Most of us have heard the reminder about “living in the now” and that the only thing we can really count on is the present moment.  Turns out, these words of wisdom as well as many similar quips are right on.  There is something about being in the presence of a loved one who is dying that really opens up the present of life for me.  Not to sound like “Harold or Maude“  but just to make note of how the shadowy side of life, which is death, certainly has its moments as well.

A very good friend of mine who I’ve known since I was in my early twenties entered hospice care yesterday.  Thank goodness for Hospice and the caregivers who give their time and love to those who have chosen to end their journey of life this way.  This friend of mine has seen me through thick and thin.  From being an absolutely crazy, out of control co-dependent through getting sober off of many things that I used to ingest to help me to get out of all the mounting moments of pain.  When I went to visit my friend this evening, I felt time moving like thick molasses.  She had asked me to grab a few things from her apartment to bring with me which included her nail polish remover. She has always had incredibly beautiful long nails.  I sat there for the first half hour taking the old nail polish off of her nails as we talked about the present, the past and the future.  Just like in meditation, somehow my usual fast moving thoughts had slowed down enough so that I could be fully in the present.  She cried, I cried. We laughed.  When I told her that during my meditation yesterday I just “knew” that she had made this decision, she asked me why I hadn’t told her that she was going down the shoots.  I said, “you are a wonderful, loving lady who is a dear, dear friend but you’re also hard headed as hell and so you had to get here on your own sweet time” and we both laughed and then cried.

She talked about this last year of battling her Lupus and Cancer and how it had felt like she was trying to put round pegs into square holes.  I told her she’d put up quite a good fight.  And reminded her about how many people she has touched and continues to touch.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago she had struck up a conversation with the guy who had delivered flowers to her hospital room and learned that he had her deceased husband’s same first and last name.  They bonded over books very quickly and two week’s later he had chocolate and a teddy bear delivered to her room at the rehab center.  I reminded her about how precious each of these living moments are that we are in now…that these count too, that little miracles continue to pop up all the time if we just notice them.  Like the baby green frog who I startled awake from his safe sleeping post on our coiled up hose the other day. He had been so asleep that I was able to pick him up and spontaneously kiss him on the head.  I put him in the fish pond on top of a lily pad. My friend loved that story. She agreed with me about the precious moments. Like when her major care giver doctor who had been seeing her through chemo had the tough conversation with her about the aggressive cancer, her weak physical condition and helped  her arrive at the decision to enter hospice care.  He hugged her and then cried as he was leaving her room.  She also said after a very tough day of people coming in and out of her room as she readied herself to being moved to hospice she looked up to see the entire Occupational Therapy department who had helped her over the months and years standing in her room to wish her good bye.

Death does suck, don’t get me wrong but I believe that when life gives you a whole cart of manure, there’s got to be a pony in there somewhere.  Love your life’s precious moments. Slow down and let it in.

What? Money isn’t everything?!?  “How could you say that?!”, you may be thinking. But it’s true, Money is not everything. In fact it’s really usually only some kind of metal, fabric or paper (which is certainly not “everything”)!

Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of books have been written about what money is and in my not so humble opinion, not enough has been written about what money is not.

In all the cultures who use money, the metal, fabric or paper is an agreed upon symbol for mutual exchange.  We use it to communicate an agreed upon thought such as you make me this and then I pay you what you and  I feel it is worth with our agreed upon symbol.  Isn’t it interesting how much time most of us spend on wanting to and/or acquiring money and how little time we spend on the actual communication and cultivation of relationships with other people? Money is a symbol used for communication but it is not actual communication.

Before I list the top ten things that money is not, please know that I am acutely aware that for many of us we have a lot of needs (much less wants) that (in our cultures at least) cannot be met without money.  I know that I need a roof over my head, food in my belly and clothes on my back just like you do, so maybe this top ten list will help you to put your idea of what money is in your life back into its rightful place in balance with everything that is available to you that won’t cost you a cent:

1.) Money is not the warm feeling you get when someone is unexpectedly kind to you.

