Ebony's Pearls

Three Sleepy Critters
Originally uploaded by nodigio

These are subject to change.

1. Go to parties. You’ll meet interesting people and who knows what wonderful things may develop from it? If nothing else, you’ll get some juicy talanoa, hear music you might otherwise not hear, and sample tasty new dishes.
2. Tease people who take themselves and their knowledge too seriously. It’s perfectly wonderful to know things, and I always say all knowledge is worth having, but not if it makes you a boor. Have fun with it and lighten up!
3. If you can’t control the outcomes, you can always control yourself. Be elegant, dignified, playful; enjoy what life tosses your way, and if it’s really bad, endure it so you can turn around and stick your tongue out at it afterwards.
4. Fail with pride. When you fail, you’ve learned something important – that way didn’t work. Now you’re free to try other ways, and possibly fail at them, too. Eventually, you’ll get it right, and you’ll have a lot of marvelous stories to tell about how you got there. And if you don’t fail, you’ll never really succeed.
5. Avoid losers. If you hear someone say “impossible”, “can’t”, “never” and so on too often, drop them as soon as possible because their constant naysaying will wear on you. Ditto for people who see things only as either/or because there’s always another way. See #4.
6. Answer emails and questions from juniors before seniors, from children before adults, from subordinates before supervisors because they have further to go and long memories.
7. Be skeptical about things of large consequences because they affect more. That way you have time to enjoy the small and aesthetic things in life.
8. Learn the rules and then use that knowledge to know when and how to break them.
9. Don’t pollute the planet – we need it to live on and I like my house clean and healthy.
10. Read newspapers for the talanoa and to garner topics of conversation for all those parties you go to.
11. Hard work isn’t always rewarded, so work smart instead. Prioritize, delegate, and leave yourself plenty of time to enjoy your family and friends. Decide what you really want out of life – and if it’s all material stuff, go back to the drawing board and think again.