Thankfulness – Page 12 – Disney Leadership Keynote Speaker

Major Mid Life April Fool?

Mid Life Celebration has now been writing five daily blogs for one year.

This is not an April Fool’s joke (although the timing is perfect).

I remember how it all started. March 2009. Our 2nd-grade son was questioning why he had to read aloud 20 minutes every day.

“If you want to be a good reader, you need to read a lot”, I said.

Then I continued, “You know I’m training for the World Championships, right? If I want to be a good runner, I need to run a lot.”

Then, the flash of light!

“If you want to be a good writer, you should write a lot.”

What started as a simple 100-day challenge to write daily, in the five blogs, has turned into a heretical marketing and brand value proposition.

Midlife Shakespeare

“What’s past is prologue.” – Shakespeare

What’s past is simply what got us to where we are today. I’m thankful for that.

What’s here and now, is what will be past tomorrow. I’m thankful for that too.

What lies in the future is the choice we get to make. Our story is being written one day, one moment at a time.

To be or not to be, I mean, to be thankful or not to be thankful, that is the question.

And starting tomorrow, December’s question is, “Am I joyful and do I spread joy?”

Single Most Important Tip

Things you can do to prepare for a Mid Life Crisis, before it happens. Click here to read the article from Everyday Health.

However, here’s the single most important tip you will ever get from anyone about preparing for your midlife crisis or, as I like to say, your mid life celebration.

Focus on Life’s Big four:

MIND

BODY

SPIRIT

MONEY

And by focus, I mean proactively, in advance, as best you possibly can. This will keep you ever mindful of that elusive concept called “Balance”.

More on this later, maybe as soon as tomorrow.

Thankful Midlife Parent

Are you a thankful midlife parent, or maybe thankful midlife grandparent? Gauran-dang-tee I am.

Most married couples think parenting is an entitlement. Cheryl and I can tell you first hand it doesn’t work that way for all couples.

So, being a mid life Dad makes me thankful beyond any mortal effort to describe it. Seriously.

But I’ll try. Here goes. This is simply a typical revelation, in the journey my son and I have each day. It’s something I’ve been sharing and teaching him with unwavering commitment.

“Once you learn to be honest, it is no longer something to fear. Once you don’t tell the truth, it becomes easier to do it again.”

Honesty builds trust. Trust reinforces honesty. And honesty becomes a habit. Simple, but not easy.

People Were Thankful

The Families we visited yesterday were very thankful for the Food donations that were delivered:

We visited an upscale home for the first time in ten years. My son and I received warm and grateful greetings at every stop. One man even gave me a big hug.

I reminded our son (9) why we started this “three-times-a-year Food For Families tradition” ten years ago.

“If two boys are standing next to an adult, and one uses his manners and the other doesn’t which one do you think the adult will trust more?”

“If two adults say serving others is important, but one actually does and the other only hopes to one day, which one do you think God will say, well done?”

In telling our son why we do this, even though it may seem small, we are actually preparing ourselves to do more. By putting others first every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter morning, we are developing a habit similar to using manners.

We are cultivating good habits. That’s all we can really ask of ourselves, isn’t it?