You may have the best doner kebab recipe in town, but it won’t sell-out at the school’s bake sale. People go to the bake sale for baked goods.

When it’s the end of the day and you’re left with all that unsold kebab, don’t think, “rough crowd.” Think, “wrong venue.”

* * *

Our good work doesn’t always land. Sometimes it’s the wrong audience. Sometimes it’s the wrong setting. Or it’s the right audience on the wrong day.

Before you give up on what you’ve generously made for the world, make sure you’ve presented it in the right place to those who will have an appetite for it. If that audience — the one you seek to serve — if that audience isn’t interested, then maybe it’s time to step back and re-evaluate.

Yesterday is yesterday.

Today is today.

Tomorrow is tomorrow.

So many of our problems arise when we seek to rearrange these assignments.

When we instead acknowledge these days for what they are, we become more at peace with what was, what is, and what might come to be.

Thank you for reading this.

Every day, I write a blog post. Sometimes it takes ten minutes. Sometimes it takes an hour. Some posts go through a dozen tweaks and revisions.

It’s all with the hope that I can provide you something that’s useful, insightful, and able to be read in a few minutes.

Those minutes that you take to read what I write — and sometimes forward to friends — they matter a lot to me.

I don’t have a million readers, or a million hours, or a million dollars. But you’re reading, and I do have a few moments of your attention. That gives me a million reasons to be grateful.

Thank you. I say this from the heart.

Maybe the Mona Lisa had a gratitude practice.

When we pause and call to mind the things for which we’re grateful, we can’t help but smile a little (or even a lot).

To limit her snacking, Mary had a clever strategy: she would only eat the broken cookies.

Rose had a strategy too: she would never eat a whole cookie. She’d only break off half at a time.

And throughout the course of the day, the sisters would inevitably eat the whole tray.

* * *

I wonder how often we limit our vices to small quantities … only to find that those vices are large in number when added together.

The good thing is that good habits can work the same way — little by little — creating significant positive change over time.

In mid-2020, I went to a store that was at capacity because of social distancing measures. Outside, ten people waited for their turn to enter.

When one patron exited the store, another was allowed in.

I didn’t want to wait in line, but I decided to wait anyway.

Two takeaways:

One. The wait was only two minutes (I timed it). I had considered leaving because the line seemed long. However, it moved quickly. Long lines don’t always mean long wait times.

Two. Just a small bit of waiting translated into an unusual exhilaration when I entered the store. There was some relief. There was some excitement. (I was in!) That short period of waiting outside made the experience of being inside feel special.

Next time you see a line, don’t dismay. It might not be all that bad.

The sign said, “In case of fire, do not use elevator. Use stairs.”

But there was no indication of how to get to the stairs.

Life is often like this. We get the clear message: this is not the way. But further instructions do not follow.

Luckily, we’re not often in a building-is-on-fire situation.

Mostly, we’re just trying to find our way.

Sometimes there are signs and guides. Sometimes there are none. Sometimes we have companions. Sometimes we’re on our own.

Regardless of whether there’s a fire, we can’t just stop, staring at the proverbial sign that says “not this way.”

Instead, we keep moving. We keep testing. We keep seeking better. We keep endeavoring.

Literally, “I leave it up to you.”

In a Japanese sushi restaurant, omakase allows the chef to curate the meal.

It’s a way of saying, “You are the expert. Please delight me. I don’t need to control what’s about to happen. I trust your judgement.”

What happens when we liberate an artist in this way?

And what does it mean for us … when our own creative judgement is given that level of trust?

It could be that we have this kind of opportunity more often than we realize.

“Happy now” and “happy later” can be rival siblings. Sometimes they play together nicely, but there are plenty of times when they act selfishly — often at the other’s expense.

Our job is to be the wise mediator … helping the two to get along as often as possible.

There is more content — good, insightful, worthy content — than you’ll ever be able to consume. Ever.

You can’t read all of it. You can’t watch all of it. You can’t listen to all of it. You can’t learn all of it. You can’t witness all of it.

Not in one lifetime. Not in ten lifetimes.

So what to do?

Curate your inputs.

Politely ignore what’s not of value, and seek out what you love. Follow your curiosity. Trust your taste. Lean in. Find what’s good, beautiful, nourishing, powerful and moving … and swim in it.

Don’t mourn the things you won’t get to enjoy. Instead, soak-in every experience that is yours. And be grateful to live in a world that is — despite all its challenges — endlessly interesting and infinitely delightful.

Are you willing to put forth a little effort?

Or little effort?

The phrases are almost identical, but the meanings — and the potential results — are worlds apart.

$98 is about a hundred dollars. A 350-day streak is just about a year of progress. 22-inches of accumulation is two feet of snow. Close enough.

However, eight reps of lifting a heavy weight is not the same as 10. Those last two reps are the hardest.

The last mile of cross-country transportation logistics — that’s the most complicated part.

And 8.9 meters is not the same as 9.0 meters. One length breaks the world record for long jump. The other does not.

Rounding is easy to do — but that last little bit is sometimes the hardest earned.

The question came out of curiosity: “Whatcha doin’?”

I paused to consider the question.

I was sitting at the kitchen table. Laptop up. Blinds pulled open.

“I’m staring at the tree. It’s starting to bloom. Look how beautiful.”

* * *

I hadn’t intentionally stopped my work to stare out the window, but I was happy to discover myself doing just that.

We need time to pause. Time to stare. Time to simply take in the beauty of nature.

Here’s to doing that more often.

Consider judgement — the thoughts it prompts. The expression it provokes. The physical posture it generates.

Now, consider curiosity — the thoughts it prompts. The expression it provokes. The physical posture it generates.

As you engage with the world, which disposition is yours?

Whose words do you carry with you?

Whose opinions?

Whose wisdom?

Whose joy?

Be intentional about what you allow to remain in your mind and in your heart.

There are times when things fall apart. When we feel like all is lost and we can’t find a way through.

And yet.

And yet we do.

If you’re reading this, you’ve weathered every storm you’ve ever faced.

Every storm. Every dark time.

Somehow, we always find a way.

You don’t need a clear signal on all the channels.

If you’re going to fine-tune, then attend to the frequencies that support you — the channels that see where you want to go and are interested in you getting there.

Let the trolls, critics, and naysayers get lost in the noise.

Google Maps is going to start showing users slower route options — routes that are more climate-friendly based on things like fuel-consumption and traffic.

Faster is better when you’re measuring speed.

Slower might be better if you’re measuring carbon dioxide emissions.

“Better” is always a function of what you’re measuring.

My son played in an exciting baseball game yesterday. With darkness falling upon the field, the game was called with the teams tied.

Later that evening, my son said to me, “I want to work harder. That felt great, but I’m not satisfied.”

I love that kind of attitude. From a ten-year-old, no less.

* * *

What has you feeling unsatisfied? And what’s your version of dealing with that tension?

Losing is not easy.

But there are good losses and bad losses.

In a good loss, you’ve done everything you can. You did your best. Things were reasonably fair and you just came up short.

In a bad loss, you feel like you were cheated — either cheated by others, or cheated by yourself.

It’s the second one that’s harder to take. That you could have been better-prepared. Or more focused. That you had it within you, but you just didn’t do the right things at the right times. Or you were a little lazy and it ended up costing you. Any loss like that is tough to swallow.

We don’t try to lose. But when it happens, let’s make sure they’re good losses.