Because in and of itself, luck not a thing; it’s the label we put on some good fortune after it has already happened.

So what is this thing called luck anyway?

The following story might give us some insight. It is also a real-life example about seeing opportunity in problems and expanding into the demand.

Here is the story.

If you were in the market for a watch in 1880, where to get one?t It sounds funny now, but If you wanted one that was better than most of the store watches you went to the train station. For about 500 towns across the northern United States, that’s where the best watches were found.

Why were the best watches found at the train station? Well, the railroad company wasn’t selling the watches, the telegraph operator was. Most of the time the telegraph operator was located in the railroad station because the telegraph lines followed the railroad tracks from town to town.

The moral is simple: Keep your eyes open and your powder dry. Luck will find you soon enough – if you’re also awake enough to recognize it when it shows up and take advantage of it.

daniel w. jacobs
(c) 2011-2030, all rights reserved

I think you’ll enjoy it. – daniel w. jacobs

Midnight Mass In Posen Michigan

A True Christmas Story

By

Doug Houseworth

     July 1, of 1978 I married a wonderful Catholic girl from Posen Michigan.  This is a Polish community near Lake Huron in the tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.  Susan came from a family of seven children and she was the only girl.  Her father had always envisioned a traditional Polish Catholic wedding for her.  Unfortunately, such plans came to an end when she fell in love with me.  Not only was I protestant but also I had been married twice before.  Even my mother felt sorry for her parents.

Our love prevailed and we were married at my house beneath a giant maple tree.  It was a most informal affair and Susan’s family attended with great reservation.  My entrance and acceptance into this good family was a fragile process.  That year there were a few summer trips to the family cottage on Grand Lake near Posen, and in the fall a Thanks Giving dinner at their home.  Things seemed to be going OK; then came Christmas.

I had only been inside a Catholic church on a few occasions and never to a midnight mass.  Of course, we were invited.  We got to my in-laws house early in the day and Susan’s father; Frank introduced me to what was apparently a Polish family tradition, one that I might add, was much to my liking.  Drinking beer and eating an inordinate amount of Polish kielbasa was my idea of an afternoon well spent.  We had a large, well-prepared dinner before Mass and if memory serves me, I would say a few more beers.  The adventure of a new experience at midnight mass was just ahead.

Around 11:00pm, I began to notice some rolling pain in my abdomen.  At first it wasn’t too bad.  By midnight it became quite intense and I began to worry.  The pressure was building.  When we got to the church it was packed.  At this point Frank became the director of seating and to my horror, not only were Susan and I separated but also our family group sat in the middle of a long church pew.  I looked to the left and to the right; there was no easy escape.  Frank and I sat next to each other in the middle of the pew.

The pain began to escalate and my thoughts turned to relief.  The unpredictable standings, kneeling and sitting didn’t help much.  At this point, the pressure was so great that I was afraid to move.  I needed a plan.  I ruled out the prospect of negotiating my way past the faithful, to the end of the pew and hopefully to the men’s room, without attracting attention to myself.  It was too late!  A process began, which I can only describe as a “farting meditation.”  Never have I been so focused or clear minded.

There were two important objectives that began to emerge.  These were silence and dryness.  Trying to control odor was not reasonable.  Besides, if odor were the only consequence, it would be impossible for one to say exactly where it came from.  I reasoned that the combination of good sphincter control and alternately tightening and loosening my gluteus maximus, would allow me to control the release of gas.  Should there be any sound, I could control it.  The issue of dryness was an unknown, but it was a risk I had to take.  There were a few intrusive thoughts of Frank telling his buddies that his new son-in-law messed his pants in church.  But I stayed focused, taking things a step at a time.

I cannot say there was the sweet smell of success, but the first two goals were accomplished.  A great volume of gas was released, with precise control, in complete silence and total dryness.  I felt a brief sense of accomplishment, which was soon shattered by an exceedingly foul odor.

I was afraid to look at Frank least he suspect me as the source of this terrible smell.  Without moving my head, I rolled my eyes in his direction.  He sat stoically, looking straight ahead, seemingly absorbed in the sermon.  The denial began to set in.  I reasoned that since gas was lighter than air, perhaps it rose from my bottom up through my sports coat on up to heaven.  Not only was it dry and silent, God and I were the only ones who smelled it.  Yeah, that must be it!

This sequence of events repeated itself several times during the service.  Each time I discretely looked at Frank and his expression never changed.  Finally, the service was over and we all went home.  Before going to bed, Susan, Frank and I were sitting in the living room.  Susan’s mom, Marge walked in and said, “Well Frank, how did you like the service?”  “Well, he said, the service was fine, but my God, that fat lady that sat in front of us, I thought I was gonna die.  I never smelled anything so bad in my life.”

