Hopefulness…
My dog Mango is nothing but hopeful. She will sit there for an hour while I’m preparing a meal and patiently wait for something to either drop or get tossed to her. Now mind you… this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes she comes out empty handed… but sometimes there is a scrap for her. Today it was apiece of iceberg lettuce.
Doesn’t seem like much of a dog treat…. but then again, how would I know. She seemed to enjoy it!
I learn so much from my dogs. She doesn’t judge and say… “Nah… looks like he’s not giving anything up today.” She just does what she does. She waits and sometimes she is rewarded.
Now imagine if we did this with our lives. Imagine how different life would be if we didn’t get discouraged every time life didn’t reward us the way we thought it should.
Imagine just how different life would be if we didn’t get discouraged every time a customer that we had worked hard to get, didn’t say “Yes”.
Do you think if you adopted Mango’s determination, patience and thick skin you might see more happiness, you might grow your business, perhaps you might add a few smiles to your day.
Now I’m not saying that to be successful all you have to do is sit around hopefully.
Mango comes to me and waits, I don’t call her. Her sister only sometimes comes… and gets rewarded much less often too.
Mango has a plan, she sticks to it and if it doesn’t pay off, she doesn’t whine, she just goes about her day, maybe takes a nap!
I’d love to discuss this with ya, talk to me!
John — Awesome post. You are lucky to have such a wise teacher!
Amen Anu – She’s the best and works for peanuts! Literally!
One of the things I loved best about Christmas this year was my son Josh’s total exuberance about Santa. He spent the whole month drawing pictures, writing letters, singing songs and asking about him. I got so excited myself for Santa’s visit since it had so much joy attached!
That spirit is what kids and animals teach us. I don’t know why we learn to lose it as we get older — because it makes life so much better!
Cute dog btw!
-P
John,
Great post! I love that you mentioned how much more frequently Mango gets rewarded than her sister because she comes and waits, whereas her sister doesn’t come as much. It’s so easy to take the “patience is about zoning out” track- when the first part is actually showing up.
I LOVE that Mango has taught a couple of different lessons. Pam got Spirit!
Brooke got patience and showing up. She’s one smart pooch, and all for the cost of a piece of lettuce!
i love this post as it is such a great reminder how it’s the small things that so often can make our tails wag. thanks for sharing.
Wow a dumb dog!
Sits there patiently waiting for a scrap from her pack leader and gets a lettuce leaf. Very Zen.
I would suggest that the other dog is the really clever one. She is a proper dog (clue one that eats meat as dogs are supposed to be carnivores, just like my dogs. are) has figured out that all you have to offer is veg and she isn’t dumb enough to sit around waiting for greens. Now that really is Zen!
I’d keep my eye on the really clever dog as she doesn’t see you as pack leader in the same way as the veggie dog does.
Interesting comments Josie… Both of the are very smart Dogs and very loyal dogs… they both get plenty of meat… Thanks a lot for sharing… always nice to get a comment way out of left field…
You’re absolutely right Laurie… we often miss the small things in life…Most of the time we miss them because we are worried about the big stuff, and the big stuff is often out of our hands. The weather, someone elses mood, cranky comments on your blog etc…
I think if we let go of what is out of our control. Take control of what we can, we’ll probably start realizing and appreciating the small wonders life has to share…
Thanks!
John,
I love this. Pam mentions spirit, Brooke mentions showing up which is what really resonated with me about this post. We ain’t gonna get the treat if we don’t show up in the first place! Even if it is just a piece of lettuce. But maybe it isn’t about the lettuce at all. Maybe getting the lettuce means something more – like love, approval, all the things getting rewards feels like. It seems like it’s about the success/reward/lettuce but it’s really about the feeling we have when we get what we want. Know what I mean?
Thanks John. Great post. Love true animal stories, as they are great teachers.
I heard Daniel Pink, author of “Drive”, speak on intrinsic motivation. As solo-preneurs; entrepreneurs, I think we love what we do, as it requires patience to build a business. We have a passion for our clients and what we offer or we might give it up.
Now..I wonder what Mango’s passion is??
MA
i love this post as it is such a great reminder how it’s the small things that so often can make our tails wag. thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bruce! So true. It’s the little things that make a big life!
John