Dan and James both shared this quote from Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Human, All Too Human.” The quote resonated with me. It’s useful not just for artists, but for anyone who produces a body of work — that’s you. “Artists have an interest in … so-called inspirations; as if the idea of a work of art, of poetry, the fundamental thought of a philosophy shines down like a merciful light from heaven. In truth, the good artist’s or thinker’s imagination is continually producing things good, mediocre, and bad, but his power of judgment, highly sharpened and practiced, rejects, selects, joins together; thus we now see from Beethoven’s notebooks that he gradually assembled the most glorious melodies and, to a degree, selected them out of disparate beginnings. The artist who separates less rigorously, liking to rely on his imitative memory, can in some circumstances become a great improviser; but artistic improvisation stands low in relation to artistic thoughts earnestly and laboriously chosen. All great men were great workers, untiring not only in invention but also in rejecting, sifting, reforming, arranging.”

Classic example of a violation of John Brady’s law of the 6Ps — Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Failing to prepare for a timezone shift.

I suck (for now) at preparing for leisure travel. I pack at the last minute. I plan activities in the moment. I’m an agent of chaos. However, my body is telling me that needs to change. Enter “Jet Lag”.

Philippines is 13 hours ahead of Wisconsin. Literally a night-and-day difference. I arrived home in Wisconsin last night and this morning, at 1am, I am up and ready to go. I can’t understand why the rest of the world isn’t up with me!

At this point I am in the Philippines. I’m vistiing for a week. I hope I had a boring flight.I hope I arrived in one piece.I hope people were happy to see me.I hope the weather is good. I hope I got some sleep.I hope I made a plan to appreciate the moment.A letter from my past self as I prepare to fly. I’ll let you know how it actually turned out.

I began this post believe I would share my perspective on the country. Now, after thinking about it, I don’t believe I can write that post. The more I travel and see the world, the more I realize that one country is not better or worse than another — they are different. The Philippines is just as beautiful and just as ugly as any other place I’ve been — including my own country. Like other places, possibly where you live, you’ll encounter hard working people. You’ll stress about traffic. You’ll know people that value time together. You’ll know people that value alone time. You’ll taste flavors that are different and you’ll enjoy the familiar. At a very high level — it’s not so dissimilar. If the country is not any different than any other country, what might I value? Experiences. Now, I believe what I lost most about visiting a new place is not the place, it’s what I learned from my experience in that place. And, from my experience in the Philippines, I’ve learned a few things:It’s hard to fine sugar-free or vegetable/seed-oil free food stuffs. I see that as an invitation to explore further! I do not remember a bad cup of coffee. I wish I knew more about the beans they grow here. Make the most of traffic jams — bring a book.I prefer less sweet and more smokey barbecue. How might I find more of that here? It’s possible that some US-based business leaders may undervalue the talents of the people here. And it’s possible some people here undervalue their own people. I believe these are people with tremendous optimism, drive, and entrepreneurial thinking. People will go to great lengths to connect with the things that matter to them.On the whole, a beautiful experience. I’ve learned much.

Possibly underrated by many who haven’t done it. Probably properly rated by those who have. Travel alone to a foreign country and be humbled, humiliated, amused, and inspired by the experience. I enjoy putting myself along, perhaps over, the margin of my competency. My experience in the Philippines continues to deliver returns from stepping over the margin of my competence in the form of personal growth and a feeling of self-effectiveness. If you haven’t done it yet, consider giving it a try.

Someone some day might call you “big.” And you might become offended. But wait a moment.For some groups of people, expressing an observation about something physical and measurable is acceptable. It may even be a sign of care or respect. But wait a moment.For some groups of people, that’s highly offensive to make mention of a physical characteristic. That type of observation is reserved for the inner circle of loved ones and family. But wait a moment.How do we communicate when the expression of a physical truth can be a sign of respect/care or a form of shame or assault? The best course is for both parties to be curious. Deploying curiosity requires the curious party to hold space for questions and for learning. That curious person must be willing to be make an update to their worldview given new knowledge. In this process, the curious person becomes more empathetic, a stronger communicator, and a more effective translator. Genuine Curiosity — perhaps the tool that bridges the divide between people, places, and things?

The best laid plans often go awry. I thought I had written blog posts since Thursday, but I hadn’t. I’m in the Philippines now — been here for a week. I wrote out a bunch of posts in advance and forgot to hit “schedule”. I’m sorry. That said — I’m still here, and you’ll be receiving one more email from me per days (just for a few days) until I’ve caught up. My goal is 365 posts per year.That said — if you try to solve for everything, you’re bound to miss something.

By the time it’s time to turn things around, life compounded. And compound interest is a powerful force.The best way to get things back on track is to go step-by-step and lower the expectations. With the right mindset, persistence, resiliency, and pragmatism you can turn around anything. Your effort must compound in the other direction.

I don’t stress about travel prep anymore. I enjoy it. I enjoy thinking about what I’ll wear, gifts I’ll share, and what I’ll do. I give myself hope. The inverse is to stress about travel. Imagine someone giving themselves stress about what to wear, gifts to buy, and planning every second of the day. Some people like that. I don’t. The more I learn about myself the more I learn that I enjoy simple, thoughtful, efficient, and value-adding experiences. Packing my bags is no exception.

I received a traffic ticket — I’m human. I want to pay the ticket online — Fond Du Lac County Wisconsin does not allow online payments. They requrie me to mail a check. Who still uses checks? Thinking of incentives — if a county made it too easy to pay a traffic ticket, more people might speed because of the ease of paying the ticket. I’m not a speed demon… anymore. After this experience, I’m happy to keep a steady 5 over the limit then have to tear up my place looking for a checkbook. Cheers to noticing the diffcult things in our life.