Curious about a Smile: How Important Is a Smile? What Reactions Do You Experience? What Are the Benefits?

“Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life.” - Jeanne Calment, French celebrity

“A smile is a facelift that's in everyone's price range!” - Tom Wilson, American cartoonist

In past articles and e-newsletters, I have urged readers to smile – even at total strangers. The American musician, Patti LuPone suggests, “Smile at a stranger. See what happens.” What generally happens is that the person you are smiling at breaks into a big smile too. And, I do hope, they continue to smile at others they encounter during the day.

I chose it as the theme for this blog, because of what happened this week in one of my fitness classes. I always encourage the students to smile and I even add bits of humor throughout the class. Not everyone beams broadly, but most at least grin.

A new couple showed up for class and the man wore a pleasant grin throughout. The woman, however, scowled the whole time. I kept telling myself that it was probably because she was new and concentrating on the newness. I felt badly for her, and do hope to see a glimmer of a grin in the future.

How about you? Are you a smiler? I am, and I must admit that I smiled and smiled as I read this week’s quotations. Here are some that should make you smile with me:

• “If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.” - Andy Rooney, American journalist
• “A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside.” - Denis Waitley, American writer
• “I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.” - Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist
• “Wear a smile and have friends; wear a scowl and have wrinkles.” - George Eliot, British author
• “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” - Leo Buscaglia, American author
• “Beauty comes from a life well lived. If you've lived well, your smile lines are in the right places, and your frown lines aren't too bad, what more do you need?” - Jennifer Garner, American actress

In addition, a few with a different twist:

• “Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.” - Greta Garbo, Swedish actress
• “If by chance some day you're not feeling well and you should remember some silly thing I've said or done and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled.” - Red Skelton, American comedian
• “War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin, keep out of the way till you can.” - Winston Churchill, English statesman
• “A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.” - Herman Melville, American novelist
• “A stale article, if you dip it in a good, warm, sunny smile, will go off better than a fresh one that you've scowled upon.” - Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist
• “Let me smile with the wise, and feed with the rich.” - Samuel Johnson, English author

Two more as reminders for all of us:

“When you walk into a room, a healthy, beautiful smile is incredibly important.” - Susan Anton, American actress

“Your smile will give you a positive countenance that will make people feel comfortable around you.” - Les Brown, American businessman

Keep smiling, and let me know how it works for you. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t look and act better when smiling.

Curious about Sincerity: How Sincere Are You? And, Do Others Value Your Sincerity?

Definition of Sincerity: The quality or state of being sincere; honesty of mind or intention; freedom from simulation, hypocrisy, disguise, or false pretense; sincereness.

“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” - Douglas Adams, English writer

Earlier I wrote a blog with the theme of skepticism and cynicism, mainly because there is such an abundance of “hype” everywhere. We don’t know whom to trust. How do we determine if others – especially over the Internet – are sincere? I know that I have my list of those gurus I trust and will buy from. And, just because others are singing the praises of the next “earth-shattering” program, I wait before I will plop down my credit card.

How do you decide if someone is sincere? It is a bit easier when we meet them face-to-face in person, but still can be a bit of a mystery. How sincere are you? If we do marketing and/or selling, we must be careful not to be in such a hurry that we appear as “pushy.”

I think you will enjoy and be surprised by some of the quotations from our experts. General thoughts are:

• “If knowledge and foresight are too penetrating and deep, unify them with ease and sincerity.” - Xun Zi, Chinese philosopher
• “The scientist only imposes two things, namely truth and sincerity, imposes them upon himself and upon other scientists.” - Erwin Schrodinger, Austrian scientist
• “True country music is honesty, sincerity, and real life to the hilt.” - Garth Brooks, American musician
• “The secret of success is sincerity.” - Jean Giraudoux, French dramatist
• “Economy is the basis of society. When the economy is stable, society develops. The ideal economy combines the spiritual and the material, and the best commodities to trade in are sincerity and love.” - Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese athlete
• “Sincerity and competence is a strong combination. In politics, it is everything.” - Peggy Noonan, American writer

And, as always, there are quotations with a twist:

• “My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists.” - Jean Rostand, French scientist
• “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” - Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist
• “For a creative writer possession of the "truth" is less important than emotional sincerity.” - George Orwell, British author
• “You can take all the sincerity in Hollywood, place it in the navel of a fruit fly and still have room enough for three caraway seeds and a producer's heart.” - Fred Allen, American comedian
• “Sincerity is impossible, unless it pervade the whole being, and the pretence of it saps the very foundation of character.” - James Russell Lowell, American poet

My two favorites for the week (interesting that they are both Chinese philosophers):

“There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.” – Mencius, Chinese philosopher

“To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.” – Confucius, Chinese philosopher

Have a sincerely productive week!

