The Little Things

This week we were blessed to welcome our new son "Matteo" into the world. At just over 7lbs at birth and now a little lighter than that, he has reminded me about the importance of the "little things" in life. When it comes right down to it, most of the important things in life are the little things. Yes your wedding day, the birth of a child, the big promotion, can all be major days in your life and provide lots of great memories. But the quality of your life isn't determined so much by those few great "big" moments, as much as it is by the accumulation of all of the amazing little ones.

The same is also true in the business world. While the major decisions you make are important, the success you have will be determined more by the multitude of small actions - the little things - that you do each day, each week, and each month, that accumulate to shape your destiny.

This is a critical concept to understand because it can be easy to miss. Many of us fall into the trap of focusing so hard on the few milestone moments in our lives that we gloss over the multitude of little moments and small decisions we make where the difference is really made.

So this week I encourage you to become more aware of the many wonderful little things in your life and appreciate them. I also want you to take a look at how you manage your days to see how you are using those little things you do each day. Are you executing them at 100%? Are you giving them the attention they require? If not, start. This is where success is gained or lost.

Partnership had Power

I'm a solo-preneur. I work alone. My 'business' is a one-man operation and I am rarely afforded the luxury of having someone else to talk to, bounce ideas off of and encourage me to push myself.

This has advantages and disadvantages. Certainly it's nice to be able to set my own schedule, make my own decisions, and otherwise be my own boss. The downside is that it can get lonely all alone and without someone to push us, challenge us and critique us, it can be very easy to get settled in our ways and cease to grow and improve.

That's why this year, I have taken an active decision to partner with people, both in and outside of, my industry, in order to help me grow, change and improve. I'm working in a master-mind group with other speakers and though leaders to share ideas, bounce ideas off each other and hone my skills.

I'm working with a group of other speakers/authors on a joint-venture project so that we can mutually promote each others' ideas, products and services to each others' clients and thus spread our reach beyond our personal sphere of influence.

Finally, I'm also working with a mentor who is where I want to be, to help guide my actions in order to achieve the success that I'm seeking.

Today I want to ask you, what are you doing to partner with others to raise your level of success? Are you employing the wisdom, experience and contacts of others to help you grow and improve? If you're not, I encourage you to take that step. Seek out other like-minded people and start a master-mind group. A group of people who are all interested in self-improvement and professional development. They might be from the same field, but they need not be. All that matters is that they are all interested in getting better and that they are willing to invest time and energy to achieve those results.

Call a few people who you think would make good mastermind group partners and schedule a meeting. You can meet once a month, once a week or a few times a year. What's important is that everyone be invested in improving, both themselves and the other members. You will find you can help each other and collectively you will achieve much more than you could have alone.

Good luck! And keep me posted. Let me know how it goes.

Sacrifice and Discipline

Sacrifice and discipline... two words that make many people want to run. For most people, there is nothing positive about sacrifice or discipline, after all, who wants to give anything up or deny themselves? As human beings we have an innate tendency to seek out pleasure and avoid pain, add to that the fact that we live in a culture that continually tells us we "deserve" everything from SUVs and Big Screen TV's to being thin and having beautiful skin. If you believe what you watch, you could easily be led to believe that the best thing you can do for yourself is satisfy every urge, desire or want you ever have. The fact is, when it comes to being successful in life, nothing could be further from the truth. Your success is dependent, at least in part, to your ability to postpone gratification, or in other words, your willingness to sacrifice and discipline yourself.

As children our parents, if they were good ones, disciplined us when we needed it. Discipline doesn't necessarily mean punishment (although that is what many people associate it with) it really just means that a parent does what they have to do to keep their child(ren) headed on the right path. Sacrifice works much the same way... parents sacrifice many things that they might 'want' to do, in order to achieve a greater good for their child(ren).

