Rules that don't exist are all around us, and they can keep us from living a life of awesome. In honor of the upcoming release of Penguins Can't Fly, we are posting a different rule every day on our various social media accounts, using the hashtag #notarule. Some are rules we've uncovered, others have been shared with us from people like you. Follow along on Instagram, Tumblr, or Facebook or share your own rule here! This submission from Jacki Rocklewitz asks, #whatswrongwithbabushkas? So many rules are broken here...too numerous to name! Here's a good reminder with all the spring showers... To heck with the breakfast police. Ah, the good old kitchen sink. Only thing missing is the rubber duckie. Finally, here is a great (and adorable) submission from Tinye Harding: …
Rules That Don't Exist
We are constantly bombarded with rules that don't exist. This collection of “rules” comes from everywhere: parents, grandparents, politicians, first grade teachers, old dead white guys, and young celebrity trendsetters. We follow them (often subconsciously) for reasons that range from irrelevant to superstitious to downright stupid. Sadly, they often limit us from living better stories. Below are some we've identified so far. Did we miss one?
How to Get Better at Spotting Rules That Don’t Exist
The rules that don't exist are holding us back from untold opportunities and a life of awesome. It’s one thing to encourage you to question everything. It’s another thing to actually do it, because we’re creatures of habit. These rules are so ingrained within us that we don’t even stop to consider an alternative. In hindsight, the successful choices great rule breakers of the past made seem obvious. Building an amusement park that is safe, clean, and enjoyable for both children and adults is a no-brainer now. So why didn’t anyone do it before Walt Disney? So, how do you get good at noticing the rules? Here are five ways that help: 1) Start a Practice Project. I recently started an ongoing project called #notarule. Every day, I post a rule that doesn’t exist. Sometimes they are rules my family has broken. Sometimes they’re rules I’ve noticed someone else break. After a few weeks of posting regularly, other people started sending me rules. As the project has unfolded, I've gotten …
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This Week in Rule Breaking
Rules that don't exist are all around us, and they can keep us from living a life of awesome. In honor of the upcoming release of Penguins Can't Fly, we are posting a different rule every day on our various social media accounts, using the hashtag #notarule. Some are rules we've uncovered, others have been shared with us from people like you. Follow along on Instagram, Tumblr, or Facebook or share your own rule here! Kathy Korthals hosted a goose who apparently didn't get the memo on nests. Saw this sweet ride while downtown the other day. This one was inspired by family childcare provider Vicki Pals, who wrote, “Many of our daycare children love to wear socks that don’t match.” Me too. Brownie Ware changed the game when she pioneered home parties to sell Tupperware. Pinwheels don’t need to be watered, thrive in the shade, and really come alive on windy days. This #notarule was inspired by Renée Tiemann and of course @jimmyfallon and …
Thou Shalt Not Jump In Puddles (or Dance in the Rain)
[ This is an excerpt from Penguins Can’t Fly +39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist, a beautiful and inspiring book that will help you uncover and break the so-called rules that could be holding you back from a life of awesome. Get it here! ] Several years ago, Kim and I were hanging out at the Memorial Union on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison. Overlooking Lake Mendota, it’s the perfect place to sit in one of the trademark yellow, orange, or green chairs and people watch. On this day, my eyes were drawn to a small family—Mom, Dad, and a little girl with pigtails—walking along the shoreline. The girl was a few yards ahead of her parents when she spotted a puddle, a remnant of the rainstorm that had drenched the city the day before. Like the Millennium Falcon being pulled toward the Death Star by its powerful tractor beam, the girl was drawn to the pool of water. Her intent was clear: She was going to get up close and personal with that puddle. My first reaction …
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Thou Shalt Celebrate Christmas on December 25th
Chris Clarke-Epstein is an amazing writer and speaker, as well as a beloved friend, mentor, and "Ahma Chris" to our kids. She was also an integral part of our most recent Escape Adulthood Summit. A while back, she told us about a special penguin-themed family tradition, and we're thrilled she was willing to write this guest post. And since today is World Penguin Day, what better time to share it? All my growing up years, our family – the whole family gathered on Christmas Eve for Swedish food, amazing story telling, and glorious present opening. We wound down the festivities in time for those so inclined to attend the religious service of choice (Lutheran, Catholic, Episcopalian) or not. Christmas Day was reserved for individual celebrations with immediate family members. No one challenged nor thought of challenging this pattern. Since our family primarily remained physically located in the Midwest, distance wasn’t a factor in keeping our long held pattern inviolate. Divorce, …
