If people are getting paid to promote products sold on Amazon, I say, “Let’s go!” I shop there and am now wondering about the most popular products sold on Amazon (other than books.)
So, here is my first product. It is an over-the-top ultimate coffee experience Espresso Machine.
Here’s the link and the name of the product. Enjoy!
https://amzn.to/4d2SA8G - Neretva 15 Bar Espresso Machine on Amazon
“Describe the process of preparing a gourmet meal.”
Preparing a gourmet meal is an art form that combines creativity, precision, and an understanding of flavors and ingredients. Here's a step-by-step guide:
1. **Concept and Menu Planning**: Start by conceptualizing the theme or the star ingredients of your meal. Decide on the courses—appetizer, main course, side dishes, and dessert. Each dish should complement the others in flavor, texture, and presentation.
2. **Ingredient Sourcing**: Source high-quality, fresh ingredients. This may involve visiting specialty stores, farmers' markets, or even ordering specific items from specialized suppliers. Fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients often provide the best flavors.
3. **Preparation and Mise en Place**: Begin by preparing your ingredients. This includes washing, cutting, marinating, and portioning out everything you need. Mise en place, a French culinary term meaning "everything in its place," is crucial in professional cooking to streamline the cooking process.
4. **Cooking Techniques**: Employ advanced cooking techniques that match the complexity of the dishes. This could include sous-vide cooking, slow roasting, searing, or using reductions for sauces. Precision in cooking times and temperatures is key to achieving the desired textures and flavors.
5. **Taste and Adjust**: As you cook, taste your dishes regularly. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, or other spices and herbs. Balancing the flavors—sweet, salty, sour, and bitter—is crucial in gourmet cooking.
6. **Plating and Presentation**: Presentation is as important as taste. Arrange the food on plates in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Utilize color contrasts, garnishes, and perhaps even edible flowers to enhance the visual appeal.
7. **Pairing**: Consider what drinks to serve with the meal. Wine pairing can elevate the dining experience, matching the flavors of the meal with complementary wines.
8. **Serving**: Serve the dishes at the right temperature. The timing of serving is important to ensure that hot dishes are warm and salads or cold dishes are cool.
9. **Feedback and Reflection**: After the meal, gather feedback from your guests. Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved for next time. This continuous learning is what pushes a good chef towards greatness.
Each step involves a blend of science, art, and timing, and the joy of gourmet cooking lies in mastering all these elements to create a memorable meal.
It’s the early 1970s. In the high school lunchroom, I noticed a group of kids having fun pretending they were playing drums and singing a recent Led Zeppelin release, Black Dog. As I approached the table, hoping to join them, one of the kids said, “You can’t sit here. You’re not cool. You don’t even wear flairs.”
I wore Levi’s jeans and probably told my mom I would like some flairs the next time we shop for new pants. Caving into peer pressure and wanting to earn those “cool” points, I was determined to find a way to fit in. I wanted to be “one of the cool kids.” It would take some time for me to come to my senses.
While that emotional turmoil paled in comparison to the horrors of my home life, I still felt some sense of wanting to be like the others—to fit in somehow. It wasn’t much later… I realized I did not wish to be associated with a group that would exclude someone based on the style of pants he wore!
This incident was one of a few early motivations—blessings I now call them—that moved me farther away from the middle of the bell curve. Statistics helped me realize that being an outlier is akin to saying, “All the Cool Kids” will never include me.
Recently, I had another experience like this, and to my horror, I’ve discovered one Toastmasters group that may be exclusive. Exclusivity is the opposite of Toastmasters’ principles. Go to any Toastmasters meeting and see how warmly you are welcomed into the room! Most groups are actively seeking new members.
In almost any club, you will be made to feel welcome and included, and soon, you will enjoy that sense of belonging that brings out the best in so many people. Please know I would not turn anyone away from any Toastmasters club. I would encourage anyone seeking to join a Toastmasters club to try several groups to find the one (or more) with the friendliest vibe.
