Tag: Gratitude

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE DAY 8 – BOOKS!

As an author, this could be my favorite day of gratitude so far! Books are such an underrated resource! People often put 5 or 10 years of experience and lessons in books that you can read in a few hours to a few days. Some great stories are a world that you can escape to when reality gets to be a bit too much. All that for less than a dinner out. Books are great gifts as well as great legacies. Can you think of your favorite book? I will give you a few of mine and you can share yours with me as well.

Let us start with my favorite book of all time. How to Win Friends and Influence People changed millions of lives including my own. It helped me develop my people skills which have propelled me to most of the success that I have experienced in life. It also fostered an interest in the world of self-improvement and becoming the best version of yourself in me. Although it is still a work in progress, it would be fairly safe to say that it has been impactful so far!

My first book, A Happy Life for Busy People. This book showed me what I was capable of accomplishing when I stayed focused. After it was written, I recalled my high school English teacher telling me that she “Prayed to God I would never have a career in writing.” To her credit, at the time I would have agreed with her. Still, the point is that you should never let someone’s opinion of you become your reality. Unless, of course, it is a good one. Most importantly this book showed me that by sharing my experiences and what I have learned that I can positively impact the lives of others. It is now owned not only by rock stars, movie stars and billionaires, but by countless people across the globe who are in pursuit of a better life for themselves and those they love. What an incredible blessing and responsibility all at once!

My second book, Living the Dream, allowed me to feel like an author verses someone who wrote a book. The difference was quite a bit. It also allowed me to work together with the love of my life who wrote the foreword. In addition, I was able to bring to light some of the challenging, but inspiring stories of dear friends who have overcame challenges and went on to demonstrate many secrets to an amazing life. That these people trusted me enough to share their stories in my book for the benefit of inspiring and giving others hope was life-changing. It has went on to become my most critically acclaimed book as well.

This book is also one of my favorites and one of the most entertaining I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It is the story of the author, Bill Bryson, and his childhood friend walking the Appalachian trail and the adventures that ensue. Not only does it share a good story with lots of humor, but conveys a good deal of knowledge as well. It also sparks an urge for adventure every time that I read it. Margie may tell you that this may not exactly be something to be grateful for. It is hard to read a book like this and not want to go for a walk after. The movie made from this book was good too, but getting lost in the book was a far better experience.

This may have been a bit more than you expected to read here, but as you can see there are lots of books that I am grateful for. These are just four examples, but there are so many more that have both impacted and changed my life. It would seem each year brings a new book and a new chapter of life to be discovered. How about you? Has there been something you have read that has impacted your life that you are grateful for? Share with all of us in the comments. We all are on the lookout for great new books to read.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE DAY 7 – MEMORIES

Day 7 on our 30 day journey of gratitude. Today we look back. We are going to talk about what memories that we are grateful for. It is important not to live in the past, but the right memories can feed our soul in tough times. They can also motivate us to recapture or create the next memory that we will be grateful for in the future. When you are asked what your favorite memory is, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? I will share a few of mine, including one that may surprise you. Then, I would love to hear what memories are your favorite in the comments.

Some of my favorite memories include times that I have made people’s dreams come true. I recall taking Margie to see her first palm tree in Las Vegas. She was so excited. Sadly, I could not find that picture. She always wanted to go to Jamaica and I was excited to make that happen for her as well. This was a picture from our trip to the Bahamas. We did so many things on that trip. She even held a shark! Vacations can be a very fun source of memories. So can doing something you know will turn into a memory. My mother and I visited our local museum that will be closing soon. We made sure to take in as much as we could. It was both fun and exciting. Although the prospect of never experiencing some of what we were ever again was a little bittersweet.

Here is something you might not consider being grateful for. I am grateful for memories of my mistakes. Why on earth would you be grateful for memories of your own mistakes? In my case the pain some of those memories still inflict are some of the greatest motivation to not make those same mistakes again. This has helped me in my health, my inner peace, my relationships and my career. Sometimes remembering how much hurt you felt when you made a mistake is the only motivation you need to not repeat the blunder.

