A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

Storm Thoughts.

The key to growth and success, no matter what the endeavour, is the ability to delve into the challenges and find the lesson or message and employ it to better our lives. Simple, huh?
Most humans try to avoid discomfort, especially the kind that leads to trouble in their relationships, work, health, and general well-being. We seek calm and tranquility and rarely see the value in upheaval, discord, loss, calamity, stress, ill health, lack of money, loss of job, and failed relationships. However, it is in these negative circumstances that the greatest opportunities for growth and success lurk...if only we would stop, look, and listen.
We become so busy trying to win the battle that we lose sight of the big picture and lose the war. Storm Thoughts are the key. They are the hidden meaning in the discord that assaults our lives from time to time. The lessons of life come not from the calm successful times but rather from those trying times that require us to rise above our circumstances and find the brass ring just out of our grasp - if we chose to do so. And, it is always our choice.
We might try to frame the turbulence in our life by embracing it as an opportunity to find the change that leads to success. The key is knowing that the answer is there, covered in fear. My friend, Howard Parsons, constantly reminds us to take a few minutes each day to meditate. What he means by this is that it is important to use the opportunities presented to us to find our path to peace and joy, however, we define these. It is in the chaos of life that shows up as trouble of some sort, that we find the possibilities available for positive change.
Regardless of whether we are striving for a more fulfilling relationship, a work promotion, fiscal success, better health, the next sentence in our book, or a new sale, the path is found during the stormy nights by stopping for a few moments to look for the light. Stormy nights exist in all levels of life not just our personal ones. For instance, we are constantly surrounded by media storms that embrace the chaos of political and financial life on a local, national and worldwide basis. We get caught up in the blame game as politics moves from one disaster to another. Storms are the message bearers if we use them to take time to stop and let go of the pettiness and concentrate on the possibilities. Out of great conflict (personal or otherwise) comes great possibility. Embrace yours.

WEST COAST TRAIL: 10 YEARS LATER

Hiking the West Coast Trail was a watershed moment in my history and it happened exactly 10 years ago this week. In many ways that seminal week provided the inspiration and catalyst to make many changes in my life - most for the better. As a result, I wrote my first book and more importantly, proved that if we put our mind to it, all of us can accomplish anything. The memories continue to be vivid and I caught myself the other morning, sniffing the early morning August air and being transported back to that incredible week.
That was also the morning that I visited my friend Gord Strandlund. For those of you who have read my book, The West Coast Trail: One Step at a Time, you will remember Gord as my hiking partner, friend and foil on that adventure. Life has been very challenging for him since then as he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. He is now confined to a lock down care facility and he continues to struggle with memories, speech, eating and several other physical ailments. It is a hell of a disease that I am sure many of you have had some experience with - truly devastating.
The frustration and fear exhibited by its victims, including Gord, is so sad to see. Gord and I still share that week in August, 2003 and while he has great difficulty assembling his thoughts into a full statement, we can still share the memories as he smiles and remembers various incidents. Fortunately, I am still able to fill in his thoughts as he spills out a word or phrase to describe one of the wonderful stories that we spent so many years sharing before the disease took full control.
In the end, that is what we are left with isn't it, the memories of success, the conquering of fears, the goals attained, the challenges met, the laughs shared, the tears spilled, the hurts healed and the loads lifted. There were many moments on the West Coast Trail that one or the other of us was not sure we could make it but when we looked up the trail and saw our partner plodding ahead, one foot in front of the other, we gained strength and resilience and kept on going.
I had a very nice text message from Gord's daughter Christy on Tuesday, celebrating the tenth anniversary and her realization that it still remains one of the highlights of her father's life. It is very high on my list of life's highlights too and a big reason for that is the friendship that was cemented with Gord that week.
Hang in there buddy - may all of your trails be happy.

WEIRD THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY

So, I was out raking the lawn today and when I am fighting the pain in my back which is rebelling against the pain in my wallet if I hired someone, weird things cross my mind. That's not the only time weird things cross my mind but it is the most recent.
I was thinking that if I won the lottery, I would not tell anyone for a week and in the meantime, send an email to family and friends inviting them to send me a cheque for any amount of money, and that I would return a cheque for double the amount within 30 days. No explanations - just trust me!
What do you think of that idea? Would you send a cheque based on faith and trust alone? Would you require some sort of guarantee, proof or explanation? If you decided to take the chance, how much would you send?
Like I said, weird things go through my mind - how about you? What would you do if you won a lottery? Anything as weird as that?

