Little Bit Happier

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” - Frederick Keonig

We have those moments on the weekend, maybe during the evening or a vacation to relax a little bit. We take the time to enjoy rest, family, friends and to simply unwind from many of our cares.

The tendency is to enjoy the weekend but not the week day.

One could suppose this is due to work and the rush of responsibility. Yet why not be happy every day of the week. Maybe let some of those minor cares get set aside every day of the week.

Lighten your worries and let them go.

There is a simple song by Bobby McFerrin titled 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'. The song was inspired by Meher Baba (1894-1969) who had often used an expression by the same name when writing to his friends and followers. It was later on in the 1960's when his well used expression was printed up on inspirational cards and posters.

It was in 1988 that the songwriter Bobby McFerrin noticed a similar poster in the apartment of the jazz band Tuck Patti in San Francisco. He was inspired by the charm and simplicity of it and sat down to write his now famous song.

In an interview Bruce Fessier did for USA Weekend Magazine in 1988 McFerrin said, "Whenever you see a poster of Meher Baba, it usually says 'Don't worry, be happy,' which is a pretty neat philosophy in four words, I think."

All of us should try to be a little happier in life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Deception In Place Of Truth

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive.” ― Walter Scott

The fall season officially started on September 22nd of this year and in many places people are starting to experience the cooling weather patterns. Of course this would be in the northern hemisphere with spring coming to those south of the equator.

Every year people look forward to the cooling temperatures after suffering the heat of summer. The autumn colors of leaves on the trees, shorter days and pumpkin spiced latte drinks all signal a change.

Knowing that a bitter winter lurks behind the fall season.

We tell ourselves the cooler weather is a joyous thing while knowing the harsh and brutal cold of winter comes quickly. It is a lazy lie we tell ourselves that winter will not be of any consequence. Maybe we have forgotten the lessons of the prior winter.

Deceiving ourselves often enough that it can become our truth.

There are many times we tell other lazy lies about our past. We exaggerate on topics of athletics, of education, of ability or beliefs. We tell ourselves that we have learned the lessons of the past but we fail to enact those lessons learned.

This is the point at which we lie to ourselves and make excuses for not having learned those lessons. We fool ourselves into believing we have it figured out but in reality we are repeating the same mistakes, same missteps and same failures.

Knowing that a bitter winter of pain lurks behind the lazy lie.

The lies we tell ourselves or others only mask the inevitable. They result in harsher pain when the truth is revealed. And what of the pain in trying to hold together the lie when freedom exists in the truth. So soon it will come to bear.

Do not deceive yourself or others around you. The knots which hold together the lifeline of lies are weak and insecure. Build your life upon truth and wisdom gained from our past. Do not allow a lazy lie to get in the way of a great life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Moving On From Regret

"You have to forgive yourself for everything you do in your life because you made that decision based on what was happening at that instant."
- William Shatner

The definition of regret varies slightly from one place to the next. Most commonly it means to experience regret on account of; to lose or miss with a sense of regret; to feel sorrow or dissatisfaction on account of (the happening or the loss of something); as, to regret an error; to regret lost opportunities or friends.

Regret is really your conscience speaking to you.

It means going over what you have or have not done relative to some incident or event. The regret part comes along when you decide internally that you should have done something different.

Many times our regret happens in the fresh light of new information or in hindsight. We usually have at that point the benefit of having seen the results or outcome. But what happens is we will beat ourselves up with regret and not get past it.

Do not misunderstand, regret serves a purpose.

It serves a purpose in evaluating what we have or have not done in life. But we can not allow it to chain us down from ever moving forward. William Shatner tells the following story in an interview with Men's Journal as an example.

"I lived close enough to where Marlon Brando lived that I could have walked to his house. I always wanted to talk to him. Never did. I knew a lot of people in common with Laurence Olivier. I could have talked to him. Never did. I know they would have taken my call. I could have taken them to lunch. But because I thought they might not, I didn't do it. I wish I had."

This story gives us insight to a couple of things; one is that regret serves a purpose of learning a lesson from the experience. The second is we need to move on with this new learned experience. We learn from examining our regret on how things happened.

You should not linger on regret though.

You made decisions based upon what you knew or thought you knew at the time. Now you have more understanding from having learned from the experience. Just do not allow the regret of a bad decision hold you back from making another decision.

New found revelation or knowledge allows you to grow.

Make that phone call, send that letter or change your behavior. Break the chain of regret that holds you back in life. It is a heavy stone that can be made into a perfect stone for your path in life. Lay it down and move on to greater things.

Stay inspired my friends!

100 New Steps

“Normal is an ideal. But it’s not reality. Reality is brutal, it’s beautiful, it’s every shade between black and white, and it’s magical. Yes, magical. Because every now and then, it turns nothing into something.” ― Tara Kelly

Life has its moments for all of us. I like to call it 'going through a season' to describe these changes. And like all moments it might be momentary or permanent in the impact it has on our daily life.

There is nothing normal in life. It is just life.

For me, I was able to complete my latest book and make it available to the public. It is a collection of my writings called 100 NEW STEPS, available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions.

Yes, I would appreciate your comments on my new book, but I will say it was an effort to get this book out due to changes in my job. A lot more travel, responsibility and exciting changes now that EMC has been acquired by Dell Technologies. Exciting changes, exciting opportunity, but a new season is upon me.

And quite actually, I am fine with all of it.

What it effectively means is less time for writing each day. Less time to spend writing things that might have a positive impact on each of you. So it was important for me to get my latest book out there to help fill the gaps in my daily writing.

It means I need to find time to continue writing my next book, a semi-fictional story tentatively titled SEAT 12B. I have set my own deadline of spring 2017, just in time for the travel season. It is a story I am sure you will enjoy if I can adjust to my new season.

I will adjust as we all do.

Changes are going to occur for all of us. Job, relationships, money, health, and just about any other possibility can alter what we believe our 'normal' life is. So it becomes important to accept the changes, adjust to them and keep a positive outlook on your new life experiences.

What my hope for each of you is that you make the adjustment. That each of you can find the strength to enjoy your new normal. And that whatever comes your way, life will remain an event you enjoy because life is great gift we have been given.

May all your moments be more joyous than not.

Stay inspired my friends!