Skip to main content

Fishing for an Idea

In this episode, Fishing for an Idea . . .

 

“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone for eighty-four days now without taking a fish.”

No, no, this is not the Gulf it's the Au Sable River .  . . .

Smell - the crisp scent of the northern pines.

Focus - this is your enlightened creative self-expression talking. Place your inspired future front and center in your life.

Listen - can you hear the soft gurgling sound of running water? Cast your fly-rod into that swirling pool. There’s an idea there.

Wake-up!

Your eyelids flicker then instantly your eyes pop open. The clock on the dresser says 4:00 a.m. In a semi-consciousness state, you stumble out of bed. You make your way, in the dark, to that little room where the world has absolved you of all obligations to communicate with another human being. Privacy.

Face-it, we all do it - scattered thoughts as we talk to ourselves in our minds, especially when we’re dreaming.

Well, now that you're up - have a cup of coffee. One sugar and a little milk please Junior. Who am I talking to? Shaking your head, you realize, no one in their right mind is up this early, go back to bed. Right Junior?

The cat is sitting next to the refrigerator watching your every move.

You’re awake!

Your brain has already kicked into high gear. Thoughts exploding as bright white flashes. Words. Ideas. Stories. Suggestions. Information overload. Maybe it’s panic.

Or is it just the way I fish? Call it a habit, call it quirky, call it idiotic - but call it.

Early morning, when the house is quiet, is my most productive time. Deep down, in some peculiar way, we all know what our most creative time is. That special time of day when your gifts, skills, temperament, and experiences collide to synthesize ideas that've been churning in your brain. Put it to paper. Create something from nothing.

Huh, that begs the question, What is writing?

It's how I capture my creative ideas!

If the definition is, one who is paid to produce works that derive income or royalties, my answer to that is a resounding No.

However, if it's someone who every morning parks their hind-side at a desk and taps away at a keyboard attempting to clarify their thinking, improve written communication skills, synthesize experiences and knowledge, I emphatically say, Yes. I’ll leave it up to you, the listener to make your own assessment.

Ultimately it all comes down to fishing for your ideal lifestyle.

Let’s assume for just 60 seconds, all the tumblers in the universe align. You can picture in your mind's eye the work in which you would best shine. Why, because it taps into the best of who you are. The place where your gifts, skills, temperament, and experiences collide. Good luck!

Like The Old Man and the Sea, it’s obvious I need to get back to my fishing expedition. My creative journey for a fulling life, not work but my unique adventure.

Hah, maybe, I just need to take a nap and dream.

This is Patrick Ball, thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Chasing the Magic

In this episode, Chasing the Magic: How the Summer of ’98 Inspired the 'Ball Boys' . . .  Do you remember that feeling? The late-summer air was thick with humidity, radios crackling on porches, the smell of fresh-cut grass and barbecue smoke in the backyard. Every evening carried a new kind of suspense—the country holding its collective breath after every pitch. “Did he hit one today?” became more than a question; it sparked a nationwide conversation.   For me, and millions of others, the summer of 1998 wasn’t just another baseball season. It was theater, a movement, a time when the game recaptured something sacred. As sportswriter Mike Lupica said so perfectly,   “No matter how old you are or how much you’ve seen, sports is still about memory and imagination. Never more than during the summer of ’98, when baseball made everyone feel like a kid again, when it felt important again.”    Just four years earlier, the 1994 players’ strike had left the sport bruised...

Beyond Facts

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

Retirement Talk

In this episode, Patrick & Huck: Retirement Talk . . .   We all get caught daydreaming sometimes, don’t we? Just like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn might’ve done, lazyin’ by the river with a fishing pole in hand and the BIG wide world spinn’ in their heads. This morning, with coffee steaming and plans bubbling, I found myself driftin’ into a chat with none other than my imaginary friend–Huck Finn himself. Patrick: “Mornin’, Huck. Say, I’m mighty curious what you’d make of this retirement business.” Huck: “Well now, sit tight, ‘cause I’ve been thinkin’ on that too. Only thirty-one days 'til you're sixty-nine — whew! You're talkin’ ‘bout quittin’, hangin’ up your spurs, Givin’ the workin’ life its final good slurs. Ain’t got no debts, no mortgage, no fuss, Just clean livin’ and freedom waitin’ on the bus. Most folks’d throw hats in the air, cheerin’ loud and proud, But you? You’re starin’ out yonder, lost in some cloud. You're dreamin’ of cyclin' and books and guitar...

The Sights of Summer

In this episode, The Sights of Summer: Chasing Miles & Unexpected Smiles . . . For Lori and me, the perfect summer morning isn't something you find marked on a calendar; it's a feeling . It's the refreshing crispness of the air on our faces, the gentle warmth of the sun on our skin, and the exciting anticipation of discovering new miles and uncovering the hidden "sights of summer" along our journey. A glorious California day returns with our weekly ride. We begin with a warm-up cruise around our neighborhood under a wide, cloudless, azure sky. With a smile, I’m thinking, " You know it’s going to be a great ride when even furry co-pilots are excited!"  We chuckled as a neighbor drove past, two white, fluffy dogs with their tongues flapping in the breeze and ears flopping wildly out the truck window. Pure canine bliss—an ideal sign for a fun day on two wheels. “Did you see those pups? They looked like they were smiling.” Traffic was blissfully light, ...