You can brighten someone’s day today by surprising him or her with an unexpected act of kindness!

Oh yes, you probably will call someone on their birthday, but that’s expected and so, no surprise or extra exhilaration there. On the contrary, you’d probably be in the dog house if you didn’t call.

Where is the fun in that?

About thirty years ago, I had a very demanding job and was coming off an unusually grueling week. When I walked in the front door Friday night, my wife had assembled all the kids (6) in the living room.

She announced that the car was packed with our luggage. She had purchased a one week vacation in Nassau, Bahamas and called my boss to say I wouldn’t be at work next week.

Thirty years later, I still remember!

If not today, when?

Everyday, we have so many influencers coming at us that we may be derailed and need to get back on the track. Many of these influencers may espouse behaviors that are really at odds with everything we used to believe in.

Sometimes, unfortunately, it takes a personally traumatic event in our lives to get us back in touch with what is truly important.

All of us want to be accepted by loved ones, friends and co-workers, but at what cost?

I love the saying, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything!”

What do you stand for?

Which values do you hold dear that are non negotiable?

If not today, when?

We live in an incredible world where opportunity and potential excitement are everywhere! Yet, most of us spend our waking hours putting a fence around ourselves.

Familiar self limiting quotes might include: “I’m too old.” “I’m too young.” “I don’t know how.”

Six weeks ago, my wife looked at me and said, “I’m ready for an adventure!”

So, two weeks later, we bought a1988 50 foot Chris Craft located in Florida. We are making repairs and updating it this winter.

Next Spring, we’re taking the boat up the Inter Coastal Waterway through the states of Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, through the Erie Canal and Lake Erie 2,300 miles to our home port, Detroit.

The trip will take five or six weeks.

At the age of 77, we’re “too old”, but we’re going anyway!

If not today, when?

 

It is a Latin phrase reflecting the philosophy of Aristotle which means, “In the middle stands the truth.” In other words, truth is not to be found in either extreme of too much or too little.

I learned the phrase as a child from my Dad who was a professor at Notre Dame. His translation was easy to remember, “Everything in moderation.”

It’s not always easy to keep our lives on an even keel. Sometimes, we find ourselves at one of the extremes of either great joy or overwhelming sadness.

I have learned many things from my wife of 54 years! One of her greatest attributes is her ability to take life in stride. She has suffered through many challenges, but never mentions them in retrospect.

Her favorite saying is. “Keep on marching!”

If not today, when?

 

You don’t swim half a lake do you? Well you don’t give up on yourself either!

Winston Churchill gave the shortest speech in history when he said, “Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!” Then, he sat down.

It’s not the smartest people who succeed. Smart people can think of a million reasons why they should quit.

The people, who reach for and obtain their dreams, persevere no matter what obstacles and disappointments come their way. You have the grit within you to push forward! Just dig deep and bring it out of you.

I have learned that the most difficult problems in my life were the source of my greatest satisfaction as I look back on them.

Life is not a dress rehearsal! It’s the final act!

If not today, when?

 

There are both kinds and always have been both kinds. What kind of impact do you make each day on the people in your world? Do you care?

One of the great ironies that I’ve noticed along the way is the fact that the self centered “minus” people seem to be getting more so! Also, the giving, kind “plus”people seem to be getting more so too!.

After you’re gone, people will probably discuss whether or not you were a good person,  a good friend  or made the world a better place not your business or financial success.

It all comes down to what you are going to make the future priority of your life beginning today.

“You become what you think you are!”

If not today, when?

 

The first question is, “Do you have a hero”? If not, why not? I hope there is at least one person who you hold in high esteem.

What is the greatest compliment you can pay your hero?

I believe you should try to emulate the qualities in your hero that you most admire. In this way, your hero’s life will not have been in vain because you are going to try to pass on those great qualities to your sphere of influence. In this way, you can make the world better by helping the next generation find a role model to guide them through the chaos..

Talk is cheap. Action counts!

If not today, when?

 

The dictionary says a coincidence is, “A remarkable concurrence of events without apparent causal connection.”

I don’t believe in coincidences!

When I was a senior in college, I was sitting in my Marketing class one day when the professor chose me and a girl in our class to attend a career day at Hudson’s Department Sstore. Only Marketing and Business majors from local colleges were invited.

At the event, I saw this beautiful girl in a red dress who was a student at a local all girls college. She spotted me too and has been my wonderful wife for 54 years!

Coincidence? No, I don’t think so.

I believe God has helped all of us throughout our lives!

I’m not proud of my blessings. I’m grateful because I know God had a hand in my “coincidences.”

If not today, when?

Our entire life story is impacted by two factors; things that happen to us and the decisions we make.

Some people are terrible decision makers and the results speak for themselves!

Others have a built in system of weighing the pros and cons before acting. Still, others allow their emotions to rule the day.

Like many other aspects of our lives, the decision making process becomes a habit. In most instances, you can predict what a close friend will decide in a given situation based upon his or her previous decisions.

You can’t control things that happen to you, but you have the complete power to decide what you will make happen!

Examine your history of decisions. How can you make better decisions in the future?

If not today, when?

 

This is a tough topic.

It’s definitely something we all wrestle with throughout our lives.

“But I was right and he was wrong!” “I’ll never speak to her again!”

The difficulty of the forgiveness varies with the degree of the perceived hurt.

Unfortunately, while our unwillingness to forgive the other person is our attempt to punish the wrong doer, we take a toll as well. It’s just another bothersome aspect of our lives that just won’t go away on its own.

So, do you carry this monkey on your back until some stranger closes the door on your casket or do you grant genuine forgiveness and lighten the load?

God has forgiven you countless times! Now, it’s your turn!

If not today, when?