Life Putting - Latest Comments

Re: Grabbing the Sun

Kevin Friedman — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 17:36:47 -0000

Awesome. May we all see the sun, the world, and each other a little more like Emmeline.

Re: Edit the script

Kevin Friedman — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 19:43:02 -0000

Beautiful post. Beautiful heart. Beautiful baby.

You're going to be an amazing dad.

Re: Edit the script

jerrycolonna — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 21:29:44 -0000

Here's to deaf ears and learning to teach well. With love, Jerry

Re: Grateful

Dan Putt — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:42:19 -0000

Thanks for sharing Alex, really appreciate it. She really loved the ocean, and walking along the beach.

Do you remember what she said?

Re: Grateful

Alex Brookbank — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:38:53 -0000

Dan,

I can't remember exactly when, but she was the first person that hit me with a profound spirtiual idea - an idea that immediately challenged my perspective - but in a very positive way. It was during a group-walk along the beach, and she was talking about the Ocean, reflecting on it, and in a very casual non-offensive manner, but it struck a deep chord. That was a critical step before I grew further. She impacted me, and I am grateful for that.

Re: What are you avoiding?

Kevin Friedman — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:01:25 -0000

Really great post. I love the idea of asking "What are you avoiding?" That's a REALLY powerful question. And, I think your observation that we are "burning calories" even when we are not actively avoiding that "thing" is spot-on. I guess the challenge is to live a lifestyle where we're truly not prone to avoiding things in the first place. I think this is where values (e.g. honesty, openness, willingness to make mistakes) can really help.

Re: Don’t break the chain

Kevin Friedman — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:32:09 -0000

Great post. I look forward to seeing where your "chains" lead you. I was thinking this morning... what is it about the "chain" that enables us to be awesome? I think all of us want to accomplish some kind of awesome goal (e.g. start a business, lose weight, write a book, etc.). But, the "awesomeness" of this goal can be overwhelming. In matter of fact, usually this goal can ONLY be reached by small, incremental steps. It's the "chain" that links us from where we currently are... to where we want to go. So, keep the chain going!

Re: Appreciate the day

Kevin Friedman — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:08:45 -0000

Wow, beautiful post. Thanks for sharing. Reminded me the end of American Beauty (sorry, can't help but post)... :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Re: Sitting in the car…

Kevin Friedman — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:17:36 -0000

Love this for so many reasons. The honesty, the outcome, the wisdom. :-)

I was kind of fascinated by " I didn’t allow myself the option of discussion." I find it's pretty amazing how we can let our thoughts either STOP us from doing something or rationalize away our true feelings about something (e.g. "I'm not THAT miserable at my job --- I should just make the best of it... blah blah blah.") Maybe it's because I'm a Libra, or maybe it's because I'm male, or maybe it's because of family/religious damage... but I feel like it's been a LONG (painful) journey for me to actually TRUST my heart/feelings and not let my mind "talk" me out of how I REALLY feel. And, frankly, most of this "talk" is really just bullshit anyway.

As you say, sometimes we have to say f*ck it, follow our heart, and hop out of the car... even if it's moving. :-)

Re: Perspective

Tom Trebes — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:52:45 -0000

Oh so true. Great post.

Re: Perspective

Tom Trebes — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:52:16 -0000

Great post, and oh so true.

Re: What’s the problem?

mattkendall — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:18:18 -0000

Very true! I'm an independant IT consultant and I can't tell you how many times I was SURE that I knew exactly what the problem was (as I had seen the symptoms in the past) and I just kept focus on that one solution and it took a giant step back to look at the whole picture to determine the solution.

Re: The magic wand – do overs

jerrycolonna — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:19:46 -0000

Yup. Totally get it.

Re: The magic wand – do overs

jerrycolonna — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:19:23 -0000

"It's not what you do, it's who you are, right?"
That's right...but even more, for reasons to personal to say here, thanks for that reminder.

Re: The magic wand – do overs

Dan Putt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:07:00 -0000

and for the record I don't think eating 12 oreos is bad and wrong. I think
it's totally understandable...but for the sake of my argument and in the
context of your diet, it's considered bad and wrong.

