I didn't look back, but if I did.................

“I’m numb to judgement — even my own judgement of myself. I know I’m doing the best I can. Judging yourself is a huge vulnerability because everyone else is already doing it for you. And if you’re not in that place, you’ve got no shot. Everybody else sucks at stuff too.”

~ Gary Vaynerchuck, Medium

I'm sure that if I took a look back at my writings from this time of year for the last few years, my messaging to myself would be pretty much the same.

New Year's day is just one more day on the calendar.

January 1st does not bring new a new beginning to my life.

The idea that this upcoming year will some how magically be better than the last one is silly to me.

Simply put, I wake up each day with the knowledge that I will work hard at being better today than I was yesterday.

Just that simple.

Every day is an opportunity to create a better version of me than I was the day before.

Therefore, it is only logical that by doing this,2019 will see an improved version of David 2018.

The only variable is how much better,and quite frankly, that does not matter.

Better is better.

Whether it's 1% or 10% .

It's still improvement.

If there was a way to measure these things, who knows, maybe 2018 saw a huge shift on the "better" scale.

Maybe that percentage of "better" will only be half as much on a daily basis this year than last year.

Who cares?

Better is still better!

Say my goal was to say become a better free throw shooter.

On day 1 I shot 1 for 10.

On day 2 I shot 2 for 10.

That's a 100% improvement.

On day 3 I shot 3 for 10.

That's great,even though statistically I didn't improve as much.

You see where this is going.

If I got 1 more in every day, at the end of 10 days I would be 10 for 10..

Would that mean I was done, finished, perfect?

Or maybe of the 10 for 10, 9 hit the rim first and then fell in.

Maybe I could work at each one being a swish....nothing but net.

I would still be 10 for 10, yet improving none the less.

Better is better.

Period!

My plan for today?

Nothing but net!

Swish!

New Years Day 2019

“Your actions reveal how badly you want something. If you keep saying something is a priority but you never act on it, then you don’t really want it. It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself. Your actions reveal your true motivations.”

~ James Clear, Atomic Habits

"Constantly dreaming about the future is a sure fired recipe for permanent paralysis in the present"

I'm not sure if I am quoting someone else or I lust made that up.

All I know is that it is an absolute truth.

It is New Years Day and from emails,social media and messages on the television I am being bombarded with reminders that some how,2019 may be THE year.

THE Year when all good things will happen.

The year when opportunities will become realities.

The year where I will lose weight, get fit, find the dream job, take the trip of a life time and become financially independent.

That's what THEY are saying!

Who ever THEY are.

The car of my dreams is out there just waiting for me.

Happiness is finally within reach.

Significance is just around the next corner.

As if changing one number on the page of the calendar has this much power over my existence.

It's just one more day.

Period.

I am not being negative here.

Quite the contrary.

There is nothing that is or will be available to e in 2019 that was not already there last year.

All I have to do is imagine it and then go for it.

You need both,the dream and the course of action to make it happen.

Dreams alone are not enough.

Motion with out direction is just so much wasted energy.

Put the 2 together,a dream and a plan, and then acting on them is the one sure fired way to avoid the paralysis I mentioned at the top of this diatribe.

I was asked this morning if I had been up to see the all drop.

I laughed and said no because I had gone to bed early to make sure that I got a good night's rest to get a fresh start on a brand new day.

I don't know about you, but for me, I find it much more effective to work on today than to dream about tomorrow.

Happy Today!

That's a first..................

“Any plan is better than no plan, and a good plan executed now is far better than a perfect plan executed too late.”

~ Mark Divine, The Way of the Seal

The Grooming Shoppe will be closed for 6 days!

Well that's a first!

Since opening our in May of 2016, this is the longest period of time that our doors have been closed.

To her credit, Becca saw the opportunity for a well deserved break and she acted on it, booking a 4 day escape to a warmer climate where she can spend some time with a friend and her sister.

Nothing fancy.

Just a quick get away.

For Susan, it's an opportunity to just take it easy for a few days.

My schedule doesn't allow for any vacation or down time.

Still, 6 days without the physical toll that grooming takes on her is nothing short of a godsend.

Traditionally, New Years day and New Years eve have not been all that special to me. Yes there were a few years where the entire family would go bowling together on New Years eve.

We also had a long standing New Years day dinner with some friends.

Times change .

Kids grow up.

People move on and new relationships bring new choices to be made.

There are new opportunities as well.

This hastily planned shutdown has afforded me the insight to look ahead to next year at this time.

With a little bit of planning and schedule adjusting, maybe Susan and I can sneak away for a day or 2 or 3 even in the future.

Heck, I have a whole year to figure it out, so why not?

At least I am aware of it now.

Who knows?

At this time next year we might be lying on a beach sipping fruity drinks somewhere.

We should probably be able to get some really cheap rates at the Jersey shore this time of year.

What do you think?

Now there's something to look forward to!

My New Year's Non-Resolution

“If you’re looking for a big opportunity, seek out a big problem.”

~ H. Jackson Brown, via The Way of the Seal

While I was sitting and chatting with a good friend the other night, I mentioned something I had just written about earlier in that week.

He commented on the fact that he had read that and then reminded me that he in fact reads everything I write.

He then added that the writings he likes most are the ones where I mention him (as in :a good friend, a dear friend, a trusted colleague, a mentor).

Not that he is wrong.

He is often an inspiration to me,which he is once again.

