Before YouTube and GPS...

My Monday (well, today) didn't start as planned.?The little piece (shown above) is responsible for connecting the parts of the toilet that makes it "flush."?And it broke.?Before coffee. ??

Thankfully Monday is (normally) a non-client day.?Only today has clients, because I'm taking Wednesday (my birthday) off.?[Pro-tip: Always take your birthday off to celebrate your life, to reflect, to relax, to thank your mom and dad (especially your mom), to just have a day that's really just about you.?To the extent possible.]

So as I'm finally consuming my coffee, I'm searching YouTube for how to fix a toilet.

That led to my being able to find the part that broke.?But it also required turning off all the water to the RV. (RVs are different from houses in that regard; they usually don't install any kind of switch or knob to the water supplies for toilets and sinks.?Ironically, there's one to the ice-maker in the refrigerator, though.)

After coffee, walking the dog, and visiting the clubhouse (which has running water) I hopped into the truck and started driving around a city that I don't know well to different RV and plumber shops.?It's amazing number of RV shops in this small town - because there are a lot of RVs here of various ages.

Surprisingly, although several had names that included "RV Parts" and "RV Parts Warehouse" nobody had the part, or even a kit, that I needed.?Finally, a very kind soul at Optimum RV (Zephyrhills, FL) sent me a picture of a parts diagram for the toilet and asked me to send it back with the broken part circled.?While she couldn't order the part, she found a kit online and emailed that to me as an option.

First - that was unexpected and so appreciated. Being without not only a toilet, but running water at all, isn't pleasant.?Her going beyond "don't have it" wasn't itself unusual (every place suggested someplace else to try, at least) - but the nature of the extra bit she gave (here's exactly a way to get what you need) was.

Second - on inquiry I found they had an open-box RV toilet (different make, but I know it would fit) with a scratched seat cover.

So I had an easy decision - wait a couple of days for the part (again, not only no toilet, but no water) - assuming no delivery issues the week of Christmas (#notabettingman), or get an unused, open box replacement today.

That decision easily made, the harder part was canceling a Hindsight is 20/23 session today.?This week is a little unusual for me because of the aforementioned birthday, and for having events on Monday with clients (1:1 sessions, and this group session).?I decided to cancel the session in order to obtain and replace the toilet as rapidly as possible.

In little more than 1/2 a day I had diagnosed, researched, obtained, and replaced a broken toilet.

And it wouldn't have been possible without YouTube and GPS.

I'm not a very mechanical person.?I don't have a lot of tools, or at least ones that matter (I have a giant socket set but no hammer, to give you an idea). Without YouTube I would have had to call a mobile repair person (usually around $150 service call), have them diagnose the problem, and then give me the options of waiting for a part or replacing the toilet.?Without a GPS it would have taken much longer to travel to the 3 places (going by a direct-sounding verbal description I didn't use the GPS to the 3rd place, at first, but had to once I realized I'd somehow missed it).?So, much longer.hings that were novel a decade ago are so ingrained (in my life, at least) that imagining accomplishing them without these "tools" is frightening.

Which gets me to thinking - especially as I type this on a laptop, with an external monitor, into software that supports a Community of people who want to live their lives to the maximum, which will be delivered to your phone, tablet, or computer to read at your leisure (and hopefully respond!).

We depend on a lot of things now that either didn't exist, or have significantly changed, over the past decade. (Remember when a phone was only used for phone calls?)

How different would your life be if you hadn't adopted these technologies?

What other changes could you make today in your life that over the coming years would have as profound an impact? (No, I'm no longer talking only about technology. ??)

The session I canceled today already had a follow-up on December 29th at 10AM EST.?The session is an hour, but I've blocked the hour following to talk with anyone who wants more clarity, to brainstorm, or to otherwise think how best to apply what I share to themselves.?Registration is free and easy, and online.

As you know I also am heavily involved in the concept of #lifedesign, teaching it to other coaches at the CoachVille Center for Coaching Mastery, continuously researching new and different ways for people to be successful at incorporating it into their lives, and even utilizing it as the basis for the Alchemist Journal.

Speaking of the Alchemist Journal, the first Seasonal Events begin in January 2023 - where we work together, hands on, in bringing the paths to life for you and I share new ways to utilize the Alchemist Journal that I've learned over the year (and I created it!).

Finally, I'm bringing to you the Design for Success? Foundry in 2023, which utilizes the paths in the Alchemist Journal to help you bring #lifedesign, and intentionality, into your world quite deeply.?This is a 3-month engagement that looks deeply into the first 4 paths and helps you create a secure foundation for who you want to be as a person - how you show up, what you experience, who you become.

Looking for Fun Stuff from my old newsletter format??

I've added a few more things than usual in the community - see there here.