I had the wonderful opportunity last night to listen to and speak with Jack Canfield last night. He is the co-author of that obscure book series known as Chicken Soup For The Soul. His story, his ideas, and his enthusiasm are remarkable. I figured I’d pass along one of the tidbits of wisdom he shared, because it has to do with this thing called Adulthood. By “Adulthood,” I don’t mean the stage in your life when you finally stop being carded at restaurants when you order a margarita. I’m referring to the “Adulthood” state of mind – busy, stressed, automated, and unfulfilled.
Mr. Canfield mentioned that 90% of our behavior is habit. 90%! Think about it: your morning routine, the way you take to the office, the things you do when you first walk in the door after work, your bedtime routine. Habit, habit, habit, and habit. These habits are useful in that they help us to be efficient. We can do more things at once because we don’t have to think so hard about each task. But, of course, there is a down side. The routines become so automatic, we rarely stop to think about what we’re actually doing. We just do it.
This is where the stressed, automated, unfulfilled part of Adulthood can creep in. Sometime after college, we adjust to the way “grown-ups” do things, and we figure how to manage work, bills, shopping, and if you’re lucky enough, the in-laws. Then we let our habits take over and go on autopilot. Commonly, it doesn’t take long for people to start feeling dissatisfied with the way things are going, which often leads to unhappiness and and the recurring question, “Is this all there is?”
They see no clear way out of their present situation, and slowly develop full-fledged Adultitis.
But remember, 90% of our behavior is habit. And to repeat an old phrase, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.”
Rocket science at it’s highest form.
So the trick to a new and better you (one that is more reminiscent of a perky pre-schooler than your unenthused high school history teacher one year from retirement) is to change your habits. It’s a simple solution, but alas, not especially easy. I would recommend Jack’s new book, The Success Principles, which contains 64 principles to get you from where you are to where you want to be. I just got it last night, but have already begun devouring it. It’s a great read, with timeless tips and techniques used by Olympic athletes, business bigwigs and religious leaders.
If Adultitis has its hold on you, this just might be the cure.
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What do you get when you cross Darth Vader with a starchy vegetable that goes good with gravy? Darth Tater. It’s a new toy that Hasbro has planned for a release in February, a few months before the latest installment of the Star Wars saga arrives in theaters. It’s Mr. Potato Head, but with a dark side. He comes complete with the standard issue eyes, nose, and mouth, but also a light saber, cape, and helmet. I’m sure that this toy is geared toward kids, but I can’t help but wonder how many twenty- or thirty-something nerds (like me) will buy one for themselves. Under the guise that it’s for a nephew’s birthday present, of course.
Last November, Kim and I got to fulfill our Wishgranting duties through the Make-A-Wish Foundation® by helping to arrange a party at Chuck E. Cheese’s for a cool little boy named Gabe. I hadn’t been to a Chuck E. Cheese since I was a kid when it was called Showbiz Pizza. The gyrating musical robots have lost a bit of their luster since I’ve grown about three feet, but it IS still the Vegas of childhood. As usual, Kim and I got to take a disproportionate amount of the credit as far as the wish is concerned, as the people back in the office do all the “heavy lifting.” It’s just such a cool thing to be a part of. It was a total blast, and Make-A-Wish posted the story and some pictures on their web site.
I am in favor of cloning.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not keen on the idea of cloning sheep, or scary world leaders, or even other people. I’d just want to clone me. Either that, or someone needs to invent a parallel universe in which you can spend time working on projects that need to be done but in which there is no actual passing of real time. For example, I sit down to write at 8:00 and three hours later, the writing is done and it’s still 8:00.
Ah, now I see that I’m getting some nods of agreement.
I read a book recently espousing the importance of marketing in business. It quite rightly noted that the most important function of business was attracting, getting, and keeping customers. That’s called marketing. It also said that businesses make the first big quantum leap when the entrepreneur switches over from “doing” the “thing” to “marketing” the “thing.” I’m eager to make that so-called quantum leap, but am unsure how to remove myself from the “doing” part. Now, if my clone could do a passable job writing and drawing and inking the strip, then I could spend a LOT more time marketing. And if my clone could keep churning out new product designs, I could do even MORE marketing and maybe even sneak in a nap.
I’m an idea guy. I’ve got more ideas than I know what to do with. I have a little notepad and flashlight on my night stand so I can jot things down that occur to me in the middle of the night. I have an Idea Database in which I record my ideas, organized by category. Lately, I have more really, really good ideas than I have time for and it’s a real chore trying to figure out what ideas are worth pursuing now and which ones should be shelved for a later date.
I’m stuck in a strange dichotomy right now. Someday, I’ll be able to hire other designers, and an administrative assistant to help me out with some of the mundane activities that take up big chunk of my time now. I’ll have more time to spend marketing. The difficulty is that unless I figure out how to spend more time marketing now, I’ll never get to the stage where I can hire those said designers and administrative assistant.
What to do, what to do…
Clearly, we need to step up this cloning business. Somebody get me the President.
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