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August 27, 2007

Change the World: Imagine You’re a Kid Playing Grownup

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 5:20 am

Play Grownups

Change the World!

My son, at age 5, used to sit at a little table on landing that overlooked our dining room. He called it his office, and his office had rules. Like any good office manager, he wrote them down, so that people would know what to do.

Visitors to my son’s office could read each rule in big printing on a separate signs. One had a misspelling that was too charming to correct. These are a few that I remember: Be nice to each other. . . . Don’t take stuff you don’t need. . . . Tell mean people to stop. . . . Write neatly.. . . Do things in order. . . . Don’t yell. . . . . and Water the planets.

(Maybe it wasn’t a misspelling. He sure liked the planets when he was five.)

The signs were so marvelous, I asked to borrow them. I took them to work, and at our next team meeting, we discussed what they might mean. How much fun was that?!!! We got to remember how kids view the world. We got to apply our kid-like reasoning to the complex issues that grown-up work brings.

Throughout that week and for weeks later, when we problem solved issues, we would use the vocabulary of my son’s office rules. We would say, “Do things in order,” when we meant follow the plan. We would say, “Water the planets.” when we meant pay attention to people, or details, or the conversation at hand. Every time we would laugh.

We were a bunch of grownups pretending we were kids playing grownups. It made the whole thing a delicious conspiracy of getting things done.

We can change the world, just like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

______________
If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.

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Filed under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog, The Big Idea |



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15 Comments to “Change the World: Imagine You’re a Kid Playing Grownup”

  1. August 27th, 2007 at 6:43 am
    Robert Hruzek said

    Hey, Liz, I love this story! Maybe you should change your “Change the World” sticker to “Water the Planets”… :-D

  2. August 27th, 2007 at 7:17 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Robert!
    Your comment made me laugh out loud. Maybe I should! :)

  3. August 27th, 2007 at 8:07 am
    Nathania - Bold Interactive said

    This reminds me of my kids. They’re 9 and 10. Lately, they’ve decided that they want to do video podcasts. My son wants to review toys and my daughter wants to have her own cooking show.

    She even put up a sign for “taste testing auditions.” We all signed up, of course :)

  4. August 27th, 2007 at 8:14 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Nathania!
    What fun! It is exactly the same. I hope that spirit gets to stay with all day long!

  5. August 27th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
    Karen Putz said

    Smart son of yours!

  6. August 27th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karen!
    Yeah, he always was the only grownup in the house. :)

  7. August 27th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
    GP said

    LOl reminds me of when we were kids at the diner table being generally obstreperous and not finishing our dessert (i remember it was “Whip and Chill”) In a hurry to get us finished he said, “now hurry up and eat your Beat and Freeze”)…

    last month when i was graining picken in the we hours of the morning, and in a hurry to get alle ready for that day’s show… i found myself without thinking looking at her eating peacefully and said “hurry up and eat your beat and freeze” and burst out laughing.

    Amazing what impromptu little catch words stay with us and take on a significance of their own

    gp in montana

  8. August 27th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi GP!
    Those little stories get to be the real traditions, don’t they. They’re the ones that stick and stay for the longest time. They’re the moments that come back to hold us.

    Thanks for sharing yours. I’ll remember when I water the planets tonight. :)

  9. August 28th, 2007 at 4:34 am
    schizo said

    People tell me i am a child trapped in a 24 year old body.

    might have something to do with the floor to celieng comic book stack in the room. or maybe with the absolutely fabulous animal sounds i used to make during class,

    or maybe they just hate me:-)

  10. August 28th, 2007 at 5:14 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Schizo,
    I get the same kind of response about still being a child . . . don’t lose that child-like way of looking a the world. :)

    No one hates you. I even doubt that you’re misunderstood. You do make me smile though. :)

  11. August 28th, 2007 at 9:33 am
    Mike said

    Hi Liz,

    Even if you don’t replace “Change the World”, you really should get a “Water the Planets” badge for folks to water the world with!

    Mike

  12. August 28th, 2007 at 9:36 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    That’d be a fun one. :)

  13. August 28th, 2007 at 9:41 am
    Mike said

    And I hope this week’s theme for Open Mic night includes flamenco dancing! ;-)

  14. August 28th, 2007 at 9:43 am
    ME Strauss said

    Open Mic Night always includes anything that we get around to including. :)

  15. August 28th, 2007 at 9:48 am
    Mike said

    Ain’t that the truth! LOL

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