As adults, the responsibilities of our parents fall on us. We are called to sacrifice for, and discipline, ourselves. Unfortunately, many people fall into the trap of buying into the messages of pop culture telling them: "you deserve it", "reward yourself", "you're worth it". This entitled ideology destroys the potential of many people. I would suggest that the "entitlement ideology" that is so pervasive in North America is the root cause of the credit card crisis and maybe even the obesity epidemic.

When believe "I deserve it" even when they don't, they spend money they don't have. When people thing they should "reward themselves" even if they haven't done anything to warrant a reward, they eat more than they should. What successful people do that is different, is they think longer term. They realize that there is nothing particularly wrong with thinking "I deserve it" if you've worked really hard and actually do deserve it. They understand that rewarding yourself is fine, if you've done something worthy of being rewarded. But they also understand how to think LONG term. They are able to postpone short-term small gratification in order to get longer term larger gratification.

One of the best examples of this is a now famous Stanford study of children on short-term gratification that has come to be known as the "marshmallow study". Psychologists took a group of 4 year olds and offered them one marshmallow right now, or two marshmallow's if they waited until later. The two groups were then followed for many years...those who were able to postpone gratification and get two marshmallow's later, were found to be far more successful than those who ate one marshmallow right away (read more about the study: http://www.sybervision.com/Discipline/marshmallow.htm)

As someone who has now trained for, and run, several long distance running events, I've learned that it takes a great deal of sacrifice and discipline to train several days a week for months in order to get ready for an event. It means sacrificing some late nights out with friends and it means disciplining myself to get out of bed early in the morning on the weekend to get a run in. However, what I have also learned is that the long-term reward of finishing a marathon, is much more gratifying that the short-term reward of staying in bed or going out for drinks. The same applies to whatever your goals and dreams are. If the goal is big enough, any and all sacrifices will be worth it.

So this week I encourage you to look at whether there are some sacrifices you need to make in order to reach that next level of success. In what areas of your life do you need to be more disciplined?

Making Tough Decisions

This week I received a major surprise and unwittingly, I was thrust into one of those times in life when you reach a fork in the road and you're forced to make a decision that you know will affect your life from that moment forward - a moment of truth. Either things will continue down road A or you'll choose to go down road B and things will change; maybe for the better or maybe for the worse.

I don't deal with these situations particularly well. I've never been a great decision- maker, in fact I still struggle to decide what to order in a restaurant. Needless to say, when I'm faced with a major life decision, I really have a tough time and so this past week has caused me a great deal of angst.

I spent a day and a half mulling over whether or not to embark on the new road that was presented to me, not knowing where it would lead, or stick to the road I was heading on the day before. It was truly a difficult decision. After all, I'm all about seizing opportunities and taking risks. I believe that you miss out on a lot of life of you aren't willing to do that, but I also believe in the pursuing your goals with intense focus. Choosing the new road, would mean abandoning that focus for a new one.

In the end I realized that what appealed to me about the new opportunity was outweighed by what I would be giving up. What I already have was way too good to leave behind, and that's how I knew that saying "no" to the new opportunity was the right decision. When you're faced with a major decision, how do you cope? What tools and techniques do you employ to know for sure that you're making the best decision you can? Post your answers in the comments. I look forward to hearing from you.

Life is Beautiful

Life. What is it? Many people have defined it, many have tried to explain it and many have expressed their feelings about it but no one I've read or heard yet has been able to explain, express or define it's beauty. I won't be able to either, but today I want to remind you of the beauty, the wonder and the gift that is life. To do that, I want to share with you a perspective we can all appreciate, that of my two year old daughter, Emma.

Emma is a constant reminder to me that life is an awesome, beautiful and amazing thing. Because of her youth, she is amazed by nearly everything. We go for a walk and she sees an ant crawling on the ground, she stops, she examines it, she watched it walk along the pavement and she takes it all in. She is awestruck by this ant. To her, it is an amazing thing.

Later on our walk she will notice the sewer drain in the side of the road. She hears the sound of rushing water and she stops to listen and watch, to see what can be discovered from this interesting discovery.

