The End

There's a blush of melancholy over this moment for me. I have enjoyed writing this blog, and it has been great to exchange ideas with you. I'm sad that it's ending (unless one of you wants to take over the daily posting?).

I was thinking about the reasons I started this blog, and went back to the first post, where I saw this:

My goal is to share some informative, humorous, and thought-provoking ideas each day, and to encourage candid communication between you, my readers, and me.

I think I met my goal, and I enjoyed having you along with me. I hope you'll remember the important things like "...happiness is trying to catch you" and "enjoy yourself...it's later than you think." I also hope you'll keep looking for funny sayings like this one from Mike Myers: "My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare."

Thanks for being here with me. Enjoy yourself, keep doing right, have fun, and be candid...it's the ultimate compliment.

Nearing the End

I've been thinking lately that I should probably shut down this blog because I'm finding myself with less and less to say these days. My business is beginning to take off and right now it seems to be sapping me of entertaining, thoughtful things to write.

So it's official. Tomorrow will be my last post on this blog. I'm grateful that you've come back each day to read, think, and laugh with me. Enjoy your day.

The Alchemist

I've been re-reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Here's a passage that struck me.

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream," said the alchemist, echoing the words of the old king. The boy understood. Another person was there to help him toward his Personal Legend.

"So are you going to instruct me?"

"No. You already know all you need to know. I am only going to point you in the direction of your treasure."

"But there's a tribal war," the boy reiterated.

"I know what's happening in the desert."

"I have already found my treasure. I have a camel, I have my money from the crystal shop, and I have fifty gold pieces. In my own country, I would be a rich man."

"But none of that is from the Pyramids," said the alchemist.

"I also have Fatima. She is a treasure greater than anything else I have won."

"She wasn't found at the Pyramids, either."

They ate in silence. The alchemist opened a bottle and poured a red liquid into the boy's cup. It was the most delicious wine he had ever tasted.

"Isn't wine prohibited here?" the boy asked.

"Its' not what enters men's mouths that's evil," said the alchemist. "It's what comes out of their mouths that is."

Regardless of the excuses we make for not seeking our Personal Legends, sometimes all the great things in our lives are merely that--great things--not the treasure we're supposed to be seeking.

Funny Headlines

I like quirky news stories, and here are blurbs from several on AP news at Yahoo!.

Man calls 911 to save him from police Mon Jul 16, 6:08 PM ET
LARGO, Fla. - A 38-year-old man was arrested after he called 911 and told a dispatcher he was surrounded by police officers and needed help, authorities said.

Do you suppose he really thought he'd be helped?

Snake surprises Pa. man pumping gas Mon Jul 16, 4:39 PM ET
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - A snake slithered out of the engine compartment of a man's SUV when he stopped to get gasoline, causing a bit of commotion at the station. Scott Naylor was at a Wawa convenience store in the city on Friday morning when a woman at the gas pump next to him began yelling, police said.

Monkey steals tourist's glasses in India Tue Jul 17, 6:29 AM ET
LUCKNOW, India - A South Korean tourist has filed a formal complaint against a monkey he says stole his reading glasses during his visit to the Hindu holy city of Varanasi in northern India.


I think this is the best one. Do you think they have court-appointed attorneys for monkeys? Or maybe they have exotic lawyers? Does the tourist really think he's going to get a settlement or his glasses back? Too funny.


Police find cocaine in off-key piano Mon Jul 16, 5:45 PM ET
CARTAGENA, Colombia - When a grand piano played an off-key note, drug police in this Caribbean port opened it up and found some 560 pounds of cocaine stuffed inside.

Who'd have thought that the drug police have perfect pitch?

Reunions

Summer is the time for reunions, isn't it? My mother's side of the family just had their annual reunion in Minnesota (which I was unable to attend), and today I attended a reunion with a few of my classmates from the photography workshop I attended in Breckenridge back in May.

Five of us got together at one of the photographer's homes and had a great time comparing notes on what we've been doing/not doing with photography and marketing since our class. It was interesting to see that some of the people were really on a roll and some (including me) had yet to really apply some of the knowledge we gained from that week.

That made me think about how often I get excited about something which I'm sure will work really well, but then I let the busy-ness of life get in the way. I'm working really hard to change that in both my personal and professional lives, and today was a good measuring stick for me. I still have a long way to go, even though I have made some good strides.

