30 Days of Yes - Take a Haiku and Cross the Lake

I decided to squeeze two of the 30 Days of Yes in one blog today because it happened over the weekend. I do want to start off by saying I'm not selling 30 Days of Yes.  I am just doing it because I think it will help with my focus on following my passion, determining my purpose and landing a great job, whether it be joining a company or starting my own business. And most importantly, this process will help me enjoy life even more than I already do.

On Saturday my activity was to write a Haiku. I don't have a fear of writing but I have to admit I had forgotten that a Haiku was a 5-7-5 syllable poem. Okay, I don't remember everything from 3rd grade. So what do I write about? I could write something flowery or I could write about what's been on my mind. I chose what's on my mind. What's heavily on my mind.

The Work Will Come Now
The Bills Are Paid In Full Now
No Worries At All

Well, it wasn't romantic. It wasn't really even poetic - but it was honest. I have to get rid of the fear and anxiety that comes with a full-time job search while bills mount. I have to live in the now and not think about hurrying up this enjoyable moment so I can go do.... what?

Sunday's activity was to list my fears. Believe it or not I do not fear death. Like most of us, I have a fear of how I might die. I don't dwell on that at all though. I don't even think about it. I don't really do anything that would put me in life-threatening situations. As you know, I don't do roller coasters.

I feel like I am currently facing my biggest fear right at this time in my life. It's the fear of not currently having full-time employment and what comes along with that - fear of not being able to pay the bills, afford food and some luxuries. I'm mostly concerned about not being able to provide for my family. There is so much more I want to be able to do for my children, my family and even my friends. I guess it's more anxiety than fear. I have never gone much more than a month without a full-time job in my adult life. This feeling is something very new and not good. I have had jobs where you get a tinge of fear, producing daily newscasts with absolute deadlines and working with very demanding clients in the agency world. I experienced the fear of starting up and maintaining my own business. But at the end of the day those fears vanished after accomplishing or resolving what needed to accomplished or resolved. So, as I listed my current fears, almost all of them related to "lack of."

After finishing day 7 and 8 there is a slight temptation to give up on this project or at best not do it on a consistent basis . The desire to break away from this is a good temptation to have though. It's all part of the process. I am learning that the difference between success and failure (not that there's anything wrong with failure because you learn more from failure than success) is the giving up part. We give up when we succumb to our fears. I bet the most successful people are the ones who fail and don't give up. The least successful people or least satisfied and driven people are the ones who give up even before failing or succeeding.

I know there are hundreds of studies out there detailing how millions of people give up on their diets, their activities and their pursuit of life-long goals or even short-term goals. It's really easy to let life and your fears get in the way. During 30 Days of Yes, as I have mentioned before, it's easy to think "I don't have time for this and I don't see any results yet so I need to get back to the approach I was taking before or try something else."

Remember, the beginning of anything you start is always the hardest part. Or as I wrote in a previous blog sometimes the "before starting part", the just thinking about what you may endure, is the hardest part. Just jump in and keep swimming. Eventually it will feel good. Besides it takes just as much effort to go half way across the lake and return to the same spot as it does to continue to the other side.

I'm still all in because I know this approach of re-examining my passion and purpose will get me much closer to achieving my goals.

Patience, my friend. It takes patience and passion to get things done. Patience helps you to work smarter and passion helps you to work harder while having fun.

30 Days of Yes - Nature is hot, AC in the car I don't got!

Operation Nature - that was my assignment in 30 Days of Yes www.30daysYes.com yesterday. The task for day 6 was to focus on living in the now and absorb, observe and respect nature. This comes on the heels of having to spend 15 minutes of silent listening yesterday, by far the toughest activity so far in 30 Days of Yes. Taking in nature, as relaxing as that sounds, was almost as difficult as the "listening" activity. 


I started out the day taking care of some things that needed to be taken care of. My plan was to reward myself later with that nature time.


