And Now… 10,000 Hours and One Red Hen…

My son let me know today that he learned that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. That sounds pretty monumental in terms of time and it made me think. What can I say I am an expert at? Well, if the 10,000 hour rule is true… I am an expert at being a mom, at driving (except for that Porsche I backed into a year ago, but I was in my SUV and well, I didn’t see him back there)…  I am an expert at being a wife and daughter… oh, and a sister. I know I am grabbing for the obvious here, but perhaps that is because I don’t quite feel like and expert at anything.  I still feel like there is much to learn about everything.

If I knew it would take 10,000 hours to become proficient at something would I ever take anything on to meet that goal?

When I was in college, we used to play this umm, “game”.  We would have to recite these lines in order without messing up any words… or we’d have to take a…. well… we’d have to begin again…  I can still remember the lines.  We’d go around in a circle and one at a time, we would have to say. “One red hen.” After that everyone would have a turn to repeat, “one red hen” and add, “Two cute ducks.” They would get harder to memorize in order and recite without misspeaking or getting tongue tied…. Eventually you would build up (or be sent to the beginning if you made mistakes)and have to recite all ten… You were not done until you could do all ten, with no errors.

One red hen

Two cute ducks

Three brown bears

Four running hairs

Five fat females sitting sipping scotch smoking cigarettes

Six sloppy slop-shooters slopping up slop on the sloppy seventy-seventh floor

Seven sexy sailors sailing the seven seas.

Eight elongated elephants elevated on elevator shoes.

Nine nifty Nigerians sailing to Nigeria on a nifty Nigerian boat

Ten… I am not the fig-picker nor the fig-picker’s son, but I’ll pick the figs ’till the fig-picker comes.

I am an expert at that game… okay– I did not have 10,000 hours of training, but I can do this 25 years after I learned it, with or without beer.  Kudos to me.

So I am going to noodle this through some more and give myself some more time to come up with my expert arena…. maybe 10,000 hours of thinking…. yeah, that’s the ticket! I am practically Socrates….

If you want a really thoughtful well done post about what it takes to be an expert (clearly you’ve come to the wrong place) :+) but I ‘d like to point you to Hunternuttal.com to get  some really insightful thoughts on the subject.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

DISCLAIMER: I do not encourage underage drinking or making drinking a game…. this is just a reflection of my foolish youth–and I am keeping it real.

Click to read the whole story below…

‘Happy Days’ dad Tom Bosley dies at 83 – Entertainment – Celebrities – TODAYshow.com.

What a legacy of smiles he was a part of on this show and others.  His life’s work seemed to be making people smile.  Rest in Peace good man.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Over the course of six months, the SSI community was asked to nominate people of character who support and inspire others while holding a positive attitude and setting a spirited example just as Julie did. Nominations were accepted for men, women and youths and this year’s winner was in good company. It is a challenge to single out one among so many beautiful people– and this year’s winner– as well as all of the nominees– would make Julie very proud.

As the founder of SSI, I want to thank you for giving this nomination process your time and I do hope you will submit your special someone into the pool of nominees again next year.  If you want to be sure to be notified of the opening of the 2011 nominations please add yourself to the SSI Newsletter List.

And the winner is…..

CONGRATULATIONS Laura Howe of Whitman, MA!

Recipient of the 2010 Julie B. Whitt Inspirational Award

I swear my MAC is like crack. I love my computer, I love Twitter, Facebook and I adore writing my blog.  I dig my cellphone with my pink blinged-up case… And while I am pretty luke-warm about email, I still have a hard time going more than a few hours without checking my too-many email in-boxes.

It’s too much.  I am feeling saturated.  I am not a TV watcher, but I feel as though I am– because I am  on the Internet so often that shows–and the dramas on and off screen come to my attention.  I have heard of Snooki although I’d never waste a precious minute watching the show she is on.  (And not just because I don’t know the name of it.) I know Christina, Demi, Kourtney and Courtney are  having marriage woes…

I watched the video replay tonight of Joy and Whoopi getting mad at Bill O’Reilly and walking off the set of The View.  Yelling…. talking over each other… inflammatory statements made by each of them.  Give me a seat on the View.  I think I could bring some love to the set. Why didn’t anyone bring up what I would have liked said about the Ground Zero Mosque issue? About two months ago I wrote a blog called A Heart Centered Answer to the Mosque at Ground Zero.  I am guessing Joy, Whoopi and Bill don’t read my blog.

I sat  watching the miners be rescued one by one– tears– happiness, relief…. At Miner #19 CNN took a break to tell everyone (who was feeling wonderful, joyful and thrilled because of the rescue) that someone had received a human head mailed to them in a box.  Thanks CNN– certainly don’t let us feel too good for too long before bringing back the negative reporting on the ills of the world.

So tonight I am issuing myself  a 24 hour media fast. Maybe it will be hard– but it is hard to feel like I am feeling right now.My spirit is begging me to unplug– and so I will give it a go.  No tweets, no status updates…. and no computer work– no booking radio guests–and no blog on Friday. I am anxious to see what fills the day where my technology used to be.

Good night.  I will catch up with you on Saturday. Do you think I will miss anything?

