The Sanford Berenberg Experience: Message of the Day

Good Morning,

Many years ago, I worked for an artist. He was an artistic genius, and at the same time, unpredictable and tyrannical in how he led his business. I remember a time when someone driving a cement truck had backed into this artists SUV and put a hole through the back window. He brought the vehicle back to the office, where I worked for him, and asked me to pull out the window. I did so and prepared to throw out the shattered glass. The artist stopped me, I believe there was some yelling and denigrating involved, but I stopped what I was doing as the artist piled up the glass and showed how he would use it to display jewelry in one of his boutiques.

When looking at his idea through his eyes, it was masterpiece. The shattered auto glass looked like ice. The jewelry would sparkle and reflect off the glass and make the jewelry look even more appealing. It was genius.

How I have wanted to be able to do what the artist did. To be able to look at something and see its potential as art clear as day. When sharing the story about this artist with another person today, it turns out I am not alone in my desire to see like the artist did.

Sadly, I don’t have that kind of artistic ability and beyond that I am really bad at many other things. For example, fashion, I have no fashion sense. I know people are desperate when they ask for my opinion on whether something looks good or not (for the record I did once match stripes and plaid).

I suspect many of you reading this also don’t have that seemingly magical ability to spot potential artwork when you see it. Or like me, have limited abilities in other areas as well.

This, actually, is a good thing.

If we all had the same abilities and further, we all had amazing abilities, life would be kind of boring. Finding the magic in the potential would become commonplace, or worse, boring.

The good news is that each of us do have some special abilities.

I know folks that no matter what kitchen you put them in, or what ingredients you give them they can make a fantastic meal. I know people who can sell snow to Eskimos. I know people who can write like Hemingway in short spurts.

Through their eyes, these abilities are natural, or commonplace. While they may not have the abilities they see in others, which they think are wonderful, they do have theirs.

You have yours and I have mine.

One of the abilities I seem to have, or I am told I do, is to see something positive, a teaching event, in almost all places and happenings. This may be one of the reasons I am still writing messages of the day and learning and grow daily tips for all this time.

Through my eyes, this is who I am , and I do not see it is as anything magical or wonderful. I just do it.

Through your eyes, your abilities and skills might also seem commonplace to you.

Through the eyes of others, we may just be the coolest thing since sliced bread. (Note: while sliced bread is cool, and back in the day it may have been the coolest, it is not on my top ten coolest things list).

If we get down on ourselves because we seeing our friends doing what we consider to be amazing, like magic tricks, and we see ourselves as only able to do the basics, we miss the point.

We all have our areas of specialty. Almost like the movie ‘Mystery Men’. Each of those superheroes had one basic ability that was not so super, but when they believed in themselves and used their abilities they saved the city.

While we are most likely not superheroes (although I suspect my friend Kirk Weisler is), we are all capability and in the right situations, can be quite amazing when we need to be.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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