Are You Building Your Village to Achieve Life Success? "It takes a village to raise a child" is an African proverb that means an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to grow in a safe and healthy environment. It also became a popular saying in American culture several decades back. My precept is that a village of people to help each of us to reach anything close to our full potential. My life is an example of how this works and I'm proud of what my village … [Read more...]
In Celebration of Independence
Today I'm celebrating independence. Not just for the United States on its 245th birthday, but for myself and others who seek freedom. It's the freedom from work you no longer love, from a life that may not be serving you, and from the daily grind that does not allow you to reach your full potential. It's the freedom to create a lifestyle by design, to reach your full potential, and to explore the possibilities that each new day brings. Exactly two years ago today, I began outlining an idea … [Read more...]
Balderdash and Poppycock
Today I've been thinking about a dear friend who is no longer with us. His name is Geoff Hoff and he and I came online around the same time. We became the best of friends, wrote two books together, and had many adventures until his untimely death from a heart attack in 2015. I'm taking care of his cat, Maggie and she is my daily reminder of this special man. Something I was reading had the word "balderdash" in it. That word and "poppycock" were two of Geoff's favorites. In fact, Geoff … [Read more...]
The Hungry Brown Bear
The Hungry Brown Bear and the Birthday Boy Having children in your life allows you to relive your childhood while living vicariously through theirs. Throughout my lifetime I have surrounded myself with children of all ages. It began when my kids were small, progressed to activities with teens and older children, then circled around to elementary school age kids when I became a classroom teacher. Most recently, I have been a part of the life experience of a boy named Calvin. He just … [Read more...]
The Unbearable Lightness of the Other Shoe Dropping
The Unbearable Lightness of the Other Shoe Dropping Just as the music is the space between the notes, so is the impending state of the world as the pandemic winds down. I think of this time as being the "Unbearable Lightness of the Other Shoe Dropping." Right now we are stuck in between, where the past year has changed us all at the core level and the future is cloudy with a chance to go either way. This will all depend on what we learn about ourselves, how we internalize what has occurred and … [Read more...]
The Big Lie and How It Changed Me
The Big Lie and How It Changed Me I had been invisible for far too long. Now was the time for me to step into my power and set the record straight. Would I have the courage to emerge from the shadows? We were in the area between the lunchroom and the bathroom just before the morning bell rang. There must be an official name for this space, but I wouldn't know where to find it. Her back was up against the vending machine and my breath was close enough to her face for me to see the hair on her … [Read more...]
I Write to Remember; Self-Discipline Makes This Possible
I Write to Remember, and Self-Discipline As a Practice Adds the Joy I write to remember the life experiences of my past. I write to learn from what I've lived through. I also write to share my experiences with others, now and in the future. I am only able to do this because of the habits I've nurtured over the past decade. The most important habit is that of self-discipline. Basically, self-discipline refers to the ability to resist feelings, temptations and other weaknesses that would … [Read more...]
Hard Truths You Must Embrace
Hard Truths You Must Embrace to Be Successful It’s a no-brainer, or at least in my thinking. Everyone wants to be successful, right? And in theory, everyone can be successful. But you may have noticed that most people give up way before they achieve their goal. Or they’re happy with some short-term success, early on in their careers. They choose to stay in comfortable stagnation and think that success is only for high flyers. But if you want to be successful at anything, you need to accept and … [Read more...]
Three Sisters on a Journey of Discovery
In my dream I am the eldest sister, bossy and precocious and adored by the two younger girls. They look up to me, literally and figuratively and with the knowing that I will always be there for them. We're shopping at our store, Three Sisters, at the 79th Street Shopping Center in Miami. The youngest giggles as a woman holding a little boy's hand passes us by on the way to the dressing room. We pretend we are the three sisters and our father owns the store. The manager comes over to see if we'd … [Read more...]
The Road Trip
During the summer of 2016 I took a road trip across the United States. I drove over six thousand miles (about 10K kilometers) and the experience was life changing for me and those with whom I connected while I was on this journey of self-discovery. I was not driving a Volkswagon van and I did not pass through Zion Canyon National Park, but it was an incredible journey nonetheless. In May of 2021 I am repeating the experience. It will only be a five-day road trip days this time and I will … [Read more...]