hello all you happy innovators out there how are you doing hi Merry Christmas
everybody I hope that you're having a great holiday season and you know I
don't have too much time today to talk because of course it's the holiday
season right so automatically I have to do something that I'm usually not used
to doing which is taking a day off or maybe even two days off and so I didn't
factor that into my timeline for the finishing of the SGONS project and
this podcast for today so I got to try to kind of hurry up and get this done so
I'm sure that you'll understand and you'll forgive me but I just wouldn't
have felt right you know skipping this week or something I needed to at least
give you something right because something is better than nothing and
that idea that I just said you know something is better than nothing
leads me to the topic that I want to talk about today all right now because
it's the holiday season and because we are you know dealing with families and
family issues and you know maybe even sometimes resentment and bad blood and
holiday depression like I talked about in the last episode today I want to talk
about good intentions okay good intentions or maybe even bad intentions
okay but mostly good intentions because I think it's an important thing to talk
about especially now around the holiday season okay so I'm sure that most of you
have heard the expression or something similar to the expression of
the road to hell is paved with good intentions
okay the road to hell is paved with good intentions
and what that means is that even though somebody is trying to do something good
for someone else it will often result in a negative outcome okay it'll often
backfire or it'll turn in on itself okay it'll undo itself as it's being done all
right so the point being that there is no point in doing something nice for
someone else like ultimately it doesn't really matter
you just make it worse anyway and I've always kind of felt that that is a bunch
of BS okay and it's probably at least part of the problem of the times that we
are living in now okay now I've always been a glass as
half-full as opposed to glass as half-empty kind
of person I try to lean towards the positive as much as I possibly can and
you probably do too okay so I don't accept this idea that
attempting to do something nice for someone even though it might result in
some kind of problem or trouble or something that doesn't mean that we
shouldn't be trying to be good to people and like I said I'm a the glass is
half-full kind of guy so I do believe that for the most part most of the time
most people's will is really good okay and they're trying to do the right thing
okay even if it winds up not going necessarily that
way their hearts are in the right place and the holiday season is a time when we
see this the most okay and it shouldn't be misunderstood or taken for granted
regardless of what the outcome is right like if you have a family member that is
reaching out to you at Christmastime or something or even a friend or sometimes
even an enemy you know trying to make peace and trying to extend themselves to
us right we should accept that at face value you know we should see that for
what it is even if the situation goes in the wrong direction you know someone
extends themselves to you in a form of friendship and love with a gesture or
with a gift or with something like that right and you know it's not what you
really wanted it's not something you really needed their gift or their
extension of of friendship to you and love to you may seem stupid you know
like they're out of touch or it was the opposite of what you would have wanted
how well do they know you if they would get you this gift and they and think
that you would like it or something like that you know but I think that's the
wrong attitude to take so I guess my ultimate point today that
I'm trying to make you know basically as quickly as I can to you all right is
that maybe we should all just slow down just a little bit for a minute you know
and get past the petty animus and the disillusionment
of people we care about and really try to take
the sentiment of people at face value you know and and understand the
difference between good intentions and bad intentions because they're very
different and it's a very important discernment to make in your life you
know and when someone says that you know the road to hell is paved with good
intentions I think we should ignore that I think that cliche should be done away
with because when somebody does something for you and their intentions
are truly good it shouldn't matter what the outcome is the outcome is not
important it's the intention behind that gesture that we should focus on you know
at least that's what I think
it's so easy isn't it to just disregard a kind gesture from somebody that were
maybe not too fond of or someone that we don't deem as important to our lives
they extend themself with a homemade gift you know a poem you know and we
just roll our eyes crumble it up and throw it away like it didn't require
much or something like that but you know doesn't it matter why we do what we do I
mean it matters what we do like what we do matters and what we don't do matters
but why we do something let's consider that for a moment or why someone is
doing something for us it doesn't matter what that something is
or at least it shouldn't matter what that something is what really does
matter and what really should matter is why the why of our lives the why we do
things why we don't do things why people do things for us that is very important
and I would offer that it matters more than the outcome and there's a little
something for all of us to think about maybe this time of year this time that
is supposed to be an opportunity to display goodwill towards each other okay
let's maybe all of us try to see it that way you know because it's easy to be
suspicious and negative and does not accept someone's kind gesture at face
value and I think that maybe that's a mistake so we're getting ready for a new
year you know and people will start making their new year's resolutions okay
and their new year's resolutions will be made from a place of good intentions to
improve themselves to get better and you know yeah
maybe 75% of those resolutions will go right down the toilet two weeks into the
year you know but it comes from a place of good intentions they want to better
themselves you know and I think the same goes for everyone else at least most
everyone and you know another thing I want to talk about today really quick
before I sign off I'll give you another idea to contemplate a little bit okay it
is the holiday season as we all know right and it's a time of let's face it
materialism you know the holiday season has kind of devolved into this thing
