source: flickr.com

I never really thought that I’d spend as much time in airports as I do. I don’t know why. I always wanted to be famous and that would mean lots of travel. But I’m not famous, yet I do see more than my share of airports.

I love them and I hate them. I love them because of the people I get to watch. But they are also the same reason why I hate airports. It all comes down to “hello” and “goodbye.”I must have mentioned this a few times while writing my stories for you.

I have great difficulties with saying goodbye. Even as I write this I am experiencing that pounding sensation in my heart. If I am watching such a scene in a movie I am affected so much that I need to sit up and take a few deep breaths. So when faced with a challenge in my life I have been known to go to our local airport and watch people say goodbye. I figure nothing that is happening to me at the time could be as bad as having to say goodbye.

Watching people cling to each other, crying, and holding each other in that last embrace makes me appreciate what I have even more. Seeing them finally pull apart, extending their arms until the tips of their fingers are the last to let go, is an image that stays forefront in my mind throughout the day.

On one of my recent business trips, when I arrived at the counter to check in, the woman said, “How are you today?” I replied, “I am missing my wife already and I haven’t even said goodbye.”

She then looked at my ticket and began to ask, “How long will you…Oh, my God. You will only be gone three days!” We all laughed. My problem was I still had to say goodbye.

But I learn from goodbye moments, too.

Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, “I love you. I wish you enough.” She in turn said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.”

They kissed and she left. He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?”

“Yes, I have,” I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me.

So I knew what this man experiencing.

“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever goodbye?” I asked.

“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back would be for my funeral,” he said.

“When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, “I wish you enough.” May I ask what that means?”

He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.”When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Goodbye.”

He then began to sob and walked away.

My friends, I wish you enough!
by
Bob Perks

Bob Perks is a speaker and author. He can be emailed at bob@bobperks.com

His website is www.BobPerks.com

By Hugh MacLeod

1. Ignore everybody. The more original your idea is, the less good advice other people will be able to give you.

2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to change the world. The sovereignty you have over your work will inspire far more people than the actual content ever will.

3. Put the hours in. Doing anything worthwhile takes forever - 90% of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort and stamina. Put the hours in; do it for long enough and magical, life-transforming things happen eventually.

4. If your plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail. Nobody suddenly discovers anything. Things are made slowly and in pain.

5. You are responsible for your own experience. Nobody can tell you if what you’re doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the lonelier it is.

6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

7. Keep your day job. The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs. One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. This tense duality will always play centre stage. It will never be transcended.

8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.

9. Everyone has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb. You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness. And, admit that your own private Mount Everest exists. That’s half the battle.

10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props. Van Gogh rarely painted with more than six colours on his palette.

11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether. All existing business models are wrong. Find a new one.

12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you. The pain of making the necessary sacrifices always hurts more than you think it’s going to… even if you don’t end up pulling it off, you’ll learn many incredible, magical, valuable things… you’re better off doing something on the assumption that you will not be rewarded for it, that it will NOT receive the recognition it deserves, that it will NOT be worth the time and effort invested in it. The obvious advantage to this angle is, of course, if anything good comes of it, then it’s an added bonus.

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside. The more you practise your craft, the less you confuse worldly rewards with spiritual rewards, and vice versa…

14. Dying young is overrated.

15. The most important thing a creative person can learn, professionally, is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not… what shit you are willing to take, and what shit you’re not. What you are willing to relinquish control over, and what you aren’t. What price you are willing to pay, and what price you aren’t.

16. The world is changing. Some people are hip to it, others are not. If you want to be able to afford groceries in 5 years, listen closely to the former and avoid the latter.

17. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t. Human beings have this thing, the “Pissed Off Gene” - that bit of our psyche that makes us utterly dissatisfied with our lot, no matter how kindly fortune smiles upon us. Part of understanding the creative urge is understanding that it’s primal. Wanting to change the world is not a noble calling; it’s a primal calling. We think we’re “providing a superior integrated logic system” or “helping America to really taste freshness”. In fact, we’re just pissed off and want to get the hell out of the cave and kill the woolly mammoth.

18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang, the well-meaning old-timers who get squeezed dry.

19. Sing in your own voice. Picasso was a terrible colourist. Turner couldn’t paint human beings worth a damn. Saul Steinberg’s formal drafting skills were appalling. Bob Dylan can’t sing or play the guitar. But that didn’t stop them, right?

20. The choice of media is irrelevant. Every media’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Every set of media is a set of fundamental compromises; one is not “higher” than the other. A painting doesn’t do much; it just sits there on a wall. That’s the best and worst thing about it.

21. Selling out is harder than it looks. Diluting your product to make it more “commercial” will just make people like it less.

22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

23. Worrying about “Commercial vs Artistic” is a complete waste of time.

24. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually. Inspiration precedes the desire to create, not the other way around. You have to find a way of working that makes it dead easy to take full advantage of your inspired moments. They never hit at a convenient time, nor do they last long. If you have something to say, then say it. If not, enjoy the silence while it lasts. The noise will return soon enough. In the meantime, you’re better off going out into the big, wide world, having some adventures, and refilling your well.

25. You have to find your own shtick. Part of being a Master is learning how to sing in nobody else’s voice but your own.

26. Write from the heart.

27. The best way to get approval is not to need it. This is equally true in art and business. And love. And sex. And just about everything else worth having.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken. People who are “ready” give off a different vibe than people who aren’t. Animals can smell fear; maybe that’s it. The minute you become ready is the the minute you stop dreaming. Suddenly it’s no longer about “becoming”. Suddenly it’s about “doing”. Not needing anything from another person in order to be the best in the world.

29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.

30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it. If you have the creative urge, it isn’t going to go away. But sometimes it takes a while before you accept the fact.

31. Remain Frugal. The less you can live on, the more chance your idea will succeed. This is true even after you’ve made it.

Good Reading

Kyoko Fukada - Dear