Ahem.

I do apologize for inflicting rhyming crimes against humanity on you.

But seriously, I don’t know how to challenge people to think creatively other than a) modeling it in my business, b) teaching tools for destuckification, c) talking about why it’s so important that you challenge yourself and d) encouraging a culture of playfulness, curiosity and experimentation.

So that’s what I’ve got.

Hmmm. This is going to need some explaining.

Okay. I lived in Israel for a third of my life. And in Israel posted signs work differently than they do in Europe or North America.

Like, if you see a sign that says “entrance forbidden”, you’re still going to hop over the fence.

Everyone does. You know it’s just a warning. A … general warning. Not a warning warning.

A suggestion.

Also, did I mention that this weekend is Purim?

Purim! I’m going as a pirate. Probably.

And today I will be baking my blog-famous hamentaschen (this post from a year ago might be the funniest thing that I’ve ever written, thanks to that jerk Stu).

You can make them too if you want. Last year a bunch of people did and it was highly entertaining.

And because those Gigantic Awakening Life-Changing Epiphanies … they kind of aren’t the point.

It’s not that these extraordinary oh boy I’ve been wrong about everything I’ve ever thought moments of bing and zing don’t happen.

Because they do.

It’s just more that the big crazy ones ultimately aren’t as important as the growing/coagulating/piling-on-top-of-each other pull of tiny little insights and the delicate synaptic clicks of mini-understandings.

I’ll take that one step further.

It is the accumulation of these little bits of understanding happening on different levels — these microscopic physical-mental-emotional connections — that elicits the Big Ones.

You work up to the big understandings as the little ones start snowballing and interacting with each other.

One rainy Portland morning* Selma and Havi decided to take the day off.

* It might possibly have been a Toozday.

It was all Selma’s decision since Havi wasn’t willing to talk about it.

Havi didn’t want to get out of bed. Havi didn’t want to be cheered up. Havi didn’t want to discuss options.

Okay. So. You know what? We’re going to pretend that it was a shoe.

This unknown someone threw a shoe at you. It hit you in the back. Not hard enough to knock you over or do any damage or anything.

But it hurt. A lot. And it surprised you. It was startling and painful and unpleasant.

The choices I make in my life are only about my life. You can totally drink coffee and eat cookies all day and I will love you just the same.

Seriously. I could not care less.

Whatever guilt or “shoulds” come up for you, they’re not coming from me. I’m sorry if talking about stuff that goes on in my life makes you feel uncomfortable about stuff going on in yours. That is never my intention.

People vary. What might be poisonous to me could be completely harmless — or even beneficial — for you.

I am not interested in being an evangelist. “You” just the way you are right now? Fine by me. I promise.

How we can do it better:
Kid: “I want to be a pilot when I grow up!”
You: “Wow. I didn’t know that. Tell me more about this. What is it about being a pilot that appeals to you?”

And then you can have an actual conversation. It might turn out that your kid just really likes peanuts, in which case a career in the circus might be better.

Come hang out inside my head for a minute while I deal with some meta-issues first.

One of the problems I have while answering Ask Havi questions is that I can never decide whether to answer the question that the asker thinks they’re asking or if I should really answer the one that I think they’re asking.

That’s because your business is alive.

And just like your life and your business, blogging is a living, dynamic process. It will change. Steadily and regularly.