My fantasy is that Einstein, Gandhi and Joan of Arc had tea one day and they whipped up this little recipe for a great life. I tried to find its author, only to discover that it is a twist on another untraceable genius' wisdom, "Wake Up, Kick Ass, Repeat." I prefer the addition of the extra spice. Being kind makes jumping through the hoops of life all the more rewarding. Success without some loving human connection isn't really kicking ass in my book.
What good is success if not shared and paid forward with attitude and deed? And how much envy can we muster for a supremely successful asshole who can't muster a kind word for anyone?
I started a little private Facebook group a while back whose sole purpose really is to foster this Kick Ass-Be Kind magic. I didn't know it when I created the group, of course, as I only just discovered the recipe recently. But when I took this hilarious group profile picture of my genius hilarious friends, Mary Jo Smith and Tanya McClure, I knew we were onto something.
People come to the group aptly named "High Five" to be acknowledged for all the ass kicking they are doing. Whether it's getting out of bed when they don't want to, dropping their kid off at college, or deciding not to hurt the person who cut them off in traffic, they all deserve the kind offering of a high five. Frankly, I think we all need a good dose of high fives on a daily basis to keep the Kick Ass-Be Kind machine moving forward, so we can hit the repeat button the next day.
Sometimes kicking ass means overcoming our human nature one moment at a time. My brilliant professional actor friend, Ron Bottita recently got a bunch of high fives for this little ditty: "Every time they say 'bad actor' on CNN my ears perk up. Involuntarily. #highfive."
This group brings home perhaps one tiny ingredient that would create Julia Child recipe nirvana: laughter. Maybe it should be "Wake Up. Kick Ass. Be Kind. Laugh. Repeat." I am actually incredibly lucky. My recipe for a great life is being surrounded by friends who regularly kick ass, are kind, and make me laugh. Now that I have my own little High Five mecca, I have essentially reached nirvana.
It's a DIY world, people. Go and create your own High Five Mecca. I promise it helps with the ass kicking and kind beingness.