DISNEY PASSES THE TEST OF TIME

Disneyworld in Orlando represents a special place and time in the lives of millions of visitors but even the Disney people can sometimes go above and beyond and make those same life experiences even more special. In a world of cynicism, poor service, unrealized promises, and negative press, Disneyworld is able to rise above the mediocre and show us how it should be done.

My sister's recent visit offers a perfect example of how customer service can cement a lifetime relationship. This summer, she and her husband took their three sons, three daughters-in-law and 5 1/2 grandchildren for a return visit to the Magic Kingdom. It was to be a grand trip to revisit a place where Jane and David and the boys had been 22 years before, on a previous family vacation - prior to wives and grandchildren.

In 1991, they bought multi-day family passes but had left one of the days unused. Jane had held onto the pass in the event that they should return at a future date. That future date turned out to be 22 years later! First of all, I don't know about you, but I never would have saved it and never would have found it if I did save it. Jane is obviously much better organized...to say the least. She took the unused passes to Florida and felt a bit funny at the entrance gates when she timidly inquired about the possibility of using these decades old passes - "would they even be valid for use 22 years later?"

Her question was met with a kindly smile from the "senior" cast member  (or is that Mouseketeer) at the ticket booth and an incredible reply, "Why, of course dear. You are more than welcome to use your passes."

WOW!

And then the next question, "The boys were just children when we originally bought the passes, should we upgrade them to adult passes or can we transfer them to their own children?"

"Dear, Mr. Disney would never penalize children for growing up! The boys are welcome to use their original children's passes even though they are now adults."

WOW and WOW!

In a world where we love to blame government, big business, politicians, overworked servers, and unfulfilled expectations, here's an example of a huge corporation who has never lost sight of who they are and who their customers are. It's always the little things that make the biggest difference. It's the friendly smile, the caring attitude, the "going the extra mile" culture that cements a relationship between customers and companies forever.

It's nice to know that even though "Mr. Disney" is no longer on TV every Sunday night, he is still making kids smile...no matter how old they are.

Kenya and Habitat for Humanity

Jambo! As some of you might know, our daughter Tori is spending a few weeks in Kenya working with a team from Habitat for Humanity building a house for a family. She reports that they have arrived in Nairobi after stops in London, Athens and Istanbul and then a further 3,000 miles to the capital of Kenya where they met the rest of their team and spent Sunday resting and sight-seeing before heading off into the wilds on Monday.
To those of you that were kind enough to donate to the building fund on her behalf, I would like to pass on my gratitude and I'm sure that Tori will send you a report on her return. Internet access is hit and miss and seems to be centered in the major cities like Nairobi. She leaves after the "build" on the 17th and will spend a few days on Santorini before returning home and back to work. What an experience it will be.
There sure are great opportunities out there to make a difference in the world and I'm glad to see that Tori is taking advantage of one of them.

UNCLE JIM

My Uncle Jim passed earlier today and the world is poorer for it. He was surrounded by family, prayers, and love. I wish I had been able to talk with him one last time and share a laugh and a tear. He was my favourite uncle, probably because I had spent some formative years in his company, and I am a better person for it. My thoughts go out to his wife, Ruth, his children, and his sister Mabel - your sadness is shared by many.

A few years ago, Uncle Jim was in the hospital and I penned a few thoughts at the time - they follow below.

 

March 1, 2008

UNCLE JIM

Many of life's lessons are accompanied by either pain or laughter and frequently they arrive together. I learned recently that my Uncle Jim is in the hospital and he, unwittingly, was one of my greatest teachers. We were a lot alike I think, in that I recall much tut tutting from some of his sisters when he was young and single - it doesn't seem that long ago and like his nephew later, there may have been a dram or two involved to cause the tut tutting. He got past that stage and married a wonderful woman whom I remember laughing uproariously, when this little snot of a city boy drank an entire bottle of heavy cream found on her front porch, thinking it was milk. That same summer, my uncle had taken yours truly into their home to help with farm chores and a glorious summer it was (in retrospect). There was the day he sent me into an outdoor pen to grab a young calf and bring it into the barn. I walked in, grabbed it around the neck and pulled it through the gate, at which point the calf spotted freedom and made a bolt for the open highways with me holding on for dear life. My uncle stood in the gravelled yard and laughed his head off as I got dragged from one side to the other, like a rag doll. Every time he told that story over the years, he would add the line that I never let go of the calf and it makes me proud to this day.

