Courage is Perspective and Kids Really Do Know it All

If I were The Wizard of Oz for one day and I could hold court with all the troubled souls coming in and out of the Emerald City…oh what a day that would be.

Beginning with children, from all walks of life, all suffering from the same affliction…”know-it-all-ness.”  It’s the first sign of a healthy, confident individual coming of age and also a curse to those on the fringe, struggling to find their way.

At this juncture, I give you the Cowardly Lion as a metaphor.  Throughout Dorothy’s journey in Oz, he was her faithful companion, following her in the hopes of finding courage.

I would suggest that from the very beginning, the Lion represented a child.  Impetuous, unpredictable, and full of energy and potential not yet channeled.

It doesn’t matter how I arrived at this realization or who I’m writing about.  Because what I say could apply to just about any kid in the middle of growing up while trying to navigate the swift changes coming from every direction.

But I very much see this individual as more uncommon than common, with a penchant for having more depth of thought and raw emotion than that of his counterparts of similar age.  The very extraordinary gifts he has been blessed with are what make him both unique and different.  In time, unique gifts will be fully realized potential and the path will be a roadmap that clearly shows him why it was worth the journey.  But it doesn’t work in reverse.

Time is a funny thing.  Because in the meantime, the differentness is what makes this child’s life less bright as an old soul in a bright world waits for his peers to catch up with his depth of expression and emotion.  To catch up to the wonderment of the world he sees in each and every thing in life.  To curiously question new inventions, boldly express thoughts.  And no, his differentness is not his friend as he continues to grow during what we’ve all been told are the “best years of our life”.

As parents, we try to help guide the way, raise them up when there are bumps in the road…and listen seeking to understand.

We see the world as it is…big, full of life, unlimited potential and opportunities.  But our children, they already know it all.  That is to say they truly do know it all…as much as they can know a day before the next day of knowing, living in a smaller world of a small classroom, in a neighborhood school.  It’s all they know and sometimes the knowing is not enough.

The big picture comes later, past traditional learning.  It begins with the first step they take outside the line and make a conscious choice to be different.  It’s empowering, exhilarating and terrifying all at once.  But once you realize that the whole world is made up of people just like you and completely different all at once, you realize you’re not so different so much as you are someone gifted with a spirit destined to do more.

So back at Emerald City, where I am counseling kids and thinking about that Cowardly Lion, I think my final thought is this.  Our job is to give kids courage to keep going, keep trying…after failures and after successes.  We do it through words, actions, however we uniquely show love and support.

But at the end of the day, the one thing they desperately need the most…what we possess and can’t give them.  It’s perspective.  And it can’t be bought or given by someone else.  It can’t be taught in a classroom.  It happens every second of every day we live.  And our kids are on that path to perspective, but it’s going to take some time before they can see for their own eyes, what we want them to know when we already said they know everything they can right now.  Maybe kids are supposed to be know it alls and as they grow, just like the Cowardly Lion, they earn their stripes…get their courage…find the perspective we wanted to give them, not realizing it has to be earned.  In a heartbeat, like everything else, I would give it to you, my son.  But this one must be earned and you’ll be wiser for it as you move a little further down your journey.  Truth be told, I know it all now too…until tomorrow, when I’ll have just a little more perspective.  Live in love, with a hunger for knowledge, and the courage of a lion’s heart.  And never, never, stop.  And you will learn just like you, perspective is uniquely owned and valued and when you get it, no one can take it away from you.  And with it, you’ll find the courage to do even more.

Organic Growth in Any Environment

What does your fertilizer look like?

It’s funny that of all the things I could write about on a Sunday afternoon, the topic that seems to be bubbling to the surface is my personal approach to professional networking. 

Like most business, it’s tough…not always natural, and it doesn’t always work.  I know this because it’s not the tactic I lead with every day. 

In an environment where organic sales growth is tough, hard fought and won…I have found that organic networking is completely natural, easy to do, and doesn’t involve conquering or dominance.

There are a lot of business savvy people, who could teach you way more than me.  I wonder, though, if you applied the principle of business growth in a personal way…if your bottom line might net more than you could ever imagine.

Let’s consider basic business first…you start a business, it takes off and you continue to look for new opportunities to grow that business while still protecting and nurturing your base business.

If you were a business and you needed to report on your “earnings”…how would that translate into the value of networking and people?

In simple accounting terms, organic growth is cultivated by business expansion and not because of acquisition of another company.  It’s about internal growth from existing businesses.

So what if inorganic growth in relationships was compared in parallel to the business environment, where relationships were very deliberate and intentional, strategically manipulating a company’s position for growth through mergers or acquisitions?

What would that look like?  Full transparency, it probably looks a lot like what we all do every day when we go to work.  Because in business, we’re less “touchy/feely” and like to think succeeding in business has to be strategic and navigated from the helm.  I agree in principle to the overall approach for running a business.  But if I consider in comparison to relationships, I would argue that organic is better and easier, and a more practical approach to day to day living that improves the bottom line for everyone.

