Washing dishes one morning, The Grasshopper chimed in with this: “I don’t like starting my day cleaning up from yesterday.”

I think it was more than a household hint from Heloise. It got me wondering about all the things I abandon that will still be there tomorrow.

The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu reminded us: “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small.”

It’s predictive that what’s left for another day will make us pay.

This isn’t a message about getting more things done. It’s more about what’s left undone.

Unfinished business follows you around like a salesperson in a furniture store. It has staying power.

What’s left unfinished is cumulative. That means it adds more to your burden each day you delay.

We all have some unfinished business that needs cleaning up. The main reason we avoid it is the perceived pain of ripping off the band-aide. Rarely do we consider the mental strain that piles up every day by not airing out the wound.

Unfinished business is like borrowing money from a loan shark. The longer we take in paying it back, not only makes it more expensive, but it can take years off our life.

Going forward, the recommendation is don’t start anything you can’t finish. But if you’ve already begun, it will be your undoing if you leave it undone.

All the best,

John

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 11-29-21.

Read the written version here.

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 11-22-21.

Read the written version here.

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

Fate, destiny, karma, are just a few words we use to describe Kismet.

They seem to connote some sort of predestination. That means it was always going to turn out this way no matter what you did.

Just like when Napoleon faced his Waterloo, some say, “He met his Kismet.”

I believe many outcomes can be predicted by one’s behavior. What I don’t believe is that they were predestined when we were but a twinkle in our father’s eye.

I’ve met Kismet on too many occasions to remember, but my definition of the word is different. I met reality.

It seems when we don’t like the reality that appears in our life, we, too often, negate any responsibility for it by assigning it to “God’s will” or some other synonym that shifts the blame.

When we divorce ourselves from our realities, we just set them up to happen again.

If you’ve ever said, “Why does this always happen to me?” you’re in denial about the part you played. Think of the person who attracts the same kind of people into their life. It’s not Kismet that they hook up with another narcissist, drunk, philanderer, or abusive person. It’s a reality they had a hand in.

Do some introspection and answer the question: “What is it in my behavior that’s attracting the same kind of people into my life? What you’ll discover is, that it wasn’t written in the stars, but inscribed on a sign that you wear around your neck. It reads, “Kick me.”

This discovery begins when you start taking some responsibility for what happens in your life. If you keep assigning it to “out there somewhere,” prepare to enter the revolving door of Kismet.

Two of my favorite philosophies are:

1. If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.

2. Teach people how to treat you from the start.

Want to change your lot? Do the things many others will not: Look for and adjust your part in this play and you won’t fall victim to a predetermined plot.

All the best,

John

Here is the recorded version of the Grasshopper Note for the week of 11-15-21.

Read the written version here.

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 11-08-21.

Read the written version here.

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