Attention, Please

I kicked off the fourth quarter in Portland, Maine this week.  It was the final gathering this year for my entrepreneurial peer group.  The city made a great impression on us.  We dined at David’s 388 and Luke’s Lobster and visited the Portland Head Light.  Lunch from Monte’s Fine Foods was so good we patronized it two days in a row.  It is everything I had hoped for Maamos Kitchen, but focused solely on Italian cuisine.  The custard at Red’s Dairy Freeze was well worth waiting in the long line.  I look forward to returning to Portland with Lori some day.

After boarding my first flight on the way there, I discovered that I brought the wrong headphones - I had the ones that fit my laptop, but I needed the ones that fit into my phone.  This took listening to music or podcasts off of the table.  So I pulled out my Kindle and opened up a new book I had downloaded - Who, Not How by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy.  The basic assertion of the book is that we can often be more effective by enlisting others in our efforts.  I have been guilty of having too much of a “DIY” mindset, resulting in it taking longer for me to accomplish certain things, and sometimes completing them in ways that are far below their potential. Sometimes, I need to get more skilled people involved in my efforts.  As with many valuable books, its ideas aren't radical.  But they shine a light on an often overlooked tendency that many of us have.  If our default setting is always to do things ourselves, we miss an opportunity to get more done - and at a higher level of quality, by collaborating with others.  It was a refreshing reminder.

I read the entire book before returning to Columbus.  Thankfully I also had downloaded Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Master of the Senate.  I’m not very far into yet, but Brian Koppelman says this is essential reading to understand how legislative power works in America.

I can’t tell you the last time that I read an entire book and started a second one in the same week.  The absence of the headphones let me absorb knowledge in a different way than I originally intended.  It felt refreshing, like my mind was working better for having given my ears a rest, and leaning into other areas of cognition.

At the AirBnB, all by myself because my friends had left and my flight home was not until the following morning, I did listen to this podcast interview of Chase Jarvis.  In it, he speaks on the power of focus.  In this era of steady digital dopamine drip, focus is a real superpower.  Gurus of ancient wisdom, like Sadhguru and Dandapani have been reminding us of this for years.  A misplaced set of headphones turned out to be the best thing to happen to me all week.

Sunday Supper
This week I am prepping Thai Beef Basil with Coconut Rice, complementing it with a simple pan of roasted sweet potatoes seasoned with Maani’s Indian Spice blends.  This Slow Cooker Shredded Beef will be making its way onto some salad greens in the days ahead.

Sunday Music
Here is a wonderful set of Latin music featuring Rita Payés at the NPR Tiny Desk - a great way to get your body moving on a Sunday morning.  Enjoy!

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Have a great week ahead!  Offer support to others.  Make good use of this day.  And let me know how I can help.

Peace & Love,