“Stop telling me what you say and start showing me what you do” is the line The Grasshopper presented to me shortly after I woke up.

“Telling” is the other global pandemic going on. There is so much of it around that you want to quarantine yourself away from those spouting it out.

Two quotes come to mind – one from Ralph Waldo Emerson and the other from an anonymous source.

Emerson said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.”

Anonymous said, “Don’t let your alligator mouth overload your hummingbird ass.”

Sidebar: In answer to the hypothetical question, “Who would you like to have dinner with, living or dead?”, my answer would be “Anonymous.” He/she said so many profound things.

Now back to the telltale topic of not doing, I take my cue from the folks who follow this mantra: “Watch what they do.”

Brain science validates what the late Dr. Dave Dobson told us: “Words are the caboose on the choo-choo of life.”

Words, to be effective, have to be descriptive of what we have done, not what we’re going to do.

The reason the line from the movie “Jerry Maguire” is so impactful is because it’s so real. “Show me the money!”

I think it’s time for all of us to put blather on the back burner and serve up a heaping plateful of doing, instead of feeding people a line of shit.

All the best,

John

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Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

I have always been a lover of the Buddha quote, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

I have been a teacher for many decades and a student my entire life. One of the discoveries I have made as a student and as a teacher is that often we are not ready for the lesson.

The lesson often appears as a mountain, one that we’re not ready to climb. We set that lesson aside because it seems too difficult or not relevant to learn.

What I have learned is that we may need to learn a preliminary lesson first, (a foothill) before the major lesson (the mountain) begins to make sense.

Perhaps a story would be helpful to have an appreciation of how a major lesson is sometimes dependent on learning a stepping stone lesson first.

Back at the turn of this century, I was not in a good mental place. Many life challenging events were arriving in my life at the same time. It seemed like the planets were aligned against me. Luckily, I had the good fortune of listening to a seminar on tape presented by Jerry Stocking. It was from that tape that I learned that I was not the thoughts in my head. It was an eye-opening, life changing revelation for me.

That caused me to attend one of Jerry’s events a year later and experience his teachings first hand. He was amazing. During that week, one of the other attendees told me about this book she was reading called “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. She highly recommended it. When I got home, I bought the book and proceeded to read it 23 times, learning something new about myself with each reading.

The point of my story is that I don’t think the Tolle book would have had the impact on me that it did, had I not previously had the realization that I was not the thoughts in my head. His book built on that lesson and I was then able to absorb more.

I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes you need to build a birdhouse before taking on a remodeling project in your home. The DIY video on YouTube may seem too daunting if you don’t own the birdhouse experience, and you’ll probably lose interest.

There will be a teacher at the ready at all times. Before you’re ready for them, you may need to learn a preliminary lesson that “greases the skids” for you to learn more.

If you’re contemplating climbing a mountain, I’ll quote a familiar, famous, and ancient Chinese proverb to bookend this this post: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Over the years, I’ve developed a new response to people who continually say things that I find disagreeable and offensive.

In the past, I would just label them with a pejorative putdown and feed my superiority. That may work in the short run, but if you encounter this person over time, you’ll be hard-pressed to meet the moment with your bag filled with sticks and stones.

To get closer to these folks, it’s necessary to shift your strategy. One way is to “walk a mile in their shoes.” That means to get curious how they got to be this way and then develop some empathy for how they’re feeling.

The Grasshopper was rather crude but on target when he uttered these words to me yesterday: “If that much shit comes out of their mouth, imagine how much more is in their head.”

I can’t imagine I’m the only one who says, “I would hate to live in their head.”

People spewing garbage are feeling rotten inside. It’s helpful to know that before you decide to “deride.”

A strategy I was taught many years ago recently came to mind. It went like this: respond to a critical remark in this fashion:

1. Ask a question in response to the remark.

2. Ask with genuine curiosity.

3. Ask the question in “neutral.” (That means to take the implied “screw you” out of your voice).

This allows the communication to keep going and gives you a much better chance for a more productive outcome than had you offered your initial reaction.

I’m not suggesting you put this person on your Christmas card list, just appreciate that you’ll communicate with them better, than if you just offer them a “diss.”

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 10-26-20.

Read the written version here.

Make sure to download a FREE digital copy of my book: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Years ago, I wrote this: “The grandest illusion of them all is attempting to explain away reality.”

When I saw this quote this morning, I was reminded of how much spin we attempt to put on reality, to reinforce a personal point of pontification that is as weak as a cardboard box in the rain.

Reality has no governor. It’s a stark, undeniable, un-refutable, emperor has no clothes, fact.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the book Ishmael: “We can argue about it for a thousand years, but there’s never going to be an argument powerful enough to end the argument, because every argument has a counterargument.”

That said, there is no argument that will counter reality.