2.) Money can’t buy you that look that your loved one/dog/cat/horse,bird gives you straight into your eyes that let’s you know you are loved and respected.

3.) All the money in the world won’t buy you true friendship with someone who would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it and really be happy to do so.

4.) Money won’t fill that empty hole in your gut that only spiritual and emotional healing and time can fill.

5.) Money will not make you important.  Look at Bernie Madoff, how important is he now?

6.) Money won’t buy you the experience of laughing so hard with someone you care about that you run out of breath.

7.) Money will not make you a better person.  You can be a good person and do really nice things with money for others but that doesn’t mean you’re better.

8.) Money is not the answer to all your problems.  If you have a problem right now that you believe money would get rid of, then think again…you may be able to come up with a creative solution to help you get your problem(s) cared for in another way.

9.) Money is not approval.  If you have lot’s of money it does not mean that the world approves of you and if you have no money it does not mean that the world disapproves of you—money is a material thing—it does not have feelings.

10.) Money is not love. Money is not love.  Money is not love.  Yes, if you are a loving person with money you can buy many loving things with money but the actual money itself is not love.  Money is a material thing-it does not have feelings.

It has been my experience that I always learn something about myself, other people, ideas, facts etc. from every person I come across when I choose to keep my mind and heart open to receiving the learning. I hope the following can get you to thinking about all that you’ve learned this week too.

This is a list of ten things that I learned from clients as well as some  people who I mentored  this week (just to name a few!):

1.) Even if you’ve been chewing on the same problem for years and years, when you decide to let yourself have a break-through, you can change the pattern in an instant.

2.) If you keep having the same situation happen over and over again, but your life is too busy to stop and review what’s not working….therein  lies the clue.

3.) We all have our own unique calling, finding your own is a real blessing. Allowing others to find theirs when you allow them help you is even bigger.

4.) No matter how many bells and whistles you have after your name, we all thirst for someone to see and hear us for who we are.

5.) Believing in someone and helping them to see how you see them is a magic elixer for potential.

6.) When you are helping others, most people hear what you are saying even though they may not acknowledge it at the time. The seed is always planted.

7.) Most people will let you know what their strengths and weaknesses are, respect them both and address them accordingly.  Even the most competent of people, needs a gentle handl holding now and then.

8.) There really is a very thin line between excitement and fear. Following your breath and breathing from your core helps disseminate the highs and lows into a frequency that allows divine guidance in. Striking a yoga pose and holding it to the count of ten can also help shift you out of fear and into the light.

9.) Human beings really are amazingly resilient and magnificent when we reach for the gold bar of life no matter what our trials and tribulations.

10.) The difference between a higher self inkling and your ego can be felt by where it “hits” you in your body when you become aware of the thought.  Inklings usually come very softly but clearly and ego is more loud and discordant. Listen for the soft quiet voice just below the din in your mind, it will never lead you astray.

Peter Shankman wrote a great blog recently entitled, “Why I’m Not Going to SXSW This Year – A Brutally Honest Post”.   For those of you who may not have heard of Peter Shankman yet, he is known as a social entrepreneur, angel investor, CEO, Speaker and Adventurist.  Here’s a little blurb from his website:

Peter is perhaps best known for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) which in under a year has become the de-facto standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources on deadline, offering them more than 125,000 sources around the world looking to be quoted in the media. HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,200 queries from worldwide media each week. HARO’s tagline, “Everyone is an Expert at Something”, proves over and over again to be true, as thousands of new members join at helpareporter.com each week.

I bring his blog to your attention because I believe it takes a lot of courage to do something different (and for sure to send it out to the world at large!), like not attend SXSW because you want to take care of yourself  (South By Southwest which is a huge music/technology conference that takes place in Austin, Texas during spring break week in March when all kinds of people from all corners of the globe descend to our little paradise in the hill country.  Peter tells us that he doesn’t believe he is an alcoholic, but rather that he tends to drink very fast (like he lives his life) and finds himself in situations as a result that he would rather not find himself (verbally, physically, etc.) Whatever the case, I’m glad Peter spoke up.  There are a whole lot of people who will listen to him who may be feeling the same way or at least sitting on the fence.

