The Corrigan Encore

Everyone is

March 30, 2022 John Corrigan

This week Ben and I had the pleasure to hear a story on the podcast from a friend of his. The story is one that you will not want to miss. Honestly his story was incredibly interesting and supremely entertaining. Interviewing this person was a joy. The whole interview got me to thinking and I realized something that should’ve been evident but was not. Everyone is interesting. Everyone has a story to tell, lessons learned to share and can bring us joy. So why then do I want to run away sometimes when people try to engage me.

When you get the chance you should give this weeks show a listen….

Snap decisions are made everyday all the time by people all over the world. Urgency and time compels us to make snap decisions however when snap decisions are made about people we often sell those people short and rob ourselves of the joy in the interaction. If you can you should try to never be to busy to spend time with people.

People can and will surprise you. The older person working as a barista at the local coffee shop could have been in a cover band and toured the world, a substitute teacher in my 10th grade biology class spent two years in Spain, learned the language and fell in love.

Slow down and listen and try to enjoy all of todays interactions. At the end of the day the most important thing will most likely be the spent with people.

Out of the Fire

March 29, 2022 John Corrigan

Charlie Puth is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and has some number one hits under his belt. Charlie is getting ready to release his third album and there has been some chatter about it. Most of the chatter is from Charlie himself on intsagram and Tik Tok.

Charlie admits that he was trying to please others with his previous work and that he is done doing that. He is writing songs that resonate with him. Charlie is getting real. A video that Charlie released shows him getting emotional when he talks about a single on the upcoming album. The single is “That’s Hilarious” and it deals with a relationship breakup that broke Charlies heart.

Life is going to hand us circumstances that will break our hearts. Sometimes we will retreat and become someone we are not to our family, friends and strangers. We become a different person a guarded person to “protect” our hearts. Two big things here; 1. If you are lucky enough to know who you are you should never not be that person! There are a lot of people figuring out who they are. 2. You can never protect your heart no matter how guarded you are. Your heart will be broken again and again. The best thing we can do is grieve pick up he pieces and live our lives as the best us we can be. For Charlie it seems like he is really into writing and singing songs… Who and what are you? It can be more than one thing too. There are people who are parents and ceos, janitors and master carpenters, computer programmers and guitar shredders.

Don’t ever stop being the best you!

That spot

March 28, 2022March 28, 2022 John Corrigan

My dad would come home from work everyday and put his wallet keys and other contents of his pockets in a certain spot. The same spot everyday. I do the same thing with my keys and I try to put my notebook on the same spot as well. Friday I put my notebook in a different spot and this morning I left the house without my workbook.

I always thought of what my dad does as a habit and maybe it is but it is a habit for a reason. There are two types of memory episodic and procedural. Remembering to place and retrieve keys every afternoon and morning is an example of procedural. Remembering an experience, like a family trip to the lake or swimming out to the deck at the lake and resting in the sun while your muscles recovered from the exhausting swim out and working up the energy to swim back before the sun set is episodic.

It can be easy to forget either type of memory. Here is an amazing article outlining what happens when we forget. Essentially the article goes over at a basic level how episodic memory works. Memories are chemical changes at connection points (synapses) between neurons in the brain. Each memory is stored as thousands or millions of synapses. Chemically procedural and episodic memories are the same just different parts of the brain are involved.

Basically our memories are chemical reactions creating a story. The procedural memory is less complex than episodic and therefore easier to remember. Examples of procedural memory are driving a car, leaving keys near the door and riding a bike.

It seems the trick to remembering anything is to always be present and make connections with as many neurons as you can. Smell taste and feel every moment of everyday. That way the moment becomes a memory with many hooks in your brain and you will have a rich experience even in the mundane.

In case you were wondering I indeed did forget my notebook this morning.

Drink me

March 25, 2022 John Corrigan

This morning I woke up a little later than usual and had to change my morning routine. I am not huge fan of changing my routine however it was needed to accommodate a guest that Ben and I were interviewing for our podcast. This guest lives on the West coast of the United states and we needed to interview a little later than usual. Our guest has some amazing stories and the podcast episode will truly be a treat.

