Lessons Learned

Dearest Readers,

It's been exactly two weeks since I got back from the Olympics and I finally feel like I've returned to the land of the living. Note to self: it takes a 4-day spiritual retreat plus 2 weeks to recover from creative projects that take 7 months.

That's not bad. Hey, maybe I'm pushing it. Maybe I'm still recovering. Maybe I should give it five more weeks. Like jet lag hours. You know, it takes as many days to recover from jet lag as number of hours in the time change? Maybe it takes as many weeks to recover from the Big O as number of months on the project.

But I am feeling better. My energy is flowing freely again and I've got that excitement and joie de vivre back, which has definitely been missing from the ol' attitude and outlook in recent days.

People keep asking me, "What's next?" and my answer is a whopper: "Produce a feature film."

Whaaaat?

"Okay, I just conquered the Olympics now what can I do to top that?" The truth is, the feature film has been in the works for a very long time. Looking at it now, I see that the Big O Project was the perfect training ground for the movie.

Yesterday, I was finishing off the Final Report for the Big O, which required that I include "lessons learned". I'd like to share some of them with you.

Here we go:

Take deadlines seriously.

Don’t panic or bow to pressure.

It’s okay to make a mistake.

Communication is not an Olympic sport. (That little gem came from our Stage Manager.)

One cannot really trust the Press.

Animals are a wild card.

Taking risks is good but be prepared for mishaps. That's why they're called risks.

Always have a Plan B.

Trust yourself, even when no one else does.

Don’t take criticism personally.

Keep your expectations in check. If they are too high, you will inevitably be disappointed.

Read the fine print. And the big print.

Do your best. Then tell yourself it’s good enough.

Ask for help.

Surrender when the battle is not worth fighting.

Wear a padded bra.

That last one has a really good story behind it. Maybe I'll tell it someday!

Inspiring Message of the Day: Taking the time to write out what lessons I've learned gives me a very clear picture of the experience and wisdom I've gained and provides me with an insurance policy I can refer to in the future. I might end up learning certain lessons again but it's not mandatory!