Stories. There are literally thousands upon thousands of stories out in the world today. So, let's say you have a great, new idea that pops into your head while you're eating breakfast. You have to get it written down right away so you don't miss one word of it. You put the idea in your box/basket/folder, or wherever you keep story ideas, and you continue what you're doing. A couple of days later you decide to pick up a new book to read. You start to read it and sure enough, right there in front … [Read more...]
Day 26: The Trampoline as a Metaphor
Life sometimes can totally surprise us in the most unexpected ways. For instance, a big trampoline. How in the world is a trampoline possibly related to writing? Before I read today's except on the phrase above, I was stumped. Then I started to read how scared to death the woman was by "what looked like a big lake of black water." She said, "I’m here to tell you that it is impossible to be calm and dignified on a trampoline. It is also impossible to feel safe on one. I crawled onto [it] and … [Read more...]
Day 10: Working Out
When I first glanced at the topic I thought about how I've been trying to work out on a daily basis by walking anywhere from a half hour to as long as 2 1/2 to 3 hours each day. It seems like most people who haven't worked out in a while dread starting a new exercise routine. When you first start out the body tends to become sore from the new way it's being used. But once you've gone a few times the body becomes accustomed to this and you actually begin to love how you feel after a … [Read more...]
Day 1: Switchbacks up the Mountain
Switchbacks up the mountain can mean so many things. I think life in general is a continuous road where we travel up and down the mountain. Sometimes it's more like an easy hill that we climb and where life seems to move forward at a nice pace. But then there are those times where the road going up the mountain is so narrow and steep we feel we might fall off the edge plummeting to the ground below. I know that first year after Mari died my life felt more like the later. It felt like at any … [Read more...]
Confucius…
He said, "To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short." Do I agree with this? Absolutely not. Why would it be wrong to go beyond what you expect or thought you would. I think of goals and my writing. When I set one, the main focus is to not only make the stated goal but to also exceed it if at all possible. You feel good not only about making it but surpassing it. On the opposite side, if you don't make it you tend to beat yourself up and feel terrible about it. I've always been told to set … [Read more...]
FALLing into Place
Nothing in life is ever easy for most of us. It's the things we work hard for that tend to be the most rewarding in the end. Compare someone who started from the ground up in a business and worked hard to make it a multimillion dollar one or the child born into wealth who never had to work a day in his life that when he turned eighteen he just expected much of the same. Who will appreciate what he has more? Hopefully it would be obvious that the guy who worked hard as the one who did doesn't … [Read more...]
Spring Forward or Fall Back
When you think about springing forward in March or falling back in November, which do you prefer the most? If I had it my way I'd say neither as I hate having to put my clock forward an hour in the fall only to put it back in the spring. It messes with our body systems. I know, it's only an hour, but it's still an hour. However, if I had to choose, I'd always pick falling back because you gain an extra hour whereas with springing back we lose an hour. I remember back when Keith and I first … [Read more...]
Choosing to Fail
Think about this quote: "A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." —Malcolm X I've heard this before but put another way. The gist is if we never try anything new we will never know if we will succeed. It's those who are willing to fail who become the successful ones. Throughout my life, and especially in my adult life, I've tried many things and have failed many times. I've tried to do several business from home. I've wanted to do many different things. I've slowly learned … [Read more...]
FALLing apart
In life there are those moments where it feels like everything around us is falling apart. Sometimes they are only a small fall and other times we biffed the big one. The worst time for me, as anyone can imagine, was during those sixteen long days while Mari lay in a hospital bed deteriorating in front of me. My world began to crumble with every turn for the worse that happened to her. No matter how hard we hoped or prayed, our little girl continued to get worse. E. coli is no joke and should … [Read more...]
FALLing Asleep
Have you ever wondered how long it takes you to fall asleep? There are times where it seems almost from the moment my head hits that pillow I'm out. And then there are other times where I can be laying there for a couple of hours, tossing, turning, looking at the clock, and still not being able to go to sleep. But for the most part I'd say it probably takes me five to ten minutes to get there. Something that helps me along the way is reading a book. Here recently, the books I've been … [Read more...]
