Motivational – Page 43

Dream Big … Then Dream Bigger

January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Those of you who read my posts regularly know we’d planned to go to an RV show this past weekend. It was a safe outing, because I’m not in any position to buy an RV at the moment. But the day is coming, and we’re beginning to look around to see what’s out there.

A friend asked why we’re shopping if we’re not ready to buy. I told him it’s only called shopping if you can afford to buy something. When your bank account is a little shy, that’s called dream-building. But I think it’s an important part of setting goals, because unless you have a reason to accomplish those goals, why bother? Having a tangible reward at the end makes it worthwhile.

As we walked through row after row of everything from small trailers to luxury motor coaches, my wife asked why I was checking out the travel trailers when we’re after something with a driver’s seat. And the reason is simple – in looking through some of those other models, you may find one or two features that you never knew about and, now that you’ve seen it, you can’t live without it.

Isn’t that the way it goes? In a previous life, I was a car salesman. One of the first lessons I learned was to find out about my customer’s budget before I showed them something fully loaded because, once they’ve seen that, they’ll never be satisfied with anything less. And that’s okay, if their budget can stretch like a bungee cord. But more often than not, it just didn’t work out.

But when you’re dream-building, you shouldn’t constrain yourself to a specific budget. Sure, reality tells you where to draw the line, but if you’re not stretching things a little, you’re not trying hard enough. The purpose of dream-building is to let your imagination roam, and then once that dream is crystal clear and you commit to it, your brain will figure out how to make it happen.

Still, as we walked through the show, I was reminded of the time my youngest daughter was sifting through a toy catalog before Christmas, pen in hand. My dad laughed and said, “You must not know what you want if you need a catalog to make your list.” She shrugged and replied, “I’m not making a list – I’m crossing off everything I don’t want.” Now, that’s what I call dream-building!

Whether your dream is a new car, a tropical vacation, or a bigger home, you have to get out there and see what’s available. Some of that you can do from the comfort of your own home. Turn on the TV and check out some of the travel shows. Pick up a magazine. Go to the library and check out some books. There are all kinds of ways to feed your imagination.

And that’s important, because it’s our imagination that allows us to visualize something beyond our current reality. It’s what led the Wright brothers to invent the airplane. It’s what allowed a team of physicists to put a man on the moon. And it’s what allows ordinary people just like us to step beyond the constraints of life as we know it, and into the great beyond.

Most people don’t dream of an ordinary life. We all want something a little out of the ordinary. And that’s the way it should be, because it’s the desire for something better that drives us to be better. Whether that means practicing a musical instrument, learning a new skill, building (or rebuilding) a relationship, or starting a business, it’s that desire that gives us a reason to try.

It would be nice if we had the ability to just go out and achieve every one of our dreams tomorrow. To have enough talent, the right physique, the perfect skills, or enough money in the bank, would mean we could have just about anything we want. It would also mean we’d have nothing left to work toward. And that, my friends, would be a pretty sad existence.

Don’t just dream a little, dream big! Feed your imagination and let it soar. Envision something greater than you ever thought possible. If you start high, you can always come down a little. But if your dream begins with what you can do today, you can never expect anything more. So, aim high. You’re worth it.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Who’s Got Your Ear?

January 28, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary over the weekend – 39 years of building a life and raising a family together. I’d love to say it’s all been awesome, but there’s a reason we focus on the end result instead of all the twists and turns along the way. And in our case, the end result has been more than worth everything it took to get here.

Except we haven’t reached the end yet. I like to think we’re just over halfway there. Because every day will bring new challenges and new accomplishments. Some of those days will be better than others, and some will be downright heartbreaking. But without those challenges, the successes would hardly be worth celebrating. They’d just be another day.

Marriage is like a lot of things in life. It begins with a dream, something we want enough to work for it. We dress up a bit, break out our best manners, show a little extra affection, and laugh at jokes that really aren’t that funny. We overlook flaws. We give up some of our free time. And we do it all without hesitation, because that’s how we find out if this is something we really want.

Then, there comes a point where we commit. We’re no longer just going out and having a good time – now we’re building a relationship, seeing just how far it will go. The good times get better, but we occasionally have to work through some disagreements. Things that would have sent us packing in the early days, but now we’re in too deep to just give up.

Finally, we’re ready to make the ultimate commitment. Till death do us part. That’s when all those friends who were so happy to hang out with the two of you are full of advice, and it’s not always positive. They think they’re doing you a favor. Your eyes are obviously so clouded with fairy dust, you can no longer think for yourself. Been there?

