Pulling Open The Door

"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of." - Ogden Nash

You hear a dog barking. A dog standing behind a closed door, barking at whatever lay beyond it. He senses that something is on the other side but can not get to it. His curiosity drives him to seek out the door every day, possibly hoping the door is open.

Are you standing behind a closed door?

Do you go through life wondering if greater things exist beyond your current circumstances? Does your curiosity have you seek out the door in hope that it is open? If the door handle is there, why have we not tried to open it?

Each of us have a yearning to see what is beyond a closed door. And we each have the ability to find out by simply opening the door and walking through. In a book I wrote, Changed Lives, the stories vary, but each person chose to walk through a door to find a new way.

The hardest part is choosing to open the door.

The door in your life could be one of many different choices or obstacles. It is keeping you from believing in new possibilities. We trap ourselves behind these doors we have erected. They are limitations built by us.

We tell ourselves this is all we can do; that nothing else possible lay beyond what we are. Slowly we install the door frame, adding the hinges which will hold our door. Suddenly one day you push the door shut and with a click of the latch, you have closed all possibility.

Any door closed can also be opened.

I have seen it happen to so people. I have experienced it myself. It is a wonderful thing once you simply believe in yourself. To see life transform into something greater is a fantastic feeling. To have the courage to pull open the door.

It can be done, you can do it. All it takes is stepping up to that door, grabbing the handle and opening the door. The light might blind and disorient you at first. But then the light will warm you. Your eyes will begin to see things with more clarity.

Now simply walk through the door and begin to experience the change.

Change and experience a life full on the other side of that closed door. And stay inspired my friends!

Our Changing Normal

"There is nothing permanent except change." - Heraclitus

Each of us encounter changes in our lives on a fairly constant basis. Change is really the one thing that seems to remain constant in our life. I have experienced many changes in my lifetime and as such had to adopt a willingness to flow with those changes.

This has been especially true when it comes to my job in the high tech industry. For over 35 years I have managed to remain employed even as the industry continues to evolve rapidly. The last thirty years have been with one company, so suffice to say the young guys are probably putting me into the dinosaur class.

But I am still here, keeping up with the changes.

In all of my year, I have had to adapt as many of you have in your lives. I have paid a personal cost due to changes and decisions made which were not expected. As it is said, one decision begets another, so on and so forth.

Yet all of us survive and push through.

Many times I could have wallowed in a negative attitude, complaining about all that was happening around me. Doing so would have left me lost in a sea of change. To feel you have lost all control can make it difficult to pull out of at times.

You struggle to find one bit of good through the maze of confusion.

And once you find the good, it becomes your focus and the goodness grows. To have a positive attitude helps tremendously and it will guide you through the bad times. It will help you get safely to the other side.

I am reminded of dialog from a movie called Tombstone, in which Wyatt Earp is telling a dying Doc Holliday that all he ever wanted was a 'normal' life. Doc Holliday responds to him by saying, "Wyatt, there is no such thing as a normal life. It's just life."

The same is true in our own life. There is no such thing as a normal life because life will happen around you. That is the normal part of living. How you react and respond to that 'normal' will determine the type of life you live.

Choose to live it well. Choose to live it in a positive way.

Stay inspired my friends!

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”

- Charles R. Swindoll -

Waves of Change

“Having a vested interest in other souls unconditionally creates a ripple effect that produces miracles in the lives of those around us.”
― Molly Friedenfeld

Just recently a large winter storm swept across the U.S. There were hundreds of thousands of people deeply affected by the cold, snow and flooding. There were also many who took time out from their day to help these individuals.

Different points in life present opportunity to help others.

There is an insurance commercial from a few years back which depicts different types of opportunities which occur in the most mundane way. I would hesitate here and state that commercials are not necessarily the best forum to learn about life. Yet at times, advertisements can teach us basic principles about living even though the intent is to sell us on something.

You can find the commercial titled "Responsibility" at the link provided or watch it below. This particular insurance company is Liberty Mutual and depicts one person making a choice to do one thing for another.

A ripple effect upon others helping others begins.

I have spoken of this ripple effect previously regarding the choices and actions we take in life. Like a pebble dropped in the water, small vibrations begin to flow out from this one seemingly insignificant event. As the flow moves further and further, the vibrations grow into waves.

