Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate,neighbor, coworker, longlost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger) but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

Make every day count!!! Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before,and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

*MOST IMPORTANTLY* If you love someone, tell him or her...you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

Some people say cats never have to be bathed.  They say cats lick themselves clean.  They say cats have a special enzyme of some sort in their saliva that works like new, improved Wisk--dislodging the dirt where it hides and whisking it away.

I've spent most of my life believing this folklore.  Like most blind believers, I've been able to discount all the facts to the contrary - the kitty odors that lurk in the corners of the garage and dirt smudges that cling to the throw rug by the fireplace.

The time comes, however, when a person must face reality…when he must look squarely in the face of massive public sentiment to the contrary and announce: "This cat smells like a port-a-potty on a hot day in Juarez."

When that day arrives at your house, as it has in mine, I have some advice you might consider as you place your feline friend under you arm and head for the bathtub:

Know that although the cat has the advantages of quickness and utter disregard for human life, you have the advantage of strategy & strength.

Capitalize on that advantage by selecting the battlefield.  Don't try to bathe him in an open area where he can force you to chase him.  Pick a very small bathroom.  If your bathroom is more than four feet square, I recommend that you get in the tub with the cat and close the sliding-glass doors as if you were about to take a shower.  (A simple shower curtain will not do. A berserk cat can shred a three-ply rubber shower curtain quicker than a politician can shift positions.)

Know that a cat has claws and will not hesitate to remove all the skin from your body.  Your advantage here is that you are smart and know how to dress to protect yourself.  I recommend canvas overalls tucked into high-top construction boots, a pair of steel-mesh gloves, an army helmet, a hockey face mask and a long-sleeve flak jacket.  Prepare everything in advance.  There is no time to go out for a towel when you have a cat digging a hole in your flak jacket.  Draw the water.  Make sure the bottle of kitty shampoo is inside the glass enclosure.  Make sure the towel can be reached, even if you are lying on your back in the water.

Use the element of surprise.  Pick up your cat nonchalantly, as if to simply carry him to his supper dish.  (Cats will not usually notice your strange attire.  They have little or no interest in fashion as a rule.  If he does notice your garb, calmly explain that you are taking part in a product-testing experiment for J.C. Penney.)

Once you are inside the bathroom, speed is essential to your survival.  In a single liquid motion, shut the bathroom door, step into the tub enclosure, slide the glass door shut, dip the cat in the water and squirt him with shampoo.  You have begun one of the wildest 45 seconds of your life.  Cats have no handles.

Add the fact that he now has soapy fur, and the problem is radically compounded.  Do not expect to hold on to him for more that two or three seconds at a time.  When you have him, however, you must remember to give him another squirt of shampoo and rub like crazy.  He'll then spring free and fall back into the water, thereby rinsing himself off.  (The national record is--for cats--three latherings, so don't expect too much.)

Next, the cat must be dried.  Novice cat bathers always assume this part will be the most difficult, for humans generally are worn out at this point and the cat is just getting really determined.  In fact, the drying is simple compared to what you have just been through.  That's because by now the cat is semi-permanently affixed to your right leg.  You simply pop the drain plug with your foot, reach for your towel and wait.  (Occasionally, however, the cat will end up clinging to the top of your army helmet.  If this happens, the best thing you can do is to shake him loose and to encourage him toward your leg.)  After all the water is drained from the tub, it is a simple matter to just reach down and dry the cat.

Do *NOT* try to use a blow dryer.  You might as well use a vacuum cleaner.

In a few days the cat will relax enough to be removed from your leg.  He will usually have nothing to say for about three weeks and will spend a lot of time sitting with his back to you.  He might even become psycho-ceramic and develop the fixed stare of a plaster figurine.

You will be tempted to assume he is angry.  This isn't usually the case.  As a rule he is simply plotting ways to get through your defenses and injure you for life the next time you decide to give him a bath.  But, at least now he smells a lot better.

