Perfect Game

"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 on October 5, 2010. It was quite an accomplishment when you look at the history of baseball. It was made even more amazing because on May 29 of that same year, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in Major League Baseball history.

As they say, "27 up, 27 down" for a perfect game.

So what does pitching a no-hitter in baseball have to do with living a great life? Most certainly having that level of talent brings adulation and lots of money which helps make life more comfortable. But this story has to do with the person behind the talent; their character is what makes this a great story.

Roy Halladay did more than just receiving acclaim for his accomplishments.

After pitching the perfect game in May that year, he arranged to commemorate the accomplishment of a perfect game. Halladay presented roughly sixty Swiss-made Baume and Mercier watches he had purchased to everyone in the clubhouse. Each watch was presented in commemorative boxes bearing the inscription,

"We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay."

To top it off, each watch was engraved with the date of the game, the line score, and the individual recipient's name. And if you are not aware, there are only nine players on the field at any one time. He gave out sixty of these gifts which were not just given to his fellow ballplayers.

These sixty people 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 involves both ends of this spectrum.

While you toil away at something, you may feel insignificant in what you do. But 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 when we achieve greatness in our life, remember and acknowledge all the other people who helped you accomplish it. For without others, our accomplishments are hard to achieve. Without the smallest flowers, the bee has less to draw upon. In time, the bee will not have the ability to sustain its grand work.

The largest depend upon the small as do the small upon the largest.

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 others. 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.

Stay inspired my friends.

Learning to Listen

"When you are least willing to listen to others is exactly the time that you need to stop and listen." - Dean Sweetman

Have you ever found yourself in a situation in which you are moving head long into a situation while someone is trying to tell you not to? In your mind, you know exactly what you are doing and fail to see the need for anyone's advice.

All of us have had this shared experience.

My wife, two daughters and I were in Los Angeles to attend another daughter's wedding. We arrived late in the evening and after a long wait in the car rental facility, we were on our way. It was a tiring adventure due to the time change and having arrived late at night.

The goal was to find our hotel in the Burbank area. My keen sense of direction was performing fine for the first ten miles and then things started to go askew. I inexplicably missed getting onto Hwy 101 eastbound and then had a difficult time maneuvering from Hwy 134 towards the I-5 freeway.

Seems easy but unfamiliarity can breed confusion.

Getting from these freeways into Burbank and finding our hotel proved most difficult for me. My dogged pursuit kept trying to shut out the advice and direction of my wife and daughters.

It finally hit me that 'listening' might be a good thing. Once I did that, we successfully found the hotel by 12:30am or 3:30am eastern time; morning would come all too soon.

So take some advice; listening to and trusting others can have a positive impact on your life. Do not let pride or stubborn ignorance get in the way of learning something new.

Listening is an effective tool in life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Enjoy Life

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." - Dr. Seuss

You hear it often about 'being on top of our game' and 'giving it our all' in regards to doing anything in life. Many people seem to think this means toil and drudgery in their daily life. They would say that if you are having fun, you are not working hard enough.

if you are not having fun, you may not be working hard enough.

Life isn't meant to be lived in a depressing state. We all know depression is a serious thing. I myself went through a year-long state of it. I received help from the right people and came back from those lows.

All of this means you should enjoy your pursuits in life.

You need to find joy in all that you do. If working hard, climbing the next rung on the ladder of success, enjoy it. If toiling away at your desk, truck, show floor, or any number of occupations, enjoy it. If raising your kids, in or out of a relationship, talking to friends or just walking alone in the park, enjoy it. If the glass you see is only half full

If your glass is half empty, enjoy it.

Enjoy what you do have instead of what you don't have. You are working towards having something greater in life but while you are at it, enjoy those things you do have in life.

Enjoy life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Handling Stress

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” ― David Mamet

Maintaining a positive attitude all of the time, doing all the right things, trying to be the "do it all" person can leave you bewildered and wondering where all of your time went. Life and all we try to accomplish in such a short time can have frustrating effects. So how does one do a better job of managing your own time?

An article in Best Life Magazine, titled "Under Pressure" (before publication ended in 2009), the author talked about stress and the effect it has on your life. That article along with a side article by Kate Dailey called "Time Crunch: How to whittle down a too-much-to-do list", the following presents five quick ideas that you can apply in your life to help you.

Ask yourself the following questions to help prioritize your list in life.

DOES IT FIT INTO THE BIG PICTURE?
"The priorities that people set and what they actually do are often inconsistent," says Mark Ellwood, a productivity consultant in Toronto. "I hear men say 'My family comes first' all the time, but then they're working 70 hours a week." Ellwood uses this exercise with his clients to help ferret out what they really want: If you had a day at work with no e-mail to return, no phone calls to make, and no deadlines to meet, what would you do with your time? Some men would use it to plan the big project they want to launch. Some would brush up their skills by taking a seminar. Most would work on high-priority projects so they could go home early and hang out with their kids. These are the worthwhile objectives your schedule should accommodate most.

IS IT IMPORTANT OR JUST URGENT?
Tasks that need to be done right away, like fixing an overflowing toilet or compiling sales figures at the request of the boos, are urgent. Tasks that means a lot to you but don't necessarily have a time factor attached are important. "Rarely do the two go together," says Ellwood. "The urgent often wins out." The challenge is to make meaningful changes so that you spend substantial time on long-term goals rather than putting out fires all day.

AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN DO THIS?

There are times when only your skill, wit, charm, or intellect will suffice. Those times are rare, and they're almost never meetings. "It's a good developmental tool to have subordinates represent you at meetings," says Barry Miller, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of management at Pace University, and the manager of alumni career programs and services. "They get to interface with higher-ups and learn on the job, and you free up your schedule."

DO I HAVE TO BE THERE IN PERSON?

Don't waste your time with a meeting when a well-placed phone call can do the trick. "Face time is important when you're building new relationships," says Miller, "but once you've established that relationship, the pressure is off." What's more important is giving people a sense that you're tuned in to their needs and you're thinking of them.

WILL IT COST ME IF I DON'T GO?

Also known as "Who will I piss off?" Your psychiatrist doesn't care if you're a no-show for your 4:30 session (He'll bill you $150 either way), but the cost of not attending the 5:00 cocktail party full of potential clients could be much, much higher. It follows, then, that skipping out of your son's birthday party after you promised him for months that you'd be there will cost you a fortune in emotional capital, not to mention some psych bills of his own down the line.

You can have a great life, you can see yourself through the stress life throws at us, you can be!

Stay inspired my friends!