Do

I hear and I forget.

I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.
- Confucius

The thing about stressful situations is that it gives you a fantastic opportunity to be amazing. To practice what you preach. To give your inner character a moment in the spotlight. To be accepting, loving, and trusting of the universe.

Next

When Led Zeppelin happened it was like the second coming of Christ. Unbelievable. No one should try to come after them. They should just give up. Their fear should just stop them in their tracks.

But that didn't stop Van Halen. They gave it their own kitschy and talented flair and we fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

Then The Chili Peppers happened. What was that? An unprecedented style and talent. And no one could top them, they were unbelievably creative, unique, and irreplaceable.

Well, Radiohead came along.

If you think that it has been done before, don't let it paralyze you, don't let it get in your way. You may think that you have seen it all before-- hogwash. You add a unique flair that has never been experienced. You have something to add. Something to contribute. Something that may touch us like we thought we could never experience again. So do your thing, and do it with confidence and passion.

Surround

If you want to live your best life in a world where you are celebrated everyday, then make sure you surround yourself with people who are in synch with you. That support you in your pursuit of living your best life and who celebrate you. Spend less time with people who don't. Pretty simple.

Why

Why don't you...

- Compliment a stranger
- Allow a car to cut into your lane
- Mail a note/card to an out of town friend
- Buy a coffee for the next person in line at the coffee shop
- Smile at everyone you make eye contact with
- Introduce someone to someone they should know
- Tell your loved ones that you love them

And why don't we ... declare today a Random Act of Kindness day.

Would

I'd dare to make more mistakes next time.
I'd relax, I would limber up.
I would be sillier than I have been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances.
I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers.
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I'd have fewer imaginary ones.

You see, I'm one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day after day. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had it to do over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I'd try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I've been one of those people who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat and a parachute.

If I had to do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.
If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances.
I would ride more merry-go-rounds.
I would pick more daisies.

-Nadine Stair, 85 years old, when asked what she would do if she had her life to live over again.

Spherical

Live spherically, in many directions. Childish innocence is the most important thing. Never lose your childish enthusiasm and things will come your way.

-Frederico Fellini

Universe

You must always remember that the universe works in accordance with divine timing, for your highest good and the highest good of others. It has always operated this way and it always will. Therefore, every single thing that happens to you, whether it is perceived as being good (something that you agree with) or bad (something that you are not jiving with), should be celebrated, as it is intended to bring you to exactly where you are supposed to be.

So join me in giving the universe props for keeping us from the people we are not supposed to be with, the jobs that aren't in agreement with our path, the trips we aren't supposed to take, the opportunities we aren't supposed to have, etc. etc.

Thanks universe! I really appreciate it.

You

People will love you, people will hate you, and none of it will have anything to do with you.
- Abraham Hicks

Within

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Neurons

Because human beings remember with neurons (the cells of nerve tissue), we are disposed to see more of what we have already seen, hear what we have heard most often, think just what we have always thought.

It is estimated that the human brain has about 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses. Each one of our neurons may be connected to hundreds of other brain cells by as many as 10,000 synapses. The average person thinks between 12,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day, most of which we are not even conscious of.

Every thought we think is used by the same network of brain cells and synapses—every single time. Every thought attracts more similar thoughts because neural electrical branches (aka pathways) are capable of growing secondary branches leading to similar thoughts. But you have some control over these trained nuerons, simply replace your negative thoughts with positive ones.

That is what it means to retrain your neurons, by choosing to feel good.

Genius

The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.

-Bruce Feirstein

Rest in peace Mr. Alexander McQueen.

Articulation

My nephew wrote a note to his dad, my younger brother (who is the epitome of John Cusak's character in High Fidelity).

While my nephew, Brayden, is feeling a sense of serious upset from being grounded at age 6, he realizes that this feeling should not get in the way of his other needs, like eating. God bless his sense of articulation and clarity. Very inspiring for me towards how I express my own thoughts and needs. Thank you Brayden.

Here's to all of us being very clear in what we want, yet acknowledging that which we are not into.

Secret

We dance round in a ring and suppose, while the secret sits in the middle and knows.

-Robert Frost

Influence

What and who you have around you influences your happiness.
- Isaac Mizrahi, Unzipped

Plans

If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.

Create

"I wake up in the morning and I consciously create my day the way I want it to happen. Now sometimes, because my mind is examining all the things that I need to get done, it takes me a little bit to settle down and get to the point of where I'm actually intentionally creating my day. But here's the thing: When I create my day and out of nowhere little things happen that are so unexplainable, I know that they are the process or the result of my creation. And the more I do that, the more I build a neural net in my brain that I accept that that's possible. (This) gives me the power and the incentive to do it the next day.
- Dr. Joe Dispenza

Patterns

I find myself revisiting some thought patterns that I have been trying to break away from. For the most part, I have been successful, but today I was reminded that it is easy to revert to old thought processes.

These patterns existed mostly in the way that I thought about certain situations. When things went awry, I used to turn all of my attention to them. I am not sure if it was out of a desire to correct the situation and make it all better, or if I was spending my energy resisting that it had even happened. It gave a lot of attention for those things to grow (the very things that were upsetting me). Lately, it has been easier for me to recognize and stop this negative spiral in its tracks, but I don't think it is realistic to think that I will never be bothered or affected by people or situations.

So in instances when I find myself slipping back to this old school thinking, I am better served to just acknowledge it, make an agreement with myself in terms of how much energy I should give it (uh, very little), and then move on.

A friend of mine put it simply to me today as I began to dwell, "Go ahead complain, take your Mulligan. And then move on."