Ebony on Everything

Last year, the printing company in the same plaza as our firm gave us a daily quote calendar. I took it upon myself to read the quotes to the office each day, while kinda. There were days I missed reading the quotes, but I would always catch us up. When I moved back to Toledo, I continued to send the quotes to a couple of my coworkers. There were some good quotes, the bad quotes, and some What? quotes. We discovered recently that we would run out of quotes on October 31st, aka today bka Halloween. Who the hell creates a calendar to end at such an odd time? I have decided as the self-appointed quote reader to find quotes to finish out the year. I also have a 365 calendar in my cart. Well, I actually have three. I couldn’t decide, so I put them all in there. I will narrow it down to one over the weekend.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the calendar and a couple I found today that cracked me up.

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” – Teddy Roosevelt

“Rules for Happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for.” – Immanuel Kant

“Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” – Russell Warren (This was my favorite quote from the whole calendar.)

“The most important lesson you learn from winning is that you can.” – Unknown

“All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring.” – Chuck Palahniuk (I don’t believe this, but it made me giggle.)

“This life’s hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid.” – George V. Higgins

“Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker.” – Ogden Nash (One of my all-time favorites.)

I love a good quote. I am looking forward to finding the quotes to send to the ladies. I’ve found a few funny ones already. We don’t need her calendar quotes! I got this! What are some of your favorite quotes ? Do you like any of the ones I shared? Let me know. Be well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚

Today, my friend shared a post from Instagram and it was so relatable. The post was from bookforwealth and it listed Adult problems nobody warned me about.

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I could relate to the majority of the adult problems since I have technically been an adult for 30 years. That shit is crazy! I just knew I was going to go to the comments and find people stating how they could relate to the post. What I found was a bunch of people talking about how the post was negative (it’s not) and how people should look for the good things in life. Seriously!?!? So a person makes a post about the realities of being an adult and they are being negative?

I don’t remember what I thought adulthood would be like when I was a kid. I can tell you, no matter what I thought, this shit ain’t it. Being an adult is for the rest of your life starting at the age of 18 and the life can be wonderful, then overwhelming, then happy, then emotional, and on and on. It is good to have a positive attitude. It is also good to admit when you are not doing well. And when you say you aren’t doing well, no one has the right to tell you to stop being negative or look on the bright side. Fuck the bright side in this moment I’m having. Why can’t an adult, who technically doesn’t have to listen to anyone, have a moment? This is why people are lacking connections. If I come to you with my moment and you don’t let me have it, I’m probably not going to come to you anymore.

One of the books that we read in book club was talking about better ways to communicate in a business setting or in a personal one. Sorry, I don’t remember the exact book. I do remember how the author said, when a person comes to you to talk, we should ask a couple of questions. I’m totally paraphrasing here. But the question was along the lines of, Do you want to just talk or do you want my feedback? Sometimes, we just need to talk. To get it off our chest. Being an adult is just…ugh. And even if we do live on the bright side, it is okay to visit the dark side. It doesn’t make you or your perspective negative.

Today, I had to administer my once a month MS medication. I always have a moment right before I press the auto injector into my leg (dark moment). Then I have a bright one when I look down at my bandage.

These adult problems aren’t going anywhere soon, so feel free to have a moment and then some more. It is one way to help you be well and whole. And I want that for you and I. Much Love 🧡 💚

In book club, we are reading The A-i Driven Leader by Geoff Woods. Okay, I know I am childish for this, but I despise the way his name is spelled. I am sure his parents had a reason for spelling his name this way. I need to get over it. In general, the book is about learning how to use AI as your thought partner, helping you to ask questions you wouldn’t normally think of, and offering different perspectives to pick the best outcome. I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t get into AI. The majority of the book I feel like he is trying to sell me on something I don’t want or need. Yet, I am rational enough to know, one day I will have to use AI, whether I want to or not. So, I am trying to be open mindeu (said in the accent of Hongdae guy).

There was a line Geoff said in the book that stuck with me, and it really doesn’t have anything to do with AI. It is more from a business standpoint. I don’t currently have a business, but it is something to think about for when that day comes. Geoff questioned, “What is a business that could put us out of business? How can we come up with it first?” What a thought! A damn good thought. I wonder if he got that question from asking AI. Probably. I find myself zoning out at different parts of the book. I’m going to have to revisit some chapters 🫤. Anyways, I really like these two questions. I can’t imagine that most businesses are asking these questions. Maybe one of the reasons, people go out of business.

I think about how Covid made businesses rethink how to service their customers. How some businesses adapted quickly and made changes to survive. And how other businesses did not make. Whether it was because they could not think outside of the box, or their business wasn’t structured to make the adjustments quickly. I know as I ride through my city, it makes me sad to see the small local businesses that did not survive. I wonder if businesses, who could have had access to the questions above and answered those questions, would have found a new framework and change their destiny? Then, you think, if it ain’t broke… Ugh, so many decisions and thoughts to process. I commend you business owners.

If I get nothing else out of this book, I am glad I got this message. Geoff sold me on something, even if it wasn’t AI. Do you use AI? How is AI working for you? Do you use it at work, for home projects, or just to see what it is capable of? If you have mastered AI, I need help! Stay well and whole. Much Love 🧡 💚