Making Other Plans

One of my all-time favorite artists is John Lennon. His musical legacy is legendary; his views on politics and peace are well-documented. And he was aptly quoted once saying; "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." And it's so true. 

We are on the second lap of the calendar on this global pandemic. The end might be in sight but we actually have absolutely no idea when that will arrive. I have had my first of two vaccine shots and my second isn't until August. You may still be waiting for your first. Multiply that by seven billion humans and this thing is going to take a while. Please keep wearing your mask!

What is normal?

During the last year or so, I've noticed several trends. There are friends and colleagues who are out of work waiting for the company to call them back. Others are getting adjusted to a life of working from home and having to stay home around the clock. And others are making plans for what happens in their lives. I walked away from a situation that wasn't serving me, and near the end, some may have thought I wasn't serving it. And that is life. 

But the point for me was that I had to make other plans for my life. Whatever bucket you find yourself in right this minute, it isn't easy. My folks always encouraged me to try things as I grew up. If I had told them I wanted to be a clown in the circus, they would have told me to be the best clown that ever existed. But it's not up to others to break down those barriers to our plans. It's up to us. Others can help, but we have to write the book or build the wall or paint the canvas ourselves. 

We are not born with fear

Fear is something we learn over a lifetime of shortfalls and mistakes. We think it protects and guides us but all it does is stop us. I have an Olympic gold medal in fear. It's easier to blame circumstances or age or finances or a myriad other reasons as to why we don't follow our gut to reach our dream. 

If you have a seed of an idea, share it with someone you trust and ask for feedback. If the idea is taking shape, reach out and ask for help. If you have never truly asked for help - I can promise you two things. It will be scary at first and you will get better at it. 

 Life happens whether we make plans or not. 

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Imagine | 30 Years Later

At approximately 10:50pm on December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman killed John Lennon in the entrance of the Dakota apartment in New York City.

Thirty years to the day, Lennon’s message is louder than ever and he is missed as much as the day he died.

John Winston Ono Lennon was a human being with flaws like everyone else. He was angry at times, extremely creative at times, he fought hard for freedom and peace and wrote a good song or a few hundred.

Lennon didn't act like a rock star beyond reproach. He was outspoken and refused to be politically correct. He stood up for his beliefs and that resonated with millions.

Lennon’s music is played at every moment of every day somewhere in the world and some predict that may never change.

In his own words…

If everyone demanded peace, instead of another television set, there’d be peace.

The more real you get, the more unreal everything else is.

All we are saying is give peace a chance.

I don’t believe in killing, whatever the reason.

A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.

You’re all beautiful and you’re all geniuses.

knealemann | email


image credit: Lennon archives

Busy Is Not Our Friend

There is nothing so annoying as to have two people talking when you're busy interrupting.
Mark Twain

I was speaking with a colleague this week and we got to talking about the four-letter word that is used as a crutch, an excuse and the stance of a victim – busy.

Unless you are Barrack Obama, it’s safe to say that you’re only as busy as you need to be. If you work for a company and your name isn’t on the building, your work time is not yours to dictate. In that case, you are not busy you are being told how to spend your time.


If ants are such busy workers,
how come they find time to go to all the picnics?
Marie Dressler

It's moments after you read this post. You are outraged at how I could possibly make light of your very busy life and suddenly your phone rings. It’s me informing you that I have an extra all-expense paid trip to the British Grand Prix this weekend. The plane leaves in an hour. How busy are you now?

They usually have two tellers in my local bank,
except when it's very busy, when they have one.
Rita Rudner

This is not to suggest important tasks and deadlines don't exist. This is not to diminish hard toil and other commitments. This is to point out that we tend to use the word busy like it’s some rented storage unit in the industrial basin of our lives.

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
John Lennon

We never seem to have a shortage of busy. When we need it, it’s always there. Busy comes in all shapes and increments. It’s such a universally accepted word – or perhaps mind space – that we are able to pull it out of nowhere when needed.

Busy this weekend is a great way to avoid unwanted activities. Busy when that creepy guy in the office wants to have some one-on-one time.

Busy is a badge of honor. If you get a call or an email from someone asking if you can see them that afternoon, busy is the first word that comes to mind. You can’t possibly be available on such short notice, what will they think?

We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us
that we don't take time to enjoy where we are.
Calvin & Hobbes

Busy is not our friend; it is our crutch. Busy is the cure-all for when we are genuinely busy as well as when we want to keep up with the rest of the kids in the group.

Beware the barrenness of a busy life.
Socrates

We as a society give no credence to thought, dreaming or sitting quietly. There is no way your boss will allow you to just sit in your office and think. You are obviously lazy or you don’t know what to do.

About five years ago, a friend said that he would get much more out of his employees (not co-workers or colleagues that just happen to directly report to him) if they realized that customers were profit and they were overhead. He wondered why turnover was so high.

Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.
Lao Tzu

I know you’re busy – everyone is. But are you really busy, all the time, every time you say you are? Really? Did I mention I may have an extra pit pass to this weekend’s British Grand Prix? ;-)

@knealemann
knealemann at gmail dot com

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Photo credits: chucklefoot.co.uk | guardian.co.uk