There are two authors in literature and social media that have contributed SO MUCH to my life and I just need to thank them: “Unknown” and “Anonymous.”  These advanced souls have passed on life-changing wisdoms and insights, and have invoked a lot of thought. This meme quote is by Unknown. I made a tiny little #MKMMA modification, so I now claim it as my own, but at least I give him attribution, and it is now the wallpaper on one of my dual pc monitors.

This was an interesting week for me! I know that the focus of the week was to do acts of kindness — which I did, albeit not as elaborately as requested. But they are a way of life for me. Plus, we’ve been reading that card since week 3 or 4, where we promise to “give a gift to everyone we meet” regardless of the brevity of the encounter. So I do that. Consistently. I talk to people in stores and restaurants and uplift them — I didn’t tell you about the old guy in the restaurant last week.

He walked in with his granddaughter (college aged, I think) and stopped at my table on his way by, looked down at my breakfast and then into my eyes and asked, “You gonna eat all that?” I said, “I don’t know yet.”  Then he said, “Well, if you don’t, I’m your guy! I eat all leftovers…” and we had a big laugh, as his granddaughter looked away in disbelief, (kinda like my friend Mitch does when I do something like that in a restaurant. Sometimes I make him forget his name.) Anyhow, the guy was just having some fun.  I was finished when he got ready to leave and I had my to-go container at the edge of the table, and he said, “You gonna take that with you?” and I handed it up to him with a smile. He broke into a huge laugh, then patted me on the shoulder and said, “you’re okay; thanks for talking to me.” Of course, he didn’t take it — which really pleased his granddaughter! It was a great morning.

Yesterday, I shocked a friend by buying him dinner; no cpr required. And, I also LOVE to give 3rd party compliments: “Say Bob, I was standing by the cooler the other day and overheard so & so mention to so & so about what an awesome person you are and how they really enjoy your sense of humor…”  I think I learned that years ago from “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and it lights people up to know someone is mentioning them in a positive way and you bring them that good report. So I do those things — but unfortunately didn’t put bunches of them in the alliance area. Sometimes I even do it for people I don’t necessarily like… a lot (cough).

Next, the Masterkey read was also a bit different this week. No real “new” grabbers, but, page 1 (intro) started talking about the Law of 7’s, but that’s the only place I saw it. I also don’t remember it being mentioned in the webby, though I could easily have missed it. Maybe it will come up in later materials. I did Google it, but that just took me way too far down the rabbit hole, so I’m leaving that one alone for now. (I wonder if “Googled” appears in the new Webster’s dictionary as a VERB! I’ll check later)

I do enjoy the Ben Franklin makeover, and can see that actively looking for specific qualities and traits helps bring awareness and makes us more likely to blend them into ourselves as we focus on them, so I will continue with that — but I better re-check how I’m supposed to be documenting it.

In the “Do it Now” department, for the past 12 years or more, my home office has been in the basement of my house, coexisting with my photography studio. 3 years ago I asked my fellow photographer society members to come to my studio and “advise me” on how to make my studio better more productive. Their FIRST recommendation was to move my office (and it’s accompanying CLUTTER) out of that client space, to 1) remove the clutter from the clients’ view and 2) give me additional area for photo setups in the basement.  It was a GREAT idea, except that my son had just relocated from San Diego back to Syracuse, and was going to be going to school, etc and we needed a place for him to live and work, and the area he would be occupying was the space we were going to put the office!

Well, my son moved into his own place last June,  and last weekend (yeah, 6 months later cuzz I don’t always move fast) that SAME son helped me move my home office from the basement/studio into what was previously his space (and had actually BEEN his space as child, and before he left to join the Navy on May 27, 2004). Now I have a proper office in which to collect my thoughts, do my work, and feel like it’s a good space — the window is a nice addition. AND I will be shortly putting a sign on THAT door which reads “The Ringold Corporation” along with some #MKMMA messaging and imagery that keeps me focused, reminds me to “Do it Now” and that.. “I didn’t come this far, to only come this far.”

And I always keep my promises.  Have a(nother) incredible day!