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This Week in Rule Breaking
Rules that don't exist are all around us, and they can keep us from living a life of awesome. In honor of the upcoming release of Penguins Can't Fly, we are posting a different rule every day on our various social media accounts, using the hashtag #notarule. Some are rules we've uncovered, others have been shared with us from people like you. Follow along on Instagram, Tumblr, or Facebook or share your own rule here! #notarule but for anyone who's married, this one sure feels like it... Desperate times call for desperate measures. (Hat tip to Justin Connelly via 1000LifeHacks.com) We took our kids to Wild Kratts Live last week. So...yes, get a job with benefits. Just make sure they’re the ones you want. Creativity knows no bounds, especially when it comes to sidewalk chalk. (via Jenna Regis) Why should kids get to have all the fun? #notarule Via McKenzie Rabenn, who is helping organize Wisconsin’s first ever summer camp for grown ups: …
It’s Fun Breaking a Rule Every Now and Again
It sat there taunting me for over a month. It was a copy of Jack Staples and The Ring of Time, sent to me to review. I don’t normally review things, but I said yes, mostly because I am a fan of the authors. I read Circle Maker by Mark Batterson and Awake by Joel N. Clark and enjoyed them very much. However, both of those books are non-fiction, which is what I normally read. But fiction? Not so much, unless you count Dragons Love Tacos or The Day The Crayons Quit. It’s been a long time since I’ve read any fiction with infinitely more words than pictures. I blame my three kids. But I also have the tendency to believe that reading non-fiction is somehow more productive. When the guilt become too much to bear (I hate going back on my word) and I finally started reading Jack Staples, it was slow going at first. Not because of anything to do with the book, which is cut from the same cloth as Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia. It was mostly because I was distracted by all …
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This Week in Rule Breaking
Rules that don't exist are all around us, and they can keep us from living a life of awesome. In honor of the upcoming release of Penguins Can't Fly, we are posting a different rule every day on our various social media accounts, using the hashtag #notarule. Some are rules we've uncovered, others have been shared with us from people like you. Follow along on Instagram, Tumblr, or Facebook or share your own rule here! This 7-superhero mural was made with 9,000 post-it notes. And there are probably 9,000 ways to make your office more fun if you're willing to break a few "rules." Funny how a little thing like changing color can change everything. It's quite possible that we wouldn't have iPods, iPhones, or iPads had this little innovation not sparked Apple's turnaround. More with color here. Also, green is a perfectly fine color for eggs and ham. Henry Ford proved that if you break the rules, you can change the game. What are the "givens" in your industry …
Thou Shalt Always Wear Clean Underpants Upon Leaving Thy House
[ This is an excerpt from Penguins Can’t Fly +39 Other Rules That Don’t Exist, a beautiful and inspiring book that will help you uncover and break the so-called rules that could be holding you back from a life of awesome. Get it here! ] Moms everywhere seem to be united in their desire to make sure that if we leave the house, we do so with clean underpants. In case we get into an accident. Naturally. Because if you get into an accident, and you are rushed to the hospital, and the emergency workers are required to remove your underwear, and they discover that your tighty-whiteys are not as white as they should be, your mother will be notified immediately about her automatic induction into the Bad Mom Hall of Shame. Or so I gather. …
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This Week In Rule Breaking
Rules that don't exist are all around us, and they can keep us from living a life of awesome. In honor of the upcoming release of Penguins Can't Fly, we are posting a different rule every day on our various social media accounts, using the hashtag #notarule. Some are rules we've uncovered, others have been shared with us from people like you. Follow along on Instagram, Tumblr, or Facebook or share your own rule here! Chip Lutz went to the trouble of demonstrating that this is "snot" a rule that doesn't exist. Tinye Harding reminds us that most fashion faux pas are really rules that don't exist: Josh Solar is a cool dude and a cool dad. He said, "When your kids wants to become a smurf, you say yes..." Anastasia Turchetta told us that she really felt like she was breaking the rules when she left her socks packed away on a recent flight. It's no surprise that David Rendall is the leader of Freak Nation. You can also tell that he has daughters. The …
