DREW RIEDER'S BLOG

What did the tree say?

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:17:40 +0000

Welcome to my secret garden!

From my last post (and if you’ve read any blog post I’ve ever written) you can tell I like to use my I-phone to take my own pictures and plop them into the blog. No, it’s not super sophisticated. No, I probably didn’t capture the proper lighting angle or use the proper shooting technique. But, I don’t really care. And, of course, I have nothing against cameras. In fact, I own several different digital cameras and image capturing devices (and use them sometimes–when I remember to bring them along). But I don’t travel with these things. It’s not convenient to do so. But I always have my I-phone with me to capture what I see.

I have tons of respect for photo artists who know all the tricks of the trade and I’ll never put them out of business. Believe me. And, I definitely think there’s craft and skill that are involved in photography. But for the purposes of what I do it doesn’t really matter. My hats are off to all photographers, but I’m sure glad I’m not you. I’m completely unfettered by technical aspects and I can simply follow my bliss.

So here’s what I think about capturing images that tell stories. Anyone can do it. We live in a very cool age where just about any bloke can take a great picture because they see something that looks like art to them. It could be anywhere that this happens. Art is really in the eyes of the beholder (like that saying about “beauty” goes). Another reason I like taking my own pictures is that they belong to me and I can share them for free. I don’t have to license them and pay for them or search for them. It’s also cool to take a picture and then think of a blog post to write along with it. That’s what I did with Mr. Tree Man as seen above.

Our sight is one of the most precious senses we possess. It’s a divine gift that we can see so much beauty all around us. We need to stop and appreciate it more by taking time to pause and be in awe of ordinary things. Here’s my advice to all of us wannabe and tryin-to-be and becoming-super-bloggers. Take a picture and share a story about it.

There’s the nugget right there. Keep it simple. Capture something meaningful and tell others why it means something to you.

I showed you this picture. It was easy to share. So, what did the tree say? The tree said, “thanks for appreciating me and this marvelous face that somebody creative decided to decorate me with.” Maybe he said, “thanks for gazing upon me and for taking time to look.” At any rate, you get the picture. This photo was actually taken in a secret garden at a B & B that I stayed at recently. It was awesome, but that’s another picture & another story that I’ll share with you at another time. Until then, thanks for reading and GO-DO-ART!

Art Lives!

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:09:37 +0000

It's inside of all of us!

On a recent trip to Ellensburg, WA I came across this wooden art work. It was perched on the fence of a rather peculiar house that my wife and I were walking by on the way to breakfast one sunny morning. We had walked about 6 or 7 blocks from our lodging down the spacious alleys of Ellensburg (great photo opportunities in alleys, by the way). As we almost neared our eatery we happened upon the backside of this unique abode and were immediately fascinated.

The gentleman who owned this house had basically adorned every shingle, every exterior wall, his fence-line and his entire yard with art that he’d made himself. The interesting thing about it was that he made all of his art out of things you could collect on the street or from regular household objects. There was the backdoor wall that was covered in all different types of car hubcaps. There was the 6 foot piece of driftwood that was lodged in the grass and had blue glass bottles sticking out all around it. There was the side of the house that was a living mosaic of bicycle and car reflectors. There were the pillars of transformers that formed a mega hedge near a net full of stuffed animals.

It was all very interesting and inspiring all at the same time. Whereas, I “probably” won’t turn my house and yard into an outdoor art museum, it did get me thinking about how to make art & creativity more a part of everything I do. I’m not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination but I love to capture images that I see while I’m out and about living life. I grab it with my I-phone and can easily drop it into a blog post and share it with you.

You see, Art does Live and it is so easy to share. You can experience it by looking around you. It’s meant to be shared and it nearly always helps change our perspective on life. So, my charge to you in this little post is to go do something creative with your time. Make your life art. Go take a walk and experience God’s handiwork or stumble onto a home made of art. Stuff to ponder. I’ll be back soon. Thanks for reading.

GO-DO-ART!

