Shake That Brain!® Solutions Volume 2, Issue 8

Shake That Brain! Volume 2, Issue 9
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For winning solutions AND lots of fun!

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET THE WAITRESS
2. NOTHING ELE

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In an episode from the Abbot and Costello TV show (1952-1954) Bud and Lou sit down at a lunch counter having only enough money for a sandwich and a cup of coffee for Bud. As Bud explains to Lou, "When the waitress asks you if you want anything, you say you don't want anything. Then when I get my sandwich I'll split it with you."

After some initial misunderstandings – Bud puts on a show for the waitress, repeatedly encouraging Lou to "Go ahead, order something." – Lou catches on, telling their waitress, "I don't care for nothing." She exits through the swinging door to the kitchen.

A moment later she returns, saying to Lou, "You're cute. ... You can have a piece of cake on me." Lou accepts and all is well. Again, she exits through the swinging door. And again she comes right back – only this time she's annoyed at Lou for his having taken a piece of cake without asking. (Lou's confused; as is Bud.) She takes the cake away from him and heads back to the kitchen.

A moment later, she returns again. Only this time doesn't understand why Lou isn't eating his cake. She gives him back the cake, insisting that he eat it. She exits, comes back, and is shocked to see Bud enjoying his cake.

It goes on like this, back and forth – Enjoy it v. Leave it alone – half a dozen times, each time Lou growing increasingly frustrated and confused. For us, the audience, that's part of the fun – watching as Lou keeps struggling, albeit unsuccessfully, to figure out What the heck is going on here!?

(What the audience knows – but Bud and Lou don't – is that it's not one waitress, but a pair of twins, each one acting without the other one's knowledge.)

What does Lou's frustration and confusion have to do with solving problems or creating winning solutions? Plenty.

What Lou goes through – vacillating between believing he can't have his cake and believing he can – is the difference, if you will, between "No, I can't find a great solution" and "Yes, I can, and will, get my just dessert." What it takes is keeping the faith despite all doubt, confusion and radically opposing points of view.

Bottom line? Follow the advice of songwriter and philosopher Johnny Mercer, who wrote:

You've got to ac-cen-tu-ate the positive
E-lim-in-ate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mr. In-Between!

Make that choice – decide to "ac-cen-tu-ate the positive [and] e-lim-in-ate the negative" – and you become an optimist, someone who will lead a longer, healthier life and be better equipped to persevere when things are not going well. Or, as Voltaire put it, you will have a "mania for saying things are well when one is in hell."

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This newsletter has been brought to you by Joel Saltzman.

Joel is a speaker, facilitator, consultant, and creator of the "Shake
That Brain!" system -- for winning solutions AND lots of fun. To learn
how Joel can help your organization, click on:

http://shakethatbrain.com/wow

Joel is also the publisher and founder of Shake It! Books:

http://www.shakeitbooks.com/

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