The Wisdom of Don Schlitz
The best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep
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At the ripe old age of 23, Don Allan Schlitz Jr. of Durham, North Carolina delivered to the world words of wisdom well beyond his years. His vision of leadership, creativity and what life’s all about has impacted me most of my life
And yet?
Most people attribute Don’s writing to Mr. Kenny Rogers.
It was only today that I knew who was responsible for the words that have resonated with me for so long:
On a warm summer's evening
On a train bound for nowhere
David Byrne of the Talking Heads was explicit when he wrote about life:
We’re on a road to nowhere.
Schlitz was more subtle.
Few words describe the creative life better than a train bound for nowhere. This train might be on fire. It might be getting attacked by bandits. There are a lot of times the whole process feels like its going off the rails.
Sure we may have goals. They give us directions, like train tracks. In the creative process, they’re totally arbitrary. This is true whether painting a picture, making big changes in our lives or starting a company. The rails go on long after we do.
Yes, of course the metaphors here are obvious. They’re obvious because they are so timeless.
When it comes to life?
If you’re going to play the game boy
You gotta learn to play it right.
We’ve got to do the best with the cards we’re dealt.
‘Cause every hands a winner
And every hands a loser
It’s really just a matter of what we do with them.
What’s more?
You gotta know when to hold'em
Know when to fold‘em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run
It’s really a matter of timing right?
Every Autumn I spin up this record.
Every Autumn is the ending / beginning of another spin around the earth for me.
It’s also a time of darkness and a time of loss.
It get stuck in ruts.
I lose dreams.
There are times that I think that things are impossible, that I’m being overwhelmed and sliding backwards.
(The shorter amount of daylight really has a big impact on my optimism)
This fall?
I’m embracing the gambler.
I’m holding onto dreams and new habits.
I’m discarding some old work and parts of life that don’t work any more.
Don Schlitz realized something.
We’re all gamblers.
All of life is a gamble.
All of life is full of risks.
We can play our cards in so many ways.
And as we fade into the darkness of winter, how will you hold onto the light of hope and gather wisdom from the warmth of the people around you?
We all have an opportunity to help each other in the darkness. We all have an opportunity to help each other play the best with the hands we’re dealt.
Don Schlitz has never met me. He doesn’t know that I exist. And? He has provided me with a vast amount of comfort and wisdom by putting something out in the world.
What made him great? He did something. You can too.
It is through the connection with the generous people that I love that I have found an ace that I can keep. Share your cards. Pass out aces to those who want to play better.
I believe in:
Risk and Reward
This is the first line in a list of beliefs I have in my portfolio. I know, the word portfolio has been a wee bit damaged by poor practitioners. I know many. If well approached, it is designed to help me reflect on my experiences and attributes and articulate who I am, now and where I want to go. I will not likely ever apply for a job again. I could use it for eharmony, but I married the love of my life and I don't believe in algorithms as a mate finding method. I didn't know what I wanted in a mate. But I knew what I wanted the moment I saw him. Love is the biggest risk. It is also the biggest reward. Life is balancing risk and reward.
I teach materials which appear objective, but as you progress, an immense amount of subjectivity, yes, even artistry comes into play. Students once safe in "I got the right answer" begin to freeze up for fear of being wrong. I tell them the best part of school is that when you are wrong, you lose points. Does the business owner lose itheir investment, does someone get laid off, dos someone die? No. We lose points. It's a play land here. We lose points.
For the perfectionists, I simply remind them they got out of bed, got dressed, hopefully ate and made it to campus. You are 4 for 4. Every act is a risk and life is composed of them. 1000's of risks every day. Some we think about, some we don't. But every moment is a risk and the possible rewards of each act are countless. Risk taking comfort, like anything, comes from practice.
Take a risk that you'll fall flat. The best in the world sucked at it when they started. They just decided the potential reward was worth the risk of more investment.