I laughed so hard I could barely breathe.  Ten years later, I confessed my sin of compression to Frank.  It was OK; we both laughed.

Doug Houseworth

This has been the downfall of every great nation that has ever existed, including our own.

To understand economics you must start with the idea that you can’t understand it. It’s too complicated, that’s what’s so simple about it. – daniel w. jacobs

Read this and pass it along to everyone you know.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never
failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That
class had insisted that Obama’s socialism worked and that no one would be poor
and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on
Obama’s plan”.. All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same
grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A…. (substituting grades
for dollars – something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The
students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were
happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had
studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride
too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and
name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the
benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism
would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to
succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try
or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that. (Please pass this on)

Anon.

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you’ll ever read and all applicable to
this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out
of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for
without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not
first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because
the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the
idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what
they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Can you think of a reason for not sharing this? Neither could I.

Author is unknown but the message should not be. Pass it on!

I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in Cahoots.  Apparently, you can’t go alone.  You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I’ve also never been in Cognito.  I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane.  They don’t have an airport; you have to be driven there.  I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I’m not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt.  That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I’ve been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I’m in Capable, and I go there more often as I’m getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense!  It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart!

At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

Author Unknown

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman.

Only the “unreasonable man” – he who possesses enough audacity, boldness, and courage to put ideas into action and dreams into reality, has the chance to change his life, or the world.

Such people see how something could be better and set out to make it happen, ignoring distractions, opinions, obstacles; not seeking approval from others before they start, preferring to ask for forgiveness rather than waiting for permission.

They don’t just wish or want things to be different or only adapt to the norm. They make a deliberate, conscious decision to bring into being, what they see in their minds eye. To them, just because it’s “always been that way,” doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way.

They don’t apathetically accept things as they are, without any hope of change. Instead, they image how things could be, and begin to make it so. Their imaginative foresight is so compelling that the “norm” becomes unacceptable and that fact alone ends up propelling them into action to bring their lives in line with the one they imagine.

People with these characteristics are in fact, unreasonable (and happily so).

Now, are you ready for a change?
First, ask yourself, “What consistently bugs me?” “What gets under my skin?” “What would I like to change about myself, or my life, really?”

Then ask yourself, “Do I just accept things as they are, when I can clearly see they need to change? Or do I demand the change I know I need and want?

The change you envision must be so strong that it thoroughly engages your attention and excites your imagination. It must be so important to you personally that it is worth the sacrifice to make it so. It commonly will capture your passion so completely that there are times when you can think of nothing else except how to bring your dreams into reality.

Now, if these elements are acceptable to you, you’re ready for change and there is real hope for a bright future.

The next step is to firm up the contract you are making with yourself. Make it real. Put it in writing. And most importantly, make it specific. The words of Lily Tomlin ring true: “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.”

Get into Action
Now, ask yourself: “What would someone, who was doing what I really want to do, be doing right now?” Then ask, “What am I doing right now?”

Compare these two answers and adjust accordingly.

If not now, when?
Once you have identified exactly what needs to change to reach your objective, take a look at where you are right now. Figure out the exact next step that you must take to get started. Then take it. Momentum will soon start to build on itself and keep you moving forward even when you don’t feel like it.

Everything starts with a decision not to accept the status quo just because its always been that way. Change does not occur without a willingness to challenge the mold of tradition and become far more unreasonable and much less “reasonable.”

Don’t be so reasonable about why you can’t do something. Don’t be so accepting of the excuses, explanations and reasons why something can’t be done. Anything can be accomplished if you decide it can be – and make that decision without any doubts or reservations whatsoever.

The only reason why it isn’t done is because you took your eye off the goal and started looking for reasons why you might fail. This is, in fact, the only reason for failure. There is no other.

So, lets just knock off being so reasonable about why something can’t be done. Anything can be; if you just decide that it can be, and stop looking for reasons to explain why you failed.

Remember: “All progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

Lets start making some real progress for a change, okay?

daniel w. jacobs
© 2011  – 2030, all rights reserved

TRUTH IS FREEDOM

Truth is freedom

A life of truth is a life of power

Believe nothing just because a wise person said it

Believe nothing only because it is written in ancient texts

Believe nothing simply because it is claimed to be of divine origin

Believe nothing merely because “everyone else” says it is true

Believe nothing that says you can’t be, do, or have anything you decide

Believe nothing you cannot see as truth, including anything I’ve written here

Above all, believe in yourself first

Freedom is truth

daniel w. jacobs
A gift to my friends on my birthday, May 2011

These things happen everyday, yet no one is able to tell us exactly why.  And all the justifications, explanations and reasons offered as to why this happened do nothing to help us avoid the same fate.

