{"id":3794,"date":"2015-11-08T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-11-08T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/?p=3794"},"modified":"2015-11-08T09:00:56","modified_gmt":"2015-11-08T14:00:56","slug":"big-fish-in-a-small-pond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/big-fish-in-a-small-pond\/","title":{"rendered":"BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3796 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5594.jpg\" alt=\"AndreaMai_Flowers-5594\" width=\"1090\" height=\"727\" \/><br \/>\nLast week when I was at the conservatory taking photos of the chrysanthemums, I also saw these beautiful goldfish in the pond. I was quite amazed at how big they were. They swam quite quickly, so it wasn&#8217;t easy to get good shots of them. This reminds me of the saying about being a &#8220;big fish in a small pond&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase\u00a0is often used to describe people who are content to have power over a small area of influence. I think it&#8217;s a very interesting concept to consider. Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big\u00a0pond? In my experience, I&#8217;ve encountered such people that I would consider big fish in a small pond. \u00a0Their power and influence is unquestionably strong amongst their &#8220;tribe&#8221; of followers, that they have cult-like status. Their followers will listen to whatever they have to say, and follow them without question. My advice is to be weary of such people, because often times, these people may\u00a0be deluded about their abilities and power to do what they say they can. Question their motives, and what they say. How sincere or genuine are they? Trust your intuition about the people you meet. You will be surprised how keen your instincts are about these people as you get to know them better. You might ignore your doubts about people because you think your first impression of someone might be judgemental and you are giving them the benefit of the doubt. But your instincts were actually picking up on something about them<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve found that there are people who are essentially &#8220;nobodies&#8221; in the big picture of things who will make big claims about what they can do for you. They paint themselves to be\u00a0bigger than they are. But in reality, they are like blowfish, blowing themselves up to be much bigger than who they really are. The truth is, they do this because they are really not that secure in themselves, so any sort of exercise in power makes them feel better about themselves. This can be taken to an extreme level of bullying and manipulation.<\/p>\n<p>When they\u00a0describe people as small fish in \u00a0a big\u00a0pond, they are talking about people with big ambitions to swim amongst the bigger fish. Although they more ambitious and less influential, I think being a small fish in a big pond is humbling. You never get illusions of grandeur about yourself because there is always someone else out there who is bigger, better, smarter, richer, and more beautiful than you. And that&#8217;s ok, because the beauty of it is that your self-image is not based on the power and influence you have over others.<\/p>\n<p>P\/S Total irony here, I just noticed that this post will be published on the 8th. The number 8 symbolizes power and influence. The universe has a sense of humour&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>#fish #goldfish #cactus #pond #tropical #bigfishinasmallpond #power #influence #observations #advice #kingofthehill #queenbee<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3795 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5574.jpg\" alt=\"AndreaMai_Flowers-5574\" width=\"1090\" height=\"727\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5595.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3797 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5595.jpg\" alt=\"AndreaMai_Flowers-5595\" width=\"1090\" height=\"727\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5597.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3798 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5597.jpg\" alt=\"AndreaMai_Flowers-5597\" width=\"1090\" height=\"727\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5643.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3799 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5643.jpg\" alt=\"AndreaMai_Flowers-5643\" width=\"1090\" height=\"727\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5721.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3800 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AndreaMai_Flowers-5721.jpg\" alt=\"AndreaMai_Flowers-5721\" width=\"727\" height=\"1090\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week when I was at the conservatory taking photos of the chrysanthemums, I also saw these beautiful goldfish in the pond. I was quite amazed at how big they were. They swam quite quickly, so it wasn&#8217;t easy to get good shots of them. This reminds me of the saying about being a &#8220;big [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photography"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3616,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/beauty-in-unexpected-places\/","url_meta":{"origin":3794,"position":0},"title":"BEAUTY IN UNEXPECTED PLACES","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"September 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A few\u00a0weeks ago, I was shooting portrait photos at Brookfield Place in the financial district of Toronto. There was a courtyard at the side of the building that I had never been to before. I noticed a little entrance way that is tucked behind an elevated platform of trees and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Photography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/art\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AndreaMai_lotus-1485","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_lotus-1485.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_lotus-1485.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_lotus-1485.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_lotus-1485.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7146,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/prince-was-nott-vegan-former-vegetarian-speaks-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":3794,"position":1},"title":"PRINCE WAS NOT VEGAN, HERE&#8217;S PROOF HE WAS ONLY VEGETARIAN","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"August 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a touchy topic that vegans are going to hate me for. I wondered if I should bring it up at all. But it is the truth, and I feel that I must say something, because it is something that will affect many\u00a0if it is not openly discussed at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Prince&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Prince","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/prince\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/AndreaMai_London-0421-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/AndreaMai_London-0421-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/AndreaMai_London-0421-683x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8964,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/he-gave-away-his-headphones-evp-november-15-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":3794,"position":2},"title":"HE GAVE AWAY HIS HEADPHONES &#8211; EVP November 15, 2019","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"December 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From eavesdropping on many conversations between spirits, from what I can make out, I get the sense that they enjoy giving things to each other. They do it voluntarily. Often offering food items and other small objects. Or in other cases, they like to \"play\" store, or restaurant. There seems\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;EVP \/ ITC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"EVP \/ ITC","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/evp-itc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/AndreaMai_Beats-5258-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9895,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/recording-of-princes-dove-in-spirit-2021-new-year-greeting-and-catch-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":3794,"position":3},"title":"RECORDING OF PRINCE&#8217;S DOVE IN SPIRIT, 2021 NEW YEAR GREETING AND CATCH UP","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"January 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"First of all, I want to wish all my readers a Happy New Year. I hope you are doing well and that the new year will bring you something great, in spite of the world situation. Things here have been ticking along, the usual year end stuff, catching up on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;EVP \/ ITC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"EVP \/ ITC","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/evp-itc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/AndreaMai_-1602-3-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/AndreaMai_-1602-3-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/AndreaMai_-1602-3-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/AndreaMai_-1602-3-1024x683.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8996,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/spirits-react-to-prince-at-the-grocery-store-evp-december-23-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":3794,"position":4},"title":"SPIRITS REACT TO PRINCE AT THE GROCERY STORE &#8211; EVP December 23, 2019","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"January 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"During the holidays, we like to go to the European grocery stores to get special food items that we don't usually eat throughout the year. This time, I recorded EVP while I was there. In general, I think the spirits in my local supermarket have gotten used to seeing Prince,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;EVP \/ ITC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"EVP \/ ITC","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/evp-itc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/AndreaMai_London-0433-683x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7376,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/re-thinking-law-of-attraction-theory-what-really-influences-reality\/","url_meta":{"origin":3794,"position":5},"title":"RE-THINKING LAW OF ATTRACTION THEORY &#8211; WHAT REALLY INFLUENCES REALITY?","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"October 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever since my experiences with seeing how P\u00a0has demonstrated his influence on things like getting my dad to drive past his\u00a0old house, or getting his songs played on the store radio; I have come to call into question just how much influence the spirit world has on our reality. Considering\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Faith in God&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Faith in God","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/faith-in-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}