This week Ben and I have interviewed at least two guests and both mentioned how important it was to go with the flow, and let the universe be your guide. Immediately I thought about Bruce Lee.

Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water, my friend
Bruce Lee

The Bruce Lee quote comes to us curtesy of the TV series Long Street. Bruce Lee’s character is a teaching a new student about martial arts and life when he tells him to be like water.

It is important to be flexible in body and spirit. Plans never go exactly the way we want them to. Life often gets in the way of our schedule. Did you know that all water on earth makes it way to the ocean? The Ocean along with that pond in the backyard or the mud puddle you stepped in the other day are part of the water cycle. The water cycle is why it is important to avoid polluting any water and a good example of a flexible system. Water takes different routes to and from the Ocean and clouds but it all goes through the clouds and oceans.

Photo by Oliver Sju00f6stru00f6m on Pexels.com

You may feel like life is getting in the way of your plans and running your routines however if you are not like water you will not be able to enjoy your journey. See you will always encounter something that is not part of the plan how you react to it is what matters for you, your family, and friends. If you “go with the flow”, make adjustments and carry on chances are high that you, your family, and friends will love being near you. If you complain, and argue, and fight, well, would you enjoy your own company?

Only for a Moment

March 24, 2022 John Corrigan

My work takes me to different sites and the other day I was outside of an art room. On the wall leading to the art room there was a picture with a quote attributed to Banksy on it.

If you get tired learn to rest not quit
Banksy

I don’t know the man but I know of the man Banksy. He is an amazing artist and a political activist in England. His film Exit Through the Gift Shop is a satire that really makes you question authenticity of the entire art market. His work highlights environmental disasters, siding with the powerful through inaction, the dichotomy between rich and poor, and much much more. Even in his anonymity Banksy is a voice heard by the youth mostly, that spurs that generation to take action.

There is an author Simon SInek and in one of his books “The Infinite Game“, he explains that much of life and business is indeed an infinite game with different rules, no time limit and the goal is to survive and flourish so there are really no winners.

Surviving, flourishing, and being the best person we can be can be tiring, it can be grueling and the desire to give up can be strong. Banksy has worked in anonymity since 1990. Thirty years and I am sure that he has wanted to quit. Most of Banksys work is street art or graffiti and illegal. I am sure that he gets tired of working in the shadows but maybe he knows how important his activism is and this pushes him forward maybe he knows how to as he so eloquently put it rest not quit.

We did it again

March 23, 2022 John Corrigan

Today episode 2 of the Corrigan Encore dropped. Ben and I interviewed a supremely interesting person doing some awesome stuff in his local community, when you get the chance you should give it a listen. Here is a link to episode 2.

I had a blast doing the show with Ben and our guest. The show is really rough right now but I think Ben and I are starting to nail down a format that will make the show smoother for the listeners and I look forward to episode 3.

This morning I woke up late and my schedule was/is all off, but that’s ok I am turning today around I am already making up for my lost time and if I can make an appointment in the afternoon my day will not be a complete wash.

Life gets busy and you can feel overwhelmed and always running late this is actually normal and can be dealt with. Take a deep breath with me make adjustments and get out there and seize this day!

Photo by Marlene Leppu00e4nen on Pexels.com

Virtue in Leisure

March 22, 2022 John Corrigan

Ok truth time the title of this post is stolen from this article on NPR explaining vacations. Specifically the article outlines the history of vacations in the United States. Summer time is right around the corner and very soon we will find our selves in prime vacation taking time and I cannot wait. I love vacations. I honestly do not hate work but I think I may cram a little much into my schedule and I put myself behind the eight ball sometimes. Vacations are a great way to relax and reset.

When I come back from this spring vacation I plan on approaching work differently for scheduling purposes. I want to realistically schedule my time at work and fit in what I need and want to get done in the time that I have. My hope is that through better time management I can be more efficient and have a more balanced life.

