all that while raising two children! I am pretty sure she would say that I filled her with confidence and the drive to follow her dreams and desires. But what she may not realize was in the process she inspired me!
This week is all about being inspired. Who instills confidence and backs your dreams and desires? Who do you know that could use your inspiration to achieve their goals?
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