An Aperture. A doorway.

Sometimes, there's a breech in the stone, an unexpected crack in the wall of the cave, and a whole universe opens up. It could be a book or a heard sentence, or a film, or a song, a poem, or even some fleeting aspect of a day in nature. It could be almost anything that for a moment opens up a new and spectacular view of what's out there, or in here, or around and beyond. Find a way to capture and save that amazing glimpse.

A character in my novels talks about taking a wisdom bucket wherever we go, for precisely this reason. He says that waters of insight can fall from the heavens like rain suddenly at any time and we need a way to capture those moments to use later and share. So keep a snapshot in your head or a small bucket in your heart and you won't forget, but can pass on to others what you've so wonderfully seen.

The Seeds of Wisdom

Each day, our personal experience sows what can be seeds of wisdom in our lives. And then when we listen, the words of others, past or present, based on their own journeys ,can serve in this same way. But what will result? That's all in the soil. Are you good soil? Am I?

Good soil is full of life, it's dynamic, a partner to the seed, working together with it for the increase intended. Let's commit to seeking always to be good soil, so that what our experience sows may grow real wisdom to be reaped in the challenges and opportunities to come.

I reflect on this metaphor throughout an entire chapter in the new book, Plato’s Lemonade Stand. If you get a chance to see it soon, please let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your insights, which can serve as even more seeds for wisdom to grow in my own life.

The book is HERE.

The Superfluity of Worry

I have an old friend who once told me that it's his job to worry. My first thought was simple: That's not a job I'd ever apply for or aspire to have.

Worry never adds anything positive that can't be had more directly and without the anxiety. Does worrying make you more cautious? Just be more cautious. Does it make you really pay attention to a situation? Simply pay more attention. Does it goad you to double check, or be more creative, or get in gear and take action? Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Anything we think worry produces can be had without the worry. So: Why worry?

As an emotion, it's superfluous, redundant, and useless. And it takes energy. Plus, I really believe it erodes the calm clarity of thought required to unravel a complex challenge and arrive at an optimal solution to a knotty problem. It's also unpleasant. And it makes you no fun to be around.

So, I've decided to shed it as much as I can. I'm on the lookout for it. I try to become aware of it, as soon as it creeps into my sensibilities and dismiss it as unneeded. "Thanks, but I can get on just fine without your help today."

And when you think about it, so many of our negative emotions have the same problem. Any good they produce can be had another way. So, perhaps we can appreciate what they're trying to accomplish for us, and yet briskly send them on their way.

Their particular companionship seems not to enhance my enjoyment of life or my positive impact in it. I think that a moment's introspection may deliever to you the same realization. And then deliver you from worry.

I hope so. And hope is something that's not at all superfluous to a good and happy life.

The Rut

You're in a rut. I almost know you are. At least a little. Because most of us are like that. You have lots of habits, ways you do things, and things you do, daily, or weekly. Most of our habits benefit us in some way or we wouldn't have them. But they can also tie us up and hold us down. And so I have some advice.

Get out of your rut. For just a little bit, in a small way, stick your head above the habits that define your normal stuff and catch a glimpse of what's out there. I often do this by reading a different kind of book, something I wouldn't ordinarily try. In the past week, I've read one by a famous movie producer, The Curious Mind, and a fascinating young adult novel that was surprisingly full of philosophy, The Fault Is In Our Stars. They get me out of my rut and spark all sorts of new ideas. 

A few days ago I helped instal a fence. Now that's way outside my rut. And I really enjoyed it. I haven't otherwise done any fencing since 1982, which is a long time ago. I got outside my rut, and I had a new experience that was deeply satisfying.

Watch a TV show you wouldn't normally view, or go see a film that's outside your normal parameters of moviegoing. It's still good to avoid junk. But try something new. Talk to someone you've never talked to, or about something different. I meet people on airplanes all the time, and have conversations that I sometimes remember years later. It's all about the little act of stretching beyond what you normally do. You never know how a little rut-desertion, if even just for a few minutes, might spice up your day, and give you just that nudge of energy or creativity you need.

Intense Living

How intensely do you live? It's well known, and often experienced, that we can eat without attending to the taste and feel of what we're consuming. We're watching TV or talking or reading and just mindlessly chewing our food with no conscious awareness of it whatsoever. We can even drive on automatic pilot, realizing now and then that we haven't payed any conscious attention to what's gone on, along the way. It's amazing the road isn't littered with the wreckage of mindlessness.

But when we stop and attend, our experience changes radically. How much do you do that? How present are you? Where is your focused attention throughout the day? Most of us live without intensely attending, which means we take up time and space without the effects we're here to have, for most of our moments. We're missing The Big Show that's here for us all. 

And when we don't fully notice, we can't fully act in the best and highest ways. In the end, we're here to enjoy the show, but also to perform in it our own best roles.

Don't miss the moment. You have an all access ticket. Don't sleep through The Big Show. Pay attention. Relish it. Feel it. Absorb it. Throw yourself into it. Luxuriate in it. That's what it's for.

Today.

Sprinkling Wisdom

I got an envelop in the mail a couple of days ago. Its address was something like "Legendary Philosopher Extraordinaire Tom Morris" - and that, of course, got my attention. I tore it open and out fell a postcard picture of a new book, a write-up on the book, some other things, and a little jar of candy sprinkles in many colors. "What's this?" was followed by a big smile.

The package was from my old friend, the global customer service expert, Chip Bell. Chip was one of the first people to proclaim that what we need for what we do is not customer satisfaction but something much stronger - Customer Love. We need to create a product or service so great that our clients or customers become raving fans and walking ads for us, telling their friends and colleagues about us with enthusiasm. Chip himself walks the talk.

The new book, Sprinkles: Creating Awesome Experiences Through Innovative Service, is due out in February, but it's already available for pre-order on Amazon. It's apparently all about providing amazing experiences to people through thoughtful and creative service. And, knowing Chip, it will be full of great stories, insightful guidance, and real wisdom. 

I was sitting next to a well know architect on a plane ten years ago, and we must have talked for an hour. He told me that the luxury condo buildings he designs can't just be about beauty and convenience any more. They have to be about "Wow" experiences. From the moment you see the building, then at the moment you enter it, and throughout, he needs to craft opportunities for impressive aesthetic experiences. He has to sprinkle the wow factor all through his buildings. 

This was the first person to tell me that we're now in an experience economy, and that it's the engine that fuels our experience culture. People's buying decisions take into account all sorts of factors, but, he said, most important of all will be the consideration of experience. If we want great customers, we need to provide them with great experiences.

My friend Chip has been exploring this concept for a while now, and I bet his new book will be liberally sprinkled with new ideas and wisdom about how we can provide incredible experiences to the people we care about, in our work, and in our lives. Check it out.

I expect the new book, like the sprinkles that arrived in the mail, to put a big smile on my face. Sprinkles do tend to do that, wherever we see them.

The Good Wrinkles to Have

Age doesn’t just bring new wrinkles to your body, it can also bring new wrinkles to your thought, and these are good to have.

A perfectly smooth surface has no depth. 

There is deep texture to even simple wisdom.

No path worth taking will be just smooth and easy.

Life itself is never perfectly smooth. Our thoughts shouldn’t be, either.

There is a beauty to texture and depth.

If your body is going to show the magnitude of your experience, make sure your mind does, too.

The good wrinkles to have flow from experiences fully lived.