SXSW does not have to a scene from “Party Down“, in fact it is really possible to have a whole lot of fun and get a lot of “work” done in the process via connecting and interacting.  I’ve been alcohol-free for 20+ years and yet when my husband and I get together with six of our favorite scuba diving friends for rest and relaxation swimming and diving in various blue waters in the world, you’d never know it! I get in there and laugh and have fun with the best of them.  Actually, I think I’m a lot more fun then when I was drinking because I can stay awake a whole lot longer!

I wanted to bring Peter’s honest blog to your attention to jog your thoughts just in case there might be something that you would like to do differently this year, may this give you the shot of courage you need!

Have you ever seen the metaphysical movie, “The Secret” which was released in 2006 as a movie-web sensation?  The very first cuts of the movie included Esther Hicks/Abraham (Law of Attraction) and for many of us, this was the first time to really have a beautiful visual as well as auditory lesson about attracting what we want into our lives.  For those of us who are into such things, groups sprung up all over the world to discuss and explore the qualities of attracting and manifesting what we wanted into our lives.  I even interviewed one of the speakers of “The Secret”, James Ray, during my first live radio interview show on KOOP 91.7 FM back in 2006.

For those of you who may not know the basic premise of manifesting and attracting what you want in your life, I’ll take a quote from Esther and Jerry Hicks’ “Teachings of Abraham in their book, “The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent” which sums it down to this:

“When you ask, it is given. It is always given. It is given every time. No exceptions…When you or anyone or anything asks, it is given.”

I have had the experience in my life of people, places or things that I have had a strong desire for appearing out of seemingly thin air.  Before I met my husband, I had very few long-term relationships and my definition of long-term had been nine months tops!  When I met him he had just moved to Austin from New York and we just happened to have the same friend who just happened to work at the same place that I did.  Twenty-one years later and we’re still creating our story together.  When we found the home that we’ve been in since 1996,  we stumbled upon it almost by accident because a co-worker of my husband had accepted an out of town job and needed to sell his home.  When we went to look at it, there were many decorating type things that we wanted to change but the basics of the land and a pool was what we had both dared to want for a very long time.  We sold the home we were in at the time, and bought this new home within THREE DAYS.  My list goes on and on but what I tend to forget was how effortlessly these things came into my life…as if by divine intervention.

I don’t know about you but when it comes to  assessments or following through on exercises that are supposed to produce a certain result, I tend to be one of those people who will “break” or severely stretch the parameters.  Suffice it to say that when it came to participating in Law of Attracting groups and trying to manifest what I wanted into my life—like the leaders and/or participants of the groups seemed to be manifesting what they wanted into their lives—-I just never was to be able to do it.  I went through several stages where I felt disenchanted, disillusioned, skeptical, depressed and maybe just a little bit angry.  In whatever way it is that my brain processes learning, I felt like trying to “manifest” and “attract” like I thought everyone else was doing it—was causing me to lose the great connection that I had with a Higher Power of my understanding.  I used to pride myself in being able to float a variety of different beliefs in my consciousness simultaneously, but this period of time in my life felt like I had walked into a gravity chamber of lead that didn’t leave anything floating in the air for consideration much less manifesting.

Overtime, I’ve been rebuilding and reconnecting the relationship with that Higher Power and rekindling the belief that I am a human being who lives a life at choice.  Everything and everyone that comes into my life is a result of a decision or series of decisions that I have made.  As I’ve written in previous blogs, I am making a conscious choice not to entertain the usual-suspects of negative thoughts when they come into my mind. Instead, as soon as I recognize them I STOP them and ask myself if the thoughts are useful or helpful to me and if they are not then I ask myself what, if any, action I need to take.

For the past few weeks I’ve been working with a good friend who is a fellow Coach and Master Mind member five days a week for 20 minutes which is helping me to carve out some new coaching programs and really get intentional about coaching and the kind of clients who I want to attract.  Almost as effortless as a swan swimming through the water, great ideas about the kind of coaching I could offer and new clients appeared in my life.  But as soon as my friend began talking about manifesting, there was that lead balloon again.  I couldn’t even manifest a parking place at school the next day!  My friend had this same dilemma as well and we soon realized that part of our issue was because somehow in our minds when we heard or thought about manifesting, it immediately became a chore for us.  It was no fun. There was no joy in the process of manifestation.

