"Motivation gets you going-Discipline keeps you growing!"
While getting ready for bed last night, and reflecting on my day, I was pleased with myself and the work that I have been doing.For the last week, I have been up early,out to the gym,back home to get changed and then out the door to my new part time job,all by 7:30 in the morning. I am eating well, working out and getting to bed at a very reasonable hour in hopes of getting enough sleep on a daily basis.
I have cut out a whole bunch of television watching which has to be good for me. I am reading daily.
I am also writing as consistently as possible. And I continue to stay committed to working towards my goals for 2017.
In the chapter I read last night I found this quote:
"You have to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."

-George Lorimer

I considered it a quote of great importance when I read it. I found it even more important when I woke up this morning. It was 5 a.m.

My bed felt realy comfortable and the dark silent stillness that surrounded me had me contemplating pulling the covers back over me and grabbing an extra hour or so before starting my day.

I could skip my workout for one day couldn't I?

I could....but I won't. Not today. Tomorrow is Wednesday. I get an extra hour of sleep on Wednesdays.

It's my morning for shul so no workout. 

I chose to meet this day with determination. 

It was not an easy choice.Trust me, it was cold at 5 am.

It was dark at 5 am.

My body was stiff and sore at 5 am.

Heading to the gym was not an appealing thought.

I know this....I am glad I went.

 I am glad I put forth the effort.

Slacking off first thing in the morning could not be good for a successful day.

Instead, I had a great workout and established the foundation that I can build upon.

At the end of the chapter I read last night there was one more quote:

"if you develop the habits of success,you'll make success a habit".

-Michael Angier

I am feeling pretty successful right about now!

"Wealth is the ability to fully experience life."- Henry David Thoreau: American essayist

This was my quote of the day today:

"Wealth is the ability to fully experience life."

- Henry David Thoreau: American essayist

After a weekend which included working with my father-in-law to help in his search for an assisted living facility to move into, it is more than just apropos.As we sat listening to the numbers regarding the financing of this, I could see the look of dismay and fear come across his face. 

How can he afford this?

What happens if he can't?

What happens when his resources run out?

After being inundated and overwhelmed with numbers, we were able to boil it down to a very simple equation.

His current assets are more than enough to insure that both he and his wife can live out the rest of their days in the facility he was looking at, with out ever having to worry about money again.They can,given the setting they are considering moving in to,and their physical limitations,live and experience their lives to the fullest.

They are indeed, wealthy.

Its just that simple.

One of my favorite characters of all time is Tevye,from Fiddler on the Roof.

When we first meet him he opines in the song "If I were a rich man",of what life would be like if he were in fact wealthy.

In no uncertain terms he lays out exactly what wealth looks like.

Wealth has little to do with quantity.....it's all about quality.

Do I have quality in my life?

In every aspect of my life?

If I can answer yes to that then I am a very wealthy man!

Lucky me! 

Today is the last day on the job for the gentleman I am replacing at my part time gig. It is scheduled to be a light day so I was given the day off. It was nice getting an extra 1 and a half of sleep and having some free time this morning.
So how am I doing on this How am I doin' Friday? I am doing great!.
I had some extra sleep, a good work out and got my shopping done all before noon today.
I has been a productive and positive week.
Lots of "new" to get used to.
While I was driving around this morning, I had a phone conversation with my daughter Becca. She mentioned that she had become aware of the fact that she tends to over indulge at our weekly Shabbat dinner.
You have no idea how awesome it was to hear that. We had a conversation around this,going over exactly what would be on the table tonight. More importantly it served notice to both of us to pay attention to what we are eating this evening.
As I have said many times in the past, Shabbat diner is my absolute favorite time of the week. I know I have a tendency to let my guard down and as well and end up eating more than I need or want to.
Just by having our chat, I am confident that eating will not be the same challenge today as it has been on most other Friday nights.
I am excited about this. As I said earlier, I've already had a good work out today. My body feels the residual effects of it. My mind is now in the right place surrounding food as well.
My mood is upbeat and my energy level is high.
That's a pretty awesome way to close the work week.
My desk was a bit of a mess when I sat down at it today. As I went about answering emails an taking care of some agenda items, I started throwing things away, filing things away and making small neat piles to sort through.
My desk actually looks fairly neat a this point.
When I finish writing, I will have a quick lunch and then set about clearing the rest of the mess and laying out my calendar for next week.
I feel really good about that!
You gotta love it when a plan comes together....even if you didn't realize you had one!
Shabbat Shalom!