Life Lessons from “Saving Private Ryan”!

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:49:49 +0000

Freedom is not Free!

During patriotic holidays like the 4th of July–Independence Day I often reflect on the ending of the movie Saving Private Ryan. It’s a sobering film about a rescue mission during WWII set against the backdrop of the invasion on the beaches of Normandy. This rescue mission is not like other rescue missions, though.

In this case, the mission is a young man, Private James Ryan. He has lost all three of his brothers to the war and is the only surviving son of his family. Shortly after realizing that his brothers have died in battle, the Army dispatches a special squad of men to go and retrieve PVT Ryan in order to preserve his family line and prevent further tragedy.

What always gets me is the very end of this picture. The last minute contains a message that I think our country needs to hear these days. In a minute you’ll get a chance to view the clip I’m speaking of.

The message surrounds the concept of earning freedom and making the most of it. I understand that not all of us are veterans or have fought in a war overseas. I get the fact that many of us have not had to take up arms for the cause of freedom or the preservation of peace. Regardless of whether you’ve served or not, all Americans get to enjoy the freedoms of this great land. And I believe that all too often we take our freedom for granted.

Considering all this, here are a few questions to ponder.

Upon reflecting on your freedom and the history of how it came to be, have you earned it?
Are you a responsible citizen who is making your life count and leaving things better than they were?
Do you honor the flag and service members who are protecting what it means?
Do you believe that our freedom as United States citizens is worth protecting?

Think about this as you watch this dramatic clip. It encompasses the last battle of the movie and ends with some profound dialogue between main characters Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. Watch HERE!

Freedom is not free. Have you earned it? Make it count. Back with you soon….drew

Too much on your MIND: 5-Brain Declutterers!

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:33:47 +0000

Removing "open loops" by the numbers!

I got run over!

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been run over on the information superhighway! It’s really too many to count. If you’ve only got one brain and you’ve only got one life, it’s important to manage the things that are on your mind. If you don’t keep it clear it can end up squashing your productivity. Here’s a quick post to help you offload all that data that is inhibiting your creativity and get you back to work.

Deal with it!

All of the things you keep on the front burner of your brain need to be dealt with. The human brain can only deal with 2 major things at a time. This is not new information. If it is new to you, then now you know why you’ve been so stressed out for so long. Realistically, the brain functions optimally doing one focused task. Multi-tasking is a burn out exercise and in the long run proves inefficient.

5-Brain De-Clutterers

Write Stuff Down: I do this all the time. I’m starting to stress and I don’t know why. It feels like my head is being gripped by a giant hand. Then I stop and realize that I’m thinking about 20 things at once. I take out a scratch piece of paper and write the word “stuff” in the middle of it. I circle the word “stuff” and I draw a line away from it. I then write down the first stresser I think of and circle it. It’s like a brainstorming exercise but it’s really a brain dumping exercise. In about 2 minutes I have a visual representation of my brain battle on paper. It helps to get it out.
One thing at a time: As I said before, our brains don’t do well having too many pots on the stove. So, take your little brain dump paper and prioritize things. You know best which item is the biggest stresser. Put a number one by this item and list them all out. Then start obliterating things one thing at at time.
Pray: Having a full brain and being stressed out are not unique problems. In fact, they’re pretty universal. I’ve found that if I stop and say a quick prayer and take a few deep breaths, I can regain my perspective on what’s important. If you don’t believe in prayer, I’m sorry. We should talk. It works. And, I probably should’ve had this one listed first.
Take out the Emotion: Okay, we’re emotional beings. I know this and you know this. But when the brain is full and the body is tired we have a tendency to over emotionalize things. This doesn’t help with stress and it doesn’t help with decision making on a full brain. So, stop and think about what types of emotions you are assigning to your stressers. Are you making up negative outcomes in your head about what might happen if you don’t get something done or what someone else thinks of you. STOP! You’ll drive yourself crazy. Do a brain dump. Then do the work. The emotional energy is like turning the stove on high in a hot room. Decrease this and increase productivity!
Electrify: Where would I be without my Outlook calendar, my i-phone and my g-mail? That’s a dreary thought, so let’s not go there. But let’s do this. Let great technology bear as much of the load as possible. Outsource your brain to your electronic friends. Schedule events with reminder tasks attached to them. Use cool services like followupthen.com to remind yourself to, well, follow up. Get your e-mail piped into your smart phone so you can respond on the fly and put out fires. Create e-mail folders to help you get to an empty In-box.