Eventually a great wave breaks at waters edge.

You can have an impact in life with your small actions of helping others. Those actions carry beyond through others further and further. It is unlikely you will see the wave on the outer edges. And sometimes you do and it is a wonderful feeling to see.

Yet the crashing wave is spectacular.

Like surfers riding atop these giant waves crashing with final impact upon the beach, your simple movement results in waves of impact on a greater world. Others will ride this wave of movement to a destination of greatness.

Other people will also create movement based upon your actions. Pebbles in the water with circles of change moving out from their own center will create waves on which you can ride when they come along.

It may be said it creates a rough pool of water, yet in calm water a boat remains still, motionless with little chance of getting anywhere. But a breeze comes along and the boat begins to move.

Your movement begins and the waves begin to form.

Change begins and life will never be the same for you are moving towards something great. Create waves in your life by helping others and then catch the waves of change which come back your way.

Stay inspired my friends!

Moving Forward With Change

“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” - H. L. Hunt

Every day we make a decision. We decide to get up, the clothes we will wear or the breakfast food we'll eat. More decisions are made as the day progresses on before us.

Simple things we barely even think about.

We make many decisions on a daily basis, sometimes not quite as often, which impact us in many different ways. As the prairie homesteader Flora Whittemore said, “the doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”

Everything we do affects our day, week, month and future.

The little things can have as much of an impact as the big decisions we make. You may even try to avoid the outcomes by trying to avoid making a choice. Yet to avoid making a decision is a decision itself.

So once a decision is made, act upon it.

You can not constantly make choices, turn and run from them. The only way to keep moving forward is to adjust your course if the decision was not correct. Turning back will keep you in a state of decline.

Make a choice, move forward and adjust as needed.

Amelia Earhart said, “the most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”

Just keep yourself moving, adjusting and deciding to make choices necessary in your life. Move your life forward, not backwards.

Stay inspired my friends!

Life Can Be Delightful

"Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage -- it can be delightful." - George Bernard Shaw

It takes me a fair amount of time before I can shake off my job and enjoy a vacation. But then after having time off from work, it takes me a fair amount of time to return myself to the actual work.

I get into one of those first-day-back foggy moods.

Now I could approach these first-day-back days a few different ways.

I could choose to sit the day out and simply let it pass quietly. Maybe call in sick and mill about at home, putting off the inevitable until the next day. But the next day always comes and has to be faced.

So I choose not to waste the day. Not wasting the day and working to accomplish at least one thing, anything that will allow me to feel good about it. An accomplishment that allow me to feel good about being back in the swing of work.

The same goes for things you do in your life.

Many times there are things you 'have to do' in the daily routine. Don't get me wrong, I am lucky in the fact that I really enjoy my job. I understand others are not.

But you still have to face that job, that chore or that event until you make a change. So get up and do it. Remember your situation is a result of your choices, not others.

Having the attitude to approach even that which you don't care to do is a step towards change.

Stay inspired my friends!

Changing Traditions and Habits

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” ― John Maynard Keynes

Staying the course in life is not always the correct and right thing to do. Tradition can have a powerful and meaningful effect when properly applied. But if tradition is maintained only for the sake of tradition, it then makes no sense to continue on with it.

The same can be said regarding our own lives. Those things we tend to do the same way, over and over again. We repeat the same mistake or try using the same methods which have failed five times before. Maybe it is going into the same job, day after day that does not pay enough and lacks any joy.

Break daily tradition and find a different type of job.

Each day you drive the same route to work. And each day, on that same route, the same traffic aggravates you. The slow movement of cars, the honking of irritation and all those stop lights. The stress simply depresses you well before the day really gets started.

Find a new way by driving a different route to work.

There are many small, medium or big things you could do. Alter your diet which affects your physical state, or a new radio or television station to affect your mental state. Getting up from bed in the morning earlier or going to bed earlier in the evening.

You can do things to shake up the tradition of your life.

Sometimes doing the same thing over and over just isn't very smart. Shaking up your world does not mean you will get it right the first or second time. What it will do is give you a different perspective. And it is this new perspective which will give you opportunity to see how your life can be different.

Try shaking up those traditions in your life that are not working.

