2009 Life Reminders

If twelve months ago I perused the list below, I would have said, “yes, yes, I know those things.” Yet, I had to re-learn them during 2009, as though they were brand new.

1. The experience of someone close to you dying is a whole dimension different from the awareness of its inevitability.

2. Friendships that involve a boss and a subordinate might look just peachy; but watch out when money enters the picture.

3. A new corporate leader can get plopped into a role and, with the snap of a finger, totally negate a predecessor’s commitment and direction.

4. With a bit of strategy, goodwill, and good fortune, a threatened organization can not only steer through an economic collapse, but grow in one.

5. Nobody ever really liked my moose calls; all these years I’ve just been making an ass of myself.

6. Just because you have a thought doesn’t mean you have to entertain it, and just because you hear a question doesn’t mean you have to answer it. Choosing otherwise can be hugely empowering.

7. The act of directing attention is often more nourishing than the object to which attention is directed; I am my will.

8. There is ALWAYS somebody smarter, quicker, more experienced, more “enlightened”, better liked, better looking—somebody with higher marks, more money, more friends, more opportunities. Perhaps it’s best to change the race into something that works for you.

9. My wife is a very special person; there is no one in the world better suited to me.