Brian Said...

One of our club members asked that we post yesterday's Daily DifferenceMaker (DDM) here today so she could share it with others. Thanks for that!

"The best thing about the future is that
it only comes one day at a time."

Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.
It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years."

Jacques Barzun (b. 1907)
French-born American Scholar, Cultural Historian,
Teacher

Brian

1. That you won't like it. Dude. Seriously? Yep. I said it. Deep down I'm a 14-year-old girl on her first day at a new high school, not hoping to fit in but just praying no one even notices her. If they notice, there's a chance they'll make fun. And if they make fun, there's a chance it'll stick for four long years. Wow. You're creepin' me out. I know, but I once heard about this kid that got tagged "Cryin' Brian" in school and that stuff tends to stick. Just sayin...
2. That you won't read it. I suppose the only thing worse than not liking it is not reading it in the first place. And why do I care? Because I genuinely desire to help tend your flame  as you create that new world you desire and astound yourself along the way, AND I believe my experience qualifies me to do it in an entertaining & engaging way. Okay. 3 things, Einstein: One, if they're not reading this, well THEY'RE NOT READING THIS! B, They don't know what you mean about new worlds and astounding yourself, and CUATRO, "Tend your flame?" You sound like a perv. That will all make sense as we progress. Trust me. And why should I do that? So far we've determined you're an insecure teenage girl with no friends & apparently a bit of a weeper. And "your experience qualifies you"? Man, you suck at this. And NEWS FLASH: There's a fine line between "entertaining & engaging" and public therapy. Shut up. You could stop me if you wanted to...
3. That you won't like the look (because I don't like the look) and that will detract from the message. See, I'm breaking my big rule here. Pretty is good. Pretty is important. Pretty makes the reader more comfortable. It's the wrapping paper at Christmas, you know? This isn't a WordPress blog with a Woo Theme. It's the blog format of the website I spent a lot of money on & frankly I ain't changin' it yet. Hey, I thought you got a WordPress account. It's free, right? Yes. And yes. But then I'd have to link people back & forth between the blog & the site and that's a hassle. Since I paid money for this website before I really had a handle on my purpose here, I'm sorta stuck with it for now. Yeah. I think you're just cheap.
4. That you won't "get"me. That is, my humor; my perspective. My wife says I creep people out because I strike up random conversations with people: There's the kid with the UF t-shirt on line at Sbarro in the food court to whom I smile & say, "Go Gators!" who runs to find his mom because "that creepy old man was grinning at me." Not your fault he forgot he was wearing that shirt. IT'S EVEN A COMMERCIAL, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!! There's the checkout girl at Wal-Mart to whom I say, "Come on SEVEN!" as I swipe my debit card and then, "HOTCHA!" when it says "approved." That's kinda funny, man. What does she say? Nothing. Just stares at me. I bet she doesn't speak English. You know what, I never thought of that! I bet you're right. Wait'll I tell the wife... And then there's the teenage girls sitting behind us at the pool. I can't remember what I said, but my wife informed me that you NEVER, EVER speak to teenage girls at a pool. Who knew? I KNOW! I thought it was that creepy old man thing again, but she said that while I am indeed old & creepy, it was more about THEM than ME. It wasn't about YOU? I bet you were devastated... See. I'm well aware that things get "misconscrewed" when we're standing face-to-face and you can see my nonverbals & hear the nuance in my voice. When it's in writing, I get worried that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you read is not what I meant. Huh? That's Robert McCloskey's fault.
5. That you'll think I'm self-aggrandizing when I share parts of my personal journey. I'm truly more interested in your journey than in my own, but sometimes we get encouragement from those who are traveling a similar path. I'll never claim that anything I do is the only way to do things, nor will I claim that you'll fail if you ignore me. I just believe what my hero, Andy Andrews, says, "Encouragement is good. Proof is better." When you want to create a new world - relationally, spiritually, professionally and any other "ly" - it's nice to hear of others who are doing the same. It provides proof that it can be done. Yeah, but you're not done. Heck NOBODY'S ever done, are they? True enough, but you get the point. If not, see #4 above...
6. That after I post this, I'll think of lots MORE stuff - better stuff - that scares me. But that's always going to be the case. You ponder. You pontificate. You put it out there. It is what it is. The one phrase that changed my is "Progress, not perfection."If you wait for it to be perfect, you'll be waiting a very long time. Just start somewhere & get better as you learn & grow. Can't ask for any more than that. Yeah, but you CAN ask for a better phrase, Dopey! ONE phrase changed your life and THAT was it? How about "Give me liberty or give me death!" or "Just Do It" or "It's not clean unless it's OxiClean!" You're right about one thing: This ain't perfect.
   