How about you? What are some of your favorite memories? Are they fun memories or can you see the value in being grateful for some of the more painful memories as well? Please share with us in the comment below.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE DAY 6 – NATURE

If we had a guest author for the blog today, it should be my mother. In an effort to keep this streak going, you are stuck with me, however. Both my mother and I love walking in nature. Mine is more reserved for when the temperature is higher than my age. Even if you live in a city where nature is scarce, you can escape to a park or even a tree-lined street. Nature can be found in some of the most interesting places. This was brought to my attention while reading a book by Tom Brown Jr. Whether you are in a national forest, or the park down the street, what in nature are you grateful for?

Living in more of a city environment, I am always excited to see some of nature’s bigger offerings. They tend to be a little more rare and thus, a little more exciting to see. Above you can see a picture I took of Margie taking a picture of a deer that strolled alongside our car. The other day, on my way to the gym, a coyote crossed in front of me. Animals that are not very common are ones that I am most grateful for. When my mother and I walk through the park, we are always on the lookout for new birds and other animals we do not normally see. This can be fun and make the walk that much more exciting.

It does not always have to be a large animal. The first flowers of spring are something that I am always grateful to see in nature. It gives me hope that warmer weather is on the way and I can look forward to longer days and more sunshine. We discussed how much I enjoy waking to the sound of birds chirping in the morning. Crickets chirping at night while I sit on the porch with Margie and a cup of coffee is rather relaxing. Do any of these resonate with you or are there other things in nature that you are grateful for? Is it the warmth of the sunshine or the refreshing rain? Nature offers us so much to be grateful for, I would love to hear what you think in the comments.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE DAY 5 – SOUND!

Welcome to day 5 of our 30 days of gratitude! Today we approach another one of the five senses. We looked at smell earlier in the week. Today we are looking at what sounds we are grateful for. Do you have a certain sound that calms you down? Perhaps one that energizes you? In my first and second books, I took about creating a ‘happy playlist’. This is a collection of songs that help to improve your emotional well-being simply by pushing play. It may not solve your problems, but it will put you in a better state to deal with them. Sounds are not just music as we will see. Let us take a look at some of the sounds I am grateful for, and hopefully you will add yours as well.

Many of you already know that I leave for work around 4am. If you didn’t, well now you do. This time of year it is pretty cold and quite. In another month or so, I will be greeted with the sound of birds chirping away. It reminds me that warmer weather is on the way and that there are creatures who are happy to be up at that hour. Generally speaking, I am not chirping, but you never know what could happen. When my lady and I are on vacation down in the tropics, you can hear all kinds of wonderful birds. When you sit out on your balcony late at night the sound is almost magical. Birds chirping are one of my favorite sounds.

Another beautiful sound is voices of those you love. In my life that could be the love of my life singing. The voices of those who come support us at shows or book signings. The laughter of friends when you are together or even the conversation when your mother and you go on a walking adventure. Hearing the voices of people you care about is such a blessing. It can be one that is fleeting as well. As we get older, many of us lose a little bit of that hearing. It makes what we do hear something to be that much more grateful for.

How about you? Are there sounds that you are grateful for? What are they? It could be your dog panting or your cat purring. It could be your child calling you mommy or daddy. There are a million sounds in the world today that we could be grateful for. The sound of a phone call or message from someone you love. What are yours? Let us know in the comments below.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE DAY 4 – FOOD!

Today’s post asks us what food we are grateful for! This could be an entire book for me. Not only am I going to marry a woman with an education in culinary arts, but we both love to try new and exciting foods both going out as well as creating recipes staying in. We eat both for enjoyment as well as doing our best to eat for health as well. Out of all of that, how can you pick what food you are most grateful for? It sure is a complicated question. After some thinking, I have a valid and true answer.

