Who am I today?

Or even more specifically:

Who am I in this very moment?

Apart from the normal societal labels of mother/father, husband/wife, brother/sister, friend, co-worker, contracted freelancer, independent recluse (ha, that’s my favorite) and contributing member of the community, I would like to add one more and that is:  Freedom-Seeker.

Now, I’m not really talking about “freedom” from the flag-waving, patriotic perspective, but rather from the overall approach to how we manage our lives.

How exactly we move through each of the experiences within the different labels listed above and define our own freedom with true elegance and an awareness as to who we actually are and more importantly, who we are in the process of becoming.

Can one really be a good father or a good sister or a super-active community member if they have nothing within themselves to give?  My personal opinion is “no”.

That feeling of personal empowerment that comes about when you truly do feel free, is something that cannot, and I mean absolutely cannot, be described by the limits of language.  It’s very similar to the word “happiness”, of which both words are nebulous at best.

I equate it to the overused cliche of learning how to ride a bike or climb a mountain by only reading about it in a book.  Impossible.

The feeling of true freedom that we all seek is not in any book or movie or fighting of any war.  It is in taking steps toward something that you really really want in your gut/heart despite the paralyzing fear and voice of logic in your head that screams otherwise.

Conquering that will leave you in such a rapturous state when you absolutely least suspect it.  It will take you to a place that you’ve never been before mentally (or emotionally, for that matter).

It will leave you knowing that “you did it” in the most subtle, surreal way without a lot of hoopla and fanfare, typically not shrouded in bonuses, or titles, or slaps on the back from anyone.

More than likely you will be alone at the time.

And the grin on your face that appears, will feel like your face just can’t stretch any wider and that people must be staring at you because you feel like you’re glowing (and with that silly grin on your face as well, no less).

My “freedom event” occurred in the back of a rickety, noisy bus in the loud honking streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the year 2001.

That is when I knew true freedom for the first time in my life.

That is when I experienced true happiness and finally knew who I was for the first time in my life.

It was undeniable and left me wondering if everyone eventually feels this feeling.

Sadly, I fear the answer is “no”.

Have you had your “freedom event” yet?

Do share.

What are you paying attention to?

• Your kids?
• The news?
• Your customers?
• The pile of bills on your table?
• Your boss?
• Your aching back?

Your attitude?

Your attitude?

Your attitude?

You and I are really lucky whether we know it or not, and that is because we already have a built-in, “comes with the base model” indicator gauge that tells us exactly what we are paying attention to every second of every day  in our lives and that is:  our emotions.

If you feel good, you are on the right track.

If you don’t, you’re not.

It really is that simple.

Pay attention to how you feel in every moment.

Now, more than ever, you need to breathe deeply… and most of all, stop worrying and panicking!

Some crazy days are upon us (or so it appears), as the economic roller coaster continues this week, but have no fear, it will all work itself out.

You?  You are going to be just fine, as am I.

Why?  Because we are not like all the rest.  We are not running around like a chicken with its head cut off screaming, “OMG! The world, as we know it, is over, over I tell you!”

For Pete’s sake, those people just need to calm down.

As you know, I live in Argentina and have done so for the past 8+ years.  I arrived in the year 2000 and the Argentina currency (the Argentine Peso) was 1:1with the US dollar, or “pegged to the dollar” as they call it.

Well, long story short, the country couldn’t maintain that 1:1 ratio for just a boatload of economic reasons, with the main reason being that previous presidents had gradually eliminated/phased out/shipped abroad the manufacturing sectors of the country over the years and were now importing everything.  In short, the economy couldn’t support itself and therefore, couldn’t pay its debts, yaddah yaddah yaddah.  Sound familiar?  It should.  The US has been on this exact same trajectory for the past 10+ years.

Bottom line:  The Argentine economy collapsed at the end of 2001, I mean completely collapsed!  Yes, a grand “Great Depression”, no kidding!

It was all a bit shocking to tell you the truth, having only just arrived one year earlier with my pockets stuffed with US dollars.  The peso immediately “devalued”, or “debased” as the US likes to rename it, to 4:1 (that’s 4 pesos to 1 dollar… which, btw, It has now settled into a cozy 3:1 ratio for the past 5 years) meaning that the Argentines basically couldn’t buy anything outside their own country… their money was nearly worthless to all other markets outside of Argentina!

Wow, what a shock to the Argentine people who were accustomed to traveling abroad for vacations, buying things while abroad as any American would because their money, after all, was equal to the US dollar, so it was as if they were living in the US and purchasing/consuming as Americans would.

