Know Yourself

There are days when the words seem to leap off the keyboard and form themselves into these cool little sentences on my screen.

And then there are those days where I stare at the blank screen, yell at it, stare at it some more and then try to type words and all they seem to spell is WORK.

Then there are my perfect days. For me it is when I am running a mountain trail, enjoying all of creation and just living a full life. On these days I often whimsically wish that I could put a typewriter in my hydration pack so as the words strike my bared mind, I could type them on the screen.

Alas. To my utter frustration that typing machine hasn’t been invented yet. So I’m stuck with the worst type of writing instrument ever created in the history of mankind. My mind.

For those of you blessed with a photographic memory and the ability to firmly remember everything you thought of while sleeping or doing something else, I have one thing to say to you. Simply put…I dislike you greatly. For to my utter frustration I am not blessed with one of those minds.

I am blessed with a mind that can hop from here to there and back to here and then over there and then possibly be processing ten different things at one time. It’s like Helter Skelter all over again and I can’t run from this strange mind of mine.

Oh to have the ability to focus on one thought and to put that thought into these silly little machines with the white background and black words and have them come out into something that people want to read. But no…not for me. I enjoy reading the works of people who can remember words that came to them on the subway or skiing down a mountain and then come to their little white screen, address it properly “hi, its me again. Let’s do this thing.” You people are impressive and quite frankly a little intimidating.

On those days when I get back to the house from an incredible run in the mountains where I have most likely seen all kinds of wild animals, scenic vistas rarely seen by people who don’t wander far into the mountains and stare at my little white screen hoping those words that sounded so good running would just jump out of my brain, I remember my first sales mentor and the words he so gently delivered to me long, long ago.

I was whining to Melvin about how all the other salespeople were closing deals and I was still trying to convince people that I was actually a real human being. Melvin subjected himself to my whining way more often than a human being should.

Melvin very gently asked me a startling question, “What do these salespeople closing these deals have that you don’t have?”

As I stared at him, trying to figure it out and come up with a good response Melvin again very gently said, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing but you are missing out on something.”

He then proceeded to teach me about living within myself and getting good at strengthening the things I was good at and letting go of my weaknesses and trusting that there will always be somebody who will fill in for my weaknesses. He taught me about the most important thing I have ever heard and will always remember after nearly twenty-five years have passed and my incredible sales mentor has gone to that sales conference in the heavens.

Melvin said, “Get to know yourself and don’t worry about what others are doing. Get really good at constantly being in touch with yourself and what you are good at and then continue to excel at knowing who you are and what you’re good at.”

So my life now revolves around being jealous of people who have a sound mind and great memory and then suddenly remembering the words of one of the greatest mentors I have ever had and may ever have. I now strive to know myself, to know what I am good at and then to on a daily basis do what I’m good at all the time.

I have a three step process I use when I need the reminder to bring myself back into knowing myself and when I can remember it, it works flawlessly.

1. Forgive myself for being jealous of other people’s awesome memories and their ability to put their words into an order that doesn’t seem like they’re playing connect the dots to the song Falter Salter.

2. Remember who made me, who I am and what I am good at. As I remember these things a really special peace comes over me.

3. Continually improve on my strengths and trust that my weaknesses are going to be taken care of by somebody or somebodies who are strong in those areas. Then I can rejoice and enjoy who they are and celebrate their greatness and not get jealous about them.

These three simple steps serve me well whether it be in sales, preaching or teaching, and now in my writing endeavors. It is so easy to see the works of other people and wish that I were that talented or able to remember things as easy as leaping buildings in a single bound. It is much more difficult to know myself and know who made me, who I am and what I am good at.

I’m not saying these steps are for everybody but there may be people who are like me out there who just need a simple little process to kick start the brain and get words down on these special little white screens.

Enjoy knowing yourself and living within yourself.

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