Above are just a few examples of some amazing dining experiences I have had. There was a picture of my lovely lady waiting for a meal on our second trip to Jamaica. There is also a conch salad we had in the Bahamas. It was very fresh and we watched the man prepare it on the spot for us. Margie, however, thought it was like attempting to eat a super ball. I must say she was not entirely incorrect in her assertation. The final picture was of a breakfast we shared while on vacation. As you can see, tasting new dishes in different places is just part of the fun of exploring the world with the woman I love.

This is a picture of a mouth-watering dish created by that same beautiful lady of mine. It was cod cooked in parchment paper with mushrooms and onions. It was seasoned with dill and other spices. It was amazing! It was fun to watch her put it all together and help what little I did. Trying to pick the favorite dish this woman created would be nearly impossible. Everything she makes is so delicious. That is also something to be grateful for. It is also why I must go to the gym several days a week. Portion control is something I am working very hard on.

You may be wondering which of these dishes is the one that I am most grateful for. It is both all of them and none of them. Confused? Let me explain. When thinking about some of the best food I have had the pleasure of enjoying, it is the company that makes all the difference. Whether it is the woman I am fortunate enough to share my life with, family or friends, great company makes the food taste better. Sure, there are times when even the best company can’t save a dish, but at least you will create a memory you all can laugh at later. My mother, my friend Nick and I just experienced such a thing this past weekend.

To sum it up, my favorite food would be any food you share with those you love. It not only adds amazing flavor, it is part of an amazing memory. How about you? Is there a specific dish that you are grateful for? Maybe a homemade dish that your grandmother used to make? A sinful dessert from your favorite place? What food are you most grateful for and why? Let us know in the comments.

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE DAY 3 – COLORS!

Day 3 of our gratitude celebration. We have had some fun so far. If you would like to go back and read the first 2 days, you are certainly welcome to do so. If you would rather just start from today, that is cool too. Gratitude is great whenever you put it into your life. The object of this 30 day dive into the world of gratitude is to get you to think of, and notice for the first time perhaps, things in your life that you have to be grateful for. After 30 days, you will find yourself developing a new mindset of gratitude. The effect this will have in your life is nothing short of magic. Do not take my word for it. That is what these 30 days are all about. Putting this to the test.

Today’s question is what color are we grateful for. Color plays such an important role in our life. We naturally gravitate towards some colors and there are others that do not enthuse us at all. Personally, I am not a fan of beige, taupe or anything in that color scheme. It tends to bore me and have me feeling bland and unexcited. There are other people who love it. The only time this becomes much of a problem is when those two people live under the same roof!

As far as what colors I am grateful for, I would pick a combo that is my favorite. I love turquoise and yellow together. It makes me think of all things tropical. Those two colors can have me thinking of vacation even in the dead of winter. Lucky for me, my lovely lady does not object to these colors, or that combination. We had a great experience in the Bahamas. Their flag incorporates these colors. Upon reflection, it occurred to me that these were also the colors of my elementary school. Not sure if that has some sort of subconscious influence on the matter.

How about you? Are there colors that make you happy when you see them? Are there colors you tend to avoid? Are they different for clothes verses cars? Have your choices changed throughout the years? I can’t wait to hear what everyone has to say!

DAY 2 OF A MONTH OF GRATITUDE!

To catch you up to date, we are doing a month of gratitude. Today is day 2. Feel free to go back and read yesterday’s post as well. We love to hear your answers in the comments that follow today’s post.

Ah technology. Many people curse this, but few stop and appreciate all we have to be thankful for. Personally, I have many. We will start with a popular one – cell phones. Yes, they have their drawbacks, but think of all they bring us. I can stay in contact with my lovely lady. That helps me worry less. You can retrieve information at the drop of a hat. It reduces the amount of graffiti on rest room stalls.