But, all good things come to an end.

Did Argentina disappear after their economic crisis?  No.  Did they resort to tremendous violence against the “injustice”?  No, but they did beat a lot of pots and pans walking in the streets.  

Did they accept the situation and move on?  Absolutely.  Are they stronger today because it caused them to see the economic opportunities in building up their manufacturing sectors again, as well as seeing other global online/offline possibilities?  Wow, are they ever.

My point:  There is opportunity everywhere and the wheels of the world never stop turning.  So, STOP watching the news and get on with building your business and stop worrying about everything outside of you that you cannot control.  Focus your energy on what you can control and that is your business and your efforts.

Let the financial and political folks play their games, that’s what they love to thrive on, so let ‘em!

You?  Just focus, focus, focus and breathe deeply because everything in your world is going to be just fine.

Take some time alone, write down some ideas, connect the dots and thoughts and then take the action necessary to assure yourself that you will prosper from all of this “noise” in the world.

Let me know if I can help!

Good luck.

How many movie trailers have we all watched and either perked up and said, “Wow, I gotta see that when it comes out!” versus “Oh no, not another romantic comedy with the same predictable ending”?

Is your ending predictable?

The movie trailer of your life, I mean.

I have started writing a movie script at several different points throughout my life, ironically each focused on the particular “drama” that I was going through at that time.  However, I’ve never truly finished even one of them.  And why is that?

Not because the idea wasn’t worthy of peoples’ interest or that I didn’t have the skill or time to actually get organized and write it, but instead because I just never felt like it was “encapsulated” enough.

Each “story” had its different lead in, drama scenes, build to climax and relatively predictable “ending”, but yet I never felt as though it could be “finished” or cut-off so abruptly as to say to the audience “Ok, that’s it, hope you liked it, thanks for coming”.

Rather, I have tried to view each chapter, or stage, of my life, and all of the characters involved, as this fluid, dynamic, unpredictable way of meandering through my own maze of life events, not knowing what is around the corner or if this way or that way is the “correct” way to proceed.

It is definitely not a life for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.  But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Some people think about what their eulogy will say upon their death.  Not me, I think about what I will say to myself each and every night in the mirror just before getting into bed.

Did I squeeze every possibility out of today?  Did I have a great time today?  How many times did I laugh?  Who did I meet?  In person or virtually.  Did I focus my attention on doing the things that I love to do, or did I bitch and moan about anything during the day?

I know I’m a little “out there” when I say this, but I do actually wake up every morning and play a little “movie trailer” in my head (music and all) predicting how I want the day to go.  I know I’m a bit nuts!  But, it really sets the tone of the day for me… (pssst! I got the idea from the Mind Movie folks in the banner to the right)

So, don’t be predictable as your hours turn into days, weeks and months, making up the real substance of your life.

You cannot have a happy ending to an unhappy journey!

Get those creative juices flowing and envision the different movie trailers of your life each and every day (remember, music and all).

C’mon, make me proud…

Is it better to be more specific or more general when posting to your blog?

Is it better to niche yourself into one little genre and only talk about that day in and day out, or is it better to give it some depth and breadth, some “meat on the bones” so to speak, as to different topics that “dovetail” together?

I don’t know the answer, that’s why I’m asking the question.

Seth Godin is a hero of mine and I love his blog and read it religiously.  But why? Yes, I resonate with his messages (usually) and yes, I am a marketer and yes, I like his style. But mostly I like it because he adds every day events to practical application and mixes it together in the bowl to come up with a message that always makes me think.

People don’t like to think.  It’s quite painful to some.  But for me, his ultimate message is that we are all human and that we are all in this together, so let’s have some fun looking at “it” from all of the different angles and learn something from “it” and create something out of “it”.  A valiant effort on his part, I believe.

I, personally, am still finding my voice in this very blog that I’ve embarked upon.  I’m taking my time, not to be rushed.  It’s a process, after all.  The writing part isn’t the the hard part for me, nor is coming up with ideas to write about, but rather making them relevant to you, dear reader, each and every day.

I have so many interests and work on so many different projects that my quest is to dovetail them all for you (and for me) to create some new neuronal pathway to your/my thinking, hopefully bringing a smile to your face or a nod of your head in the process.  You can be sure that I am doing both.

So, for the rest of today, I will continue to linger on the thought that all is well in my blogosphere and hopefully yours too.  I can hear my voice in the distance.  Can you?