A while later she'll ask to push her stroller with her baby doll in it. She'll walk along proudly pushing her baby and talking to her the whole length of the walk, describing what's happening, pointing things out to her (or at least that's what I assume she's doing since I can rarely make out more than a few words she says to her baby). Finally we come back to our driveway and Emma fights not to go inside. She loves to walk, to discover, to play and she doesn't want it to end. I bring her inside as she cries I try to re-assure her that we will go on other walks. There will be more discovering another day.

What Emma has taught me, and continues to teach me, is that life is amazing. There is so much to be discovered, appreciated and enjoyed. She doesn't need a good reason to laugh, she just does it. She doesn't need anything truly extraordinary (at least by adult standards) to be awestruck and amazed, she takes everything in with a true appreciation and amazement for the wonder that is life. And it's inspiring to watch.

Emma reminds me, and should remind us all, that life is a beautiful and amazing and it should be a valuable gift that we treasure and use to the best of our abilities. As adults it can be easy to forget this amongst the bills, work, responsibilities, stress, but we need to. We need to remember that life is short, and we shouldn't waste a minute of it complaining, worrying or doing anything but appreciating and using it.

Today may you be more open the wonder and beauty that is your life. Take a moment to breathe in the fresh morning air. Take a second to really SEE. Take in the blue sky, the sun and the rainbows. It's an amazing, beautiful and awe-inspiring world out there. Enjoy it!

Setting UNrealistic and UNachievable Goals

Conventional goal-setting wisdom advises, among other things, that you make your goals: achievable and realistic. I think that's crap. If goals were meant to be achievable and realistic most of the world's greatest achievements and inventions would never have happened. Effective goals should be UN-realistic and NOT QUITE Achievable. Why?

1. Because if you want to be motivated to achieve something, you need to be excited about it, and it's hard to get excited about something you know you can do in your sleep.

2. Goals are meant to help you realize your potential. If a goal isn't pushing you beyond your comfort zone, it's not doing it's job!

Am I suggesting that your goals should be completely impossible? No, there's not much point in that. For example, the goal to become the world's fastest marathoner is not mine - at 4'11" with a new heart and lungs it just plain ain't ever gonna happen. I'll also never be the biggest, fastest or strongest at anything. And that's ok with me.

As a motivational speaker, you might expect me to say that anyone can do anything, but I won't say that because truth be told, that just isn't true, and we all know it. But what is also true, is that a whole lot more is possible than most people think, and you will never achieve more than you think is possible. You just gotta' believe.

This week I challenge you to challenge yourself. When was the last time you really pushed yourself? When was the last time you explored your limits and tried to go beyond them? When was the last time you re-examined what you consider "impossible" and then proved yourself wrong? Part of living fully is daring to fail enough to find out what you're really capable of doing. So go out there this week and fail. Set some UN-realistic and UN-achievable goals. You might just do something incredible!
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Learn more about Mark's inspirational programs and his best-selling book "Live Life from the Heart: 52 Weeks to a Life of Passion and Purpose" go to: www.MarkBlackSpeaks.com

Achieve Your New Year's Resolutions

I want to share a very important piece of wisdom with you: You will never accomplish anything… if you never start. There is great power in beginning. I don’t know many people who don’t have at least a few goals for themselves unfortunately; the number of those people who have actually done anything about those goals is far too small. Oh sure we think about working on our goals, we dream about achieving those goals, but we rarely do anything about them.

As New Year's 2010 starts to fade from memory, this week's article is about helping you to set and achieve some resolutions that will really make a difference in your life in the next 11 1/2 months. Over the next few weeks we'll address a few of the key steps needed to make your resolutions a reality. The first one is simply this: Get Started!

How often have you said to yourself, “I really should …”? Whether it was travel, work less, begin an exercise program, write a book, we’ve all had goals and then for one reason or another failed to achieve them. Often the reason we fail is that we can’t complete the most important step; start.

It sounds simple but in fact sometimes starting is the hardest part. It’s easy to get so overwhelmed and intimidated by the scope of what needs to be done, that you just don’t know what to do first. Another problem people encounter is that they make the mistake of thinking that action follows motivation, but there’s no reason that the opposite won’t work just as well.