My days of being a wrangler came to a close when Uncle Jim decided that I should paint the farm house, a brick, 8 storey edifice that had faded wood trim at the very top, shrouded in clouds, or so it seemed to a young boy barely taller than the aforementioned calf. Up the rickety wooden ladder I climbed with paint can and brush held with the white knuckles of one hand and the other clutched to the rungs, as I pushed myself further skyward on wobbling legs. At the top end of the ladder, I had to stretch as far as I could and still came up short of the actual peak, but I stole a glance at the ground when I heard my uncle standing there laughing so hard he was crying - the very top never did get painted that summer, but many years later, I had a painting business with 5 crews working and I didn't allow them to leave the worksite without painting the very top, or I'd climb up and do it myself.

Another responsibilty, that long ago summer, was keeping the barn clean and I attacked the corridors with a push broom and much enthusiasm and he always expressed his pride in my efforts. Along with sweeping straw and hay, there was the need to keep various areas directly behind the cows and some hog living quarters, clean as well. This required the use of a shovel, a strong back and a concerted disregard for my sense of smell. Shovelling shit became my specialty and if you have read this far, you will see that that lesson was also well taught.

thanks Uncle Jim

MY BACKYARD - ALBERTA

HAPPINESS COMES BEFORE SUCCESS

Most of us have moved forward in our lives assuming that if we work hard and create successful lives, we will attain some level of happiness. Here's a very unique and intriguing twist on that supposition from Shawn Achor, who has spent his time proving scientifically that happiness is what leads to success. He's a terrific speaker with a great message and it's worth your while to give it a listen.
Also, I am going to accept the 21 day challenge at the end of the video - how about you?

MY FRIEND GORD

If you are regular visitor to this corner, you may know who my friend Gord is. If not, let me give you a quick version. I have known Gord for over 20 years and a few years ago we decided to backpack the West Coast Trail in order to ward off an impending mid-life crisis (neither of us could afford the Corvette or the hot young thing??). The West Coast Trail turned into a life altering experience for me and a life-affirming experience for Gord.
You can always read about that stuff in my book - there's a link on this page.
Anyway, I hope you will give a thought, and a prayer if you are so disposed, for my friend. He was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's a few years ago. Today, he and his wife made a visit to the doctor and from there, Gord was driven to a long term care facility, where he will now spend his days and nights.
He is still lucid most of the time but requires constant supervision and care.

Hang in there buddy.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Here is a real live customer service story that happened to me today. It starts a few months ago when I was talking to a friend about his new eye glasses. They were pretty cool, and he's a cool kind of dude. I asked where he got them and he told me about an online company that was incredible in terms of service and price. I remembered my experience dealing with a big international company with stores in all of the shopping malls that promises service in about an hour. I had paid about $800.00 for a pair of progressive lens glasses and it took about a week to get them. I wasn't pleased with the constant up-selling for various coatings and whatever else they charged for, but I was leaving for Hawaii and needed them and didn't know any better.
My friend told me that he had paid 1/10th of that price!!!!
I was immediately suspicious of the huge price difference but filed the information for a future date. That future date arrived last July when my $800.00 glasses broke at one of the weld points and no one, including the company I bought them from, could fix them.
I went to my optometrist and had a check up and got my new prescription and went on line to Zenni and viewed the hundreds of pairs of glasses available, uploaded a photo of myself so that I could see them on my face and compare them with each other, found a pair that I liked and placed the order. They usually promise next day shipping but in the case of progressive lenses, it may take 2 to 3 weeks. A little longer than my former provider but the price, delivered, with the anti-scratch, anti-glare and a pair of clip on Polaroid sunglasses was a total of 75.00 - yep, you read that correctly - 75.00. What did I have to lose? If they lasted as long as the 800.00 pair, I was 700.00 ahead, so I ordered them and made do with an old pair of glasses until they arrived one week later (2 weeks earlier than promised) by air courier - all included in that price. I have been wearing them ever since and after a few days of making minor adjustments to the fit (yes, the 800.00 ones were fitted at the store) they have been great.
And then yesterday, one of the soft nosepads broke off and I couldn't figure out how to order a new set so I called the 800 service number on the website and talked to an agent. He asked my original order number, apologized for the problem and said that a lifetime supply of pads along with the small screw driver to install them would be in the mail immediately. No hassle, no charge, no problem, no pitch or up-selling...no kidding.
So, customer service, price and a friendly live voice - where would you go for your next pair of glasses? And no, I am not being paid or reimbursed in any way for this testimonial but it sure is the way to do business in today's overly competitive world. Here's their link again www.zenni.com

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Ok, guys - what if you started off February 14th by saying this to your significant other:

"THE ANSWER IS, YES - WHAT'S THE QUESTION?"

