A plug for improving with the power of petite

A plug for improving with the power of petite

Little. Different. Not mutually exclusive.

Just because something’s shrimpy small, doesn’t mean it’s insignificant.

The street that leads off the West Side Highway to Fairway Market uptown, for example. Even its name seems to belittle it.

But it ain’t.

It’s one heckuva significant street. Desperately needed to stock the shelves the with scrumptious sustenance that shoppers’ carts swallow whole.

There are all kinds of dimuntive people who’ve done remarkable things:

-Indian statesman and freedom fighter Ghandi was 5’ 5”

-NBA slam-dunking point guard Mugsy Bogues,  was 5’-3”

-World renowned, rock star Prince was 5’-2”

And in the everyday, there are little differences that give us a lift. A dollop of peanut butter in oatmeal. An extended, open-palmed gesture, pointing the way.  A hint of lemon verbena.

“No act of kindness,

no matter how small,

is ever wasted.” 

– Aesop (Lion and the Mouse)

Be it a smile. A wagging tail on a small dog. A wink.

Here’s to making a difference, no matter how diminutive. Disregard any delay to it dawning.

And thanks for reading all the way down here.

If you’re not removing the headwind, you’re creating it

If you’re not removing the headwind, you’re creating it 

(bicycling to work via the Hudson River esplanade, NYC)

As a worker, it’s great to have the wind at your back, pushing, cajoling, tempting you to throw your weight into that next pedal rotation. It pleads with you- and pleases you - to pedal furiously.

Faster

Further.

Experienced it this morning on my way into the office.

It was glorious.

Pain-free.

And fast.

Just like some days at the office where I work, when the brief has insights; the time is ticking, but not too fast; the planets align, and the ideas are flowing.

Hurdles? Handicaps? Holdups?

Hah. They all become

Opportunities

Openings

Occasions to shine

As a manager, I should be creating those situations more and more often. So people who look to me to remove the shackles, the snags, and the shortcomings to let them soar.

Maybe you can too.

Ask yourself: what are you doing – today, right now – to reduce the pushback on the people who need you to block the wind in their face and give them a push to move forward?

Here’s to helping create more tailwinds.

And thanks for reading all the way down here.

Pete Van Bloem is a copywriter at a healthcare advertising agency in New York City. The views stated above are his and not in any way, shape or form affiliated with that agency, its employees, clients, partners, shareholders, overlords or landlords, irrespective of which way the wind blows.