douglas brent smith: 2018

Begin

One problem too many is where we all begin.

-- doug smith

It's Up to Them

It's hard to be nice enough to make an unhappy person happy.

-- doug smith

Note to Self #1

If it feels pretentious, it is.

-- doug smith

Every have one of those moments when the GPS tracker in your phone assumes you are someplace that you're not? Imagine the history of locations you are creating that you've never ever been to. When I saw this, I had to screen print it immediately. Really? Please!

-- doug smith

Careful Of Hyperbole

If it sounds too good to be true, somebody might be lying to you.

-- doug smith

When Love Stops

Love doesn't stop because it gets hard. It stops when we get lazy.

-- doug smith

Calls to Action

Values evolve over time. If values are ever true, they refine without denying what once was. They grow. They distill. They find ways to self-generate the results they aspire to.

Choose your path...

Here are some values I've refined into calls to action. I don't just agree with them, I expect to do them. To show them. To act on them. Sometimes it goes well, and often I fall short. The journey is a long one, so keep going.

Here are my current calls to action:

Be your best
Stay curious
Turn toward all offers (bids) to start
Challenge yourself
Reach out with compassion
Expand your possibilities
Appreciate
Play nice, work hard, stay smart
Learn constantly

What are your values? What are your calls to action?

-- doug smith

TMI Department: Not Ready

The house on Elm Street burns

It was about three years ago when I told my therapist, in talking about my ex, "I guess I should feel good that she's happy and wish her well..."

His response?

"That's preposterous. It hurts too much for that and you know it. You can let that bullshit go."

I appreciated his honesty. I understood my own truth in that moment. It was preposterous then.

And, it still is.

Some hurts heal. Some scar over. Some leave sensitive spots. If you can't fix it, at least don't pretend something that's not true.

-- doug smith

Push Against Your Limits

Creativity, like leadership, requires us to stretch. To be at our most creative we must grow. Since we are surrounded by limitations, that can cause some discomfort. Which boundaries should we cross? Which lines are mental and which are metal?

How do we create without getting hurt (or worse, hurting?)

I'm not sure. Maybe that's the wrong question. Maybe the question is -- what limits should we ignore today? What limits should we buck against and stretch?

If a limit is telling you that you are NOT creative -- ignore it.
If a limit is telling you that you cannot grow -- defy it.
If a limit is telling you that the world doesn't need your creativity -- laugh it off.

The world needs you. The world needs your creativity. The world needs you at your creative best.

The creative life pushes against limits.

Keep pushing.

-- doug smith

Cartoon: Blue Collar Crazy (1976)

blue collar crazy - douglas brent smith 1976

My idea of humor in 1976. These are some tough job requirements. Job interviews have always been tough.

Sketch: Balancing Topper

Not much more than a doodle but it brings me joy and seemed brilliant in 1976. Now, I'm not so sure, but I can still smile.

Cartoon: A short treatise on existence

I created this oddity in 1976, in the middle of a disappearing relationship, working a series of very odd jobs including security guard, bartender, and parking lot attendant. Saved for posterity because I'm just too self-absorbed not to, I guess.

You May Not Need Every Tool

Do you have a lot of tools?

I don't. I had a nice collection inherited from my dad (I call them a collection because I collected them but when they were his he actually USED them) until they were destroyed in a fire.

Now, an apartment dweller, I have few tools. I still don't use all of them -- but I know how.

When we are solving problems we have many tools. The temptation is to use them all. It's oddly satisfying to bring out tool after tool. Satisfying, but sometimes inefficient. Simplicity - elegant simplicity is often best.

Use the tools that work, and leave the rest for another time.

It isn't always necessary to overwhelm a problem in order to solve it.

Sometimes the solution is right there in from of you and in need of only one tool. Dialogue. Talk about it and see what happens. You might just solve that problem faster than you expected.

-- doug smith

This entry comes from one of my other blogs: High Performance Leadership and also appears on Centered Problem Solving. I copied it here, just because...

Collage: Corner Office

Corner Office: Collage by doug smith (c) 2007 douglas brent smith

Corner Office by doug smith

Drawing: Where To Begin?

Collage: It's In The Water

It's In The Water

From Creative Play, by Douglas Brent Smith

Collage: Discovering Another Garden

Discovering Another Garden

Collage, created March 2006 by Doug Smith
(c) 2006 Douglas Brent Smith

Collage: Bizarre Box of Treasures - Cover Detail

bizarre box of treasures - collage box by douglas brent smith

Poem: off again

did i ever tell you
that any of that
mattered
or that
holding out hope
is what i do best?

with your barely open gates
closing and
your once flirtatious musing
silenced you
look at me
differently and
see another friend
ending
this dance
again
ending this
dance
again
But,

didn't you tell me that

you don't dance?

-- doug smith

Photo: Wedgwood Office

FRL Office in Longmont

Are You Sure?

What if every secret was a lie?

-- doug smith

Take Joy

Take joy on those parts of the past that bring you joy and let go of those that do not.

-- doug smith

Photo: Random Lighting Panel

Random Lighting Panel photo by doug smith

Do You Think This is Up to Code?