Curious about Triumphs: What Are Yours? What Do They Mean to You?

Definition of Triumph: A state of joy or exultation for success. Success causing exultation; victory; conquest; as, the triumph of knowledge. To celebrate victory with pomp; to rejoice over success; to exult in an advantage gained; to exhibit exultation. To obtain victory; to be successful; to prevail. To be prosperous; to flourish.

I chose Triumph(s) for this blog’s theme, because I am working on my upcoming e-book and toolkit, Prosperity: Triumphs of a Portfolio Career. It is subtitled: You Can Have and Do It All! - Experience a Life You Love, Filled with Abundance.

I feel that American journalist Tom Wolfe said it all, “If a man has a talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has gloriously succeeded, and won a satisfaction and a triumph few men ever know.”

In an earlier post, I wrote about how important variety is to me – and I plan to use it as the theme for my upcoming e-newsletter, Portfolio Potpourri. I have discovered through my free Portfolio Career assessment/test that there is a plethora of others who also love variety and want to experience the success and triumphs of living a Portfolio Career (many different careers at the same time).

As I perused the triumph related quotations, I often read about dealing with struggle and obstacles, along with different approaches to experiencing triumph and triumphs. Yes, they all relate well to handling and loving a Portfolio Career. Here are some samples:

• “The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle.” - Swami Sivananda, Indian philosopher
• “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” - Thomas Paine, English writer
• “Joy is of the will which labors, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph.” - William Butler Yeats, Irish poet
• “To win without risk is to triumph without glory.” - Pierre Corneille, French dramatist
• “Without the element of uncertainty, the bringing off of even, the greatest business triumph would be dull, routine, and eminently unsatisfying.” - J. Paul Getty, American businessman
• “If I could learn to treat triumph and disaster the same, then I would find bliss.” - Kathie Lee Gifford, American entertainer

A few more:

• “Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity.” - Og Mandino, American author
• “Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” - H. L. Mencken, American writer
• “If misery loves company, then triumph demands an audience.” - Brian Moore, Irish novelist
• “A dream will always triumph over reality, once it is given the chance.” - Stanislaw Lem, Polish writer
• “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela, South African statesman
• “Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet

The next two say it all for me:

“I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.” - Ronald Reagan, American President

“For me, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man, or for flowers or beast or bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly and perfectly alive.” - Al Purdy, Canadian poet

Tell me, what triumphs have you experienced? And, as Purdy describes, is your “supreme triumph to be most vividly and perfectly alive?”

Curious about Irony: How Does It Affect Your Life? What Does It Mean to You?

Definition of Irony: A sort of humor, ridicule, or light sarcasm, which adopts a mode of speech the meaning of which is contrary to the literal sense of the words. Incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result. An event or result marked by such incongruity. Incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.

After reading the “irony” quotations of the experts, I came to the conclusion that this is a word that offers a plethora of interpretations and perceptions.

The reason I chose it for today’s theme is that I just experienced what I feel is an ironic outcome. Maybe something similar has happened to you. I design and develop websites. I love doing this – getting to know the subject, using creativity for a pleasing visual effect, and writing winning content, to name a few of my favorite tasks.

However, even though I love the initial challenge all the way up to the final launch of the new website, I am not as keen about the updating (maintenance). It is extremely important to keep a website current, and the updating creates steady income – it just doesn’t hold the fun and excitement of a brand new website.

After a site has been on the Internet for a time, a client will either be approached by another designer or someone within their company who suggests that they would like to take over the changes and updates. This just happened with one of my sites. The group hired a man to take over “Technology.” I have met with him several times. He wants to do it himself – and the irony is that the group is feeling a bit guilty about taking this chore off my shoulders. After meeting with him for several hours, I couldn’t be more delighted with this plan. (Could I have attracted this outcome?)

