Things To Act, and Things To Be Acted Upon

If you have no vision, you are blind.

Duh. In other words, you will not be able to see your path. Ultimately you will by necessity be led by someone with vision, or stumble around in the apparent darkness. Hopefully, you will stumble upon someone with a great vision and hitch your cart to their horse, otherwise the future is bleak indeed.

In nearly every philosophy or self improvement method or book I've read, there are a few concepts that crop up repeatedly. This one is usually near the beginning, because without it, you won't get far. The Bible says it this way, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18). If you don't know what you are about, how can you be about it? If you are not a thing to act, you are a thing to be acted upon by an actor. 

At work one day this week I was doing a 30 minute treatment on a wound on a bed bound elderly gentleman's bottom. He developed this wound because he is unable to reposition himself effectively enough to allow adequate blood flow to the skin tissues. Essentially his tissues are starved for blood and break down because he is unable to make large enough or frequent enough fidgets to allow blood flow to his buttocks and his caregivers did not adjust his position effectively enough. (I get called in when a wound such as this is has not been healing for over 30 days.) Non-healthcare professionals may assume that this is an unusual problem. They would be incorrect with this assumption. Millions of people nationwide, for one reason or another, are literally sitting themselves to death. This man, unfortunately, has become a person to be acted upon.

While performing this 30 minute treatment (while waiting for the machine to do it's thing) I documented his progress (after several treatments he is now healing) and completed some other notes, while listening to the afternoon news on his television. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that former President George H. W. Bush had gone sky diving to celebrate his 90th birthday. Despite his Parkinsonian symptoms, he is still acting on things and directing his life. 

Yes, former President Bush is now mostly chair bound (his jump was a tandem jump with a helper). Yes, he has more mental faculties and financial opportunities than my patient. Yes, he has more social support than my patient. But these are things he gained based on choices he made in his life. Now looking forward from my vantage point in my 30's, it is clear that my actions today will lead to my circumstances in my 60's, 70's, 80's, and hopefully 90's and beyond. Why not seize the day and choose to act. 

Of note, Mr. Bush also took a dive on his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays. I'll be watching to see if he makes 95. But whether he does or does not, maybe I will...

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/06/12/birthday-parachute-jump-for-former-pres-g-h-w-bush-today/

You Are the Hero of Your Own Story

There are two principles here:

1. You are the hero of your own story. No one else is going to slay the dragon for you. If they do, it was their dragon and their book; not yours. If you want to be successful, YOU have to go out and make that happen. Sure, you can get some help along the way. There can be (and should be) well developed supporting characters that help you on your adventure--even The Lone Ranger had Tonto (as Dave Ramsey sometimes says). But, in the end, as one of my patients used to say, "you are the hero of your own story." What is your story going to be about?

2. If you are the hero of your own story, that means everybody else is the hero of their own stories too. In case you didn't quite catch it, that means that the best you will ever be in someone else's book, is a strong supporting actor. The worst you will be is the antagonist. Don't be someone's antagonist unless it is because you are just being awesome and they are being lame. In other words don't intentionally be antagonistic. In any exchange between two or more people, there are two or more books being written. No matter how awesome you are (or how lame they are), the other person's book is about them. Your book is about you. The best possible outcome is that you are both each others' strong supporting actors, or at least a good cameo.

Dale Carnegie puts it this way, "Remember that the people you are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in you and your problems." (How to Win Friends & Influence People, Pocket Books paper back edition May 2010, p. 93)

In other words, it's not always about you...or is it? I guess in one book it always is about me...make it a good book!

Anyway, thanks for sharing this part of my book with me. Now it's a part of your book too. mwaa haa haa.

Travelogue to Success

So I was going to call this blog "Travelogue to Success". I then promptly had to make sure my spelling of both travelogue, and success were correct--they were (how else would you spell them? travel-log (if you're not French), sucks-cess (a tribute to building your successes on your failures and right in line with a conversation I had today with a patient about how a fly vomits on its food to liquify it prior to sucking it up--yum, yum (I'm afraid I just lost my only reader--yuck!).
Side note--I heard that most radio hosts have one thing in common: they are able to jump from one random subject to another and tie them together some how. My mother would call this "scatter-brained". Since I plan on working in radio one day, I call this "talented".
So, "Travelogue to Success" sounded so presumptuous, since I'm probably not really that successful according to most people, although by definition I may already be successful because I am an achiever of many of my aims (https://www.google.com/search?biw=1177&bih=721&q=define+succeed&sa=X&psj=1&psj=1&psj=1&ei=lYQuU8TtMcODogTe-YGABA&ved=0CEIQgCswAA 1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, 2. the attainment of popularity or profit, 3. a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains prosperity, 4. the outcome of an undertaking, specified as achieving or failing to achieve its aims.) This blog seems like something someone would write after being successful--but then it would be a book, not a blog. So calling my blog that now seems presumptuous, but calling it that later seems counterproductive.
Of note--the word success comes from the same root as the word succeed (as in succeed someone to the throne), succedere, which means "to come close after". Jon Acuff in his book Quitter discusses the idea of defining success so you know when you've reached it (and can stop endlessly searching after it and ruining all that is good in your life in the process). This may be a good idea since the word itself implies coming close to your goal "after" (after what?). Success to many people may mean attaining popularity or prosperity. I think the process of drawing close to a goal is more important than what comes after (though the after may be more posh). The important part is the struggle and learning process that comes while going through the "Nebraska" phase (Acuff again), or the ____ phase (Outliers and the Beatles). Though once you've muddled through your own Nebraska phase the world will finally notice you and *snap* you're an "over-night success". This time there will be evidence of the process (or I'll die penniless and no one will ever read this, or they will read it and know what not to do :)). --double smile.
The patient from above also said today that he thinks the most important ingredient to success is confidence and getting rid of ego (seemingly a contradiction...but give it some thought). Anyway, I'm so confident in my future success that I'm presumptuous (full of boldness and anticipation...or arrogance...or audacity (if you're a fan of Pres. Obama...or whatever). Bottom line is--
I'm going to be Wildly Successful, and Happy--maybe I should get that blog name now...hmm. naw. I'll never reach success anyway--only come close to it. Shoot! now it's not the bottom line. I already need that editor.