The Marketers’ Senate

Top Ten Things to Build a Bridge and Get Over

God must love Top Ten lists because she made so many of them.
They crowd my Inbox daily. They’re right up there in popularity
with offers to refinance my house and stock up on Viagra. Top
Nine Lists are few and far between and Top Eleven lists unheard
of. But for seem reason there seem to be ten nifty answers to
pretty much any problem or life situation you can come up with.

In search of my own Top Ten favorites I had a hard time coming
up with something that hadn’t already been worked over. There
seems to be a plethora of Top Ten lists designed to pump us up;
increase our confidence and build self esteem. So I thought it
would be nice to let some of the air out. So here are my:

Top Ten Things to Build a Bridge and Get Over.

1.Nobody knows why anybody does anything. Imagine the time this
one will free up. You don’t need to figure out what happened to
Aunt Bertha as a child to make her so mean and crabby; why your
s.o. dumped you; why your neighbor ignores you. We humans are a
product of our upbringing; environment, genetics and hormones.
We do what we do when we do it. Let it go. Don’t take it
personally.

2.Nobody owes you a thing. When you think about all the time,
love and attention it took to get where you are today you’ll see
that you can never repay the debt. Your mother and father who
raised you; your teachers who pushed and believed in you; your
friends who supported you; your community which nurtures you.
Question is – what have you given back in return?

3.You’ll be balanced when you’re dead. Not a moment sooner.
Balance schmalanace. We chase it like the Holy Grail. What’s the
big deal if you work too hard some weeks and goof off others? If
you’re passionate about something maybe you’d rather have more
of it in your life. Your kids won’t knock over a bank if you
miss a few softball practices. Exercise is overrated and TV’s
not evil incarnate

4. Multi-tasking is an oxymoron. Don’t be intimidated by
colleagues who do five things at once. Studies on “Attentional
Blink” show that we don’t actually do more than one thing at a
time. We switch our attention rapidly between projects. A one
man band plays many instruments passably but none well. Better
to be a maestro than a journeyman.

5. You don’t deserve anything you have. See # 2. Entitlement is
a very unattractive quality. No matter how hard you worked or
how much you planned you were never in control of the outcome of
your efforts. God and luck and the support of others, along with
your own hard work, played big parts.

6.You’re ordinary. Relax it’s a compliment. Ordinary people are
reliable, industrious and consistent . Superstars are a pain in
the rear especially when they read their own press. Who would
you rather call at 2 AM when your car breaks down - Tony Robbins
or your brother-in-law Al? Imagine the ride home.

7. You’re not a victim you’re a volunteer. (Unless we’re talking
about a trainwreck or a typhoid epidemic). The old saw about
nobody being able to take advantage of you without your
permission is true. If you don’t want something to happen in
your life don’t set it up in the first place.

8.You’re right. Life isn’t fair. But it’s always interesting and
instructive if you keep an open mind.

9.There is no meantime. No place where time stands still and
standards are lowered and second best is good enough. There’s
only now. What are you going to do now?

10. Gratefulness is second to Godliness. Cleanliness is waaay
down the list. Get down on your knees and look at your life. Oh,
the places you’ll go!