Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 548
March 1, 2012
When your friend is a better friend than you.
A friend read this yesterday and thought of me. It's a fitting quote:
"Determine never to be idle. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing."
–Thomas Jefferson
I have always found it interesting that the word die is contained within the word idle. I find the two concepts fairly synonymous.
To my friend's credit, he does not believe in the fundamental philosophy behind this quote nor does he adhere to it, yet he accepts my own application and adherence without criticism.
It's more than I can say for myself. I have pestered this friend on more than one occasion to do more, despite the fact that he has a secure and meaningful career with a nonprofit agency, is raising a wonderful daughter, and has several hobbies including brewing his own beer.
It's not like the guy is sitting idle or wasting his life.
He simply believes that there should also be time for relaxation and leisure and finds no need to add additional career opportunities to his life. He is happy with his life.
Yet like a jerk, I have repeatedly badgered him to do more.
I consider myself fortunate to have a friend so willing to accept me for who I am while I repeatedly refuse to do the same. He is one of my most valued first readers, and he and I share season tickets to the Patriots. Time spent with him is easy, stimulating and always fun.
He is one of my closest friends.
I don't know where I would be without him.
Yet I suspect that that he and Thomas Jefferson would not have been so friendly.
Ironically, my favorite quote of all-time also references Jefferson:
"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein."
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
It remains my favorite, but this Jefferson quote will now be included in my top three. My other top three quote is the following:
"Reader, you must know that an interesting fate awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform."
― Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux
Often painfully, I have found this to be quite true as well.
February 29, 2012
Gratitude journal: The unplanned, unexpected, spontaneous nap
An early dismissal from daycare because of snow convinced my wife that there would be no afternoon nap today. And 99 out of 100 days, this would be true.
Then this happened.
First time for everything. Probably the last time, too.
Another Starbucks zombie reject
A few readers were kind enough to send me this clip of another man, albeit fictional, refusing to be a Starbucks zombie.
He pulls it off considerably better than I ever could.
A true man after my own heart.
February 28, 2012
Gratitude journal: The life-altering surprise visit
My wife brought my daughter to school today for a surprise visit, appearing about five minutes after the final bell had rung to end the school day.
I can't tell you how much this reenergized me for the rest of the afternoon. A flying-leaping-death-defying hug from that little munchkin can completely change my outlook on life.
I am not a Starbucks zombie.
I recently read in the Harvard Business Review that Starbucks seeks to train its customers at nearly the same level as its employees. This is why a Starbucks cashier will convert my request for a medium coffee into a grande when passing the order onto the barista.
It's not for the barista's benefit (since everyone knows what a medium is). It's to teach the customer to use the word grande next time. Starbucks hopes that engraining its culture into customers will increase brand loyalty. Use of the special Starbucks language is just one of the ways of doing this.
According to Starbucks, this type of training works on 95% of its customers. Only the most oppositional 5% of customers will reject this training entirely.
I am only a Starbucks customer in that I frequently purchase coffee for my wife and an occasional blueberry cake for myself.
But I am most assuredly in the oppositional 5%.
I can't help it. I'm just jerky that way.
The positive, vicious circle of weight loss
When trying to convince a friend who wants to lose weight that exercise (not diet) is the most important part of any weight loss plan, I explain that exercise initiates the most positive vicious circle that I know.
When you begin exercising, two things happen:
Your appetite goes down.
Your energy level increases.
I didn't believe it when I started exercising on a daily basis, but it's true.
The reduced appetite causes you to eat less and crave healthier food, so this unintentionally and almost unconsciously contributes to additional weight loss.
In many cases, regular exercise will be enough to initiate a significant change in diet.
At the same time, your energy level increases dramatically, which sounds counterintuitive but is nevertheless true. In addition, you sleep more soundly, meaning you are suddenly able to sleep less. This means that any time spent exercising is almost immediately recouped by a reduction in the overall amount of time spent in bed.
Can't find the time to exercise? Start exercising. You will suddenly have the time.
Can't reduce the number of calories consumed in a day? Start exercising and burning calories and you will eat less.
None of this sounds like it makes sense, and but's true.
If you are looking to lose weight or (even better) simply improve your overall health, ignore dietary changes and start with exercise.
Initiate this positive, vicious circle.
February 27, 2012
Gratitude journal: Time zones (I know. Weird, huh?)
Tonight I am grateful to time zones, which are usually a pain in the ass but have been a blessing to me as MEMOIRS OF AN IMAGINARY FRIEND begins publishing around the world.
Thanks to time zones, I can spend my early morning hours before work speaking to my editor and publicist in the UK and my evening hours answering questions on Australian radio.
I can spend the late afternoon exchanging emails with SEO experts in Uzbekistan and still have time to chat with my agent, who is on the west coast and is therefore still working even after I have finished dinner.
If everyone was operating on the same schedule, I don't know how I'd ever get anything done. Time zones manage to spread my work throughout the day and night, which means I never really stop working, but it also means I can at least get the work done.
Breakfast and The Beatles (and a little chair dancing)
Have you ever seen a better breakfast?
