Best Laid Plan Of

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -E. M. Forster

One of my favorite books is one written by John Steinbeck in 1937 called "Of Mice and Men." It is a parable of what it means to be human and is well worth the read if you have some extra time.

Steinbeck said in one of his journals that, "In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. there are shorter means, many of them.There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other."

What I love is the idea that the "best laid plans of mice and men tend to go awry." In fact the title of Steinbecks novel comes from a poem by the Scottish poet Robert Burns called "To a Mouse." The line regarding "mice 'n men" contains the line "The best-laid schemes Of Mice and Men often go awry." It is quite appropriate such that in Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" contains Lenny and George's scheme that goes tragically awry — that is, off track.

So by now you are wondering why I would write of things not going as planned? The novel itself ends (spoiler alert) somewhat bittersweet and tragic. But not all is lost when things don't quite as planned. For me, I had hoped to have my new book out in time for Christmas. But due to production issues, it looks like January now.

I could fuss and fret over the delay and many of you have been waiting patiently for its release as well. While the "best laid plans of mice and Joe" prevail currently, the book will come out. And like anything we do in life, our plans may not necessarily work out as we would have wished. but we have the opportunity to adjust, to move on and succeed in other ways.

Have a great weekend folks and stay inspired.

Daily Men

"Nothing just happens for you as a husband and a dad; You have to work at it. Live on purpose." -Paul Louis Cole

There was a time in my life when I had it all figured out. I was young, in college, and making great strides personally and educationally. The farm where I grew up was beginning to recede from my life. It was a wide open plain where my dreams and plans were going to unfold in succession.

I met someone, we had a child and those plans began to divert in another direction. But there was no one, parents, friends or family that I would let interfere. For I had it all planned out, a new child, a marriage and need for work would not stand in the way of my plans.

I knew that all I had to do was keep moving forward with my plans. The marriage, the child, the work would all fall in lock step behind me. For my plans were mine and nothing could change that indisputable fact. Being a husband and father would simply happen.

I struggled to keep my plans out in front of the real purpose. Again, I fought to keep my plans out in front what the real purpose was. I denied that my plans were not the real purpose.

Much like the plate spinner one might see on the Ed Sullivan Show from so many years ago, it was a wondrous sight to see all of those plates spinning. If you watched closely, the artist would be running wildly from one end to other.

Some plates would begin to wobble if he paid too much attention to only one or two plates. I paid too much attention to one or two plates, my plans and my job. As you can imagine the other plates began to lack attention and fell, crashing into broken pieces upon the floor. As you try to catch the plates before they fall, your plans will also tip and nothing survives at that point.

We are left then with broken pieces of plates upon the floor. Some may believe it is useless to try. As men, we may try to walk away and leave others to clean up the mess. But as a man, you have purpose in your life and that is to pick up the pieces that matter. You take those pieces and put them back together again.

What you will find in picking up the pieces, the ones that matter, the real purpose is what you have put back together. You will be a better husband and a better father. What you will be is a better man.