Happy Sunday Reader,I’m writing sat next to a bay window. The sky is white gray. I can see three pumpkins zigzagged on four steps down to a faded red stone path edging along still-green grass peppered with crunchy dead yellow leaves. On the right, a tree stretches twenty feet high, branches still full of red berry bunches. I’m in Edmonton, two blocks south of the North Saskatchewan River, sitting in a tall chair in a mini home. I’m squinting out the window, looking for inspiration in the empty street. While Sarah’s here for work, I’m here for a metaphorical cabin in the woods. It’s quiet and workable in all the ways I hoped it would be. But it’s not the productivity hideaway I told myself it could be. It has all the right ingredients, with one familiar spicy staple: me. Bay windows or blank walls, it’s still just me and a screen, wrestling words from one to the other. It makes me think, “wherever you go, there you are.” Between starting and finishing this intro, I wrote most of this email walking through trees and falling leaves, next to the river. So, in a roundabout way, Edmonton did stoke my creative fire. Just not where or how I expected. I guess the where and how aren’t as important as what you choose along the way.
October in 3 snapshots 🦛 Zoo wedding — Attending a wedding at the zoo means free admission and free time to explore. Highlights included hippos and tear-jerking speeches. The day was fun, memorable, and full of a whole lotta love. 🍂 Nostalgic Thanksgiving — I chose the scenic route, driving secondary highways, north then east into Alberta’s heartland. The extra 20 minutes took me down roads full of fall leaves still on trees. Thanksgiving dinner at the farm felt familiar and familial. Like time travelling to into a time capsule. 🚀 PGA Liftoff — 16 months ago, I invested five figures to learn the business of ghostwriting. That choice, coupled with a “to dumb too quit” attitude, changed my life. So, when the second call came to liftoff further with PGA, I accepted the four figure fee. I can already feel my surface area for luck expanding.
3 Lessons Learned
I. Competency is context-specific.Put me in skates and give me a hockey stick, and I’ll shoot, sauce, and celly. Put me in a marching band with a clarinet, and I’ll squeal and squeak right out of formation. Put me in most daily situations, and I’ll land somewhere in the middle. I’ve learned the middle is fine most of the time. Halfway competent only stings when you care about the context. Choose where you care, and care enough for it to sting.
II. Create a plan before you consume one.You’ll find my phone face down on the kitchen island every night. Plugged in, far away from bed. Come morning, first place you’ll find me is in the kitchen. You know I’m flipping that phone in my face before anything else. Never for long, but always long enough. I’ve learned if I don’t define my goals first, I’ll succumb to someone else’s. The difference between drifting and directing is starting with an action plan. III. Capacity does not equal capability.Almost a year into working from home, I’m still struggling to create balance in my schedule. I have a rhythm and groove, but the tempo isn’t tight. Saying yes when hell no is the truth. Reacting when I could be writing. I’ve learned bandwidth is not a secret to keep. Tell the truth about what you can or cannot do. Do it earnestly, and the real ones will believe and accommodate you.
3 interesting videos
I’ll leave you with a quote 🤔 “Rules for happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.” — Immanuel Kant Until next time, Scotty
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