I plead guilty to the following charge: Finding something you don’t own.

You’re totally innocent if you find something and don’t claim ownership, but you are the worst of guilty if you claim ownership but are only renting.

Have you been introduced to a new way of life? You are enthusiastic and excited by your finding. That’s an intoxicating feeling and one that’s to be cherished.

But suppose that your outcome doesn’t match up with your enthusiasm – meaning that you can talk about an experience but you don’t own it.

I know I’ve told this story before but it bears another go-round.

My boyhood friend’s mother was the dietician at the local hospital. She could cite all the ingredients in any consumable product and would preach what was good and bad for you anytime she had the opportunity. She also weighed 300 pounds. She found something she didn’t own.

I’m reminded of the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.”

In the past, I’ve been guilty of preaching what I didn’t own. I let my enthusiasm get in the way, but at the end of the day I was mostly talk and no action.

That amounts to the time honored phrase, “Kidding yourself.” The problem is if you let it go on, the joke is on you.

What are you preaching that you’re not following? The remedy is this: Either follow your own advice or retire that sermon.

You don’t have to make a formal announcement, just take down your soapbox and wash your mouth out with experience. Then what you say will have an air of freshness and authenticity.

All the best,

John