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Portage
July 2007 Newsletter In This Issue...
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| Welcome
Hey All I'm stunned that it is already the middle of July. It seems I was just writing my monthly newsletter about picking huckleberries. But that was July 2006. This year I'm going to have to pick my berries in Northern Ontario. The berries around my home in Michigan suffered from the drought we experienced about a month ago. We're getting rain now. Quite a bit, actually. But for this year's crop of huckleberries, it's a little too late. So I'll just wander farther north. I know where to go. And rain has been good to some of my favorite spots up there. The water level in my fishing lakes is one to two feet higher this year over last July. The more time I find for my favorite leisures, the more grounded I become. I'm amazed and impressed with my ability and desire to do little and, consequently, more. I've been sharing my thoughts with you in this e-newsletter for over 7 years. I'm motivated by excellence, not perfection, so I've contradicted myself more than once. Excellence demands that I share my truth today, even though the same may not be true for me tomorrow. I imagine striving for perfection would freeze me up and keep me from writing anything at all. So please enjoy my words if they work for you and discard what does not. It's just part of my big mess I so enjoy wallowing in and sharing. A special thanks to those of you who have passed this newsletter on to others. And I do appreciate your feedback. Keep it coming! If you're anticipating a transition, personal or business, just give me a call at 231-879-4178 or 877-762-4178. Last month I went to one of my favorite fish camps for a week of very serious fishing. At the end of 28 hours in the boat, my partner, Yvon, and I had caught 447 Northern Pike and Walleye. That's one fish in the boat every 3.75 minutes. Amazing! The number of fish we caught is, indeed, amazing. Even more extraordinary is that we did it with only two lures. My lure was a red spoon with black dots. Now it is missing a lot of paint. Yvon’s lure was a gold spoon with red tips. There's no paint left on his lure and one hook is missing. One might suggest that both those lures are now broken. And we could repair them until they are perfect and flawless. Today, however, I prefer to think of those two lures as not broken but, instead, excellent. So we're not “fixing” them. They've been retired to the fireplace mantel and we're just being with them in another way. They inspire conversation and whimsical memories. They make me smile. They make me laugh. They make me dance. I’ll take those two damaged and excellent lures, over a pair of perfect lures any day. To me, they're still beautiful. In fact, I doubt anything we find truly beautiful is perfect. How about you? Are you striving for perfection or enjoying the excellence in your life? “Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” ~~Anthony Robbins “If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be.” ~~Yogi Berra Calculate your climate impact with the Nature Conservancy's Carbon Calculator at www.nature.org Peace and much love
The Fine Print
If you find value in Portage please pass it along and ask your friends to subscribe. Thank You. Help me stay with you. If you are enjoying Portage, please protect your subscription. If your email address is about to change, please remember to visit my home page and subscribe your new address. And if your email service automatically deletes large broadcasts like this one, let them know you want Portage from Deb Martin to come through. Portage is published 12 times a year and distributed monthly by e-mail. Comments, submissions and suggestions are welcome. Please forward any or all of this newsletter to those you know will appreciate it and encourage them to subscribe for themselves. Although this material is subject to copyright, you may reprint this publication, in whole or in part, in your company publication, in training, presentations, or wherever you feel it would be of benefit. This also holds true for members of the media. All I ask is that you include the following: Reprinted with permission from Deborah Martin of Portage at http://www.portagecoach.com The names of newsletter subscribers are not shared or sold. Copyright (c) 2007 by Deborah Martin. All rights reserved. |