Early Morning Thoughts

It's 1:01. I have been staring at the ceiling in my room for the last half hour so I decided to make myself a cup of tea and get my day started by writing to you now.
I am not sure if my body feels that the 4 hours of sleep I have had already is enough for tonight or if I am having trouble quieting my thoughts.
In either case, tossing and turning in bed is not a great option.
As for those thoughts in my head, there is a lot going on in my life.
Many many changes!
One thing I have learned along the way on this Journey is that it takes me some time to adapt to change.
It's not that I am afraid of change. I just know doing new things,unfamiliar things, makes me feel unsettled and even uneasy.
This is actually a good thing. It serves as a reminder that I am moving forward. 
There are unknowns to deal with. There is the reality that what once was is now changing.
The comfort of my daily routine is gone. 
A new routine will eventually be established,,however "routine" does not happen over night.
Many of my skills are being tested as well as new skills which must be developed.
It's no wonder that I find myself unable to slow my brain down and fall back to sleep.
Today will be a very busy day. I will leave the house at around 6 am and probably will not get back home until 6 pm. Except for the first hour which will be spent in the gym, the rest of my day will be attending to things that fall outside of what was my daily routine.
Dealing with the unfamiliar as well as not being able to attend to my normal activities is unsettling to say the least.
There are many "what if's" to deal with.
If I had total recall, I am sure that one of my mentors has mentioned how to deal with the what if's of life.
In this moment, I seem incapable of tapping into those lessons.
I am a bit nervous, a bit excited, a bit scared,a bit timid,a bit sad and absolutely looking forward to dealing with all of these feelings.
The one thing I am sure of is that there will be quiet times again in the near future. For now, it's elephant eating time.
One bite at a time!
And maybe a little frog eating as well!

It's a new day!

I like writing early in the morning before life gets in the way of my thoughts.
I have taken a new part time job so my new morning schedule has me heading to the gym at 6 a.m. ,then to my job and only then can I get started with what was my normal day,sometime around 10:30.
There are many changes underway in my life. Exciting as they may be, I still find myself being cautious of not getting my spirits too high.I am dealing with life 1 day at a time, one step at a time.
In the mix are those gremlins that sneak up and want to contaminate my mood.
You know, the ones that remind me that I have gained some weight. The ones that want to remind me that I stopped working out. And the ones that remind me that finances are still ,well lets call them precarious!
There were times today that the gremlins were starting to take control. There were moments this morning where I found myself questioning my decisions and the validity of my plans. It started to get me  down on myself.That was until my daughter Becca posted this picture on Facebook:

Done!
It served as more than just a gentle reminder of just how far I have come, what I have accomplished and what I know I can accomplish moving forward. As long as I stay committed.
The picture on the top was 4 years ago today.
(Yeah , I was a beast).
The bottom picture was a year later.
Down over 80 pounds.
(Slimmer but no where near done!)
Now I am 80 pounds below the bottom picture. 
Not nearly at the weight I want, however consciously and actively working at getting there.
I can accomplish any thing!
It just takes commitment. One day at a time. One step at a time. One pound at a time. One workout at a time.
One dollar at a time.
I will have to figure out my new writing schedule.Hey maybe it will become a daily recap?
Who knows.
I can promise you this....I will figure it out!

Knock, knock!

I love when life drops opportunities at my doorstep!
I had an early meeting planned for this morning. It was an opportunity to keep a project I am working on moving forward. Last night's storm however left one of the attendees stranded as her neighborhood is one gigantic sheet of ice.
Meeting postponed!
So where is the opportunity in this?
Right in front of me. I now have 3 hours that would have been eaten up between the meeting and the drive to and from the meeting. 
Admittedly I did squander away the first hour,handling some tasks that I had previously pawned off on someone else and allowing myself to take my foot off of the gas pedal of life. 
There are changes underfoot in my world.This is no real news. Change is a constant. However, some of the changes in front of me are bigger than the incremental ones that I am accustomed to.
I feel like this all started during my week away with myself.
That week away was like riding a bicycle for the first time with out training wheels.
After a wobbly start, I quickly gained my confidence as I rode around the neighborhood that was very familiar to me. 
Having this new found freedom,I find myself venturing further and further from what was my comfort zone.
The farther I extend myself, the more confident I become. 
Confident and adventurous.
The immediate future, while still fraught with uncertainty,will be filled with some major shifts and course changes. 
A lot of what I am staring at has me thinking "well this is uncomfortable!".
Growing is uncomfortable. That's a given.
Parts of my "new future" even feels scary.
Feel the fear and do it any way!
I am amazed that from something that once felt so off putting, the idea of being alone, I am finding an energy and excitement that has not existed in quite some time.
It's quite a remarkable experience.
Like I said at the top......I love when opportunity comes knocking! 