What ironic situations have happened to you? And, how do you feel about them?

Let me share a few of the wide range of quotations that deal with irony:

• “Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up.” - George Saunders, American writer
• “Two fundamental literary qualities: supernaturalism and irony.” - Charles Baudelaire, French poet
• “You know the great irony is that people think you have to have money to enjoy fine food, which is a shame.” - Ted Allen, American entertainer
• “It's no small irony that the government inevitably and invariably ends up promoting precisely that which they would most like to repress.” - Jock Sturges, American photographer
• “Humor is everywhere, in that there's irony in just about anything a human does.” - Bill Nye, American educator
• “A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself.” - Jessamyn West, American author
• “Irony is the hygiene of the mind.” - Elizabeth Bibesco, British poet
• “Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge.” - Mason Cooley, American writer

Two more that I enjoyed:

“Making a film that's supposed to be fun to watch is really hard - that's the weird irony of it.” - Steven Soderbergh, American director

“A tragic irony of life is that we so often achieve success or financial independence after the chief reason for which we sought it has passed away.” - Ellen Glasgow, American novelist

Curious about Variety: How Important Is It for You and Your Life?

Definition of Variety: The quality or state of being various; intermixture or succession of different things; diversity; multifariousness. Something varying or differing from others of the same general kind; one of a number of things that are akin; a sort; as, varieties of wood, land, rocks, etc.

“Variety's the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor.” - William Cowper, English poet

“The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety.” - W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright

Last night, I had a long ride home from a thought provoking Storytelling Conference. Between the creative ideas offered over the weekend and the alone time while depending upon “Cruise Control,” I had the time and space to clarify and re-evaluate my direction(s).

I realized that with my newest, network marketing venture, I was letting myself be swept along into over concentrating on one of the many businesses in my “Portfolio Career.” My excitement and passion for my careers results from experiencing my daily, weekly and monthly variety. Yes, I know that there are times when I must focus on one area completely. And yet, this must never result in the detriment to other parts of my career.

To remind myself of my overwhelming need for variety, I chose today’s blog theme. And, I also found some great quotations from the experts:

• “Variety of mere nothings gives more pleasure than uniformity of something.” - Jean Paul, German author
• “Variety is more than a means of avoiding boredom, since art is more than an entertainment of the senses.” - Rudolf Arnheim, German artist
• “Variety is the soul of pleasure.” - Aphra Behn, English dramatist
• “Our minds are like our stomachs; they are whetted by the change of their food, and variety supplies both with fresh appetite.” - Marcus Fabius Quintilian, Roman philosopher
• “The constant variety is the most interesting part of my job.” - Tabitha Soren, American celebrity
• “Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure.” – Petrarch, Italian poet

Some with a bit of a different twist:

• “Individuals, too, who cultivate a variety of skills seem brighter, more energetic and more adaptable than those who know how to do one thing only.” - Robert Shea, American author
• “Look at growth, look at how much time people spend on the Net and look at the variety of things that they are doing. It's all really good, so I am actually encouraged by the fundamentals that underlie usage growth on the Net.” - Meg Whitman, American business woman
• “The difference between mad people and sane people... is that sane people have variety when they talk-story. Mad people have only one story that they talk over and over.” - Maxine Hong Kingston, American writer
• “We used to lift weights a couple of times a week, we did a lot of running. I enjoyed the variety.” - Eric Heiden, American athlete
• “In things to be seen at once, much variety makes confusion, another vice of beauty. In things that are not seen at once, and have no respect one to another, great variety is commendable, provided this variety transgress not the rules of optics and geometry.” - Christopher Wren, English architect
• “But while doing that I'd been following a variety of fields in science and technology, including the work in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and so forth.” - K. Eric Drexler, American scientist

I also love Brekin Meyer’s quotation, “I think reading is important for a variety of things. I mean, first of all, it's a way to get information and find out what's going on in the world. But also, it helps your imagination.”

How do you feel about variety? Do you make sure that there is enough for adding spice to your career and life?