Years ago, Jim Murray, the late, great sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, faced a severe case of writer’s block.

With deadline approaching, he just couldn’t find anything to fill the next day’s column.

Finally, he decided that he would just look out the window and write about whatever he saw. His home happened to overlook the Pacific Ocean, and when he gazed out there, he saw whales swimming past.

On most days, Murray never would have written a column about whales for an audience that was more used to reading about baseball and football.

In this case, he had no other ideas, so he went ahead. His audience loved it! The whale column proved to be one of his best.

Your life is a lot like Jim Murray’s. There are times when you just don’t know what to do. You’re out of ideas. On days like that, just look around you with new eyes. There might be something there that you’ve seen a thousand times, and now you’ll notice it with appreciation.
It could be an opportunity or an insight into one of your gifts.

Either way, when you look around yourself with fresh eyes, you may find something special, just like Jim Murray did.

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