February 17, 2011 Are Goals Necessary? I asked that question on our Facebook page recently, and got a lot of great responses. Technically, I asked "Are goals necessary to achieve success?" - a lot of people accurately said that it depends on how you define success. I agree. But let's say that success includes working toward something other time, whether a career goal, a relational goal, or strictly a personal project. Are goals necessary in the crafting of a meaningful life? Here are a few responses from the group: Maggie Dodson: Sometimes goals can be manufactured to convince ourselves and others that we ARE busy doing what we should be doing. Better we follow the feeling, the passion, and walk towards the dream. Angela Stauder: No - but defining direction/trajectory is. Pick a point on the horizon and keep moving toward it. Define the method of travel (boundaries, values, key actions). Sometimes it is important to get clear on what success looks like. There is no one perfect formula that fits every situation. The wisdom and skills to navigate are critical. Yoshiko Inagaki: I think one needs to have a Vision. Then out of that Vision emerges Goals, but stay organic with the how-to-reach-the-goals. Carlos Araya: If you don't have goals how would you know how far you've gone? Kyle McHattie: Yes. If you don't know what you want, you have no focus. Without focus you wander aimlessly and are ineffective. You need goals to achieve success. John Saward: I'm reminded of Spike Milligan's snippet of wisdom: "We haven't got a plan so nothing can go wrong!" Derek Kei Lap Cheng: Goals are not necessary to achieve success, but they sure do help MEASURE success.  My favorite of all responses, though, came from Barbara Winter, who for some reason reads this blog even though she could write it much better than me. Here's what Barbara had to say: Most people would think it ridiculous to walk into an airport with a wad of cash, hand it over to the ticket agent and say, "Send me someplace." Goals are simply chosen destinations that we've decided are worth the trip. Without them, somebody else may be deciding on the itinerary for us. I won't try to add much to such wisdom. Just one thing - I'd never say that everyone needs to set goals, but I do notice that some of the objections to goal-setting always focus on "living in the present" and not letting life pass you by due to being too focused on goals. My view is that the odds of life passing you by are much higher if you have no plan for life itself -- which is why I like Barbara's analogy. You're not going to miss anything! In fact, you'll probably have the opportunity to give and receive more than you would otherwise. That's my $0.02. But what do you think... are goals necessary? How has goal-setting worked (or not worked) for you?       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to Sign Up or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?                           The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