The best thing (to me, anyway) is that we can change. I'm looking forward to the upcoming changes. Happy Monday!

End of Puzzle Week

I know, I know. The Japanese number puzzles are getting old. No puzzle today, just a cartoon. Happy Friday the 13th and enjoy your weekend.

Kakuro for Thursday

Today's puzzle is also a Japanese numbers puzzle.

It's called Kakuro and it's solved by using only numbers 1-9 (and not the same number twice in one block). The total of both numbers in each block must add up to the total entered in the box above or to the left of it.

Enjoy. Oh, and here's the solution.

Hump Day Puzzle

Here's a number puzzle for Wednesday. This one is called Futoshiki and is a variation on Sudoku.

To solve, each line across and down must contain the numbers 1 through 5. The greater than ">" and less than "<"symbols tell you what the number in the square is, relative to the number next to it.

The solution is below. Enjoy!

Puzzle for Tuesday

Some of you know I'm a big fan of Sudoku puzzles.


They are number puzzles composed of 9 blocks of numbers from 1-9. Within each block (and each column and each row) the goal is to solve for numbers 1-9 without repeating any numbers in either direction or within the same block.


Have fun, and here's the solution if you're like me and want to know how you did.

New Words

From a recent Reader's Digest:

Abdicake: to give up the last piece of cake to someone else.

Flabbygast: to be overcome with astonishment that despite excessive dieting, you haven't lost a pound.

Manorexic: characterizing a male who eats an extremely large amount of food yet gains no weight.

Nostralgia: a reminder of one's past brought on by a familiar or more recently unfamiliar smell.

Happy Monday!

Strange News for the Weekend

As the weekend approaches, here are some funny, strange news blurbs found during my visit to Yahoo! Underground today.

A Melbourne, Australia company that makes condoms is advertising for unpaid volunteer testers of their products. Here's the funniest statement of the whole piece:

"Who wouldn't want to have a chance with an actual authorized professional?" Durex marketing manager Sam White asked.

You can read the whole story here.

Another blurb: China has built what they hope Guinness Book of World Records will acknowledge as the world's largest public restroom. It's four stories of toilets, 1,000 total. Seriously. Here's what I thought was really funny:

"We are spreading toilet culture. People can listen to gentle music and watch TV," said Lu Xiaoqing, an official with the Yangrenjie, or "Foreigners Street," tourist area where the bathroom is located. "After they use the bathroom they will be very, very happy."

You can read the whole story here.

Have a super weekend.

The Day After

How was your 4th of July?

We had a nice day; ate some good food and watched all the fireworks over the city of Denver from our ridge elevation. Some good shows, though it wasn't quite the same as being close enough to feel the booms that accompany each beautiful display.

Yesterday I also moved my office into the second bedroom. Have you moved your workspace before? Then you know what I mean when I say that I'm getting adjusted to where things are again. It will be nice to be able to close the door on it when I'm not working.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Puzzling

Here's a puzzle for today, from the most recent Reader's Digest.

The goal is to find five cards that form a cross pattern (3 across by 3 down), with each card having a different symbol. Time yourself, and check your score at the bottom. This took me a little while.

I won't be posting tomorrow, so I'll wish you a happy 4th of July one day early. I hope you take some time while you're grilling or enjoying some corn on the cob to remember what your freedom cost, and that the veterans and men and women still fighting for it today deserve to be thanked. I also hope you find a great fireworks show and have a great holiday.

Integrity Complete

I finished re-reading the Integrity book yesterday, and was thinking about all of it this morning.

The whole concept is centered around integrity as meaning integrated character, and how people with fully integrated character manage their lives in several areas. It was helpful to revisit the concepts this morning, and sort of put the lid on it for me.

Fully integrated character, the kind that has the courage to meet the demands of reality:

1. creates and maintains trust
2. is able to see and face reality
3. works in a way that brings results
4. embraces negative realities and solves them
5. causes growth and increase
6. achieves transcendence and meaning in life

Something for me to think about as I begin a new week.

Friday's Famous Quote

Here's another of my favorite expressions, said by one of the people I most respect in recent political history, Ronald Reagan.

My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose--somehow we win out.

Enjoy the rest of your work week and have a great pre-July 4th weekend! I'd love to hear your plans for seeing the best fireworks in your area next week, and if anyone knows the best place to see them here in the Denver area, let me know.

The Set of Your Sails

This week I've shared some of my favorite expressions, and today I want to share another: a poem by reknowned poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox, of Janesville, Wisconsin.

