Your Last Chance

Consider this your final notice. I receive “final notice” phone calls a least several times a 

week. Telemarketers won’t leave me alone. They say push “3” on my phone to pass up on 

the exciting offer. Well, I pushed “3” last week, and pushed it again this week. Maybe 

next week I’ll yell my response. Since the voice on the other end is a 

recording created by a merciless telemarketing company, my requests are ignored and the 

calls keep coming. At least this guy gets a conversation and a little bit of fun:       

                                         https://youtu.be/22ZaKbxmEMA

 

  

I didn’t know what a cute and creepy laugh sounded like—until now. Why won’t she 

answer the question? I think we know why.  Do companies believe that, after bugging

us for months, one day we’ll change our minds decide to sign up? If you’re 

trying to sell someone a product, service, or idea, don’t make them angry. You’ve 

participated in a heated debate, what helped you change the other person’s mind?   

Pro-Choice or No Choice?

With over one hundred stations available on the radio, I spend more time listening to the comedy stations than the music stations. It’s similar to the grocery store where there’s a wall of cereal options—and we choose corn flakes. Consider the customer who chooses vanilla at the ice cream store, ignoring the other thirty exotic flavors.

A magazine survey reported that the majority of people (36%) only want around ten TV channels, and 22% want five or fewer. So why are we drowning in hundreds of choices?  We didn’t ask for them. Companies offer them. Here’s what happens with too many choices:

                                              https://youtu.be/7wEPSDX908Q

If two choices confuse us, imagine what hundreds will do. We hate confusion! So we take short-cuts by eliminating options and focusing on the necessary few. That’s fine for radio stations, cereal, and ice cream, but not for important decisions.

Graduates, life-changers, seekers, we owe it to ourselves to thoroughly explore decisions that matter. Rather than blindly following the advice of family or friends, dig in to find the answers that matter. What decision do you pledge to give careful consideration?            

The Best Things in Life

Some of the best things in life cost us less than we might imagine. One of my favorite things is wrapping up in a warm blanket from the dryer, and you can’t beat the dryer sheet aromatherapy.  It feels like a relaxing cup of hot chocolate, without the calories. This works year-round, even in the summertime when the air conditioning blows too cold.    

Unfortunately, the great feeling lasts about two minutes. Once the heat fades away, everything’s back to normal. For many of us, “normal” isn’t healthy or restful—not if it’s anything like this:

                                              https://youtu.be/zN9Mo4TStMs

It can happen any moment. It’s the brief opportunity to exhale and savor our blessings. Rather than planning an expensive week-long vacation attached to a work laptop, seek out times to  relax as you go. You probably have your own little ways to withdraw from the fast-paced life. What interesting or unique ways do you re-energize during the week?         

It's all Illegal

Are you bored by routines?  When I’m bored, I find small ways to make changes. For instance, I usually eat a slice pizza by starting from the point and finishing at the crust. During a meal last week, I took a bite of the tip and then bit the side near the crust. You should have heard the protests from my family. “You can’t do that!” Who knew there were rules for eating a slice of pizza?

You’ve probably heard that ignorance of the law is no excuse.  To avoid trouble as you travel, you’ll want to know this:

                                         https://youtu.be/fgafqTTMtC4

This rule probably originated because somebody in Florida ignored the parking meter, tethered their animal like a dog, and thought it was okay. Not so. Next time, if they want to use the space, they’ll need to feed the meter, too. The smallest, oddest disputes can become law. Most laws are passed with general agreement, but when opinions vary, the debates seem endless. Which law do you wish everyone supported?

Not the Time, Not the Place

Have you noticed the similarities between animals and people? While watching “mommy TV” (which is what the kids call my TV show preferences), I saw part of a show about lions. While male lions protect their pride, female lions do most of the hunting. Once they take down an animal on the prairie, they all rush in to enjoy the feast. Normally the King of the Jungle eats first, and the rest of the pride follows his lead.

The show revealed how the cubs and females tried to share in the meal as the males ripped away chunks of meat. At one point, one of the babies did something to earn a gentle swat from the massive paw of its papa. The baby, in all of its miniature cuteness, had the gall to swat back! Maybe the pair wrestles when things get slow on the prairie, but returning daddy’s swat during dinner is a dangerous no-no. Here’s another daring decision:   

                                          https://youtu.be/SoDmvuHZQEQ  

Can you say, “playing with fire?” The narrator said he was defending his territory, but it looked like playtime to me. I’m not sure his “playmates” enjoyed the fun. One slip of the hand and things could have turned deadly. Sometimes we head out in a direction that makes sense, but by the end of the road, we wind up on an unexpected path. In daily life, how do you know that you’re making the right choices?