I assume this unpleasant experience does not represent Toastmasters International’s climate and culture. I aim to prove the veracity of that statement through further research. I intend to evaluate this club’s behavior when I have a deeper understanding of Toastmasters International’s governing documents.
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
When you realize the importance of words, beware of becoming a fanatic. This has been my state for decades. Since 7th grade, when Miss Croghan taught me sentence structure and discovered and nurtured my natural talent for spelling, I’ve loved words. In every issue of Reader’s Digest I’ve ever held, I first turned to the feature “Word Power” feature, as I know that’s where the value lies. Words are the reason we have such big brains - this I discovered in my research on caveman thinking. As for Reader’s Digest, the print version is no longer being published!
You may recognize the phrase in the title of this post as being from John I in the King James Bible. While I make no claims to religion, I do recognize my religious practices, and it fascinates me to think that “the Word” was stated clearly as “the Beginning” in one of the most popular books the world has ever known. It reminds me of “abracadabra,” which translates to “As I say, so it is.” It sounds like, “Let there be light.”
Let this be the beginning of a report on a recent incident in Toastmasters. In my next post, I’ll provide details on an exchange between myself and another member. I realize that I am not a member of this club, so maybe I should not have been so vocal when sharing my feedback. Also, I learned that some do not readily accept constructive criticism when it isn’t sugar-coated, and sometimes, the acerbic nature of my comments may be painful to those with more sensitive feelings. In plain English, I said something that hurt someone’s feelings, and although I had good intentions, I learned to be more careful with future comments and feedback. C’est la vie!
This is one of those situations where you don’t know what you don’t know.
When you invite people to Toastmasters meetings, how can you tell them all the details about what they are missing? It seems impossible, and this is all the more true for someone with many years of TM experience.
Do you remember why you joined Toastmasters? Can you tell someone why you are still in it after all these years? Why would anyone who does not know the value of Toastmasters decide to attend their first meeting?
I don’t know all of these answers. But I know that I don’t know them. Maybe this is a topic for leadership. Now that I will be the VPM for two clubs, I’ll fail often enough to find success. Then, I’ll share those answers with you. Until then, I’ll remain perplexed and challenged by the constant effort I’ll make with or without any signs of progress or success.
Enjoy!
Source: https://emersoncentral.com/texts/letters-social-aims/quotation-and-originality/
Summary:
Read in Plato and you shall find Christian dogmas, and not only so, but stumble on our evangelical phrases. Hegel pre-exists in Proclus, and, long before, in Heraclitus and Parmenides. Whoso knows Plutarch, Lucian, Rabelais, Montaigne and Bayle will have a key to many supposed originalities. Rabelais is the source of many a proverb, story, and jest, derived from him into all modern languages; and if we knew Rabelais's reading we should see the rill of the Rabelais river. Swedenborg, Behmen, Spinoza, will appear original to uninstructed and to thoughtless persons: their originality will disappear to such as are either wellread or thoughtful; for scholars will recognize their dogmas as reappearing in men of a similar intellectual elevation throughout history.
We prize books, and they prize them most who are themselves wise. Our debt to tradition through reading and conversation is so massive, our protest or private addition so rare and insignificant, -- and this commonly on the ground of other reading or hearing, --that, in a large sense, one would say there is no pure originality.
https://emersoncentral.com/texts/letters-social-aims/quotation-and-originality/#complete-essay
https://emersoncentral.com/ebook/Quotation-and-Originality.pdf
Having been (not very) responsible for posting to social media for the Palm Springs Writers Guild, I’m now happily willing to pass that baton on to someone who seems eager to get started. That is where I first entered this rabbit hole. Fair warning: There are links below that will take you off this page and they just might open a rabbit hole for you. Please click responsibly. Don’t click and drive. Click it or ticket! See?