The problem with waiting to be motivated before you start is sometimes you just can’t get motivated. Instead of waiting for the inspiration to start working on your goals, just start. If you get things going, motivation will follow

Action Item

First make a list of a few major goals you have for your life. Now, figure out what would be the first three steps that you’d have to take to accomplish each of these goals and write them down underneath the goal. For example, if your goal is to write a book, set aside an hour each day, to write. Take the phone off the hook, turn the TV off, and write.

Don’t get tripped up by trying to figure out what the perfect first step is. Just write something down (you can always change it if you need to). In this situation, the key isn’t what you do, just that you do something.

Goal 1

a)

b)

c)

Goal 2

a)

b)

c)

Goal 3

a)

b)

c)

What you’ve just done is create your TO DO list for your next year. You should now have nine things that you can DO today to start making your resolutions come true. Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed by the whole project, just pick the first thing on the list and get started!

Holiday Craziness Begins - Keep Perspective

Well it's been far too long since my last blog entry. My apologies. It's been a busy November, but that's no excuse. I started the month with a great trip to one of the premier student leadership conferences in the world, the Ontario Student Leadership Conference. This year was the conference's 30th anniversary and brought in some pretty big names.

I had the chance to hear and meet Craig Keilburger of Free the Children (www.freethechildren.com). Then we heard from Dr. Samantha Nutt Executive Director of WarChild (www.warchild.ca) an organization that works to provide humanitarian assistance to children of war affected areas around the world. Both are great organizations that are making a difference. Check them out and lend your support. Both speakers were passionate, empowering and enlightening. Although I was at the conference to speak, I gained much, much more by listening to the other speakers there!

This entry I wanted to remind you on this "Black Friday" in the US (The biggest shopping day of the year) to maintain perspective during the hectic schedule of the holiday season. At this time of the year we are bombarded, even more than usual, with commercialism. The ads for the newest and greatest toys and gadgets are constant. We are tempted continuously to believe that we just had the perfect whatever, we'll be happier. Have you noticed how often the ads at Christmas talk about buying yourself a little something while you're shopping? What used to be at least a process about thinking of others has become as much about ourselves as anything else.

So this holiday season try to filter out some of the advertising, take a deep breath, and remember what really counts. Don't get too wrapped up (pardon the pun) in the gifts and stress but instead focus on what matters, family and friends and time together.

Be thankful for all that you have and appreciate it. And, if the spirit moves you, consider forgoing a few presents in order to help those less fortunate instead. Last year my wife and I decided to skip presents to each other and instead sponsor a child in Africa for a year. It was a great decision that we haven't regretted for a moment. Whatever we'd have gotten each other would probably be at the back of the closet by now or forgotten, instead we have the picture of our sponsored child on the fridge and know that our small contribution is making his life at least a little bit easier. A great feeling.

So don't let yourself get stressed, frazzled and irritated this year. Relax, take in the beautiful spirit that most people are in most of the time during this special time of year. And remember what this time is really supposed to be about. There is nothing wrong with giving and receiving gifts, it's a wonderful part of our holiday tradition, but let's not let it because the WHOLE tradition.

Where are you headed?

I've been watching the v-log of a friend and colleague of mine Stu Saunders (www.ylcc.com) the last few days. Stu is both a friend and a mentor as he has been doing what I do for more than twenty years, and he's great at it. He loves what he does and more importantly, he loves the people he works with and for.

In addition to being a friend and colleague, Stu provides me with a vision of where I want, in part, my career to be. I can look at where he is, what he's done, what he's accomplished, and see in part what I where I want to be, what I want to do and what I want to accomplish. Having that vision clearly defined in my mind is a major step toward realizing it.

Do YOU know where you want to go? Do you have a clear vision for what you want your life, your career, your family to look like in 1, 5, 10 years from now? If you don't, let today be the day you start. Having a clear vision for where you want to go is a critical part of ensuring that your life goes in the direction you want it to. Of course there are no guarantees, and you'll likely hit roadblocks and detours, but you stand a much greater chance of achieving what you want to if you have a clear plan.

