What do Joni Mitchell, Rosie Odonell, and Key West have to do with Brian Silverman?
Here I sit in Key West... at a house that I have been at since the second of June. In many ways this house, and Key West is about a fresh beginning. It is about not wanting to lose touch with what is in my soul, which is my life is changing along with my work life. I am on this journey of happiness, and have the luxury of good friends and family and have been meeting new ones.
Some, relatively new friends, came down for the weekend. (Thanks Tom and Mike!) Was so nice to have them here, company, and we had a great time. As Tom said, they like to be easy house guest and remind themselves this is someones home and they just fit in as if they belong here. We had a bbq and pool party last night for some great gentlemen, including Graham, Bruce, Shane, Jeremy and some new friends in Key West Terry and Seann. This was a group of folks who didn't all know each other, but by the end of the evening you would have thought we had all been friends for a long times. Was lovely to see how well people get along. (We did miss a particular Amigo!)
I feel this morning more relaxed and at ease than I have in a very long time. As I embark on new work adventures, I am trying to remind myself of the nice life I have in Fort Lauderdale, and the point of this new journey is how do I maintain this level of peace and happiness in my life. I am not in a position not to work. I am not in a position thankfully to have to accept positions that are not in context of how I want to live and exist. It is easy, I will help out, a few conference calls here and there. A proposal, a quick call with a customer, some quick research, and the next steps but if I am not careful I will be on my way again and into a world that is quite easy for me. The real work this time is to not get caught up in the whirlwind of moments, but to keep an eye on the real prize which is happiness and being relaxed.
I remind myself that there are thousands of people every day that don't care about corporations. They don't wake up worried about where their next promotion will be. Or, what the politics of it all looks like. Or, how do you negotiate a purchase from a customer that you know will benefit from your product. There are many people, maybe they run a restaurant, who are focused on the now and making sure they really provide the best food and service on that day. They pour drinks at a bar, and want to make sure that person sitting there enjoys the spirits and the company so they will come back again, and maybe even leave a nice tip for good service. I realize my view of these careers maybe a little warped. There are employment, inventory, pricing and marketing issues in running a restaurant. Being a bartender is much more than just pouring drinks and listening to people's stories every day. But, they have an immediacy that I have not always had in my career. It can take months to sell something, and even more to see the real value of marketing and actions.
There are people who think about how they are going to make a garden pop with color or style. They maybe have a bakery or multiple bakeries and want to make sure their cookies leave you with that special feeling. The idea for me is there are people that in this world are not caught up on the moment of stock prices, revenues, margins, and the competitiveness that drives many in corporate America. They see their happiness as being measure in dollars, titles, tasks, notoriety and power. There is nothing wrong with them. They just don't see life the way I want to. They don't define their happiness in terms of how many times they smile in a given day. Or they don't think of their day and happiness as being tied to how well they slept last night. Was it a peaceful sleep after a relaxing day, or was it the kind of sleep cause you can't keep your eyes open from Exhaustion. Do they feel they are making a difference? or is the world set up to make a difference for them.
As I have been exploring, there is a link and discussion on Rosie Odonell's blog about an interview of Joni Mitchell. It is 104 minutes which is usually about 100 minutes longer than my attention span for something like this, but I kept sitting and watching. Maybe was one of the rainy days last week, and I was struck by her confidence in her talents. That she was so clear about what she was capable of, and as an artist how she saw people from a very young age. If you have a few minutes give it a try.
Joni Mitchell CBC Interview
So, I sit here in a house not of my own, in Key West not my home town. Thinking about the possibilities, and trying to keep my eyes open looking for the right door to walk through.
Some, relatively new friends, came down for the weekend. (Thanks Tom and Mike!) Was so nice to have them here, company, and we had a great time. As Tom said, they like to be easy house guest and remind themselves this is someones home and they just fit in as if they belong here. We had a bbq and pool party last night for some great gentlemen, including Graham, Bruce, Shane, Jeremy and some new friends in Key West Terry and Seann. This was a group of folks who didn't all know each other, but by the end of the evening you would have thought we had all been friends for a long times. Was lovely to see how well people get along. (We did miss a particular Amigo!)
I feel this morning more relaxed and at ease than I have in a very long time. As I embark on new work adventures, I am trying to remind myself of the nice life I have in Fort Lauderdale, and the point of this new journey is how do I maintain this level of peace and happiness in my life. I am not in a position not to work. I am not in a position thankfully to have to accept positions that are not in context of how I want to live and exist. It is easy, I will help out, a few conference calls here and there. A proposal, a quick call with a customer, some quick research, and the next steps but if I am not careful I will be on my way again and into a world that is quite easy for me. The real work this time is to not get caught up in the whirlwind of moments, but to keep an eye on the real prize which is happiness and being relaxed.
There are people who think about how they are going to make a garden pop with color or style. They maybe have a bakery or multiple bakeries and want to make sure their cookies leave you with that special feeling. The idea for me is there are people that in this world are not caught up on the moment of stock prices, revenues, margins, and the competitiveness that drives many in corporate America. They see their happiness as being measure in dollars, titles, tasks, notoriety and power. There is nothing wrong with them. They just don't see life the way I want to. They don't define their happiness in terms of how many times they smile in a given day. Or they don't think of their day and happiness as being tied to how well they slept last night. Was it a peaceful sleep after a relaxing day, or was it the kind of sleep cause you can't keep your eyes open from Exhaustion. Do they feel they are making a difference? or is the world set up to make a difference for them.
As I have been exploring, there is a link and discussion on Rosie Odonell's blog about an interview of Joni Mitchell. It is 104 minutes which is usually about 100 minutes longer than my attention span for something like this, but I kept sitting and watching. Maybe was one of the rainy days last week, and I was struck by her confidence in her talents. That she was so clear about what she was capable of, and as an artist how she saw people from a very young age. If you have a few minutes give it a try.
Joni Mitchell CBC Interview
So, I sit here in a house not of my own, in Key West not my home town. Thinking about the possibilities, and trying to keep my eyes open looking for the right door to walk through.
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