That time finally arrived on the way to a TV shoot for a story about sportsmanship in youth sports. I was heading to a little league baseball game. As some of you know the AC in my car is out and will be quite expensive to fix. Despite what is the beginning of what promises to be another record hot summer in the already hot Midwest I have to hold off on the $800 repairs. I decided to start out my observance of nature on the drive over. After all, since I did not have AC, the windows would be open and the natural air would be flowing.  What first came to my mind while driving in a no AC car, while trying to think of nature was, "nature is hot." Then that got me thinking about how hot nature really is or how hot mother nature really is. She looks great, smells great, sounds great and feels great. I happen to love hot weather. So, I prefer it when mother nature is hot. I love the smell of the air on a hot day. I will take the feel of hot air over very cold air any day. I love the way hot weather looks. During the warm and hot months (when I lived in Hawaii that was year round) nature's colors contrast beautifully with green thick green trees, blue skies and white clouds. The sounds of summer are abundant with wildlife too and the air is filled with the smell of flowers. I'm sure there's just as strong an argument for nature in the winter too but I love hot weather and yesterday got a chance to find enjoyment in not having AC in my car. I'm not so sure I would be as thrilled if my windows were open in the dead of the coldest winter day.  


When I got to the game I took in the sites and sounds of families enjoying their little baseball children making catches and most of the time not, getting hits and most of the time not. It was the warm early evening that made watching a game of baseball more pleasurable. I have been to outdoor baseball games when the wind is blowing and the temps are falling. You don't see nearly the excitement expressed as I did last night.


Yes I enjoyed my observation of nature but let's face it. I cheated. I did not take solitary time to soak it in. I did not respect it as I should have. I did not truly live in the now. I was multi-tasking instead of taking time out.


I'll tell you why it was so difficult to do what I was supposed to do. Although I would describe myself as relaxed and chill that may just be how I express myself.  But I am discovering that on the inside I am not as chill and relaxed as I would like to be. 

As I have explained before, I love life! I'm happy with my relationships, my experiences, my professional accomplishments and grateful for my very good health. What is blocking my ability to live in the now and build a more rewarding future, which is what I am trying to accomplish through 30 Days of Yes,  is my financial situation. In the past exercises I found it easy to explain what I want out of  life, express gratitude and forgiveness and do something physically challenging. The activities of  "listening" and "taking in nature" both proved to be the toughest for me thus far. Why? because most of the time my thoughts are clogged with finding a job/earning money, paying bills, etc. When I start thinking that way it creates anxiety and guilt for spending time living in the now. I feel like if I am enjoying the moment then I am not working and I can't afford to not work. I need to turn that thought around. If you are not living in the moment then you are not living.  I failed on this activity because I made the decision that I was too busy to take 15 minutes and sit under a tree. For that I sentence myself to doing 30 minutes of alone time with nature sometime this weekend. I've been bad. I need a timeout - with nature.

30 Days of Yes - Silence is Loud

Yesterday was day 5 of 30 Days of Yes. www.yes30.com.  It promised to be the most challenging of the days so far and it was. I was instructed to put at least 15 minutes aside for just pure listening. It sounds easy and rather enjoyable. Another opportunity for a "working" nap, perhaps. A guilt-free nap since it was an assignment.

I have mediated and prayed many times in my life but I don't think I have tried to just "listen" without generating thoughts through my head. When I pray and mediate I mostly express gratitude and then I visualize a good life and retrace the good life I have had. What I discovered when going for absolute silence was that silence can be rather loud.

First, I just tried to listen to nature. What I heard was my neighbors upstairs walking and they never stopped walking. That thought lead to the inner question "when you live in an apartment how far can you actually walk?" After I really didn't answer that question in my head I tried to get back to silence. I heard a lot of white noise, which either means my head is empty or very busy. Then I heard myself talking to myself saying things like, "don't talk, I have to listen." I decided to do some deep breathing and all I heard was my deep breathing followed with daydreaming and not "listening."

Although this was just one activity in 30 Days of Yes I am going to do this every day so I get good at it, just like I will express gratitude every day, focus on truly forgiving everyday, kick it up a notch on my physical activity everyday and diligently work on overcoming obstacles keeping me from my passion and purpose everyday.

Today's assignment has to do with soaking up nature. That was easy to do in Hawaii and should be good for today given that the weather is perfect here in the Midwest. I'm glad it's not tomorrow's activity because it's supposed to be 90 plus and humid here. Not sure if AC is considered nature.

30 Days of Yes - Let's Get Physical

The photo in today's blog is not just another goofy mug (head) shot of me. It's a photo to sort of prove I did what I said I did today for today's activity. It's day 4 of 30 Days of Yes and if you just started reading the blog for the first time, no worries, my blog is not like having to keep up with LOST. The blogs are easy to go back and read or if you'd rather just jump right in that's easy too.