Marriage is one of a few things in life well-intended family and friends will try to talk you out of. Tell people you’re about to quit your job and move to another state, and you’ll get some feedback. Tell them you’re starting a business, and they’ll give you all the reasons it’ll never work. Tell them you’re thinking about joining the clergy and they may do a full-blown intervention.

And make no mistake – these people truly think they have your best interests at heart. They’ve been there. Or they have a friend who’s been there. Or they read a book by somebody whose cousin has a friend whose neighbor has been there. And, in every case, it ended in disaster. Otherwise, they’d just sit there quietly and pat you on the back.

If you wanted advice on advancing to the upper management of your company, would you ask someone who’s been steadily climbing the corporate ladder, or the office gossip who gets their jollies watching somebody else take a fall? Would you listen to the person who’s doing what you hope to do, or the one who can only offer a laundry list of reasons you shouldn’t?

When I wanted to learn to drive, I went to somebody who not only knew how, but could actually do it without causing an accident. When I wanted advice on relationships, I talked to my mom. When I wanted to learn how to be a comedian, I talked to touring headliners. And, here’s the thing – those people are all willing to offer their advice as well. But sometimes you have to ask.

Successful people are just as eager to share their insight as those who tried and failed, or who never tried in the first place. They may not be as loud, and they may not be as insistent. They don’t have to be. They’re too busy working on their own goals to waste time on somebody who isn’t willing to listen and learn. But if follow their advice, they can save you a lot of heartache.

A lot of people tried to talk me out of getting married. Okay, in all honesty, a lot more tried to talk my wife out of it. I’m glad we didn’t listen to them. I’d like to think my daughters and grandchildren feel the same. It hasn’t all been pretty. But even the Mona Lisa started with a smear of dark paint.

No matter what it is you hope to accomplish, learn from those who have done it instead of those who haven’t. Nobody who’s ever succeeded at anything worthwhile will try to convince you it’s not worth the effort. They know the challenges you’ll face, and they know how to help you through them. But most of all, they know the reward is worth the effort. And deep down inside, so do you.

That’s it for now. Have an awesome day!

Your ‘Wagon’ is Right Where You Parked It

January 25, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope your day is starting off just right.

When I saw my surgeon a couple of weeks ago, he told me I can start exercising again. By that, I think he meant something other than lifting food to my mouth. I’ve always done pretty well with that. He told me to ease back into it, which is no problem at all. I’ve learned over the years that exercise isn’t something you just jump right into. Unless you like pain.

I went a couple of times, and already my lower back is making me pay for it. I didn’t do anything intense, but apparently what I did do was a little too much. You see, extra weight and back problems never play nicely together. You have to lose the weight to make your back feel better, but exercise kills your back. It’s the proverbial Catch-22.

So, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that, at least initially, I have to do exercises where my back is fully supported. And I’m pretty sure my recliner isn’t part of the solution. That means I have to find a way to sit comfortably while I make myself sweat. Maybe a chaise lounge chair on a sunny beach? It could work!

As luck would have it, they just built a brand-new YMCA a half-mile from home, so I went in the other night for a tour. It’s pretty impressive. Two gymnasiums, two pools (one for warm-water therapy), an overhead walking track, and a huge workout room with every type of exercise apparatus known to man. Some of them are even motorized. Now, that’s my kind of exercise!

But what struck me the most was how many people were there. The place was packed. There wasn’t a treadmill to be found, and I know those basketball teams had a lot more than five players on the court. My tour guide told me it’s like that in the early evening. She also said it’s a new facility, so everyone wants to be there. For now.

Finally, I asked her if she thinks a lot of that is what we call the “resolution crowd.” You know, people who make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, and then hit the gym every day through January and the first week or two of February. After that, you never see most of them again. Kinda like the crowd in church on Easter Sunday. She replied, “Oh, yeah!”

Granted, nobody wants to go to the gym when it’s so packed you can’t move. But, on the other hand, I’d really like to think the majority of those people will stick with it. I used to go into the gym the first week of January, see all the new faces, and say a prayer that they’d keep coming. Maybe all that praying is why they stopped. Guess I should have kept it to myself.

And the important thing is, they made the effort. I have to believe people who start working toward a goal and fall off the wagon are at least able to remember why they started it in the first place, then dust themselves off and climb back on. I say that because I’m one of them. I’m great at starting projects. It’s just the follow-through that gives me trouble.

Still, with very few exceptions, we can always start again. We can get back to the gym or get back to that healthy diet. We can finish painting the basement or clean out the garage. We can write that book, build that business, or climb that mountain. Whatever it was we started and stopped (or never quite started in the first place), we can go back and finish it.