You learn something new every day!

Here's what I learned today.I have feelings and they can be hurt.Really,it's true!
Understanding this opens the path for me to find the space that I need to acknowledge that my feelings have been hurt,deal with the discomfort and then move on.Burying the feelings is tantamount to creating a festering wound. It will never heal.Dealing with it in the moment creates the opportunity for me to address it,express my concerns and then be done with it.
As my mentor Darren Hardy so eloquently shared in his message this morning,the past is an excellent teacher but a terrible master. Learn from these events and move on. Do not dwell on them.
He talked about emptying the back pack. You know the one that is strapped to our backs in which we carry all of those crappy feelings and garbage from the past. 
Empty it!
Let it go!
Cast off that excess baggage!
It only serves to slow us down!
My decision to work on goal #4 , putting me first, does not have to have negative connotations to it.It does not mean that I will stop being the kind considerate caring individual I know I am. It only means that when I have choices to make I must consider myself first and foremost.
I must become better at recognizing my priorities. 
I must weigh the costs to my own well being.
Like any good business transaction, I must consider the costs to determine the return on my investment.
After my email yesterday I heard from a number of people.
I appreciate the positive feedback.
I am using it to bolster my commitment to my efforts.
It's a month since I launched Live 2 XL's 2017 goals challenge. 
I'm getting closer to completing my list of my top 5 goals.
It has been quite a challenge!

Goal #4

On our weekly drive to South Jersey,I had some quiet time for reflecting. My thoughts returned to my top 5 goals for 2017.Actually my thoughts had little to do with my goals. My thoughts in fact were around the idea that I have to start putting my priorities first,above any one else's. It's a concept that is very foreign to me. It is a concept that I am uncomfortable with.It is something I have rarely done in the past and quite frankly have always viewed as self serving and selfish.
The idea that using my limited resources on only those things that move me forward seems absolutely absurd to me.
Yet, as I look around me,it seems to work well for others. The principal of take care of your self and that rising tide will eventually lift others is a challenge to the way I have led my life.
I do for others.
I care about others.
I think of others not just before I think of myself but instead of thinking about myself.
This must stop!
It has not served me well for 62 years.
It has not brought me fame or fortune.
It has not put food on my family's table, a roof over our head or money in the bank.
It is time I pull back.
It is time to say no. It is time to not raise my hand and volunteer. 
It is time for me to turn away from things that do not ultimately serve to benefit me.
My resources are few and too valuable.
It sounds terrible I know. 
The truth is I have abdicated my responsibility to myself in the belief that doing for others would some how pay dividends which would in turn take care of me.
That just has not panned out.
As my dear departed friend would reprimand me "stop being a dreamer!"
Those who have learned to depend on me either take it as the new normal or even worse have grown accustomed to letting me shoulder the responsibility.
In the meantime, while doing for others, I spent those energies that could have and should have been used to grow my own skill sets and abilities.
A week at a trade show with no support left me staring at this abyss and to be honest, it was not a nurturing experience.
 It was however an awakening.
When I am dead and buried, all of those I leave behind will move on.They may miss me for a while, but life will go on.
So I have to get over myself and understand that I must learn to do for myself. I must learn to take care of myself. And I must learn to think of myself.....first!
That is goal #4 !
Before acting on anything ask the question"how does this benefit David?"
I am sure, more often than not, even when it benefits David, others will benefit as well. 
David MUST be part of the equation moving forward.
For way too long, David was not even considered in that equation.
This must change!
Shavua Tov!

I'm back!

