Today’s Inspiration for Your Daily Dose of Sunshine:

Retired Pastor Dad Assures Me This Isn’t Blasphemy - Kinda Scared

Sometimes I Forget the Fabulous

Refresher Course on Amazing

Did The Things - Filled Out the Forms

Onward and Upward

C. S. Lewis Quote

Retired Pastor Dad Assures Me This Isn’t Blasphemy - Kinda Scared

It’s unnerving to have an artist’s brain sometimes. I can have diametrically opposed ideas happening at the same time. I can read a verse of scripture and be reminded of Gnomes. That doesn’t seem proper at all. In fact, it’s a little frightening. I stopped by to visit with dad today, and told him my thoughts, and he assured me I wasn’t being blasphemous. My mind just sees things in Kaleidoscope patterns. (Thus the image at the top of this newsletter)

There I was reading from Genesis, and it’s the original begats of the Bible. And there was this common theme. In the early pages of the Bible, before the flood, there is a list of men (I know, sadly little mention of the women who did the actual birthing - but it was a patriarchical society) and hardly any of them had their firstborn until they were over 100 years old. One didn’t have his first child until he was 350 years old.

And the very first thing that popped into my mind was the lives of Gnomes as told in this book. We always had it out at Christmastime when I was a kid. I went and found an out of print version to make sure my kids could also have this treasure as part of their childhoods. I remember spending hours reading this book from start to finish. The illustrations can pull you into endless daydreams of living in the wild in miniature scale.

Gnomes are in the prime of their lives at age 275. And often, they aren’t considering marriage until around then or later. You see why these two stories converged in my mind.

Sometimes I Forget the Fabulous

We were halfway through our coffee date this morning before I remembered that my friend from my Harry & David days had interviewed me for her Master’s Thesis. She’d written an entire section of her paper on me and my creativity in the sales world. She’s going to be sending it to me so I can share it on LinkedIn and with prospective employers. This makes me giddy to a degree.

It’s not that I take things for granted. I just don’t generally keep score. When I’m working, I don’t always stop to realize that I’m being inventive. I can forget all the fun things I’ve done to gain clients until someone starts picking my brain. And then I’m happily reminded of all the fabulous. It’s a gentle reminder that just because my recent job was eliminated suddenly, I am quite a catch for the right employer.

Refresher Course on Amazing

Next thing I worked on today was updating my resume. Reviewing the things I’ve done in various jobs was another refreshing look back over my life and work. It’s not a bad exercise to spend time remembering the achievements, successes, connections that turned into something big, and the impact of our actions.

Revising a resume can be like returning to a favorite book and once again immersing ourselves in the storyline, or the highlight reel of a favorite movie.

If you’ve had a great time at past jobs - Say So!

If you’ve created something that made a difference - Don’t Hold Back!

If you are out of work at the beginning of 2024 like me - Embrace All Your Amazing and Shout it from the Rooftops! Who else can promote you like you can? Let’s resist the urge to downplay our achievements and be bold. Slap on a big, happy, watermelon smile and enter that interview room like you own it!

Did The Things - Filled Out the Forms

I dropped off the box of office stuff from my former job to UPS - including the computer, mouse, keyboard, etc. And then came home and pulled together everything needed to fill out Unemployment Paperwork. I haven’t done this in years and I’d forgotten all the steps involved. Luckily I have oodles of free time right now.

Onward and Upward

And so, on to another day of 2024. Consciously seeking out the good, remembering the awesome, anticipating more to be revealed. All the good stuff.

I hope you are having a truly remarkable year so far!

Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate all the new subscribers. You warm my heart!

What are you doing to step into 2024 with a spring in your step?