SUMMARY: Life is stressful and we all have too much on our brains. We have to find healthy and effective ways to manage information and work load. Five simple ways to get started on eating this elephant are: 1) Pray, 2) Write Stuff Down, 3) Do One thing at a Time, 4) Get rid of excess emotional attachment to things and 5) Electrify your productivity by using technology to assist you.

This post was in no way an attempt to cover the spectrum of brain and productivity tools. There are myriads of web sites out there that deal with this topic. This was just my small attempt to share a few things that work quickly for me when I get the brain pain going.

How do you de-clutter your brain when it’s in mental grid-lock? Do share. Back with you soon. Thanks for reading….drew

My blogging journey so far…

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:52:32 +0000

Pull up a chair and let's chat!

Hello friends! I thought I’d write a quick post summarizing my blogging journey so far. So, I’ll give it to you nice and concise.

Phase I

I started blogging in October of 2009 with a wordpress free blog. I had been told that WP was the best way to go and I still believe that’s the truth. I really had no idea what I was getting into. I just knew I wanted to express my thoughts in writing to anyone who would hear me.
I stumbled along rather inconsistently writing sparse but spirited posts for Drewmanity just trying to figure out what I was doing and what I wanted to write about.
Drewmanity had a nice tag. Drewmanity: One man’s view on life and humanity! It had a lot of promise for a personal blog. At least I thought it was cool at the time.
While working on Drewmanity I was mainly just trying to figure out what blog theme (settled on Tarski) I wanted to use, wandering around WordPress and trying to unlock the secrets of the back end of the WP blogging software in order to make posts, work on aesthetics and try and make it a nice place for people to visit.
I hadn’t read any books on blogging and I had no aspirations other than to start producing a body of writing comprised of my own personal thoughts, feelings and observations.

Phase II

Somewhere around this New Year (2010) I decided that I wanted to change directions with my blog and create a different one. I wanted to just write about ideas I had and share them with others for free.
An idea blog. Brilliant right? Sounded like a fun idea! So Share Great Ideas came along.
This was a fun site and gave me a greater focus. Remember, when I started I wasn’t really thinking about filling some great blogging niche or being more than a hobby blogger. The Share Great Ideas blog came from a lot of my reading on marketer, Seth Godin.
I settled on the Press Row theme by Chris Pearson who, as it happens, is also the creator of the current theme that I purchased and now use (love, it by the way). The DIY Thesis Theme (not an affiliate link). I’ll get to that in a second.
Press Row and the SGI blog was fun, but I was having a hard time coming up with a regular flow of ideas to share. Keep in mind, I hadn’t cracked one blogging book yet. I was just winging it. If I had done some front end research, then I probably would’ve made some sustainability assessments beforehand.

Phase III

So then at the beginning of this May, I decided that I just wanted to be me and blog under my own named domain and personage.
So I switched to a Word Press hosted blog with my name, Drew Rieder. I settled on the Cutline theme by none other than, Mr. Chris Pearson.
If you’re still reading this post, you can see that my journey is a constant process of learning, changing, re-configuring, self-reflection and evaluating. I think this is pretty much a theme in blogging and online publishing and living. We can’t stay the same. We can’t get stagnant! We must keep working towards our goals.

Phase IV

So, what next? I had owned a domain since 2007 (drewrieder-dot-com) which I’d bought through GoDaddy when I launched my first album, You Are Near. So, I pulled the trigger on some products and switched everything to the blog you see now.