We made a pact to create a “manifesting journal” but only create in it when our heart was full of joy. I have since shared with three friends and I am now going to share this idea with you.

1.) Get yourself a journal that fits well with your personality.  I have a very simple spiral notebook (MR is the brand) that I bought at Target that I love because of the hard cover and the lining of the paper.

2.) Each page is for one thing, person, place, idea, etc. that you want to manifest in your life.  That one thing may take up several pages, but keep your focus on one thing that you want to manifest for each page.

3.) Remember how you want to feel.  Most of the current day sages who talk about the Law of Attraction, remind us to pay attention to how we want to “feel”.  In manifesting what you want in your life, it’s not enough just to visualize it–you have to feel like you know you will feel with that person, place, thing in your life.  Remember when you were a kid, and you could create a magical experience for yourself almost from thin air?  I sure could, about the most simplest of things like being excited to go to the DQ after our mom dragged us to the base commissary and BX when she would reward us with a corn dog and chocolate shake.  Those shopping days were magical to me!!

4.) Let go of the “how”.  I think our adult selves trumps our child selves when it comes to manifesting sometimes because we trudge into our dreams and feelings of joy with all the hows, and buts and what ifs.  All of those concerns are important for living; however, all we’re doing with our journal is having fun and letting that kid part of ourselves out to play and have fun with this.  Remember that for many of us, this whole manifesting thing became drudgery because instead of going with the flow and remember the joy—we kept trying to figure it all out.  I know I’ve had dreams of flying that perfectly illustrate these feelings for me. In some of my flying dreams, I’ll effortlessly take off in flight and be way up high soaring along until I realize how effortlessly I’m soaring and then I lose my height and sometimes I have to land and then run several times and jump up to fly again.  Go ahead, let yourself fly. Have fun.

This is your journal so no one is going to be looking at it…however you decide to communicate to yourself how you want to feel in your life when you’re living your best life—go for it.  You may want to write, draw, paint, collage, the sky really is the limit.  Enjoy yourself.  And if/when that part of your brain shows up that just has to KNOW HOW you are possibly going to get anything that you desire into your life, tell it kindly to bug off for right now because this is your very own journal to help you to remember how to have joy in your life.

Now go do it and have fun!

Yes, being happy is a choice.  I know there are many valid reasons for not being happy but as Abraham Lincoln one said, “most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to believe (and ole Abe suffered from severe depression).

Having lived many years suffering through various addictions and the curse of my own negative thought processes, I know that choosing to be happy is one of the most important choices I can make today.  Otherwise, I slip and slide down the slope of depression and become frozen in with doubt and insecurity.

Here are ten examples of places that I’ve chosen to be happy instead of succumbing to the dark side:

1.) Career Dilemma — There have been many times in my life when I have either been frustrated with a job or looking for whatever my “calling” was.  All the lessons I’ve learned through this career dilemma can be distilled down to this one thought, “to always remember that wherever you go, there you are.”  We bring whoever we are to every endeavor that we take….our being happy does not have to rest on the experience of something outside of ourselves to relieve us of our boredom, frustration, fury, resentment or indifference.  The journey to happiness begins within us.

2.) Relationships — I don’t even want to admit how many years I spent fantasizing about how I thought I wanted a relationship to be.  I still don’t understand how I stumbled into the marriage that I’ve been in now for 19 years, but I’m grateful for the serendipity.  I know today that even in a good intimate relationship, happiness has to begin from within first.

3.) Dwelling Places — otherwise known as your home or place that you reside.  I love my home today but I have to say that I’ve been able to make wherever I lived into a “home” that I could be happy inside of even in those places where I had very little to show for myself.  Beautiful colors, good music and happy animals have helped me to foster happiness for myself and others.

