I was nosing around the garage Saturday and came upon a box containing what was hilariously titled The Librarian Action Figure. Brenda received this “doll” from one of our children as a gift because they knew their mother always aspired to one day become a librarian. Brenda gravitates to books, so the action figure was the perfect gift. When I turned the box around to read the fine print on the back, I was struck by the wisdom written there.

The action figure is based on the likeness of famous librarian, author and literary critic, Nancy Pearl. The “pearls” of wisdom she promoted on the back of that cardboard box referred to reading books, of course. I have tried to read certain books, patiently stuck with them, and came to the conclusion that I had no desire to grit it out to the end. I am surprised that editors and publishers allow authors to write such material. Some books are obviously “fluffed” with extra gibberish just to fulfill a certain quota of words or pages. I swear, some books should be pamphlets!

Nancy Pearl helps those of us who buy a lot of books to make serious judgements on those we read before getting too deep in a hopeless quagmire of words. She offers the simple “Rule of 50.” The words of wisdom on the back of that action figure box state: “If (you are under the age of 50 and) you still don’t like a book after slogging through the first 50 pages, set it aside. If you’re more than 50 years old, subtract your age from 100 and only grant it that many pages.”

I feel relieved that Nancy has gotten me off the hook! I will continue to read books, but I will be getting the free sample from Kindle before committing my valuable resources and time on another boring read! Looks like in July, I can put a book down after 49 pages–Nancy Pearl says so!

I searched my DVR for something cool to watch yesterday as I took a break from the day’s duties. I knew that one of my favorite shows, Hollywood Treasure, had started up a second season a few days before, and there sat two fresh episodes waiting to be watched!

Hollywood Treasure follows an auction house based in southern California and it’s proprietor/leader, Joe Maddalena, as he searches for movie props, artwork, clothing etc., to sell. Last season, he brokered the sale of the Wicked Witch hat from The Wizard of Oz, among many other cool movie memorabilia and artifacts. Joe finds stuff all over the world to carry back to L.A.. Some items are coy– quietly waiting to be discovered and sold for more money than one can imagine.

In the second episode last night from Hollywood Treasure, Joe was approached by a career film industry guy named Dave Gregory, who had been holding on to the original title card from RKO Studios. In the end, this item sold for a whopping $85,000…a piece of forgotten cardboard propped up behind Mr. Gregory’s door for 20 years, rescued from a trash heap!

Lauren Vogt, a San Francisco resident and longtime prop and makeup artist, was in need of a financial miracle to save her home. Joe scoured an outdoor shed behind her home, piled to the roof with various memorabilia, in hopes of finding some valuable artifacts. In his trouble, while ruffling through crumbling boxes and rat-infested containers, Joe discovered models from James and the Giant Peach and Nightmare Before Christmas, and masks from Enemy Mine. During Lauren’s time in the movie business, she created these models, as well as painted cells for Saturday morning cartoons–many of which were found in the shed, on the verge of rotting and being tossed into the garbage. She simply took stuff home over the years after the productions were through, only to eventually amass a treasure-trove in her backyard. But she never knew it. Thank God that Joe found some cool stuff, collectors made a new home for the objects, and Lauren took home enough money from the auction to turn her dire circumstances around. Little did she know that this decrepit backyard shed would hold the key to unlock the cell door of her difficulties.

Sometimes we stop short of a miracle. Sometimes the mother lode is just a trowel-scrape away from revealing itself. When our hope is hanging on by an ever-fraying thread, the answer to our trouble might just be hiding in the backyard, or somewhere else we may never expect.

The thought of moving away from life patterns that have been present for years and decades is frightening. Isn’t it our goal as “responsible Americans” to create a world in which security rules, where anything that threatens to topple that reality is an arch-enemy? It would seem that retiring from a position at a company after 35 years of dedicated service is the ultimate goal for our careers. But in today’s reality, in contrast to my father’s work-world of an earlier generation, that notion is as broken as last weeks’ McDonald’s Happy Meal toy.

In keeping with the theme of my recent entry called Doors, I want to take a more sober look at the things that keep us from walking in a new direction–into fresh starts and opportunity. You know well that the #1 reason for not making a change in life is fear. Fear can be broken down into sub-categories with questions such as: what about income; health insurance; will I need to move to a new city and find a new home; what would people think of me–would I be letting someone down? Change takes a great amount of energy to implement, therefore we sometimes shy away. As the title of this entry clearly states, change can scare us to death! It’s not change that kills us but the fear of change that can stop us dead in our tracks.

In one example for me, I realized that the flow of significant income from a career-long publisher was becoming sporadic–the checks that were once in my mailbox like clockwork every quarter started to arrive later and later. That stability started to flounder. Things had to change–I had to wake up and make a plan for the future–a pro-active plan to replace that income. I also had to take a cold, hard look at other areas of my life that weren’t producing the results I needed.

Dr. Spencer Johnson’s little book, “Who Moved My Cheese?” made a significant impact on me when I read it several years ago. The moral of the story is when our income sources dwindle, or opportunity dries up, it’s wise to look elsewhere, rather than coming back to the same place again and again. The mice in the allegory should have seen the decline in their cheese supply coming at some point and made provision for other sources. It sounds easy until change faces us down. In the book, the mice named Hem and Haw debate in response to the looming reality that they should search for cheese elsewhere:

“ ‘It is too dangerous out there… we might not find any cheese for days, and there might be a trap somewhere in the maze.’ Haw sat there thinking about what Hem said and started to waver in his decision. So they sat there again for days hoping to get new cheese. Whenever Haw started thinking about going out into the maze, Hem will quickly remind him of the danger out there.”

Change is scary; its dangerous–Hem and Haw have a point. But we cannot let fear scare us to death–or to the point of paralysis.

I serendipitously crossed paths in the grocery store with a book called “Necessary Endings” by Dr. Henry Cloud. In it Dr. Cloud helps the reader to recognize when it is time to end something and move on to greener pastures, whether it’s regarding stagnant relationships, businesses, a job, or just to clear out “dead branches” littering our lives in general (sounds harsh…but isn’t it about time?). The problem most of us have when our “cheese has moved” is that we probably saw evidence of dwindling “cheese” supplies earlier on. For whatever reason, we missed the earlier clues, and in the process, possibly lost time, effort and emotional energy to fear.

It’s not too late! Just coming to the realization that a change is needed can be invigorating and will bring energy to start the process. Our greatest “locked door” is fear. I guarantee that there are options for you to unlock that door and move into a new direction. It is scary, but don’t let that fear scare you to death. Rather, use the adrenaline to run toward a wonderful future. Life ain’t over, my friend!