I bought the Developer’s option on the DIY Thesis Theme (not an affiliate link) for this and future sites. I got hosting through BlueHost.com and I pointed my GoDaddy nameservers to BlueHost. I uploaded the WordPress plug-in on BlueHost, transferred all mycontent from my three previous blogs to here and started stumbling around using this new theme.

REMINDER: I work full time at a pretty demanding job and I don’t make a 6-figure income. So, with the exception of buying my buddy lunch one day to help me transfer my content and navigate FileZilla FTP software, I did this all myself.
I get the sense that many bloggers are in this boat. There’s a lot of bootstrapping and do-it-yourself work going on. And you know what, that’s great! It’s doable. There’s no “one” way to get to where you’re going. There’s no such thing as overnight success.
If you’d like to know more about launching a great blog here’s a free PDF from Chris Guillebeau! It’s called 279 Days to Overnight Success! I, of course as a lesson in what not to do, read this after I started blogging. It’s great though and you should definitely follow Chris (personal plug with no affiliate linkage).

ON AFFILIATES: I mention several times in this post that these are not affiliate links. Some readers might think that I’m missing a great opportunity. Some readers don’t know or care what affiliate marketing is. The point is that I’m not there yet. I know what it is, how to do it but it’s not a piece of the puzzle I’ve implemented yet. Enough on that, though. So where do I go from here?

Where NOW?

This blog will continue to be here as my personal repository for insights, thoughts, ideas and creative inklings. As I learn how best to craft my message, continually improve my site and build community here, I’ll look into starting other blog concepts. You can be sure I’ll let you know all about it.
Sometimes I get frustrated at my learning curve but each little step I take gives me a littel more confidence that I can keep going. Will I pay for a design eventually? Yes. When I have the right concept & niche picked for a blog and when I can afford to do so (non-six-figure income guy supporting family working full time and doing this at night).
Up until this point, I think I’ve done pretty darn well. I do plan on reaching out to some of my fellow bloggers and community members to ask for some help on things like blog publicity, SEO tips and little things that I get snagged on.
Lastly, I just started reading ProBlogger (great book and also not an affiliate link here). It’s been a great education on the how to’s, best practices and what-not-to-do’s so far. I recommend it highly. Maybe I’ll write a post called “blogging backwards” and list out tips of what to do from a guy who’s still learning.
The good news is that there’s a million ways to do this and rarely does anyone follow the “steps” in order. So just get started. There’s my free advice.

So that’s it on my blogging journey so far. It’s not slick or sexy or hollywood, but it’s a real man’s journey in blogging. I know that I have a long way to go. I know that I’m not the smartest guy out there nor the least intelligent. But I believe in what I’m working towards and I think anyone with persistence and determination can do this. And, I think the best way to learn is by doing. Use me as a case study and save yourself some time because time is really our most valuable asset.

Start writing or creating or doing art today! Let me know your thoughts on my little journey so far. It’s been fun. I look forward to hearing from you and continuing to build a great community. We need each other. Have a great 4th of July weekend for all my U.S. readers and a fun one for those abroad.

Back at you soon….drew

Do you see what I see?

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:15:00 +0000

Art means something different to everyone

How does this artwork make you feel?

Isn’t this a cool pic? I love the contrast of the yellow & tan with the dark shades of green. The design in the middle of the leaf structures is very, very intricate. And if you just stare at this work of art you might start to see all the little nuances of this design.

For me, my eyes are immediately drawn to the bottom right flower structure. I’m searching within the leaves of this unknown plant to see what the actual drawings are. I can’t discern them but my eyes keep searching. What in the world is this thing?

There seems to be the makings of a tree trunk like structure but it has the coloring of a cheetah or an elaborately painted snake. It’s rich contrast is ever alluring to the eye and yet ever illusive. It reminds me of a pattern that might have been seen in the 60′s during the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Not that I have a clue what that means. I’m just free associating at this point.

Can you guess what this is? Don’t worry. I’ll fill you in at the end of this post but I’d like to make a point about art first.