I'm not necessarily saying that I would start off the day that way - but what might happen if YOU did?

BOOK SALES GROWING

As you know, I hang out over at Book Mentor more than here but since this is more of a personal blog than a business one, it's one of the few ways I get to thank people. Sales of my three books have hit an all time high in January. No, I didn't make the New York Times list, nor is Oprah calling, but I have been pleasantly surprised at the 250% increase in sales over the previous three months - THANK YOU.
I suppose that one of the reasons is the increasing sales of e-readers and tablets, but that is also rubbing off in more sales of my first book, THE WEST COAST TRAIL: One Step at a Time.
Sales of MY SECRET MOTHER: an adoptee speaks to the girls who went away, continue to blow me away. Without any concerted marketing effort, people seem to be finding it and buying it. A friend told me a year ago that this book would be the one that might launch me as a bonafide writer, just because I was so reluctant to release it. I don't know if that is true but I do hope that people have found some comfort from it.
THE ONE HOUR AUTHOR: non-fiction book writing for busy people, is starting to get some traction and if I can get a few more comments from readers, I think it will begin to climb in sales, too. The neat thing is that Kindle sales represent about 60% of sales, but sales through Barnes and Noble and Apple are beginning to move up quickly.
It's a neat world, huh? I'm glad I'm around to witness the birth of an incredible upshot in communications - you too, I'll bet. More books, more authors, easier, faster and cheaper to find something to read. It's way better than reading the back of the Corn Flakes cereal box at the breakfast table when I was a kid.
THANK YOU AGAIN

HOW'S YOUR MENTAL HEALTH?

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone.
You have to be in Cahoots with someone.
I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.
I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there.
I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.
I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.
I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.
I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.
One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart!
At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!
I may have been in Continent, but I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing.

PLEASE DO YOUR PART!

Today is one of the many National Mental Health Days throughout the year.

You can do your bit by remembering to send an e-mail to at least one unstable person. My job is done!
Life is too short for negative drama & petty things.
So laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!
From one unstable person to another...
I hope everyone is happy in your head - we're all doing pretty good in mine!

GO AHEAD AND FORWARD IT - YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO

PURPOSE vs. DEPRESSION

The natural antidote for depression and anxiety, and pretty much every other negative is, purpose.
No matter what our spiritual flavor, or lack of it, we all share one thing in common, the overwhelming need for a purpose. What's yours?

SANTA CLAUS

So, as some you know, I like to tackle the big questions here. The questions about life and its meaning. Where the planet and its inhabitants are going, that sort of thing. In our marriage, this division of labor has worked very well; Leanne takes care of the mundane day-to-day things like what bills to pay, where to vacation, furniture to buy, cars, decorating, etc. I, on the other hand, take on the big ones, as mentioned earlier.
Here's today's question that is weighing me down with indecision and curiosity:
Does Santa take his sleigh all the way to the Southern hemisphere and begin distributing toys and work his way back home or does he start in the north and run his route to completion in the south and then dead head back to the North Pole empty?
You see what I mean. There are questions that beg for answers but who is going to look for them, if not me? I am open to other considered opinions, or even if the jolly old guy himself has the time to give us the answer, I'll publish it.

LIVING LIFE

A couple of things caught my eye recently. The first is a post from Seth Godin in which he talked about the experience of visiting a medical facility and then compares that "pre-digital" excursion (one which most of have taken) to other areas of life like shopping, working and so on - it's worth the 45 seconds to read it and the hour to contemplate how we are involved - go here.
The second thing arrived in my inbox this morning and reminded me about social networking and some of the basics that deserve to be recalled from time to time. Take a look here.

VIDEO UPDATES

I have updated some of my videos and that requires republishing them. I apologize if you have received a notice of a new video and found something that you have already looked at. I was trying to edit out some of the "weird" moments at the beginning, which I just learned to do. One person described those awkward seconds of silence as "creepy" and we just could not have that - could we?