If People Were Meant To Pop Out Of Bed, We’d All Sleep In Toasters
“If people were meant to pop out of bed, we’d all sleep in toasters.” – Jim Davis
But isn’t the whole earth a toaster?
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
We Judge Ourselves By Our Motives And Others By The Actions
“We judge ourselves by our motives and others by their actions.” – Dwight Morrow
If we think about Jesus’ teaching of ‘do to others as you would like them to do to you’, there is no deeper area where we can apply this than here. Dig deeper than their actions. Try to understand their motives, as you understand your own, and perhaps you will be more forgiving and loving towards them, as you are towards yourself.
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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It is Better To Be Hated For What You Are Than Loved For What You Are Not
“it is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not.” – Andre Gide
The most intense struggle of growing up is rooted in this quote. Go to any middle school
(about 12-15 years old) and you will see the beginnings of children trying to figure out
who is ‘me’ versus who is not ‘me’. If by that time the child isn’t starting to be confident
in who that ‘me’ is then they will be at the mercy of the cliques, crowds, bullies,
glamourizers and over-confident ones.
The greatest gift anyone can give their child is the gift of helping them know the ‘me’
that is genuine inside them. You can’t tell them what it is, and you can’t force them
into your ‘me’. You have to watch and pick up on their signals, you have to subtly find
ways to guide and direct them towards that ‘me’ they might not even see yet.
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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You Can’t Talk Your Way Out Of Things You Act Your Way Into
“You Can’t Talk Your Way Out Of Things You Act Your Way Into.” – Stephen Covey
I first came across this quote when I was working as an asst. animator at a company making
educational software for children. The Art Director and the Producer of the product had
dug themselves big holes by their behavior and were trying to talk, instead of act, their way out of it.
It was perfect timing to find the quote. But as with all perfect things directed at others I soon
found it was just as applicable to me, not at work, but in my personal life.
I think many men, maybe women too, but I see it more often in men, believe the words they
speak, the ones that exhalt the moral, the good, the noble. But that man isn’t nearly as adamant
when the situation arises where he has act in those same ways instead of immorally or unethically.
It’s as if he thinks the words are what count, that he is his words, not his actions.
Truth be told, words do count. But they don’t count if the man can’t back them up with actions.
I know that has been a struggle of mine over the years, and I also know how good it feels to
have my words and my actions in harmony with each other. I don’t do all that well with it, but
the repeated attention to it has brought me closer, and that is how anything is achieved.
Speaking of words, here are the most amazing city names from which the Napkin Dad Daily has had
visitors this past week.
- Peteling Jaya
- Blacklick
- Chicoutimi
- Sint-Josse-Ten-Noode
- Cluj-Napoca
- Malmo
- Providencia
- La Jolla (my birthplace!)
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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Music is What Feelings Sound Like
“Music is what feelings sound like.” – Anonymous
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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Forget Regret Or Life Is Yours To Miss
“Forget regret or life is yours to miss.” – Jonathan Larson
Notice it doesn’t say ‘Don’t have regret’ It says to ‘forget regret’.
We all have regrets, it’s whether we let the regrets rule our lives and our thoughts, make us feel defeated and pessimistic about what lies ahead. It also usually means you don’t see, or at least aren’t paying attention to, the good lessons that came from whatever it is you are regretting.
I thought back on my regrets when I decided on this quote today and the ones I most vividly remember are the ones where I didn’t do something, not where I did do something. I am not talking about moral or immoral actions, I am talking about not having introduced myself to someone, not having called someone, not having said I am sorry to someone, not having done something because I was scared or worried.
Those are the regrets that I need to learn from, then forget and go on to live a fuller life.
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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The Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time
“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Bertrand Russell
America (where I live) was founded on Puritan and Protestant ideals of redemption. You became good by redeeming your time, work, money, basically everything. Everything had a purpose or it was sloth and wasteful.
That isn’t as predominant as it once was but it still does have a strong thread in many families and, to be honest, I have learned great lessons from one such family about that, and it has made me a much better person.
But, it defeats the purpose of having a ‘purpose driven’ life to only pay attention to what you are SURE is bound up in your purpose, in your effort to achieve something.
Steve Jobs of Apple tells the story of his deciding on a whim to take a Calligraphy course. He had no idea why, just sounded fun. He knew it didn’t have any connection to whatever goals he had in life (he didn’t have many at that time) but he just wanted to do so he did.
He credits that course with being one of the essential elements to him making the Mac the graphic designer’s favorite computer. It brought in fonts and design ability that had not been contemplated by prior computer makers. He was just enjoying wasting his time taking that course. But it was not wasted time.
How do you enjoy wasting time?
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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How Old Would You Be If You Didn’t Know How Old You Were?
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” – Satchel Paige
On the TV show ‘The Biggest Loser’ the contestants meet with the doctor who tells them that there is a difference between their biological age and the chronological age. One of them might be 25, but their body is actually closer to 40, a 54 year old might actually have a body closer to a 74 year old.
But what about ‘attitude age’? What would be the age of your attitude if you didn’t know how old you are? What about your ‘play age’? How old would you be in that area?
The author of this quote, Satchel Paige, was a famous baseball pitcher in the Negro League. Due to segregation and discrimination he was not able to get into the major leagues until well after his prime. Towards the end of his career he finally played with the Cleveland Indians and other teams.
He was born in 1905 or 1906. He didn’t start in the majors until he was 42 years old. His last game in the majors was at the age of 59, in 1965.
You can see why he had the credentials to ask this question of anyone he met.
What are your answers?
Drawing © 2022 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
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The Will To Win
“The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” – Juma Ikangaa
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Rejection is More Often About The Rejecter Than The Rejectee
“Rejection is more often about the rejecter than the rejectee.” – Marty Coleman
To all those of my friends and strangers who are getting rejected for jobs, relationships, loans, and more, just remember that the judgment is coming from a specific person, not a whole company, not a whole community, not the world. It is one
person making a judgment. You are no less worthy or valuable because one person didn’t like your interview skills or your drawing style or your way of laughing.
There are over 6 billion people in the world, and millions of companies. Keep looking for the person, company, community that sees you as you are at your best. Find that and you will be nourished. It isn’t easy but the alternative is to live a diminished life where you think you are less than someone or something else. You don’t want that.
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