Move away from the comfortable chains of doing things the same way. Away from those same habits which are not working for you in life. Take a bold step into a new way of living your life. See how much greater things can be.

Stay inspired my friends!

Menu Change

“I will continue my path, but I will keep a memory always.” ― Rosie Thomas

It has been 15 years of culinary appreciation we have had with our own cafeteria where I work. The breakfast biscuit and gravy and early morning starters helped set the tone for a great day. During the noon lunch break, there was always something to please the pallet and pleasing conversation.

And through those years has been our friend Bekki.

The changing times of the workplace and more people working from home did this. The need for less office space created a change which I am not fully certain of regarding the missed daily interactions among people. The work environment can create close teams and great accomplishments.

And through those years has been our friend Bekki.

Bekki was a part of that team as well. She was a part of all we did here in our corner of the working world. From the laughter and Wednesday joke to listening as one spoke of their children, parents or grandkids; her ear was always a willing participant to the conversation. As a friend does.

How many of us get to work in an environment, surrounded by people who care for you and miss you when you are gone? While a rhetorical question, it is the kind of work place we had here and Bekki was a large part of it. A workplace family that each of us are a part of.

And now that the time has passed, we will miss our friend Bekki.

There was Terrence, Melissa and many of the other folks who worked with Bekki in that cafeteria. Each of them brought a special kindness to the counter. Melissa scurrying about with the daily planning and a kind word for you. And I am going to miss my sports talk with Terence and his culinary greatness.

Without them, the vending machine only whirs and clunks in response.

Things change, that is inevitable. Another office cafeteria will get to know Bekki and the others who have passed through. All of us will move further along the path in our lives. But the memories of some great people, of friendly people, of Ms. Bekki will endure.

Thank you Bekki for bringing a smile and kind word to the day.

Stay inspired my friends!

Now Go Do It

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” - Leonardo da Vinci

We can sit around all day, all week or all month planning a vision. The problem is that nothing will change until you act upon it.

We complain about our condition in life and why nothing changes. The problem is that nothing will change until you act upon it.

We can want for change by dreaming of something new in our life. The problem is that nothing will change until you act upon it.

The two key words in the above statements are YOU and ACT.

It takes you to act if change is going to take place. Movement towards anything will cause the change to occur. Only by believing in our vision, acting upon that vision, will we realize the success of that vision.

You know what to do; now go do it and see your life change.

Stay inspired my friends.

As It Turns Out

"Pile up too many tomorrows and you’ll find that you have collected nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays." - The Music Man

I believe that each of us as individuals have the ability to impact and inspire others. It can be a kind word, a simple gesture or helping in a major way, a person get through a troubling time. But many times we wonder if the timing is right to get involved.

It turns out that now is the perfect time.

It is interesting that one can find wisdom and inspiration from many unexpected sources. I've always believed that each of us as individuals have the ability to impact and inspire others. Throughout my day, I look for small bits of inspiration which push me to be a better person.

One such bit is a saying I heard quite some time ago. It is tied to a piece of old artwork that belongs to singer Lucinda Williams and on it says "as it turns out, now is the moment you've been waiting for." I have been searching for an image of that artwork to no avail to find the context of words and art together. It could be the artwork is not something I am meant to find.

Maybe we are meant to only find meaning in the words.

So without having first hand knowledge of the artwork or background to the quote, I can only decide for myself what the words mean. For me it is the idea that we are always waiting for things to happen for us. We wait for the time to be just right, the right place, the right conditions. The waiting is what prevents us from accomplishing our goals.

To make change or move forward in life, "as it turns out, now is that moment you've been waiting for." Go now and make movement in your life.

And stay inspired my friends.

Always Something Good

"When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it's welcome." - Kristin Armstrong

Did you feel it happen?

Was there a big shift in what you expected from yesterday to today?

This Friday morning, March 20, 2015, the March equinox occurred at 6:45 PM EDT. The equinox marks when the Sun crosses the celestial equator, an imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern. A seasonal change of winter to spring in the northern hemisphere and summer to fall in the southern hemisphere.

This natural change in the seasons always brings renewed excitement for those entering a spring and for those entering fall. Spring will mean planting of new dreams and fall is the harvest of those same dreams.

