At a speaking engagement in Fort Worth, Texas, we passed out paper and crayons to the audience and asked them to draw a funny picture with the intent of hiding it in an unexpected place for someone else to find. We call it a Doodlesmile. Eager for the opportunity to draw with crayons, most of them dove right in. Except for a nice-looking lady in her seventies. She sat with her paper blank and her arms crossed. My brother-in-law, who happened to be sitting right next to her, asked, "Aren't you going to draw something?" Her response: "I'm too old to draw." Too old to draw? Hmm. I …
Maintain Perspective
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
I have heard other parents say about parenthood that if their child lives to see adulthood it'll be a miracle. Forget about raising "good kids" just try to keep them alive! I've been very aware of this recently. There are times in the middle of the night when I'm so out of it that I think it's a miracle that I don't accidentally bump Lucy's head on the doorway as I walk her to the living room for her feeding. With having an infant in the winter (in Wisconsin), there have been so many occasions when Jason or myself are carrying her in her car seat and have had to balance ourselves over ice …
Just Add Baby
Bright. Cheery. Helpful. These are words I'm not used to associating with people working in the airline industry. More commonly, I've noticed that security officials and airline employees tend to be among the most riddled with Adultitis. Little did I know that there is a simple solution to help raise them from their doldrums: Just add baby. …
Your Recession-Proof Inner Child
Old people are often accused of being stuck in their ways. "Old" is a relative term, though. It does seem to be that as our age climbs, we tend to get more comfortable and less open to change. But that can begin to happen just as easily when you're in your twenties as when you're taking advantage of the senior citizen discount at Applebees. This little trait doesn't usually serve us all that well. Even less so during economic recessions. …
Sticking Together
This past weekend Jason, Lucy and I drove up to Minneapolis for a speaking program. We were on the road for about 600 miles total, and by the end of it we were relieved to be home. Lucy was an angel, so it wasn't our two month old who created the extra stress on the trip. The weather was fine, so it wasn't that. It was the other drivers. Jason and I identified a significant increase in distracted drivers. Some were swaying back and forth crossing the lines without even knowing it. Others were weaving in and out of lanes so haphazardly, they were endangering everyone around them, including …
Things My 99-Year-Old Self Told Me
Yesterday was my thirty-third birthday. Wow. I guess if I'm really lucky, I'm about a third of the way through. If I'm not, an asteroid could land on my head later today. In some ways, thirty-three seems old, but to be honest, I don't feel much older than twelve. Just a bit wiser, I hope. I spent part of yesterday morning reflecting on things of the past and things to come. I wondered what my 99-year-old self would say to this 33-year-old whippersnapper if he had the chance. Surprisingly, he was eager to share a few things, and this is what he said: 1) Don't waste time worrying about …
Stir With a Purpose
One of my favorite products on our online store is the doormat which says, "Well, Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit, Look Who's Here!" We've received so many great reactions from that simple sentence. Speaking of biscuits, I was looking online the other day for recipes and I found a site sharing tips and techniques for making the perfect biscuit. One of the tips really stood out to me... Stir with a Purpose: When mixing the dough, stir just until the batter is well-moistened and begins to cling together. Overworking can lead to tough, dry, and heavy biscuits; underworking can result in …
Benefits of a Different Kind
When I was a teenager, my Dad always stressed the importance of getting a job with benefits. He made a convincing argument, but in the back of my mind, I always feared that I'd end up disappointing him. Even then, I knew that my career path was unlikely to take a normal route. At that time, I envisioned a career as an illustrator. Most of the cushy studio jobs were gone, and freelancing was the most likely option. Benefits were a long shot, but I reasoned I'd rather do something I loved without them than spend fifty years in a job I hated just to have them. My career path made some …
Doing Nothing
We've gotten lots and lots of parenting advice over the past year. A majority of it has been unsolicited, but for the most part, it has all been very well intentioned. By far the most common bit of advice has been something along these lines: Cherish every moment; it all goes so fast. Honestly, I pretty much discarded this one as obvious and irrelevant to me. I mean after all, I'm a motivational speaker for crying out loud; it's the same sort of advice I've dished out for years. I concluded that the givers of this advice all meant well, but clearly didn't know how I roll. …
Killing Adultitis With Kindness
I'm fairly certain you would agree that the overall stress levels have revved up considerably, as of late. Fear is all over the place. Adultitis is running rampant. The buzz word seems to be: crisis. With the financial woes, the everyday worries and concerns seem amplified- job security, bills/debt, retirement planning, education, etc. With more financial stress comes more crime, abuse, addiction, divorce.... yikes. It's easy to become overwhelmed and let this fear paralyze you. It's much more of a challenge to take things one day at a time, with the goal of making the best out of each …