Art and beauty are everywhere. Do you have the eyes to see them? We live in such a great time of history where we can capture just about any image in our proximity and even beyond (if you want to get astronomical).

Art is something that makes us feel a certain way. Today I’m showcasing visual art but this is just one kind. In order to write this post I went photo surfing in my I-phone camera archives. I’m always taking pictures of things in hopes that I can share them later with someone. Do you do that? It’s fun. You should try it.

When you look at the artful picture above you look at it differently than I do. I’m certain of that. If you were to write the first two paragraphs of this blog you would most definitely describe this in a different way. It probably evokes something different from you.

Too often we fear putting our art out there because we’re afraid that people won’t see it our way. But that’s the point isn’t it?

Yes, sometimes art can be narrowly focused and have one desired outcome. But, more often than not, art (be it music, visual, writing or any other form) is art because people are enriched by it in many different ways. And so, in the end, it’s okay for people to experience your art in their way through their unique goggles. We shouldn’t fear that!

Blogging is that way! I don’t really know how people perceive what I write unless they comment on it. But even when I get comments, I am often surprised at the details that stand out to people and what is meaningful to them. To you. But that’s great!

So you need to keep working at your art. It’s not an overnight process. It’s a granite sculpture that takes a chip at a time from a chisel. If you don’t keep chipping away then you leave us with a block of stone.

So let me wrap this up for you.

This picture is a one foot by one foot square of a pattern on a couch from a hotel room in Las Vegas! Are you surprised? Maybe not or maybe yes. It doesn’t really matter. You can capture art and share it almost anywhere. You can be inspired to make art everywhere!

I want to experience your art. Can you send me a link to a photo or song you just love and tell me the story behind it? I’d love to hear it and see it and experience it with you. Send me a verse or a line of thought or a scrap of hope with a new idea.

Here’s my point: I’m far from finished with my Mona Lisa, friends.

The chorus to this song (New Morning by Alpha Rev) really summarizes all the inspiration I’m trying to convey. Listen and Feel. Change. Make art!

Have you heard the Mona Lisa?
Have you heard who you are?
You're a new morning!
You're a new morning!

What I like about YOU!

admin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 05:15:46 +0000

A special post for my readers!

Don't miss your video link at the bottom

Hello, everybody! It can be a lonely pursuit trying to make it on Planet BLOG! I just wanted to say that I appreciate you reading my posts and I believe we all have something valuable to contribute. After all, what good is a community with only one voice? And what good is a tribe without multiple artisans?

Here are 10 things I like about you and how you’ve encouraged me to grow!

I like hearing your unique perspectives on some of my thoughts so far. You’ve given me a lot to think about.
I like discovering those things that resonate with my wider audience. So far there have been several universal themes that have presented themselves.
I like being a recipient of your great work and for us to be heard mutually. After all, no body likes to shout into the void. My goal in blogging is to make a difference and to change things.
I like reading your blogs and hearing what’s going on in your life. Matching your posts to your comments has been a great way for me to find some awesome people!
I like finding out new things about you as I write and you act as a sounding board for my work. We’re all just works in progress.
I like working towards developing genuine relationships online & building community. Yes, it’s possible (as is the goal of making this whole blogging thing more than just a hobby–your input is invaluable to this process).
I like learning new tricks and techniques from you as I see the wonderful work you’re doing to contribute to the greater good in your prospective corners of cyber-space.
I like believing in the possibilities that exist for all of us to carve a niche out on this great landscape called the Internet. Much of your encouragement & inspiration keeps me believing.
I like stretching myself on a regular basis for you and putting it out there for the masses as a process of becoming a better artist.
I like helping you find your passions and encouraging you toward the pursuit of your dreams.

Just a quick gratitude post! That’s what I like about you! I always have to put in a little music. Talk to you again soon….drew

Being Crandallicious!

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:23:43 +0000

Being not long on the blogosphere and often in need of some motivation and encouragement, I find myself writing a post about a heroic friend of mine. David Crandall. He’s a spirited soul who’s burst his way onto the scene with enthusiasm, wit, moxie and, well, heroic courage.

