Friendship

I have a good friend who I had not spoken to in a while. We had a.... Let's call it a disagreement/misunderstanding a few months ago. Now what I have been making up in my mind is that we are no longer friends, we don't get along anymore, we are on different paths....The truth is that versions of all of that are true, things have changed, we have changed.....and we are friends. I spoke with him and by the end of the conversation it was as if nothing had happened. Something did happen though. I learned, once again that life is too short to make up stories in my mind without first learning the truth.

The wake up call

Today I was walking down the street and started getting this pain in my back. I went o meeting and it progressively got worse. By the time I left the meeting and was walking to the next one, hunched over, moaning like a baby every step I took and had to stop and rest every 5 steps. It got to the point that I ended up going to the hospital because I couldn't take the pain. It turned out that it's probably muscle and is already feeling better. The lesson I got from this is to not take anything for granted... Even the ability to walk down the street

To my mother

When it comes time for mothers day there is a lot of talk about gifts. What do you get as a gift for your mother? What do you get for a gift that is worthy of a mother? What do you get as a gift for a mother who is no longer here? The truth is there was never a gift that I could buy in a store that was worthy of my mother....I just didn't always know it. I am one of the fortunate ones though, because I was able to tell her and show her just how much she meant to me while she was still here. And yet, as I grow there is still so much more I could say. The gift that I give to my mother today is remembering her and all that she gave to me and honoring her by using it.

Just about everything that is good in me, came from you. Some of the lessons you taught me where so simple, yet I was not ready to fully receive them. When something doesn't turn out the way I would have liked it to, I hear you in my head saying "everything happens for a reason, even if we never know what that reason is" and it helps me to accept it. When I feel like someone isn't treating me in a way that I would like to be treated, I hear you say "You teach people how to treat you" and then I can be responsible and set out to teach them something different. You taught me everything I need, not just by saying it but by who you were. I will honor you today and every day by being who you taught me to be.

Taking Action on Our Dreams

I'm reading this book and about 5 days ago, I got to the part where I'm supposed to write down my dreams and goals and what they would cost to achieve in time and money. I came up with a ton of them, more than the book said was necessary. The author said that most people have trouble with this and I may not be able to come up with the amount of goals and dreams asked for. That part was not a problem. The next step was to then pick the top four goals and take one small action on each right now, then tomorrow and the next day. Then, I started thinking I don't know what action to take, maybe these aren't my top goals, blah blah blah. So, there it sat for the past five days reviewing it and figuring out the perfect top four goals and the perfect actions to take on them. Well, this is what finally got through my thick head. The point is to be in action...period. To take an action that I otherwise wouldn't. I will figure out the rest as I go along. So, I am off to do that right now. Taking action on my tenth biggest goal is better than not taking action at all.

Two ears and one mouth

I met with a friend today that I have know for a few years and had seen recently for the first time in a while. even though I knew him, I realized that I never really knew him. It's incredible what can be learned about a person and the bond that can be created when I just simply ask questions and listen. there is a saying that god gave us two ears and one mouth because he wanted us to listen twice as much as we talk. I think it's more like ten times more. When we have a lot to say it can be a challenge to keep quiet and listen...really listen. what makes it easier for me these days is knowing that I can listen to my own thoughts and opinions any time I want. so, why would I waste the valuable time I have with someone else to listen to myself talk.

Getting personal

I went to a business networking meeting last night that I go to every other week. this week at the end of the meeting, we did something a little different. We all took a turn sharing something about ourselves that was not related to business. The whole energy in the room changed and this is a light and fun group as it is. Once everyone started sharing personal interests, passions, accomplishments and goal and saw how much we had in common a bond was created that would not have been otherwise. For me, I saw the person and what drives them to be networking in the first place. It motivated me to want to work even harder to support their business and what they are up to. the lesson for me is that I could have asked those questions any time and I still can. It's much more important to get to know who a person is than to get to know what they do.

Busting out

My wife Marie sent me a video clip today of an autistic girl who was featured in a story on 20/20. She was labeled as mentally retarded and nobody thought she understood what twas going on around her because of the way she acted and she could not talk or communicate. One day, she went to the computer and typed a few words. She was then worked with and soon she was carrying on conversations through typing and intelligently relaying how she felt and why she acted the way she did. She was a "normal" child trapped inside an out of control body, physically unable to act in the way she wants to. Here is a girl who has wanted so badly to express herself to be who she is and has not been able to. It make me think of how often I don't express myself, simply because I choose not to and not because I am unable to. this girl, Carly is my new inspiration. I see it as an insult to her to not use the abilities I have to express myself when she would give anything to be able to. And yet, even she found a way. use the gifts you have to express yourself and show the world who you are.

Staying connected

For a few weeks, I was avoiding going to events and meeting with people that was not related to business because I had some specific goals that I was committed to meeting. In the past week or so, I realized that I needed to have a balance and that it's important to stay connected to the things and people that are important to me, to build new relationships and to strengthen new ones. Besides it making me feel better and more alive, our business was better this week than it was the weeks I was focused only o business. Another lesson leaned.....life can not be lived in a tunnel and sometimes opportunities are not where they are expected to be.

No nessecito hablo Espanol

Ok, so I probably messed that up In the title.... I gave it a shot. The other night, I was at an event and there was a large group of Spanish speaking people. I think slot of them dis not speak English, or at least they weren't speaking it to me. We were together, interacting and working together for about three hours and barely spoke a word. By the end of the night, we were hugging and putting up the Phone sign to each other as if to say " we will talk again" and we hadn't even talked once. We created a bond without even speaking the same language. If I think about it we all speak a different language in some ways, yet we also all share a common bond.

Exposed

We are probably going to pass by the TMI barrier with this one, so I will warn you in advance. Yesterday, I got up and my dog was whining to go out. I was getting myself together and she was growing impatient....when you gotta go, you gotta go. So, I rushed out Nd took her for a walk. We walked about five blocks, I stopped to get eggs and we walked back. I passed by a few people and stopped a couple times so Abhaya could say hi to other dogs passing by. We got to my apartment and I dropped my keys. As I went to pick them up, I noticed my fly was open. That's not all folks. I forgot to mention that it was laundry day and I had run out of boxers....oh yes! For about 15 seconds I traced it back, the deli guy, man with dog that I see all the time, woman with unusually large grin on her face. Then, I just laughed and let it go. Five years ago, I would have moved.....to another country....for good! It was great to see how little I cared...it was in the past...there was nothing I could do about it. If only I could be that way about everything. Wait...that's right.... I can!

No need to speak

A good friend of mine recently found out that her dog has Lymphoma. I think it may be difficult for someone who does not have a dog to understand the attachment and connection that can be created. When I found this out it made me think of the connection I have to my dog and how important she is to me. People sometimes say "it's just a do...it's not a human" I think the fact that it's not a human is exactly why a special bond is created. I think sometimes us humans speak to each other when we really don't need to. Dogs are just there. They just love us and don't ask for anything in return. There is a lot to be learn from a relationship with a dog. And it can be so devastating when we are faced with the loss because it's a unique bond that we may not have in any other relationship. Sometimes there is no need to speak, we can just be there and that is enough.