You may call it coincidence, synchronicity or law of attraction when it happens to you.
And “it” refers to when the thought, thing or person you need to know appears at that moment when you need it the most.
“It” for me this time was how to tell boarding customers, in a nice way, that the barn, like a functioning family, has rules to be followed.
The answer appeared to me in a flash as I was sorting through my pile of old books destined for new homes.
Author Robert Fulghum’s manifesto on the back cover of his book almost mugged me for attention.
“All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum ,copyright 1986, is old enough to be new again. His book is a masterpiece of simplicity and has on the back cover a solution for most of the problems people create between each other.
If you operate a boarding, lesson or training barn and haven’t had customer vs. customer conflicts, you probably also say you’ve never been bucked off, too.
And the 37 Barn Rules you posted on the bulletin board are most likely as warm and fuzzy as an IRS Notice.
There’s no getting around it, people have conflicts with others from time to time and Fulghum has some good advice in his book.
You might want to adapt some of his philosophy and post it as your barn rules inspired by “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”.
Here is part of Fulghum’s philosophy:
- Play Fair
- Don’t Hit People
- Put Things Back Where You Found Them
- Clean Up Your Own Mess
- Don’t Take Things That Aren’t Yours
- Say Your Sorry When You Hurt Somebody
Simplicity always trumps complexity. If your barn rules aren’t working, Fulghum’s approach may be worth a try.
That’s all for now. I’m off to follow his advice: “warm cookies and cold milk are good for you and take a nap every afternoon.”