310-November 6
“Colors are the smiles of nature.”—Leigh Hunt
The world is rich in color: The bright orange of a sunset deepening to purple at the edge of night, luscious yellow daffodils perched in forest green gardens, gold and russet leaves falling from dark brown trees. Who has not marveled at the iridescence of a peacock’s plume, the pure white of a swan, the mottled magnificence of a leopard?
We humans have colors, too. If you want to look and feel rich, it is important that you develop your color style, and dress in the colors that are most suitable for you. When I met Jennifer Butler, a color stylist, she told me that if you wear your best colors, people will be unconsciously attracted to you without knowing why. I thought that would certainly be an asset in my profession, and I promptly hired her.
Jennifer’s system subdivided the usual color categories of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter and she determined that, with my red hair and green eyes, I was a “Metallic Autumn.” She showed me samples that included a lot of shiny, sparkly material. But I love all colors so much, my wardrobe was filled with choices in other colors—colors that looked beautiful on the store mannequins but were a complete washout on me.
Jennifer and her team came over to help me go through my closet for the weeding out process. Amid shrieks of “No, no, not that one!” about half my wardrobe ended up at the Goodwill. When I just couldn’t bear to part with a particular outfit, Jennifer suggested I designate a special section of my closet for the color misfits. I was relieved, but she smiled and told me I might take them out and try them on, but I wouldn’t wear them again.
She was right. I never wore the loud, navy-blue-and-white-striped dress again…
Today’s Affirmation:
“My true colors are shining through and I look and feel great!”
The World Series of Poker Main Event one year took place in November. The largest prize pool of any sporting event anywhere, the final three players out of more than 6400 entrants were paid approximately $3.4 million, $4.5 million, with $7.7 million going to first place. A lot of people wishing to win the lottery might notice that the odds of winning the World Series of Poker is 1/6500 whereas the odds of winning the lotto are more like 1/20,000,000. Poker is a game of skill, though, so you’d better start practicing. You can play in a little $20 buy-in tournament at your local casino, read some poker instruction books, and start learning. As Mike Sexton, Poker Hall of Fame member and co-host of the World Poker Tour says, “Texas Hold’em takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.”
Poker has been a great hobby of mine for many years, and I’ve had some lovely wins along the way. Make no mistake, I’ve had losses too – everyone does. You can’t take risks and win every time. The profit is found in the edge between the wins and losses. It’s managing that edge that separates the great players from the masses. To understand your win-loss ratio, you have to keep track – yes, it’s another budget! But it will keep you honest about your expenditures on your hobby, and might drive you to work on your game to improve your performance. Poker is a game of skill, although luck is involved, too – just like in business.
Sometimes you run good, and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you catch the cards and the business, sometimes you’re card dead, and the business goes elsewhere. “Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.”
