Imagine a 747, sitting on a conveyor belt, as wide and long as a runway. The conveyor belt is designed to exactly match the speed of the wheels, moving in the opposite direction. Can the plane take off?

When I find myself holding back, finding excuses, or being too busy to try something new, its wrapped in some aspect of “I’m afraid!” Fear of failure, fear of people’s judging. How about you?

Chaos, irregular, and out of sync. Sounds like my life when I am stressed, overwhelmed, and not living in Quadrant II. How about you?

Scientists are rising an existential alarm. Politicians are ambivalent. What do you do? Leave, stay or wait and see?

Overcoming life’s happiness traps and achieving peace and purpose requires mental disciplines, according to Siddhartha.

Ruiz’s The First Agreement encourages us to THINK about our words before we say them. How we feel about ourselves is directly related to the integrity of our words.

For me, a Penny Funnel represents life and its core message: Maximize the time spent at the top – living the life we are meant to live - while making sure we are PREPARED when we get to the vortex.

Are you seeking a deeper meaning and purpose of your life? Then finding your Ikigai might be the ticket.

Poll Question – American Flyers? Possible answers:

A. Best Kevin Costner movie ever

B. Encourages ME to get my butt on a bike

C. Never heard of it

In American Flyers, Marcus (Kevin Costner), a world-class bicycle racer, encourages his estranged brother David to train with him for the upcoming “Hell of the West” multi-day bike race. On one of their many training rides, Marcus introduces David to “Eddy” – a relentless and terrifying bike-chasing dog! During their first encounter, David loses the sprint battle to Eddy and yells to Marcus…” Marcus, Eddy ate my shoe!” After pondering going back to retrieve the shoe, David comes to realize the foolhardiness of going back. Such wisdom! No going back…forever forward.

I admit to you, I continually must battle my tendency to GO BACK. To regret. If only… I wish I would’ve… More and more, I am saying to myself, “You Can’t Go Back” – a shortened version of CS Lewis quote, “You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

How about you? Are you looking in the rearview mirror? Considering going back and retrieving your “eaten shoe?” Regretting decisions you’ve made in the past – regrets that prevent you from thoroughly living in the present?

Per autonomous.ai, Extended periods of sitting have been related to health issues such as obesity and metabolic syndrome, a group of disorders characterized by high blood pressure, high blood sugar, extra body flab around the waist, and high cholesterol levels. (Bolding is mine) Ahhh ha! Now I have the reason for my current situation – high blood pressure and an extra 60 pounds. It’s NOT because of the nachos and beer consumed while couch potato-ing during an NFL-riddled Sunday or the chocolate-chip muffins grabbed as I head for the office. It’s because of my DESK!

Proper posture? Autonous.ai says to “visualize a string tugging up from the bottom of your waist and out the center of your head. When you're exercising great posture, you should experience that degree of elevation and alignment all of the time.” Do you feel such tugging?

This year, once again, I set New Year’s Resolutions, even though, per Forbes.com, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the beginning of February. I’ve wondered WHY? Have you? I found insight in the strangest of places – in reading NATO Science and Technology Organization – Science and Technology Trends. The Gartner Hype Cycle – familiar? TRIGGER – EXPECTATION – DISILLUSIONMENT – ENLIGHTENMENT – PRODUCTIVITY. Its genius in its simple elegance.

My question for you – For your truly significant, BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS (per Jim Collins in Built to Last) that have either failed or succeeded or are progressing, have they followed such a cycle?

Are you familiar with the movie Bruce Almighty? It’s a comedy about a TV news reporter who is facing a mid-life crisis and after unsuccessfully trying things his way he asks God to “send him a sign.” He is driving during his exchange with God. He passes a Road Construction sign with “Caution Ahead” – which he ignores. He’s passed by a truck full of warning “signs” – and I mean actual traffic signs. Stop, Dead End, Wrong Way, Yield, No Crossing, Do Not Enter. Signs that he, once again, ignores. The scene ends with Bruce challenging God, with the iconic – “Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter!” Why does he ignore the signs? Could it be because the answer is NOT what he wants the answer to be? What he expects?

Can you relate? Have you been there?

Picture it – it’s a cold, snowy morning commute. The road is a stream of brake lights as you and your fellow commuters inch along. You relent and call on your friend in waiting, “Hey Google, directions to the office.” Google calculates away and conveys the obvious, “Slower traffic than normal.” REALLY? And I do it – I give it all to Google. For the next 45 minutes I mindlessly do as I’m told – all awhile wondering if this route is any faster but relieved to be moving at least. (Not sure why, but I find a little solace in at least moving.) The silver lining – I saw sites I’d likely never have seen if my normal, highway-based route wasn’t a parking lot. It’s amazing to me the peace I felt in surrendering…surrendering to Google.

It’s amazing to me how such complicated technology is commoditized and taken for granted. How Google knows where you are and where you are going – even in the most remote areas. This amazement lasted until it didn’t. Let me tell you…

So, the question – would you feel Angry, Violated or Meh?  Ok – you may need some context to answer the question, so let’s go back.  Let’s go back.

Monday evening – I leave the office late on a cold, sub-zero January evening with the intent of healthy eating in mind – grilled salmon and asparagus.  I pull into the driveway – leaving room in front of the car to pull the gas grill out.  I click the lighter and no flame – too cold?  Out of butane?  My grilled salmon is out the window.  I angrily pull the grill back into the garage – right in the middle!  Not in its dedicated spot along a very cluttered wall – something that would take a full minute to complete!  I frustratedly close the garage door and go into the kitchen to whip up a quick breakfast-for-dinner dinner (asparagus and avocado scramble – not too back for me, right?…not mentioning the heaping handful of cheese…).

