Yes, it is June already and some time since I sat at my computer and wrote for my newsletter. I’m not sure what to say about that. Was overwhelmed? Under whelmed? Too much going on and not creating the time and space for writing? The list could go on and on although it will end here. Time to move on.

Have I been living on the outer edge of possible reaches as our quote this month reads? Have you? Wonder what I’d be doing differently or in what way I’d be behaving differently if I were. Would I be reaching for something or having arrived somewhere differently in my work and my life. Would you? As always, more things to think about which I am sure you would agree; I love to do. :~)

Speaking of thinking, this next little article about The Garbage Truck got me doing just that. How is it that some people just seem to take things in stride and not personally and bless the world with their presence while others fill their garbage trucks on a daily basis and dump it on everyone they come in contact with? This taxi driver really knows how to live life fully and fill his balloon with things, people and experiences that have meaning for him. If we did that more consciously and more often we’d be creating a community of cooperation and connection. Now that would be living on the outer edge of possible reaches! I am game to pay more attention to this. Are you? Have a read below and feel free to send your comments to me at oprica@ascentcoaching.com

-Linda

Subject: Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport . We were driving in the right lane
when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks.

They run around full of garbage (frustration, anger, and disappointment, etc.).
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...

'Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.' Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Comments? Send them to me at oprica@ascentcoaching.com

Looking back I see I wrote two previous essays about financial clutter back in 2005. It was interesting to re-read them now, 2-3 years later, and notice what changes I have and haven't made. I see that I have had to make modifications to my savings plan as my income has not increased on the same slope as my living expenses here in California! I cannot maintain as ambitious a savings plan as I had mapped out a few years ago. And of course, life continues to happen----those unexpected expenses come up due to circumstances unforeseen and beyond one's personal control.

Nonetheless, there is one savings strategy that has endured….that of saving up ahead of a conference or vacation so that when the time rolls around the trip is paid for, I have a little spending money in my pocket, and I don't have the mental clutter during the trip of figuring out how to pay for it all once it's over. Nothing fancy; just an envelope locked away in a drawer that I feed with each paycheck.

I'm employing that strategy for two specific trips in 2008. The first is coming up in June; it's the biennial stitching seminar sponsored by the Greater Pacific Region of the Embroiderers' Guild of America. From my perspective it'll be a slice of heaven: 7 days at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove on the California coast, away from televisions and telephones, with 5 days of classes learning all kinds of new stitching techniques. There will be social activities with like-minded stitching enthusiasts, exhibit galleries of spectacular pieces created by Guild members to view, and plenty of opportunities for hiking and finding quiet, meditative spaces in a beautiful place.

The Seminar planners encourage members to use a savings plan, and so I started my envelope when the program was announced last June. Each paycheck I've been putting away a minimum amount and more when I could. Yes, I know that an envelope sitting my in drawer is not earning interest. On the other hand, it doesn't get accidentally spent up if I carry it in my account balance, nor penalized if I withdraw it early from a savings plan. To date, I have the registration fee, the kit fees, and the food and lodging expenses covered in total. Whatever I can save up over the next 3 months will cover my gas and spending money for Merchandise Night! And best of all, I can enjoy the experience fully, knowing that I won't face additional debt from it when I return home.

The strategy works for other things too. What is it that you want? I'm thinking it may be time to start an envelope for an upgraded television in anticipation of signals going digital in 2009. I encourage you to try the strategy and see how it works for you. Pick something that's not too expensive as your first item (after all, you want to maximize your opportunity for success!) and set aside an envelope for it. Remember David Bach's book "Start Late, Finish Rich" where he speaks of identifying and eliminating your "Latte Factor"? At a minimum, put aside each week what you save from eliminating your Latte Factor and add a little bit more if you're able to. The trick is not to raid the envelope once money has been set aside! Sooner than you might imagine, your wish could be a reality. Good luck, and onward!

--Dot Snow; 22 February 2008