this exercise in materialism you know the focus of the holiday season is no
longer where it really is supposed to be and rather it's on this other thing
this form of celebrating materialism and using that as a demonstration of love
for someone else right but with that celebration of materialism
comes this pressure on people and it's a financial pressure and that's a very
very powerful form of pressure okay
because nobody really wants to appear like they don't have enough like they're
not doing good enough right so they try to keep up right but I would submit to
this discussion right now about this thing that the holidays have kind of
devolved into the celebration of materialism right I would submit that
you know there's this expression that less is more okay and
three words you know less is more very simple to say very easy to understand
but very very difficult to put into practice right I mean just because
something is simple doesn't mean that it's easy to do
there's a big difference but less is more and you know honestly I can't think
of a better person to cite as an example for this point then my friend Eric that
I mentioned a few episodes back this guy who has put into practice the philosophy
of less is more now for those of you that don't know what I'm talking about
I'll give you a brief synopsis of Eric Eric Muss Barnes good friend of mine
from a long time ago and maybe a couple years ago he decided that he was going
to sell most of his worldly possessions or give them away and some of them were
cherished items you know from his childhood and from his family right even
family members that are no longer alive okay and he was willing to forfeit all
of those things and let them go and downsize his life to the bare minimum
subsistence level living and he built a tiny home out in the Mojave Desert okay
and he is living his life out that way now
so Eric has been on my mind a lot because of the holiday season and this
idea of materialism you know this guy has become like a living parable or a
living metaphor for probably probably what most of us truly desire you know we
wish we wish we could let go of all of the stuff that we have and accumulate
over the years and Wow Christmas after Christmas of stuff there
just stuff that we get we have and how much of it do we really need you know
how much of it do we really need what a great question right but a very scary
one because wow isn't it difficult to let go of certain things you know and I
am fortunate enough to have this friend you know as an example and somebody that
I can ask questions to I can interview him about it and he'll give me the
answers he'll tell me about his experience from the inside you know wow
how fortunate I am to know someone like that
and I can get to the truth of that kind of existence and get past the myth and
actually witness someone living out the notion of less is more and I can't help
but wonder at this time of year you know would in my life actually be better if I
just unloaded you know 75% of the stuff that I have
that I don't really need I mean let's face it probably about 75% of all the
stuff we have right we probably really don't need it what a thought huh what a
question and what a challenge to oneself to seriously contemplate the notion of
less as more in our lives would we actually be happier with less but a
great question what a great question
and you know these two topics that I just mentioned these two issues that I
just brought up you know the idea of good intentions and the idea of less is
more really do speak to this time of year don't they the holiday season this
time that's supposed to be filled with joy and happiness and goodwill and good
cheer has now kind of collapsed it seems sometimes at least into this celebration
of materialism and sarcasm and the low road you know and dare I say seeing the
worst in people you know including our families or especially our families
right like almost almost the complete opposite of what this season is supposed
to be about now I'm not some kind of like do-gooder
you know I'm flawed and I make mistakes and I'm stupid very capable of stupid
and man I can give you example after example of that but I'm not insensitive
you know and I'm sure you're not either you know we're all trying to do the
right thing at least I like to believe we are and
what a shame that this holiday season that is supposed to be one thing is
really kind of turned into another and these topics that I'm talking about
today really do speak to that and I suppose it's something for me to think
about too you know maybe that's why I'm bringing it up because it's something
that I'm thinking about - that maybe I should be trying to really see the best
in people and just assume that their intentions are good you know give them
the benefit of the doubt and try to be appreciative of people that I love and
love me too and but just how they are right no hoops to jump through no
strings attached no money involved just goodwill maybe that's the problem
nowadays is a lack of goodwill towards each other and if that's the case man we
really need to start asking ourselves collectively some very hardcore and
serious questions about our will towards each other
yeah and this isn't a kumbaya moment either you know I'm not happy clappy I'm
not naive all the time but I do have good intentions and I think it's
important that we do I think that's an important thing to have good intentions
it's better than bad intentions regardless of the outcome yeah yeah you
know that's really about it isn't it that's really what we're talking about
here is our will towards each other
something to think about with the new year coming up you know
maybe add that to our resolutions list this year and we're all gonna try to
have a little bit better will towards each other a little less skepticism and
judgment and ridicule you know so think about that folks and consider it with
this New Year's Eve coming up you know and I would also like to take this
opportunity right now before I close out this last singularity for the year of
2017 to wish you all a Happy New Year and be safe
don't party too hard you know and man try to have some joy and happiness you
know try to be a little less cynical and skeptical and try to see the good in
other people especially our families our crazy families right and maybe consider
also for the year of 2018 this notion of maybe maybe maybe less is actually more
huh so with that all my happy innovators out there let's look forward to a new
year a good year 2018 right let's be optimistic and with that this is Mike
Bostwick from Pipe Choir records signing off and remember folks if you want to
keep what you've got you've got to give it away take it easy everybody happy new
year
you
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