weird or boring.

My daughter just asked, would you rather be weird or boring? It's a great question, because at the end of the day, they are our only options. There is no normal. 

So?
Weird or boring? 

The weird...
don't do what we expect
are rare
stand out
create change
challenge stereotypes
resist labels
invite criticism

The boring...
do exactly what we expect
are common
fade into the background
resist change
mold into stereotypes
capitulate to labels
are afraid of any kind of criticism

The weird are uncomfortable. That's why we made a word to describe them and make ourselves feel better at the same time. 

The boring are comfortable. That's why we like them and sometimes want to be them. But, seriously, they are so boring. 

You choose. 

more than acceleration.

Life is not just accelerating - although, arguably, that's the most fun. The wind in your hair, the momentum pinning you to the back of the seat. 

Then you have to cruise at the same speed. Or slow down. Or turn. And eventually stop. And eventually refill the car. 

To actually arrive anywhere, you can't just accelerate. 

So slow down. Enjoy the turn. The cruise. Even the stopping. 

It's the only way to arrive. 

the default.

The good about default

 is that it

takes very little thought 

takes very little effort

& requires very little risk. 

The bad about default

is that it

provokes very little emotion

produces very little evolution

& contains very little value. 

Some worship the default. 
Some worship the anti-default. 

Both have their value. 
We just have to figure out what we're trying to do. 

is that a sink?

I was in a bathroom recently and noticed water all over the floor. A leak? Something worse?

Then I washed my hands in the "sink". The sink was more of a slab of granite with a faucet - it was really cool. I'd never seen anything like it. Only problem was that water spilled everywhere when I used it.

It was as though the sink was trying so hard, it forgot it was there to be a sink.

Like we do sometimes.  

want to be a beta reader this summer?

I'm on the fifth draft of a new fiction book that I've written and I'm almost  ready for some people to read it and give me feedback. For what it's worth, I've been working on this baby for over four years and it's one of my favorite pieces of art that I've ever created.

Yeah, I'm really excited about it! 

Here's what you get: 

1. To read a book before anyone else. 

2. To provide feedback and help craft the book. 

3. To be a part of something special. 

Here's what you give: 

1. Read it. I need people committed to reading the book within 30 days (from the time they receive it - probably mid-June). It is 140,000 words (the size of The Return of the King by Tolkien). It's not copyedited, so there will be some mistakes and issues but you'll ignore those.  

2. Provide feedback. I need people committed to telling me if they like it, and why, or if they don't, and why. Even offer suggestions.

3. Care. I can find random people who would do this. But you read this blog and care at some level or another about me and my work. That means I trust you. If you'll care about making this better, I'd be honored for you to read it! 

Here's the back of the book summary to help you decide. If you want to apply, send me an email and explain why you want to do this. I'm choosing 7 from those that apply and we'll go from there! (Again, hoping to choose and hand the book out mid-June.)  

---

Not that I had ever met a demon before, but Ehs was the most normal demon I had ever met. Nice, authentic, funny, a joy to be around. Most of the time. 

Ehs asked me to trust him. He said he needed me to help him change the world that you and I live in, the world that he created, the world that he regretted creating. He also needed me to help him find love. 

Ehs promised me many things if I helped him, not the least of which was a story to tell.

This is that story. And it affects everything you believe.

what would you say?

What if you had 30 seconds to tell the entire world something? 30 seconds of every human being listening to you?

What would you say? 

Would it matter? 

Would it affect change? 

It may not be the entire world, but there are humans all around us, every day, listening.  

the old way.

Seth Godin has a new marketing course. In the introduction video he says this: "People don't like marketers. They don't like us because a lot of people do marketing the old way, the wrong way, the selfish way." 

He recounts telling someone he's an author and watching them get excited. He then tells them he's a marketer and they run. 