My activity today was to do something physical, like working out, hiking, biking, or running. Whatever you want to do. But the challenge was to do something you don't ordinarily do. Since I workout almost daily, the physical part would be simple but the figuring what to do different would be more difficult. What did I choose? Swimming. Okay, that's not really that big of a deal. I grew up in California, lived most of my adult life in Hawaii. I've done a lot of swimming. But how many of you can relate to forcing yourself to submerge your body into cold water. How many of you just plain give up on jumping into a cold pool or ocean?  I'm raising my hand. We have an indoor pool where I live. The outdoor pool isn't open yet so the indoor pool was a nice respite from Winter time blues earlier this year. Then the heater broke. It is so cold that even my youngest son, who often begs me to go swimming, did an about face after dipping his toes in the water a couple of weekends ago. It was that memory that helped me decide this would be a good physical challenge. The picture of me is to prove in the best way I could without risking ruining my camera phone taking a picture of myself while swimming, that I did get my hair wet.

I started off the morning thinking back on the previous activities of identifying my passions, gratitude and forgiveness. Then I did a little work, setting up some story interviews for the educational channel I freelance for, and then I went to the gym to do my regular, daily physical activity before going for the challenging swim. I should add that I did push myself harder in my regular workout this morning by sprinting more in the spirit of today's activity. 

Again, the challenging part was not the swim because I can do a decent 20 laps. It was the jumping in part that had me thinking about just going home.

On the way to the pool it didn't help to hear on the radio the story of Washington National's pitcher Stephen Strasburg who accidentally applied Icy Hot ointment to his private parts before the game. Needless to say it made for a very uncomfortable and painful evening on the mound. So, was that the feeling I was in for when submerging the lower half of my body into an icy pool? Do I really have to do this? I worked out already, I did something physical. I will just write about that. No, I had to do this. I got to the pool, took off my shoes and shirt and slowly lowered myself into to a pool that was even colder than I remembered. There was a woman, only separated by glass, on a treadmill with a perfect view of me either swimming or wimping out. It's like when you realize you are walking the wrong way and you don't want to turn back around in the opposite direction because people will wonder why you are doing a pirouette in the middle of the sidewalk. I could not turn around or that one witness would think how silly (or creepy) it was to see a grown man take off his shirt to bathe his toes in an indoor pool for just a couple of minutes. I slowly took the challenge. I got in waste deep, lost my breath and nearly my heart. After a few minutes I jumped the rest of the way in. It was still cold but it got better. I did about ten laps and called it a workout. In the end it felt good. It didn't feel good because it was exercise, it felt good because I did something I was hesitant about and after doing it I realized that it was a better feeling to actually do it than the feeling I had about not wanting to do it. So what did I learn from today's activity? Just jump in. Jumping in the pool this morning was like jumping into life. There are a lot of things we don't do because we either don't want to out of laziness or don't do because we have fear or doubt about it. Nike says "Just Do It!" I say "Just Jump In!"

Tomorrow's 30 Days of Yes is kind of a big deal.    

30 Days of Yes - Forgiveness

Today on 30 Days of Yes it's all about forgiveness. http://www.yes30.com/

This activity definitely takes some deep thinking. It didn't take long for me to figure who I think I need to forgive because to my knowledge not that many people have hurt me during my 47 years.

But let's get back to yesterday's activity - Gratitude. After I sent my snail mail letter I spent some time with my youngest son on a beautiful afternoon here in St. Louis and then went to catch up on some more LOST episodes with my girlfriend and her son. I am very grateful for how my day went. I love ending my day with scenes from Hawaii. I am grateful I got to live there for such a long time.

I am also grateful for receiving e-mails from an old news colleague who works for a large aircraft manufacturing company on the West Coast and a new LinkedIn friend who works for that same company in St. Louis. Even though I said I started on this "30 Days of Yes" as an approach to stop "looking" for jobs and start following my passion and purpose I did apply online for a St. Louis communications job with that aircraft company. Remember I said I would stop "looking" for jobs but if a good opportunity comes up through this process I will definitely go for it.  I am grateful because these two guys took time out of their busy schedule to give me some tips and encouragement in regards to the open job.

Forgiveness - the act of it is not really as hard as it seems. It's the "do you really feel in your heart that you have forgiven and moved on" is what's hard. I used to look at forgiveness as letting someone know that it's okay what they did. Now I see forgiveness as not letting whatever happened hold you back. The person I have decided to forgive did not do any physical harm to me or scream and yell at me for something but the decision this person made has had an impact on my life for a couple of years. I have handled that person's decision with grace and still have kind conversations with this person. I do not see this person very often anymore so the chances of interaction are rare. But I haven't really forgiven this person in the sense that I have moved on. Hopefully today I will finally move on. I have started by understanding that this person made a decision (about me) and felt that this was a right decision. I don't believe this person had any animosity or anger toward me - he/she was just making a decision that he/she thought would be best. Of course I didn't agree with the decision and still don't agree with the decision and still don't understand why the decision was made. But the decision was made and I need to move on and when I move on I bet I will find that the decision this person made ends up being a good decision for my well-being too.

