Dear Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Dreamers, and Creators of Great Things: I write these Love Letters each month with the hope of bringing you a little encouragement, some marketing help, and a few minutes of joy. Whether we are already friends or have yet to meet, I hope you’ll enjoy my stories from the road and some awesomely random takeaways, tools, tips, and updates.
Time Travel
One of my favorite topics for books or films is time travel. I am obsessed with the idea of going back in time and seeing things the way they were. I’d love to walk the streets of a city a few hundred years ago, or see a mountain range without all the ski hills and chalets. I’d love to be in the room when the great painters were creating their masterpieces, or see what today’s castle ruins looked like when they were filled with people and life. I don’t have much interest in going forward in time, but I’d love to go back.
One of the most interesting themes in these time travel stories is always the traveler’s concern with changing the future by making one small misstep in the past. What if they did something that caused their parents never to meet? Or what if they told someone something that caused them to change course, altering the trajectory of major events? (Marty McFly, anyone?)
This comes up time after time in these books and movies. People worried about radically changing the future by doing something small. And yet, how many of us think about how we might radically change our future by doing something small today?
We think, “That one small step or habit or risk can’t really have that much of an impact, can it? That small goal won’t make that much of a difference. That one tiny change can’t possibly affect the future. Right?”
But what if it could? What if the smallest habits or goals could be the things that create the most change over time?
Many of us would love the one single golden arrow. The easy button. The one big idea that would change everything. The one decision, the one deal, the one sale, the one product, the one job. But what if it’s not about the one big thing… instead, it’s about a series of small, right things over and over again?
Stop waiting for the one big thing, friends. That small thing you are avoiding might just be the step that radically changes your life.
Three Small Stories
I had the privilege of spending a day last week at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts at an event called Curiosity in Action. While I could go on for hours about all the things I learned… here are 3 small stories that really stuck with me:
In South Central LA, a man named Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in unlikely places – abandoned lots, in traffic medians, and along curbs. He’s a rebel whose actions have changed not only the food deserts he lives in, but also the laws. Due to his actions, LA has legalized curbside gardens for community use. In his TED Talk, he shares how Los Angeles Green Grounds has become a movement for changing a community. But this line stood out to me the most: To change a community, you have to change the composition of the soil – we are the soil.
As a gardener, I know that when my plants aren’t growing, it’s not the plant’s fault. It’s the conditions they are in. And as a gardener, it’s my job to change the conditions. This is true for all of us and our clients and customers. When they aren’t thriving, it is on us to change the conditions. To grow better plants, we have to change the composition of the soil.
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So many studies have been done on the affect that art has on wellness and healing. I’ve heard over and over about how patients who stared at blank walls experienced longer hospital stays than those who could see nature out their windows. I have read the stat about how access to the arts increases our life span. I know that art – music, stories, nature, all of it – has a long-term impact on our physical and mental health. But the panel on health and wellness, made up of physicians, artists, and music therapists, said it in a way that hit home like never before.
Caila Conklin, MT-BC with the Cancer Care Program at Corewell Health told how she’ll often get a call that a cancer patient is scheduled to start treatment, but their blood pressure is too high. Rather than rescheduling the life-saving treatment, a member of her team will help the patient to regulate their blood pressure by singing, playing music, or even humming. Music regulates the nervous system and reduces stress. In these cases, allowing people to start the treatments they need. Mind. Blown.
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One of my favorite lessons of the day came from a fellow audience member. Scotty is a big, bearded man who reminded me a little of a lumberjack and a little of Santa. He’s a landscape artist and community builder who walks into the room like a beam of sunshine. In the midst of a group discussion, he dropped this truth bomb:
“Contrast is critical to art. You see something, but there has to be something beside it or behind it so it stands out.”
Scotty was talking about plants and trees and rocks… but it’s true of life too. Our differences aren’t just want make us all beautiful – they are what allow us all to shine in our own way.
This is where I share the good stuff.
… the latest websites, books, & tools that are inspiring me, the people who are making me smile, and the stuff I have been writing on sticky notes.
- Books that are on my TBR list right now:
Careless People – might do this one as an audio book this week. One chapter in and I am hooked, y’all.
Your Brain on Art – got enough of a taste of this at the event last week that I can’t wait to read it.
The Happiness of Pursuit – I read this a few years back and it’s time for a re-read. If you haven’t read it – this is a must. - This Instagram reel spoke to me. You might need to hear it too.
- Someone recommended this movie to me a few weeks ago and y’all… watch it. It’s so good.
- Looking for a good t-shirt or flag? I highly recommend the one that got banned from my HOA. 😉
Thanks for reading, friends! If you want to get these in your inbox every month, be sure to get on the mailing list. And if you are looking for a speaker who will motivate your organization to get up, get moving, and face change head-on, I would love to chat.