Not much different than telling someone you're a pastor. And for the exact same reasons. Pastors have acted like marketers, been seen as marketers. Bad marketers, marketing the old, wrong, and selfish way through fear and dehumanization of others. 

Godin also says this:

"Twenty years later, marketing is still taught backwards. It’s assumed that marketing is something we do TO our audience, for the sole purpose of meeting our own goals. But marketing is now something we do WITH our tribe, helping them reach their goals first."

We're all marketers. We're all pastors. The question is are we doing something TO people for ourselves or are we doing something WITH people for them? 

Preach Godin. Preach. 

kendrick.

You may have never heard of Kendrick Lamar.

You have may have never listened to him. 

You may not care for his music. 

You may think he's just another rapper. 

Read this article. 

You might learn some things, including why, in my opinion, the traditional church is dying and the spots people are finding a better, more creative, intelligent spirituality -  with F-bombs and driving bass. 

Preach Kendrick. Preach. 

hustle.

I was talking to a friend, who works with a lot of millennials and he said they lack "hustle". The word has stuck with me because I think I would generally agree with him. (As with any time you put a word on a generation, you are blatantly stereotyping and labeling and understanding there are lots of exceptions.)

I don't agree with my friend as some "older generation" that has it figured out. I agree as some "older generation" that is excited for millennials to take over and change the world for the better - but, hopefully, with more hustle. 

So, hustle...

1. More production, less consumption. 
2. More practice, less passion.
3. More quality, less quantity. 
4. More risking, less asking. 
5. More taking, less waiting. 

the rules.

Bjarke Ingels is a Dane and a world class architect. In talking about Copenhagen, he referenced the Danes and their love of architectural rules. There is a certain way you do things. Yet, he said, the things that make the Copenhagen skyline the skyline it is, are the buildings where the rules were broken. 

It's what stands out. It's what makes the city unique and what it is. 

Yesterday I was driving downtown when I noticed headlights. There was a car coming directly toward me in my lane and I was in the far right lane. I swerved, honked, and eventually the driver realized what he was doing and pulled off into a yard. 

He too was breaking the rules, but not the kind of rules that should be. 

The trick is not driving in the wrong lane while still not designing the building everyone says you are supposed to. The trick is not mixing those up. 

sparks joy.

One of the tag lines of the de-clutter/minimalism movement is "Does it spark joy?" When you're asking what to keep and what not to keep, ask whether or not it sparks joy. 

I recently purchased a pair of jeans that were a little more expensive than my typical jeans and they sparked joy. I put them on and loved them. I don't want to wear any other pants. In fact, I'm getting rid of most of my other pants. They don't spark joy. 

The idea is that you only wear and have things that fill you with joy - not the ones that you have sunk money into or that your mother-in-law gave you or that you just can't get rid of because that would mean... 

And

it extends to what we do. 

Our lives are cluttered. Not just in what we own but in what we do. 

Does what you are doing today spark joy? 

Of course, there is work and effort and toil... but even then, are you working toward something that sparks joy?

Does Instagram spark joy? Does Facebook? Does binge watching Game of Thrones? 

If they do, great! If they don't, I suggest you find a new pair of jeans. 

it's not just 5 minutes.

This is critical.

So many of us are wondering where our time goes... Does she have more time in the day than I do, because it sure seems like she does. Of course, he doesn't. Neither does he.

Why does it seem like it? 

Hidden time.

According to some studies, it takes up to twenty-five minutes to re-engage in something once you've been interrupted. For example, you're working on a new painting and you check your email. 

You check it because it only takes "5 minutes" to check it and respond. The problem is that you just wasted 30 minutes because it's going to take you 25 minutes to re-engage with the painting, assuming you don't check a text and/or your email - or Instagram - in the meantime. 

Those are the hidden minutes. 

Is the study accurate? I don't know. Is it 25 minutes or 5 minutes? Not sure. Not sure it matters either. Every time we distract ourselves from something were not only wasting the time of the distraction but we know it's going to take some time to get back into it. We've all experienced it. 