Bedroom Lamp and Light

What Would You Call It?

Don't call it love if you don't go the distance.

-- douglas brent smith

Collage: Let's Pretend

Let's Pretend

Collage: The Trill Is On

"The Trill Is On" Collage by Douglas Brent Smith
8 1/2 x 11"

(c) 2018 Douglas Brent Smith

Created in Newtown, PA

Collage: Twice Around The Pass

Twice Around The Pass

(c) 2018 Douglas Brent Smith

Created 30 March 2018 in Newtown, PA

You may use this image as an illustration and for your own personal use as well as for sharing but please do not duplicate it to sell in any manner. Please notate is using the original tagging; image by douglas brent smith, (c) 2018

Song: The Mad Again

Mp3 Audio

Mp4 "video"

The Mad Again

(apologies to Lewis Carol) Lyrics by Harley Halpern, Music by Doug Smith

‘Twas Grunin and the P.A.A.

Did grumble on the stage;

All gloomy was the stage crew,

And the Mad Again outraged.

Beware the Wilson Mark my son,

The steely stare the haughty frown,

And beware the Young Milk Shell

And don’t eat lunch when they’re around.

You shouldn’t fool with the master crew

And make them feel upstaged

It’s bound to cost you once you’ve got

the Mad Again outraged

The Mad Again, The Mad Again, The Mad Again outraged

He took his crescent wrench in hand,

And focused lights, and mopped the floor,

He set up chairs and music stands,

Then opened the stage door.

And there behind the door he saw

The Wilson Mark as dark as night

Battling the Young Milk Shell

He nearly fainted from stage fright.

(chorus)

One, two, three, four and through the door

The stage technician fled,

But Mark and Shell each grabbed an arm,

“You now belong to me,” they said.

Then from the grid, the Mad Again

Let loose the 10-pound weights,

And the Wilson Mark and Young Milk Shell

Both met their gruesome fates.

(chorus)

‘Twas Grunin and the P.A.A.

Did gossip on the stage

All gloomy was the stage crew

And the Mad Again outraged.

And hast thou slain the Mark and Shell,

For breaking theatre's laws?

The stage crew gathered round her

And broke into applause.

At Table Indulgence

At Table Indulgence - photo by doug smith

Under The Hood

Doug Smith and Dave Smith, 1966 Chevy Impala, summer of 1971 perhaps.

Under the Hood

I wanted to be a gear-head. I just never had the tools or the chops for it. But cars have always been fun and I've usually been a Chevy guy. Oh, I've wandered into lots of interesting cars and owned a few.

What was your first car?

Did you name it?

This 1966 Chevy Impala SuperSport was my first car. I'm sure that I paid too much for it because I paid what the guy was asking. I didn't know any better and I really wanted that car. It was fast. It was sporty. And, gasp - it had an 8-track stereo. You have to imagine the joys of listening to "Dark Side of The Moon" on an 8-track that had to fade-out and click-thru to the next track even if the song wasn't finished. Not the medium for Pink Floyd, that's for sure. But Elton John and Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck sounded just great, tooling down the road.

I've had other great cars, too:

1966 Volkswagen Beetle (this was my dad's but he was willing to trade cars when I had trouble making the payments on the Chevy Impala)

1965 Volkswagen Microbus panel van. I thought I wanted to customize it, but again, didn't have the chops. Still, what a fun car for $300. My longest trip was from Trenton, NJ to Chicago. I was pulled over by a police officer who said he just wanted to see what keeps that thing moving. Considering all the vinyl albums I had in the back, it was something of a miracle, although the person I sold it to told me that he used it to haul lumber in Montana, so the car had some character.

1966 Plymouth Fury. (Salt) My stepfather Jack bought this for $100 as a beater commuter car in Chicago and gave it to me. I drove it for two years and then sold it for $200. It had a powerful engine and smooth ride but oh did it gulp the gas. Zoom.

1969 Ford Econoline. (Buster) I bought this for $500 without test driving it. The first time I took it out, to drive a friend to the airport, it stalled and wouldn't re-start. I gave the tow-truck driver all I had in my pocket -- just short of the $50 he was asking. I wrote a song about this truck. It hauled all my stuff the second time I moved to Chicago.

1972 Plymouth Valiant Scamp. (Prince) A smaller car with a powerful engine, this drove like a breeze and I probably should have never sold it except -- don't remember why we sold it...

1983(?) Renault Alliance. Wow, did this five speed ever get up and go (at first) and get super gas milage. It was a snazzy metal-flake orange, too. Loved it, but sold it when it lost its oomph and was clearly in need of major repairs.

1990 Chevy Cavalier

1994 Chevy Cavalier

1987 Chevy Cavalier (as a second car) (Bluebird)

1995 Plymouth Acclaim

1990 Dodge Grand Caravan

2002 Chevy Cavalier (Silver Bird)

2014 Chevy Cruz (Marachino)

If you're a driver and you live long enough, maybe you'll get the joy of owning lots of cars. I have loved every single one I've owned, even if they were seldom my first choice.

-- doug smith