What am I talking about?

If you're really lucky in this life, you'll find the thing you are exceptionally and uniquely good at. I have had that good fortune. It turns out I am wildly successful at being wrong. I've been wrong about business, history, science and even song lyrics (when I was rocking the "cash bar" instead of the "Casbah"). But contrary to most people's misgivings about "not being right," being wrong can be a wonderful thing. Being wrong is often the beginning of discovery. Like finding out that the Earth is round instead of flat, being wrong can open up whole new worlds.  That's worth exploring.

Each of us has had that moment. It may have been when you were four, fourty or sixty four.  Someone pulled you aside and said, "You know what, you're really good at that".  And it changed the way you saw yourself from that point on.  Maybe it was math or art or hospitality or baking bread...whatever it was it fed your soul, made you more confident and pushed you to do more.  Wouldn't it be nice to have that same power in other people's lives? The secret is, you can.

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."  Anger. What a dynamic and powerful response. But when is it the right response? As a culture, anger has become the emotional first responder, always the fastest to the scene.  Another way to think about it is anger has become the fast food of emotions. It’s cheap, it’s quick and once you develop a taste for it - it’s hard to quit.  If we want real change in our homes, offices or cultures - what else do we have to add to anger to make it work?

Empathy is a lost art in America.  Empathy is different than its cousin, sympathy.  Sympathy allows you to feel bad for someone from a distance. (Bless their heart…) Empathy requires you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a minute in order to understand their perspective, suffering or emotional state.  It doesn’t require you to agree with them or adopt their beliefs, only to understand why they believe or feel the way they do.  It doesn't require you to change party affiliation or allegiances. But knowing these things will make you a better negotiator, leader, spouse, and overall human.

Your mind lives on a public street, which means any thought or idea can stop by. That’s brilliant. It gives you access to concepts and inspirations and ideas and all kinds of amazing things not already living inside you.  It also means anyone can stop by.  Any thought can knock on our door, good or bad, healthy or harmful, melodic or moody…or sometimes both; and it’s on us to decide if they come in to stay - or not. Let's talk about how and when we make that choice.