VERY IMPORTANT: If you don't see any images in this message, be sure to click the "Display Images" link in your email reader. That will make life easier for everyone, trust me.  February 3, 2011 Accomplishing Everything How do you accomplish everything? People often ask me this question. For a while, it puzzled me. Do I really accomplish more than other people? I keep in touch with a lot of active, busy people all doing fun things, so I'm not sure I'm the exception. But if it's true, well, I think there are essentially three related answers. First of all, I don't accomplish everything - I don't like to talk on the phone, so I make an average of two phone calls a day. I don't watch TV, I don't drive, I don't go to meetings that exist for the purpose of having a meeting, and I don't do things out of obligation. These things can take up a lot of time if you let them. Stop doing them, and you'll have much more time. Second, I love what I do - It's much easier to accomplish "everything" when "everything" consists of things you are incredibly excited about. This makes a tremendous difference in comparison to trying to accomplish things you are dispassionate or only semi-motivated by. It's easy to trip over this concept if you have a job or other ongoing commitment you don't enjoy -- but if that's the case, it just makes it all the more important to spend the rest of your time on things you're motivated by. (If you lose 40 of your best hours a week to something you don't care about, don't you want to make the most of the remaining hours?) Third, I accomplish a lot of things because I work at them - This is perhaps the answer that some people tend to miss the most. I work as much as I can, every day, from wherever I am. I carry a paper notebook with me everywhere, and my laptop bag almost everywhere. I outline ideas and project notes on the bus. I write emails in the back of taxis taking me to or from the airport. When I go to sleep, the notebook is on the floor beside the bed in case I remember something I need to do in the morning. Two weeks ago in Toronto, I had a great gig at Indigo Books with Neil Pasricha and a bunch of other fun people. The whole gig, from setup to mingle to talk to Q&A to signing to "bookstore stuff" to small afterparty, took about four hours. Great turnout, great people, grateful author. After it was over, I went to Starbucks and replied to emails for two hours. Then I started writing this post. The next day, I had a day off from the tour, but I didn't do much sightseeing. Instead, I went back to another coffee shop and worked for most of the morning and afternoon. I like seeing fun people at the meetups, but without all the time I spend working by myself, no one would care and no one would come out. Please understand, this isn't bad or unhealthy -- I have a great life. I do what I want. I visit 20+ countries a year. I just wrapped up a book tour to every U.S. state and Canadian province. Everywhere I go, I hear amazing stories from remarkable people. This is the life I've freely chosen with no regrets, but it does not simply happen on its own. *** Perhaps one final example would better illustrate the third answer. Steve Cohen, the "Millionaire's Magician," was profiled by my friend Jonathan recently. I loved this quote from Steve in the interview: I want to address the incoming emails I receive from magicians around the world who ask me to teach them how to replicate my career. They come visit my show, which is sold-out weeks in advance, and say, "I want that." The problem is that they only see the final result. They do not see the years of struggle and creative thought that went into creating that result. Here you can see the behind-the-curtain: the years of struggle and creative thought. Many of us don't like to hear about those things, but that's how it goes: nothing works unless you do. Without an ongoing struggle to conquer resistance and produce something meaningful, there is no path to success or renown, at least not the respectable kind. Don't accomplish everything; just do what counts. Spend as much of your time as possible doing work you love. Work smarter and harder. That's pretty much it. ### -->click here to view or share comments You can follow me on Twitter here You can join AONC on Facebook here       A Small Shop with Big Plans for Fun People click here to get it or learn more click here to Sign Up or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more click here to get it or learn more A Brief Guide to World Domination 279 Days to Overnight Success A Short Collection of Unconventional Ideas Why You Should Quit Your Job and Travel Around the World Why People Hate Marketers Ever Feel Like Giving Up?                           The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau Web: http://chrisguillebeau.com Twitter: @chrisguillebeau Snail Mail: 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

Sun sets on time, that has been spent
In a life filled with love, and needs always met
In a place that is warm, and tenderly made
A light that has shined now passes to shade.

The pain that has come to steal away peace
Now nothing but memory, in spirit's sweet relief
Unencumbered by bone, or things of this earth
A once shadowed soul, rises in rebirth.

Thanks for the walks, the tackles and tears
Thanks for the hugs, the tricks and pig ears
I run with the wind now, so don't you fret
I'll lick you again, you'd better bet.

- Chris Brummett

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Michael

The other day I was driving out of my neighborhood and I saw something I have never seen before, at least not in real life. How many of you have seen commercials for car companies and they say, "This is our crash test car" and then they show it smashing into something? I was stopped at the stop sign and going through the intersection was a little green Toyota sporting these big letters on the side and back windows. Here's what it read: "Toyota Crash Test." Now I've got to tell you that my first thought was "That's interesting, but I'm staying back." I decided to give that car a little extra space and steer clear of it. Because if they were going to test crash it I didn't want to be a part of it.

Here's my question: How often do we do that with people? Let's face it, there are some people who have "crash" written all over them. They are so needy that it's as if they're sporting the letters on their sleeves; "anger management issues," or "fear of commitment," or "addictive personality," or "chronic complainer," or "codependent." And most of us steer clear of them. "They're going to crash and I don't want to be a part of it." And what we've created in our culture are these almost disposable people; people who are avoided, people who are pushed to the edge of our lives, ignored or even forgotten...