Map out your life. Articulate where you'd like to see your career, your relationships, your finances and your spiritual life to be. Not only will these descriptions provide inspiration, they will also give you great clues as to what steps you need to take to realize those visions. Once you figure out what those first steps are, do the next most important thing... take the first one.

Make today a great day!

Sometimes you just have to laugh...

Yesterday I had what was probably one of the funniest embarrassing moments of my career as a speaker. While it makes me look rather stupid, I thought it was worth sharing with you anyway...

On Saturday I spoke to the Atlantic Fabricare Association (an association of dry cleaners). The event went well and I happily accepted their cheque after the event, put it in my pocket and went home.

My wife and baby went with me on the trip and we didn't arrive back home until late that night. So when we got home I was tired and wanted to get to bed, so I threw my pants on the floor and went to sleep.

The next evening I realized that I hadn't cashed the cheque yet. I made a mental note to put the cheque in my wallet so I could bring it to the bank in the morning. That night as my head hit the pillow I remembered that I still hadn't put the cheque in my wallet. So I got up and went to get it out of my suit pants, but the pants weren't on the floor anymore. My wife has a habit of picking up after me (I know I should pick up after myself:) so I went to look in the closet assuming she'd hung them up for me, but they weren't there...

After much searching, I found the pants in the basement... on a drying rack... wet... that's right, my wife had WASHED my dry-clean only suit pants. But wait, it get's better... the cheque was still in the pocket! It was a lump of wet, balled up paper.

So I fished out this lump of wet paper from the pocket of the pants and at 11:00 at night tried to unfold it and piece it back together. Amazingly, despite the fact that it was in about a dozen pieces, I was able to re-assemble the cheque. I taped it together but the teller at the bank, looking at this mess of what used to be a cheque, and politely told me she couldn't cash it.

I was left now with the unenviable task of calling my client, a dry cleaner, to ask him if he could cut me another cheque because why again?... because my wife had washed my dry-clean only suit pants and their cheque in the process! How stupid did I feel? Very!!

Thankfully, the client is a wonderful guy. He laughed at what was obviously a ridiculous situation and I couldn't help but laugh with him

Sometimes life hands us situations that can be maddening and frustrating. We can take those situations and struggle against them, try to fight them, get angry with them and cry "no fair"! Or, we can roll with the punches, go with the flow and laugh at them as best we can. While the first option may seem more appealing initially, it's the second option that will keep your blood pressure down and help you to smile and enjoy life more. Take your pick!

Making Progress Means Putting One Foot in Front of the Other

I had a great meeting with a coaching client today. It was a great meeting for a few reasons. Firstly, I really like this client. Even though we've only met a few times, we made an instant connection with each other. Our personalities are similar and we just "get" each other I think. It's always nice to interact with someone when you feel like you're both on the same wave length.

The bigger reason why I loved today's meeting was that I really felt like I was able to help this particular client work through what was holding her back from taking some basic actions that could really get her going in the direction she wants to go in her life. There are few feelings better, from my point of view anyway, then feeling like you've truly helped someone.

What my client needed to do is actually what most of us need to do when we're trying to make a change or achieve a new goal. She had to take a step back from her challenge, assess everything that she was trying to accomplish, and then begin to break it down into manageable steps.

So often when we look at a major life change, it overwhelms us. Think about what it's like when you move. Have you ever had to move, looked at your house or apartment, and though, "how in the world am I ever going to get this all packed up?" I know I have. And yet, almost everyone has moved at least once in their lives. It happens. It CAN be done. The secret is to not tackle the whole issue at once because when you do that you feel like you don't know where to start. So instead, you break it down. Maybe you start with the kitchen. Then, if that's still too much, you tackle one drawer in the kitchen until it's all packed. Then you do the next one. Eventually, the whole house is in boxes.