Pondering one of my blogs “writenow.life” led me to think of its purpose, which is in its description should you decide to google that URL. Write Now Your Life | Writing to survive
“Write for your life” was its original intent, and that phrase seemed a bit hyperbolic even for me! But, I searched that phrase anyway, just to see what I might find and I found a book published this year by that very title! So, I clicked on the “Look inside” invitation on Amazon and I found the answer to a question I’ve often heard people ask. “What should I write about if I start a blog?” So, of course, I searched that, too. And, I found a pretty good blog that seems dedicated to one way (or multiple ways) of answering that question.
My answer has always been the same. Write for yourself, first. Then read what you have written and see if you like it. If you do, then I believe you stand half a chance of continuing the practice of writing. And, by continuing the practice of writing our blog, you might actually find a niche you’d like to expound upon, or you may even start a new blog for that specific purpose and keep your original blog for its original purpose. Do that, and now you have two blogs and it starts to become a time-management issue. Who will I write for today - my niche audience, myself, or both? If you truly enjoy writing, this is not a problem at all!
By now you probably see the time it takes and the trouble it makes being a rabbit hole spelunker, banging your head around in the cave of your making. So, I offer you this as a way out - breadcrumbs. How I’ll get out of this hole is by retracing my steps; the steps that got me into this hole.
They look like this:
Writing this blog post came from
Answering the question, “What should I blog about?” came from
The search results of “Write for your life” and the look inside feature for the book by that title came from
Pondering one of my blogs that might have been subtitled, “write for your life.” came from
Thinking about my writing as it relates to the Palm Springs Writers Guild came from
My being ready to pass the social media management baton to someone who might enjoy creating posts on Twitter and Facebook to promote PSWG and its events and membership.
You notice the difference in a quarterflash.
Above these paragraphs is a post I drafted in 2020. How it was never published, I don’t know. Wasting time writing something on my blog without sharing it seems like a sin to me.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Today, I learned a bit more about how much I don’t know. Including how I profess reverence for time, then fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way. Leave it to my best friend and accountability partner to call me on my BS. So, here I am, ready to produce this report, to tell on myself, like they do in AA.
This morning (this is not a complaint) I woke up to more than the normal pain in my knees, specifically, my left knee had me nearly in tears when I got out of bed. Bravely trying to “work it out” I did several sets of squats with no weights. Thinking if I could get things moving, maybe the pain would subside enough to allow me the luxury of another workout at the gym. Alas, that plan failed miserably, and my misery persists. One upside about this pain, however, is I’ve found a place that sells CBD-based pain relief products. And they work!
With enough relief from the pain, I did manage to mix up a dirt cocktail suitable for planting two Plectranthus Mona Lavender plants under the tree that now stands upright, after it had fallen over during inclement weather many weeks ago. Having intended to photo-journal that task, I’m sorry I don’t have photos to share as I write this, but I’ll take a few pictures tomorrow and add them. Why I thought I should risk additional pain with a bum knee, again, I don’t know. But by the time I was done, my back was hurting too. It seems like this would have been a good day to just stay in bed.
I didn’t stay in bed early on, and it seemed to me that I had earned a nap, so I gave up a couple of hours to that idea. Watching the market rip up to new highs without me was kind of depressing too, so I’ve decided to devote some time to studying something called “market profile” to see if there is a major missing piece to my thinking about how the futures markets move. This post seems to have a recurring theme and I’m guessing the markets do, too.
I’m missing my BFF, as she is busy with her business this time of year. But, I did have a nice conversation with another friend in the desert and I got a lovely text message from another. Comfort seems to come around at exactly the right time, sometimes.
Have I worn out the word, time, yet? Perhaps it is time to quit. Maybe a work of fiction or some poetry would be a better use of my time this evening. Again, I don’t know. But, I’m done.
Houston Mission Control 1970
Houston Mission Control 1970
If you are like me when you hear the word, “Houston….” your mind immediately finishes with, “…we have a problem.” The actual words are “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” The past perfect sounds so much better to me. Contrast those five words, starkly and ever more darkly, with these four, spoken to me by a dear friend, “The Challenger has exploded.” And, I’m fighting back tears as I write this because it still hurts.
