Think Christmas Eve night. Like when you were young.
Our lives start to create their own rhythmic and melodious whimsy when we start to design our upcoming days.
When is the last time you got up without the help of an alarm?
Dreaming of what you want to unwrap tomorrow can help here.
If you’ve never heard of Ellis Island, historically, it would be worth 5 minutes of Googling.
What if everyday in your mind you got on a boat, sailed to a place with freedom of choice, got off the boat, and went on a journey?
This happens every day.
This is entrepreneurship.
We all should write ‘Ellis Island’ on our hands a reminder of what we’re all trying to do here and who did it before us.
When a group gathers around a campfire, a dinner table, or even a cause, the topic of conversation that tends to unfold hasn’t changed much in the last 2,000 years.
Nowhere does it say that the trend will set us free.
Just a friendly reminder for our lives, families, and businesses.
Abraham Maslow brought us great clarity and insight with his paper from 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation. You’ve probably seen his pyramid of needs hundreds of times.
Each step of the pyramid asks a question on its way to the top. 1) What’s for dinner? 2) Where will I sleep? 3) Who am I connected to? 4) How do I feel emotionally? 5) Who am I? What is my purpose? What is my story? What is my music I was sent here to make?
A name is simply an exterior label that distinguishes us from another and you’ll probably never need a reminder of what your name is. But you may need constant reminders of what it truly means to be you – the soul, the story, and the music beneath the named skin. These were the subsurface needs of humanity that Maslow was arguing for atop his pyramid and therein lay the pathway to self-actualization.
Honesty serves as reminder. Don’t kid yourself.
Independence serves as a reminder. Draw a map, don’t use a map.
Awareness serves as a reminder. Get birds-eye above your moments, minutes, hours, and days.
Objectivity serves as a reminder. An open mind leads to impartiality.
Context serves as a reminder. Fill the shoes for your role in the grand story unfolding.
Originality serves as a reminder. Keep it fresh.
Creativity serves as a reminder. In the words of Einstein, “your imagination is a preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Solitude serves as a reminder. The Noise is tag team champion of the world with the Resistance.
Wonder serves as a reminder. We know what is. Bring us what could be.
Whatever it is that reminds you of what it means to be you, just know that if it’s true, the truth will set you free and the view is better from the top.
Maybe you need to go left.
Maybe you need to go right.
Maybe you need to stop.
Maybe you need to start.
Maybe you need to stay put and be the best you can be where you are at (and lose the idea/worry/concern of left or right & start or stop).
Whatever you’re thinking, amendments were made to make things better.
Michelangelo carved the marble until he set the angel free. No amendments, no angel.
3 thoughts here:
1) We’re always surprised when traveling light just how free we are to enjoy the journey. What needs to go so you may fly?
2) In the end, you’ll be known for your amendments, not your additions.
3) More and more of less and less is currently the ballad of the hour that the successful can’t quit singing.
Ashton.Gustafson 