When we wear rose-colored glasses, we are attempting to change the look of reality – to reframe it so it looks like what we want to see vs. what is really there. You can shade yourself from the sun, but not from the heat- seeking missile known as reality.

Reality has a way of sticking around and bringing your knees to the ground, especially when you attempt to explain it away.

If you doubt that denial of reality is rampant, talk to any elementary school teacher about their discussions regarding a student’s behavior with the child’s parents. The teacher presents a hard, cold, fact: “Your son punched a girl in the face on the playground.” As improbable as it seems, there will be no lack of arguments coming from the parents justifying why their son shouldn’t be suspended.

I guess the reminder to us all is to stop hiding behind our protest placards for a moment and take a look at what’s really happening in the moment. Just notice the situation without explanation, and you’ll put a pin in the grand illusion bubble, instead of arguing to the point where the only thing left is rubble.

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 10-19-20.

Read the written version here.

The word “Stale” popped into my mind this morning, but it appeared as an acronym – S.T.A.L.E. I have no idea what it means, so let me explore it on the fly.

S. So Yesterday.

T. Tired

A. All Washed Up

L. Laborious

E. Exit

Let’s go a little bit deeper.

S. I think of the once popular comedian who has no new material and is dependent on the laurels he is now sleeping on. The only people in the audience are the fans of the days of yore. To everyone else he’s a bombastic bore.

T. Totally trite with lots of bark but no bite.

A. Shrunk from way too many washings. What once fit has now been reduced to a size that reveals what’s really underneath.

L. It takes them a long time to get to a cogent point while meandering all over the joint.

E. Back in the days of vaudeville, when you were bombing on stage, they brought out the hook to yank you off, which meant there was no chance you would ever get rebooked.

I believe this STALE acronym is a reminder to inspect our own act, not just that of another. The question is: Are we sailing towards port or are we a ship without a rudder?

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is one of the first Grasshopper Notes I wrote way back in the day, and it’s even more relevant today.

Fair is a Fairy Tale – Grasshopper

Did you ever notice that Reality doesn’t ask your opinion before taking action? Reality does what it does and we have a reaction. We may be elated if Reality has us win the Grasshopper High Jump Sweepstakes or deflated if we have the losing ticket.

When we experience deflation, our reaction may be, “this isn’t fair.”

Fair is a judgement word. We begin judging reality and we have been conditioned to think that our critical dissertation will have an effect on the circumstances that have already happened. That’s as impractical as trying to get the water back into the hose once you’ve sprayed your car.

This is the type of Fun House Mirror Logic that we use anytime we buy into the concept of fair. Fair is a distortion. It doesn’t exist (except in baseball).
Fair is always an interpretation of reality and a knee-jerk reaction.

Responding to reality is always the answer. The difference between a reaction and a response is like the disparity between a Da vinci painting and a Velvet Elvis. A response will come from a calmer place where the emotion of the moment won’t rule the day.

When the Grasshopper spoke through the great teacher, Jerry Stocking he said, “A reaction is your first response to a stimulus.” Jerry invites you to explore the inexhaustible list of additional responses that are lined up behind your first response. Each time you take a moment to consider a response that isn’t so top of mind, like your first response, you go to a deeper place.

This practice has two additional benefits:

1.You interrupt your patterned way of doing things which may not be getting you the results you want.

2.You become the stimulus vs. being the response ?” the initiator vs. the reactor.

This way of responding will also dissolve our distorted concept of fair and leave it in Grimm’s book where it belongs. Fair enough?

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

“What you knew keeps you from learning something new.” That’s what the Grasshopper had to say at the crack of dawn today.

It sounded like a new reminder but it’s actually based on a 2007 Grasshopper Note called Know Less, Discover More.

Certainty is like cement. It keeps you stuck in place with nowhere new to go. It gives new meaning to the word “Blockhead.” You’re blocking your head from accepting any new information that could broaden your view, and quite possibly teach you something new.

Pursuing “new” for newness sake is just adding the latest shiny toy to your collection. This reminder is more about subtraction – subtracting what you know, giving you ample room to grow.

It’s like the old closet cleaning exercise. The universe seems to favor a vacuum. When you clean out your closet, you create a space for something new. Notice that you add new wardrobe items, not worn threads of the past.

“Damn sure” and “I’m certain” cloak you in old garb – making an unmistakable fashion statement. Think of a person you know that still has the same fad hairdo from high school going on. Notice too, that they’re locked in a mindset that hardly allows anything new.

Examine your certainties in the light of day and you may discover that what you knew is losing some of it’s glue, giving you the freedom to learn something new.

All the best,

John

Listen to the recorded version.

Make sure to download a FREE copy of my ebook: INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change here.

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 10-12-20.

Read the written version here.