The same principal applies to our goals. At first you may feel like a few small actions won't make a difference to attaining your objective. But if you don't start with small pieces you can get so overwhelmed you don't take action at all. So start small, and accomplish something. Even if it's a seemingly insignificant step. The confidence you gain from crossing off that first task, will fuel your desire for the next. Soon, you'll have accomplished a entire list of things that bring you closer to your goal and you'll be well on your way.

So take a small step. Do it today. You may be a year, or more, away from where you want to be right now, but by taking action today you'll be one day closer to achieving your goal.

Tired? It's in your head... or at least some of it is

I'm exhausted this morning. I had a semi-long run yesterday morning after a fairly late night on Saturday and then made the mistake that I make WAY too often, of not hitting the pillow early last night and now I'm paying for it. (Someday hopefully I'll learn:) ) But as I sit in Starbucks hoping the caffeine will soon kick in, I am reminded that a great portion of how we feel (tired/energetic, happy/sad, anxious/peaceful) is our decision. Granted, that decision isn't always an easy one to make and there are numerous factors that determine how able we are to choose the healthier option, but still, the decision is ultimately ours.

So even though I feel tired today, I've decided I'm going to let it make me feel exhausted, depressed or lethargic. I'm going to continue with my day as though I'm feeling great. What I've experiences in the past is that when we live this way (with the expectation that things are/will be great) they usually end up that way.

Please don't misread me here to think I'm suggesting you don't need to get sleep or take care of yourself because you can just think your way out of exhaustion, depression or anxiety. That's certainly not true. However, I AM saying that your mind is an INCREDIBLY powerful thing. More powerful than most of us give it credit for. So if you possess one of the most powerful tools in the world (your mind) than doesn't it make sense to make sure it's working FOR you and not AGAINST you?

So if you're tired today; wake up! Decide today is going to be a great day. Decide to be effective, upbeat and productive. Decide that you won't allow your feelings to determine your actions, but rather your thoughts. You can't always control how you feel, but you CAN always control what you think. And thoughts lead to feelings. So don't try to feel yourself out of fatigue or exhaustion, BEHAVE your way out of it. Then tonight, when it's 9:00 and you're tired but your favourite TV show is on and you feel the urge to stay up and watch it, or you see that last load of laundry and want to get it done before you go to bed, resist and get some sleep. Your body will thank you and best of all, your decision to be productive, happy and energetic tomorrow will be a much easier one to make:)

Have a great day!

Seven years have passed so quickly!

This week I'm spending some time in one of my favourite Canadian cities, Toronto. While I'm a maritime boy at heart and am happiest on the "right coast", one of my favourite places to visit is Toronto. I'm here this week to undergo my 7 year post-transplant assessment. Once a year I come back here to Toronto to be followed by the doctors who cared for me eight years ago when I was waiting for my transplant and who guided us through the transplant process. It is a time for ensuring my health, but it's also a time of thanksgiving and reflection for the last seven years of life that this process has given me.

I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Isn't that the sentence that people speak all the time? We all seem to be constantly amazed at how fast time goes by. And yet, I can't count the number of times I also hear people say, "someday I'm going to..." in reference to their goals and dreams. Somehow the irony escapes them. They recognize that time slips away too easily but always count on having more of it when needed. I hate to be a downer here, but someday, hopefully a long time from now, time will run out for all of us. That's why the biggest message of my presentations is "Live Today, Because Tomorrow isn't Promised to Anyone."

So as I enjoy the big city this week, it is also a time for reflection of how I've used the last seven years. It's been an amazing ride! I've had the chance to fall in love, get married and have a baby girl. I've been able to speak to tens of thousands of people, write a book and touch some hearts. I've crossed off at least half a dozen things on my "Bucket List". It's been a great time. And it motivates me to make the next seven years (if God choses to allow them to me) just as great.

Today I challenge you to evaluate where the time has gone and how you've used it. It need not be in grand gestures and amazing adventures (although those things are great), I just hope it's been used well. And if not, create a plan for yourself to ensure that from now on, it will be. Seven years goes by in an instant. Eighty years passes almost as quickly. So wake up, make a plan, and enjoy the ride!

