ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - January 19, 2001

Great questions lead to great answers; weak questions, weak ones.

WHAT IF THIS IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS?
I can always count on my friend Steve Straus to come up with ideas that make me think. His e-letter this week was right on target in that regard and so I enclose it pretty much as he sent it. I hope you will find it as thought-provoking as I did.

Steve writes: It's unusual for me to write in the first person but I am today because this question came to me, fully formed, within the past few days and has had major impact. While driving home from a speaking assignment, down a little used smooth country highway, in clear winter sunlight and with pleasant views of the rough Texas countryside, I "heard" this question clearly, "What if this is as good as it gets?"

I had two immediate reactions. The first was to see that I had spent a huge part of my life fantasizing about the future, when things would get "better". As soon as I saw it, I let go of requiring that the future be any certain way. Poof!

The second reaction was -- and this was a surprise -- to notice how content I was with now. That was a shock because I had always assumed a better future, which implies that there is something wrong with now. To realize that right now is great has been tremendously freeing. It has led to gratitude and a surge of energy and strength.

Does it mean that I'm no longer going to have desires, goals and plans? Not at all; I will continue to grow. It does mean that I truly am living in the present, the only place where I can do, be and have. I hope today's Great Question will have an equivalent impact for you.

A note from the Doc:
As I have recently been reminded, life is too short not to be loving it. If this is as good as it gets . . . and if that thought sends shivers down your spine . . . get busy and do something to get your life back on track. As a start, recognize the difference between a problem and a condition.

A problem is only a situation that you don't yet have a handle on. If the situation is fixable, there has to be a handle and you just need to find it. No big deal. Fixing a problem just takes time, reflection, insight, patience and a willingness to open yourself to new possibilities. However, once you realize that the answer is out there waiting for you somewhere, problems start to look more like treasure hunts and cease to be distressing.

If a situation is totally not fixable, it is not a problem, it is a condition. Death, gravity and taxes are conditions -- you can love them or you can hate them but you are not going to make them go away. If you have a condition, there is nothing to fix. Learn to live with it and devote your energies to more productive activities. Once you realize that you can't change conditions, they also cease to be distressing.

THE FIRST ROUNDTABLE DEADLINE IS UPON US
Those who sign up for the Hospitality Industry Winter Roundtables by Monday, January 22nd, can take a $25 discount off the registration fee. If you have been thinking about signing up, now is the time. If you did not receive the roundtable information, drop me a note and I will send it along . . . or download a .pdf file with all the relevant information.

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