Either way, the natural order of the seasons means something good always awaits us.

Stay inspired my friends.

Who Are We

“DNA is an abbreviation for deoxyribonucleicantidisestablishmentarianism, a complex string of syllables.” - Dave Barry

After watching various episodes of a television show named Who Do You Think You Are? on the NBC network, I was convinced to get my DNA tested. A search into the smallest of particles that make up who I am was intriguing to me. The Ancestry.com website has a link for DNA testing which is rather simple to take, but complicated in the science of how it is looked at.

I had no preconceived notions about getting a nicely packaged history of my family such as the television program depicted. Having watched my mother research our genealogy for a number of years and having done so myself, it can be very difficult. It takes time, money, patience and lots of investigation. But it can be very rewarding when you find that one document which has a name on it. Honestly, it is an exciting moment to find a name on a U.S. Census from 1880, knowing it is a connection to your past.

My particular DNA test gave me a bit more information about my past, but more importantly it documented who I am for future generations. One day I will be in the same category as my current day ancestors. Heck, I am a parent so therefore I am technically an ancestor already. But this DNA test was able to tell me even more.

- Did it confirm things I have believed about my ancestors?
- Did it reveal something totally unexpected?
- Did it create a connection to people I would never have thought possible?

The unknown is quite exciting as opposed to being worried.

Some people asked me, "What if you find out something horrible?" My answer was "Okay, no problem, I'll deal with it." Finding out about the unknown can actually open new possibility. It can open new doors and put to rest that which we carried for years. The unknown has changed lives. My expectation was to let it reveal itself as another piece to the puzzle of my life.

It fills in the story of who I was for my children and generations to come.

Sounds a bit self important and it is not meant to be. Finding out about the unknown helps us learn more about who we are. If we can figure it out while living can help us achieve more in that life. Facing our fears of the unknown also helps us take one more step in overcoming obstacles in life.

We can't live in fear of the unknown.

We may not like what we find, we may be overjoyed by what we find. Either way, the tiniest parts of our life will have as much impact as the largest parts. DNA could stand for "Do Not Ask", but I choose to ask who I am. Let the smallest pieces of you reveal something about your life. They are there for the asking and may reveal the very thing you have been searching for.

Stay inspired my friends.

Real Change

"Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical." ~ Sophia Loren

Some years ago, the city of Atlanta (Georgia, USA) had a problem on its hands. A busy street on the southeast side of downtown had become quite notorious for crime, prostitution and drugs. Such a shame because Stewart Avenue was a functional and friendly area many years prior to that.

As time progressed and attitudes changed, this once nice place to live became a haven of trouble. Things got so bad, the city of Atlanta made the decision to clean things up. Their first step was to take Stewart Avenue and rename it Metropolitan Parkway. The name was chosen to highlight wonderful institutions of higher education that held the street as their address (Atlanta Metropolitan College and Atlanta Technical College).

There you have it, change the name and all is better right?

Not hardly, change takes a lot more work and effort.

This stretch of road still has many issues and change that needs to occur. It is something very similar to what needs to happen inside each of us. When we make a decision to correct a behavior or obstacle in our life, change has to happen on the inside. We can not simply change our hair-do, clothing style or name; we have to change our attitude within. It takes determined work to make real change in our life.

Think of it as a house which has developed a termite issue. You can repaint the walls inside and out, but if you don't take care of the actual problem inside the wall, there will be continued destruction. Old habits and old destructive friends have a way of sneaking back into our lives very much like a termite inside the walls of a house.

When you decide to make change inside, the choices will be tough. You will need to leave old friends behind. Even the National Football League here in the United States provides lessons for new rookie football players to help them with these changes. Some of the lessons are to disassociate with some of your old friends that may try to hold you back.

The same can be said for anything you do in changing your life.  There are those that wish to remain behind and will instinctively try to keep you down with them or cling to you like termites in the foundation of your house.

Real change requires more than a name change, more than a new coat of paint.

Real change requires effort to change what is inside of you.

Once you find and create real beauty within, real change will occur on the outside.

Stay inspired my friends.

Rough Waters

Shores of Peru, South America

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."
- Rabindranath Tagore

Rough waters will keep many from getting too close.

The danger that lurks beneath the surface which is unknown.

