Did you know that today is Monday the 13th?

You probably know what that means...

That's right.

Absolutely nothing.

Monday the 13th has no significance whatsoever. This day will come and go, and be another day on planet earth.

Not like Friday the 13th, right?

Because on THAT day...

Look out.

That day is just full of...

What, exactly?

Sure, there's some legend there...some history that means something.

But it only means something if you give it power.

Kinda like everything else in your life, right?

Something happens.

A day comes.

An event occurs.

And we give it so much meaning.

So much joy, or sadness.

So much surprise, or apathy.

We assign an emotion to it.

A reaction...which is powerful, and shapes how we feel for days and even weeks after.

But if you want the truth?

Whatever happens, day in and day out, really doesn't matter all that much, UNLESS you assign a great deal of significance to it.

This is something Ryan Holiday talks about in The Obstacle Is The Way, a book that every entrepreneur should read.

It's also a concept I talk about in one of my keynote talks, where I tell the Chinese Proverb of the farmer and his son.

If you haven't heard this, here's the short version:

A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, "Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!" The farmer replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see."

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, "Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!" The farmer replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see."

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, "Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!" The farmer replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see."

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, "Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!" To which the farmer replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see."

At any point in time, the thing you think is terrible might actually be f*cking awesome...you just don't know it yet.

And maybe the thing you're overjoyed at? Is actually a sh*tstorm waiting to knock over your sails.

You just. Don't. Know.

Right?

So what can we do?

Well, we can get up, put on our big-boy underdoodles, and be grateful we're alive.

We can look at every occurrence in our lives and say, "cool...I can't wait to see how this turns out."

Because anything else? Assigning ANY other emotion or reaction?

Is just plain ego. And it's just plain wrong.

So today, Monday the 13th, remember what this day signifies:

Nothing other than what it is, just another thing happening in life.

Just like everything else.