EngelFish.Net

When someone graduates from college, you give them a copy of “Oh the Places You’ll Go”. When the graduate then gets outsourced or downsized, you give him/her a copy of “Who Moved My Cheese”. I’ve got two copies of the former, and 5 copies of the latter, which tells you something about my education and career. Mergers, relocations, and “suspension of operations”… all on my resume. My personal life has seen it’s fair share of change as well.

‘Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.’ – JFK

Some of these changes were the result of choices I made, and some had nothing to do with me at all. In general, we cannot control what direction the universe pushes our lives, but we can control how we react. We can choose to resist, trying to hold on to a slippery past, or we can choose to hurl ourselves hopefully into the future. One of those choices is exhausting, and often results in disappointment. The other can also be exhausting, but often results in surprises and opportunities to grow. Just as I wouldn’t advise running into the woods while blindfolded, hurling yourself blindly into the future isn’t always the best approach. Look forward, make some decisions about where you’d like to end up, find the paths that look promising, and *then* run like hell into the woods. It’s worth remembering that you can always choose to leave the path later, and hack out a trail uniquely your own.

‘Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.’ – King Whitney Jr.

Under Pressure (Queen feat. Bowie) on YouTube

Today’s blog post, unlike the recent few, is completely unphilosophical. It’s about shoe shines. I’m not a guy who often looks at shoes, but when you’re on a business trip and bored, you notice things. The first night of the meeting, I looked around the room I realized how well shined everybody else shoes where. I looked down at mine, and discreetly tucked them under the tablecloth. When I got back to my room I called down to the concierge looking for help. 15 minutes later they whisked away my shoes (and belts). When I returned from the gym, my leatherwear was waiting for me, looking better than they had in a long while.

I’m home now, and realize my “untraveled” shoes need attention just as badly. I may have gone to military school and know how to throw on a mean spit-shine, but I don’t want to spend the time. The best shines I’ve ever seen were done by a guy at the RDU airport. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there the day I passed through and he’s on the other side of security… making him an inconvenient option for regular shines. When he works a pair of shoes, the first thing he does is wash the leather with a special shampoo to remove the grime and old polish. Once cleaned, he works polish into the leather with a brush, then buffs a shine in with a soft brush and then with a buffing cloth. My shoes always come out looking terrific, and I always think to myself that I need to shine my shoes more often.

That being the case, I have a reminder in my calendar prompting me monthly to shine shoes, oil boots, check car fluid levels, and other such exciting things. I acknowledge the reminder each time, but never seem to act on it. This month, I’ll see what I can do about not ignoring that prompt and “get a good shine on”. There might be some shopping involved, and some rooting around in the back of my closet, but I think it can be done. We’ll see…