More Room For Your Stuff

You don't have to travel far in South Florida to find what will soon rival the construction crane as our most popular landmark.

You know what I'm talking about ... storage facilities. Those windowless, multi-level behemoths with signs that promise everything from 24-hour secure access, to fully air-conditioned spaces that allow you to safely store stuff you haven't used in 10 years and probably don't care to ever look at again.

George Carlin once argued that no matter how big our houses, our stuff expands to fill the space. Given the popularity of storage facilities, he's right.

They're like giant closets littering the landscape. They leave you longing for the Melaleuca trees that once stood in their place.

But do we really need to store our stuff? Why not just get rid of it?

You might argue that South Florida is a transient community and people need a place to store their possessions while they are transitioning into a permanent palace.

OK, I'll buy that.

But please explain to my why every time I've had the pleasure of visiting one of these facilities, someone pulls up to a unit, opens the door to their kingdom of clutter and spends hours moving stuff around to find a lamp that would have taken them 10 minutes to buy at Wal-Mart.

Why do people pay hundreds of dollars a month to store something that would cost just a few dollars to buy new if they needed it again?

Furthermore, I bet 9 out of 10 people who use storage units don't even know what's in them. They simply ran out of room in their garage and now are willing to pay their stuff's rent so it can move someplace where they don't have to see it.

Well, if you don't want to see it, why in the world do you want to pay to keep it!

I don't know about you, but I see absolutely no reason to keep a couch that I haven't used since 1984 ... let alone pay to store it in an air conditioned facility with a 24-hour guard.

If someone wants to steal it, I'll make it easy for them. I'll leave it on the curb outside my house and promise not to look as they load it onto their pickup. In fact, I'll even pay for their gas. At $4.35 a gallon it's cheaper than what I'd pay to keep it in a storage unit for months without end, amen.

We live in challenging economic times. Paying to store stuff we don't need makes no financial sense whatsoever.

If it no longer serves you, let it go. Give it away to someone who needs it and can use it. It's like making a deposit into your karmic bank account. If that's a bit too "out there" for you, then sell it on E-bay.

You'll feel lighter for having done it. And that, my friends, is the easiest way to lose weight without having to give up a thing.

Be Careful What You Wish For …

A couple of months ago, I shared with you a situation that I was facing that was cause for concern -- but not panic -- in my life.

While I never reveal the details of what prompted that article, I received a few e-mails and calls from readers of this column who had an idea of what had happened.

“You lost your job, didn’t you?” my friend Debbie asked.

Well, not really.

Although the television station where I worked was going through a bit of a change -- a change that might ultimately affect my job -- my position as Managing Editor of that station’s Web site was not in any immediate danger.

In fact, despite the change, I was very much OK with what was happening. I believe things always turn out for the best. I prayed for an outcome that would leave me at peace and with a purpose and went about my life, knowing I would get exactly what I wished for.

And then … all hell broke loose.

There I was, letting go of the outcome and knowing everything would turn out alright when -- out of the blue -- I got a call from my friend Bonnie in Los Angeles.

Bonnie had just gotten a call from the Managing Editor at another local television Web site in South Florida market. She was someone I had considered to be a competitor for several years.

That person -- who I had never spoken with -- told Bonnie to call me and tell me she had just quit her job and had recommended me as her replacement. And if she were me, she would call her boss immediately and express an interest in the position.

Confused? Believe me, so was I.

I was letting go of the outcome. I wasn’t looking for another job. I had faith everything would turn out for the best.

And so, I did the only thing I could do. I followed directions and made the call expressing an interest in a job that magically became available at the right time.

I got out of the way and let life, God, the Universe, or whatever you choose to call it … take control.

What happened?

I got the ride of my life!

I am proud, honored and blessed to tell you that I am now the Executive Producer/Managing Editor of Local10.com, the Web site for WPLG/Channel 10.

What’s in it for you?

A very important lesson.

When life wants to give you something … get out of the way and enjoy the ride.

And be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it all.