 It's been a week since I have written to you. 
A very long week!
A lot has transpired since then. So much so that I am not sure where to begin.
The last time I wrote, I was heading off to breakfast on the morning of the opening day of the trade show I was attending. Our game plan this year was to handle the show floor with a much smaller staff than last year., reducing our man power from 9 people to 4.We were comfortable with our decision knowing that we were over staffed last year and we anticipated less traffic .
What we did not plan for was for 1/4 of our 4 man team, and the leader, the only person who knew the minor details of things like prices, to come down with the flu!
So here I was sitting at breakfast, taking a few minutes to enjoy what would probably be the only meal I would have for at least 12 or 13 hours, when I found out the news that we would be short handed. Not only short handed., we were flying blind! No knowledge of pricing. Very little knowledge of the new product line. We didn't have a catalog,price list or order form.
It was time to panic!
Not really.....
It was time for me to step up and do what I do.
After grabbing a cup of coffee and printing out 1 price list to get started with,our valiant band of 3 made our way to the convention center and set to work. 
The show opens at 9 a.m.So does the Kinkos across the street. 
Now we are down to 2 people as 1 of us had to go make copies of the price list.
With the one price list we had, I made my way through the booth, strategically marking prices on key items .
We were ready to take on all comers.
 And we did!
Without being overbearing and working together with the other 2 people in our little team we handled the entire show.
Every one did their part. Every one leaned on each other. Every one pitched in and made this show a success.
Weeks of bemoaning the idea that I would be working a trade show with out my normal support staff seemed to disappear.
I , along with the others in our little group, stepped up and did what needed to be done....and more. It was by all accounts one of the smoothest run shows we had ever experienced.
Upon returning home, it dawned on me that not having my troops with me was not just the end of an era. It was the beginning of a new one.
My perspective, if not my entire way of being, is changing. 
I had become fat and lazy. I was too comfortable. I had become so dependent on the abundant resources around me that I lost track of just how precious my own resources and skills are.
It is a new day in my world. There is a new way of doing things. My dependency on the team that I built over the last 2 decades is changing. 
It's back to basics for me,doing the little things that I once did for myself that I have passed on to others in the belief that I needed to do this to give myself the space to move forward.
I had become a gentleman farmer. It's time for me to get dirty and stick my hands in the soil once again.
I will continue to move forward. However, as my mentor Darren Hardy suggests in his message today, it is a time for a new beginning. 
It's a new beginning for me and for others around me.
I see it happening in many places around me. People are re evaluating how they do things, how they show up and how they can help themselves by learning to use their own skills and resources instead of sitting back and leaning on those around them, doing the same old same old and wondering why they are not moving forward.
It is pretty remarkable....and very contagious!
And in almost every case,one major building block, a common theme, is people having conversations with other people.
Reaching out. 
Tapping in. 
Being connected.
This is all good stuff!
It's time to roll up my sleeves and have at it once again!
Kind of exciting!
Shabbat Shalom!

My first aha moment of 2017!

For a fairly uneventful day I have had an absolutely amazingly eventful day!
I had planned to spend the last 24 hours before leaving for New Orleans preparing furiously , taking care of all of the last minute details I needed to take care of.
The only problem with that is that there is and was actually very little for me to prepare.
It's all a part of this whole process I have been experiencing of letting go.
I am reminded of a quote that one of my vendors and friends signs off with on his emails:
"Don't confuse motion with progress"
-Alfred A. Montapert-Running around like a whirling dervish constantly is not necessarily being productive.
When I coached football, I would often remind my middle line backer to just stand still at the snap of the ball and see how the play developed in front of him.Blindly charging off in a direction often leads to you being out of position to make a play.
As the centerpiece of the defense, his role was to communicate, to make sure every one knew where they should be and what they should be looking for as well as to pick up any tell tale signs as to what may be coming at them.
This is exactly the position I find myself in as I prepare for the Halloween show.Communicating with every one and preparing myself as best as possible to respond, not just react.
As I finished packing and gathering supplies for the trip, I had an aha moment.
I posed a question to a dear friend stating I wasn't sure if I was heading out alone possibly facing a twilight or was I in fact once again flying solo,buoyed by years of experience? The aha moment is that I am in fact experiencing the latter. Over the years I have led a contingent, a small army at times into this show. This often rag tag group were not exactly seasoned sales professionals. On the contrary, in almost ever case they all started out as green and as innocent as a new born. Walking into the show, they all experienced an overwhelming onslaught of people. The sheer magnitude of the show was almost impossible to comprehend. 
Most if not all of my troops had little if any sales experience. It was baptism under fire. I am sure each and every one of them had doubts as to how effective they might be. 
That is how they showed up. It is not how they left.Under my leadership and tutelage by the end of day 1 each and every one believed that they were the consummate professionals they were supposed to be.
I had some time to reflect on the dozens of young men and women who were part of the Vasa team at one time or another. Some I still see regularly. Some I run into every once in a while and others I get reports on or updates from.
The one common thread is that they all have grown up. They all have gone on to lead productive lives. And they all have continued on their own special Journey.
And I was a part of that. 
And that is a good thing.
That is a blessing!
The idea that I some how played a role in this process is a gift that can not be put into words.
This year I am going to the show solo. I will not be leading any troops into the battle of life.
Instead, I can take a moment and appreciate that the army that once was has gone on to create new armies and new opportunities and bring their own special gifts to the world.
It's a pretty special feeling!