Why I’m writing:
Reading Mark Manson’s book, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”, I’ve come to a chapter titled, “Happiness Comes from Solving Problems.” Course correction is a kind of constant problem-solving exercise and it should be beneficial to anyone who is on a journey. Seeing myself as being on a journey that is my life, and constantly seeking guidance (and growth) along the way, I count that as success. If you believe success leads to happiness, you may have it backward. Happiness leads to success. If you ever feel as if you’ve arrived, begin again. Reinventing yourself is the easiest way to create new problems.
For me, being on this journey is success. Ending my travels would be, well, the end for me.
Looking back at where I’ve been and gleaning insight from things in my past (especially found solutions and unsolved problems) helps me remember to leave the pain behind and keep the lessons.
Thinking that I’m often perfect just as I am in the present allows me to sleep well.
Knowing there are new problems to solve, and there is progress to be made in the near and distant future wakes me up.
All is well.
You may recall the problem reported to Houston was solved, and the problem with the Challenger lives on in my spirit and in my heart. The serenity prayer comes to mind as I realize I’ve come to accept the pain. The pain of being a “Highly Sensitive Person” is not a problem, wanting to not be that would create one. A lesson may be that giving a f*ck about every single minute detail is important to space travel, but it may not be so for your walk through life. “Let it go” comes up often along the way.
Back to the idea posited by Manson, on happiness, I’ve been a problem solver for so long, I should be overjoyed by now! Enter “Disappointment Panda” - who says, the solution to a problem creates a new problem. So, simply, if you always have problems to solve, you will always be happy.
20,000 Words
My sister gave me a book with this title. And I thought my vocabulary was already quite good, until I opened to the first page and found that I had never heard of the word, “abaft.” It is the second entry on the first page, right after abacus, which I suppose I could use to count how many words I’ve never seen are in this book!
The next one is abattoir, then abbe’, with that accented “e” at the end. Lest we fall behind, abaft means to the rear of specifically : toward the stern from so if you are moving away from the aft of a ship you are going abaft.
Definition of abattoir
: a place where animals are butchered
Definition of abbé
: a member of the French secular clergy in major or minor orders —used as a title
So, yes, there may be little use for these new words in everyday conversation, but that is not the point. What I’m saying is that I didn’t expect to find many words in this little book that I didn’t already know. And now I’m wondering just how much I don’t know. That stinks!
I am usually clear about how the more I know the more I understand how much I don’t know. But I was not expecting to have to take that lesson again from this little book. Full disclosure, it had belonged to my mother, and was left to my oldest sister, and now I have it. I have this book, along with a 2nd edition of “China Flight” by Pearl S. Buck.
I’ll write more about this later. And I’m going to catalog every formerly unknown word in this little lexicon. Another labor of love this will be.
Orion (The Hunter) Constellation
Orion (The Hunter) Constellation
When the Stars Align
Spoiler alert, the stars have been aligned for some time. And yet, we know, if we trust observation and science, that they are constantly moving toward new alignment.
There is always a bit of research to support that point:
From National Geographic –
Even now the universe is expanding, and to astronomers' surprise, the pace of expansion is accelerating. It's thought that this acceleration is driven by a force that repels gravity called dark energy. We still don't know what dark energy is, but it’s thought that it makes up 68 percent of the universe's total matter and energy. Dark matter makes up another 27 percent. In essence, all the matter you've ever seen—from your first love to the stars overhead—makes up less than five percent of the universe.
The key phrases there are, “It’s thought that” and “We still don’t know.” Then they add percentages because math makes their assumption seem ever more likely to be true. Truthiness, anyone?
So, let’s just make stuff up, or guess in a scientific way. The people will have to believe us, because we’ll use math and sciency-sounding words like hypothesis and theory. If you refuse to agree with our theories, we will label you heretic, and regard you as uneducated or ill-informed. Somehow, the word “pontificate” comes to mind!
