Audio Tidbits

I don't recall just how many years my podcast has been called Audio Tidbits. As a title, that is rather clever but means nearly nothing. What does "Audio Tidbits" bring to mind? Probably a few things in general but mostly nothing in particular.

It's sort of like a podcasting junk drawer. I can just toss most anything in there and it stays just like it belongs. Some of the episodes tossed in are quite good and another few are amazing; but for the most part, the majority are mediocre at best.

I find myself with a couple of choices. I can keep tossing in an episode now and then with diminishing enthusiasm or I can dump the junk drawer and start over. I have been pursuing the first option for some time now and have ended up with an overflowing junk drawer. Why today I'm not sure, but I just dumped the junk drawer. I am committed. Never again will I just toss episodes in with no hope of a more coherent outcome. It's either do it consistently better or don't do it at all. What is "it?" Podcasting of course.

That was pretty hard, but the harder step is coming next. The Audio Tidbits title has to go. Whatever comes next, "Audio Tidbits" has retired. It remains to be seen whether I have also retired from podcasting.

Let me switch up some and tell you a story. Yes, there is a relevant point in here that I will get to fairly soon. But first, come with me down the rabbit hole.

How clever is it to start a story with "Once upon a time?" I doubt if that opening would ever be confused with cleverness. Even so, it may be as good as anything else if I have no interest in being clever. Some people can pull off being clever but I'm not among those clever types. I'm more aligned with those who just say what they have to say and let it go at that.

A few years back, I had the notion that I could teach myself to play the organ. I'm not talking about the kind of organ that fills a church or great hall with powerful music. I am just referring to a little organ that is smaller than most pianos. It wasn't a toy but definitely less than the real deal.

I know. "A few years back" is pretty close to once upon a time but I've already admitted that something more clever is not in the cards for me. My only goal is to get you into the picture where I'm trying to play the organ. Are you there with me? I'll just assume you are so we can move on.

Every day for nearly six months, I spent an hour or so teaching myself to play, and gradually I learned. I could play a few songs, press the right keys, and some days I believed that I was even making music. I admit that even I didn't think it was great, but it was some better than nothing. Not a lot better, but some better.

I don't recall the day specifically, but one day somewhere in month six, I realized that, no matter how long I worked at it, I was never going to be more than an organ player, and not a very good organ player at that.

To compound the insight, I realized that I didn't particularly enjoy organ music all that much. Here is the point. I could play the organ but was never going to be an organist; I liked some types of music but was never going to be a musician. If the truth be known, I didn't enjoy trying to learn to play the organ all that much either. It was just something I was forcing myself to do.

That insight got me to wondering how often I start down that particular rabbit hole. How often do I get invested in doing something only to discover that I am not very good at it and am unlikely to ever get very good at it? I've definitely been there a few times over the years and don't figure that I am any better off for the time and energy spent going down those rabbit holes. Here's the problem. I often have no good way of knowing whether something that peaks my interest is a rabbit hole or a real opportunity without investing in it enough to test out its potential.

It might be easy to conclude from all of this that it's all just one big crap shoot.

Is it true that happy is a matter of personal choice most of the time? I think it may actually be just that. But you get to decide. -- Even if happy does not interest you, skip ahead about three minutes. The music is worth a listen even without the happy stuff.

You can usually put things off until they no longer matter. If you doubt, press play to listen.

This blind thing is a lot of things but not all that complicated. First, it’s a condition that ranges from mild to severe, just like most conditions. Wherever we are on that continuum, it’s likely to get worse, at least until our condition is severe. That be as it may, there is not much we can do about it other than to whine. – Never under estimate the real value in whining. Our condition won’t change but whining can help us cope.

Second, blind and blindness are also variables. The condition may be static or getting worse, but how we experience them is far from static. For example, I am on average about 5% blind. Sometimes I am nearly 0% blind and once in a while virtually 100% blind. So, what accounts for the variability? Not the condition for sure. It is what it is and isn’t changing since the lights are permanently off for me.

Here’s the deal. When I am in my house, sitting in my chair, listening to my music on my sound system, I am 0% blind. The condition has no effect and represents no limitation.

Alternatively, a while back, I needed to get my State ID renewed. I got an Uber and headed off to the ID updater. The Uber arrived and I got out, already talking with an Aira agent to help me inside and with finding the ID updater. Still maybe only 20% blind.

