"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!