Small minds are sometimes paired with big mouths.

So let’s do our part to spread the ideas that come from great minds. After all, those great minds can sometimes have quiet voices.

But we don’t need to amplify; louder is not always better.

No. We need to distribute. To spread the ideas.

Let’s populate our culture with the ideas and values that come from the best of ourselves.

Person to person. Small group to small group. Little by little.

Do you sigh audibly?

Do you shut drawers loudly?

Are you seeking attention because you’re stressed?

We know. We know you have a lot to do. We know you’re under pressure. We know it’s not fair.

But that energy you’re using to express your frustration is not helping the tasks at hand.

That energy will be better spent tackling the workload that’s gotten you so upset.

And if you need help... just ask. But don’t ask for help by sighing. Ask using words.

Inside each of us, we have the entire spectrum of personality traits. They’re balanced in a particular way, of course, but they’re all in there.

So when trouble comes knocking... when we’re faced with a setback... when we’re challenged or threatened...

Who do we send to answer the door?

• Anger?

• Passivity?

• Aggression?

• Patience?

• Empathy?

• Creativity?

It might take practice, but if we want to, we can choose who answers the door...

...no matter who is doing the knocking.

You can practice, and practice, and practice, and still screw up when it counts.

Nailing a song during rehearsal is not the same as giving a flawless performance.

Sinking a putt on Thursday is not the same as draining a putt on Sunday to win the Masters.

Delivering a speech in the mirror is not the same as speaking in front of thousands.

When we watch professionals at work, they often make it look easy. What’s easy, however, is ignoring what it takes to get things right at just the right time... when it counts.

Sometimes, we wait for encouragement. We wait to be discovered. We wait to be picked.

Every once in a while, we take a peek around the corner, hoping to be noticed.

But why wait for someone to give you words of encouragement? Give them to yourself.

You’re waiting to be discovered? Discover yourself.

Don’t be a victim of silence if that’s all you’re getting. Be your own advocate. Tell yourself what you need to hear, and get going.

“Piling on” is a term used when someone joins in the (typically unfair) criticism of someone who is already being assailed. It’s a cheap way to get a laugh, or to demonstrate affiliation with the group dealing out the mockery.

Piling on, in this sense, is pretty common.

But what about piling on in a good sense?

• With kindness?

• With generosity?

• With compassion?

• With praise?

• With encouragement?

Let’s use our tendency to join-in… to contribute to the good stuff. Go ahead and pile on, but do it with the things that make a positive impact.

How do you deal with the shame of your past?

The regrets?

The humiliations?

It all has to do with the story you tell yourself.

You can say that your past experiences have forever ruined you. That your life wasn’t supposed to be this way. That you were wronged.

Or, you can say that your past experiences have given you unique perspectives. That your life is beautifully imperfect. That you’ve had inflection points, but that you are stronger for having survived them, better for having experienced them, and that the very best days are yet to come.

Whichever story you tell yourself... you’ll be right.

I was recently thinking about how some things circulate, and some things don’t.

Our blood circulates. That’s an easy one to recognize. Something goes into the system, and it gets distributed.

Then I thought of things that don’t circulate. Like rivers. Something goes into the system, and it flushes downstream. Gone.

Except, of course, rivers do circulate. Water molecules do, anyhow. Earth’s water cycle just has a slower path, through evaporation and precipitation.

So when we’re impatient about an idea spreading... When we think our work isn’t circulating... it might be true. But it’s possible that the cycle is just longer than we had anticipated.

Thankfulness requires reflection, but it also calls for action.

“I am thankful for _______, and so I ought to _______.”

It’s the second part that tests how honest we are about the first part.

Sometimes, deliberate, decisive action is favorable, compared to a deliberate, tentative approach.

A few examples...

The person who intentionally trots down a loose gravel decline is less likely to slip than the person stiffly shuffling, inch by inch.

A full gallon of milk, tipped ever so cautiously, will result in milk pouring down the side of the container long before it reaches the glass.

And you could go through a whole box of matches — each with an unsure swipe across the strike-plate — and not produce a single flame.

Sometimes, it’s the swift, sure-footed motion that’s needed.

* * *

Likewise, don’t flirt with the edge of the embankment at the swimming hole of opportunity. You’ll slip. You’ll get hurt.

No. When the opportunity is right, we need to leap.

Not toe-dip. Not hem and haw.

Leap.

Once, after our flight landed, I noticed an acquaintance take one last sip and then toss his empty water bottle onto the seat.

Knowing the answer, I still asked, “Hey. Is that your trash?”

“Oh, they’ll take care of that.”

I ended up taking care of it, putting the bottle into a recycling bin in the terminal.