It’s been my pleasure to get to know David over the last few months and to read his blog. He’s an ambitious person who loves people. He shows his care in the way that he writes and even in taking time offline to encourage his friends (thanks, man). In a world full of phonies, he’s a good guy doing great things online. He gives a very strong message to escape template living and to do something new.

So, what I will attempt to do in this post is explain what it means to be Crandallicious and also to plug David’s awesome, super-duper, radical, def, way-cool Heroic Desting Contest! But first, here are my thoughts on being Crandallicious!

If you were to qualify in the category of Crandalliciousness you would have to be about the following things:

You help others to be heroic when they feel less than heroic!
You motivate and inspire others!
You encourage others to embrace their creativity!
You don’t shy away from “faith based dialogue”!
You take time to read and comment on other peoples’ blogs!
You have a passionate love for Unicorns!
You’re sharing personal insights and strategies!
Your blog titles and pics are snazzy as all get out and embody your message!
You are building a community by inviting others onto the holy ship!
You take the time to write transparently and honestly about your journey to leave template world!

Now this is only a short list of Crandalliciosity but we don’t want David to get too big for his britches. But seriously, folks, if you haven’t had the chance to read the Heroic Destiny blog, than you should. Leave my silly blather for a bit and go check out what he’s got to say. And tell David what you want to hear about (HERE)!

I assure you this was a non-paid endorsement of my friend. What good are we if we can’t help each other? David, I hope this was helpful, and I hope some of you discovered a new little corner of the blogosphere which will have you soaring across the skyline in a red cape in no time.

Keep reaching for your dreams and be heroic. Or CRANDALLICIOUS…..drew

My Mad Musical Mind…

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:57:43 +0000

Music is hardwired into the fabric of our brain

I’m convinced that we were all hardwired to connect to music. Music is a language and music is a feeling. Music is a soother and music is a message. Music is a teacher, a unifier, an instrument of worship and also a friend. Music is both tangible and intangible all at the same time. Music is wondrous.

So the other night whilst balancing my check book (yes, I do that myself–no outsourcing) I experimented on myself. Don’t get all weird-ed out now and let your mind run wild.

It was a musical experiment, silly. While I was crunching numbers, doing bills and balancing the budget I wrote down every song that I was humming or went through my head during this time. What I found was very interesting. Well, at least I thought it was.

Here were the songs I had running through my mind during checkbook time. Take a look into my mad musical mind and enjoy! Careful, you’re in my head now! (YouTube song links to each one)

Blackbird performed by Sarah McLachlan.
My Love performed by Paul McCartney & Wings-1973 (thinking of changing my hair based on this video alone)
Fast Car performed by Tracy Chapman
Babylon performed by David Gray
Free Fallin performed by John Mayer
Split Screen Sadness–John Mayer
We are the Champions by Freddie Mercury & Queen (okay the vintage black & white unitard is a little scary…but I do want one. Don’t you?)
Fur Elise by Ludwig Van Beethoven (don’t be alarmed by the multiple sets of hands and Pac-Man graphics)
Your Precious Love by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Sad Eyes by Robert John
Bold as Love by Johnny Mayer (Live in L.A.)
I Go Crazy by Paul Davis (another great song by PD is Cool Night; wow this was a clip from Solid Gold)
Babe by Styx (oh yeah)
Faithfully by Journey (that one’s for you Lady)
Sail On by the Commodores (I just want to be Lionel Richie’s hair)
But who may Abide from Handel’s Messiah (not random, did Handel’s Messiah in college; epic musical work created in about 3 weeks)
O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion (from Handel’s–Soulful Celebration, R&B these guys can sing!)
Have you ever really loved a Woman by Bryan Adams (saw him live and acoustic in Spokane, dude still rocks!)
Walk this Way by Aerosmith (and Mr. Tyler is like almost 70 now and can still rock)
Trouble by Coldplay

I hope you enjoyed that. At any given moment of the day, the play-list could’ve been vastly different. But now you know me a little better.