But one thing is as clear as a mile-high, neon sign on a jet-black night:

DON’T SHOW UP . . . and your failure is nearly guaranteed.

Which, by obvious deduction, leads us to this second undeniable fact:

THE FIRST LAW OF SUCCESS IS: JUST SHOW UP!

Why?  Because all other laws are useless unless you first SHOW UP.

What does it mean to show up?  It just means to stop hiding; show up and really be there; participate instead of being a spectator; answer your phone calls personally; be interested in people; open a conversation and make a contribution; return your phone calls; answer your letters; go to that meeting or party; accept the invitation to speak and stick around after-wards and talk to people; it’s all about just showing up and contributing.

It’s guaranteed that you’ll never sell anybody anything if you don’t show up.  It’s like getting all dressed up and heading out to a party and then not talking to anyone all night.  The more you practice showing up, the easier and more natural it becomes.  And soon, doors of opportunity open for you that you didn’t even know existed.

It’s all pretty simple once you decide to JUST SHOW UP.

One more thing.  If you’re only looking for a reason not to show up, you can ALWAYS find one. So why bother?  It’s a lot easier to just decide to show up?  You’ve got nothing to lose except your invisibility and eventual failure. You’ll be far better off to just show up, contact, engage and get into communication with people.

Even the famous director and comedian Woody Allen had it right when he said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”  But he left out the other side of the coin: “Not show up, you’ll fail at least eighty percent of the time.“

Don’t even look for reasons not to show up.  Train yourself to say YES, instead of your usual response of “maybe sometime or we’ll see.” Get off the fence.  Stop pretending.  Either you’re interested in success or you’re not.  If you are, then make it happen.  It costs you little or nothing to do so, and the potential gains are exponential.

Further, if you work at it, you will see desirable changes in every other aspect of your life. All this and more is yours, if you JUST SHOW UP.

daniel w. jacobs
(c) 2010 – 2020, all rights reserved

Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired. ~Martha Graham, American Dancer, Choreographer, 1894-1991

As to (practicing) methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few.  The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.  The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of.  – Robert Schumann

Practice is the best of all instructors. ~Publilius Syrus, Roman author, 85-43 B.C.

Music takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence and whereto. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it’s what you put into the practice.
~Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player

When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win.~Ed Macauley, Basketball player

Practice as if you are the worst, perform as if you are the best. – Unknown

Everything you need to get that relaxed driving that brings consistency only comes with practice. ~John Surtees

The heart of a human being is no different from the soul of heaven and earth. In your practice always keep in your thoughts the interaction of heaven and earth, water and fire, yin and yang. ~Morihei Ueshiba

Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, which takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice. ~Arnold J. Toynbee

I have my daily priories. My main priority is to practice; my second priority is to process orders. After that, I just see what is left to do. I have a very organized day. ~Michael Schenker

You learn to see by practice. It’s just like playing tennis, you get better the more you play. The more you look around at things, the more you see. The more you photograph, the more you realize what can be photographed and what can’t be photographed. You just have to keep doing it. ~Eliot Porter

If someone wants to play music you do not have to get a ruler or whips to make them practice. ~Thelonious Monk

If I don’t practice the way I should, then I won’t play the way that I know I can. ~Ivan Lendl

Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. – Vince Lombardi

Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.  Jim Rohn

Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert. – William Osler

If you sound great in the practice room, you’re practicing the wrong thing. –Mr. Dave Martin

I found myself being more attracted to artists who have developed through the years and become better and deeper musicians.  I believe in things that are developed through hard work.  – Bill Evans, pianist

Music is best that is deeply personal and universal at the same time. – dan jacobs

Music is one of the few ways that you can expose yourself in public and not get arrested.  – dan jacobs

Only a healthy dose of humility allows one to give music the respect it deserves. – dan jacobs

Anaesthetics (also spelled anesthetics) is a medical term for an agent causing a local or general loss of sensation or feeling.

The first one, aesthetics, creates an increase in awareness, feeling, aliveness.  Whether as a participant or a spectator, the arts are aesthetics and create space, freedom and life.

The second, anaesthetics, creates just the opposite; loss of awareness, sensation, feeling or aliveness.  Drugs are  anaesthetic and create solidity, entrapment and death.

Which would you prefer?

daniel w. jacobs
(c) 2010-2020, all rights reserved