Freedom of choice allows you to decide on astrology or astronomy. If you want to believe that your life is predetermined by the position of stars in the sky, at birth, or at whatever time mercury is in retrograde, you are free to do so. If you want to study astronomy so you’ll know the position of Halley’s comet relative to constellations or other celestial bodies, you can do that, too.
You may also wish to consider phrases like “star-crossed lovers” and ponder the fate of Romeo and Juliet had things been just slightly different in the night sky. Seriously, now, if you don’t see what I’m saying, let me just say this:
If you stay up late, look up and enjoy the night sky. On a clear night, the starlight can be so inspiring. If you get up early, as I most often do, look up and enjoy the wonder of a new day under a starlit sky. Either way, you are free to completely dismiss any influence science or belief systems have had on your understanding of beauty as you see it.
One last thing, in case you are lost. For centuries, explorers have used the position of stars to understand where they are or where they are going. You may wish to consider this carefully as you make your way in the world.
That is the noun, and the adjective is placable. If you are feeling angry, uptight, out of sorts, perhaps today’s word just doesn’t apply to you and your situation. It is my wish for you to somehow find equanimity, as I wish you peace.
In the past, I’ve been the kind of person who might take some time to cool down. With a bit of work and an attitude adjustment, I came to realize that holding that heat was akin to saying “No, I’m fine with my rage, and my elevated blood pressure, and my willingness to snap at the next person who speaks to me.” Does that sound insane to you? There were times when I actually had to try to remember what had mad me so mad, like I was just looking for a reason to stay miserable for as long as possible. Crazy, right?
If you see yourself in any of that, just ask yourself one question. What do I want to have happen next? Follow that with this one. What can I do or say to make that happen? It gets easier with practice. And, that’s just it. It is a practice. Your placability will improve as a result. At least it has for me - it has led to a higher level of equanimity. I’ve been known to say, “You can’t hurt me.” It’s not a tough guy thing. It is a knowing that my response is my responsibility. What does it mean to be placable?
Do your own research, and practice.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/highfalutin
I’ve heard this word and may have even said it once or twice, but I’ve never written it and today it came up in my Toastmasters meeting. I’m writing this late - very late – to meet my word-a-day requirement and put in the work. I’ll do some make up work tomorrow as penance.
“We do know that “highfalutin” is an American coinage and first appeared in the mid-1800s. “Highfalutin” was one of a number of popular epithets of the day, including “stuffed shirt” and “stuck-up,” with which 19th century Americans expressed their disrespect for those who flaunted their wealth and power.
While the origin of “highfalutin” may be a mystery, there are two generally accepted hunches, either of which might be true. The “high” in “highfalutin” is almost certainly our common adjective, signifying either physical height or, figuratively, magnitude.
Some authorities suggest that the “falutin” in “highfalutin” is a modification of “fluting,” meaning to play a flute or produce sounds similar to those made by a flute. Perhaps, goes this theory, “highfalutin” was inspired by the airy, delicate speech tones of hoity-toity rich folks. There’s no evidence to support this theory, but it’s not implausible.
The other popular theory traces the “falutin” to “flying” or “flown,” making “highfalutin” the equivalent of “high-flown,” meaning “exaggerated” or “elevated.” What makes this theory the more plausible of the two is the fact that “high-flown” has been used as an adjective meaning “extravagant or bombastic” since the mid-1600s (“Sentiments, which are occasionally too high-flown and overstrained, 1784), so this theory is actually grounded in an existing idiom.”
