Author: Paul | Page 57 | Shiny Bits of Life

February 8, 2011February 5, 2011

In red

It was a strange choice that Newport made to release a non-green cigarette line. They used to appeal to the Kool line of thinking. As in, your cigarette should be refreshing. No more – now it should be hot and make you think of deserts, I guess.

Anyhow, mostly I wanted to talk about who smokes. One of my best buddies in high school still smokes. (I haven’t spoken with him in a few years, but I think he still does.) So he taught me to not judge those who smoke. (He’s a great guy.)

Yes, I know cigarettes will kill you. Smokers understand that too, but they choose to go on with the habit.

I think of many minimum wage workers who congregate in the mandatory 60 feet away from the entrance zone from the doorway to their workplace. It’s a break from the tedium of their job. Even if it kills them, they won’t die of boredom.

My heart goes out to them. Maybe they are locked into that job. Maybe there is no other choice.

February 7, 2011February 5, 2011

Not illustration

I went off to college majoring in art. I was always the best artist in my small high school class. At the big university, I quickly learned that there were others who could draw rings around me.

But that’s not the focus of this story. Because I had talent in drawing, I minored in illustration. I had somehow forgotten that each year I did a drawing for the high school art contest, it was like having a baby (or at least what I imagine that might be like). I had forgotten that the only time I drew each year was to win the contest.

So after a year of having illustration “babies,” I switched my minor to package design. And I never looked back.

Takeaway: Are you doing something that’s not a good fit? What can you do to change things?

Illustration? I discovered along the way that taking photos was an easier way to illustrate my point than creating an illustration. And this photo does not illustrate any point, except that I had fun taking the photo.

February 4, 2011February 2, 2011

Teach Your Parents Well

This is a guest post from Tim Gier. He blogs thoughtfully here. I will always be grateful to Seth Godin, who made the introduction, even though he has never met either of us.

In 1977, I was 17 years old. I began my college career at Brandies University in Waltham, Massachusetts. I had always known that I would go to college, and I knew that I would go to a school in Massachusetts, my birthplace. Even though I was only a second generation American, from where I sat, I was part of the heritage of this country all the way back to the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock.

But, I didn’t last. I dropped out of Brandeis before the first semester ended. My head wasn’t in the game, nor was it in the game when I enrolled in the University of Florida. I think that second college excursion lasted only a few weeks. I wanted to get on with living and figured I knew enough already.

Do you know how something nags at you all the time, like a scratch you cannot itch? I’ve felt that way my whole life. My mental picture of myself always included a college diploma, and that picture was always incomplete.

Fast forward 25 years. My younger daughter Melissa graduated from high school in 2002. Like her sister before her, I expected her to enroll in the University of Florida. My kids lives wouldn’t have missing pieces like mine did. Unfortunately, Melissa and UF had different plans. When she wasn’t accepted, she went to work.

Melissa began working at a local child care & activity center. It was a challenging job which required a lot of patience. Luckily, she didn’t inherit my impatience! Working long hours for low pay, she eventually got a second job at a church day care facility. Melissa’s a spit-fire, and when she’s on the job, people know and remember her. So, she often had opportunities to babysit for people as the result of her daycare work. She ended up babysitting for the regional vice president of a bank.

Not long after meeting him, the bank officer offered Melissa a job, which she readily accepted. She rose quickly at the bank. Then she did something which surprised and impressed me. While working full time in a career position, Melissa re-entered school, taking a full load of classes online. Night after night she’d study and push herself to do the best she could.

Because good things come to those who hustle, after a couple of years, Melissa had an opportunity to take a job with the US Federal Government, working for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Her older sister works there too.

Last year, Melissa graduated from the University of Florida, with a degree in Business Administration, having never stepped foot in a college classroom. She’s an amazing kid, and I couldn’t be any more proud of her than I am.

And me? Well, two years ago I realized that only I could finish the incomplete picture of my life. With my incredible daughter as my inspiration, I enrolled in college after 32 years. I’ll graduate in 2012.

Parents are supposed to teach their children well, and I have tried to do what I can. But I’ve learned more from my children than they’ve ever learned from me… patience, persistence, goal setting, and a made-up-mind are all one needs to accomplish great things.

When I grow up, I want to be just like my daughter.

February 4, 2011February 2, 2011

Maybe God doesn’t use many formulas

Today I’m writing over at 300 Words a Day. I think you might appreciate the post.

February 3, 2011January 29, 2011

Love instead

Coexist bumper sticker If you’re in North America, you will have seen the popular “Coexist” bumper sticker. I don’t like it.

