Tag: jeff noel

How Could He?

Our almost nine-year old son says he understands. But I wonder, “How could he”? He’s eight!

Seriously, I’ve been working so intensely on a few things this year, that I believe my quality time with him has suffered.

We spoke about this yesterday. I told him I believe after the Finland trip, things will get better.

I also reminded him of how sometimes in life, there are seasons where you really have to work hard – 2009 has been one of those seasons.

Tough economy. Increased travel at work. Big yard. Overcoming injuries for Finland. Cub Scouts. Catechism. First Holy Communion. Etc, etc.

Mid-Life is like this too. It’s a season of questioning everything that has gotten us to Mid-Life.

We take an inventory of our Mind, Body, Spirit and Money.

We realize, “We ain’t gonna live forever”.

We have the opportunity to adjust the sails, as they say, for the second half, which most likely, will not be as long as the first half.

The bonus though, is that we are so much wiser about what should and could be done.

We just have to decide if we’re going to.

Hope I decide wisely.  Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

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Mind, Body, Spirit, Money

Mind, Body, Spirit, Money.

The big four.

I’m committed to figuring out these four simple concepts, now that I’m into mid-life.

There came a certain mid-life crisis moment, not sure when, that I realized I better start living and quit waiting.

Didn’t want to be guilty of going through the motions, and then finding myself on my deathbed, saying, “I should have”.  Or, “I would have”.  Or even, “I could have”.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Dangerous words. Poisonous words. Deadly words.

You know the antidote, right?

It’s two simple words.  You know this already, right?

I’ll tell you later…….carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

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Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture. In ten days, one year will have passed since Randy left our earthly world for his next journey, perhaps a heavenly world.

We will probably start to see news media marking this anniversary. In advance of this, I’d like to share his original You Tube Last Lecture.

Randy Pausch’s story inspired me, and I’m an already inspired kind of guy. And not only me, but millions of others, to recapture some excitement, and commitment, to our childhood dreams.

What did it for me was his attitude towards awful news – “You have three to six months to live”.

Whether you are unfamiliar with his story, or know it well, I challenge you to view The Last Lecture this weekend.

We can all be thankful he gave such an inspiring Last Lecture, although I’m sorry he had to.

Living with regret must be a painful exit from this world.  Do something, now, while you still can.  Follow a childhood dream to completion.  Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

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Present Condition?

“Happiness is a present attitude – not a future condition”.   — Hugh Prather

You’ve seen the consistency with which I end virtually every post with, “Carpe diem”!

Carpe diem is a present attitude.

It is, of course, the concept of seizing the day.

I like to break it down even further to, “Seize the moment”.

This takes practice to be fully present. Often, I struggle with it when my workload gets really intense.

But I take comfort in my imperfection, forgive myself, and then move on and try to always do my best.

Keep trying. Keep forgiving. Keep doing your best. It’s the only path to being fully present.

Carpe diem, jeff noel 🙂

Thought Dependent?

“The happiness of our life depends on the quality of our thoughts”. — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

My new friend Frank, the front office manager at Mitchell’s Sand Castles, on Sanibel Island, told me I am always smiling. I wanted to say, “And your point is”?, but I didn’t.

We had a decent discussion about finding your source for motivation, and finding your purpose in life.

Just yesterday, I wrote a post about something that daily enhances my life.

Amazing how something as simple as changing a radio station has yielded such noticeable benefits.

Well, not only changing the station, but then keeping it there.  Carpe diem,  jeff noel 🙂

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