Photo by Blogging Guide on Unsplash
Photo by Blogging Guide on Unsplash
Nov 6, 2021
WOTD
On Money
pecuniary : of or relating to money
Pecuniary first appeared in English in the early 16th century and comes from the Latin word pecunia, which means "money." Both this root and Latin peculium, which means "private property," are related to the Latin noun for cattle, pecus. In early times, cattle were viewed as a trading commodity (as they still are in some parts of the world), and property was often valued in terms of cattle. Pecunia has also given us impecunious, a word meaning "having little or no money," while peculium gave us peculate, a synonym for "embezzle." In peculium you might also recognize the word peculiar, which originally meant "exclusively one's own" or "distinctive" before acquiring its current meaning of "strange."
Rarely have I written about money. Often I’ve described money as something like a bad girlfriend. She comes around often, gives me a good feeling while I have her, but she always leaves, and usually it’s too soon for my needs! Devising some clever plan to keep more of her around a bit longer is my new lifelong goal. Let’s see how we get along.
Photo by Ashwini Chaudhary on Unsplash
Photo by Ashwini Chaudhary on Unsplash
Posted by BrianRouley | November 5, 2021 | Foolish, Personal
Intransigent
- in·tran·si·gent
/inˈtransəjənt,inˈtranzəjənt/
Adjective
unwilling or refusing to change one's views or to agree about something.
There was a time, not so long ago, but a lifetime ago now, when I wrote every day. And just to be stubbornly committed to that premise, I kept a dictionary to the left of my computer and a desk lamp dedicated to shining right down on those pages. An article I would write for one new word for each letter of the alphabet per day (sometimes I allowed myself two) and soon I had 26 days of new blog posts on rouleywrites.com - easy, right?
So, today (which is tomorrow now) begins this journey. And I stumbled upon “intransigent.” Given that it is now 12:21 am, I’m done with this entry. “I disagree.” I’m never done. https://writenow.life/2021/05/20/a-chip-and-a-chair/
Tune in tomorrow (or later today, actually) for more of the same - or better!
Can we change?
This question is on page 234 of Ray Dalio’s book, “Principles.”
Here is that paragraph:
g. Understand how much the brain can and cannot change. This
brings us to an important question: Can we change?31 We can all
learn new facts and skills, but can we also learn to change how we are
inclined to think? The answer is a qualified yes.
“I’ve changed my mind.” People say this. Usually, it means they’ve made a decision, then they have changed their decision based on new information or perhaps some change in the way they feel. This is the essence of the struggle we all face, the conflict between thinking and feeling.
The easiest illustration I can provide on how one can overpower the other is in the decision to be happy. That decision is made by thinking, and it creates a feeling of happiness. By making that choice you have effectively used the conscious mind to control (or feed) the subconscious mind. In other words, by steadfastly agreeing with yourself on that one decision, your subconscious obediently accepts that as the truth and it starts feeding back that same idea and emotion to you. When people say, “This is a win-win.” I cannot imagine a more lovely representation of that expression than making the simple decision to be happy. You can do this.
This morning, when I woke up for the fifth, sixth, or twelfth time (I wasn’t really counting.), gratitude began in earnest. Knowing all that I had ahead of me, including my next breath, a drink of water, indoor plumbing, a coffee maker, my computer, electric lights, music, and books, more stuff than I’ll ever really need, made gratitude one very long and enjoyable thought process. Gratitude is the first thing on my checklist (mine is named Diwali checklist) and the second thing is “make your bed.” Funny it seems, that I had to bring up the list to remember that second step.
And, right down the line, following each step led to this writing. This is step 7 and ahead lies Brain Work and Exercise. After that, I’ll enjoy breakfast.
That’s all I have for now. Step 6 was reading and that helped me to get to this step. And, here we are.
Enjoy!
Introduction
“This is the easiest game ever!”
You’ll be saying that. You will say it because you will have made it true. There is only one rule. Two words long, it is a command. Are you ready?
Rule #1 - BE HAPPY.
Yes, it is that simple. The best part is (again) you make it so.
What do you know about games? You know there are rules.
