Disney Leadership Keynote Speaker
Five daily blogs about life's 5 big choices on five interconnected sites.
“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?”
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?
“There is only one success – to be able to spend life in your own way”. — Christopher Morley
Agree to disagree? Good. Because I’m going to do both here.
Sure, it’d be great to do whatever it is you want to do, when you want to do it. And yet, it sounds a bit self-centered to my ear.
What abut sacrifice and service to others less fortunate? Ask Mother Teresa her opinion on Christopher Morley’s quote. Ask Jesus, or Abe Lincoln, or Martin Luther King.
Ask a mother, a father, a school teacher, a doctor or a nurse. Ask a street sweeper, or a cook.
We all should consider where we stand on this issue. And if we like our answer, awesome. If we don’t…..
Next Blog
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 🙂
Next Blog
Is May Goodness Month?
Yes. Goodness, to me, is a fundamental attitude to do good, versus the distinct opposite, which is to not do good.
This becomes especially clear if you’re on the receiving end of the opposite of Goodness. Ya with me now?
May is dedicated to thoughts on Goodness, collected here and there from the past 35 years of living, traveling, reading, observing, etc.
“Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny“.
Quote from Frank Outlaw.
Mid-life is a great time to do an inventory of our lives and ask, “Is a fundamental attitude to do Good a bad thing”?
With a followup question, “On a scale, 1 -10, ten being high, one being low, where do I rate myself”?
Hey, it’s a no-brainer that you can do whatever you want. We all have choices. I think about them all the time, because I know an eight-year old who’s watching me every day.
Make today a great mid-life celebration, if you can. Carpe diem, jeff 🙂