Life is an amazing gift that we have all been given and I don’t want to waste any of it. I understand that things come up and I will not always be able to adhere to my schedule so I will be flexible but I really am making and trying to stick to my schedule. I am serious.

I really do plan on doing this when I get back. I bought an Legend Planner and everything! I want to account for all my time at work and home and make the most of all of it but before I do that I plan on spending a week only deciding what color shorts I want to wear to the pool / beach.

Not it at all really

March 21, 2022 John Corrigan

There is a quote that I saw making the rounds on the internet. The quote is often shared by people at work who, feel that the work load is unevenly distributed and the management is acquiescing or worse facilitating the inequity. Ok here is the quote…

When there is no consequence for poor work ethic, and no reward for good work ethic, there is no motivation
JD Roberts

I am not sue if the quote is legit or apocryphal, however I have seen it and It bugs me, a lot. My immediate response is another turn of phrase or quote that is not apocryphal, I only know of its authenticity because I am a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories and the quote comes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle through the greatest detective of all time.

The work is its own reward
Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I

I have been there and seen associates struggle to get their work done during the allotted time. I have covered shifts when life got in the way for my associates and ugly John wanted consequences to rain down on my associates however, consequences would not get the work done and I am pretty sure they would not change the work ethic of the associates. They would simply upset everyone. Now instead of simply covering a shift for my associate I must cover a shift, watch the associate bear the consequences for a poor work ethic and provide a ear in sympathy that associate as well as the manager who is looking to justify their actions.

Consequence and reward is an elementary solution to an complex problem. A good manager needs to understand why the work is not enough reward for the employee that is engaged and more than enough reward for the engaged employee. Perhaps when armed with this knowledge better hiring practices will create a workforce of engaged and happy workers.

When an employees circumstances change a good manage should notice and make adjustments. Directors of managers should first the managers focus on the people then the work results. Maybe a good place to start a conversation with a manager is “how are your employees doing? What does their mental health and morale seem like?” After getting that assessment you should be able to use that as a leading indicator for production unless you have a skills problem.

The bottom line is many problems are problems because they are complex and require more than a pithy and honestly judgmental quote. Before you decide to wish consequences on a fellow associate maybe try helping them enjoy work as much as you do. If nothing else treating others this way has to lead to good Karma right?

Are you talking to yourself

March 17, 2022 John Corrigan

We all do it, we have inner self talk. Self talk can be a positive thing and it can also be negative. It is important that we never allow self talk to become negative, the world is full of some pretty negative attitudes and people and we need to be able to find refugee in of all places our own minds. Most of us keep our self talk limited to an inner monologue however sometimes it can be helpful to engage in self talk out loud. Here is an interesting article outlining why out loud self talk is good. Basically talking out loud to oneself can help you move forward with your goals, and sharpen your focus.

I catch myself talking out loud and to myself, I also catch myself talking out loud to my dog too. Many computer programmers will talk to a rubber ducky when they are trying to work through some logic problems. Never let anyone talk you out of talking to yourself it is not strange.

On the subject of talking allow me to introduce my new pod cast.

Only 15 minutes

March 16, 2022 John Corrigan

This morning I woke up late and threw off my entire routine. To be on time for work I had to cut my 30 minute work out down to 15 and I considered cancelling the workout altogether but, I decided that 15 was better than nothing.

When I worked in a factory there was a goal of continuous improvement. The process involved learning, sharing and implementing. The process was done on every shift by every team and it was self -perpetuating. The idea was to get just a little better every shift at the process always striving for perfection.

Get 1% better everyday
Chris Nikic

If you did get only 1% better everyday at the end of a year you would be 365% better than you were at the start. I love water, the ocean, streams, lakes cenotes, I am there. Water moves and over time erodes. The objects that water erodes become sediment and are moved. After very long periods of time water can and does change landscapes. Water is a visualization for just how alive our planet is and the idea that small things make huge changes.

You may not feel like you have much time and that with little time not much can be done, but 15 minutes adds up and it can change the landscape.

Meet Sasha Episode 10 – The Corrigan Encore