if that company is an FBO, an airline, a mod shop, a flight
school, or something entirely different.
I let go of it. I had done my best, and I spontaneously said
to myself, "I can't care about this more than they do."
Here's another example. My best friend lives in Washing
ton, D.C. For some reason, she didn't have snow boots. She
would go out and shovel the snow wearing sneakers and then
email me about how cold and wet her feet got. Of course, I
was ready to fix this. Look at Zappos. Look at Amazon. I'd
forward her boot sale emails I got. Nothing but a vague, "Oh,
it's okay…" When spring arrived, I gave her my last best shot
and reminded her this is a good time to find boots on sale.
Nothing. That's when I revived the, "I can't care more about
this than you do," and let go of it. I didn't say that to her. I
just let go of my snow boot crusade, realizing I couldn't care
more about her cold wet feet than she did.
I still maintain I was right on both counts. You should send
in your 50 words; my friend should have boots, but it doesn't
matter. Even if I'm right, even if I have a solution, it doesn't
matter. I can't care more about it than they do. A funny epi
logue to the snow boot story is a few years went by and my
friend emailed me one day about the fantastic snow boots
she just bought, as if we hadn't talked about it a dozen times.
I wisely replied, "Sounds good."
If you have a saying or a mantra that has served you well,
send it my way at pluebke@wai.org. If I get a good collec
tion, I'll do another column with them. And I'll probably
use your words myself. If I quote you to my friends and col
leagues, I'll give you credit by saying, "A very wise friend
told me once that…" ✈
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Patricia Luebke, WAI 1954, is a New York City-based freelance
writer, editor, and marketing consultant.
A very wise friend told me…
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P R O G R E S S
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I C A N ' T C A R E
M O R E A B O U T T H I S
T H A N Y O U D O .
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