Tuesday morning – 5:15AM – my son is shouting at me, waking me from a deep sleep – “Dad, dad…our cars were broken into overnight.  They rummaged through the glove boxes…papers are strewn all over…”

Which takes us to the original question – if your car was broken into, would you feel Angry, Violated or Meh? 

I am not sure about you, but I battle with When to say yes, How to say no decisions EVERYDAY! Jennifer Rollins, in Psychology Today, says “For many people, it’s difficult to set boundaries or say no to others. This can be especially challenging for those who self-identify as people-pleasers or workaholics.” I hate to admit it, but I identify with both – people-pleaser and workaholic.

In Habit #3, of Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey introduces The Power of Independent Will. Covey says, “It is the ability to make decisions and choices and to act in accordance with them. It is the ability to act rather than to be acted upon, to proactively carry out the program we have developed…”

He goes on to say that “Empowerment comes from learning how to use this great endowment in the decisions we make every day.” (Bolding is mine)

The Oxford Dictionary defines Empowerment as:

The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights.

I like the Oxford definition – but I’d rather define Empowerment by The Patty Rule: I am an adult, and I can make my own decisions.

The questions for YOU – Are you adhering to The Patty Rule? Do you feel empowered, through your independent will, to “act rather than be acted upon”?

Habit #2, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, starts with a thought experiment – imagining that you are at YOUR funeral! There will be 4 speakers – one from your family, a friend, a co-worker, and someone from your church or service organization you are involved with. What would you like each to say about you and your life? What character would they have seen in you? What contributions and achievements do you want them to remember? What difference would you like to have made in their lives? (What would you have done differently? – my addition)

Covey contends that IF we participate seriously in this visualization experiment we will see our “deep, fundamental values.” “Each part of your life…can be examined in the context of the whole, of what really matters most to you. By keeping that end clearly in mind, you can make certain that whatever you do on any particular day does not violate the criteria you have defined as supremely important, and that each day of your life contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a while.

To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”

The question – What do YOU want said at YOUR funeral? HOW do You want to live YOUR life – so that it is real, observed, unquestioned by those around you?

Randy Pausch was a Carnegie Mellon professor who was unfortunately diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and given a ‘months to live’ diagnosis.  He delivered a very famous “Last Lecture” at Carnegie that has been viewed 20+ million times on YouTube.  While facing his own death, the lecture focused on LIVING – HOW to live and achieve your childhood dreams.   

He admitted that dying from cancer was not what he wanted.  He said we need to determine IF we are a “Tigger” or “Eeyore” (from Winnie the Pooh).  He decided he was a Tigger, and he will live with energy and have fun with the precious time he had left.

He encouraged US to think back to our childhood and remember OUR childhood dreams – at a time when life was easy, and everything was possible.  A time of fun and wonder.

He delivered the now famous card-playing piece of advice:

It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand

So, a few questions to ponder – How are you living your life – are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?   How are you playing the cards you’ve been dealt?   What would YOUR “Last Lecture” Include?

The Legend of Bagger Vance is a golf movie based on the 1995 book The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Novel of Golf and the Game of Life by Steven Pressfield. In the movie, Bagger Vance, played by Will Smith, offers to caddy for the local but lost golf hero Rannulph Junah, played by Matt Damon. Rannulph is “damaged” by war experiences and recedes into a life in the shadows, a life of drinking – recedes into not much of a life at all.

Rannulph is bullied into participating in a local golf exhibition against the 2 top professional golfers at the time – Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. During the preparation and the matches, Bagger provides a steady stream of sage advice – at the surface addressing Rannulph’s golf game; however, with a little introspection, he hits at the soul of the person.

The caddy/golfer relationships starts with Bagger saying, “I hear you lost your swing. I guess we got to go find it.” He follows it up with this gem (from quotes.net – bolding is from me):

Yep... Inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing... Somethin' we was born with... Somethin' that's ours and ours alone... Somethin' that can't be taught to ya or learned... Somethin' that got to be remembered... Over time the world can, rob us of that swing... It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas... Some folk even forget what their swing was like...

My question for you: Are you “living” your one true authentic swing or is it buried among the wouldas and couldas and shouldas?

Let’s set the stage – it’s a cold northern Minnesota November Friday evening. I go out to start the car and nothing – no rrrrnnn rrrrnnn (my attempt to capture the sound of a cold car trying to sluggishly start). Not even a click! Dead battery. My typical reaction – shoulder shrug and a commitment to take care of it TOMORROW. Saturday – after our guests have left, as dusk is setting in – I go out to tackle the car. We try jumping the battery with another car – nothing! Worry and dread set it. At 6PM in darkness, I reluctantly call AAA and was told they would be out in 30 minutes – hopefulness returns. At 11PM, after 5 hours and 3-4 calls to AAA, I cancel the service call and commit to re-starting the process Sunday morning first thing. At 7:30AM I am told the service vehicle would be there at 8:15AM – hopefulness returns, only to be dashed as the service vehicle doesn’t arrive. At 10:30, the tow truck arrives – they survey the situation, take out their 4000 amp jumpstarting gizmo – the car turns over and is running perfectly. The tow truck was there no more than 5 minutes. 5 minutes! For that, I impacted 2 days and had 2 fitful sleeps. Uggh!

Truth-be-told, I am a lifelong procrastinator. I am comfortable twisting Aaron Burr’s sage advice: “Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done.” Unfortunately, the procrastination often comes with worry and dread. My mind spinning a simple issue into something catastrophic – like letting the 5-minute jumpstart affect 2 night’s sleep!

David Allen, in Getting Things Done, has offered the best advice for me when faced with procrastination: - the 2-minute rule. “If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now.”