Nothing ever happens on my street.

When I was a little boy I had this small picture book with the title of "Nothing Ever Happens On My Street". Each page showed the same little boy sitting on the curb of his urban street with his head in his hands and a scowl on his face. He looked entirely bored and discontent. On the first page he mumbled the words of the title, "Nothing ever happens on my street." The rest of the book showed him in the exact same pose but a keen eye observed that on each page interesting and exciting things were happening all behind him, around him and nearly right in front of him. It was sort of a "find the difference" book. It was designed for a child to examine each page carefully and find out what was different in that picture than in the preceeding picture. I LOVED that book. I found it humorous and fun. Even as a young boy I realized that the true message of the book was that boredom and discontent is a choice. A blinding choice. The attitude blinds you to all the interesting and exciting things actually going on around you. If anyone knows how to get a copy of this book, I would love to own it once again.

Today.... don't let self-imposed boredom and discontent blind you to the wonderful world around you!

Green and Growing

My favorite quote is by Ray Krock, the founder of McDonald's Restaurants. My first job was with the Golden Arches. On a plaque by the registers was this quote:

"When you're green you're growing. When you're ripe you rot."

I love it. Its one of the guiding principles of my life. For now...just ponder it. I'll write more later.

Joel