After you ask the Big Question, you need to ask the small question:
“Was I better today than I was yesterday?”
Did you do more?
Did you do it well?
Monitoring day-by-day success ensures you will reach your goal long-term.
Source: Drive by Daniel Pink, pages 155-156
During this self-publishing quest, I logged into my CreateSpace account (the one I opened yesterday). They prompted me to provide my EIN (Employer Identification Number). Basically, if you’re going to make money publishing, then you need a Tax ID#. Mind you, I signed up for a wonderful course on Udemy last spring and got about 67% through it when I decided to take a break. It also recommended that I secure an EIN.
I applied for an EIN and I received it.
I then lost track of it.
And I just spent (no joke) TWO HOURS trying to track it down. I just found it.
I’m going to bed now.
So there you have it, that is my progress on the self-publication journey. Not stellar. Not satisfying. C’est la vie.
If you’re following along and pursuing self-publishing, go to this site:
Get yourself and EIN and call it a night.
We were walking on our daughter’s high school campus during Open House. The schedule was set up as a truncated school day: we were to follow the students’ schedules and meet each teacher for six minutes. We were given five minutes between each class. Willey and I were a bit overwhelmed and we realized how Josie (our first high school child) must have felt on her first day: the buildings so far apart, the time to get to each so limited. It was also over 100 degrees outside, even though it was 6pm.
“Mrs. Chung-Wipff?”
I turned around. I didn’t see anyone I recognized. A petite “helper” student walked toward me. (The high school had arranged to have some juniors and seniors assist parents). I searched the girl’s face. And suddenly, I recognized her. Same cute nose and adorable freckles.
I taught Taryn second and third grade. It was the only time I looped in teaching, carrying my entire class over to a second year. It was over eight years ago. When I said goodbye to that class, it felt like I was saying goodbye to my own children. One girl, Taryn, was moving to Utah. She had an angel face and greeted me every day with an enormous smile and the best attitude! She – and the others – made me a better teacher. She and I wept together on the last day of school. I was surprised at the amount of emotion we had. I was going to miss her so much!
And here she was!
I can’t believe she remembers me, I thought. As if she could read my mind, she said, “I can’t believe you remember me, after teaching so many kids!”
No matter what your profession, you must realize that your kindness, love and attention mean the world to someone in your life. It can affect others for years to come, you just never know.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Eckhart Tolle’s premise that Judging others and ourselves, Attaching (to things) and Resisting reality (JAR) all lead to unhappiness and that if you eradicate these three things, you will be happy.
Counting down to vacation, the weekend, or the end of the work day are examples of moments when we resist reality. These are opportunities to stop and think: we need to stop resisting our reality, our longing to be elsewhere.
I used to have a Countdown app. Long story, but I was in a job with a terrible boss. The job would end in 102 days. When I realized this “secret,”- that counting down was the antithesis of living with joy – I deleted the app and paid attention to my life. I did my best to enjoy every minute of the job, despite this awful boss. And I really began to love it!
Enjoy your present moment. Our lives are made of a chain of present moments, right? One right after another….this makes up a lifetime.
I was eating lunch with someone. She said, “I wonder what we’ll have for dinner.” Don’t do that. Fully enjoy your lunch. Dinner will happen when it happens. “But I have to plan it. I have to think about it beforehand, it doesn’t just happen,” you say. True. But while you eat your lunch, eat your lunch. Enjoy each bite. Being fully present for each bite…realizing when you are full and stopping…this is the best “diet.” When it comes time to plan your dinner, do it. And plan your dinner, but only do that. Be fully present. Be happy.
We were driving to violin lessons today. It’s a 45 minute drive. The car in front of us was crossing the line and coming back. The car in the other lane could not advance because of this. I thought, “Either this driver is drunk, or texting.” We passed the car and I saw the driver looking at his lap, obviously on his phone. How dangerous! We saw several people driving in this manner.
Multi-tasking is not only the enemy of happiness and excellent work, it can also cost lives.
So do not countdown to the next thing. Do not do two things at the same time. Slow down. Relax. Be mindful. This is the secret to happiness.
“Finish strong!”
If you’ve ever run a marathon (or half of one)….
or participated in a fitness class….
You hear this exclamation: Finish strong!
But why finish strong? Do people just say it so you don’t quit?
What’s wrong with 80 or 90% completion? Running 80% of a marathon is still running 20.96 miles. That’s a really long distance. Most people would commend you just for that. Most people would say you’re a super star. Most people don’t even give 50%.
But you would know you quit.
You would know that you didn’t quite finish.
And then you’ve created a bit of distrust in yourself.
When you create distrust (in yourself), you create self-doubt. And then you are less likely to take risks or complete tasks.
So, it’s important that you finish strong. A lot rides on it!
I practice yoga at home. I don’t practice enough, but when I do, I like Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga video.
My favorite part of the practice is when he says:
“It’s not WHAT you do, but HOW you do what you do.”
He says it slowly and it makes me think every time. Yes, how you do what you do.
Example #1:
Your server at the restaurant carefully places the plate in front of you, smiles and wordlessly refills your glass.
OR…
Your server brusquely sets your plate down and hurries off to the next table.
Example #2:
Your daughter tells you a story and you listen while looking at your cell phone. She feels like an after thought.
OR…
You give your daughter full attention – eyes and ears – as she tells you a story. She feels loved and respected.
We have our “to do” lists. We have jobs that have to be done. We do these action items day after day and they build up to weeks, months and years. This is called “our life.” There is no end to the things that need to be done. But the quality of our life is in the how of what we’ve done on a consistent basis.
When you’re remarkable (really, really, really good), you can:
all it takes is a ton of dedication, focus and work
Simple!
I read about the “Happiest Man in The World” Matthieu Riccard, a Buddhist monk.
I was intrigued both by his title and the advice he gives to “be happy.” His happiness measurement was taken by a “highly complex MRI scan” conducted by cognitive scientists. Basically, he’s off the charts with his happiness.
How does he attain such bliss?
According to Riccard, happiness is something you must cultivate by practice. You have to look in the right places and you have to be aware of your intention – your intention is to be happy. Happiness is not something that just happens to you.
Secondly, you must work to rid yourself of mental toxins. This is a very challenging task during this election year. Included in the definition of negativity are: greed, envy and pride. Again, this is an enormous obstacle for our “selfie” generation!
Learn to master your inner mental state. Be aware of anger and allow it to dissipate. You are not your anger. And contrary to popular belief, anger is not “natural.”
Meditate. Studies show the efficacy of this practice. Start with focusing on your breath as it goes in and out. When you do this, thoughts cannot enter your mind. This is meditation.
Riccard also recommends that you think only positive thoughts for 15 minutes straight. I tried this during my morning walk with Opal. Although it was nearing 90 degrees F. at 5:30am, I arrived home refreshed, energized and…happy!
We run around and cross off tasks from our “To Do” lists because we believe we are not enough just as we are. We must achieve.
The misconception is that if we don’t do, we are lazy.
Non-doing is not being lazy. It’s simply the decision to be unoccupied.
Sometimes, non-doing is just what we need.
Breathe.
Notice what is right in front of you.
From stillness comes magic.
Kismet 