April 2007 - Highs & Lows

Lows

The VT Loss – as president of the UM San Diego Alumni Club, I attended a local memorial service on behalf of those fallen at VT to show my support towards our alumni community. At the event, most of the speakers (some who were VT alumni) had tears in their eyes and had difficulty speaking. It was a heartfelt ceremony and a shocking tragedy. I believe I learned recently that 25% of the US population suffers from some sort of mental illness.

Negligence – being a non-meater is a piece of cake. My issue this past week was lacking the discipline to incorporate eating enough food while managing professional pursuits. Moving forward, I will shop for food more often and eat more food daily when I am “overwhelmed” with networking opportunities.

Highs

Academic – I’ve read more books within four months than I have over a period of a few years and will return to a few title and study them. While no additional degree is currently sought, I am learning a lot lately about health and wellness, success and motivation, and love & relationships – by reading, listen to educational CDs, and speaking with friends and strangers about different ways to view love, life, and work.

Personal – Each day I fall more and more in love with San Diego. Next month, I celebrate my five-year anniversary of living here. While my college years were the best years of my life until graduation, the past five years have been even better. It feels like I’m on vacation. It feels like I have never had so much freedom.

Physical – My health is my new #1 priority and I have never been so immersed in improving my current condition. Weight training, yoga, and running; chiropractic and massage therapy; a unique nutritional strategy, and plenty of rest have recently become more important than my career. I intend to keep it this way.

Professional – My career is my #3 priority knocked down from #1 since graduating in 2000. I am focusing on the best marketing opportunities that come in, building relationships with chiropractors and massage therapists and bartering my services for theirs, building upon my speaking career, and preparing for my next book project. At my first National Speakers Association San Diego chapter meeting, I was encouraged to move forward and build a program based on health and wellness (#1 priority) and incorporate music (#1 passion). The moment I mentioned that I play piano, sing, and write songs, my competitive advantage was born. I will be remembered as “The Speaker Who San That Song.”

Social – I’ve been expressing “I Love You” to my mother and sister since February, have been continuing to say it to my step-dad since ’04, and am preparing to hit my Dad and brother next. I’ve never been as filled with thoughts of love as I have these past few months. Friendship-wise, I have a nice group of good friends in San Diego, continue to meet new people, and my new #2 priority is love. I’ve changed social strategies and I’m now in search of a long-term serious relationship (LTSR) and am open to the possibilities beyond that. I am in search of excellence and no longer interested in fruitless short-term associations.

Priorities vs. Commitments

Priority = Commitment + Action

Priorities vs. Commitments. According to Merriam-Webster, "a priority entails something that is "superior in rank" or "a preferential rating, especially one that allocates rights to goods and services usually in limited supply." It also states that a commitment is "an obligation; a pledge to do something in the future."

Can something be a priority without having a commitment? For example, can one's health really be a priority if they don't have a commitment towards maintaining or improving it? Can a company prioritize on improving employee morale without the commitment towards doing something about it? When does an issue or task lose priority-status: after one week? three months? one year? Does a priority gain a commitment once action has been taken? Does a priority lose its commitment the moment action ceases? Finally, are good intentions enough in maintaining the perceived commitment? Am I reading into that too closely thereby making you read into this?

Bad Weather vs. Bad Attitudes

There is no bad weather, only bad attitudes about the weather. Today, it's 60 degrees and cloudy in "sunny, San Diego" and there's no where else I'd rather be.

When I recall my attitude during the NYC winter of 2001, I delight myself with the fantasy of returning to that point in my life as the smarter, healthier, and more positive person that I am today. The knowledge and awareness that I have combined with the tools I currently use would have prevented any single thought of gloom at the time. Implementing this choice over the alternative choices regarding my perceptions allows me to easily "look on the bright side" of life even when it's cloudy.

It wasn't always so dark for me. I enjoyed the cold weather when I was actively making a contribution to my community, building the foundation of my business, leading my peers and gaining valuable experience, earning a wild income, and ultimately making the right paths for my clients. Literally.

Fundamental Paradigms

Motivation is important, but it's the personal application of valuable information that will lead us towards experiencing progress.

Freedom of choice allows us the opportunity to take one of many paths: the right or wrong path, the positive, neutral, or negative path, or the Path train from Hoboken to NYC or vice versa. So, ask yourself, "Where would I like to go today?"

Understanding, acceptance and forgiveness will most likely be three of several actions that are suggested when dealing with people: who are different from you in character, who do things differently than you, or who have different preferences, values, or beliefs than you.

Fear and love are known to many as the basis of our emotions. Each underlying feeling is based on either fear, which I learned long ago relates to those things we hate which is often due to misunderstanding; or love, which I've learned recently, if implemented consistently, leads to better decisions and makes life and work more enjoyable and productive, respectively.