Grandpa's Hat

As I finish out my week on vacation with my wife Laura watching our grandkids, here is an article from July, 2011. I hope you enjoy it. Stay inspired my friends!

"And all your future lies beneath your hat." -John Oldham

He stood there, a man standing on the gravel drive way. He was near the house about half-way down towards the country road. I remember him as being tall and statuesque in his pressed pants and starched white shirt. The top button of his shirt was undone with no tie, the sleeves partly rolled up. His round wire-rim glasses reflected the afternoon sun as he smiled his wide smile towards me.

What I remember most is the fedora hat that covered his mostly bald head. It was probaby an attempt to keep his Irish skin from turning red. But he lifted his hat and waved to me. A gesture that seemed so comforting to me. A gesture that I believed was meant only for me, his grandson.

I was only five years-old at the time. As I stood in the open door-way of the corn crib, it seemed I had known Grandpa Gale for a lifetime. I guess I had known him for all of my five years, but it seemed much longer. And now the wave of his hat seemed to say it would soon be over.

Soon Grandma and Grandpa would be moving to California. It would be quite a bit of time before I would see them again. So this final wave seemed to be telling me everything I needed to know. All that would guide me in life was in the wave of the hat, telling me everything would be fine.

It is an image that I can recall clearly in my mind to this very day. At the time so many years ago, I am sure the full impact was furthest from my mind. But as I recall the day, the moment, the image, I fully know that Grandpa was giving me his final bit of advice. A year later he would die in that far away place called California. A heart attack would take him from so many. Death would replace him with memories.

As I look back and recall that day, I am sure that regardless of what happens to me, everything will be okay. The wave of his hat telling me everything would be okay. It is an image he left for me, that I can go back and remind myself that yes, everything will be okay.

When even the cruelest of life's circumstance enters your day, think of Grandpa Gale and the wave of his hat. A smile given to tell you that things will get better; that life for you will be okay. Grandpa would want it that way not only for me, but for you as well.

Perfect Game

I am on vacation this week with my wife Laura watching our grandkids. Here is an article from October, 2011. I hope you enjoy it. Stay inspired my friends!

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." ~Mother Teresa

A baseball pitcher named Roy Halladay became only the second person to ever throw a no-hitter in post season play last night (October 5, 2010). It was quite an accomplishment when you look at the history of baseball. More amazing is that on May 29 of this same year, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. As they say, "27 up, 27 down" to complete the game.

So what can pitching a no-hitter in baseball have to do with living a great life. Most certainly having that level of talent brings adulation and money, lots of money that helps make life comfortable. But it is the person behind the talent, their character, that makes a great life. Roy Halladay did something beyond just receiving acclaim for his accomplishments.

After pitching the perfect game in May, he arranged to commemorate that perfect game. Halladay presented roughly 60 Swiss-made Baume and Mercier watches he had purchased to everyone in the clubhouse. Each were presented in boxes bearing the inscription: "We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay." To top it off, on the back of each watch was engraved the date of the game, the line score, and the individual recipient's name.

Those sixty people were not just his fellow ball-players. They were the coaches, the trainers, and down to what may seem to be the most insignificant people to some. But not to Roy, he understood and acknowledged that even the smallest have a large impact on our success in life.

Your own life is involved on both ends of this spectrum. While you toil away at something, you may feel insignificant in what you do. Just know that even the smallest flower along the roadside serves a grand purpose. The nectar a bee consumes, which creates food for the hive yet sustains the bee to carry on the pollination of other plants. The smallest flower is involved in the circle that will carry life forward.

And if we have greatness in our life, we need to remember and acknowledge all the other people that helped us accomplish it. For without many others your life can not be sustained for very long. Without the smallest flowers, the bee has less to draw upon. In time, the bee can no longer sustain its grand work. Even the largest depend upon the small; life is pretty grand in that respect.

So know that your life is never too big to have done so on your own. Nor is your life too small not to have an impact on the life of another person. Not all of us can pitch a no-hitter, but each of us can make a difference in the life of another. And when we impact the lives of other people, its as good as having a "27 up and 27 down" great life.

Your End of the Boat

I am on vacation this week with my wife Laura watching our grandkids. Here is an article from February, 2007. I hope you enjoy it. Stay inspired my friends!

The American television broadcaster Hugh Downs once said, "To say my fate is not tied to your fate is like saying, 'your end of the boat is sinking."

When it comes to relationships and further connections to other people, each of us have an impact on what happens to others and to each of us. It isn't to say that we don't have a certain amount of control over our own destiny. It is our choice on how we react to the ripple of events that occur each day. Each of those events will effect and potentially change us in slight ways. Sometimes major changes occur in our life due to the impact of others.

Just know and realize that you are connected to many people in this world. Those 'knots in the fish net' closest to you would be family and friends. As you move out through the web of knots or connections are the people you work with, those you interact with at the grocery store, so on and so forth. Each of these people then connect in some manner to others as yet unknown to you.

Enjoy how your life impacts others and how all of those connections impact your own life. It is an amazing network when you stop to reflect upon it.

Climbing That Mountain

I am on vacation this week with my wife Laura watching our grandkids. Here is an article from June, 2011. I hope you enjoy it. Stay inspired my friends!

"Big thinking precedes great achievement." -Wilferd A. Peterson

On June 7, 1913, Hudson Stuck, an Alaskan missionary, led the first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, the highest point on the American continent. Located in the state of Alaska, the mountain's Athabascan Indian name is Denali, meaning "The High One." In 1896, it was renamed in honor of Senator William McKinley, who became president of the United States that year.

When they set foot on McKinley's south peak, considered the mountain's true summit, it was an achievement many thought unattainable. A member of the group, Robert Tatum later commented, "The view from the top of Mount McKinley is like looking out the windows of Heaven!" To achieve something so large took large thinking.

It took thinking beyond the word no. It took believing in themselves and in the possibility of something greater. It also took them seven and a half weeks to climb what amounts to fourteen Empire State Buildings. A total of 20,320 feet into the bluest reaches of the sky.

Nothing comes easy in life. To scale the highest mountains of your life, it can take time. But you can take an ordinary day like June 7 and turn it into a great achievement. It all starts with thinking big things for your life and then living your journey today.

Start dreaming of large mountains to climb and then start climbing. The top isn't nearly as far away as you think.