The Corrigan Encore

NO Time line

August 3, 2022 John Corrigan

Life is sort of like a game but it is a game without an end or a winner or loser. Life is an infinite game. It can be tempting to see someone who makes a living working at their passion and proclaim that they are a winner at life however we should avoid this temptation. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I host a weekly podcast (sort of I try to do 1 podcast a week but sometimes life gets in the way). Two weeks ago I interviewed Joshua Von War Bear. Josh is a creator of swords, leather work and armor. Josh has acted modeled and participated in many renaissance fairs and cos play events. I am envious of Josh he gets paid to play and make imagination a reality. Josh mentioned in our interview that he loves what he is doing but sometimes he thinks insurance would be nice. I to love what I am doing for a living however I am not making a living with my passion. I engage in my passion projects in my “free time” as do most of us. Because my passion projects are part of my free time and hobbies I can take as long as I want building creating and learning. Josh has deadlines and he cannot take as long as he wants with his passion if he does not sell he does not eat, it is a harsh equation for many working in their passions.

Last week I interviewed Sasha McBrayer. Sasha is passionate about art, graphic design, pop culture and writing. Currently Sasha works in an office and pursues her passions in her free time however some new developments may make it possible to pursue her passions full time (I do not want to give much away). As humans we love to play games and the games should have a beginning, an end, a winner and a loser but life is not that way. In life we only have one of those things and that is a beginning. Don’t put to much pressure on your self and life. You may not be where you want to be now but enjoy life wherever you are and what ever you are doing and know that tomorrow everything will change.

For some encourage remember that this list of authors did not publish their first works until well after age 40 one was 66 when their first book was published

1.Toni Morrison

Age: 40

2. Mark Twain

Age: 41

3. Marcel Proust

Age: 43

4. Henry Miller

Age: 44

5. J.R.R. Tolkien

Age: 45

6. Raymond Chandler

Age: 51

7. Richard Adams

Age: 52

8. Annie Proulx

Age: 57

9. Laura Ingalls Wilder

Age: 65

10. Frank McCourt

Age: 66

Be kind to yourself and never give up on your passions.

Our Village

July 27, 2022 John Corrigan

When I was younger I watched a movie called “Patton”. Right in the beginning pf the movie the general tells the third infantry division why the United States will win the war. The speech is riveting. In his speech he mentions that Americans are not individuals but part of a community and we can achieve so much more together.

Sometimes I hear people mention how their success or failure comes from their own efforts and I cringe. This is the most un true statement I have ever heard in my life. A persons failure or success is a collective action achieved by actions or inactions of the collective. People are social animals and they are designed to help each other survive and thrive. If you are not acting in the best interests of your neighbors (which is everyone you meet) you are not acting the way that you were designed to act.

It takes a village be a good villager.

This book is amazing

July 26, 2022 John Corrigan

I am about a third of the way through an incredible book called “What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything” written by Rob Bell. The book is a treatment of the Bible that I’ve never read before. The author turns the book over and over and throughout every story, poem and letter he points out how the books through line is hope, love, redemption and reconciliation. If you are reading a story, poem, letter or song in this book and do not experience hope, love ore redemption than you are missing the point.

When you read a story letter or poem with the purpose of finding this through line of love and redemption you experience hope. If you read a story without this perspective it can be dark and abysmal and make you feel hopeless. The bible can be violent and give you nightmares if you are not approaching it with that filter. The author explains why the filter is rightfully applied, mostly because of history context and culture.

One of the worst things we can do in life is lose hope. Lost hope can result in a cynical apathic life and may even lead to depression. How can we in the face of so much bad news find hope? Through education and learning the “whole story”. Often we only hear the headlines and nothing else but stories are layered and nuanced and one viewpoint of a much larger thing called life. Next time you feel like throwing in the towel I encourage you to dig deeper learn more and find hope. Hope was at the bottom of pandoras box,

“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Friday afternoon

July 25, 2022 John Corrigan

Last Friday I had to work late. A class was graduating from their training and getting promoted from recruits to fire fighters. My role was to ensure all the technical work for the graduation went off without a a hitch and it did. Curtains opened closed on que, sound was perfect and video flawless.