Stay Focused!

That's what I keep repeating to myself. Stay focused....and stay focused on doing me.
Not on others, not on things that have no direct bearing on what I want to accomplish and certainly not on challenges or trivialities brought on by others or in other people's lives.
It sounds selfish and self centered , but it's not. I was reminded by my mentor Darren Hardy today, of the airplane air mask story. You can't help others until you secure your own breathing mask.
I have spent the last 5 hours knocking out a plethora of little things that just needed taking care of.Now I have a few hours to address some of the things that may be looming before heading out on Wednesday morning.
Handle what I can handle. Let go of those things that are out of my control. This seems to be the theme right now.And as long as I stay with in the realm of responsible, don't live in lack!
That doesn't mean go out on an unbridled shopping spree.It means buy what it is that needs to be purchased and do it with out guilt or remorse.
This is the first Monday since early November that Susan has been home. Sundays and Mondays are her days of. Since Halloween , she has either been called in to substitute or been in South Jersey taking care of her parents on Mondays.
Today we left the house at around 9:30. A trip to Motor Vehicle,Home Depot,my old office, the supermarket, Lowes, the bank and a slice of pizza  ........that's what old married folks call a date!
Now it's time to attend to business,while I still have enough left in the tank to accomplish something!

It's 6:18 on Sunday evening. 

We have already made our weekly pilgrimage to South Jersey,and dinner is now in the oven. I Had considered taking the day off from writing. It's late, I'm tired and quite frankly a bit distracted.
Over the last hour or so, I found myself swallowing a lot of stuff. I don't mean eating I mean emotionally. I decided to sit down and use this time to put the brakes on. Maybe by writing, by reaching out, I can create some a mental time out and catch my breath and my balance.
I have 2 days of final preparations starting tomorrow before I leave for 8 days.All sorts of pressures are mounting and to be honest I have no resources with which to alleviate the bulk of them.My self talk is "just let go!".
If these are in fact circumstances that I can not change or have an effect on, then all I can do is let go.
And move on.
7:00 pm
Dinner is over. Not much calmer than I was before we sat down to eat. I keep thinking back to the goals I have set up for myself and that is helping.
 Handle the things that I can handle.
Be 1% better today than I was yesterday.
And reach out to the people in my life.
So now I have 2 choices before me. 
I can shut down for the rest of the evening and look for a fresh start in the morning.
Or the more prudent choice ,take a few minutes to gather myself and clear my thoughts,have a cup of tea or coffee and then carefully construct a list of the things that absolutely must be handled between now and Tuesday evening.
I think you know me well enough by now to know exactly what I'm going to do.
Shavua Tov!

Goal #3

It has been almost 2 weeks since I handed out the first 2 dozen  Live 2 XL 2017 Goals Challenge cards. To date I have received exactly zero back.The good news is that by participating in this challenge myself, I have come to realize just how difficult the task of writing down 5 important achievable goals really is.
In review, after meeting with my editor. I was able to come up with goal #1....whittle down my book. 
Goal #2 came to me after a nudge from my mentor Darren Hardy and after a bit of self reflection....be 1% better today than I was yesterday.Build incrementally on what I have accomplished already. I quote my self "Incremental is monumental!"
After goals 1 and 2, it seemed as if I were stuck once again. 
What else should make my list of top 5 goals for 2017?
What is both important and achievable to me?
As I was cleaning up a slew of old and unanswered emails from friends over the past week or so,I stumbled over goal #3.
Stay connected to those who mean the most to me.
This is as important as any oath I could possibly swear myself to. 
So many people in my life. So many friends. So many loved ones.
For every one that I communicate with, 3 more names pop into my head.
Reaching out to as many as possible as often as possible is my next goal for the year. The magnitude of this particular goal is overwhelming. It has no limits. It has no end.
There will always be some one else to reach out to. There will always be another email to send, text to get out, phone call to be made, letter to be written or visit to be planned.If I remember to combine goal #2 with goal #3, make 1 more connection today than I did yesterday, I will have fulfilled my quest for this goal as well.
I can always be better today than I was yesterday and there will always be one more person I can reach out to tomorrow who I may have overlooked or not gotten around to today.
The task of writing down 5 goals for the year is much harder than I originally imagined. Now that I am participating in this challenge, I am both intrigued and excited by what the other goals may possibly be.
Maybe others are finding it equally as difficult as I am.
So I guess I'll continue ti check my mail box daily. 
Shabbat Shalom!