Why? Coexist means to tolerate. And tolerate means to barely get along with.

I would propose a better sticker: “Love.” I think it’s much better to aspire to loving those who believe differently than we do – rather than simply living with them on the same street.

What would it take to love people different than us? That’s your homework. It may take a few days to figure out.

Credit goes to a Polish graphic designer, Piotr Mlodozeniec, who designed the first coexist image.

February 2, 2011January 29, 2011

With the herd?

I hang out with a lot of entrepreneurs. In that circle, innovative ideas and creativity are highly valued, as well as a high tolerance for risk.

But it also takes a lot of people working in little cubicles to keep the wheels of life moving forward.

Both-and. It takes both ends of the spectrum for us to succeed, both corporately and as societies.

I tend toward the worker-bee end of the spectrum. But I love spending time with entrepreneurs.

February 1, 2011January 29, 2011

Work with them

warped fence board This board clearly was not happy conforming to the path the fence-maker intended. So it went its own way.

Depending on how particular the fence owners are, it may not last in that role very long.

As someone works for you, it’s good to recognize their natural bends. Both you and they will be happier as a result. If you, as their boss, can let that co-worker’s bends work for you, you will both succeed. The same exact principle applies to parenting. But in both cases, it’s an art to find those bends.

January 31, 2011January 24, 2011

I don’t want to know

As I was changing the battery on my son’s calculator, I saw the “MATH” key – and of course, I thought, isn’t the whole calculator designed to do math? Maybe it’s some hyperdrive key that will solve all the problems that you can’t solve any other way.

But seriously, I very briefly thought of asking Ben what that key is for – if he even knows. But then I thought, naaah – if he explained it, I would probably forget the explanation, if I even could understand it.

So this is simply a comment about life today: too many choices and too much information.

January 28, 2011January 22, 2011

No bag please

Most of the time when you go shopping in the USA, the person behind the counter automatically puts your purchased items in a plastic bag. That’s a bad default. Instead, they should provide a bag only if you ask. I’d go so far as to say they should charge you for that bag. Then many would begin bringing their own bags.

In 2007, San Francisco was the first American city to ban the use of plastic bags. 775,000 gallons of oil were used to make the plastic bags San Francisco used the year before. (Info from SFGate.com.) Think of what a positive impact their legislation has had!

In many parts of Europe, that has been law for an even longer time. And in some European stores, you cannot get anything to put your shopping in. (That can catch an outsider by surprise.)

The only good thing to be said for plastic bags is that they keep plastic bag manufacturers in business. And provide jobs. However, that’s the same logic as saying it’s good to keep making high-alcohol sugary pop drinks that appeal to teenagers – because those companies employ many people.

Occasionally I do get a bag, when I forget to bring one with me. I’m not trying to be legalistic – but I am hoping that if you buy and use reusable bags, you will enjoy the positive impact you’ll be making.

I give my brother credit for the idea for this post. Thanks Bill!

January 27, 2011January 20, 2011

IPDE

This is a guest post from Chris Thomas. She shares whatever happens to find its way out of her addled brain over at Light Green. Inspired by friends, family, faith and public transportation, you never know what little nugget of wisdom you might step in.

I didn’t get my driver’s license until my mid-20’s. I lived in the city. I just didn’t have the need, or the means, to own a car and all the responsibility that came along with it. So when I did decide to get one, I had to sign up for behind-the-wheel lessons at Sears Driving School, or some such place. This was at a time when my life looked pretty close to a season of “Cops”. My instructor was a guy named Curt, who was probably 10 years older than me. He picked me up everyday for a couple of weeks to go driving. We ended up having lots of interesting conversations, and occasionally ended our sessions having a Coke and fries from the McDonald’s drive-thru. I’m sure it was obvious to him that I was some kind of mess.

Part of my lesson was learning the IPDE system of defensive driving – Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute. It was very funny to us for some reason, I suppose because he was obligated to teach it with some faux authority. After I had successfully passed the driving test, he dropped me off for the last time. Sitting outside my house, he said, “You know, I think the IPDE system might be valuable for you to keep in mind, even when you’re OUT of the car.” And then he added, a little hesitantly, “And, uh, I think you might like to know Jesus at some point, too…you know, just in case.” I laughed uncomfortably, feeling pretty creeped out that my cool new friend had all of a sudden turned on me, and that was that.

Since then, I’ve had many, many adventures on the open road. IPDE pops into my mind quite often and still makes me laugh, now with the knowledge that Jesus has been there all along. It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it? How our lives weave together, even briefly, for the glory of God.

Photo courtesy of TurboPhoto.