My current finances would likely not gain me “street creds” to debate earnings or business growth.  But organic growth?  I would argue that we can all be masters at the fine art of being human and growing our networks the old fashioned way, investing more time and less fertilizer J 

#organicgrowth #alldaylong

M

How Much is it Worth?

Ever ask that question…or have someone ask you?  Ever pick-up something and feel grateful you found a hidden treasure within your reach?

I do that every day.  I like decorating…and antiques have always held a special fascination for me.  Anything that survives for more than a 100 years and lands in my home…well, it usually becomes a new family heirloom for the future.

But how do you define value?  How do you decide what something is worth?  It’s kind of subjective, right?  I mean some things are fairly straight forward…a collectible piece of art will have an appraised value.  Your car can be looked up on Kelly Blue Book.  And your house, if you are fortunate enough to own one, has a shared value between you and the mortgage company.

I have experienced envy for things I want but don’t need… can’t have or can’t afford.  And I have pulled myself back to the basics…realizing what’s important and what really matters.

Put stock in the value you see in life.  Define what matters and who deserves to be cared for and saved, starting with yourself.

We are all guilty of putting a price on what we value.  But if we’re honest, objects and things hold no true value.  They may outlast the test of time, remaining long after our lifetimes.  But my real treasures in life are even more precious because they live and breath…are vulnerable…and don’t sit on a shelf to be dusted regularly.

My treasures are my children.  They are priceless, irreplaceable gems that make my life sparkle brighter whenever they are around. 

And unlike things that may fluctuate and go up or down in value, I know the value of my children to me will only increase and become greater year after year.  I know that having children is a gift that I was blessed with.  An investment in the future and one that will pay dividends for generations to come. 

So when you stop to check a price tag or wonder what something is worth, remember you already have everything you need at home.

M

Friends and Neighbors...and the Real World

Friends and Neighbors

What if we were next door neighbors instead of following each other on Twitter or Facebook?

What if every action or word said was met with an equal or bigger reaction right next door every day?

Instead of measuring by likes, shares, comments and images,

What if your neighborhood suddenly became a scoreboard for every exchange, good or bad?

Sure, you can give online a break and shut it out if you have a bad day.

In the real world, it’s hard to look someone in the eye each day without measuring your actions, words and intent.

In the real world, if a neighbor accidentally bumps into your mailbox or says something out of turn, an apology is usually forthcoming.

With amazing technology and constantly evolving new innovations, I wish we could slow down for a minute to remember one thing…

Earth is just one big neighborhood, becoming more and more connected every day.

If we all treated each other like neighbors, our “neighborhood” would be a lot nicer.

We wouldn’t write graffiti on someone’s garage door or sidewalk…why do we think it’s okay to do it online?

We wouldn’t unfriend someone just because they said something we didn’t agree with.

Equally important, we would share and respect viewpoints without sounding a battle cry at the first sign of a disagreement.

Oh, and hey guys, this is the real world J

M

Button, button...I Have Some Buttons

Bracelet strung with vintage buttons

Have had a busy couple of weeks exploring some other outlets
 for creativity and a mind that never seems to rest enough.

I decided to try my hand at a combination of jewelry making, with vintage pieces (okay, it’s the junk jewelry in the bottom of my drawer) to create new statement pieces.

I was a little timid at first in my approach.  Unsure how to put it all together, I began with a beautiful collection of Czech Glass buttons in brilliant colors…all lovingly preserved from I believe to be the 1930’s.  I bought some stretchy jewelry cord on clearance and started making fun bracelets by stringing these colorful buttons, whose purpose was once to be donned on fine clothing and serve functionally to keep clothing of all sorts all buttoned up!

Feeling a little more confident after throwing together about a dozen of these, I went back to the craft store, Michael’s.  I purchased some random charms, beads, and something I’d never tried my hand at before with jewelry making…tools!  Needle nose pliers and crimping tools.  Suddenly the sky was the limit and I was putting together seaside bracelets, with bold colors and silver charms made of starfish, dolphins, and sea turtles.

See the Speidel watch band turned charm bracelet?

That was when I started rummaging through my junk jewelry, finding once broken necklaces and bracelets, containing perfectly good clasps and loops for my new pieces.

I also started incorporating vintage cufflinks into earring settings, with a little tooling.  I’m hoping to get a soldering gun for my birthday next month…love having a new hobby to play around with and to learn something new.  This started as a craft activity for kids over summer and has quickly turned into something I really enjoy.  Look for new posts on Pinterest in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, I’m sharing a few here.

Feels good to recycle and create at the same time…and then feed my other passion by writing about it J

Have a great weekend everyone!

Old sterling earrings combined with vintage cufflinks!