I also love the technology in my new car. I am not a fan of the cold weather. My new car allows me to start the car from my cell phone! By the time I get in, the heated seats and steering wheel are already warm. Two more technology items I am grateful for! They make winter so much more!

How about you? What technology are you especially grateful for? There are so many to choose from! I would love to hear what you think!

IT CAN BE GOOD TO HAVE YOUR FLIGHT GROUNDED.

That is a picture of me. It is probably what I looked like when I was informed that the vacation I had planned for my lovely lady’s birthday would be canceled. Six months I had managed to keep it a secret. There were days of work I scheduled off. We were mere weeks from takeoff and our Jamaican vacation was canceled. It was a tragic once in a lifetime hurricane that devastated the island. Regretfully, our hotel was unable to open at the time they had anticipated. Obviously, our dismay was nothing compared to what the people were dealing with, and are still dealing with, on the island. Still, we were quite dismayed not to be able to escape the brutal Wisconsin winter, if only for a few days.

Looking at the temperature in my hometown above (in Fahrenheit) one can see it would be wonderful to get away. One of those situations where you might ask, “Where is the upside in all of this?” First of all, the reason our trip was canceled is a great reminder of what we have to be thankful for. Yes, it is beyond cold and snowy here, but we have power and our houses have not been blown away from a 200 mph hurricane. The fact the hotel could not open reminds us of how months later the island continues to struggle. On top of that, on the day we were supposed to be leaving Margie came down with an illness. She had it for quite some time. It would have been the whole time we were scheduled to be on vacation. Just a few days ago, I also came down with something. If there is anything worse than your vacation being canceled, it is going and being sick the entire time. The trip being called off saved us from that happening.

It can be hard to see that what appears to be something negative in life is actually setting you up for something better. Have you ever had a major setback while pursuing a goal? My guess is that if you are reading a website like this, you have. It gives you a chance to refocus and gain additional skills that will make the goal even more rewarding when you do reach there. The additional time you have to wait will make achieving the goal that much sweeter. Sure, nobody likes to think this way when it is happening to them, but that does not change it from being true. If you do manage to change your mindset from “Why me?” to one of, “What positive thing can I gain from this setback?” Life is not only a lot less stressful, but becomes something to always look forward to.

As a side note, the delay in taking a trip with my love has allowed us to save more and hopefully spend a few more days on our getaway. Something we could not have done without the delay. It also allows me a little more time to work on my beach body which has been missing in action for quite some time. There are always silver linings to the dark clouds of life. We may just have to look a little harder for them.

CAN YOU REALLY BE GRATEFUL FOR THIS?

Here we are at another Monday again. Those can be tough for many of us. Returning to the work grind. Perhaps the weather is a little difficult to navigate? You foolishly ask yourself, “How could it get any worse?” Enter a sinus infection. That is what I am dealing with today. Have been for the last couple of days. Face hurts, nose feels like a faucet someone forgot to turn off. Not the best of times. In the face of this, how can you be grateful? Here is how finding things to be grateful for and living a gratitude lifestyle differ.

If I were just looking for something to be grateful for, it might be a little difficult at the moment. It still could be done. After all, I was able to seek medical attention, get medicine and return to a job that I have. Those are three things to be grateful for right there. Yes, I have to go to work, but in the same breath, I have a work to go to. Getting back to the sinus infection. It does come with a host of unpleasant side-effects. It makes just going through a regular day feel like running a marathon at times. Same can be said when you have the flu or a bad head cold. It is not going to kill you, but you feel like you are walking in quick sand most of the time. How can you be grateful for something like that? By appreciating the contrast to a regular working day that it gives you. Suddenly the thought of a regular Monday sounds a lot better. You think to yourself, “If only I didn’t have this illness, my day would be a lot smoother.” The irony is that when we are busy lamenting a Monday, we never say to ourselves, “At least I am not sick.”

