Monday was my birthday. I woke up at 4AM. Not on purpose. It just happened. Maybe it was the sound of the wind and the rain pounding against my window. But maybe not.
In any case I found myself far too awake to linger in the cozy warmth of my bed. So I didn't. It was, after all, my birthday. And as usual when things don't go completely with my plan, I appease myself and assume there is a bigger reason for why things are in disarray - one that a power greater than little ol' me has not yet clued me into.
Maybe I was supposed to be up so early so I had more moments to savor my special day. To think. To enjoy. To respond to the 150 + Happy Birthday messages I got from my Facebook "friends." Or perhaps this was just the Universe - along with a dozen or so real people reminding me I have not been writing as much as I like to - or need to.
So I made myself a cup of steaming water flavored with a wedge of fresh lemon and turned on the computer. I'd like to tell you that what I did in the darkness before dawn was open up one of the assortment of writing projects I store on my hard drive. But I'd be lying.
I started with that modern day distractor and often time waster we call email. There was one from Deepak and Oprah. It was not to wish me a Happy Birthday. It was the link to their latest 21-day Meditation Challenge I've been participating in. The subject of the meditation - on my birthday - was "What Do I Want?"
That was an awfully big question so early in the morning. One that made my stomach hurt.
I considered going back to bed and waiting until the sun was up. But I was too wide awake.
So I stared at the email and I pondered how to answer the question.
Let's face it - it was well suited for my birthday and perhaps the reason I had woken up so early. To give me extra time to come up with an answer.
What Do I Want?
- A house on the beach. Not near the beach. On the beach.
- My next book to make the best seller list
- To write that book.
- Before that - to get the proposal finished.
- Before that - to start the proposal.
- That very overpriced Vince Leather Trimmed Puffer Coat I saw at Bloomingdales on Friday.
I could go on. And on. And on some more.
Those lists are easy.
But I know better than to think that Deepak and Oprah were asking because they were planning an episode of her favorite things and wanted to surprise me.
The question was bigger than the material things. Not that finishing my next book is necessarily material. But this question was bigger than that.
So - What Do I Really Want ?
Whether it's about work or play the answer came clear.
To love and be loved.
Deepak told me my heart knew the answer.
He was right.
And I'm grateful to have woken early enough to give the question the thought it deserved.
What about you? What do you really want?
Like this blog? Don't want to miss the next one? Sign up here to have it delivered right to your mailbox!
The other day I was gifted with some free time between appointments and wandered into the lobby of the W Hotel on Lexington.
It was after 5 and hard to find a seat, even on a Tuesday. It was even harder to find one person who was not distracted or occupied with an electronic device.
Including me.
In fact if not for the very noisy party of twenty sitting far too close to me I might not have looked up from my iPad to notice.
But when I did, it made me sad.
I started longing for life before smartphones and iPads when the battery I most worried would run out of juice was not the one in my iPhone.
I felt nostaglic for an era when a pack of cigarettes sat next to my drink in a hotel lobby bar instead of a phone. And I never even smoked!
I remembered fondly when I would have unexpected free time - like this - and I would just sit and let my eyes wander the room to see who might be interesting to talk to instead of scrolling a screen reading about someone else's life and wondering why mine didn't seem to be measuring up.
And then it hit me.
I still can.
Like this blog? Don't want to miss the next one? Sign up here to have it delivered right to your mailbox!
I think being an entrepreneur is one of the few things you can do where you can be busy all day long and at the end of it have no idea what you have done to move the needle.
I've had a lot of those days since that damn Mercury went into retrograde. Those in the know will tell you it's been exceptionally hard for people. A lot complaining about exhaustion and intense emotions.
I admit to being one of those people who believe in planetary influences. I understand energy and how sometimes it flows and sometimes it doesn't.
But that does not make me feel any more satisfied when I hear that maybe the reason I have no idea what I have done to move my business is because of something out of my control.
Yes, I admit it. Deep within me lies a control freak.
All those years of selling ingrained this idea into my head that there is always something I can do to move things in the direction I want them to. That me - only me - has the ability to make something happen by controlling every move.
Only part of that is true. I do possess the ability to create - but not necessarily by controlling every step.
Yes there are things you can do and should do and if you were working with me I could give you a long list of techniques to grow your business.
And then there are those things you are driven to do - if an entrepreneur - hopefully from deep within your soul.
But you still can't control it all.
You never will.
There will always be days when every moment is filled and things spin in unforeseen directions, at the end of which you have no idea what it all meant.
At which point the only option is to surrender and trust that a power greater than you sees the bigger picture.
And be thankful Mercury straightens itself out on November 11.
Like this blog? Don't want to miss the next one? Sign up here to have it delivered right to your mailbox!
Twitter goes public today. Of course, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know that. Pundits on and off line are offering predictions for what it's really worth.
My unscientific opinion is a lot.
But I'm biased.
Twitter is my favorite of all the social channels.
People who don't know Twitter don't see it for all it offers. Their impression is that it is nothing more than a repository for Kim Kardashian to justify why she makes so much money or Anthony Weiner to tweet pictures of parts of him we'd all rather not see.
I was reluctant at first, too. I wasn't quite sure what to make of tweeting when I first joined - almost five years ago - but eventually I was won over. Which if I think about it - is how most of my great loves started.
Twitter is a challenge - which is ironically one of the things I like about it. Limiting me, a verbose Greek to 140 characters or less (120 for pros who want to be retweetable) is never an easy task.
But that's just part of the fun.
Twitter is -
-a source of news and information
-an easy way to keep up with the trades and/or influencers
-a source of insight into almost anything from pop culture to digital marketing
-a place to voice an opinion - uncensored
-a place to listen to others opinions
-a place to make new connections - globally
-a place to learn more about the connections you already made
-a great resource for prospecting new clients and learning about them
-a venue to amplify an event
-a channel to meet other people at the event
-a place to ask a question and start a conversation
-unfettered by intrusions in the sidebar (at least for now)
-a great way to start a conversation or spread one
-a way to start movements
That's just some of why it's my favorite. I could go on.
But let's face it. Those financial types could care less why I like it. They just want to know how it will make money.
The trick will be to keep it likable and to make money while not annoying users in the process.
We'll see how that goes.
In the meantime if you want to follow me on Twitter click here.
Like this blog? Don't want to miss the next one? Sign up here to have it delivered right to your mailbox!