4.) Spiritual Fulfillment — this has probably been one of the most important aspects of my being able to choose happiness.  Trusting that there is a power greater than myself at the helm of things is balm for my soul, meditation and quiet time so that I can be quiet and listen for that connection to my higher power and being able to share a belief in a spiritual connection with others even when some people may have completely different specific beliefs about their spirituality, has all been such a huge peace to my heart where happiness grows.

5.) Health — if someone had told me when i was 16, that by the time I got to be in my 50′s that I wouldn’t be drinking, smoking, using caffeine, eating in large quantities and most especially not eating flour and sugar—I probably would have become very scared at the thought of what the hell had become of me to go to such extremes.  Actually, I am more happy today not doing all that stuff than I was with my face flat down in it for so many years.  I am happy that I have the stamina to still run long distance. I’m happy that I can hope right up onto the washing machine in one quick jump to put the sheets in the baskets above and I am happy that my focus today is on enjoying my life and the people around me instead of looking for my next “fix” of things outside of myself that I thought would make me happy.

6.) Mornings — I think it took me a long time to recognize that when I didn’t get enough sleep, I woke up in the worst mood in the morning and I tended to take out that mood on everyone around me.  Today, I make sure that I get plenty of good sleep and I also know that no matter what kind of “mood” that I’m in…..I am not the center of the Universe. Everyone else has their own world and problems to deal with as well.  Might as well choose to be happy (or at least neutral) about the morning.

7.) Traffic — Don’t get me wrong, you can ask anyone I know and they will tell you that I don’t like traffic.  I pride myself in knowing when are the most opportune times to hit the highway and when to stay off; however, today I do what I can to make life better when I’m in the car.  Just like everyone tells us, I make sure to leave with plenty of time to get to my destination.  I usually stop and get a cup of my favorite coffee to enjoy on the road and I have some favorite radio stations and podcasts that I like to listen to at different times of the day. Miraculously (there must be some rule of the road at play here), most of the time I seem to get to my destination right on time if not a little bit before hand.

8.) School — The fact that I’m in my 50′s and not only older than most of the students that I take classes with but also probably a lot of the professors, could make me feel very insecure and unhappy.  Yes, I have doubting thoughts that circle around in my brain such as “wonder what my life would have been like if I’d stayed in school when I was so young” but I quickly put a stop to them.  Instead, I’ve jumped in whole heatedly to my classes and engage with my teachers, my classes and the students around me.  I’m having a ball and just grateful for the opportunity to continue my education.

9.) Mental chemical imbalances — Can’t say this enough times, if you feel unhappy or depressed for a length of time (like weeks on end), go talk to a trusted physician.  I recommend talking with a therapist and if you both decide that perhaps talking with a psychiatrist is warranted, then do so.  I know several people who have taken it upon themselves to go to their GP or OBGYN and have anti-depressants prescribed but I really believe it is important to go to those trusted individuals who have the training and background in the mental health field. All kinds of advances are being made today.  Some people may need some therapy, some people may need therapy and medicine, work with those professionals who have made this discipline their expertise.

10.) It is always your choice — whether we choose to be happy or not is always our choice.  Remember that movie from 1997 “Life is Beautiful” about the prisoner in a nazi death camp who uses his humor and loving heart to protect his son?  People who choose to look at life as beautiful (which is another avenue to choosing happiness) are the kind of people I seek out like a heat seeking missile.  I want what they have. I want to be able to feel that divine love in my heart no matter what my outside circumstances.

What are some ways that you could choose to be happy today?

1. Read.   Seems the most obvious but you might be surprised just how many people don’t read.  Here’s one of my favorite Blog sites where you can find all kinds of bloggers and topics: My Alltop

2. Learn.   I returned to school in ’08 to complete a degree that I hadn’t ever gotten around to and I’m (for the most part) really enjoying the heck out of myself.  Philosophy class this semester is blowing my mind. Have to be careful not to think about “if only” in regards to how much I could have accomplished if I had known back when what I’m learning now!!

3. Listen. On the days that I drive back and forth to school, I listen to a talk show on the AM channel that supports different belief systems than me.  I do it for the exercise of considering another point of view.  Now that I’ve learned about all kinds of fallacies in Philosophy, I must admit to listening for those statements as well.

