perfect moment #1

Gather perfectly-roasted artisan whole-bean coffee, a fresh-baked bagel and whipped cream cheese, and some precisely-ripe organic summer fruit. Assemble into a delicious breakfast.

Open the big window to let the fresh air in, sit on the couch, put your feet on the coffee table, and eat while you watch the rain come down in a drizzle over the Portland skyline. Don't open the laptop, answer the phone, or turn on the TV. Just breathe.

the manual

Coming soon???

"Colin Black, the manual" is a continually developing online book helps me, and it helps you.

I can gather my own thoughts about what is going on in my head, and refer to them later. It's an owner's manual for myself.

For you? Am I acting bizarrely? (always...) Well, here's me, from the perspective of... me. An operator's manual, for you.

I think what I fear the most now is mediocre use of time. Not making the best decisions.

I don't know why this is such a problem, and why I can't live life just to live it. It may drive me to do some interesting things, but there is a cost associated with all of this...

hello from the captain

It's 2011 now, and my life is no longer an ever-capsizing ship.

Every once in a while I notice a leak. Sometimes all I have to do is go to sleep and then wake up to realize that there was never a leak in the first place; I was just seeing one in that moment. But even if there still is water coming on board, I make a plan and then I patch it up.

I don't need to redesign the ship now. It floats.

Sometimes I have to take a breath to realize just how unbelievably good things are, how fortunate and lucky I am, and how amazing it is that I'm actually living the life I only dreamed about four short years ago.

And then, sometimes I have to be reminded. :-)

Now then... what to do with this floating ship?

I think you should probably not forget what you set out to do in the first place.

You wanted a new life. Don't get distracted, and don't return to your old ways. You know better now...

I'm rewording my last post (which has now been deleted).

The winds of change, which I have discovered along this trip, beckon me to cut the crap and behave like a more normal human being. It might be good to see some sensibility in my life and in my actions before I die.

on selling

You'll find a new customer
when they see something in your world that theirs in comparison lacks