Somewhere in the vaults of memory the book lies open to pages not recently viewed and for reasons unknown to me it stirs.
Blame it upon eight days of travel and almost as many flights with more to come or call it something else and I’ll nod my head because you might be write or maybe right.
Perhaps it is something else, mere coincidence or a speeding bullet train of destiny that you cannot avoid nor hide from because it doesn’t travel upon ordinary tracks.
Found myself in the interesting position of doing something over so that I can avoid having a target placed upon my back instead of my running towards the event and roaring my displeasure.
The social assassin strikes again or so some have said.
Sat in a meeting or two and silently wondered where I was coming up with turn of phrase and commentary because I was on fire.
Nothing I said was fake, false or misleading.
Told those in attendance a handful of things about what I don’t know and book ended them with what I do.
One asked why I should be trusted and I asked if it made sense for me to list what I don’t know if I was trying to fool him.
He nodded his head and I told him he ought to be more concerned by those who claim to have seen everything because I haven’t..
Also told him to think of me as a knowledge broker because I have access to vast resources of people and information to lean upon.
“In the information age it is more important to work with people who know how to effective marshal resources to interpret information. You can make numbers work for you and not against if you know how to use the information you have access to.”
Shake Up The Board
Midway through one conference someone asks if I consider myself a disruptor and I shake my head.
“That is a buzzword that people use to make excuses for not following the ‘rules.’ I don’t make excuses for being rule breaker, I just do it as I see necessary and needed. Sometimes you have to shake up the board and dump the pieces because convention strangles you.”
Two conversations later I am still asking for better answers than because and no.
Two conversations later I haven’t conceded a step and am trying to bull my way forward but not by just slamming into walls.
I am actively looking for allies who can help others reprioritize.
It is a more effective way of getting things done because you aren’t seen in an adversarial light and ideally your fingerprints are never seen.
Changes happen and you just roll with it.
So you turn the board over, throw the pieces on the floor and look for new ways to work with them because sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel but you do have to adjust what rides on top of it.
Brother Pablo asks why I use a bottle opener when we are drinking twist offs.
“Not everything requires a tool to open it. Sometimes the gentle and direct approach works best.”
We clink bottles, take long sips and look out upon the starry universe.
“You are dancing in the ring of fire, are you not.”
It is not a question but I answer that I am walking the line and enjoying the journey to the crossroads.
He smiles at me and I smile back.
Mick is singing Visions of Paradise while we sit on the porch talking about Victorians and Tudors while someone in the distance says they are not a fan of ranch style homes.
I grew up in one and am not bothered by the critique nor married to a ranch any more than I am anxious or curious to live in a Victorian, Tudor or Colonial.
You can live in the finest version of any style and not be satisfied because of those that live or don’t live there.
Call me a hobo, traveling minstrel or just a man who understands what it means to live apart and alone and in the midst of a crowd.
Brother Pablo calls me a seeker of information and a man of quests and adventure.
I don’t confirm or deny either, I just nod my head, take a long sip and tell him I am just getting started.