4. Experience Art and Music.  Go to an event or exhibit that you might not instantly consider going to and definitely go to an exhibit or concert that you are looking forward to experiencing.

5.  Be of service.   I sponsor several people in a 12-step program and talk to at least three of them every morning M-F.  Giving back what I have been given adds depth to my gratitude.

6.  Notice the tiny things in life.  Today when I was mopping our light pergot wood floor in the dining room I noticed a tiny black wolf spider frantically trying to get away from my mop,  He/she had no idea that I would never hurt them so they were scrambling.  I wondered why I found this tiny little insect’s movements so cute?  Notice the tiny things in life and you just may stumble upon a miracle.

7.  Grow a flower.  I have two potted orchids sitting on my window sill that I talk to every morning when I wake up.  I’ve had one of them 9 months and the other 6.  They’ve lost all their buds but have sprouted new leaves and air roots.  I know at some point that I will need to watch a you tube video on how to transplant them but, for right now, I can tell by their vibrant colors and hearty thick leaves that they are happy hanging in their present state.

8.  Love an animal.  We have five animal personalities in our family today. Three cats and two dogs. Each one has his or her very own unique spin on “being ness” and throw in their own unique flavor about life.  Tonight after watching the movie, “Billy Elliott” , I realized that our “bobby cat” (he has a naturally bobbed tail) who is the grey sweet tom who adopted me last year, sometimes sprints across our yard as if he’s doing plies like a ballet dancer with muscles that move across his back as he runs.

9. Let someone love you.  Volumes have been written on this subject. It’s about intimacy (in to me see), connection, receptivity, accountability and of course…love….to name a few.

10.  Travel.  It’s always good to get out of your own little world and see new sites, new people and new ways of doing things.  Helps to shake up the status quo and change your perspective.  Be willing to stretch yourself and take in different ways of being.

What ways have you found to enrich your life today?

What is your “real” personality?  I mean, if you were in the safest environment that you could find or if your temperament calls for it—the most invigorating environment….how would “you” show up?

Figuring out how to unlock my real personality is something that I have been working and fiddling at for years.  In my case, for a good many years I was completely outwardly focused which meant that I looked to the people around me (into their eyes, searching the nuances of their faces, bracing myself against the slightest quiver of a lip for their reaction to me) to see how I was doing.  I had no real sense of who I was.  Probably when I was a really young child, I knew what my favorite color was but then the onslaught of adolescence and puberty hit and many individual preferences got muted into the background of my mind.  Today I can tell you what colors I love  (there are many!) and that my color preferences change every day depending on how I’m feeling about the day, not because of what someone else says.
The first step to unlocking the “real” you is to be willing to listen to that still small voice within you to learn how the “real” you wants to respond.   For instance, I have a lot of energy and am the biggest dancer (in my socks on our bare tile floors) around our casa; however, I am very reticent about dancing like I do in front of my dogs….in front of other people.  So, I’ve learned to enjoy and let loose with that part of me who likes to choreograph and “pretend’ entire dance routines around my house without judging or negating myself because I don’t want to do this in front of others (like some of my friends who are professional dancers, singers and actors).

The second step which really goes hand-in-hand with the first step is to ACCEPT who it is that you understand that you are today. You may change something about yourself tomorrow, but who are you today?  I know that I am someone who loves to make people laugh.  I am pretty shameless about finding ways to make my friends laugh especially if we’re all sitting around a big table playing games.  For the longest time, I would not share this side of my personality except with a handful of friends because I was so scared that I would come off as a big dork.  Well, now I wear my “dork” title proudly and feel especially fulfilled when everyone at the table is laughing, being silly and letting loose to have a good time.  The clown inside of me knows she has done her job well.