In the control room I heard the whole presentation and later that night while speaking with my wife I mentioned how graduations are important. It is important to celebrate accomplishments and finishing fire fighter training is a big one! I have noticed that a big part of a few graduations involves the mindset of being better when you get through adversity. I asked my wife though if she thought adversity ever ended? I am not sure that it does. Let me explain, if life is a game than it is an infinite one. Games have a beginning and an end and our lives while they have an end in death and a beginning in birth their really isn’t a point in time when we stop and take stock of our “points” and determine a winner. Life is a gift really more so than a game. We have a chance to learn and experience the sensation of being a sentient being in our universe and that is pretty cool. Part of living is adversity, it could be health woes, financial woes, or relationship ones and we will learn to live with and mitigate this adversity however we will always have to deal with health, finances and relationships. As long as you are living you will have to deal with life and life can be great or hell. You never really get through adversity you are more likely to rise above adversity and again mitigate the adversity as best you can. In the corporate world goals are often called “Big Rocks”. The concept behind “Big Rocks” is that the corporation find a way to sail around or above the BIG Rocks in the river they are traveling in. I know this can seem like a matter of semantics getting through or rising above but I think that when we approach a situation as a obstacle we must get through we become a destructive force doing harm to others and ourselves. If we approach a situation as a rock opposed to an adversary I cant help but think that we will have a better world view and mental state.

“You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

One of the most important things

July 22, 2022 John Corrigan

I have had many different positions in my short career one of these positions was a manager for a development team. The team was a rather large group of computer programmers all of them were quite young too. I think the average age of my teams was 24 years old. The developers were pretty smart and had a good grasp on the programming tools and languages we used however they lacked some of the skills involved in effectively interacting with colleagues’. After realizing this I took time every Monday to motivate the teams with a meeting that involved going over one life skill. I still remember one meeting in particular in which I told the team that no matter what job and where they worked the most important skill they could posses and use was going to always be a positive attitude. That was true then and is still true today. With a positive attitude nearly anything is possible. The inverse is also true a negative attitude will make the smallest task a chore and bring progress to a staggering halt. The only attitude we can ever control is our own so I encourage you to accentuate the positive today>

“You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Like a gift

July 20, 2022 John Corrigan

My wife and I watched a movie called “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, the movie is all about a young man who restores a hotel in India and opens it up as a retirement home. Many ex pats from the UK live there and comedic misadventure ensues.

One of my favorite lines from the movie comes from a conversation between two of the hotels residents. One resident hates the country the people and the hotel another one loves all of it. She asks the resident who loves the experience why he loves it he responds that he loves the people because the look at life as a gift.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

When we approach everything as gift life changes and we change. Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways you can make a change in your life. With gratitude we can truly live our lives and experience everything.

It is all bad isn’t it

July 19, 2022 John Corrigan

The other day I let my wife know that I listened to the news on the smart speaker in the house and the car radio. She asked me why. I let her know that I wanted to be informed. Things were and are happening all over the world and I wanted to know what those things were. She replied that all the things happening seemed awful. Sunday I heard a news story about a shooting in a shopping mall and I realized that my wife was spot on. The news does seem to be pretty bad. I am at a sort of cross roads.

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

I can continue to listen to the news shake my head and comment on how bad everything is, stop listening, or I can get involved and try to make a difference.

I was in a cave on a tour in Alabama, part of the tour involved turning off the lights in the cave and experiencing complete and total darkness. I got to say complete and total darkness is an odd experience. In complete and total darkness even the tiniest of light makes a huge difference. The worse the news gets the more potent your actions will be (as long as they are good.)

It’s like being in the grocery store

July 18, 2022 John Corrigan

My favorite time to visit the grocery store is in the morning. Everything and everybody in the grocery store in the morning hours before the rush of traffic is new and fresh and exciting. In the morning it almost feels like someone has hit a reset button and we all get to experience a new day.

“With the new day comes new strength.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Today is a new day. Yesterday is over and we can never get it back again but today right now is new and you can make a huge difference. This is good to keep in mind for big and small problems. Face today the way it was meant to be faced like the grocery store in the morning, full of hope, clean and excited.

Diversity Matters

July 13, 2022 John Corrigan

“I am just not a fan of diversity for diversity sake.” I was floored when I heard the words from someone who I didn’t think was racist until they made that statement. Diversity is part of what makes any organization thrive grow and function optimally. The world is big and robust and we should always be leaning as much as we can about all parts of the world. A diverse workplace makes this learning possible.

“You not only have a right to be an individual. You have a responsibility.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Diversity relies on two types of respect. 1. respect for others 2. respect for yourself. My hope is that we are all brave enough to live our truths and let others live theirs.

Respectfully be yourself today and everyday

Photo by Clement percheron on Pexels.com

What would change your mind

July 12, 2022 John Corrigan

I watched a debate on You Tube between Bill Nye and Ken Hamm. The subject of the debate was evolution. I know what you are thinking maybe… How can this be a debate, evolution is a proven theory for how species adapt in order to survive in an environment. The reason there was a debate stems from a community that refuse to acknowledge science when it does not fit with their religious belief.

Throughout the debate Bill Nye stuck to the evidence and Ken Hamm refused to accept reality or evidence. There was a telling moment when the debate moderator asked each member what would change their minds. Bill Nye said evidence to the contrary and Ken Hamm said nothing would change his mind.

“Be confident, not certain.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Never stop learning and expanding your knowledge, exercise wisdom and always be humble.