Do a musical experiment on yourself and see what you come up with. I’m curious to know how much of this music you knew and what your favorite was.

Make your music…..drew

The Lost Art of Patience

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:40:07 +0000

Got Patience?

It occurs to me that the art of patience may have been lost or misplaced somewhere in our fast paced global society.

Instant Messaging is not “instant” enough. Texting is not quick enough. My mobile download is not agile enough. My In-Box is not full enough. My Google is not searching hard enough. I fired my Android for not reading my thoughts right away. The drive-through is too slow. And so on and so forth.

We’ve been overtaken by a great and pervasive irritability. We’ve fallen prey to an attitude that we must keep moving our lives faster & faster or else we’ll fall behind. Behind what? In reality, the only thing falling behind is our attention span and our ability to retain meaningful information. And it’s a lack of patience that pushes us toward this.

The impatient mindset pushes us nearer and nearer to the cliffs of compromise in our work thrusting us headlong into the chasms of corner cutting. We do all this in the name of our ambitions. Furthermore, our lack of patience can start to act like a menacing virus infecting the work of change and pushing life towards digression.

It seems we’ve also bought into the jittery work ethic of the super-energized employee. You know the one. They’ve got a lot in the front window but not a whole lot in the warehouse. They specialize in sparkly things and smoke screens and epic Power Points.

All too often we make a practice of following any blind lemming if he’s entertaining enough as if entertainment were the barometer for leadership & impact. We’re drawn to the shiny fireworks display and not to the fundamentals of strategic work because they’re not sexy enough.

Twitter, although a powerful tool when used wisely, has sucked our brains right out of our heads and tossed them down stream into the raging river of the information superfluous-highway. In our haste to stay afloat and stay up-to-date we don’t have time to stay in touch with each other. So can we counteract all this? I believe we can.

A word on patience. In many cultures they say that “patience is a virtue” along with several other great character qualities. My faith informs me that patience is a fruit of the Spirit of God that gives strength to the vessel that adheres to it. We champion people who show patient restraint in the face of adversity.

But where is patience today in our fast food, quick link, traffic jam, instant gratification society? I dare say that the Art of Patience is nearly lost. But if indeed it has been nearly lost, I believe it can be found once again. I’d like to encourage us to discover it anew.

Ponder this thought. What if Michelangelo had been impatient as he painted the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel (catastrophe) or Leonardo da Vinci had done a rush job on his Mona Lisa (tragedy)?

Patience is the art that allows our art to spring to life in its due season. Patience is the smile that we lend to the hurried car that cut us off in the road way. Patience is that choice which allows us to see a situation in its entirety before we react carelessly. Patience is an act of the will and an evidence of the fruit of God that enables us to change others by its dispensation.

In our rush to become whatever it is that we’re becoming we too often leave this precious gem in the deep wake of our passionate pursuits. But, we must valiantly struggle to find it and embrace it in our everyday lives. Here’s a few suggestions for me and for you to consider.

Work patiently. Avoid the temptation to churn out an abundance of tasks. Work slowly but steadily towards completing your masterpiece.
Live patiently. Have a plan that you’re following and steer clear of the distractions in every pop-up window that calls to you.
Love patiently. Know that a gentle & kind word with your spouse, children, friend or co-worker can preserve and anchor a relationship in a powerful way.
Create patiently. We’re all trying to reach a goal. We see what others are doing and it’s enticing to want to do the same kind of work and to do it even faster. Resist this. Make your unique mark on history with brushstrokes from the heart.

This post came about because I’ve been struggling mightily to be patient. I’ve recently become much more prayerful and mindful about this subject matter. I wrote the word “patience” on a yellow sticky note and taped it in front of my keyboard at work. I need this reminder daily.

I’m hopeful this was a timely reminder for you. Be patient with yourself and others this week. Thanks for reading. Talk to you again soon….drew