An Excerpt from Reaching for Insights: Stories of Love, Faith, and the Kitchen Sink, by Mitch Rosenzweig
Every place I worked, I would get new ones. If I had kept one of each business card, I could have probably wallpapered my house. Even though they all they were all the same, they were different. Each was unique in color, photos, and design. But in their essence, the function is the same: to proclaim, to the lucky receiver, who you are and what you do, in tiny 6-point font. Yup, in 3.5 x 2 inches, you're supposed to say everything someone needs to know about you.
How often we spend our time trying to figure out people. What makes them tick-why would they act this way or that way, or say something like that? We receive all kinds of messages, most of the time mixed, about who they are trying to be or what they are trying to communicate.
How simple life would be if we could just walk up to someone and hand them a card that would say it all. Not what it is we do to make money, but what we are all about. Simple messages that convey our values and character. Just reach into your pocket and pass it out. It certainly would cut down on the guessing and confusion.
What would your card say? Would it be covered in 6-point font with all the things you think you are-barely readable, but comprehensive? Would it include your life roles, such as husband, wife, father or mother? Would it show an important value or quality-like optimistic, or "I believe"? Perhaps it would show your wishes or dreams. The possibilities are seemingly endless. But of course, the more you cram on it the more confusing it gets.
I know what mine would say. Clean and simple, with no flowery distractions. Simple black and white type, with the largest font that would fit. It would encompass everything I am and that I value. Five words would say it all.
With apologies to Descartes, it would simply say: I care, therefore I am. What's in your pocket?
In his new book Reaching for Insights: Stories of Love, Faith, and the Kitchen Sink, veteran clinical psychologist and social worker Mitch Rosenzweig attunes his therapeutic sensibilities to his daily landscape and uncovers life lessons for us all - treasures gained by observing the ordinary from an often amusing, and always positive, perspective. This rich collection of 200 brief essays penned from his personal and professional observations delights us and invites us to grow into better, more compassionate human beings. For more information, visit reachingforinsights.com.