Set backs and stoicism

I'm not a big fan of "self-help" books or programs. Maybe it's just because I am beyond help.

But thanks to the recommendation by a friend (Thanks, Jim) in response to my post on Type-Two Fun, I read William B. Irvine's The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient.

I am adding it to my list of the most influential books I have ever read.

Much of Irvine's pragmatic advice, based on the works of Seneca and other Stoic philosophers, is not exactly new. The basic premise of not being able to choose what setbacks life hands us but being able to choose how we react to those setbacks is sort of old hat. Readable, personal, even conversational in tone, what may have been complex and archane philosophic principles are placed in context of situations to which any reader can relate.

Give it a shot. You won't regret it.

A quote below...

Cited for something other than speeding

ALA Advocacy Poster link

In a recent email, my friend (and AASL Past President) Sara Kelly Johns wrote:

This graphic was developed by the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy, a group of people who were not all school librarians, The AASL Prez-Elect Kathy Lester was part of the group and I heard that it was she who worked the hardest on the documentation. 

I vaguely remember being asked if someone (Kathy?) could cite my article from Educational Leadership a while ago. With the proviso that the work is cited, I don't know that I have ever turned anyone down who has asked to use my work. It's always a bit hard to get through doorways after such a request, since I get such a swollen head.

My work was cited quite nicely:

After a life time of work - writing, speaking, consulting, and yes, actually practicing - one hopes that one has shaped and improved one's profession. The article above probably summarizes what I've advocated for over 40 years: librarians can and should have a postive impact on the integration of technology into education. 

As younger and smarter librarians make their voices heard, I suspect I will be asked to share less and less of my work. OK, by me.

But this was sort of a nice swan song to go out on...

Should you win the lottery, do you have a plan?

The billboard along I35 somewhere in Iowa informed drivers that a lottery was currently worth $377 million dollars.

“What would you even do with that much money if you won?” asked my friend Heidi.

It’s funny because one of the things I do when I can’t get to sleep is count how I would spend a windfall of money (rather than sheep). A big windfall. And I’ve been doing this for enough years that I think I have a pretty good plan.

Good plans are important for lottery winners. It’s pretty well established that winning a lottery (or I suppose inheriting a fortune) can destroy people’s lives just as likely as improve them. Google “lottery winners who lost it all” and a long list of articles detailing the sad experiences of individuals whose lives tanked after the big win appears. Broken marriages, bad financial decisions costing millions, even contract killings by greedy relatives all seem pretty common. Who’d a thunk? 

So here is my plan, at least until the next time I have trouble sleeping:

1. Provide financial security of my personal loved ones. For each of my family members and close personal friends, current and past, I could establish annuities that would give each about $4000 a month into perpetuity. I settled on that amount since it is enough to keep a roof over one’s head and food on the table without it being so much that it would be a disincentive to work. It could be added to a current income to provide nicer vacations, fund children’s educations, buy that cabin, save for retirement, etc. I’m a believer of UBI so this would be my version of it.

2. Endow two scholarships to two library schools. I would establish two endowments each for the University of Iowa and Minnesota State University, Mankato library schools for full ride scholarships for library grad school. These would be enough to cover tuition, fees, materials, AND room and board for all four recipients. At each school, one recipient would need to be BIPOC. 

3. Fund an executive director position for the state school library association. I would create a fund that paid $100,000 per year to create a job that would help run the state’s school library association (currently ITEM). This person would write the newsletter, communicate with other professional education and library organizations, recruit new members, organize lobbying efforts, conduct surveys, manage conferences and workshops, and maintain the club records. The board would supervise and most of the work would still be done by members. If the membership numbers dropped below a certain level, the position would be eliminated. 

4. Establish endowments for my favorite local libraries. The Sac City Public Library, the Blue Earth County Library, and the Dakota County Library would all be beneficiaries of my gratitude for the services they have provided me and my family through the years. The gifts would be large enough that the interest alone should greatly increase their materials and programming budgets.

5. Piss the rest away. Yes, I would spend some of my winnings on myself. Maybe a modest house on a lake, a small pickup truck, more exotic vacations. Maybe a new recliner to replace my current 20-year-old model. But I really don’t have a ton of desire for material objects at this point in my life. And I don’t care how rich I was, I’d still buy cheap wine.

I’ve never had a lot of respect for rich people who act rich. I don’t need a space shuttle or a mansion or a limo or a seaside villa or expensive watch. The accoutrements of wealth seem mostly like a lot of work. I guess money is really wasted on lazy people like me. But maybe someday I will actually buy a lottery ticket* to test the theory.

And how would you spend your $377,000,000?

*I’ve always thought of the lottery as a tax on the mathematically challenged...