Michael

We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent. - Barack Obama

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. - Barack Obama

On Tuesday, November 4th, history was made as millions of people voted for the next president. Whether you agree with the outcome or not, no one can deny that history was unfolding before our very eyes. Our first African American president, record breaking voter turnout and states that typically vote Republican voted Democrat.

I couldn’t turn the television off. I had to watch the statistics as they changed over the course of the evening. This was one of those defining moments that have the potential to change everything. Potential is one thing and action is another, but millions of people have pinned their hopes and dreams on this election.

I agree with my friend Nat, John McCain’s acceptance speech was one of the best of his career. I was inspired as much by it as I was by Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. I thought the true character of both men came through clearly.

We’ll see what happens over the course of the next presidential term, but regardless, we were witness to one of the defining moments in our generation.

Michael

Hopefully you watched the presidential debates last night. I believe they are vitally important to not only get a good understanding of the character of the candidates but also more details on their beliefs and vision for this country.

We are at a pivotal point in history. It’s important that we learn from our mistakes to improve the future for our children and their children. Whatever your political viewpoint or belief system, it’s important that you get involved. That can be as simple as just becoming informed. Read a variety of articles from different authors. Watch more than one news channel. Try to be objective in your research.

Most important of all, get out and vote in November. For anyone that still believes their vote doesn’t count only need to remember the 2000 presidential election. A few thousand votes determined the course of a nation.

We live in a country where we have the right to vote. Go and exercise that right. You just never know what could happen.

Michael

Thanks to my daughter for sending me this wonderful story.

Southwest of Fresno, CA is a wonderful place; a sanctuary for cats and dogs. Lynea Lattanzio owns and operates The Cat House on the Kings. Over the last 16 years, she has saved over 16,000 cats and 4,000 dogs. They come to her oasis from all over the area. She is not a crazy cat person! She actually takes amazing care of the animals that find their way here. Many are adopted by local citizens. The animals that aren’t adopted live out their lives fully free with the ability to roam the several acres that make up her place.

You would think this place would be dirty and smelly with several hundred animals walking around (currently she has about 700 cats). But, it is amazingly clean and there is no smell in the air. Dogs and cats play and live together with no conflict. It’s an animal paradise.

A really nice video was done of The Cat House on the Kings and Lynea. Check it out.

When I see things like this, I know that we (the human species) are going to be okay.

Have a great day!

Michael

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind. - Henry James

I don’t know about you but when I read the newspaper or watch the news, you would think that kindness was something rare and unusual, rarely happening in our society. But, I know better. The news is skewed so far to one side that it rarely reports accurately the “good” things that are happening in the world.

We are bombarded with numerous problems, a terrible crisis somewhere in the world, someone attacking someone else, one human tragedy after another, disease, environmental disasters and on and on and on. It’s so bad that I rarely watch or read the news. I don’t want to be affected by all of the negativity. It’s the best change I’ve done.

But, I know something different. I see numerous acts of kindness every single day between total strangers. In fact, so many in a week that it would completely take up the entire news time to report them. Despite the terrible things that are reported in almost every news outlet, we live amongst some of the most amazing people ever. Miracles occur regularly. People are doing good deeds every day. Innovation and creativity are alive and well solving problems that “plague” our society.

Kindness is rampant. Are you part of the movement? Have you practiced any kindness today? You get an exponential return on your effort. Don’t wait.

Have a great day!

Michael

If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it. - Andy Rooney

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. - Mother Teresa

A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life’s worthwhile. - Author Unknown

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give. - Author Unknown

I did a lot of smiling today. Well, I typically do that everyday but for some reason I noticed it more today. Maybe it was because I was with Erica at one of her shows. There are hundreds of people that walked by or stopped to see her jewelry.

If they weren’t smiling, then I smiled at them and said hello. If they were smiling, I smiled back and tried to give them more.

I try to make whatever I’m doing fun. That can be a challenge sometimes but in the situation I found myself in today, it was very easy. People respond so quickly to smiles and friendly behavior. Sounds like a no brainer, but many of us don’t think about it. We are so absorbed in our own world that we forget where we are.

I’m one of those people who smile when I’m alone. I make sure that I do things every day that make me happy, that makes me smile. I find that it really gets me motivated. It changes my entire perspective on the day.

Have you smiled today?

Michael

Lupine

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul. - Luther Burbank

Flowers are one of nature’s ways to help adjust our attitudes. Most people are instantly distracted from their negative thoughts and attitudes when viewing flowers. We use them to show our feelings to others, help people recover from illnesses and to celebrate special events. But many of us just want to have their beauty as part of our household for no reason other than pure enjoyment.

