“It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.”
For most of you, today is Friday. TGIF am I right?!? Did you know T.G.I. Fridays created the term “Happy Hour”? Friday tends to be a universally celebrated day. It is the last day of the work week before a weekend of relaxation and fun. For our Chattanooga office, today is Power Friday where people wear sports jerseys or any other outfit that makes them feel powerful. Yet, for a very select, special, few people, it is FDF aka Fantasy Draft Friday. On Fantasy Draft Friday, a council of 4 of the brightest minds gather together to draft serpentine style various topics. For those who don’t understand what a serpentine (or snake) draft format is, imagine you are on https://dailydispatchweekly.com/ showing your friends and family your favorite newsletter and imploring them to subscribe. Someone asks, “Which issue is your favorite?” After realizing each is perfect in its own unique way, you begin to ponder which you think will resonate most with them. You first consider Issue 4 about the McPizza as it is humorous and ridiculous. Then you wonder if Issue 10, which is sincere, might be a better option. Finally you think Issue 23 about what to do with a billion dollars is the best one to share. You reconsider for a moment before thinking, “Ok, maybe Issue 10 will build a little connection with the author before the ridiculousness.” But in thinking this, you wonder, “Isn’t the ridiculousness the draw?” and once again find yourself deciding Issue 4 is the best to show. You go back and forth in your mind before eventually sharing all 3 and subscribing them. Essentially, in a serpentine draft, if you pick last in the first round, you pick first in the next round and so on.
Today is Fantasy Draft Friday. Today’s topic is Christmas songs. We have a large bank of topics and spin a wheel each Thursday to determine the FDF topic for the following day. As I began thinking of which songs I most would like to draft, I was reminded of the classic Christmas story about the 3 wisemen. I recently read on LinkedIn that Americans are poorer now than at the height of the Great Depression in 1930. The post stated the average working American’s salary in 1930 was about $4,800 a year. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $85,000 today. Today, the average person’s annual average is $56,000. In 1930, gasoline cost 10 cents per gallon. Adjusted for inflation that would be $1.73 today. The average cost of a gallon of gas today is $3.55. A new car in 1930 cost about $860, adjusted for inflation that’s about $15,000 today. Apparently, the cost of a new car today averages $48,000. The average new house in 1930 cost $3,900. In today’s dollars that would be about $70,000. The average cost of a house today is $416,000. The post went on to make a few political statements and discuss ways things can change, yet my takeaway was the fact that while we look for side hustles to survive, there was a time where having the job of simply a wise man was enough to provide surplus income enough to give away gold, frankincense, and myrrh. While we no longer have that luxury, we can use this week’s sponsor to gain the skills to start our own side hustle.
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I would never compare myself to Jesus. (Everyone pause here and guess where this is going…)
I would never compare myself to Jesus, but I too was once visited by three wisemen. They didn’t follow a star, I am not the answer to any prophecy, and in the grand scheme of things I’m not very important. But, I used to believe I could play basketball in the NBA. I was 11 years old and had skyrocketed to 5’10. I just knew I would dominate. I tried out for our middle school team. I didn’t make it. I tried out again the next year as people still hadn’t caught up to my height. I didn’t make it. Then the first wiseman approached and, as wisemen tend to do, asked me a question rather than leading with a statement. “Do you know the definition of insanity?” I didn’t, so he told me. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” Wise words. Yet I had a major qualm when another wise man approached me and told me “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.” I told him what the initial wise man had told me. “Trying and trying again would make me insane if I believed anything would change.” Hearing this, a third wise man interjected and said, “Well, you know, practice makes perfect.”
What do I do with that? All three pieces of advice are common adages and considered wisdom despite being opposite of each other. I nearly invested all my life savings to start a business because you’ve got to spend money to make money, but then I remembered a penny saved is a penny earned. Plus, it is better to be safe than sorry. Yet if it is fame and fortune I seek, fortune does favor the bold.
In times of confusion like this, I worry and wonder where I can turn for advice that will open my eyes to new ways of thinking. If I ask my friends, I’m reminded that birds of a feather flock together and I may not be challenged. Fortunately, opposites attract so I can ask my wife and she can help shape my perspective. The best things in life are free. Her advice has been worth anything I can buy. Not all people are as good natured as she is though, so beware. If someone offers the best in life for free, remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
I am writing the ending of this newsletter at 8 AM on Friday. With the time crunch, I asked those around me for some help because many hands make light work but there ended up being too many cooks in the kitchen and I got stressed out.
Maybe this is why there is no profession as a wiseman anymore. We cannot, as a society, agree on a standard of wisdom. We are living in a Katy Perry Hot N Cold world of advice. I don’t know what to do anymore. If you figure it out, please let me know.
What I do know is I will be taking You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch as my first pick in our Christmas Songs draft today. While maybe not a crowd favorite, it is certainly a favorite of mine. I used to use Rhapsody for music. Before switching to Spotify, I looked at what my top 10 most listened to songs over the 6 years on Rhapsody were. You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch was my #8 most listened to song all time. And rightfully so.