· You must take your shot before the ball bounces more than once. (Tennis, ping-pong, pickleball)
· A ball in play must bounce only once (actually, fewer than twice) within the boundaries. (Tennis, ping-pong, pickleball)
· You must keep your feet inside the lines. (Football, wrestling)
· You must always protect yourself. (Boxing, martial arts)
· Keep an accurate score. (Golf, any sport that keeps a score)
· The pieces can only be moved this way. (Chess, checkers, backgammon, other board games)
Need we say more? You get it, right? Think of any game you know how to play, and you’ll see there are rules. Adapt those, if you like, to your life. At the very least, write rules about how you behave when you are alone, and write rules that govern how you behave when you are with others.
Every game has rules and a way to keep score and a way to become the winner. This is your game. You will win. You will make the rules, define the boundaries, take the risk, get the reward – whatever it takes, you will do it and you will win. What is the reward? See Rule #1 above. It is more of the same – more happiness for you.
The rules define the discipline you must learn and follow to win the game. Even though you can simply choose to follow Rule #1 above, the more clearly you state the rules that govern YOUR GAME, the easier it will be to win it.
You may find some way to regard this as purely ridiculous. You may kick this idea aside and tell yourself rules are for losers. Yep, you nailed it. With or without the rules, you may choose to lose, to be unhappy. Always an option, you may wish to stop reading here, as this book may not be for you…
You are a winner. Because this game is so easy to win, you may discount the reward. Don’t do that.
In case you hadn’t noticed, that was the first negative statement in this introduction. “Don’t!” How many times have you been told that?
Here we are going to turn the tables (you can do that when you are losing at chess or checkers, too) and we are going to make every rule a positive statement to the best of our ability. Almost anything that can be said in the negative can be turned to a positive command.
So, instead of “Don’t do that.” You are going to say, “Do this.”
Go ahead and regard this as purely ridiculous, then learn to enjoy the entertainment value in laughing at yourself. You might just like that. Learn to enjoy laughing at yourself and see how that adds to your joy. More laughter, more joy, more happiness – you are winning.
You say you are a rule-breaker? That’s OK, because you are going to keep score. You want to lie on your score card? That’s OK, too, because you are going to learn to be honest with yourself through discipline and practice. You’ll soon see you cannot fool yourself and then you’ll get more of what you came for – greater happiness. Being honest with yourself pays big dividends! Playing by the rules is how you win big!
Everything you are about to learn here leads to honoring your commitment to yourself. Learning to love yourself and loving to live your life by your own rules may be the easiest path to enlightenment. Your happiness is virtually guaranteed by your own self-directed good behavior. Playing by the rules may never have been so much fun.
If you find one or more of your rules is limiting your enjoyment, change it or them to match your needs. You created this game. You wrote the rules. Your life and your happiness depend on your ability to live within the disciplined guidelines you have set for yourself.
This introduction could continue for another several pages. But it is not necessary. The truth is so plain to see, you might want to just get started now. Break out a pen and paper and start writing rules. See how much you can get done in fifteen minutes, an hour, an afternoon. The only time limit on any of this is whatever time and effort you are willing to put into your rulebook. Writing it down makes it real.
Seriously, just start now writing the rules to your game. Make stuff up and have fun with it. If it helps you to get started, write the rules to a game you already play and modify them to fit your life. It matters little how you begin but do begin. You are at the beginning of your new happy life. At this point, allow yourself to feel the excitement of joy as you create your new, disciplined life. One of the easiest ways to be happy to do something is to say to yourself, “This is fun.”
Unless it is in your rules that you should not feel joy. In that case, play the game any way that works for you. Just write the rules and play now.
Life can be a game. It can be the “easiest game ever” – if you will learn to live with discipline and play by your own rules. You already have what it takes to get this right. The less influence you allow from outside sources, the purer will be your creation.
That creation is and will be your happy life. “The easiest game ever!”
Photo by Samuel Pereira on Unsplash
Photo by Samuel Pereira on Unsplash
Tell the truth.