But, and there are those buts. Just as soon as I walked inside and had taken less than a dozen steps, the cell signal dropped. At that moment, I was nearly 100% blind. I didn’t even know how to get back outside. I did manage to recover from that very dark place with the help of a passer-by, but for a few minutes, it was pretty grim.

I could tell you a thousand stories about “Just how blind am I right now,” but I suspect you get the point. Yes, blind is a condition, but more importantly, it’s a variable. What matters most is how blind I am right now. FYI, I am sitting at my desk, typing on my computer using my copy of JAWS and am about 2% blind right now.

Here’s the challenge. Whether blind since birth or new to blindness, and whether the condition is mild or severe, the real issue is not the condition. Rather, the real issue is how effectively we manage blind as a variable.

I of course don’t know what your goals and expectations for you may be but do know that my goal is to do whatever I want to do, when and where I want to do it. My expectation for me is that I will develop and maintain the skills and determination needed to reach my goal. As part of that commitment to me, I will find the technology, services, resources, strategies, and advice that can increase my success. – Yes, it would often be much easier and safer to be content staying in my house, sitting in my chair, listening to my music on my sound system, but that simply doesn’t cut it for me, and I sincerely hope it does not cut it for you.

May I invite you to join the 5% blind club? Remember that 5% is only an average. I was about ten when I learned that I can’t play baseball, with the bump on my head to punctuate the point. I can’t do everything I want to do, everywhere I want, as is true for everyone else, blind or not. We are all limited in one way or another. Even so, getting down to 5% blind on average works fine for me and will likely work for you too.

Oh, I didn’t know that. You are too old, too lazy, too afraid, too impatient, too tired, and too sure you can’t do it to consider the 5% blind club. I’m reminded of my advisor in college when I was whining to her that college is just too hard. She told me that, with the possible exception of my mother, no one really cares one way or the other whether I graduate. She smiled and added that I would have to handle all of the caring for myself.

That’s it. If you were expecting some magical advice or an easier way, you’re out of luck. Just know that your slot in the 5% blind club is there just waiting for you. I sincerely hope I see you there real soon.

Do you have the misfortune of having to deal with a know-it-all, the humility challenged, a certified screw-up? If so, a little sympathy is coming your way. These humility challenged experts on everything are out there, just itching to screw something up and then point the finger at you, as they creep away. -- Let's dip into this a little further.

Do you have the misfortune of having to deal with a know-it-all, the humility challenged, a certified screw-up? If so, a little sympathy is coming your way. These humility challenged experts on everything are out there, just itching to screw something up and then point the finger at you, as they creep away. -- Let's dip into this a little further.

Six for Sunday may sound like something special, but not this time. It's just a six-pack for everyday that happens to be posted on Sunday. Even so, I think you may find at least a couple of these little tidbits worth a minute or so for quick consideration.

Six for Sunday may sound like something special, but not this time. It's just a six-pack for everyday that happens to be posted on Sunday. Even so, I think you may find at least a couple of these little tidbits worth a minute or so for quick consideration.

Here's the thing. For those of us who cannot see, there are dozens of skills and strategies potentially available to us to do what we want to do, when we want to do whatever it is. For the sake of discussion, let's say there are seventy-two skills and strategies (Call them tools.) out there for any of us who goes to the time and bother to master them. Sure, there are way more than seventy-two, but since I can only handel quite a bit fewer than seventy-two, I'll stick with seventy-two. There is no point in totally overwhelming myself before I even get started with filling up my tool box.

Just for starters, there are three tools that are already there for the taking; and we may not have even noticed that they are there for us. The cool thing is that these three tools are free and only require putting them into our tool box. They do have a down side though. Just like a tiny hammer won't do the job if we have a big nail, a weak tool won't serve us very well when we need it for a big job. But it does not need to be a super hammer. It needs to be just big enough to do the job.

We also do not need to put a lot of extra tools into our tool box, just in case we need them some day. Instead, we can look down the road to figure out what tools we will need to do what we want to do as time goes on. Our job is to then make sure those tools are tucked into our tool box, just on time to do the job when that job needs done. -- You've got the idea: just enough tools there just on time to do what we want to do.

One more thing about these three tools. Without them, the other sixty-nine tools potentially available to us are likely to be ineffective, likely not to get the job done for us, likely to never make it into our tool box. Keep in mind that this is a do-it-yourself tool box we are talking about. If you have others who will do all of the work for you and are yourself fine with that, an empty tool box is all you need. Otherwise, you need some tools in your tool box. Not all seventy-two, but some, starting with these three. Think of them as prerequisites to putting more tools in your tool box.