Could that danger really exist or do you look beyond the swirling waters to see where the calm water lay?

The same can be said of troubles seen within our own life. You only look at the immediate issue and see the turbulent water of anguish. But it works to your advantage if you try to understand that beyond an immediate problem, a solution will surface.

That is where look for all possibility, looking beyond the usual, beyond your self-imposed limitations.

It is said, "as we sail thru life, don't avoid rough waters, sail on because calm waters won't make a skillful sailor." We learn from what we experience and to believe in oneself is one of the important skills you will strengthen. Trust in your ability to see it through, taking small steps, trying different methods, changing yourself and your condition.

You will pass through the rough waters with new opportunity to rebuild. And the next time you come upon distress, you will be better prepared to move through it. As many of you have come to realize, life is about adjustments. It is setting a goal and understanding that you do not control all that happens in life. So when you encounter an obstacle, you will have better foresight to see it coming.

You won't necessarily avoid it, but you will be better prepared for it.

Believe in yourself, believe in your goals and enjoy the waters of life. And of course, stay inspired my friends.

Grace Changes Things

"And you know, when you've experienced grace and you feel like you've been forgiven, you're a lot more forgiving of other people. You're a lot more gracious to others." - Rick Warren

All of us get to ride our lives on a rollercoaster that sees our mood, our situation and circumstance change from time to time. It can cause us to have a bad day, maybe get a little cranky as well.

When it happens, it does helps the situation when others have grace for you.

The Hebrew word for grace is chesed, which means "loving kindness" and implies the giving of oneself to help another without regard to compensation.

It is an act which affords people an opportunity to help others change their lives. It is an act that helps people get through those difficult periods or bad moods in life. Without it, I'm sure my wife would have given up long ago.

We each have varying levels of grace in our hearts to give. The ability to overlook the bad and see that goodness lives within another person. As humans, our grace is naturally limited and exists at varying levels. Yet we need the ability to show grace upon others or it would be a pretty miserable life for everyone.

As humans we are prone to make mistakes; to have a bad day or to 'get cranky' from time to time. If we recognize this fact, then we have the ability to give a little slack (grace) to others. I have been given this slack throughout my lifetime. And I try to use that excess slack as often as possible by giving it back to others.

Granted, I have to exercise more grace when it comes to my superior driving skills in comparison to others. But I'm getting better and yes, I make fun of myself in that regard. I may think my driving skills are better, but it is just an illusion.

In recognizing my driving is really not much better than others, it changes my attitude. In recognizing I can not read the mind of another driver or understand why they did or did not do something while driving, it changes my attitude.

Chances are, the other driver is probably wondering the same thing about me. If I recognize it, my attitude changes and I can have a little bit of grace. back off, relax and let it go. Can you try it for half a day?

Give just a bit more grace to others around you.

A half day can stretch into a full day. A full day will stretch into being an everyday habit. Watch what happens to your life when you extend a little grace to others. You will be amazed.

Stay inspired my friends!

Shifting Breeze

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things, does the heart find its morning and is refreshed.”
― Khalil Gibran

The wind shifts and the season begins to change. The cool winds of fall are beginning to find their way across our exposed faces. It marks a shift in time as change makes us adjust to a new normal. The change is not something we necessarily want to go through.

Our heart hangs onto the hope of a continued warm summer wind. Of walking with friends along the warm beaches; of feeling free and happy in the company of those that share our summer. As the cool breeze presses down, the heart wants to push it away. The heart hopes for the change not to happen, but it does.

It is in our intellect that reminds us the seasons change, that everything changes over time. The earth moves in rhythm to time bringing the cold and causing the leaves on a tree to die but not before they explode in spectacular color. Everything has a perfect cycle to it, motion of the earth, the seasons, and time itself.

This is how time holds us in it's grasp. A battle between our heart and intellect, to want things to remain as they always were but always changing in perfect manner. We find acceptance eventually and the heart pulls the memories inside keeping them warm and safe. The warm winds will return, new leaves will bud in the spring and life will continue to flourish.

Yet what the heart contains will always remain. Time can not steal that from us. The cool winds can not blow it away. We get to keep it for eternity.

Stay inspired my friends.

