There is no Guarantee

Buckle your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

I know you've all heard those words before, but now more than ever, I think we need to buckle up and maybe even put on a helmet.

It's been quite a year so far and we haven't even hit the end of January yet.

We've been iundated with pictures, videos and sound bytes of natural disasters, of people made disasters and of everything in between.

We've also seen amazing and beautiful things happen, but those tend to get overshadowed in the news.

Good news doesn't really make the news, unless it's a slow day.

It's not flashy or cool to hear about good news, that is, unless bad news brought it about in the first place.

Maybe I'm a little cynical but something really should be done about that.


Let me describe to you what I've seen over the last few weeks.

I've seen extreme sadness, happiness, despair and celebration. 

I've seen tears of joy and pain during a marathon.

I've seen fear in a wife's eyes as she watches her husband fall to the ground & be taken away in an ambulance.

I've seen fear, hunger and hopelessness on the news as stories of death, stories of births and stories of rescue flood the news after the earthquake(s) in Haiti.

But then I've also seen cruelty, impatience and disdain in the faces and actions of everyday people.  Their anger is palatable and makes me cringe.

Why are they so angry?  What has happened to make them feel that way and then act out like a spoiled toddler whose favorite toy got taken away for hitting his little brother?

Why can't they see all the suffering in the world and just let it go?

They don't have the raw deal.  They don't have the suffering that I've seen as they drive away, tank full of gas in their BMW- hey, they say, it's only a 2008.

Get real people. 

Yours is not the life of suffering that you make it out to be.


There are people out there who have way less than any of us yet are happier than most of us.


Why?

Because they have their priorities straight.

They know that tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

They know that it's just as likely for them to not see the next sunrise as it is that they will.

So they focus on what is important.

What is it?


The here and now.


Right now, they take advantage of the breathing, seeing, hearing, tasting and touching that they are able to.

Right now they are grateful for whatever they have been given and whatever they have been blessed with.

They are not cursing out their neighbor for not cutting their lawn.

They're not flipping off the guy in front of them for cutting them off.

They are spending time with their loved ones.  They are working when they have to and they are grateful.

GRATEFUL.

There is no security for some.

But they make the most of each and every day.

We sit and complain that the price of gas has gone up.

It has and that sucks, but let's get real.

What is really important?

What have we lost touch of?

What is it that we can reclaim as our own and what is it that we can do to start making the most of every single day?

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

But today is.

You still have 100% of this moment, right now, to do whatever it is that you want to do.

You can take the time to complain or you can use the time to make a difference- no matter how small or insignificant you think it may be.

But the thing is that you got up off your butt and did something.


Words & thoughts are just that until you put them into action.

Action.

Simple word, we learn it when we're little but how many people can actually grasp the heaviness of that word.

You've got to show up, you've got to take action, you've got to actually do something.

So why this, why now?

I'm tired of all the complaining.  I'm tired of hearing that this or that is responsible for your life situation.

You are the ONLY one responsible for where you are and for who you are.  Stop blaming your genetics, your parents, your partner or loved ones.  It's all YOU.

Take responsibility and see what you can do with it. 

If you need help, just ask.  There are so many of us out there that are more than willing to help, that want to help, that feel called to help.

I'm not tired of helping people.  I never will be BUT I want to encourage you to take action, to do something other than just spit out rhetoric and pretend that waxing poetic about a bad situation will just make it better because you "thought" about it.

You are not guaranteed tomorrow.  Only right now is guaranteed.

Live you life with no regrets.  If you already have them, then do something about them.  It's never too late.  It's never over when the fat lady sings.

The time for action is now.  The time for living is now.


What will you do?  Will you own this moment or will you let it own you?

It's Not Really The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

I've been doing something lately that has been super unproductive. 

I've been getting these thoughts that just nag me.  Not just a little nagging, but over and over and over again.

I say, just write it down, the voices will stop :  )

So here goes, as a human being and as an entrepreneur, I've noticed all the craziness that goes on around the holidays.

The holidays are over you say.  I say no!

There is still one more holiday before we are free and clear of the winter holiday nightmares- Valentine's day!


Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays.  I have nothing against food, drinks, trees, candles, singing, family gatherings and the like but there has been something about the holidays that has been just bugging me to no end.

We've all heard the talk about the economy.  I've promised myself to not quantify it as bad, good, or whatever.  It just is.

I admit that there are people suffering through this economy.  There are people who are suffering through this weather.  There are people who suffer through the holidays. 

BUT even though there is so much going on, there is this underlying pressure to give and not just to give of yourself and your time, but to give of your resources that you may or may not have.

Meaning, you are almost forced even though I should use the word encouraged to over-spend, to over-eat, to over-drink, to over-holiday yourself until you are shaking from it all come January 2nd.

No wonder so many people hide themselves away over the holidays.  I was tempted to do that this year and Christmas is one of my most favorite times of the year.

WTF?

There is too much pressure.  There is too much expected from family members, from friends, from significant others.  Just way too much.

I had 3 holiday parties in one day.  Seriously.  I made it to 2 of them and then had to put myself under house arrest for the rest of the season. 

It took too much out of me to give and give and give and give. 

It wasn't about the money.  It wasn't that I didn't want to spend my time, but there was just so much build-up to the season that my body and my soul just couldn't take it.

And now we're winding our way towards Valentine's Day which if you ask me is unfairly placed after the New Year just to torment people.

There are too many expectations.  He should be doing this.  She should be doing that.

Come on people!

Wake up!

Doesn't it ever just get to be too much?

When did spending time with your family, friends and loved ones become not enough?

That was my biggest wish for the holidays, for the new year, for Valentine's day.

I wish for time well spent and well enjoyed with those that I treasure the most.

I wish for you, the same.