Health becomes something we take for granted most of the time. It is only when our health starts to suffer that we seem to appreciate our regular good health. In that way, illness is the best kick in the butt to remind us that our health is something we should be thankful for each and every day. We do, when it begins to return we are so grateful to be rid of whatever ailment we were suffering from. That lasts a few days until once again we just assume that being healthy is the norm and not something to be grateful for. As much as I am not enjoying this sinus infection, I am grateful for the reminder to appreciate the health that I normally take for granted as part of my normal day. How about you? Do you only appreciate your health when you do not have it? Have you ever viewed an illness as a great reminder to appreciate that health? Have you ever been grateful for that reminder? It can make getting through it a little easier.

YOUR MOST IMPORTANT CONVERSATION

Last post we talked about my introduction to the power of gratitude. In a way it was also my introduction to the world of self-improvement. That has went on to shape the path of my life for the last 25+ years. If you did not read our last conversation, might I suggest you give it a look. In a nutshell, I began using gratitude to prove that it made no difference in your life. By the end of 30 days, I was encouraging all of my friends and family to use it too. Quite the turnaround for someone who began with a very cynical attitude. After I was so excited and convinced that gratitude can change your life, the universe seemed to say, “Let us see how committed you are to this.” The world often works this way. It will test you to see how serious you are about your journey. In this case, after having this crash course in gratitude, I literally crashed. A young man stopped in the middle of an intersection and I ended up going through my windshield.

Most people would think this would be a situation that would deter someone from feeling grateful. Certainly it is not an experience that I would recommend. Let me tell you what I did learn about myself. I am not a very good friend to me most of the time. What on earth does that mean? It means that my inner conversation had been one of discouragement and negative sarcasm. That is the majority of what we run into in the world today. We seldom pay attention to our inner dialogue. It seems to be a running conversation that occurs in our head unfettered. Let me assure you when you wake up in a hospital bed after headbutting the windshield of a 2000 Jeep, you have plenty of time to pay attention to what you are saying to yourself. Mine wasn’t so good…to begin with. I recall waking up and thinking, “This sucks.” There may have been a few more colorful words thrown in, but you get the idea. My car was totaled. I was going to miss my first day of work in 9 years. None of it was good, or so I thought.

Just as I was swimming in a sea of self-pity, something, or should I say someone, changed all that. A nurse came in and said those five magic words. “Would you like some coffee?” Sadly, it wasn’t as much as these nurses above had. In fact, it was rather awful coffee in a little Styrofoam cup. It was, however, coffee. I recall saying to myself, “At least I have a cup of coffee.” Then all of that gratitude I had been practicing came back. I thought if it can work when life is sunshine and rainbows, let us see if it will work now. I started contemplating what I could be grateful for. I did have insurance, even if the young man who caused the accident did not. I was alive to be having this conversation with myself. There was family on the way to help me. Suddenly the outlook did not seem as gloomy. There was potential, if nothing else.

That is when I learned a very valuable lesson. The conversation we have with ourself has a great impact on our emotional condition. As a matter of fact, I would say it determines our emotional condition. Also discovered in that moment was the fact that the conversation we have with ourselves can be controlled. We are not at the whim of that inner voice, or voices depending on the individual. No, we have a say in how we talk to ourself. We can be our best friend cheering ourselves on, or we can be our worst enemy putting ourselves down. Either way, the impact is just as great on the rest of our life.

One other thing that happened in that moment, that I may not have wrapped my head around until much later was the realization that two opposing views can be true. In fact, two opposing worlds can be true. We have all heard the quandary over whether the glass is half full or half empty. Both can be true at the same time. When you are grateful, you are seeing the glass as half full. Neither view changes the actual state of the liquid in the glass, it only changes how you feel observing it. What is the big deal about that? How you feel is your life. If you are a person who finds every reason to complain and you win a million dollars, you will just be a millionaire who likes to complain. That is why taking control of the inner conversation is so important. It determines the quality of your life. The best way to make sure that conversation is a good one is by developing an attitude of gratitude.