I don’t have a blog of my own (as of this writing), so I asked my good friend Brian if I could be a guest poster for the purpose of making this important point.
About letting things go.
See how that sentence above wasn’t a proper sentence? And yet, I’m letting it go.
Brian and I share the oft annoying habit of being the self-imposed grammar and punctuation police, frequently to the hair-tearing distress of our other friends or anyone who comes within our orbit. Up until now, we couldn’t help it. But Brian recently told me that he is trying harder to “let it go”. He may even have referenced the recent Disney fairy tale Frozen and its Oscar-Winning hit, “Let It Go,”.
I, however, recall a different “Let It Go” from 1984 by an obscure artist called Luba. By chance, I heard a piece of it today that spoke to me:
Uniformity
Conventionality
Is the bane of our existence
Keep it safely at a distance
Nonconformity
Unconventionality
Is too good to be
Let your hair down
Can't you see
Let it go
I think this is where we, as humans, need to straddle a fine line: How do you compose a resume that will get you a great job? By spelling everything correctly? By having perfect punctuation and grammar. At the same time, being able to tolerate this on an A-frame chalkboard.
Todays Special’s
while walking down the street past your favorite neighborhood cafe without losing your mind.
It’s entirely possible that your favorite cook might not be a great Punctuator, but he makes a soup that knocks your socks off, so he is instantly forgiven! Are his chalkboard crimes worthy of crucifixion? Does it hurt his business? Do people scoff and shake their fists skyward, shouting, “This guy can’t punctuate, so he must not be able to make a soup worth a damn! Let’s get out of here.”
Or does it make him charming?
Until recently, I fell into the former category. People’s stock went distinctively down and I found it a severely unflattering trait when someone couldn’t conjugate, punctuate, don’t know how to grammar, or worse, didn’t care. For me, Smart is the new Sexy.
I am intentionally not going to review this post, this hot mess of free association, for structure, grammar and perfection. I am just going to allow it to Be. This post is my contribution to my letting it go. This effort strengthens my belief that there are times when it’s okay -- maybe even better than okay -- to relax the rules and enjoy life, to give the Grammar Police a well-deserved day off and just Let It Go.
Images source: http://j-archive.com/
Images source: http://j-archive.com/
If you are an avid Jeopardy fan, you probably know that when it comes to final Jeopardy, the player in the lead often bets just enough to win by one dollar.
Recently, the scores were something like $18, 200 (1st place), $10,800 (2nd place) and whatever was the score for 3rd place. In this situation, 1st place bets $3401, so a correct answer results in a score of $21,601, winning by a margin of $1. Reasoning that 2nd place is betting it all, if that score is doubled, the result is $21,600. Considering what would have happened if 2nd place got the answer wrong, with the end result being a score of $0, a bet to lose the minimum it seems to make sense. This is without regard for the possibility that 3rd place may have enough money to double up and win, if both 1st and 2nd place cannot come up with the correct answer.
My contention is that it makes more sense to bet on yourself answering correctly. So, instead of betting on the outcome of a wrong answer, you would bet to simply maximize your gain, without losing enough money to allow 2nd place to win if he or she bet zero. In this case, a bet of $7400 makes sense. If you are wrong with your answer and 2nd place has bet anything at all and has also answered incorrectly, you will win. If 2nd place bets it all and gets the answer right, then any amount you bet will not win the game for you. Your score, with a correct answer, would be $25,600 - a nice bump up from the $21,601 total you get by hedging.
Over time, you'll also note how rarely the final betting strategy is the determines the winner.
Watch the show for any length of time and you'll see it almost always makes sense for 2nd place to risk it all to double up.
There are times when third place can bet strategically to win the game if the other two players cannot provide the correct response.
Do the math at the end and see if you agree, the margin of the lead 1st place has is worth risking in Final Jeopardy! (A greater reward for winning the game.)
Note, also, that betting on yourself to have the correct answer (in the form of a question, of course, for Jeopardy!) is a winning strategy in any game.
