Erin Albert's Blog

I along with 1100 other Indy people had the chance to hear Daniel Pink speak at Butler tonight.  Awesome, as I was certain he would be.  However, the thing that stuck the most with me was a quote from a study/research he shared.  (I’m probably going to butcher the facts, as it has been a long day, but hopefully not the bottom line…)  In this study, they took ‘rock stars’ or the best and brightest at work from several different workplaces and gave them a battery of tests–IQ, other stuff, etc. to see what was the differentiating factor between rock stars and everyone else.  There was only one correlate among rock stars, and it wasn’t IQ.  It was this:  the ability to see the big picture and to view the future.  The ability to see the proverbial “forrest” through the trees was the key to rock star status (in this particular study).  So, big picture thinkers, listen up:  you have a huge opportunity to become rock stars!  

Yes, of course we need people who are detail oriented (not saying one is good and the other is bad), I’m merely saying that the ability to take a step back and look at the big picture is a GREAT quality to have…so own it if you have it!  And if you don’t, fear not, there is time to sharpen your skills and go forrest hunting.

Yeah, I should be copiously studying my civ pro and contracts notes, because I am that much closer to finals, but I’m just not that into loving my notes this evening.  So, I thought I’d blog about something else that probably isn’t relevant to my grades in law school at all, but equally important to the universe at large, and that is: footers.

I am fascinated by people’s email footers.  It is a super cool, non-invasive way of sharing with the world either a glimpse of who you are, or who you aspire to be.  Some of the coolest people whom I admire in my life have inspiring quotes in their footers, which I totally dig (who doesn’t like a happy ending, even to an email?) Others include books they have published, or articles, newsletters, or just basic contact info.  All the business lawyers and big corporate homies I know also have a monster disclaimer at the bottom (which, really, does anyone read?  I actually find them interesting…) and yes, even email can be regulated, I suppose.

Here is my ‘bottom line’ (pardon the pun):  email footers are kind of like a mini-billboard for yourself.  So use it!  People are curious about you, so why not fill in that white space with a little something extra?  Of course you have to be professional and non-evil, but at worst people will ignore your footer, and at best, they can unearth a little something more about you…that way we can all inspire each other and get a little more connected.

Ok, promise this is the last post on luck for awhile.  I did my review of luck in my week, and after thinking about it a lot, I think a lot of people have a lot of luck around them…it is more about perception than anything else.  What one sees as good luck, someone else might think is bad, but it is all part of the journey, and in the journey itself, we can choose to view our ‘luck’ or situations in whatever good or bad ways we choose.  Life after all is kind of like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel (remember those?).  I like having a hand in creating my own path and ending, and if some luck is thrown in, even better.

Clear as mud, right?  Well, I will leave you in better spirits instead with a post I found on Craig’s List that I enjoyed.  I hope you enjoy it as well…and may the luck coming your way soon be not just good, but the best!

Last night I had one of my recurring dreams, and it goes a little something like this:  First, I’m at a mall (not one of my favorite places, as I’ve blogged previously, I’m not into shopping) and I’m trying, for the life of me, to get to the ‘other side’ of the mall.  However, the only way to get to the other side is through the food court.  The ‘other side’ consists of a small, elegant store where everything is on 90% discount and just the color, size and style I want…and they always have what I want in stock.

But last night, I was totally stuck at the food court.

Now, because I’ve had this recurring dream, sometimes and in the past, I have been to the other ‘utopian’ side of the mall.  But not last night.  For the life of me, I kept going in one big ol’ circle between the massive department store and the food court.

So, in discussing it with my friend this evening, she seems to think I need to embrace the food court.  Just sit down, enjoy the ugly 1980s ceramic tile and the greasy/sugary smell, and just park it and wait to be shown the path to the other side, rather than going in a circle.

I’m not so convinced.  But on the other hand, the more you force something, the less likely it is to happen in the outcome in which you desire.

I’m putting recurring dreams on the same list as shopping, methinks.

Part of the Luck week I’m bringing this week includes “Tough Decision Thursday.”  Again, according to the book Luck, the best day of the week to make those tough, agonizing decisions you’ve been pondering is: Thursday.  So, today, I had the chance to make a really big, tough decision.  I let go of a massive project that probably would have totally benefitted the universe by creating, but the deal just got too hard to make. The gut just said no. However, part of me is glad that chapter is over, so I can move on to other decisions, which hopefully are a little more fun and a little less tough to make.

