It’s been almost a month since I started working as the office manager for a local newspaper. The learning curve has been steep but things are finally falling into place and I’ve been offered the opportunity to write my own column. This is an unexpected but welcomed opportunity.
Writing a column is opinion journalism. It’s not reporting facts but sharing advice, with a byline. That’s akin to being a story analyst at a major studio. Everybody in the “little town” knows who you are and counts on what you have to say. Integrity is everything.
I’m very excited about this new opportunity and now that I’ve mostly mastered the learning curve of my new job, am spending my spare time preparing to write my weekly column. The subject is soulful and in line with where life has been taking me on creative and spiritual levels.
You never know what blessings are in store. I never saw this coming but can’t help but believe it’s a part of my destiny. Stay tuned. I’ll be happy to share what this is all about very soon.
Wishing you well and every happiness in this new year.
What’s one small improvement you can make in your life?
This is really a principle to live by, not a singular thing. My jazz improv teacher Lloyd Hebert, taught it to me while learning music theory on the piano. That is this. Do what you’re doing with complete attention to teach yourself correctly. This means going slowly at first. Gradually add speed and only after you can perform the simple thing flawlessly.
Do the same very quiet technique with more complex things. Repeat this principle everyday with whatever task you set for yourself, like playing a scale or following a recipe. These are not such very different things after all. Don’t allow your mind to wander or become frustrated with the simple thing you are doing. Put your whole heart into it.
A few years later, when I had signed a recording contract, moved to Los Angeles and was working for film composer/guitarist Don Peake in Hollywood, I studied International Etiquette and Protocol. We were dealing with some very wealthy individuals. And there was this same principle right smack in the middle of the teaching.
Marta Monahan was my teacher. She was an elegant lady in the truest sense of the word. She explained it this way. Live with one hundred percent. Ultimately, Marta developed a teaching to improve 5 things daily. She illustrated this powerful idea with a personal story (which is included in her bestselling book, The Courage To Be Brilliant; 2000).
As the daughter of the Consul-General of El Salvador in the 1940s, Marta attended a prestigious all girls school there. The girls were from affluent families. They all lived together in mansion with fine furniture and servants. But as part of their training they had to clean the rooms they enjoyed. Marta was assigned to mopping the grand entrance.
After the cleaning tasks were completed, the Head Mistress inspected their work. The marble floors were shining when Marta finished the floor but it was pointed out that there were streaks. Marta repeated the task day after day until she cleaned without leaving streaks. She was a ballerina so Marta danced with her mop until the floor was perfect.
This level of perfection, evidently, had never been accomplished before. Marta was given the title of Master Mopper and her new task was to teach her method to the other girls. Word was sent to her father. On the way home for holiday, Marta’s father explained that this attention to doing things with all your ability was the secret to creating a great life.
Now, of course, this idea is not to drive yourself insane with impossible perfection. It is the effort that makes us shine. We all fail to meet the absolute ideal but the effort to achieve at the highest level in whatever we do daily does indeed produce outstanding results. I’ve lived it.
To this day, endeavoring to engage in life with 100% of my ability is one of the most valuable tools in my personal toolkit.
The Creative Lifestyle 
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