Crossing Calm Waters

"The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators." - Edward Gibbon

As I was thinking about what to write today, it occurred to me that change happens in my life sometimes without even realizing it. Your thought is probably "well yeah, no duh." Certainly my thought was not one of those moments of enlightenment. It is something I have always understood just beneath the surface.

What occurred to me is that we forget about this fact of change.

Even as I accept and manage changes that I am making, other unseen forces are causing change in my life. If you think about the "ripples in the water", something set in motion elsewhere can have a ripple effect on our own life.

The ripple could be disruptive to our own movement.

The ripple could be just the right push we need.

So what happens when these ripples or waves cross paths with our own? They can upset and knock you off the course you had set. It is one of those things which could destroy a person, but only if they let it. You could be crossing calm waters only to be swept away. Knowing and understanding that the wind will shift, or that waves could come crashing over the side will help you better navigate your life.

Life and circumstance can bring change in the blink of an eye.

The outcome of your experience in life is the result of how you respond to events that occur in your life. Once you realize a calm sea will not always exist, you can prepare for and adjust when the calm is disrupted.

Be at peace in the crashing waves and you will come through into the calm stronger, happier and even more focused on your life goals.

Stay inspired my friends.

Changing Winds

"You cannot tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations." - Zig Ziglar

In the throes of all your plans being washed away, what would you do?

The circumstance we find ourselves in can ruin a pretty good day for sure. But in the big scheme of your life, you should not let it have an overbearing impact on your attitude.

Take for instance a wedding planned to be held beach side. It was to be a great sunset ceremony along the beautiful Pacific Ocean. What was to be was over run by a coming rain storm.

All hope and happiness could have been lost.

Yet we keep our senses about us knowing that life throws circumstance around. We maintain a good attitude and in the last minutes opportunity provides an option. One person knows another who might know someone capable of getting you a banquet room overlooking the ocean.

It happens and the Pacific Ocean becomes a part of the wedding ceremony.

One could have wallowed in despair over the ruined plans. You could have cried over lost plans to stand on the beach and exchange wedding vows. You could have given up, that is always an option.

Quitting would only have left you with no ability to take advantage of other opportunities. Your energy would have been consumed by thinking of what could have been instead of what can be.

Did you miss out on something wished for?

Sure, but keeping a great attitude about the situation allowed you to see a new kind of opportunity open up. By keeping your eyes and mind open even those things not going the way you would want, other options became available right there in front of you.

Opportunity will be there for you to see if you keep looking forward. Eventually you will get to walk along the beach with the sand between your toes. What you wanted ended up being exactly what you wanted.

Stay inspired my friends!

Possibility in Change

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” ― Anne Frank

Here we were, three people sitting side by side facing a long flight from Atlanta to Seattle. It was an evening flight so very little could be seen out the window. Much of what one sees from 35,000 feet is pretty plain anyway except for the occasional river or other large landmark. Forget about seeing anything when flying above the fluffy clouds.

I had my work and reading to do during the flight. I settled in with music in my ears and paperwork strewn about the little table in front of me. There are not very many things that can be strewn in such a small space, but I have a knack for doing it.

My seat was by the the window and my seat mates were Roberta in the middle seat and Joe held up the aisle area for us. They were a nice couple I deemed as they sat down. Travel weary to say the least as I would later confirm. Our age difference was noticeable but I could count them as either young parents to me or somewhere in-between.

As I grew tired of the reading and music, I removed my headphones, put away my papers and turned on the little television in front of me to the 'where are we' channel. This is the in-flight map although I call it differently as it fills that need inside of me to know where I am.

My need to know is an obsession of sorts.

When on a plane, you can not see out the front nor the back. The only frame of reference is the ground below you and unless you can make out obvious landmarks, knowing where you are is near impossible.

At that moment we happened to be flying over Scottsbluff, Nebraska. A small western town in the panhandle of the Cornhusker state. Not much out there except for sugar beet farms, open range land and some pretty cool natural monuments like Chimney Rock. The town of Scottsbluff was on the wagon trail for homesteaders moving west to great places such as California and Oregon.

There was nothing to see out the window except for darkness.

Roberta commented to me about the map and where I was heading. This opened up a conversation which reaffirmed my belief that change can happen at any point in life. I have written in "Changed Lives", you have the power to alter your condition. If things are not working out and you have tried everything within the circumstance, making a change can be the right thing to do.

