“Success Kit. Your second chance in life just arrived.”
I was so excited when I saw this in my email. At last! Instructions on how to live.
It’s not too late! No more tedious decisions for me. The answers are all here in this handy kit.
Reading further, I see the sender is at moola.com. Oh, okay. That kind of success. Making money.
I hit Delete. Not that I’m against making money. I like being able to support a roof over my head, wheels and shoes on the ground, the occasional flight to distant destinations. I have figured out a way, by trial and error and about 25 jobs, how to make enough money using my wits and writing ability. I don’t need a magic formula, which usually involves the slippery, hard slope of a pyramid plus multi-level slave labor.
I like to think of my work as making a living and money is just a part of it. There is so much more, from enjoying the small moments to undertaking huge new challenges, taking care of myself and others, discovering each day where I need to do more, or less.
Sometimes this is not easy. My work changes daily and thus so does my free time for my own writing and other interests. I have to be flexible and grab moments while I can. And sometimes I admit I am tired. Tired of thinking and planning. Thus the appeal of instant answers, available at the click of a mouse. Some examples:
The seven behaviors of successful people.
How to be happy in five easy steps.
How to meet the man/woman of your dreams, not nightmares.
The six foods you must eat to avoid having belly fat. Or is it the six foods you must avoid?
Write a bestseller in 21 days.
The Plan of a Lifetime. Lose 20 pounds, zap up your sex life and make Alzheimer’s a distant memory.
Look 20 years younger with this simple ingredient from your kitchen.
As for the life of the spirits:
Make your own wine and prevent heart disease.
Or (and I am not making this up):
Hire a Certified Soul Memory Discovery Facilitator.
Or sign up for online therapy – www.prettypaddedroom.com/
My mouse clicks don’t lead to easy answers. Maybe there’s a mental click if someone else’s success kit sparks an idea. But the brain and heart and gut must engage, chew, digest and even spit out if necessary. There are many, many chances in life, not just one or two. At some point, it’s okay to send these advice messages to the junk mail folder and rely on our own inner Inbox.
head wind journal 
Your post made me laugh out loud and startle the kitty sleeping in my in-box. After decades of seeing banners in magazines and now online such as “5 surefire ways you can look younger” and “Secrets to becoming a millionaire,” I am weary of the cheap teasers cluttering my screen. My kitties couldn’t care less if I looked 10 years younger. They like me as I am.
Nicely put, Linda. The teasers and calls to action are tiresome, even patently silly, aren’t they? It’s just more advertising playing on our fears of doom and defeat.
Second winds – that is what I seem get. Second chances? Hmmm. Once in awhile in a dispirited mood, my mind ponders any possible truth to that or else, “three strikes and you’re out.” But in retrospect, the slogans don’t describe my life at all. Essentially, I think every day is a New Day.
My cat loves me as I am, too!
It’s obvious. Ummm, isn’t it?