Tulips, Resilience, Flourless PB Choc Cookies + Devon Brown
Is there joy in things that don’t last forever?
I love to garden. Before last week, I thought my belief was rooted in the magical combination of being outside, having my fingers in the dirt, watching the transformation from seed to plant, bulb to flower, and experiencing the colors, textures, and smells Mother Nature provides. I’ve now discovered there’s a much deeper reason. It’s because the beauty of nature doesn’t last. Our yard produced so many stunning tulips this year – the Rembrandt variety (pictured above) seemed to have each petal hand painted. I took the picture above a few weeks ago and the image below this morning. In a few more days, those lifeless petals will fall to the ground, the stalk will start to brown and wilt, and it will be as if there was never a flower.
In his lengthy interview with Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. BJ Miller puts it plainly: “Once you come to terms with the fact that your time is limited and therefore precious, it has a secondary effect of helping you appreciate what you have. The fact that it ends is what makes it precious.”
As a palliative care physician who came to grips with his mortality after being electrocuted in his early 20s and losing 3 of his four limbs, Dr. Miller says that his patients’ regrets often show as:
I wish I had dared to love more.
I wish I hadn’t been so afraid.
I wish I had just let myself be myself.
I wish I hadn’t been so hard on myself or criticized myself.
The commonality is that they wish they had let themselves come to terms with death earlier in their lives because it would have changed the decisions they made
You may not have opened this email wanting to consider your mortality, and nonetheless, here we are. I’d also like you to consider the other things in your life that will end – your role as a clinician, business owner, mentor, coach, teacher- will all end. And the sooner you come to terms with that, the sooner you can enjoy the absolute beauty of the joy of the everyday.
Stop waiting for the day when you’ll have the correct number of team members
Stop waiting for your next vacation, your next “big thing.”
Stop waiting for the day when your schedule is perfect, and everything goes according to plan.
Trust me; I know there are days when it is hard. Most days are! And yet, can you find joy in the precious day-to-day activities that your current role requires? Can you love more, be yourself, stop criticizing yourself so often, and stop putting things off that you’re afraid of?
Yes, my friends, there is joy in things that don’t last forever. Find it.
“The fact that it ends is what makes it precious.“ – Dr. BJ Miller
“You Can Conquer It” Virtual Workshop
Saturday June 3, 2023
We all face challenges. What if you could learn to conquer them rather than just survive them? Join me on Saturday, June 3, for a VIRTUAL workshop featuring 14 Challenged Athletes as they share their stories and strategies of resilience.
Tickets start at $100, and 100% of your registration fee goes to Challenged Athletes Foundation.
Can’t make it? Sign up and receive the complete recording.
Peanut Butter Cookies.
Peanut Butter Buttercream.
Dark Chocolate Ganache.
This is not a cookie you make when you want people to say, “That cookie was OK.” You make this cookie when you want people to say, “Damn. That might be the best cookie I have ever had.”
Get the gluten-free goodness recipe here.
Huge thanks to Vanessa Emerson for the DSI WEvolution meeting last Friday and Saturday in Chandler, AZ. The first speaker (in a session filled with speakers addressing a room full of speakers) was Devon Brown – college mascot, hip-hop dancer, and tae-kwon do instructor. Oh, he also happens to be a professional speaker.
According to Devon, “When it comes to giving a speech, whether you’re a public speaker trying to pitch an idea anywhere, the hardest part tends to be the start of it. So much depends on your ability to start your speech and immediately grab the listener’s attention.”
Here are his 13 tips for starting a presentation that will get you over that initial hurdle and immediately grab your audience’s attention. I know I’ll be using these!