Yesterday, when picking up a Subway sandwich in my neighborhood the lady next to me ordered some macadamia nut cookies. Naturally, I sparked up a conversation about living in Hawaii for a long time. She told me how much she loved her last vacation there but unfortunately it was right before she found out she had stage 4 cancer so she hasn't been able to travel since. Well, you would never know that this woman was suffering from cancer. She was probably in her 60's, looked healthy and was expressing so much gratitude - and forgiveness. She then told me how she and her husband recently had $50,000 of sentimental jewelry stolen from their home. The thief was caught and she told me she has forgiven the woman and is now worried that it will be hard for her to testify against her. I told her that she can forgive and tell the truth at the same time. What a wonderful experience to meet this woman who is going through a much worse situation than I am yet she expressed gratitude and forgiveness with such grace. I'm wondering if she was sent to me on purpose to help me with my back to back activities of Gratitude and Forgiveness.

What I learned from today's activity is to do my best to genuinely forgive and move forward. The hard part will be making sure that my forgiveness toward this person is genuinely everlasting and that I don't dwell on what could have been if the decision was not made. I used to think that I would be ready to forgive when I get a new job but what I think I really need to do is forgive in order to get my next job. It's time to move on.

30 Days of Yes - Day 2 (Gratitude)

Today, I sent the snail mail letter of gratitude.

On Friday, I had the privilege of conducting media training sessions for soldiers based at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. Living in Hawaii and being a news person most of my professional career and being the son of a Korean War Vet I had sort of an understanding of military sacrifices - but not really since I was too young for Vietnam and too old for both Iraqi and Afghanistan Wars. Most of the soldiers I had trained on Friday had been deployed at least once to either the Iraqi or Afghanistan theater if not both. The men and women were great and positive despite what they have witnessed and risked. I am truly grateful for those who defend the way we get to live on a daily basis. Whether politically we agree or not about war in general or specific operations, these young people are still out there unselfishly protecting the way are accustomed to living and the way we want to live. I am also grateful for being hired to do this job and have this experience.

On Mother's Day, my 8th/9th grade girls basketball club team had a game scheduled right smack in the middle of the day. At first I wasn't grateful for that for two reason, 1. I would not have enough players because they would be with mom as they should be. 2. I kind of wanted to have a mother's day brunch too. But it turned out to be an experience to be extremely grateful for. We only had three players so I asked the league director if we could borrow players from another team. He talked with the coach of probably the best team in the league who had two games that day and she agreed to give us five players. That means her girls were going to play 3 games in one day. These girls were great and we actually won our first game. It wasn't the win that was so rewarding it was the meshing of two different teams expressing two different sides of gratitude. The girls on my team were so grateful to play with and learn from such sweet and talented girls. The girls we borrowed from the best team in the league were so grateful to see the joy in my girls and to be able to help and play without the pressure of winning (since this game didn't count for them). Yes, winning can make one feel better but the joy began from the opening tipoff, when we weren't winning. That was for at least the first 8 minutes. It was the joy and gratitude that got them the victory. The joy and gratitude lead them to playing hard, playing smart and overall just having a fun time.

My weekend also included seeing the St. Louis Symphony do the greatest hits of Led Zeppelin (It was awesome!), a walk through Laumeier Sculpture Park for an incredible art fair (Yes, I went to an art fair and really enjoyed the talent of these artists) and making a Mother's Day spaghetti dinner for my girlfriend and her son (I don't think my spaghetti was as good as the artwork and Led Zeppelin music).

There is so much to be grateful for in my life. I didn't need Mother's Day to remind me how great my mother raised me and how loving she is. I have experienced so many neat things in my life from family, children and friends, to travel, food and entertainment, to safe homes and beautiful communities I have lived in, to some of the most rewarding and creative jobs anyone can have.  Television, marketing, and NCAA basketball coaching? Now that's fun.



