Don't Beg

I won't mention the website, but I just unsubscribed from a newsletter, and immediately received this email followup:

"Was this a mistake? Did you forward one of our emails to a friend, and they clicked the unsubscribe link not realizing they were in fact unsubscribing you from this list? If this was a mistake, you can re-subscribe at: "

Jeez. Now it feels like uncomfortable breakup. It's getting awkward. Let's try and end this newsletter relationship amicably.

Repetition Makes Things Interesting

This week I was in the restroom. Don't worry, this isn't a series of poop jokes. I'm just setting the stage. So, back to the stage setting....

This week I was in the restroom, standing at the sink, washing my hands. Very mundane. Nothing interesting. Then, things got...repetitive. Within a minute the guy in the restroom stall flushes the toilet...once....twice...three times. I didn't think much of the first flush, that's pretty typical (hopefully). Flush a toilet three times, and I'm wondering, "what was happening in there?" I had theories, none of them were pretty.

I admit, I lingered in that bathroom, standing near the exit, waiting for a fourth flush. I was puzzled, intrigued, and strangely riveted to the "performance."

As I stood there, being a sort of a bathroom creeper, I thought about improv. How often do we say/do something onstage and ditch it seconds later? There's usually a huge scrap heap of disregarded words and ideas beside the stage during any show.  Sometimes the most interesting thing to do in a scene is repetition, reinforce it! 'It' could be a word, phrase, movement, theme....anything! When you say or do something twice you gift those words or actions with value.  The more you "flush," the audience, teammates, and you will understand, "there's something interesting here. Let's discover it."