As we spoke, I learned they were returning from a 20-some day vacation full of train, boat, car and plane rides. From the great Northwest to Central America and other equatorial locations, the wear on them was catching up. It is always good to "come home" and they had that look upon them.

Both lived in the northwest but each had come from the Minnesota area originally. Roberta had graduated a couple of years ahead of the famed songwriter Bob Dylan in Hibbing, MN. I'm not sure that she would have dated him because I imagine Bob being a bit 'odd' for the area given his talent. Joe was from the Minneapolis area and had a normal midwestern life and career.

Yet each found the other only six years ago.

Both came from divorce of marriages that had lasted many years. When you have been married for such a long time, the prospect of getting to experience that love ever again seems remote. But it happened for them and they are happy as can be. Roberta is retired now and Joe is in semi-retirement. As Joe stated, I'll work if and when I feel like it.

As we spoke, there was a thrill in Roberta's voice of her life and how it has all worked out. She was feeling the joy that many more years of love were going to give her. There was a spark of light in her eyes as she spoke of Joe and all that they would do together. This included moving back to Minnesota to be near her grandchildren.

As she put it, "grandchildren need their grandmother."

The details of their individual divorces have many of the same themes which run through all stories of divorce. Know from their example and the example of countless others, change is possible and will lighten your own heart.

There are things you might be going through today. It could be divorce, money issues, physical pain or any of a thousand other variations that life throws at us.

Just know that change or altering your circumstance is within your grasp.

You can make a change, you can choose a different path. Each day you are given the ability while in the plain, nondescript building near the crossroads of your life to choose change. When the door of opportunity opens and you see the light shining in, take your dreams and walk out into new possibility.

Be bold and willing to take the chance on something new.

It is most likely I will never see or hear of Roberta and Joe again. But the light of change each embraced will carry in my memory for a long time to come. Happy living and thank you to these two wonderful people.

Stay inspired my friends!

Feeling Peckish? Good!

"If you don't like what you're getting, then change what you're doing. It's up to you." - Pat Croce

Your word of the day is peckish.

peckish
\ PEK-ish \

adjective;
1. somewhat hungry: By noon we were feeling a bit peckish.
2. rather irritable: He's always a bit peckish after his nap.

Are you feeling a bit peckish for greater things in your life?

Are you somewhat peckish about your job and career?

Those two questions sound like the start to an infomercial for a miracle pill, book or online course to solve all your problems. An instant career in this one little pill taken twice daily for a month. Play these easy listening audio courses and you too can have the large yacht and buckets full of no more misery.

All for the low price of $99.

It would be great if that is all it took to get over feeling peckish about life. The one pill for all weight loss goals. The one book to give us all the success we need. The one idea to propel us to greatness. Instant, easy and ready made just for us.

Reality soon dissolves that wish and takes your $99.

Being peckish helps to motivate you. It can inspire you to learn more, to experience more, to get up and stop wishing for the instant fix. It makes you think about changing the way you view your job and those around you. It makes you think about changing your circumstance either within the situation or moving on to greater adventures.

You have two choices once you become peckish.

One is to do nothing, remain tired and annoyed at the situation. The second choice is to get up and do something about it. It is a simple case of choosing one of two options that can be the hardest thing in your life to decide.

Choose to change your condition.

Make a choice to not let circumstance define you but rather you define you. And stay inspired my friends.

Big Change

"Are we big enough to shift our hearts and minds to accept change?" - Jill Sweetman

If we go about our day, living in a protected world; do we truly live a fulfilling life?

The idea that we can protect ourselves from all that might be bad in this world is to prevent us from experiencing all of the good that exists. To step out of that 'protective bubble' requires us to accept that it might be hard.

Change has a price and many people will never attempt to find out what the cost is.

While we sit and dream of big things and have visions of a new life, change is happening all around us. The world rolls onward towards new and exciting greatness. In stepping out and accepting change, we become part of the future...our future.

To accept change, we have to be "big enough to shift our hearts and minds" to truly begin the journey.

Allow yourself the ability to be big enough and realize change can happen. It will change your life for the better. Stay inspired my friends!