Want more productivity? Use Sunscreen?

Yesterday, I was out and about meeting new “potential” clients. Let me first preface by saying that potential clients, for me, have a much different look and feel these days. Of course I love doing business with the big boys, playing with the movers and shakers and making money. Who doesn’t? But at the end of the day, how do you know when that client is right for you? And if you’re right for them? Do you try and fit them into the mold you aspire them to be like because you need to make that mortgage payment and so you justify it, all the while knowing that this person does not have integrity? When I meet with a potential client or clients I look into their heart, mind and their attitude about leading others by example and how they treat others when no one is watching. What would others see about you if you knew no one was watching?

Now, having said that, I too, have learned a lot of hard lessons and have been fooled and heartbroken by many who gave their solid word to me and I, in return, honored their simple verbal commitment. I have realized that anyone can give you lip service. But at the end of the day, do you know, without doubt, what you will do to honor your word and hold your agreements with others and yourself?

A ”potential” client sent me Kurt Vonneguts speechthat he addressed to the 1997 class of MIT. I Loved it so much that I thought I would pass it along to my readers because its insightful, fun, hopeful and its Friday. The speech below is Kurt Vonneguts point of view on life and how taking life less seriously can lead to happier and in many instances a more productive life. So, in those instances when you get frustrated or dissapointed that you or your business is not where you want it to be just take this speech out, read it until your heart settles in and you can feel Joy in your bones again. 

“Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting  40-year-olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.

Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.”