I love working hard because amazing things can happen … but it is not the only thing that matters to your success. Anyone who says otherwise are just plain lying to you.
Focus – The Journey
Selected Life Lesson
At the end of your life, no one will be keeping score. So instead of relying on the points you’ve added up, you had better remember the journey life was and how much you enjoyed it.
-Jerod B’s Life Lesson from Silver Lake, Kansas
Richard’s Thoughts…
I remember getting this lesson a couple of years ago at a student leadership conference in Kansas and picking it for this week’s lesson seemed appropriate. Life offers us so many chances to fail, and yet, so often we stay on the sidelines, opting to stay safe.
But life is all about the experiences. Growing up in Iowa, I was a Minnesota Twins fan which included the late Kirby Puckett. My dad took our family to the game where they honored him and the game when they retired his number. Plus, we went to his Hall of Fame Induction. We loved his play and his passion for the game. It wasn’t all about the wins for us. It was his joy and love of the game.
One of the lines of his speech that night in the Metrodome was simple, he wanted people to remember that ‘Kirby Puckett lived the hell out of his life.’ And it’s that passion that we all need to remember to have each and every day. We need to live, truly live with passion and love. It is amazing how things change when you do.
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Newsletter: Be a Miracle
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Wow, did I have a rough week two weeks ago. It just seems that in life, when it rains, it pours. Or, if you’re in the East Coast like me, when it snows, it snows!
It began on Wednesday on my way into Manhattan. It just felt like everyone wanted to get in my way. Whether it was the person on the subway stairs, or the person on the actual subway, or the person on the subway platform oblivious to the rest of the world, or the person on the sideway who clearly didn’t know the meaning behind ‘walking in a straight line.’
And it continued Wednesday night. And Thursday morning at the gym. And Thursday on the way home.
No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get my head back to neutral.
But then a snow storm came. Nemo. And I started to smile again.
It a challenge in this world – New York City especially – to maintain a positive attitude.
CREATE OPPORTUNITY
No matter the situation, you have to create opportunity. If it is sports, you have to create opportunity to score, or play great defense. If it is in writing, you have to make sure you have time and energy to write. I think hockey great Wayne Gretzky said it best, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” Put in context, you miss 100 percent of the happy moments when you don’t allow yourself to smile and enjoy that moment.
BREATHE
A continuation of creating opportunity, you sometimes just have to breathe. I tried to do that, but it just seemed the harder I tried to create happiness, the more things piled against me. So, on Friday, I came home, opened a bottle of wine and watched television. I didn’t focus on work or my to-do list. I just sat and relaxed. Sometimes that is all you need.
LET IT GO
Sometimes you just have to let it go. You can’t control a lot in this life, but you can control you. You can’t control when you will get sick, or when a co-worker is going to drop the ball. You can’t control if you get fired, but you can control your response. And you certainly can’t control other people, but you can control how they impact you.
Happiness is a choice. What are you choosing?
Get in a Good Mood
I was on the subway last week and saw this ad and just had to share it with you.
Notice: The seat is empty.
