Beech Tree News Network

I came across a small book at a consignment store recently entitled, “Don’t Worry, Make Money.”  I was drawn to the “Don’t Worry” part of the title, and if I happened to make money in the process, I figured that would be alright too.  If I had realized the author of this book, Richard Carlson, was the same man who wrote, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” I wouldn’t have given the book a second glance.  (The whole don’t-sweat-the-small-stuff concept has always seemed ludicrous to me, because it’s the details that make or break almost everything.)  I didn’t know he was the same author, so I bought the book, and I’m glad I did.
    I’m a worrier from way back—it’s what my people do.  I have an Irish heritage, and one of my favorite quotes says something like, ”No matter how good things are going at the present, the Irish have the comfort of knowing disaster lurks just around the corner” (not verbatim—I couldn’t find the exact quote). 
    One of the points Carlson makes in his book is, “Focusing on problems is one of the key ways of keeping them alive, as well as preventing you from moving past them.”  It took me way too long to figure out that I couldn’t worry my way through or out of a problem.  Sometimes, the answer is to do nothing.  Sometimes, the answer is to just wait.  Sometimes the answer is the answer will come while you’re doing nothing and waiting.  The concept is that of the Back Burner—that place that keeps simmering while you go about your other business.  Trust your Back Burner.
    Another principle in the book that got my attention is that of “Stacking Order.”  Stacking order has to do with how many projects you can comfortably work on at one time.  It is the rhythm at which you do things.  My stacking order is three.  Somebody else’s might be seven or may be just one.  I get bored if I have to focus on only one thing at a time.  I have a melt-down if I have more than three things going at once.  I usually have three books going at any given time, and one of my favorite rhythms is doing laundry, keeping bottles loaded in the kiln and writing.  Know your Stacking Order.
    The principle that I really needed to be reminded of is that of Critical Inch.  I am a doer, but I often find myself in a state of exhaustion with very little to show for my accomplishments, because I put off the important for the urgent.  Carlson says most of us get caught up in doing the next logical or convenient thing instead of doing the thing that truly makes a difference.
    For the past three weeks, I’ve been frantically working to turn out as many bottles as I can for an upcoming craft show in Horse Cave.  For three weeks, one of my kilns has been over-firing on the top shelf while the other kiln has been under-firing on the bottom shelf.  I kept losing product or having to re-fire, but I didn’t take the time to recalibrate the kiln-sitters because it was too tedious and time-consuming.  Finally, I realized that the Critical Inch for my bottle business was the out-of-kilter kiln-sitters and I’d better focus on the truly important.  I got both kilns adjusted in under thirty minutes and I was back in business.  Pay attention to your Critical Inch.
    I just mentioned three of many suggestions in the book for a life of less worry and more abundance.  It’s a good read, and more importantly, it’s a reminder that human beings just function better when we’re happy.