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.

I've never known much about Ms. Wilcox, but as I read about her on Wikipedia today, I discovered something else that strikes me as interesting. After her husband of 30 years, Robert, died, she was in great grief and was desperately hoping his spirit would communicate from the dead with her. She went to California to speak with a man named Max Heindel about it, and here's what she wrote about that meeting.

In talking with Max Heindel, the leader of the Rosicrucian Philosophy in California, he made very clear to me the effect of intense grief. Mr. Heindel assured me that I would come in touch with the spirit of my husband when I learned to control my sorrow. I replied that it seemed strange to me that an omnipotent God could not send a flash of his light into a suffering soul to bring its conviction when most needed.

"Did you ever stand beside a clear pool of water," asked Mr. Heindel, "and see the trees and skies repeated therein? And did you ever cast a stone into that pool and see it clouded and turmoiled, so it gave no reflection? Yet the skies and trees were waiting above to be reflected when the waters grew calm. So God and your husband's spirit wait to show themselves to you when the turbulence of sorrow is quieted."

What I find interesting are Mr. Heindel's words. Something worth thinking about today.

Thought for Wednesday

From Roger Horchow, the founder of The Horchow Collection, the first luxury mail-order catalog without a brick and morter presence, and a reknowned Broadway producer:

If you always order creme brulee, how will you ever discover your love for cannoli? The world is only as large (and delicious) or as small as you make it.

Let's shake it up a little and try some new things today.

Weird Sky

Last night the skies over Denver were really strange, and the color of the light was nearly orange. I took a few photos and will share them today.

It was kind of spooky, and I realize that the photos look like they need to be color-corrected, but it's actually accurate to the color. Notice how different the light is and the strange clouds in the sky.

Here's a joke submitted by Joy. Have fun and enjoy your day!

Once upon a time in a land far away, a beautiful, independent, self-assured princess happened upon a frog as she sat contemplating ecological issues on the shores of an unpolluted pond in a verdant meadow near her castle.

The frog hopped into the princess' lap and said: "Elegant Lady, I was once a handsome prince, until an evil witch cast a spell upon me. One kiss from you, however, and I will turn back into the dapper, young prince that I am and then, my sweet, we can marry and set up housekeeping in your castle with my mother, where you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children, and forever feel grateful and happy doing so."

That night, as the princess dined sumptuously on lightly sauteed frog legs seasoned in a white wine and onion cream sauce, she chuckled and thought to herself: "I don't freakin' think so!!!"

A Jolt for Me

I'm still reading the Integrity book by Henry Cloud, and today I got a real jolt. As you know, my former employer still owes me about $7000 in back pay, and I've pretty much written it off, figuring I'll never see it.

Here's what jolted me this morning.

In all sorts of relationships, we see people's wakes being affected by the inability to let it go. If you are going to solve problems in your personal relationships or your business ones, then you have to be able to let things go. I do not mean do not face them, especially if they are ongoing. What I mean is that after they have been addressed and resolved, then let it go in terms of the negative, punitiv e emotion of it all. Grieve it and, dare we say, forgive. People thrive when they have faced an issue, made it right, and the other person can forgive them and move on. Forgive means to "cancel a debt." In other words, the person does not owe us anymore. No more wallowing, guilt, shame, reminders, or other things that get in the way of the future. If something has not been fixed or trust regained, that is one thing. But if it is fixed, put it behind you.

Here's the thing. I've moved on, but I realize I haven't forgiven. I know that the guy will never pay me, but when I think about it, I consider it a debt that is owed to me. In order to really move on, I'm going to have cancel the debt. Hard work lies ahead for me in this area, but I intend to cancel it and let it go. I hope you'll keep me accountable to this.

Something else occurred to me (again) while reading this: forgiveness isn't merely a concept associated with religion. It's a concept for all of the human experience. It brings the same results (peace of mind, release of pain or frustration, contentment, and more) to each person, regardless of religious affiliation or relationship with God.

How about you? Is there anything that you're hanging onto that needs to be confronted with love and integrity together? Or something that has already been confronted and now needs to be forgiven and let go? Let's work on it together. What do you say?

Good News

As seen in the Reader's Digest this month:

Folks who take regular naps lower their risk of dying from heart disease by 37%.

If that's not good news (and a good reason to take naps), I don't know what is.

Enjoy your weekend. :)