Motivation:

I know, it always gets down to motivation. If we want to, then we might; but if we do not want to, we probably won't. We do occasionally do things we do not want to do, but usually we don't. It is also that hammer thing again. Little wants require little motivation and big wants require big motivation. But how much motivation is required to do what we want to do? -- Just enough of course.

Determination:

A lot of us who cannot see have plenty of motivation to do what we want to do. It's determination that is in short supply. We are highly motivated to develop the tools required to do what we want to do. We just seem to never get around to reading that book, listening to that podcast, signing up for that class or talking to the right person. What's going on here? It is pretty easy. We are motivated to develop the skill or strategy we need; but motivation alone is not enough. We also have to be determined to do what we need to do.

I suppose you may be saying, "Hey Gary, slow up there dude. What's this 'we' stuff? I'm motivated enough and as determined as most anyone else. I sure don't have a motivation problem or a determination problem for that matter. You are way off base if you think my lack of tools in my tool box is due to some limitation with me or my motivation and determination. It's way more complicated than that."

Well, okay. I get it. You have special circumstances that are preventing you from getting better tools, and there is little to nothing you can personally do about that. It is just too complicated to work out, no matter how motivated or determined you are. Your take is that I just don't understand how difficult it is for you; and most likely, no one else understands either.

Persistence:

There is one more tool that all of us who cannot see need in our tool box. It is one of those "must have" tools.

Here's the thing. For those of us who cannot see, there are dozens of skills and strategies potentially available to us to do what we want to do, when we want to do whatever it is. For the sake of discussion, let's say there are seventy-two skills and strategies (Call them tools.) out there for any of us who goes to the time and bother to master them. Sure, there are way more than seventy-two, but since I can only handel quite a bit fewer than seventy-two, I'll stick with seventy-two. There is no point in totally overwhelming myself before I even get started with filling up my tool box.

Just for starters, there are three tools that are already there for the taking; and we may not have even noticed that they are there for us. The cool thing is that these three tools are free and only require putting them into our tool box. They do have a down side though. Just like a tiny hammer won't do the job if we have a big nail, a weak tool won't serve us very well when we need it for a big job. But it does not need to be a super hammer. It needs to be just big enough to do the job.

We also do not need to put a lot of extra tools into our tool box, just in case we need them some day. Instead, we can look down the road to figure out what tools we will need to do what we want to do as time goes on. Our job is to then make sure those tools are tucked into our tool box, just on time to do the job when that job needs done. -- You've got the idea: just enough tools there just on time to do what we want to do.

One more thing about these three tools. Without them, the other sixty-nine tools potentially available to us are likely to be ineffective, likely not to get the job done for us, likely to never make it into our tool box. Keep in mind that this is a do-it-yourself tool box we are talking about. If you have others who will do all of the work for you and are yourself fine with that, an empty tool box is all you need. Otherwise, you need some tools in your tool box. Not all seventy-two, but some, starting with these three. Think of them as prerequisites to putting more tools in your tool box.

Motivation:

I know, it always gets down to motivation. If we want to, then we might; but if we do not want to, we probably won't. We do occasionally do things we do not want to do, but usually we don't. It is also that hammer thing again. Little wants require little motivation and big wants require big motivation. But how much motivation is required to do what we want to do? -- Just enough of course.

Determination:

A lot of us who cannot see have plenty of motivation to do what we want to do. It's determination that is in short supply. We are highly motivated to develop the tools required to do what we want to do. We just seem to never get around to reading that book, listening to that podcast, signing up for that class or talking to the right person. What's going on here? It is pretty easy. We are motivated to develop the skill or strategy we need; but motivation alone is not enough. We also have to be determined to do what we need to do.

I suppose you may be saying, "Hey Gary, slow up there dude. What's this 'we' stuff? I'm motivated enough and as determined as most anyone else. I sure don't have a motivation problem or a determination problem for that matter. You are way off base if you think my lack of tools in my tool box is due to some limitation with me or my motivation and determination. It's way more complicated than that."

Well, okay. I get it. You have special circumstances that are preventing you from getting better tools, and there is little to nothing you can personally do about that. It is just too complicated to work out, no matter how motivated or determined you are. Your take is that I just don't understand how difficult it is for you; and most likely, no one else understands either.

Persistence:

There is one more tool that all of us who cannot see need in our tool box.