“You are the sky. The clouds are what happens, what comes and goes.” Eckhart Tolle
Lessons learned in 2013
Wow, here we go! Hello 2014, thank you 2013 – what a ride.
So what were the lessons learned in 2013?
- Relax or die trying.
- Focus or get lost.
- Smile, even when no one is watching.
- Calm your mind or monkeys will be your boss.
- Hug a friend. And then do it again. Repeat.
Since I lose track of my own lessons learned in 2013 from time to time, I made a desktop wallpaper for you and me. Download the picture in full size (2048 x 1365 px) if you like. I hope it is useful for you, too. Namaste 🙂
/edit: By public (an my own) request, I made an iPhone iOS7 parallax wallpaper. Yes, looks great on Android, too 😉 Click it for full size and download it for your daily reminder..
Movember 2013
Movember 2013 – the final moustache design!
Movember 2013 was really great! Maybe not so much on the donation side this year, but on the human side. Many discussions, more laughter and some strange looks and funny smiles.
What did I hear this year:
- “Who are you? … OMG, Chris?!”
- “I would never allow my hubby to grow a moustache.”
- “Do you know, you look shitty. When will you shave again?“
- “Man, that’s a great thing. Though I could never participate.” Me: Why? “Because I had to remove all mirrors in my house. I just could not stand seeing me in the mirror with a moustache.”
- “Oh, is it this time of the year again?” Yes!
Summary: if you want to change something, do something. Be brave. Jelly people often secretly admire you, but they simply lack the courage (until now) to DO something. Still be friendly, wear a smile and a moustache – at least at Movember!
Namaste in Waikiki
Namaste in Waikiki.
One of the greatest things on this planet is having awesome friends. They don’t have to be around you all the time. Maybe some are thousand miles away. What counts in the end, is if they think of you from time to time. Tom sent me this pic with the following line:
I’m in Waikiki and when I saw this graffiti I thought of you ;-). Very nice here. Â More pics later, cheers
Thanks Tom, namaste!
So She Died
So She Died.
About a year ago I wrote about ”žyour problems“. It’s been a year with many ups and downs. And a few weeks back, she died at the age of 34. One of her last sentences was “Please,  don”™t forget me”.
Every time some buddy (somebody…) you know checks out unexpectedly, you have another chance to reflect about your own life:
“The past is gone, the future is uncertain. What do you do with your remaining time?” Buddhist saying
At that time she died, my life was very busy and I had to postpone my reflections about her early check-out. One thing though, was very clear to me: I wanted to buy a hourglass to constantly remind me of the floating nature of time. And to make sure I really get one, I told several good people about it. Jen from Moscow told me, she even has one which works upside down, what is really ZEN to me for various reasons.
Time flies and 7 weeks later, I still haven’t bought a sand glass. Sounds like a mission for karma: first day at work in my new position, sitting at my desk, looking around and there it is. A hourglass, with red “sand”, floating from bottom to top. Me being speechless, staring at it, my colleague tells me: “Oh, somebody brought it as a promotional gift.” Clever cosmos…
What lessons did I learn so far:
- We waste way too much time on low priority topics in our lives.
- We complain way too much about things we don”™t even remember after 3-4 weeks.
- We often act like we have an infinite amount of time left in our lives.
Be kind. Use your time wisely. Smile.
One Way Stress
One Way Stress.
Stress seems to work like a one way street. From somewhere outside yourself the rivers of stress flow directly to your central nervous system just to make you, well, nervous. Some might stress now, that there are SO MANY people who radiate stress. Correct. But have you ever seen a peaceful, meditating monk creating a stressful situation for others?
Now what to do with all this incoming stress? Instead of complaining ”“ move. Walk uphill, find the origin of your stress. Yes, this can be quite a hike! The reward of climbing up that hill can be a better overview over your current situation. Maybe the source of your stress is super supportive to you but you just don”™t get the link of an unfriendly boss and your freedom of choice to upgrade to a new workplace.
Imagine you are traveling in a very fast train. If you stand up and walk around slowly, all seems fine and pleasing to you, unless you look out of the window and try to focus on a very near spot besides the train. Some of us ride in a hyper stress train, without even noticing it. Suddenly, out of nowhere it’s Christmas again, again! Do yourself a favor and check speed and destiny of your current voyage from time to time. Godspeed!
Try it trice
Try it trice!
Sometimes you try something once and if you don”™t succeed right at the first time, you label it as a ”žfail“. On my last voyage to Finland I heard a lovely and motivating story (thanks Antti!).
Imagine a clever guy from India living in Amsterdam discussing with a friend about important things in life and how to achieve your final goals. The conversation goes like this:
Mr. AT: “This thing didn”™t just work out.”
Mr. India: “Well, if it is something really important to you, first you try once, then twice and if it still doesn”™t work out, you have to try it trice!”
Mr. AT: “You can”™t say trice!”
Mr. India: “Why not? IF something is really important to me, I will do it trice!!!”
Hopefully this tiny story keeps you going on next time something looks like a fail. Go for it ”“ trice!
Balance Mind Body Soul
Balance Mind Body Soul.
Sometimes life delivers so many challenges and changes in a very short time. Maybe you know the feeling of being drowned in information, tons of stuff to do and still, nobody refilled the fridge for you.
Then you read about to balance mind body soul but you don’t have time for it. The guys of the Lift app came up with the idea of creating groups to join a bunch of Jedis, who face the same struggles. So we have set up the body.speech.mind group which will sign you up for the habits of Exercise, Tell a story and Meditate.
If you feel stressed and run on a 24/7 schedule of your (business) life, joining the group might be something for you. Namaste
Be a friend
Sometimes you need many words to grasp a topic. Sometimes 3+4+4 are enough.
The only way to have a friend is to be one. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Your iPhone Stress – Lunatik Taktik Extreme
Do you know the feeling, when your iPhone jumps out of your pocket and crashes on the floor? What a foolish move by the phone, right!?
Yes, I”˜ve seen many planned or not-so-planned drop tests by phones recently, Droids, iPhones etc. When the Lunatik Taktik Extreme case for the iPhone 5 was announced, I knew instantly, this one is for me.
With the Lunatik Taktik Extreme, I got myself a new hobby: throwing my phone. Sometimes I meet dudes asking “Hey, that”™s a cool case! Can I see it?” and I go like “Sure, catch!” Last time I did that, some shocked guy came over to me and stuttered “Did, did you, I mean, did you just THROW YOUR PHONE???”
Like you already know, I”™m always looking for tools to reduce stress in (my) life. The Lunatik Taktik Extreme keeps my heartbeat on a normal level, when I see my iPhone performing the next rope less bungee jump. Happy assembling! 😉