Two choices, two outcomes for each.
Looking back:
Looking forward:
With both “looking back” and “looking forward,” you have choices.
When you’re in the present, however, there’s no choice. You’re just there.
You know. Do your thing. Whatever makes you happy.
Princess Di helped the less fortunate. It made her happy.
John Lennon wrote music for his fans. It made him happy.
Mike Winston publicly fought ALS, inspiring thousands. It made him happy.
Simply choosing to “do you” should make you happy. But if “doing you” is actually “doing for others”, you get more than just happy.
You get to live forever.
As the pressure builds and stress increases, sometimes you have to laugh.
When my girlfriend tells me she has earned the right to take the elevator down three floors because she works out every day, I have to laugh. Didn’t she read the athlete and the elevator?
When my condo’s management spends 200k on a new fitness center, only to, without first benevolently communicating concerns to the residents, remove half the weights and machines because of a single resident’s (out of 350 units) over-sensitive noise issues, I have to laugh. How could you guys be so dense?
When some of my best friends are still slaving away for an IT consulting firm working on meaningless projects during all their waking hours, I have to laugh. Why are you wasting your life to make someone else rich?
No, situations like these aren’t inherently funny. In fact, when I’m tired or stressed, little things like this are, at first, aggravating. Infuriating, even. But, what’s the point in feeling that way?
It’s like a fork in the road. One way is “get angry”. The other is “have a laugh”. And when “have a laugh” path seems the toughest, most uphill, that’s when it’s most important to go that way.
Are you one of those people who takes the “get angry” route?
LOL.
NOTE: I can’t stand it when people use the term LOL. But, I have laugh at the irony of it being the only substitute to me actually doing my “have to laugh” laugh.
“Everyone wants more of two things: Facebook “Likes” and money”
Economists study one. Social media marketers study the other. Everyone says the same thing about both. “I want to get more now. I want to get more quickly. And I want to get more for less” For Facebook “Likes” and money, their true value is different. But their effect is, in many respects, the same.
For large businesses, acquiring likes is important. Save them up and when there’s a good opportunity, deploy the capital. And, even though the value is decreasing, the race to accumulate more is unchanged.
For start-ups, getting likes early-on is good for building credibility. Then, it helps organically grow the brand. And the community.
There’s definite value in businesses having “Likes”. But if you are getting into the game late, you can’t expect to catch up. You have to think small at first and build from there. JP Morgan started with a few dollars. And a few “Likes”.
Getting likes is fun. And can be addicting. But after a while, they lose their meaning. And value. And excitement. Like money.
Giving “Likes” is powerful. They can help start-ups. Or brighten a friends day. Or make them feel connected. Money is similar.
For the individual, the real power is in not giving the “Like”. Maybe it’s a company you don’t believe in. Maybe it’s a person you don’t care for. The “dislike” always has an impact. Just like with money, you can take your business elsewhere.
But at the end of the day, Facebook “Likes” and money don’t mean anything. They, however, can be a tool. A tool for giving or a tool for not giving (in protest). And choosing how you give is what’s meaningful. After all, with Facebook “Likes” and money, where are you taking them?
Sweaty and out of breath, the athlete hit the “3” button. I hit “29”. As the elevator closed, my mouth opened. “Getting a lift two floors? Stairs must be broken!”
His response required him to hold the elevator door open a few extra seconds. Condescendingly, he said, “I workout seven days-a-week, two hours-a-day. You try that and take the stairs!”
Fair point. Here’s mine:
What if he cut back to 4 days per week for 30 minutes? Would he:
There is one drawback to my solution. He would no longer be able to tell neighbors in the elevator on his way to the third floor that he works out seven days-a-week, two hours-a-day. That would suck for everyone.