Mind Your P's and Q's

Many years ago I enrolled in a class for bartending. Yes, they have classes that teach you how to mix drinks and no I never got the chance to apply a thing I learned. This by the way was probably a good thing since I couldn't make a martini to save my life.

The highlight was without a doubt our teacher. His name escapes me, but he was an animated and hilarious gentlemen who loved to share funny anecdotes. Admittedly, many of the stories he told seemed a bit farfetched but they were certainly entertaining. One story in particular sticks out in my mind. It was the tale of how we came to use the expression, "Mind your p's and q's." 

Years ago, a patron would walk into a bar and order a pint or quart of beer. Since the bartender didn't have the resources to keep track of what each customer ordered, he'd simply say, "Mind your pints and quarts," which would then be tallied up so the bill could be settled.

As I get older I appreciate the importance of minding my own business. I make a real effort to stop myself when I feel the impulse to cast judgment or say something when someone is doing something I might not do. I've also found the root of this impulse has nothing to do with the other person, but how their behavior affects ME. What could be more selfish?

Perhaps a customer brings her little dog into a store that technically doesn't permit animals but nobody seems to care. Invariably whenever something like this would happen I'd feel the need to judge slowly creep in before finally taking a little personal inventory and asking, What business is it of mine?

Instead, I've found it much more productive to steer that energy toward being kinder, more understanding, and of course focusing on what I need to do to improve my own life.

Originality is Not What it Seems

I'm in the middle of reading a terrific book called, Originals by Adam Grant. The book is not only full of interesting anecdotes, studies, and inspirational figures but also does a great job of demystifying many of the socially accepted truths.

One in particular made a real impact on me. Grant offers insight into the minds of so-called geniuses and originals. His main point is that the greatest obstacle to being original is not generating ideas but selecting the right ones. And when you create more work you simply have more options. Here are a just a few examples:

-- Mozart composed more than 600 pieces before his death at 35
-- Beethoven produced more than 650
-- Bach wrote over 1,000
-- Picasso's body of work is comprised of over 12,000 drawings and that's not even counting his paintings, ceramics, or sculptures.

Part of being original involves diving in and creating work - LOTS of it. 

Get to it.