Halloween 2017!

In a couple of days I will be heading out to the Halloween industries big trade show for the year. It will be my 22nd year in a row. 
22 years ago, I remember just how overwhelming it all seemed to me. 
For the 20 years preceding that show, I had spent my career working in a warehouse. Every morning, I would leave my house around 6 a.m. and get home around 7 p.m. 
My days were spent on the floor of the warehouse or on the loading dock or in my office.My uniform was jeans and a sweatshirt in the cool months and jeans and a knit work shirt in the warmer weather.
Now life was different. My uniform became slacks and a nice shirt (yes always accompanied by a tie!).The truck drivers and warehouse workers I spent my days with were now being replaced by buyers and vendors.I was moving from an industry where I was a king and now found myself as a stranger in a strange land.I could not possibly have found myself in a more uncomfortable position.
22 years later....and here I am.My business card playfully reads :
" David Spiegel: Master of all things Halloween".
Even though this is my 22nd Halloween show, I once again find myself entering uncharted waters.
In the early years, it was me and my brother. We showed up together ,each with our own roles to fill. We were a team. As the years went by, we added to our team, always bringing enough support staff with us to ensure that our vendors were being covered and all of our customers were being taken care of.Year after year, that support staff grew.Sara and then her friends. Max and then his friends. Becca and then her friends. There were friends of Eliot's and some of my friends. And for the last 12 years, there was Becky who in a very short time became as integral to my business as any other part, including my brother and myself.And there were even Becky's friends.Literally dozens of people, too many to recount, who were part of the Halloween by Vasa team over the years.
This year, I am the team!
Eliot will be at the show. He works for one of the firms I represent and has his own responsibilities, nothing to do with Halloweeen Sales by Vasa.
In the old days , he and I always shared a room. Some times we even had a few other room mates (rooms for these shows can become expensive!). There were years where I can remember having 4 or 5 rooms with 4 or more people in a room.
This year, there will be just 3 of us in the room...me, myself and I!
I will fly out alone. I will fly home alone. 
I will be my only company back in my hotel room every night.
I hope that I find some one to have dinner with ! 
There is a very real possibility that I find myself eating alone as well.
Although I am aware of all of this, I don't think I am alarmed by any of it.
It is what it is....different.
Thee is nothing overwhelming about the show for me. As inexperienced as I was 22 years , today I am just what my business card says I am....Master of all things Halloween. United Airlines even has me listed as Professor Spiegel, when I go into the United Club lounge. Professor Spiegel......professor of Halloweenology!
There is nothing overwhelming as I make my final preparations before leaving town next week. There is however an air of pensive reflection as I take a peek back at the road I have traveled to get here.And a little bit of sadness that after all of that time and after traveling as far as I have, as I find myself standing alone at yet another crossroads in my Journey.
Shabbat Shalom!

