Reality

Reality is a big word, with a lot of weight. When someone makes an off-the-wall claim, they are often admonished with a response like "Get real!!!" or "In your dreams!!!". And don't even get me started on Reality TV!

But how does reality come about? How did the car you drive in, the house you live in, the blogging software and Internet I'm using right now appear?

It's all a good mix of dreaming (thinking beywond the current situation) and action (creating that new, desired outcome). So start creating your future now, by thinking beyond where you are. You can't accomplish it any other way.

Teaching

What makes a good teacher? I always thought the best quality of a teacher is patience, but no more.

Sure, you may need to be patient and be in the moment when guiding someone through something that you feel is obvious. But the audience still needs to learn, otherwise you aren't teaching.

So patience, yes, but also knowledge. Passion. Confidence (in the material).

Perspective

Today I was digging through storage, searching for my school diploma for an employment background check. As I did so, I came across my college yearbook.

I opened it to my picture and, after laughing so hard I was brought to tears (can't believe I went out of the house looking like THAT even once, let alone on a regular basis!), I thought: "What would I say to the young me today?"

So, here's some advice for 21 year-old John Grieco:

• Treat everyone with respect.


• Make time for your friends. Some of them will be gone before you know it or before you're ready for it.


• Laugh. A lot. Don't worry if others think you're crazy, but do try to convince them to join in.


• Sometime in 1995, you'll see a gorgeous lock of hair behind some boxes stacked on a hand truck, trying to open a door. Make sure you help her. Give her your busines card too.


• Relax. Enjoy the journey. Becuase no matter what you do things always work out.

Worthiness

It says here that next year Tiger Woods will become the first athlete to have over $1 billion in earnings (winnings). How did he do it?

Sure, he practiced a lot, I imagine. And he undoubtedly has gifted genetics. But how does someone become 10X, 100X, 1000X better than someone else? He has two arms, two legs, two eyes just like everyone else.

So it must be something else, right? Something you and I can't see. Attitude. Mental toughness.

Give

Have you ever noticed that if you try to "give till it hurts" you never succeed? That's because giving feels good!

There are several psychological and genetic reasons for this:

• When you're giving, you have taken your mind off yourself. You have 'gotten out of your own way', allowing yourself to flourish.


• In-grained survival mechanisms. You know you are making the species better by giving, and that enhances everyone's likelihood of success and survuval.


• Selfishness. Oftentimes the giver beneifts directly, through learning a lesson or interaction with someone they wouldn't have normally had an interaction with.
  

So, what can I do for you? Give me the chance to be a better person.

Fly

Today I opened my front door to a baby red-breasted robin and mother on my front porch. The youngster was learning to fly, mom nearby coaxing him.

I stood there, watching. I didn't want to open the front door anyway, and disturb a class in session. I watched as the baby figured out how to get over the railing and move along.

When class was over I got in my car and ran some errands. Shortly thereafter I returned home to see that the mother was still there, hopping about and eating breakfast (worms ), the young one nowhere in sight. So it occurr to me that I had just witnessed mom saying goodbye to her baby as he went about his life.

A necessary part of life, sometimes, this spreading your wings and flying. And also, the letting go by those you've left behind.

Optimism

MSN Health & Fitness displays an article by Marguerite Lamb called Act Like an Optimist, Improve Your Health. It's interesting in that it makes the (correct, I believe) distinction between optimism and happiness.

It also offers ways you can "train" optimism into your life: goal settng, persistence. etc. A useful and thoughtful article, check it out!

Ways I stay optimistic include: working out, appreciating what I have, laughing (finding something to laugh about), and sometimes just looking out the window at the scenery.