1. Great news I heard this week…
I took my son, Kyle, and nephew, Mason, fishing in Buffalo on the upper Niagara River (which flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario with Niagara Falls in the middle) for my son’s 16th birthday. Our guide, Chris Cinelli, has been fishing that area his whole life and guiding for the past 25 years. I asked him what was the biggest change he noticed in that area over the 25 years. His answer… the water quality. At first, I was bummed, thinking that, like most everything else on the planet, the water quality coming off Lake Erie into that river was worse. I was really excited when he said that the water quality had IMPROVED… and improved dramatically. With industry not pumping waste into the water, he said the water is much, much clearer, cleaner, and purer. It was so great to hear that. And so fun to be outside, catch a bunch of fish, and have fresh walleye for dinner that same night.
2. Stat I came across this week…
While looking at old notes I saw that I had written “E vs. E.” Underneath it, I had written “entertainment vs. education… top 20% spend more time on education.” I’m not sure when I wrote it, where it came from, or top 20% of what, but it reminded me that with such great access to information AND entertainment, I have to remain conscious on how I spend my time. I always have an audiobook going, I make sure I always have good podcasts downloaded, and I’m always looking for interesting documentaries. I do spend A LOT of time on education. But I also spend time with entertainment. I’ve found myself beating myself up at times for getting sucked into different Netflix and HBO series, but recently I realized that I do chill out and turn my brain off while watching that stuff, so I realize that it is important. The key is balance! If you are doing way too much of either entertainment or education, work on balancing that out… making sure you’re heavier on the education side. Then you too can become part of the top 20% of…. hmmm… something I assume is good!?!? Haha!
3. Word I love…
Contrarian: Opposing or rejecting popular opinion.
Another definition… A person who holds a contrary position, especially a position against the majority.
When asking a good friend why he and I thought so differently than most about a couple of topics, he said it was because we were contrarians. To be honest, I had to look that word up once we got off the phone. He was correct… I am a contrarian. When I looked it up again today, I realized it’s a term used mostly in regards to economics, but I like it as a general use term. I also realized that it could be a negative term, as one could oppose or reject popular opinion just to be frictional, difficult, or dramatic. I oppose or reject popular opinion when the popular opinion isn’t yielding great outcomes. If something is successful and working well, I am much less inclined to oppose it. However, when things aren’t working, or I believe things could be better, then I’m all about going against the grain, doing things differently, or choosing a different path. This is true in every area of my life… financial, health and wellness, relationships, etc.