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

I just had the most wonderful conversation with Bea Toms. Bea is 96 years old–a poet– caterer and a philosopher too.  When she is not taking orders to personally cook to feed hundreds of people with her famous and much sought after recipes, she is spinning words into lovely poems. QVC sells her incredibly popular book Recipes From A Country Cook–and frankly I think they would do quite well to offer her published poetry books too.

I am thrilled that Bea will be joining me on The Soul Salon next Wednesday–October 20th at 1pm EST. Click the BlogTalkRadio icon to set your reminder to listen live, or to return to listen to the archived program anytime after airtime.

You will be charmed off your feet by the wisdom, philosophy and inspirational messages of this gifted woman.  She’s been preparing dishes for nearly 50 years and the 96-year-old isn’t slowing down. She is actively engaged doing what she loves and preparing some of the most delicious meals that her clients have ever enjoyed. Bea Toms exemplifies the idea that when you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Tune in to hear what inspires this dynamic 96-year-old woman, which of her poems are her favorites and which recipes are among the most coveted in her collection.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

I once heard a story of a child who had gotten his hand stuck in a jar. His father worked upwards of an hour to remove the boys hand from the small opening with no luck. The dad began to think he would have to break the ceramic jar to free his son’s hand.

Nearly at his wit’s end, he told the boy, “Son, let’s just try really hard to open up your hand very wide and stretch your fingers out making them as long as you possibly can.”

To this, the little boy answered, “No way Daddy, then I would drop the penny and that’s the whole reason I put my hand in here and got into this mess.”

How often do we find ourselves in a situation– that simply releasing something small could eliminate?  How often do we hold onto something that keeps us stuck–when letting go of it will free us?  Sometimes it is something small–and sometimes these things are quite big–but the ease with which we will free ourselves is often proportionate to the “that something.”

What’s your penny?  Can you let it go?

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

PS- The Soul Salon is moving to its permanent home at MySoulSalon.com and will soon stop posting to both blogs. I would love it if you’d pop over there and subscribe there as I will soon stop double posting. (They look remarkably similar) I pinky-swear this will be the last move.

Then things get rolling… BIG hugs, GROUP hugs, Kids, elderly, cops…. people start  to get it.

And it feels good. Click to watch….

Have you joined the Love-olution?

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

* Do you have feelings of inadequacy?

* Do you suffer from shyness?

* Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

* Do you suffer exhaustion from the day to day grind?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas. Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you’re ready and willing to do just about anything. You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live. Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had. Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.  Margaritas may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas. However, women who wouldn’t mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:

- Dizziness

- Nausea

- Vomiting

- Incarceration

- Erotic lustfulness

- Loss of motor control

- Loss of clothing

- Loss of money

- Table dancing

- Headache

- Dehydration

- Dry mouth

- And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNINGS:

* The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

* The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

* The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing.

* The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.

Please share this with other women who may need Margaritas.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

But today, I am noodling through the man in the bucket. You see I was on the road this morning and tree trimmers were only allowing one lane of traffic to go by alternately–which needless to say took an eternity.  I had time to watch the little man high up in the little white bucket (attached to a huge maintenance truck.)  He buzzed around the tree tops clipping limbs that would then tumble through the lower branches to ground below.  He was so quick and easy to press his lever and bounce his bucket where he needed to go.

Our bodies are like the buckets and our minds are like the control-lever. The lever can just as easily go up, down, left, right or be in  a state of stillness. We decide what to engage our mind with. Where do we focus our thoughts most often?  In other words–where are you directing your bucket?

Your thoughts, decisions, conversations, habits and the company you keep all direct your bucket, but the most powerful of these is your T-H-O-U-G-H-T-S. I am reminding you of this today because I need this reminder too.  If you have never listened to The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightengale I suggest you pop over to Nightengale-Conant and pick up the book or mp3 download.  Before Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar and other greats in motivational speaking got their starts, Earl had already created The Strangest Secret. It was the first spoken word record to go gold.

All the best!

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International

Remember when you were a kid and the days seemed  longer than they do today? Do you recall how the days of summer dragged though August and shopping for school supplies marked the end of the long days of summer? Lazy Saturday mornings, Abbott and Costello and Jerry Lewis marathons were the best. At our house, there was not a lot of over scheduling and activities filling every crevice of each weekend.

More than anything, I realized that the schedule (or lack of one) that I enjoyed as a kid gave me time and space to learn how to entertain myself. Ringing door bells of neighborhood friends to play, building forts in the woods and serving bowls of dirt and pine needles in the fort kitchen, making up plays and songs– and then performing them for anyone who would watch.  In junior high, my BFF and I had time and inclination to transcribe and memorize every word of Rappers Delight.  That surely took a little while to do.

But we had the time to fill– and we got to entertain ourselves.  Reading a book, riding a bike, attaching roller skates to a piece of wood to give rides…  Whatever filled those vacant days came from our beautiful brains.

You see, I don’t think we ever lose our desire to do those things. Sure, the way we have fun changes, but I think we all really want an afternoon to fill with nothingness or something-ness–but to have it be of our choosing.  I wonder if you could plan a non-scheduled Saturday and fill it with something different from what you would ordinarily.  Recapture the little kid in you and do something to entertain yourself. Create a void and entertain yourself with whatever feels fun, creative– or what will make your day. Bake cupcakes, stick a line in a creek to catch minnows or sleep till noon.

All the best,

Rena M. Reese

Founder, Soul Salon International