Simple is Easy: Don't Complicate Things

A few weeks ago, I was a keynote speaker at the Civil Judges Seminar in Los Angeles. The topic was inspiration: how to get it, what to do with it.  The presentation went very well.  Many judges came up to say that they truly enjoyed themselves. Then one attendee lingered and talk went from books and inspiration to my husband (also a judge on the civil bench).

Hiz Honor says: "Will your husband retire soon?"

I says: We have a deal. He can stop working when I do."

Hiz Honor says: "That's different. All you do is sit around and make things up. That's easy."

I laugh (sort of).

Obviously he hadn't been listening during my presentation. Or, maybe he had. Maybe I made it all seem so simple that he thought what I did was easy.

That exchange started me thinking about the difference between simple and easy.  Weren't those the same things? Weren't there people for whom everything is simple? You know, those people with natural talent for whom any task was effortless?

The answer is no.

On the dais with me that day was John Kralick, author of the New York Times Bestseller, A Simple Act of Gratitude. His was a moving tale of personal desperation and a life made better by writing one thank you note a day for a year. Through this exercise, he was sure, he would find some meaning and worth to his life.

His was a simple idea but, as the book proved, it was not an easy one to accomplish. There were times when he couldn't think of anything to be thankful for, times he couldn't bear to look at note paper or pick up a pen. But he  wrote 365 thank you notes, and in return for this simple act he received the dual gifts of clarity and focus. His was an uplifting book and a true black and white example of the difference between simple and easy.

My experience is the opposite. I have a file full of book ideas but to actually write a book means that I have to spend hours in front of the computer and many, many more hours in contemplation. I must build a believable story, sympathetic characters, choose the right words to convey drama, rearrange chapters so the pacing is right, do my best to make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors in a 100,000 word novel. I have scrapped thousands of words because they aren't right and started from scratch.  Getting the idea for a book is easy; writing it is never simple.

But it was my son who didn't hesitate when I posed the question: Is simple the same as easy?

Of course not, he scoffed.

As a talent manager, he deals with aspiring actors who are hoping to make it to the top of a very big heap.  They want to know the secret to fame and fortune is.  According to my son it's not a secret, it's a formula.

What you want + What will you  do to get it = Success.

The trick to solving this equation is that everything you do, everything you say, every situation you put yourself in, every decision you make must always be relevant to what you want. Your actions must always circle back on your intentions.

Deciding what you want is simple. It's the completion of the equation that is not easy.

So, no matter what we set out to do -  write a book, be a judge, become a famous actor, or the best parent, friend, or spouse - it all begins with knowing what we truly desire and then be willing to work every moment of every day to achieve that goal.

Funny, how much our kids know. Mine knew that the key to success is not to complicate things. That's simple, it's not easy to keep it simple but oh how good it is  to rise to the challenge.