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?”
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.
Central Florida volunteers gather at a local High School every Thanksgiving Day morning to pick up and deliver boxes of food to needy Families.
Tomorrow will be our tenth year of this Thanksgiving Day family tradition.
A decade ago, and even before Cheryl was pregnant, I suggested to her that we find a way to show our children that we are here to serve and not to be served.
This is a simple, and seemingly insignificant act of kindness influences our thinking, and our actions, all year long.
A Publix Grocery Store Produce manager started Food For Families many years ago. With help from Central Florida Churches, Schools, and community members, needy Families are identified.
The Central Florida Community also delivers Food for Families on Christmas morning and Easter morning, providing us opportunities to put others first on three special days where we traditionally didn’t.
Read this carefully, Boundary-less-ness.
Pretty cool. Saw it engraved on a trophy at somebody’s desk a few days ago.
Clever, isn’t it, to engrave it on a bronze plate and put it on a trophy? No boundaries. No limits. Nice reminder.
However, it doesn’t seem worth the effort to try something without limits, simply because it’s probably, if not entirely, impossible.
Why waste time on something that can’t be done?
But thankfulness, now that’s a completely different story. Anyone can give thanks. For anything.
There is never a point where we can’t go farther with our thankfulness. Ever. If you challenge this, I’ll challenge you. You see, every day you wake and try to tell me I’m wrong, is one more thing you can be thankful for – breathe in your nostrils and the ability to make a choice.
Are you thankful for the seemingly overwhelming obstacles that appear in front of you? Many times, I’ve finally come to learn, the solutions are simple.
What began as anger turned into an amazing blessing.
Bear hugs began about seven years ago when I was struggling to adapt to a new rule our son’s child care provider put in place.
My wife takes our son to day care, I pick him up. Upon arrival, the first thing I’d do is scoop him up and give him a hug. In many cases, I had not seen him (awake) since the day before.
The new policy change had you remain in your vehicle as your child was placed in their car seat. You never got out of the car. Some parents liked this.
I did not. In fact, it made me really pissed off angry. Fuming mad.
Solutions are often simple and many times, come from unlikely sources. A friend, gay and never ever ging to be a parent, gave me the best parenting solution.
He said, “After you pick up your son, why don’t you drive around the corner, park, get out, and do your bear hug?”
Duh! It was the perfect solution. Perfect.
There have been a few days where we are several miles from his school when one of us realizes we didn’t do our bear hug. Do we wait until we get home? Nope.
What overwhelming challenge have you had that turned into one of your biggest mid life blessings?