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.

Starting over? Go for it.

There is no statue of limitations on staring over.

Reinvent.

Revamp.

Revive.

Reawaken.

Reignite.

Reaffirm.

Rejuvenate.

Rebuild.

Refurbish.

Realign.

Readjust.

Recopy.

But, a word before you begin: relax.

Consider maybe this is not the time for a re-anything. Maybe this is the time to start fresh.

Rebel. Torch it to ash and toss it in the trash. Begin at the beginning. With a new beginning. It’s what I’m doing on this blog after a very long vacancy.

So don’t mind the naysayers; clear your mind.

Create with a clean slate.

More power to you.

Anybody else hear John Lennon singing this in the background of this post?

And thanks for reading all the way down here.

Wishing vs Working 

(aka: It Ain’t Shin Splints)

For all the hoopla about hope, it makes a wretched remedy.

Hope, like it’s sibling - Placebo Effect, is no cure.

Time is often a cure.  Rest is too. But hope, with its wild, wide-eyed, pie-in-the-sky, fly-by-night, put-up-a-fight, just ain’t right to make us alright.

At least, not when it comes to thinking you’ve developed shinsplints even after you stopped running for over a month. (It was actually another stress fracture.)

Lesson learned.

So here’s to hearing when your body says, “hey.” And to having the wisdom of sharing that vital intel with somebody who can make a real difference (in my case, happy to share that it was Dr. Jordan Metzl at Hospital for Special Surgery).

Thanks for reading all the way down here.

Sight for four eyes

Needed eyeglasses. 

Wasn’t able to enjoy the paper on Sunday with a cuppa coffee because I had to hold the paper so far away. And even then, turning the pages, repositioning the paper, ugh. Such a hassle.

It was worse during rush hour on the subway.

But, since using them regularly – most often with some hot coffee, been pleasantly reintroduced to one of life’s pleasures.

Here’s to not letting something as dopey as dogged denial get in the way of enjoying _your_ day.

And thanks for reading all the way down here (enlarged the typeface on the screen on purpose, by the way).

Never too late to dissolve a resolution

It takes six months to make a new habit. That's quite a gestation period. Especially if it's— hypothetically course—another new year's resolution and one hasn't quite gotten around to starting it.

Well, start the meter for Peter.

Join me. It doesn't have to be over for you, either. Consider that maybe your resolution was on holiday til now. It could've been taking a breather. Y'know, pacing itself.

No matter how you look at it, go start it up.

This is your beginning. Even if it's a re-beginning.

You can do it.

Thanks for reading down here.

A few words from Captain Obvious

It takes certain kind of courage to recognize what's right in front of your face.

Ignoring it is easy. That's what we condition ourselves to doing. Frankly, I’m way too good at it. Getting sidetracked. Distracted. Like a squirrel with ADHD.

But. Facing up to the stone cold truth, even when it's about to collide with the tip of my nose? Eh, that's not so easy.

Those blatant, obviousnesses of Life - the ones we take for granted and never question - those are the truths that everybody faces. But I rarely ever confront. Be it a health issue, or whatever. Til now.

Maybe this sounds like the attractive glimmer of a new year’s resolution in the making. It is for me, but feel free to appropriate it for yourself.

So here's to hoping – first and foremost – you recognize whatever reality you’ve been ducking, for what it is.

And second, that you have the courage to act on it (including a prayer for having the wisdom to know when _not_ to act on it, if that’s warranted).

Thanks for reading all the way down here.