The hybrid lupine at the left is a very special flower for me and a very close friend of mine. Six years ago, my friend was very sick. In fact she had only a few days of life remaining. I went to visit her in the hospital but stopped at her house first. When I went into the backyard, I saw this lupine blooming. It had never bloomed before. So, I took the photo and printed out a copy for her. She placed it over her bed to help her connect with her home and better times. The flower photo also helped to make her smile more.

Several days later she finally received the treatment she had needed for several months. It saved her life.

This flower has never bloomed again.

Michael

Lead Guitar Player

Since I’ve been off from work since the August 15th, I needed a relaxing evening to unwind.

So, I drove down to Newport, RI this afternoon to meet Erica for the “Thursday on Thames” evening. This is a fun packed evening with a variety of free music, food and discounts in many retail stores. The Lower Thames Business Association puts on this event for several Thursdays in a row during the summer.

I particularly liked the band called The Buddy Roach Trio. The guitar player was very good and I liked their generally fast paced jazz music. There were three other bands down the street all playing different types of music. It was a lot of fun to check out each venue. Plus we got to taste some good food as we moved along the street.

The Rest of the Band

The streets were filled with a decent number of people. I always enjoying going to these kinds of events. They help take the mind off the normal day to day activities and help to get to a happier place.

I especially like the local events of cities and towns. There usually is a much more intimate feel to them and the people seem to be a bit closer.

A real bonus was that the weather was almost perfect. Partly cloudy, cool air, low humidity and a lovely sunset. You can’t go wrong there.

Michael

I’m in Chicago this weekend (Highland Park to be exact) with Erica at the Port Clinton Art Festival. She is one of the exhibitors and I’m there to give free labor. In fact, instead of having a name on my name tag, it said “Free Labor”.

I got numerous comments about it. Many people seemed to have a host of work that needed to be done but they didn’t want to spend any money. They were expecting me to start immediately. One guy called me Mr. Labor. I told him that he could call me Free. Most people though found the campy humor amusing and it seemed to bring a smile to all of them.

I liked how everyone seemed to grab on to the fake name tag as a way to start a conversation, smile or have some fun. Based on this, I suspect that we are all closer to being happier than we might realize. It may only take a small shift to reach a happier state. Of course from that new place of being a little bit happier, you have a solid platform to go the next step.

Remember it’s the little things we think and do at every moment that determines our state of being. If you need to use some stranger’s silly name tag to get there, then do it. The technique doesn’t matter.

Have a great day!

Michael

Erica and I took a taxi to the airport this morning on our way to Chicago. The taxi driver was a woman who was very funny and talked about 90 miles an hour nonstop all the way to the airport.

She absolutely loved life and had recently married another taxi driver. In fact, that’s how they met. Their honeymoon was apparently fantastic as she talked about it for several minutes. She couldn’t say enough good things about her new husband. I’m not sure how she was breathing because of how fast she was talking.

The nice thing was that both of us were laughing and smiling for the entire ride. What a great way to start off the day.

Once we got to the airport, a curbside baggage handler that Erica always uses came up to us in a really good mood. He had just returned from a 2 ½ week vacation in the Dominican Republic. So, of course, he was relaxed, grinning from ear to ear and eager to talk about his adventure.

So, in a matter of twenty minutes we met two really happy people. I truly believe that happened because I continually work on being as happy as possible all the time. You attract what you put out. I also found it interesting that I’ve been writing about the effect we can have on others by the example of our lives for the last few days.

Here were two excellent examples. I was already in a good mood before meeting these people. They helped put me into an entirely different level (higher of course) of happiness.

I can’t wait to see who we meet next.

Have a great day!

Michael

One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention. - Jim Rohn

It’s a simple thing to give someone attention, but most of the time we choose to do something else. We are more involved with our own thoughts, actions and “responsibilities” and so we are too involved to give another our time.

The gift of your attention will be something that will be remembered, consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes the feeling of getting attention will be subtle and the person will not be clear on why they feel good when being around you. Others, especially children, will know and consequently will develop feelings of being cared for and liked.

True listening is one of the easiest ways to give another attention. A person practicing listening skills will not be thinking about what they are going to say next. True listening involves completely focusing on what the other person is saying and being totally in the present moment. Practicing this skill will be a gift very much appreciated by the other person. Nowadays it seems to be a rare experience. Maybe you can help change that.

Have a great day!

Michael