Frozen Yogurt and Wisdom 2.20.17

THHG was sick this week, so I only had one outing, but it was an AWESOME ONE! It would appear that bronchitis is not something my hard hat protects me from.

When I did get to go hardhatting, I ventured out to downtown Portland, with plans to go to Portland's Night Market, but ended up getting frozen yogurt instead. I went to Eb and Bean, which, for all you Portlanders, is worth going to. It is amazing and has a lot of dairy free, gluten free, every other allergen free, and regular options. Good for everyone! Anyways, my friend and I were about to leave. We had been there for about 30 minutes and sat on the left side of a couple at bar with stools, facing a window. Then, I heard something about "hardhat." Assuming I was the only thing that would prompt people to be talking about hardhats, I turned. And the woman, unfortunately I can't recall her name, said "We like your hat." I said thank you, and I could see them both reading the sticker that says "thathardhatgirl.com" on the side but didn't say anything else. They looked like they must have been thinking, "Who the heck has a website about hardhats?"  so I added, "I do too!" and then the conversation got rolling. We talked about my hats, me, how THHG got going, what I want to do with it, Portland in general, and so much more. Dave, the man, did most of the talking and had so much wisdom he shared with me. He seemed genuinely interested in me and my hat, and I am so glad we met, because I love everything he had to say.

Dave gave me a few quotes. The first quote he gave me was in response to me saying that I love doing this because of who it allows me to meet and talk to, and the things I can learn as a result of those conversations. He said,

"Pioneers died on the trail. You don't need to cut a new path in life. People have gone    before you. You can use what you can glean. Learn and make it your own. You don't         have to reinvent the wheel."

I think this is so relevant to today. With the obstacles we are facing in today's world, we cannot expect to do it alone. We cannot expect to possibly make the headway we need to without learning from the past, joining and rallying together, and taking charge of the future.

The second thing he told me that I loved was,

"Own it." So simple, but so true. Followed by, "We are all headed the same place with many ways to get there."

He made the point that we are all striving for something in life, which is our common ground, but the beauty of it is that there are SO MANY WAYS to get there. I think that is awesome because it allows us the ability to pursue, do, work on, and or master whatever YOU are passionate about, but still have the ambition to go places in common. I might be biased on this point because I wear hardhats around for fun, and I like when others encourage my originality.  I would encourage you, in whatever you do, to OWN IT. If you're a singer, a chef, an underwater basket weaver, a shift supervisor at a power plant, or anything else, OWN IT. Owning it means letting your passion shine. And nothing can shine like passion. So go get 'em. Own it like you own the shirt on your back.

That was the voluntary advice he gave without me asking. When I asked what have you learned that you would tell me, he had an answer faster than I could type. "I would encourage you as you go through life to pause and have awareness that your life is a story. There will be ups and downs and disjoints and challenges. But that is part of the story." I love this because it relates to one of my personal mottos I have picked up from someone along the way, "YOU are the author of your own life story. Today is a new chapter."

My favorite advice from the whole conversation however, was this last one. He said it really seriously and told me to look him in the eye. I did. Then he said, "Be in the moment. You really only have this moment. The last one is gone and the next one never gets here. Because you're already right here."

There was a pause, followed by, "So do this moment right."

All I can say is I got way more than frozen yogurt. I got wisdom. AND I LOVE IT.

Build on!

Also, this is me and my new friends post frozen yogurt.

Share a picture with what you're going to OWN this week using the hashtag #ownitlikeahardhat, and tag me (@thathardhatgirl) to get a free sticker*!

*While supplies last.