It’s true: the flight attendants would have taken care of it. But why add to their burden? Why not take responsibility for our own mess?

The experience made me consider the idea of “they’ll take care of that” as a general worldview.

• The mechanic... will take care of topping-off fluids.

• The caterer... will take care of the dirty dishes.

• The township... will take care of fixing the potholes.

• The teacher... will take care of educating my kids.

• The church... will take care of the poor.

• The government... will take care of the pollution.

• The oppressed... will take care of fixing their own situation.

It’s easy to see how “they’ll take care of that” doesn’t always work.

Sometimes, it’s plainly wrong.

Sometimes we play a wrong note during a performance.

Or we stumble over a word while delivering a speech.

The mistake isn’t important; the recovery is what matters.

Do you keep the meter steady? Do you reset the cadence?

Or do you pull the emergency brake? Stop and grumble? Make a verbal apology?

The professional doesn’t live without error; she just recovers in a way that seems effortless. As a result, no one pays attention to the mistakes… if they’re even noticed at all.

If you come to a creative roadblock with the thought, “I’m not sure I have anything to say. I’m not confident that I have something to put into the world,” then perhaps you’re not engaged with the world.

To create engaging work, we start by doing the engaging. From that will come work that is compelling, and worthy of attention.

So when your mind seems blank (it’s not, of course) go engage. Talk to someone. Interact.

Encounter brings new life. New ideas. New understanding. New inspiration.

One of the problems with missing a deadline is that once you’re late, the tension is released.

There’s no longer a rush to beat the clock. It’s overdue.

And for some missed deadlines, there’s nothing else you can do.

Like missing a flight, once you’ve missed it, you can’t miss it any worse. The plane is gone.

But…

There are some projects and goals that tolerate a bit of flexibility.

If you’re past your mark, set a revised timeline. Do it right away. Put a new due date on the calendar.

Keep some tension in the equation. Some healthy pressure on yourself. If you don’t, you might become practiced in absolving yourself for missed deadlines, and that’s a downward cycle.

So when you can, re-calibrate, and meet that next deadline.

If you’re going to be reading a list of names in public, learn how the names are pronounced. If you’re unsure, ask someone who knows. Take phonetic notes if necessary.

It doesn’t matter how long the list is. Learn each name as though it’s the only one being read.

Here’s the thing: if the event organizers have called for a name to be read aloud, isn’t the critical first step to learn how the name is said?

Do it justice. Read it right.

When you’re waiting for a meeting to begin (that’s right: because you’re a pro and you’ve arrived early) why sit quietly?

Start a conversation.

Don’t talk about the weather.

Share an amusing story.

Discuss something relevant.

Connect.

Don’t scroll through your phone looking at banal posts and emails you don’t intend to read.

Make a connection. In person. With words.

It might be easier than you think.

I love how a voice is unknown until it is heard.

Consider a person in a certain venue, wearing certain clothes, with a certain face, and a certain body-type.

And an uncertain voice; its qualities are unknown.

Until she speaks.

Only then does one hear the timbre of her voice. The way the sound resonates. The language she speaks. The accent she carries.

Her voice may be quite different from what the eyes had anticipated.

It’s the same with art. Until you paint... Until you write... Until you sing... Until you produce... Your voice (and all its nuance) is unknown.

Break the silence. Let your voice do what it’s meant to do. Let it be heard.

Someone will find your work worthless, and he will ignore it. Worse, he might choose to share his opinion with others.

OK. We have that established.

Now, what are you going to do?

Are you going to let the opinion of someone else — an opinion that cost nothing to give, but will cost you everything to absorb — will you let that opinion stifle you?

Or will you recognize that your work... your heartfelt, passionate work... is not so mediocre and unremarkable that it will be accepted universally?

That your work is different? That it will resonate with some, and not with others?

Ignore the critics; they don’t care about your journey.

Besides: your work was never for them in the first place.

Mindless scrolling, reality television, alcohol... whatever it is...

They’re all (quietly) saying, “For now, working toward your goals can wait.”

They’re wrong. They’re lying.

A few minutes turns into a few hours.

A few days turns into a few weeks.

Then months. Then years.

Do the hard thing, and work on your project. Do something that gets you closer to achieving your long-term goals.

All those distractions that told you, “your work can wait...” well, they will wait for you.

The distractions will always wait for you.

Your goals... your dreams... they don’t always wait. Go after them.

When someone requests your opinion while pointing a proverbial gun to your head, he is asking for the answer he wants to hear. It has nothing to do with soliciting your thoughtful perspective, and it has nothing to do with seeking truth. Respond carefully.