Sick Baby... What Really Matters

I had to stay home with my 1 1/2yr old daughter Emma today. She was sick. I don't know if there is anything quite so sweet and yet so pitiful as a sick baby. She was not at all herself. Usually a ball of energy and smiles and totally independent, today she was very lethargic and cudly. She wanted her Daddy and blanket and didn't want to do much else. As hard as it was to watch her not feel well, it actually kind of nice to spend quiet time with her, just the two of us.

Today I learned something else about being a parent and was reminded about something else involved in being a human being. Being sick (whether with a minor illness like Emma's ear infection, or something major like cancer) has something to teach us about how to live life. Having a sick child is tough. Much easier if it's only a cold or something temporary, but it's still tough. Why? Because we hate to see our kids in pain, but also because we are left, for the most part, completely powerless. We can't make the illness go away (beyond taking them to the doctor and given them medications). All we can do is keep them company, comfort them and wait. I think that's a great lesson about what should really matter to us in life.

In the end what will really matter to you? When you lay on your death bed at 110, and you look back at your life, what will count to you most? Will it be the number of contracts you landed, the number of sales you made, the amount of money in your bank account or the size of your house? Will it matter what kind of car you drove, how far you climbed the corporate ladder or how many diplomas are on the wall? I doubt it. What will matter most to you will be how close you are to your family. How well did you raise your children? How many great memories do you have? What did you contribute to the world?

Of course we should do our utmost to be great (not just good) employees. Of course you should push yourself to be the best you can be and employ every gift and ability you have been given to make a difference in the lives of those around you. And of course you should exercise your intellect, study hard, achieve all that you can and also take time to ENJOY life. We just need to look at all of these things in proper perspective. Because while these things matter, they don't matter the MOST.

Today my baby girl reminded me how important she is and how much I need to be vigilant about being focused on her and my wife rather than my career. Today I was reminded where the true joy in life lies... in a crib across the hall:)

Take Time to Stop and Appreciate

A very special day is coming up for me. I think of it as my second birthday, in fact, in many ways, it's more important than my actual birthday; it's the anniversary of the day of my transplant. On Monday, it will be September 7th, 2009. On September 7th, 2002 I received a second chance at life because of a heart & double-lung transplant.

In the seven years that have passed since then, SO MUCH has happened. I've gotten married, had a baby girl, started a successful career, run 3 marathons, published a best-selling book and learned A LOT about myself. It's been an amazing ride, and I owe it all to the gift of a stranger.

As amazing as it is that I am even alive, as incredible and unbelievable as it is that I get to wake and breathe every day, I'm still guilty of slipping into an attitude of apathy from time to time. I'm still not perfect at appreciating all of the amazing gifts of everyday life as I once did, and wish I still did. A great song written by a Canadian artist is called "Ordinary Miracles" and talks about all of those everyday occurrences that ,when we really think about it, are absolutely incredible, but because they happen everyday, we take them for granted.

On Monday I will once again celebrate the very special gift that I was given and renew my commitment to use that gift as well as I can. But tomorrow, on Sunday, I'll take time to commemorate a different occasion, the death of my donor. It's actually this day that makes me appreciate even more what I have been given. Because on tomorrow evening, it will be a different anniversary for that family. The will remember the sacrifice they made and the decision to donate their loved ones organs and tissues to strangers.

So as you relax on this long weekend, whether you feel happy or sad, are satisfied with life, or you're dealing with one of life's difficult patches, take some time to stop and appreciate what you have. Not so much the material things, although a roof over your head and food to eat shouldn't be taken for granted either (many people don't even have that), but the important things like family, friends, fulfilling employment. Take the time to appreciate a beautiful sunset, a chirping bird, the smile of your child.

A life well lived is a life properly appreciated. Happiness doesn't come from what happens to you, but how well you able to focus on the beauty of life. So go for a walk in the park or spend some time with your children and start appreciating beauty.