The Road to Lifestyle

"Every decision you make--every decision--is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about who you are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do." - Neale Donald Walsch

This made me laugh... a quote from Mark Twain: "I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." The vast majority of the things we worry about never come to pass. According to a study by the University of Michigan (as related by John C. Maxwell in his article The 'Big 5' Challenges People Face , Success magazine September 2010 issue): 60% of our fears are totally unwarranted, meaning they never happen 20% of our fears are based in the past and out of our control 10% of our fears are so petty they can make no difference at all And of the remaining 10%, only 4 to 5% are "real and justifiable fears." Who determines the "real and justifiable" part, I wonder? Bottom line: "Fear is a poor chisel with which to carve out tomorrow." (From The Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews)

Several years ago I was a camp counselor for Teen Aviation Camp (TAC) in Colorado Springs , Colorado . The camp was held at the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School. I am an AFA Prep School alum as well as an Air Force Academy alum and it was the first time I had been back to the Academy since I graduated in 2002. One evening the counselors went to dinner on Academy Blvd and as I was leaving the restaurant I saw a little bunny sitting all by himself outside of the building. I reached down for him and surprisingly he did not run away. I actually took him back into the restaurant, which looking back was probably some sort of health code violation, but I wanted to show the other counselors who were still dining inside. We named him after the camp and he became our unofficial mascot. I bought him a cage at Wal-Mart. It was far too large for him boasting an expansive "Living Area" about two feet across and a foot and a half deep. TAC was no bigger than a tennis ...

I've heard it said that unless you are striving to be better, to improve yourself day by day, you are coasting... and the bad thing about coasting is that you can only coast in one direction--down hill! So remember this astute observation by Brian Tracy: "Whatever got you where you are today won't get you any further." Find your victory in making today better than yesterday. Go make it happen!

"You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person." - Scott Sorrell