Hey Creator

Did you add any crafty skills during The Covid Years (cue dramatic dum-dum-dum sound) that you’re still practicing?

Me?

• I became a backyard birder. Then I started making nectar, hanging hummingbird feeders around the yard, and even rescued a few birds. How had I not noticed them all before?
• I started making my own yogurt. Seriously, this is dead simple. You should try it. It’s sooo much better than store bought. And all it takes is milk, some yogurt from the store to start, and time.
• And toward the end I picked up Pickleball. Now I just can’t stop. I have way too many paddles, skirts, braces and compression stuff (for bad knees, strained ankles, etc. - I look like a tinker toy). I subscribed to the tennis channel to watch the pros. I’m obsessed.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? How we turn to learning new things and to ‘making’ when we have the time? Maybe you gardened. Or sewed. Or took up the ukulele. Or decided to make those home improvements you’ve been putting off.

In the way back years, when I was accepted into the Program of Liberal Studies at Notre Dame in my sophomore year of college (it’s a Great Books Program), we were assigned the book Leisure, The Basis of Culture as required reading the summer before we started the program. Here’s the gist:

• It's in leisure that we find the time to ponder life's big questions, leading to a richer, more fulfilling existence. In other words, leisure creates the space for us to reflect, make connections and to ideate around art, literature, philosophy and so on.
• But our modern post-digital society, with its focus on efficiency and productivity, has largely marginalized the concept of leisure to a great degree. Now we have work for work's sake, neglecting the human need for contemplation and growth.

Well, this last weekend (ironically, as Covid rears its ugly head - again!), we took a house guest to the botanical gardens at the Huntington Library in Pasadena. It was a sort of vacation by proxy, and . . . long story short . . . I have a new obsession.

Bonsai!

That’s right. Those stunted little trees you saw Mr. Miyagi tending in The Karate Kid.

The Chinese Garden there was full of bonsai of all types. Some are literally 1000 years old! 🤯 They were simple and arresting. Beautiful. Tiny reflections of their bigger forms.

They are the product of years and years and years of meticulous care and attention.

And that got me thinking about our own lives and growth. Perhaps our job isn’t just to do more, but also to do better.

So I bought a book. I listened to a podcast. I read this fascinating article in the New Yorker, and now I’m eagerly waiting for the weekend to go buy my first bonsai. Or maybe I’ll start one on my own. Oh, and I’ll need tools!

Why am I telling you this?

Because curiosity and inquiry form new neural pathways which help you connect the dots – enlarging your fabric of knowledge, and more importantly understanding.

Learning, and then ‘making’ (i.e. creating) is in all of us. It’s in the ‘making’ that we put 2 and 2 together.

It’s one of the reasons I continue to write this letter to you unaided by ChatGPT (though admittedly, I did ask it for more info on bonsai).

If I allowed AI to write this newsletter, I would be robbing myself of the rewards of the creative act, and depriving myself of expanding my understanding.

In other words, I don’t want ChatGPT to think my thoughts for me, at least not for this. I’m selfish that way.

When it comes to tending to my I-don’t-have-it-yet-but-I-will-soon bonsai, I look forward to it teaching me things. I mean c’mon, bonsai are an obvious metaphor for so many things (including you and your business). They require nourishment - sun, water, air (it belongs outside). They need strong roots. They choose how to grow depending on their environmental conditions, but you can train them. And to train them, you need a plan, the right tools, and the guidance of people who know what they’re really doing. I could go on.

Anyway . . .

Labor Day is coming folks (at least for those of you in the US).

Try not to labor in your usual way. Maybe labor with something new. It just might open something up for you.

I’m thinking my bonsai will be an Olive tree. Whaddaya think?

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In other news:

• I’m reading The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. We are all creative by nature. Why not get in touch with that part of you?
• I was interviewed by Chris Bechtel for his podcast leading up to his book launch on how small wins can lead to big gains! Chris and I used to mentor startups together. He still does, and I’m starting to again.
• I’m thinking about launching a video series/podcast on business messaging & storytelling. The idea would really be to interview YOU about how you tell your business story. Should I do it? If you’ll let me interview you, HIT REPLY! The idea would be to just have a candid conversation on how you communicate your value . . . to buyers, investors, your internal team, partners . . . and how you keep everyone on the same page.

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Thanks for reading to the end! Happy looooooong weekend. Stay safe.

Ginger

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