December 31, 2009

What if? Anything is possible

What if?


Two little words

One formidable question

Two words that can change a life

I know

Trust me. I know

That is, if you append a phrase

What if? nothing’s stopping us

What if? we dig a little deeper

What if? we can make a difference?

What if? the only real boundaries are those self-imposed

What if it’s possible to step into a mindset that allows us to become the person we—oh so desperately—want to be?

I think it’s possible

Scratch that

I know it is

Allow me this brief personal tale

Almost twenty years ago, my doctors tagged me with a chronic illness. A hateful, woeful, ok-now-this-isn’t-funny type of disease called ulcerative colitis

A sickness that left me asking, “Why me?”

To this day my doctor’s prognosis echoes, “There is no cure, and it will get worse.”

He was right too

At least on that second part

At least at first

UC was an unpleasant, uncomfortable disorder—my own 800 lb (and yes I mean to spell it this way) guerilla

For a while

For a while, it overpowered me. It became my reason to stop dreaming. My anthem of lost hope

I was in a funk. It was a bad one

Then, not long ago, over the course of a few weeks, I learned something new

I learned I could take charge. I could be happy

And I learned it was possible to ignore my illness, and to aim high—to go for the big ones

During that time, uninspired in my work, I imagined a different life

Interesting. Inspiring. Meaningful.

It’s happening

All because of two words

What if?

What if there is a different way of believing. A fresh way of perceiving, of understanding, and of accepting…

That things didn’t have to be the way they were

That’s all it took. Really

Many of my days now unravel in ways never before experienced. In ways once but imagined

In ways often surprising and, yes, sometimes unsettling

But push on I will—as push on we all must—imagining further

Imagining new projects (which I’ll soon describe) and new experiences (stay tuned)

All because of the unbounded possibilities embedded in that question, “What if?”

And so

For those not where they’d like to be

For those left uncertain—exposed to conjecture

About their current state

Here’s all I offer

Ask the question

“What if?”

Then

Embrace what is revealed

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December 29, 2009

When I nearly met Voyageur

Wallowing in this lazy, laid-back week that bisects Christmas and New Year’s

I’m reading one of the many books gifted to me just days ago

Written by Jowi Taylor, the book is Six String Nation.

And it’s put me in a strange sort of spirit—a somewhat-patriotic, partly-fingerpicking, moitié-melancholy vibe.

If you play music, you’ll understand the fingerpicking thing.

The book, after all, is about a guitar.

Not any guitar, mind.

More an object, forged from culture and history, that becomes something more than a guitar

That becomes an instrument of whimsical, identifiable, bare-bones, back-to-the-roots Canadian identity.

It is the essence of this book.

One guy (Taylor) getting another guy (George Rizsanyi) to build a definitive A-Mari-usque-ad-mare guitar, called Voyageur.

Six String Nation

Six String Nation

Little importance where you’re from—me? Montreal—it’s difficult not to connect with this guitar.

I mean, wafered gold from a Rocket Richard Stanley Cup ring adorns the 9th fret; a portion of a Montreal Forum seat  licks at the sound hole; a section of Pierre Trudeau’s canoe paddle controls tone and projects volume.

I could go on.

There’s wood from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s house—and Wayne Gretzky’s hockey stick; a section of floor beam from Jack London’s cabin; a swatch from Pierre Berton’s tie.

There’s the only wedge ever sectioned from the mystical Haida golden spruce; a segment of rafter from Pier 21; oak from Winnipeg’s oldest building; part of a frame that once belonged to a Toronto Group of Seven artist…

See what I mean?

The book—and the guitar—and the project—captures the imagination and restores the soul in a way that is resoundingly creative, uniquely innovative and downright inspirational.

The book touches my heart.

It truly does.

Does that, then, explain my melancholy?

Not at all.

It’s because Jowi Taylor was in town

Mere weeks ago

Speaking at a tedx event I didn’t attend.

But that’s not it either.

He was also, later in the evening, at a party, a celebration, a wrap

And he brought Voyageur with him—for all to experience.

I was there

In the room.

Only earlier.

I arrived too early and—damn my impatience—left too soon.

Why?

Because it was a shitty night; a Sunday, bad weather, crummy drive into town, lots to attend to the next morning, and—like I said—because of unrestrained impatience.

So I missed meeting Jowi Taylor, and strumming on Voyageur.

Hence my funk.

Resulting in

Another lesson learned…

Nothing to do now

But get back to the book.

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December 19, 2009

Ten steps to a wealthy, prosperous, happy life

I’m curious.

And I have a question.

Here it comes.

Have you attended a seminar designed to make you happier, richer, more successful or, maybe, somehow, a better person?

How did that go?

Did it change your life? At all?

For a while?

Even a little while?

I’m asking because of this theory of mine.

Here it is.

Seminars bent on changing something significant about you, won’t.

They won’t change a thing.

It’s because they try to effect change by focusing on doing.

Know what I mean?

They look at what you’re doing and they suggest how you should do it differently.

Then they introduce best practices so that you learn how to always do it right.

And, know what?

Channeling attention to behaviour and best practices, at least for deep-rooted, big picture items, is just plain wrong.

In my experience, focusing on behaviour and best practices changes…nothing.

I’m so convinced it’s true that I’ve got a new tagline.

This is it.

Behaviour + Best Practices = BS

So just remember.

If you want to change something about your life.

Telling yourself to change your behaviour.

Or hoping that someone else’s best practice will change you.

Is, almost guaranteed, a waste of time.

That’s my theory.

Behaviour + Best Practices = BS


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December 11, 2009

Ignore the news, you’ll be happier

There are mornings when I’m convinced I’m experiencing a mood-altering, hallucinogenic episode. Which, let me assure you (in case you’re smirking knowingly) cannot be true. I came of age in the 70s, not the 60s, and I was, therefore, a little too late for that mind-tripping hippy happening—but, before you go, check out my cool platforms…

So… If they ain’t hallucinations, there’s only one other plausible explanation; every few days, I wake up to a similar-looking, but fundamentally very different, parallel universe.

What else can account for two headlines that appeared on my doorstep, jumping out from the business section of my morning papers, within days of each other?

The first, dated December 8, trumpeted, with fanfare and celebration, the great news that; As Consumer Confidence Rises, so do Retail Sales.

Reading that article, I was certain I heard a collective sigh of relief (from big business and big government), all because consumers were, once again, opening up their pocketbooks.

Rejoice! Rejoice! (I thought to myself).  Isn’t this a wonderful time of year!

And no, not because of Christmas—but because the economy’s looking good, and things are looking up.

YIPPIE! YAHOO! AND BLESS YE MERRY GENTLESHOPPERS!

I remember heading out the door, feeling heartened by the refreshing airiness of spirt, and springiness of step, demonstrated by everyone around me (all of whom, it so appeared, subscribed to the same newspaper).

Then, but two days later, and still revelling in the simmering afterglow of relief and rejuvenation, I read this.

Rising Government and Household Debt Risk Derailing Canada’s Economic Recovery.

What?

What happened to the good new from just two days prior?

Could things change so suddenly? So drastically? Just like that?

Then I remembered.

Perception can be a cruel—and unpredictable—thing; where one (so-called) expert’s manna-from-heaven is but another’s disaster-in-waiting.

All of which made me wonder, where does that leave the rest of us?

Then I realized.

It leaves us at a point where our own perceptions should never become prejudiced—not by the newspapers, nor by the news-makers.

Or, as Thoreau, 150 years ago, said of the press, “Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous.”

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