Wisdom. Knowledge. Understanding. What I wish I knew when I was a teenager.

"Information is not knowledge."

~Albert Einstein

With free time until a new assignment November 1^st  I have been working through a “MeDOs” list.  Except, it seems my two teenage daughters have decided that they are in one crisis or another defined as "stressed out" to them:

A) HOMEWORK: After job, boyfriend, friends 

B) SLEEP: Cell phone alarm doesn't work 

C) BOSS: Won't switch shifts because of A) 

D) MONEY:  Equals clothes, gas, entertainment 

E) CAR: Gas drains from D) because of A)

I bet you know of cures or recommendations.   Trust me, they’re teenagers.  They don't want it.  They want to be heard and understood.  They certainly don’t want you to tell them how to solve anything.  

My father passed away a year ago October 28, 2011.  I miss him.  We would always have these great conversations.  He was 76, just shy of 77.  He seemed to always call when Mom was out playing bridge and between his beloved Vancouver Canucks games (or baseball, etc.)    When I was the same age as my daughters, he went to work and that’s all I remember really.  Everything else revolved around me.  Hmm, let’s see, homework (check), working (check) … you get the picture!  I don’t recall asking his advice or if I did, what that advice may have been.  I doubt I was listening.

It was the past 5 or 10 years that I started to ask his advice.  Perhaps retirement and aging brings out the glory days of wanting to revisit them, share them, or just plain have your kids learn from them?  Most likely, nature evolves into a pattern where we want to hear about everything from our parents.

I’d rather my kids learn NOW what I know several years later, wish I knew or paid attention to while I was in my teens.  Most likely, that will arrive when they hit their 40s, with families of their own.  Miraculously, if they were to listen, this is what I would say:  

MISTAKES:  Everyone makes them.  When you admit them and learn from them, that is when you will grow.

INTEGRITY:  Is something that you have and nobody can take it away from you.

LEARN:  Be a sponge, ask questions, then more questions, clarify if you don’t understand, restate it in a way you comprehend, finally share it.  There is always something you can learn from anyone regardless of age, station or background.

SUCCESS:  As soon as you think you’ve “arrived” you have just limited yourself.  Always have goals, with ladders or specific goals within those goals.

FAILURE:   Is normal.  No, it isn’t cool.  Yet, the coolest people can count the number of failures they’ve had.

REPUTATION:  No matter how far you reach, how far you’ve come, there will always be someone out to discredit you, take you off track, or suck you into negativity or character assassination.   If you keep a steady path, you will see it for what it is.

CHARACTER:  Be known for being a person of character.   It is within your own control.  Beauty, wealth, athleticism fade long before character.

YOUTH:  Youth is not a look, it is a spirit.  Like words in a song:  there are young people wise beyond their years and old people immature.

PERSEVERANCE:  Continue no matter what.  It doesn’t matter how often you face challenges, it is more important how you face them.  

HUMOUR:  Always and often.  Find ways to laugh so hard that it is contagious.

COMMUNICATION:  Listen more, speak less.  You may not realize what you're missing if all you hear is yourself.  Write often to inspires yourself.  Nobody else has to read it to be of value.

DECISIONS:  (My dad’s favourite)  “What’s the payoff?”  What is the worst that could happen?  Instead, focus on what could be the best.

HUMILITY:  Be humble.  There is no such thing as saying “thank you” too much.  When people ask how you are, they’re not asking for a play-by-play.  Let others brag about accomplishments, if they’re meaningful, you won’t have to.

INTELLIGENCE:  Is not IQ.  It is a measurement of what your brain can absorb.  Your attitude determines what you retain.

“Nothing is impossible.  The word itself says “I’m possible”

~Audrey Hepburn

 “MeDOs”


HEALTH:  Annual Physical: Usually schedule around my birthday.  Life is a gift.
AUTO:   Maintenance: September is a good goal to have. Back to everything.
CLOTHES:  Sort through clothes I no longer want.  Donate to charity
PAPERWORK: Organize paperwork in advance for tax season.  Proactive.

Health, Heart, Soul spells GO!

"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

~World Health Organization, 1948

A healthy, happy and well-fed sales pro or leader is created by balance at home, great company, family, and a holistic outlook from the inside out.  For example, the post Thanksgiving Dinner I had tonight with my husband was splendid.  Although his first reaction was there wouldn't be enough for his carnivore pallet :


POST THANKSGIVING DINNER:

JM's Lite Cheaters Ceasar Salad topped with fresh shrimp
Hard boiled egg
Home made Bruchetta
Couple slices of cheddar cheese
Few Carrot Sticks
Crantini


Bruschetta (8 Roma tomatoes, 4 garlic cloves, 1 T fresh Basil, 1/2 tsp ea. freeze dried Oregano, 1 small red onion; sprinkle sea salt; chop everything into fine pieces ~ let ingredients absorb ~ahhh can you say garlic?