That's why it seems she has more time than you. She's not distracting herself as often as you are. Unfortunately, we're all addicted to these distractions so it's going to take some time and effort - and withdrawl - to not be. 

circular runways.

If you're like me, you assume that a runway is a pretty standard object and that there is not much room for improvement or creativity, outside of some minor material improvements. 

But aviation expert Henk Hesselink disagrees. He's come up with a circular runway. Yes, one big circle runway to replace multiple straight runways in a, he argues, much more efficient set-up. Smaller size, more simultaneous aircraft and less cross-wind interference. 

Is he crazy? I don't know. I'm sure some think he is. Will this ever happen? I don't know. 

But I do know that, once again, I've found that there is always room for out of the box creative thinking, no matter what. 

If you feel like you're staring at a runway problem, remember Henk. 

You can read about his idea here. 

phone jacks.

Remember when houses had phone jacks?  Remember when we needed to plug our phone into those phone jacks? 

We've been repainting our house and we've been reminded of these holes in our walls with receptacles for a technology that is no longer useful because we've moved on to something better. We've changed. We've evolved. We created a new way and, because of that, the old way is dead.  

We could find some old phones to plug in. We could ignore them. We could try to fill them in. If we build a house, we sure won't install them, but they're currently everywhere, like ancient relics in a church building. 

Which brings me to church. 

Start looking for phone jacks. They're everywhere. 

And your religion. 

They're probably in your company too. 

And your mind. 

What are you going to do with them? 

i need more time.

You don't really need more time. None of us do. What we do need is to give up something else. 

Instead of "I need more time" try "I need to give up something". 

momentum...

There is that side of momentum that we sometimes don't like. 

The rich get richer. 
The good team, gets good recruits and then gets better and then better recruits and... 
The best-selling artist has all the resources to create more art... and have more people see it...
The successful business owner draws the crowds which draws more business which... lets her risk, and fund, the opening of another business which draws crowds, which...

We don't like it, because it seems unfair and as though they are getting our slice. More than they are supposed to. And then it keeps getting easier for them to get more... 

But, the good news of momentum is that once you get one...tiny...piece...of...work...done...

You too, have started the ball rolling. And once the ball starts rolling, you too start to pick up some energy and momentum and, sure, it's hard work, but, don't worry, momentum is on the horizon.

Instead of being jealous of it in others, start taking advantage of gravity for yourself. 

the harder...

The harder it is to get, the more we generally appreciate it.
The more work we have to put in, the more satisfying it often is. 

Why are we always so insistent on the easy way? 
Maybe it's why we are so often disappointed? 

365.

365 days ago I started blogging again. I was going to look at my stats, find the "most read" post, you know... 

Instead, though, I resisted  (I haven't looked at stats in a long time and I don't on a regular basis) because that's not what this has ever been about. 

Instead, I reflected. 

I've had to consciously observe, coherently create, and write 365 things that I would not have had to do if I didn't have this blog. What a success. Whether a million people read it or not, I have become better at consciously observing, coherently creating, and writing, through good posts and bad posts, through spelling errors and new words, and through being consistent. That is all I could have hoped for. 

So, thank you for reading when you do, commenting when you do, forwarding when you do and helping me get better. I hope you're encouraged to keep getting better too, in whatever you do. Or start something today!

Here's to another 365!

ideas are invitations.

Every idea is an invitation. An invitation to welcome it, to pursue it, to say no to another invitation. 

I have an idea means I have an invitation. It helps to think of that way, as to whether or not we want to, or have time to, accept it. We might already be booked. And, if not, it's important to remember that the idea is only the beginning of the relationship. 

is it the story or the writing?

I've read plenty of good books with amazing stories and average writing. 
I've read plenty of good books with average stories and amazing writing. 

I've read a few great books with an amazing story and amazing writing. 

Your life is a story. You're writing it.