Some of the intermediary steps to unlocking your “real” personality (because the list goes on through infinity) include but are not limited to:

• taking “quiet” time or meditation time each day to still your mind and body so that all the knowledge and wisdom that has been swirling within and about you can settle down for you to absorb;
• write down your experiences, impressions, insights that you have gotten each day at night before you go to sleep.  This doesn’t have to be a painful and arduous process, keep it simple. Just allow yourself this time and method to record what you are noticing about how you experience your life;
• Although there are some pretty good personality assessments out there that will help you to see what some of your traits are please keep in mind that these assessments are only as good as the person who is translating what they mean to you and neither the test nor the person explaining the results is worth a hill of beans if you’re not paying attention to your head, heart or gut reaction;
• Pay attention to how you feel/think about a song, book, movie, concert, etc.  Although I enjoy all kinds of music, there is some music (Opera) that no matter how much other people tout it…I just am never going to enjoy it like I do other kinds of music. And that’s okay. I want to keep my mind open to new information and at the same time acknowledge in myself that I definitely have some preferences about the music I spend my time listening to.  Additionally, just because I can really be in the mood sometimes to listen to very intense rock music with sophisticated guitar riffs, drums etc.  there are certain outdoor events that showcase this same kind of music that I have absolutely NO desire to be part of.

There will be further blogging on this subject of how to unlock your real personality.  In the meantime, I hope there will be some good discussion on this point from y’all to share with us who you are and how you have come to understand your “real” personality.

1.) A successful person is persistent.  A successful person doesn’t give up–no matter what.

2.) A successful person trusts themselves even when everyone else seems like they don’t.

3.)  A successful person is willing to entertain other points of view.

4.) A successful person is always teachable even when they know a lot.

5.) A successful person creates lots of reserves for themselves in many areas of their lives and gives freely to others from those reserves.

6.) A successful person loves deeply and widely and is able to set firm and appropriate boundaries both for themselves and others.

7.) A successful person understands that they will experience failure along their journey; however, they view each failure as a great learning instrument.

8.) A successful person knows they are successful because of how they feel inside and not because of how they think they should feel.

9.) A successful person sticks to their own measuring stick and avoids comparing themselves to others.

10.) A successful person is alive with pleasure, beaming with the joy of life and grateful for each new day they are given.

Have you ever started to read an article or listen to someone when it/they appear/seem like their focus is going to be about something that “you’ve already heard or seen” or “something that you already know?”  I wonder how many times I have done that and missed an opportunity to perhaps learn something I didn’t know or at least think of something that I thought I knew in a different way.

Everyday I am challenged (as a non-traditional student!) to keep my mind open to learning something that I thought I knew but didn’t or at least creating a whole new perspective on what I already know.  Why just today in Philosophy I heard a whole lot about the basic groupings and sub groupings around philosophy (i.e. categories such as metaphysics, logics, epistomology and axiology) that I basically already know but what was fun was to hear the ideas and passions of the professors and the interjections of some of the students.  I love hearing people in the learning process.  We also learned about styles of philosophy such as analytical and continental which was interesting and, at least in my way of thinking, helped me to understand where certain kinds of thinkers are coming from.  I’m still amazed that an admin assist who I supervised years ago was eventually able to earn his Ph.D. in Philosophy and is now a lawyer.  Had I been in his shoes, I might have found the contemplation as to whether a rock was alive or not to be too seductive a process for me to move on to other more useful theological wanderings about life.

Maybe I’m just one of those “people” who enjoys learning for learning’s sake but I sure do think in our tweeting twittering social networking googling world that sometimes we’re missing out on the deliciousness of learning and comprehension by not diving deeper into the understanding of a subject, theory, idea or person.  You’d think that I, of all people, would want to dash through this education process as fast as I could with the sands of time quickly falling through the narrow opening but something wonderful overtakes me when I get into class and the learning begins and I’m actually grateful for the present moment.  It’s so nice not to have all the hormonal distractions of yore!

I believe that being willing to continue educating ourselves and learn about those things that we thought we already knew is tantamount to our being able to evolve as a species into a being who I would want to be rather than someone who I would want to avoid.  Lest you believe that learning and contemplation is best left up to the scientists and mathematicians, many great things have been created as a result of  a great idea.  Learning helps germinate an idea.

What new old thing are you willing to learn today?