jeff noel – Page 917 – Disney Leadership Keynote Speaker

How Do You Do It?

Some things are challenging to explain, like this photo. (Disney's Best Friends Pet Care)

Ever have one of those moments when someone asks, “How do you do it?” and you don’t really have a logical answer?

Last week, a few days before New Year’s, enjoying dinner, our friend asked how the blogging was going. Cheryl chimed in, “Jeff hit his 5,000th post on 11.11.11”.

Stacey then asked, “So you reuse some of your older posts?”

Pausing, and thinking for a moment, “No. There are recurring themes, over and over, but not the same stories.”

Scroll down for yesterday’s post or to leave here and visit the 2nd of 5 different blogs I write on Work/Life Balance, click next Blog

Can We Look Back On The Future?

92 days ago on New Year's day 2012. Christmas decorations in the background.

Do you consider yourself set in your ways? Comfortable with same old same old? So, um, it doesn’t make sense writing five different blogs every day of the year. Crazy. “Why?”, you ask. Because work life balance has five components, not two.

On top of that, this month I’m writing three months in advance. Life is one grand experiment. Grab your safety goggles and lab coat. Let’s go.

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90 Days Ahead

Back at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on New Year's Day 2012

Blogging 90 days ahead? What is that all about? Like I said yesterday, it’ll either be an epic failure or a great discovery.

And a brief public service note…

Scroll down for yesterday’s post or to leave here and visit the 2nd of 5 different blogs I write on Work/Life Balance, click next Blog

Happy New Year 2012!

Last night at ESPN's Wild World Of Sports Complex

Happy New Year!

Huh? Wait. Sure, it was 90 days ago. And no, this isn’t an April Fool’s Day prank. It’s a blogging, and life, experiment.

So how has 2012 been treating you? Have the first 90 days of this amazing opportunity been better than, about what, or less than, you expected?

I sincerely hope your answer is, “better than expected”.

This post goes a bit against my short and pithy mantra, as well as going against what some would say is conventional blogging wisdom.

You see, we must always find creative ways to get and stay motivated.

And to that end, I wonder every day how to do it. And also, how you do it.

So here’s a little secret. This post is 90 days old. And yes, it’s New Year’s Day morning. For real.

This month’s posts are a look at the future – 90 days out – and looking back to compare the two perspectives. Every post this month will be written exactly three months in advance.

This could be an epic failure, or a really interesting way to discover the undiscovered.

Happy New Year (and happy April Fool’s day too).

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Something old, something new… by guest blogger Lorie Sheffer

old things — something old, something new (photo: Lorie Sheffer)

Whenever I mention my elderly relatives, someone will ask me if I have ever picked up on secrets to their amazing longevity. I had a great uncle who was very overweight and smoked and drank in excess, yet lived to be well into his nineties. My 101-year-old great aunt is the deadly apple shape, which is supposedly the telltale clue to early death. My aunt, who turned 90 today and who looks amazing for her age, is the most health conscious of the group. She can usually be found at a fast food restaurant. While much of their astounding fortune at playing health roulette was probably just genetics taking over for their horrible habits, I refuse to play that game. While I am far from being a gym rat, and I very likely will never be found in the petite department shopping for my clothing, I have paid close attention to something they have all done right. They love trying new things.

When we think of a typical old fogy, we think of someone who is grouchy, stubborn and set and in their ways. One way to keep our brains sharp and our outlook young is to try new things. So what if we make a total fool of ourselves! It’s not like we haven’t survived looking stupid in the past. In recent years I’ve added things to my “new” list; refinishing old furniture, photography, yoga, trying recipes using ingredients I’ve never used or heard of before, and writing this weekly guest blog post for a childhood friend. What’s the worst that can happen? Something I was going to take to the curb anyway has to be taken to the curb because I mess it up; a photograph is blurry or doesn’t look quite right; I realize I’m not as flexible as I used to be; I cook something and don’t like the way it tastes; I write something that stinks. So what? Really, that’s what not succeeding at something new boils down to: So what? Unless skydiving is on your short list of new things to try, the risk of failure pales in comparison to the thrill of doing something new or outside of your comfort zone. Trying new things seems to be what has kept some very interesting old folks I know from becoming bored with life. It has kept them excited about the prospect of living another day.