Being in the moment is only ½ of it

... celebrating it completes the experience.

Ya know, we have heard it over and over and over, be in the moment, live each moment as if it was your last. But how many of us know how to do it, what it means? We are so busy on our cell phones, blackberry’s, texting and messaging away. We miss ½ the moments in the day due to not being open enough to receive them and experience them. You are already “in the moment” your alive and your there, but how many of us can NOTICE the moment enough to celebrate its uniqueness and cherish its existence before its passing? So I ask you to put down all of your electronic devises and open up the devises that you have been blessed with your eyes, your ears you nose. By doing this you can appreciate and celebrate each moment to its fullest and THAT will show you they way to a more celebrated life.

Evolve today, from where you were yesterday.

If we learn through life we can GROW through it instead of just GOING through it. And the act of learning comes from taking past experiences and applying the lessons they have taught us to the next chapters of our lives. In this way we can evolve as human beings, and hopefully improve and in our own small corner of the world make some improvement. As you wake each day this month, take a moment to reflect on the day that has just past and see if you can GROW and EVELOVE from who you were yesterday. You have 360 days this year ahead of you – think of the potential!

Articulate not just your words but your entire existence.

We spend time making lists, talking about what we would like to do, like to be. We dream and we wish. But more often than not the buck stops there and much of that positive intent melts away. Just think back on your life for a moment. How many things have you wanted to try? How many have never been realized? Look at realistic ways in which you can connect your words with actual experiences in your life. Want to write a book? Start writing short stories – LIVE as a writer. Looking to be a better chef? Get the cook book out and make a new exotic dish once a week – you will add 52 dishes to your repertoire and LIVE as a chef, shopping for ingredients and spending time focusing on the preparation of fabulous food. Exist through living your dreams.

Mentor those around you. You have something to say.

We often believe that our work is our defining statement. How much money we made, how many we sold. But what really matters over the course of our lives? What impact do we have that really matters in the world? What do we leave behind when we’re gone? I believe it is the messages we have left in the hearts and minds of all those we have inspired, mentored throughout lifetime. Not just our own family, our coworkers or friends, but those we meet along the way on a plane, in line at a Starbucks or in a waiting room at the dentist office. We are all walking mentors, some or more conscious than others. YOU become more conscious of it this year. How can you leave a positive thought or feeling on every person you come into contact with? It starts there. A simple smile, kind word or thoughtful deed reveals a style of living to be mentored. Be a mentor to the world and together we can motivate positive change.

Don't "CELL" Yourself Short!

As the sun rose to reveal the bright morning of the New Year, some alarms went off as if just another day had arrived. Others lie still on crowded bedside tables turned OFF while sleepy party goers lie nestled under warm covers determine to sleep a bit longer. Some stores have planned for late openings and early closings on this day, and the Gym stood ready, awaiting the frantic neurotics whose party going and over eating has thrown them into a panic. On this morning one thing is the same for all. 2010 has arrived and the resolutions that were made less than 12 hours ago await their fate. Stop smoking, stop eating, stop drinking, stop swearing and the list goes on. Those with lists to “START” are eager and ready to start exercising, start saving money and start living better lives. It is here we find Dawn, the subject of our investigation.

It is this day and this Dawn that are of importance since what we are looking at is her journey to fulfill her resolution to exercise. She has awakened with excitement and determination and a sense of “I can do this” in her heart. She speedily prepares herself for the gym…..nothing will stop her and nothing will discourage her from her mission. As she gets dressed, tying her hair back in a pony tale she looks in the mirror and assures herself once again that THIS IS IT! Off she goes for the short 8-minute drive to the gym – a journey she could have undertaken by bike or foot. But no, Dawn is beginning her fitness journey with the mindset that working out and exercise can only occur in the gym and therefore a walk or bike ride to the gym is out of the question. Upon arrival she looks for the closest parking space once again solidifying the idea that exercise happens in the gym.

As she proudly walks in, bag over shoulder and a bit of a kick to her step, she is stopped by the guy at the desk…a 22 year old. He stands there like a centurion with a physique that can only be attained by age, diet and an over obsessiveness with self and exercise. He warmly greets her, swipes her membership card and grants her access. Climbing the stairs toward what she has always thought of as the “DREADMILL” she reminds herself that THIS TIME SHE IS GOING TO DO IT!