Back to the snail mail gratitude letter I sent as my activity on Day 2 of 30 Days of Yes. http://www.yes30.com/

It will be interesting to see the response and I hope to report on that in a couple of days - depending how quickly the snail moves from the post office to the mail box. Btw, I'm grateful for the U.S. Postal Service too. I'm always amazed how you just pay 40 cents or so, drop it off in a big pile of other mail and then it gets to the exact place (most of the time) in just a couple of days (most of the time). If someone gave you 40 cents to deliver a letter I bet you wouldn't do it. I do have a confession to make about dropping off something in a US Mail Box. When I was a kid I once put a half finished milkshake in one. What was I thinking? One, I probably ruined all of the mail and two, I love milkshakes. What a waste. If you ever got a milkshake-stained letter from Belvedere, CA back in the 70's that was from me and hopefully you will forgive me because tomorrow's activity in 30 Days of Yes is about forgiveness.

The letter I sent today, is going to someone who I probably said "thank you" to many times and hopefully I have demonstrated my gratitude many times but this person deserves a handwritten surprise.  What I learned about today's activity is not to take any relationship for granted, whether it be someone at work, a family member, your best friend or your significant other. I also determined that I spend wasted time dwelling on what I think I do for others and disappointment if I don't get the same gratitude, acknowledgement and respect in return. It's a response/feeling I need to change. It's not that I give specifically to get something in return, because I get a lot of joy out of giving, but I will get discouraged if my generosity goes unnoticed. If we all expressed genuine gratitude on a regular basis toward each other I believe there would be much less conflict in relationships. I guess there are two positive ways you can approach this. 1. give unconditionally and continue to express gratitude without expectations. 2. If you feel like your generosity is being taken advantage of and not appreciated then spend that generosity somewhere else. At least that way you are still giving with joy.

In addition to my 30 Days of Yes activity, because that's only 15-30 minutes, I did workout this morning, applied for a job at Boeing and worked on a story I am putting together for HEC TV. I need to give more time and attention though to praying or meditating - that's all part of getting the answers and inspiration to pursue your passion and determine your purpose. The struggle I have, which I have mentioned, and I'm hoping I will conquer in the next 30 days, is feeling like I don't have time to pray or think because I have too much to do. Besides, I really feel guilty when prayer time turns into nap time.

See you all tomorrow when I talk about forgiving. I've got a good one and it's about forgiving someone for a recent action and I know I'm still caught up in what happened. Tomorrow could be another attitude changer for me.

Okay off to nap now, I mean pray. Seriously, I'm not tired. I'm motivated.

30 Days of Yes - Day 1 (The Letter)

Previously on LOST in St. Louis? - I Haven't Had a Full-Time Job in a Year and My New Passion and Purpose is to Stop "Looking" for Jobs:

I briefly described how I got to St. Louis from Hawaii and a little bit about myself and my journey as a father, grandfather, broadcast TV producer, marketing executive, and college basketball coach who is starting to focus on finding my passion as opposed to "looking" aimlessly for a job. I came to this realization after applying for nearly 200 jobs in a year. Then I happened to have a "catch up" meeting with a friend of mine, Travis Thomas, who is a "purpose coach" and has launched "30 Days of Yes." http://www.yes30.com/

It was supposed to be a meeting where, in the end, I would give him some marketing advice but instead I was so intrigued by his program that the meeting evolved into "what he can do for me."

I have always been a very positive person but there's no doubt I have often felt that bigger things were meant for other people and it was my job to help others become bigger. I still love doing that but I believe that if I become bigger I can be a much bigger help in helping others become bigger. It's like putting on your oxygen mask first before your children. I used to think that was so wrong when the flight attendants would instruct you to do that "in case of an emergency." I thought, "why would you not save your young children first?" Well duh, if you don't take care of yourself first then you won't be able to take care of your children at all. It's not a selfish thing, it's an important thing, a practical and smart thing. I'm ready to be great so I can help others be great. We all can be great. The Great Card isn't just handed out to a few. Actually the Great Card isn't handed out to anyone. It's our job to go find the Great Card and that's where I'm heading to - to pick up my Great Card.

The other thing that seems to hold me back is fear of not succeeding. Believe me, I have taken some personal risks, career risks (not many people go from marketing to coaching college basketball and opening up your own business is not for everyone), and life risks (nothing that would kill me though). I know though, when I take those risks, I have take them in trepidation and not with complete confidence.

From here on out I am ready to learn what "Yes" really means for me and how "Yes" is not just a polite response to agree with someone or to agree to do something but a proactive action of confidence, conviction, and most of all - passion.