Re: The magic wand – do overs

Dan Putt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:04:45 -0000

Maybe that's really the key here, detachment. Maybe the playfulness for me
isn't coming from the idea of do overs, it's coming from the detachment of
my personal worth to my actions and outcomes. Holy crap is life heavy and
scary when your worth is directly related to what you do. Eating 12 oreos
is bad and wrong, so you, Jerry, are bad and wrong. I've lived under this
philosophy before, it sucks. But now in a do over it seems like it's easier
to separate the eating of 12 oreos, a mistake, from who you are. So maybe a
do over makes detachment from outcomes easier?

just thinking out loud here.

Re: The magic wand – do overs

Dan Putt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:57:49 -0000

Yes I saw those comments on your post (you get a ton of great comments by
the way) after I posted this. I think there is a some risk in that if
someone knows they have a do over, then perhaps they may not do it "right"
the first time. However, as you touched on much more eloquently than I will
here, the risk of not doing at all due to the fear of mistakes is far
greater than the risk of not doing it "right," the first time. It may be
different for everyone, but I know for me the right approach is playful and
experimental, which requires the right to do overs.

As you mentioned in your comment, the best of all motivations is self-love.
For me the concept of do overs is an important part of that. I've spent
way too much time beating myself up about mistakes I've made, things I've
said, things I didn't do. I would say that weight, which is cumulative,
does far more to prevent my best than the do over policy ever has. For me
the do over has lessened that weight of the past, and most importantly makes
it possible to detach outcomes and actions from self-love. It's not what
you do, it's who you are, right?

Re: The magic wand – do overs

jerrycolonna — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:42:51 -0000

A few of the folks who commented on the original post worried that a pre-existing knowledge of the Do Over might discourage people from trying their best.
In reading your post, and thinking about it more, I think the problem with that line of thinking is that it assumes a pessimistic attitude about peoples' motivations.

Machiavelli essentially taught that it is better to be feared than loved--and so people would be motivated by fear of failing.

Plato, in the The Republic, said it was better to be admired than loved--and so people would be motivated by fear of disappointing.

In the end, I think the best of all possible motivations is self-love...and the motivation to forgive yourself, drop the rumination, and move on stems from the notion that we all make mistakes. Then the challenging moment we're in right now becomes a great opportunity to learn.

Re: Anxiety

Dan Putt — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:22:24 -0000

I like that too and it sounds so simple, but man it is really hard to
remember that in the moment.

Re: Anxiety

jerrycolonna — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:36:31 -0000

by the way...love the new design.

Re: Anxiety

jerrycolonna — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:35:04 -0000

"There’s a big difference between the anxiety and the situation." Or, to put it another way, feelings aren't facts.

Re: What Does It Take To Be A Successful Entrepreneur? – with Jerry Colonna

Andrew Warner — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:35:37 -0000

Thanks for putting this interview together!

Re: Note to future self (and others): I will make lots of mistakes

Dan Putt — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:06:07 -0000

Brian, Thanks for commenting. I've been recommending PhilosophersNotes to
so many people. I look forward to checking out number 101 (congrats on
that).

Re: Note to future self (and others): I will make lots of mistakes

Brian Johnson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:55:30 -0000

Awesome post, Dan!

Appreciate your kind words and funny you should focus on this theme today as I just finished a PhilosophersNotes (#101! :) on the great book "The Pursuit of Perfect." A big part of it is getting over our Perfectionist selves and moving into an "Optimalist's" perspective where we embrace failure/mistakes and all that jazz. Highly recommend the book.

Rock on and thx for the shout out, sir!

-bri

Re: no regrets about going with my gut.

Dan Putt — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:36:03 -0000

Yes I remember that well...I think I did a press release on one of those
"wire" services that gets you on google news, and you spotted it and
contacted me. Actually I met 3 people from that press release (you included)
and they all turned out to be great people, who I'm still in touch with for
the most part today. I should do that again...