If you are wondering about Fridays and the weekends and what they are best for…well, I’ll leave that for you to read in the book.  Enjoy the weekend…and if you, too made a tough decision today, congratulations on making it, as you chose a good day to make it!

…more!

One of my friends was in town for the weekend visiting and she, too, is a big reader.  We got off on some random tangent about luck, so I handed her a copy of one of the books I have from the library now on luck, called Luck.  We began to talk about how we can bring more luck into our lives.  I’ve been thinking about this most of the day (rather than reading my law school stuff – I know, bad girl!)  Anyway, I’ve developed my own little experiment for the following week, one I am calling “Project Luck”.

Here’s what I’m going to do:  for one week, starting Monday, I’m going to track all my good luck and record it in my journal.  Will my good fortune grow by week’s end because I’m focusing on it for a week?  Some researchers argue yes (I’ll let you google luck and you can study all the hard core research previously done).  I look at it this way:  it can’t hurt!  What one focuses on may even foster the subject of the focus in the first place.

Stay tuned…or play along if you like!  Track your good luck to see if you can grow it just by paying attention to it….

My brother is not a spammer.  However, I received an urgent mass email from him the other night to vote in order to save a furry life.  Evidently, there is an online voting space to grant money to animal shelters across the country, and more specifically, he wanted to help the local Hamilton Humane Society out by voting.  You can vote here once a day.  

Come to think of it, what better outcome from your vote than to save a furry friend’s life?

There’s a lot of bashing of the US these days, some of it with proper justification.  However, the universe has brought me two recent stories of comeback kids.  To me, these comeback stories are what makes this country great, because, this is one of the few places on the planet where comebacks can happen.  Cases in point:

1.  I’m reading The First Billion is the Hardest, by T. Boone Pickens.  He’s not had the easiest life.  He had a spectacular failure at age 68, (an age when most of us would be thinking about retirement). I won’t go into details – I’ll save the story for you to read.  However, in his book he talks about his comeback, where he is now even richer than before, has a great life, and is kicking butt in his 9th decade of life.

2.  Everyone knows the saga around Ed McMahon.  He, like many Americans, was on the brink of losing his house due to debt.  I don’t believe he’s out of the woods just yet, but instead of lying back waiting for someone else to save him, he decided to create a rap and video about getting his $ back from all his Publisher’s Clearing House giveaways over the past decades with freecreditreport.com.  A man with a sense of humor at one of the darkest times in his life may actually just generate enough to get out from underneath his debt and have a little fun at it all at the same time.

Friends, these are stories of comeback kids!  This is one of the most amazing thing about Americans–when the chips are down, when we nearly out of the race and people are already counting us out, we have the tenacity to get right back up and get right back in–and maybe even have some fun along the way. So here’s a toast to all the comeback kids right here in America.  May we never, ever, lose this energy!

..with all the bleakness and depression in the world, I thought I’d take a moment out to note the fabulous, wonderful, amazing, near-perfection things which are part of my (and many others’) lives, for which I am grateful:

1.  Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits (for which without these, I would surely be dead, as it is a separate food group in my food pyramid).
2.  Autumn – esp. props to the cinnamon/pumpkin/leaves changing that makes this time of the year one of the most beautiful.
3.   Nearly anything with chocolate and sugar in it.
4.   Pets who will snuggle with us when no one else wants to…
5.   Friends that pop in on us via phone or email, just for the heck of it with really good news or just to check on us.
6.  Mr. Darcy (in the end), hello Kitty, and the character of Carrie Bradshaw.
7.  Audrey Hepburn’s sense of style – particularly in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
8.  Guys and Dolls – the musical (movie version with Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando).
9.  The library!!!!
10.  L-O-V-E – despite its flaws, pains, trials and tribulations.
(and one to grow on) 11. Music – from U2 to Vivaldi, and Chopin to Coldplay, it is all inspiring.

If you are having a trying day (and who doesn’t) stop and write yourself a list of your favorite things…it will make you feel better and appreciate the fabulousness of this crazy world we are in!