1%

A good part of my day on Monday was spent cleaning the kitchen and dining room.Instead of turning Pandora on and listening to music while I was working, I decided to listen to an audio book on Audible.
BTW....I highly recommend this "treat" which I have gifted to myself. The cost is minimal  and I get a new book every month. I listen when I can in my car or at my desk when I take a short break or as I did on Monday, while I am tinkering around the house.I still love reading a hard copy book as well. however audio books have greatly enhanced my library.
But I digress!
The book I chose to listen to, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, has adorned my bookshelf for at least a decade. During that time , I have probably picked it up and began reading it 15 or 20 times.It's a short read, probably something I would normally knock off on a plane ride . For some unknown reason which I have yet to figure out, I never seem to have been able to just finish reading this tale. I purchased it on Audible 2 months ago and started listening to it 2 or 3 times with out success since then.
Monday was different. 
As I was going about my chores I listened intently to the story. When I felt I was being interrupted, I paused the audio, and when I started it back up, I would rewind to 2 minutes earlier, not just pick up where I left off. 
The story was engaging.
The message was simple ,direct and to the point.
And now, it has taken its place on the top of my list of "must reads".
I would love to be able to say that I am a prolific reader. That's just not the case. I have read more in the last 3 or 4 years than I have in the last 3 or 4 decades. And while I never ,or rarely , tell any one what they should do, reading  would be high on my list of "must do" activities.and since I am putting it out there, reading something other than fiction is a plus in my book.
In his daily message today,my mentor Darren Hardy talks about gifting yourself with education. Not the 13 years of crap that was forced upon you from kindergarten until you graduated high school. He talks about real education. Learning the things that will help you be better. Learning the things that will help you be successful. Learning that helps you grow as a person.
All of this brings me back to my January word of the month...GOALS.
Yesterday I proclaimed my first goal, to complete the next phase of preparing my book. My second goal for 2017 is 1%. I will be 1% better today than I was yesterday.
Success does not happen over night. No one goes from zero to hero in the blink of an eye.
The Compound Effect ,(another must read) is the accumulated success you develop by making minor improvements on a daily basis.
The question I will answer daily is what choices can I make today that are better than the ones I made yesterday. Tomorrow will take care of itself. 
It's like the instructions on a shampoo bottle,lather rinse repeat.
If I am 1% better today than yesterday and I continue that process every single day,the road inevitably leads to success.
Just 1%.
Much like Rome, a better me is not built in a day!

January Word of the Month:GOALS

Happy New Year! 
I know, it's been a while since I have written. Sometimes life just seems to get in the way! The good news is I seem to have found a break in the action and I am taking advantage of the opportunity.
I miss my daily alone time with you.
A new year, a fresh start and an opportunity for 12 more words of the month!
This months word, GOALS!
For the last two weeks or so, as the new year was approaching and then upon me,my emails were full of messages about New Years resolutions and goal setting. It seems every personal growth guru, every self help program and every motivational speaker I follow has some advice around this topic or some challenge for the new year.
To be honest, I am no exception.
Live 2 XL Coaching also has a 2017 New Years Goal Challenge. 
Being challenged is a good thing!
Setting goals is a good thing!
Making resolutions is a good thing!
Moving forward is a good thing!
Until this morning, I have been reluctant to step up and participate in any goals challenge for 2017.
I was afraid of failing!
The Live 2 XL Goals challenge is a simple 1. I created a card on which you write your name and list your top 5 goals for the year. I give you a stamped envelope addressed to me and in December, I will send the card back to you, for you to self evaluate how you did.Simple enough and a fun exercise. 
Yet every time I started to fill out my card I stopped. Setting attainable goals is the key and my number 1 goal,finishing my book just seemed out of reach. Listing it would be setting myself up to fail.
Is that the truth or am I just being a wimp?
What was holding me back?
Why can't I visualize finishing the book?
What am I afraid of?
I decided the best way to confront this dilemma would be to bounce it off of some one else and who better than my editor.So I reached out to her and set a breakfast meeting for this morning.
After exchanging some pleasantries and a quick catch up conversation around the families I eventually got around to bringing up my reticence around filling out my goals card.
I explained what my challenge was and how I did not want to set myself up for failure . My blurted out that as I had not started out to write a book and that what I keep seeing in front of me is hundreds of thousands of words that just don't seem to tell a story since I never set out to tell a story.
And then it dawned on me. While some day, finishing my book will be and is currently the ultimate goal, I can't achieve that until I whittle the text down to something manageable.Once it is cut down to manageable, it first has to go back to my editor for editing and story construction. We then will have to add things like an introduction, a forward, a cover, artwork and a prologue. There will be thank you's and acknowledgements to be written and all sorts of sundry details and additions. No wonder "finishing" the book seems daunting!It's not even in the realm of possible yet. My immediate goal is to whittle down to 150,000 words or less. 
That's a no brainer!
I can do that!
It will take some time. 
And a lot of effort. But I can and will do that!
So my number 1 goals is to whittle away at my manifesto until I get it down to a manageable size.
Whew .....that's an easy one!
Goals are great!
Goals are necessary.
Goals must be attainable!If they aren't failure is the only possible outcome. 
And as we all know......

Failure is not an option! 

If you want to participate in 

Live 2 XL's 2017 Goals Challenge

 drop me a note!