Greg's Right FIT #360

Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week. 

In this issue: 

- Thoughts on Momentum
- Being Human
- Random Stuff

Thoughts on Momentum

• “Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” – Buddha
• "Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." – C. Dickens
• "Curiosity takes ignorance seriously, and is confident enough to admit when it does not know. It is aware of not knowing, and it sets out to do something about it." – A. De Botton
• "I can no other answer make but thanks,
  And thanks; and ever thanks" – Will S. - Twelfth Night

Being Human - Annual gratitude reminder

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Since it's Thanksgiving week in the USA this is a good time to remind ourselves about the importanceof gratitude. If you're not in the habit of doing this already, try this nightly exercise for the next week. It comes from Dr. Martin Seligman, and he calls it the "Three Blessings Exercise" in his book, Flourish.

"Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. You may use a journal or your computer to write about the events, but it is important that you have a physical record of what you wrote. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance (“My husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today”), but they can be important (“My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy”).

Next to each positive event, answer the question “Why did this happen?” For example, if you wrote that your husband picked up ice cream, write “because my husband is really thoughtful sometimes” or “because I remembered to call him from work and remind him to stop by the grocery store.” Or if you wrote, “My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy,” you might pick as the cause … “She did everything right during her pregnancy.”

Writing about why the positive events in your life happened may seem awkward at first, but please stick with it for one week. It will get easier." 

I'll do it next week too. I scheduled it into my calendar. 10 minutes a night for a week. A simple exercise that does a lot my brain, especially this time of year. It may work for you too. 

Good stuff.

Random Stuff

"At my home in the southwest of France, I grow . . . lemon trees in my backyard.” ― Alain Ducasse

"Same. Except the southwest of France thing." – Greg Chambers

I have a lemon tree. I don't live in a climate where citrus has much of a chance of surviving outside year round, so this one is in a pot, spending summers outside and wintering indoors. It's next to me now so I've been looking at it a lot. It flowered aggressively this summer but no lemons. I went to the internet for a clue and some random guy in another part of the world showed me how to self-pollinate the plant with a little paintbrush. 

It worked. 

Now I have seven lemons forming. Maybe. I need to keep the plant alive through the winter but it's a good start. I'm already dreaming up adventures. I can see cocktail recipes to help keep the scurvy at bay as the winter drags on. I remember my infant daughter begging for a lemon at a family reunion. It felt cruel but we were so curious. "You don't want this," we tell her but her little hands keep reaching for the bright yellow slices on the table. We give in. There's a first time for everything, right?

I can still see her entire body tensing. So tart! We laugh, apologize, and wipe her little face. As soon as she recovers she's back at it. Biting the lemon slice, wrinkling her face, entire body shuddering. Again and again. She loves it. 

Lemons are fun.  

Grow! I whisper to them every day. Two weeks in, the lemons are still tiny. I go back to the internet to find out how long it will be until the harvest. 

6-7 months. 

Based on past gardening and houseplant success I'm putting the odds at 40% I get all citrusy next May. Maybe lower if a certain furry animal won't leave it alone. 

Wish us well.