Another comment he made to me was that he has had a lot more free time lately since I have not been writing on a consistent basis.

While I am acutely aware of that fact, his gentle reminder is serving as a motivator for me to be more diligent in keeping up with my daily writing ritual.

My New Year's Non-Resolution,(I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions) is to be more mindful when it comes to writing.

Like any healthy activity,it is way too easy to get lazy.

It is way to easy to get off track.

It is way to easy to say I'll get to it tomorrow.

To be successful at any healthy activity,dieting,working out,meditation , yoga or in this case writing, requires three things,awareness,effort and commitment.

My dear friend has once again stepped up and inspired me.

It's not the first time he has done this and I can safely say it probably isn't the last.

Thanks again my friend. For the gentle reminder and mostly for being you!

Shavua Tov!

I should have been a milkman!

“If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is be present in the present...Gratefully.”

~ Maya Angelou

Once again the roads were empty this morning as I started my day.

With the other driver on vacation this week, I have been leaving my house earlier than I normally do. That combined with this being a holiday week makes for a whole lot less vehicles on the road.

I love being out there when no one else is.

It reminds me of when I was younger and first starting out in the job market.

I would leave my house before 6 each morning.

I was always the first car in the deli's parking lot at the bottom of the hill leaving my house.

The owner and I would basically open the place together. He would go in through the back door and I would carry in his newspapers through the front when he opened for business. Thankfully his coffee machines were on a timer and he would pour me his first cup of the day, hand me a freshly buttered roll and I would be on my 45 minute drive into work. By 6:45 I was opening the gates, then the back door,turning off the alarms, turning on the lights and getting the warehouse ready for the crew to start working at 7:30.

Like I said, I love getting a jump on the day before any one else .

My dream job at one point was to own a catering truck,you know, a roach coach.

Out by 4 in the morning, stocking up on fresh pastries and such for the morning's run and heading off to which ever parking lot was my first stop,

doling out coffee and donuts and other unhealthy goodies to my daily customers who were struggling to get their days started.

Running from stop to stop, from breakfast to morning break to lunch and then afternoon break before heading home for the day.

Life doesn't get much better than that!

For a few years, I used to do the Englishtown Flea Market on Saturdays. again, it was up by 4,out the door by 4:30, a drive down to the market (coffee cup in hand) a quick bathroom stop and a fresh cup of coffee and then finally arriving at the field where I would scope out my spot for the day.

By 6 I would start laying out my wares and by 7 the early shoppers would be descending on us.

Five or six furious hours later, I would be packing up and heading home, hopefully with a pocket full of cash.

I loved every minute of it!

Up before dawn.

Awake before the rooster's crow.

Being at full speed before others even headed for the starting line.

Yep...I should have been a milkman!

SURPRISE!

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."

Colin Powell

Last night, we were invited to an engagement party for the Rabbi's daughter.

It was called for 8 p.m. however being the Saturday before Christmas we of course were busy at the shop and running late,finally showing up at around 8:30.

The place was packed...well over 300 people.

We were in the middle of the "mingling" and saying hello to friends when there was a call for quiet, the curtain for the stage at the front of the room opened and there all lit up was a chupa a wedding canopy.

The guests jaws dropped almost in unison!

This was not an engagement party.

We were at a wedding!

Well played Rabbi!

It was a marvelous surprise and an even more spectacular event.

Being one who has always relished the opportunity to surprise people, I am impressed, even humbled.

This was one for the ages!

Challenge accepted!

Time to up my game!

Shavua Tov!

Days like today.....................

“Let this season of joy truly be a season of joy. It is far too easy to get caught up in the Doing, and forget to relax, to love, and to enjoy. Stop, look around, breathe, be grateful for everything."

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Today is one of the days of the year that I truly enjoy.

As the rest of the world seems to be shutting down from the mundane and gearing up for the upcoming holiday,we are busy doing business!

When I arrived at The Grooming Shoppe this morning, Becca had already opened, brought in our first client, put on the Christmas music and straightened and cleaned up the front end.

We were ready for action on what should be one of our busiest days of the year.

Truth be told, we were actually busier on the Saturday before Christmas last year.

It was the single busiest day we ever had.

It's not that we have any less business.

On the contrary.

Becca has done a marvelous job of scheduling before the holiday.

She chose to open last Monday (we are normally closed Sunday & Monday) as well as tomorrow,the Sunday before Christmas.

In those two days we will bring in an additional 2 dozen dogs and no body had to kill themselves on any 1 given day.

By 8:30 this morning , 2 dogs were in the door, bathed and on the tables getting groomed.

I love the energy!

I don't know when this whole concept of shutting down for days on end before a holiday began.

I hate it!

If you have ever watched A Christmas Carroll, in Dickenens' time, Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning and yells out "hey boy" to the young lad walking past his window.

The streets are a bustle and Scrooge sends him to the butcher shop (which is open!) to get that goose hanging in the window.

I love it!

To me , it's all part of the magic and mystique that surrounds the holiday.

Tomorrow around 5 p.m., our last dogs will be getting their finishing touches.

After they leave,we will clean up as we do at the end of each day and the end of each week.

Some gifts will be exchanged.

An envelope with a special "thank you" will be handed out, and hugs and kisses given out.

A little while later, we will wrap up the day.

We will turn off the lights and as we put the key in the door to lock up, I will take one long last look into the shop and acknowledge that it really is A Wonderful Life!

Shabbat Shalom!