And according to "30 Days of Yes" yes is:


YES is abundance. There is no room for limited thinking.
YES is empowerment. I will not allow myself to be a victim.
YES is selfless. It is not about what I can “get” – but rather, asking the question, what can I give?”
YES is about having more, as we discover we need less.
YES is always a CHOICE – your choice!


Day 1 of 30 Days of  Yes: 


Here's the introduction from the 30 Days of Yes e-book. I told you Travis has a pretty good sense of humor too.


Who should NOT sign-up for 30 Days of YES?
30 Days of YES is not for everyone.
Specifically, if you have life all figured out – DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
If living your best potential is not important to you - DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
If the words purpose, passion, and happiness do not resonate with you - DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
If you have a desire to control things - DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
If staying in your safe comfort zone is where you want to be - DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
If you are not open to personal transformation - DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
If you take “F U” out of “fun - DO NOT do 30 Days of YES.
For everyone else – it’s going to be an awesome ride!

I will get a new activity everyday. We are advised not to look ahead except after we complete the assignment. We are allowed to look at the next activity for preparation purposes. The assignments are not lengthy. I have been told some will push us out of our comfort zone but none will be physically uncomfortable. For example, I asked if I would have to get on an actual roller coaster since I don't like roller coasters. Travis said, no. Thank God because I have never been on one (except for Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean - don't laugh. I know that doesn't count as one.) Believe it or not I have done national PR for Theme Park highlighting the latest thrill rides. Some how I was able to successfully work on the account without getting on one.



Day 1 Activity: Back to the Future…


Write a letter to yourself that you will open and read again in 31 days! In the letter, detail all of the reasons you decided to embark on this 30 Days of YES journey.
o Why did you decide to say YES?
o What obstacles are showing up in your life?
o What goals are you thinking about right now?
o What one or two things in your life would you like to improve upon?
o Are you truly happy?

In my letter I answered the above questions as directed:

• I decided to say "Yes" because I know I need to make some changes about how I mentally approach my life but more specifically because I need to start following my passion and not just simply "follow" the daily job search rigor.
• Obstacles: Not gaining the abundance and full comfort of living. I figure if I can have the same outlook about wealth as I do for my daily health I would be extremely wealthy. I never doubt my health for a second and I am so blessed to not have any ailments. I don't want to ever have any doubt about my finances either.
• Goals: I want to be able to continue to excel in the areas of marketing, broadcast, and coaching so I can help others put on their oxygen mask and realize their dreams. I'm not a big believer in handouts but I am a big believer in assisting and encouraging others with their passion and ideas. I would love to be in a big office someday having meetings where I say "yes" to people's ideas by financing them and advising them. That's where I see myself.
• What can I improve upon?: As I mentioned earlier, I want to improve upon my "can do" attitude for myself. I am always resolution oriented when it comes to my work, bosses and clients, but I need to be resolution oriented when it comes to my aspirations. When I become successful I guarantee I can many more become successful. I need to take risks with success in mind and not possible failure in mind. 
• Am I truly happy? I really am! I love my family and friends. I am so grateful to be healthy and be able hit the gym everyday and even play some full-court basketball. I love all the things I have experienced and still experience from travel, to food, to special events. I am very happy with my social life! I absolutely love live. But I am very stressed out about the finances and that often bogs me down and slows down my progress. After years of living in the most expensive place in the country and often holding down 2-3 jobs to pay the rent/mortgage and send my kids to pre-school (a long time ago) and then finding myself in a job transition time for the past year in a down economy is pretty stressful. I'm not feeling sorry for myself because I know many others are in the same boat and many others are in boats with bigger holes than my boat facing bigger waves than I'm facing but for me, it weighs on me pretty heavily.  After I work through this I will be truly, truly happy.

I told you we are allowed to look at the next day's activity. So hear it is: We get to write a letter of gratitude to someone in our life. We get to write  it old fashioned style. No Facebook post, e-mail, word processor (that would be computer for you young folks) or text - this is a letter that the post office will deliver written on paper with ink or pencil.

I have so much to be grateful for and so many people I am grateful to so I could write thousands of letters but remember these activities are not supposed to be lengthy.  I have already chosen who the letter is going to but won't reveal that yet as the letter still needs to be delivered and today's Sunday so it's not going anywhere today. 

In addition to the letter though and in the spirit of Mother's Day, I am extremely grateful for my mom. She's is a great mom and continues to be to this day. I have learned so much from her. I know I am an awesome father because of what I learned from her and my father.

Happy Mother's Day Mom.