7. That my wife will read this and greet me at the back door with a different kind of look on her face. Won't be the first time... Shut UP! You really CAN'T stop me, can you?

Not sure why - maybe it's summer; maybe it's listening to Kenny Chesney in the Jeep lately - but it seems all my analogies & stories with audiences these days are about boats & water, and today's entry is no exception...

When it comes to swimming, there are two kinds of people in the world: Pool People and River People.

"River People" actually refers to those who will swim in any natural body of water where:
A. You may not be able to see the bottom; and/or
B. There's at least a statistical possibility something could eat you.

I am not a River People.

Perhaps that's because I saw Jaws waaaay too early in life, though I didn't see it at the theater. I was only 6 years old when it premiered. Instead, I saw it a few years later when I spent one Friday night at my friend Jason's house. Jason had failed 3 grades en route to junior high, his parents were divorced, he smoked Marlboros & had HBO... IN HIS ROOM!

Where else would the straight-A student, son of a preacher with no cable in his house watch Jaws at 2am? Of course, some sins live with you for the rest of your life, and from that day on, I've been a Pool Person.

So it was with great trepidation that I found myself standing on a sandbar off the coast of Grand Cayman Island, chin deep in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. How did this happen? This isn't a pool. It's an ocean, for crying out loud... and I'M STANDING IN IT! Holding a sting ray... IN MY ACTUAL HANDS!!! And feeding them squid, which they swim right up & take directly from my hands!! This is CRI-ZAZY COOL!!!

It took about 30 minutes to arrive at Sting Ray City, as this spot is known, and although the boat ride was everything you'd expect from a catamaran cruise in the Caribbean, the captain's question at the outset of the trip - "Who's going to snorkel?" - was weighing heavily on my mind.

My ever-supportive wife said she'd stay on the boat with me if I chose that route. After all, if you're lucky enough to spend the day on a yacht in the Caribbean, you're lucky enough, right?

And yet, how could I pass up the chance to feed sting rays - to hold sting rays - not at some aquarium, but actually standing in the middle of the ocean?!? Did I believe what I talk about from the stage? Did I truly believe my favorite quote, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away"?

So as we approached the sandbar - with dozens of sting rays swimming among even more tourists - and our guide began handing out masks & fins to the members of our group, I was having that whole "Man up" discussion with myself. I'm even singing Tim McGraw songs about living like you were dying. At this point, I cannot BELIEVE this has become an existential debate! I finally decided to take the plunge - literally - and as everyone began to enter the water, my wife looked at me and asked, "Are you ready?"

It's a simple question, really.
Are you ready?
Requires a simple answer: Yes or no.

Simple questions and simple answers. That's what life comes down to, isn't it?

Will you marry me? Should I take the job? Do you love me? Can we get a dog? Will you move to California with me? Are you ready to be a daddy?

You remember playing hide and seek as a kid? Whoever was "it" would count to 50 or 100 or something. Then they'd yell that phrase every kid seems to intuitively know to shout as they begin their search, "Ready or not, here I come!"

Have you noticed that life works the same way? Opportunities and changes are coming, whether we're ready or not.

It’s the young woman standing at the back of the church on her father’s arm when he asks, “Are you ready?” It’s the child standing backstage as the curtain goes up, his teacher inquiring, “Are you ready?” And it's you and me as we take that first step in the direction of our dreams.

Are you ready? Probably not. Not REALLY ready, anyway. And why do we put so much stock in that?

I think we often fail to take that step toward our hopes & dreams because:
A. We may not be able to see the bottom; and/or
B. There's at least a statistical possibility something could eat us.

And I hate to break it to you, but it's ALWAYS going to be that way! We can't change it. All we can do is decide what we're going to do about it. Will we sit safely on the boat or jump in with both feet? We can never truly know what will happen when we jump in the water. We can guess. We can determine a desired outcome & try to make that a reality, but in the end, we can never know for a fact what will happen when we hit the water.

But just as we can never know what will happen when we jump in, we most certainly know what will happen if we don't.

We only get one shot at this earthly existence. Why would we settle for safe when the most amazing experiences are shouting, “Ready or not, here I come!”

Are you ready?

Jump in anyway. You just might astound yourself today…

CLICK HERE to go to Brian's home page.

The Astound Yourself Today™ keynote will have you imagining that new world all over again and leave you with the surprisingly simple secret for creating that very world.

It's also the first lesson you'll receive when you subscribe to The Tinderbox Tapes monthly audio series.

Stay tuned, AYT Nation! The launch sequence has been initiated. No turning back now...