The treadmills are lined up like cars parked in the lot and most of them are racing beneath the feet of sweaty neurotics who appear to be clinging to the handrails for dear life. She approaches one with mixed emotions, places her bag down to the side and steps up and pushes that dreaded START button. She proudly pushes all of the buttons and programs the machine to the best of her ability with an air of confidence. There she is…exercising…at the gym…. with everybody else….. SHE DID IT!

She looks down at the time indicator on the confusing computer board in front of her in disbelief. It indicates she had been exercising for only 4minutes. How can this be, she wonders? 4 minutes? It feels like 20! At that precise moment her cell phone goes off and she clumsily gets off the machine to dig through her bag.
“Hello” …….. “Oh hi Sara.” “I can’t talk right now I am at the gym..I’ll Call you later.” Sara keeps her on the phone for 5 minutes going on about this and that until Dawn tells her “ok, I really gotta go” ….. “I’ll call you later!”
She places the phone back in her bag, climbs aboard the mighty treadmill, pushes the buttons and begins again. Her mind at ease……she tells her self “I’M DOING IT! As she thinks of how she will be doing this day after day, she looks around at the bodies surrounding her. Some looked like they were carved out of stone. Others looked just like hers and she took comfort in knowing that she was not alone in her struggle. It has now been 6 minutes as she glances at the clock. She is astounded at how out of shape she has become. “I can’t believe it has only been 6 minutes,” she says to herself as she hears the sound of her cell phone once again. Off she goes to dig through her bag.
“Hello”………. “Hi mom” She goes on talking with her mom for a good 15 minutes while the treadmill races next to her working out on its own…. “Mom, I gotta Go” “I’m at the gym” She hangs up and once again climbs aboard the mighty treadmill. Pushing the buttons once again she sets the machine and gets back into it. Dawn is amazed at how the woman next to her appears to have been on her treadmill for hours. She is sopping wet and shows no signs of stopping. She seems as though she is in a trance with her headphones on, eyes closed and legs and arms pumping away. Dawn wonders if she will ever be that good at this…that fit……that dedicated.

12 minutes has passed now and Dawn is huffing and puffing. Sweat emerges on her brow and she is feeling proud that she is at least “looking” like she is accomplishing something. Fur Elise begins to play once again from her bag and she gratefully dismounts her treadmill with a sigh of relief at the sound of her phone.
“Hello”……….”Hi Susan, guess what I’m at the gym!”…….”Well I got up this morning and Blah Blah…….……..” And Dawn went on and on how she had finally decided to begin her exercise routine. She and Susan discussed exercising and the countless times each one of them had started and stopped. The numerous classes and programs they have tried and dropped. 40 minutes went by. The treadmill raced next to Dawn once again as she sat there with Susan on the cell. “Ok, ..I really gotta go and finish my workout” Dawn said as she hung up the phone with Susan. She got up and ran over to the bathroom. Upon her return she looked at the clock and realized she had been at the gym for an hour and a half. WOW she thought. She gathered her belongings in a hurry to leave the gym and rush home to shower. She looked back at the great grey building wondering what it is about the gym that attracts so many people……..and why they keep going time after time.


And so, Dawn left the gym proud that she had spent and hour and a half “working out”. It is sad to note that she was “celling herself short” since she spent more time off the treadmill on the phone then she did on the treadmill working out. As she drove home that morning she realized that working out and talking on the phone doesn’t really work. So she plans on skipping the workout and spending her time on the phone where she would really rather be. After all there is another New Year to start again..Next year.

30 minutes working out
60 minutes on the phone

It's a NEW Beginning!!!

It is said that “In the beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth.” Like all beginnings there is a before, a “pre” beginning. Well I don’t know what there was before G-d created the heaven and earth or how they even came to be, but I do know what came before the beginning of this year. It was the 49 ½ years of my life prior to January 01, 2010. And unlike the creation of heaven and earth, we all have a chance at a new “in the beginning” each year of our lives!

If we all reflect on that very fact, the reality and excitement of yet another “in the beginning” is awe inspiring. Like the creation of the earth, your life is a creation BUT, with the changing of the year YOU are given another chance at another “in the beginning.”

What will you do with this awesome opportunity?

How will you use it to better yourself? The lives of others?

What challenges will you face?

What conquests will you make?

As you start this year, create a list of what you want to accomplish this year. Make it a REAL DOABLE list. Then….Think it, Speak it, write it down, act upon it and then Live it!