That Comma Can Cost You

From Sal’s friend Katey S: two lessons for two days!

“The first is one that you taught Sally that I am constantly having to teach other people. It is the justification for the comma before “and” in a list of items. I knew the comma was important but couldn’t explain it well until Sally shared the example you used… of a will. If someone passed away and stated in her will she wanted to leave “$150,000 to Tom, Dick, and Harry” then Tom, Dick, and Harry would each get $50,000. But, if the will stated “$150,000 to Tom, Dick and Harry” (missing the imperative comma) then Tom would get $75,000 and Dick and Harry would each get $37,500. Big difference! Especially to Dick & Harry! I know it’s not exactly a moral mind-blowing life lesson, but boy people like to leave that comma out!

Note: This exact legal example came from a Business Writing class I attended in 1998.  Different style guides have different opinions, but this held up in court for “Harry”, who actually got 50%, according to our teacher.

Be Kind and Merciful

This is the actual quote sent to me by the Mediation Society of Australia ( http://meditation.org.au/ )

“Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier. Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness. – Mother Teresa”

So I googled it (April 1 is THE best day to Google I mean Topeka) to see if it was redundant on purpose and no, Mother Teresa is not quoted elsewhere as saying the first part twice but maybe it just needs to be said twice.

Daughters: Is the shortcut to this familar? Y/Y?

Like Minds (not)

This is a big one.

I have learned that, through fortune and choice, I have surrounded myself with people who think like I do and who understand me well.  That is a glorious thing!

It means, however, that I have learned to expect people to know what I’m talking about, or even what I mean.  Sometimes I end up talking in shortcuts, which works great when I’m with my family and long time friends, when I have the same boss for 10 years.  One word or phrase implies a whole story.  Often a funny one. (You know what I mean – you can post them as comments!)

This model does NOT work when I’m with new people and/or people who don’t think like I do!

My next big lessons are going to be about noticing when I’m out of my friendly frequency, when I need to spell things out, and how do make that shift!

Wish me luck!

Nourishment!

I learned (again) that weekends filled with friends, family, fresh air and exercise refresh and renew me, and fill me with energy.

This one included lots of that: time with my husband, long brisk walks with 3 of my very favorite friends, a yoga class, attending  my sister’s rock band debut, good food.  What’s missing?  Oh yeah!  My babies!  That’s next weekend!

They all should be this fun.

What’s That You Say?

I have learned that I LOVE to hear from you on these blog posts!  

If you are  reading on the web (thank you!) then just click “Leave a Comment”. 

If you following by email (thank you!) then you can just reply to the email to leave a comment.

If you have lessons to post, send me an email and teach me something!  I will post it as the lesson of the day.

I love to hear from you!

[Drive-up] Window of Opportunity

The time to check your order is when you are at the window.  Once you drive away, you may be stuck with sugar (yuk!)  in your non-fat iced latte and there is nothing you can do about it except get back in line and who’s going to do that? 

So take a minute and do the quaility check in that one and only window of opportunity.

Window of Opportunity

I have learned (more than once*) that some things have an expiration date on value, and they need to be taken care of on time.    Documents that describe an event, for example, lose shelf life pretty quickly.  Feedback is another.

Get it done, get it over, get it out.

* I think I need to add a new category for Lessons Learned Again and Again