JM's LITE CHEATERS CEASAR SALAD:  Fresh Ceasar Salad Dressing from Produce section of Supermarket, 2 Romaine Lettuce Hearts (washed in ice cold water with ice, absorbed in towel and store wrapped in fridge until ready to toss); approx 3 T  Ceasar separate container; add about 3-4 cloves minced garlic;  let sit for 20-30 min.;  when ready to serve lightly coat with Parmasan Cheese, douse with coarse pepper, then toss with Cheaters Dressing.  I leave out croutons because there are enough calories .... ahhh garlic .. again!

Crantini Martini made from left over homemade Thanksgiving Cranberries (below) Place  2-3 cups ice; 1 oz vodka, 2-3 T leftover Cranberry mixture into Blender ~let it rip!


FRESH CRANBERRIES:  Fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup brown sugar (or sugar to taste), cover fresh cranberries with water, boil/simmer/mash/cool

CAUTION:  Ensure everyone eats at the same time to enjoy each other's garlic "aroma"

VOILA:  You feel healthy, prudent using leftover while being happy (thanks to the Crantini)


NOTE:  Flowers from Thanksgiving Dinner Table

TIME:  No more than an hour if you follow the menu order.


P.S.  No, hubby didn't go looking for snacks afterwards.

DESSERT:  Go for a walk, preferably a park close by (like the one I'm fortunate to have nearby pictured above) and just "BE".




"Diseases of the soul are more dangerous and more numerous than those of the body"

~Cicero

Knock off JOBS!

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”

Steve Jobs

I certainly was expecting that sooner or later someone would start bashing Steve Jobs, as most, if not all, icons have their weaknesses, nor are perfect.  I'm respectfully ascertain that most have even done the appropriate amount of research before publishing their article.

What I despise and would expect is "professionalism".   Meaning respect for those that knew him personally (wife, children, inner circle, colleagues) who loved him intensely, warts and all, and allow them time for grief ….   Before having to face the ugly side that was sure to emerge.

To assume that anyone of us is perfect is naive.  Give people credit.  The wide world of web means access to a ton of information, opinions, truths, and lies.  Very few faced with so much information, believe everything they read.  About Jobs already?  All I know, is very little is accomplished without a lot of sweat and tears.   Many of us have had teachers or bosses that seemed impossible, didn't always communicate in the best fashion yet we look back at them with respect to the degree in what they taught us.

My own naivity continues to believe in the best of people.  Yet, I would still expect grace to allow the mourners the time to reflect on wonderful memories before having to face those that want to be the first to “expose” Steve Jobs weaknesses.   I guess there is that notch out there --  to be recognized as one of the first to uncover the ugly side of Steve Jobs.   We all have our choices.  My choice is to think about the magnificent impact he did have on my life.  i.e.  a colleague sending me his “Stanford address”  around 6 months ago so I could pass it on to my 18 year old daughter who was trying to decide what to do with her life, what to take in university, etc.  I forwarded it to her, we discussed it, saying:  “don’t worry so much about figuring out your whole life, start by understanding what you are interested in, want to learn, and go with that”.  That is what Steve Jobs’ address inspired me to say to her.

Uncovering the commentaries on who, what, where the iPODs, iPhones, iPADs are manufactured.  China:  imagine that!   Look at what you wear, where you shop.  I could pretend that I’m brilliant to say that there is a pretty good chance many are “Made in China”.   I certainly hope those same authors are asking people to boycott places that sound like W-mrt.    Let’s see, 1 billion people, minimum wages unheard of in North American terms, an outrage!  Teens and younger having to work instead of going to school, that is beyond fathomable!   I have had teens who turn up their nose at washing dishes in my own home, never mind at a restaurant.  Who are we fooling here?  Give credit that there are people out there that respect, help out their families, placing others before their own desires, just to put food on their tables by everyone pitching in.   Those same articles and beliefs are where all this self-entitlement comes from.    We push our kids off to university, let them live at home, while their degree measures up to working at a fast food restaurant because if the job isn’t the CEO, then they’ll bide their time.

So those that do want to continue to bash Steve Jobs.  Continue.  I’d love to see you wrestle the iPhones and iPADs away from your kids.  Do you think they care who, what, where or how they’re made?  If you do, hats off.  If you don’t, I’ll root for the long climb ahead of you.  Those that say “huh?” well, ‘nuff said …. Perhaps controversial readership is where its all at?

At the end of the day … when my time comes to pass,  I would be thankful if people celebrate the good that I’ve done, respect my family and loved ones mourning.  Thinking about it, perhaps obscurity won’t be such a bad thing.  At least, there won’t be an “a-wake” to what I could have done better.

 

“Be a yardstick of quality.  Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”

Steve Jobs