Month: July 2018

MY LATEST ADVENTURE

I have taken a new step in writing. I will now be working as a food critic for the website Chowdown-in-mke.com It is something new and fun. I encourage you all to check out the site. My first review should be posted soon. Amanda, who runs the site does a very professional job.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN ALL ABOUT MILWAUKEE’S GREAT CUISINE

TAKE IT WITH YOU

Above you find two great nature photos. The top one is actually pretty neat. It is a photo of my lovely Margie taking a photo right outside Greenfield park before we began our nightly walk there. Later I will share one that we managed to capture while walking in the woods. The lower picture is of a great blue heron, which happens to be my favorite bird. It was taken just outside the post office I work at. I was walking to the bank and it happened to be right there.

One of the great things about technology is it can either serve to take us away from nature, or help draw us to it. I never would think of carrying a camera while at work, but did have my cell phone handy. In a world of selfies and social media I think using our cell phones to capture the joy of nature is a wonderful use of technology. While the debate rages on about the environment, I just enjoy finding new ways to enjoy it. Use your cell phone to get you out in nature! Capture all the natural beauty you can find.

I invite all of my readers to share some of their favorite photos in the comments below. I would love to see all the natural beauty we have captured. Whether it is an elephant in South Africa, or a squirrel in South Milwaukee please let us share your joy.

WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT

I came across this sign on one of my daily walks. As I gazed across the baseball diamond behind the sign I saw children playing, laughing and having a good time.

This had me feeling reflective. I thought of my childhood days playing baseball. It started in T- ball where you hit a ball off of a stand. That was when I was very young. Then it went to pee-wee baseball, which is just as it sounds.

As I thought about these times the memories came flooding back. I could remember McKinley field the place we played. I remember the shirts we would get and how proud I was to wear it. I could even see the dusty field, feel the warm sun on my skin and taste the ice cream we had after games.

Do you know what I could not remember no matter how hard I tried? How many games we won or lost. I’m not sure whether they didn’t stress that for young children or if it just didn’t matter to me at that point in my life. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

It wasn’t until I’m thinking middle school that I remotely remember noticing and caring if I won or not. The ironic thing about that is my memories of that period are both up and down, depending on if I won or not. Whereas the memories of the early period when winning did not matter were all of the joy of merely playing.

That logic I can apply to my life now. If I have a book signing and nobody comes, if my seminar turnout is not what I hoped, I need to find the joy in the experience.

In your life, whether business, love or just life, search for the joy on being. Do not look for the win, look for the love.

STARFISH STORY

In my work there are many days in which I feel I am not creating the impact I would like. Stats may be down on my YouTube channel or blog post. Maybe there are not ‘likes’ or comments on a particular post and I can wonder, “Is anyone reading this?” My goal is to help create a world filled with positivity in which people can coexist despite their differences. I enjoy facilitating dialogue between parties in an effort to create an understanding, or at the very least a sense of compassion.

Most of us have days where we feel that we are just not making a difference. It can be professionally, personally or something different entirely. It is on those days I am reminded of the story above. There have been days people have come up to be and mentioned how my writing has affected them. Some say it has helped them make it through a hard time. Others mention that it helps them keep perspective. One gentleman even told me this website and what I write here helped him think twice when he pondered taking his own life. Often I find myself being humbled by these compliments. It is then I sit back, and like the little boy, can say “I made a difference to that one.”

Another aspect of helping that one person we must keep in mind is the ripple effect. By inspiring, helping or saving one person, you never know what they may go on to do for others. It is like the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. We not be able to see what the world would have been like if we had not been there, but rest assured you make a difference.

While I would enjoy thousands of likes and views on YouTube or Secret2anamazinglife.com, I must remember the difference I made in the lives I have and use that to continue. Every time I get behind the keyboard I think of the soul who feels they have no reason to go on. I imagine sitting across the table from the teenager who is pondering taking their own life after being the victim of a bully. I think of the single parent who just lost their job, or the person who just lost their spouse of many years. It is for these wonderful souls and countless others that I write what I do.

I encourage you to remember that if you positively affect even just one life, you are changing the world. I am constantly reminded how little we know how many people we affect when I run into someone who tells me although they never mention anything online, the read what I write everyday and it makes a big impact in their life. I usually respond that I never even knew they read my writing. I am sure there are many more people we all positively affect that we never know.

Keep being a light in the world of darkness. If someone has inspired you, let them know. It may be just the motivation they need to keep going. I personally cannot express how much it means to me to hear how my writing affects people. Every time I do I want to run to my laptop and write some more. I want to take a second and thank each and every person who has inspired me.