As long as we’re breathing, we’re never completely out of the game. Granted, there are things I can’t do at this age and physical condition that I wish I could do. But I can improve my physical condition to make some of them a little more possible. I may never run a marathon, but maybe someday I can walk one. Sometimes we have to tweak our goals, but we should never just let them die.

Exercise is like a lot of other things in life. When you haven’t been doing it for a long time, you need to ease back into it and find your sweet spot. Too much too fast can cause some serious problems. And, like exercise, you can ease your way back into anything else you’ve started and let slide. The goal is still there, and the path to success hasn’t really changed. You just need to get back on track.

You never truly fail until you stop trying. And, as I’ve always said, better late than never. If there’s something you want, no matter how many times you’ve tried before, keep on trying. You’ll get there.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Feed Your Dreams to Help Them Grow

January 24, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.

We were talking yesterday about dreams and how, for too many of us, the ability to dream seems to fade as we grow older. I’m not sure if that’s because we’ve been kicked down a few times too many, or because we just don’t have much that excites us anymore. Either way, it’s something I hope never to experience. There’s just too much in life I still haven’t accomplished.

I’m the kind of person who can usually describe my dreams in pretty vivid detail. Not the kind I have while I’m asleep … those are usually gone by the time I get my first look at the clock. But in terms of goals and plans for the future, I have no problem with that. Those visions are crystal clear.

Still, we all need to feed our dreams from time to time. It’s not enough to see a motorhome drive down the road and say, “Someday!” I’m a proponent of putting up pictures where you’re sure to see them a few times a day, but pictures lack depth. Sometimes, you need to experience the real thing.

Well, as luck would have it, there’s an RV show in town this weekend and we’re headed over there for a little dream-building this Saturday. I doubt we’ll find the exact floorplan and options we want right there on the showroom floor, but that’s okay because the bank says I still have to wait a little longer before I get my own set of keys. But you know what? They’ll still let you look!

Now, I’ll admit a motorhome is a pretty lofty dream, at least for some people. That won’t stop me from owning one, but it’s a little more involved than buying a refrigerator or a new car. And I know there are people who wouldn’t even consider going to a show or a dealership until they have the money to close the deal. But that can take a long time. Dream-building makes it happen sooner.

A friend often tells the story of giving a presentation in Mexico to an audience that didn’t speak a word of English. As he was telling them to put a picture of their dream on the refrigerator, a woman in the back started jumping up and down and yelling in excitement. He asked the interpreter what she was saying, and he said, “She has a dream! She wants a refrigerator!”

There’s a certain humor in that, but also a certain level of humility. A refrigerator is usually no big deal, because very few of us have ever lived without one. Like too many other things, we generally take them for granted. As long as they’re working and keeping the food cold, we seldom give them a second thought. But for some people, that IS the dream.

The perceived extravagance of our dreams varies by our ability to attain them. Thirty years ago, I worked for a company that built world-class motor yachts. These boats were the very definition of opulence. The first boat I worked on, the captain was opening two boxes of double-stemmed Waterford crystal. The glassware in those two boxes cost $15,000. No special reason – just because.

Now, for people who can afford luxury like that, my dream of owning a motorhome is pretty frugal, especially since I’d have to drive it myself. And to the person living in a mansion, a mobile home isn’t all that impressive. But I remember a time when owning a double-wide was a dream that took us from one dealer to another, three years before we were actually able to buy one.

It’s all a matter of perspective. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. But you can bet the person who’s completely happy with their current circumstances won’t be doing much of anything to make things better. It all has to start with a vision, a dream of something that’s worthy of a little effort.

When we keep our dreams in focus, our brain starts working with a sense of purpose. Instead of accepting those dreams as a passing vision, it tries to make them materialize. And nothing feeds that energy better than putting yourself in the middle of your dream, right there in the driver’s seat. The deeper you immerse yourself into that version of reality, the more likely you are to achieve it.

Our brains think in pictures, and that’s why it’s so important to have pictures of dreams where we’ll see them several times a day. But sometimes, we need to step beyond the two-dimensional world and truly experience the sights, sounds, and smells associated with our dreams. That’s when they become real.

So, feed those dreams. They may seem far off at the moment, but you’re getting closer every day.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

You’re Never Too Old to Dream

January 23, 2019January 23, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

In 2017, 79-year-old Lucy Capers crossed the stage at the University of Maryland’s graduation to accept her diploma and degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Studies. Let me say that again. She was just shy of 80 years old with 13 great-grandchildren and was graduating with people more than 50 years younger. When asked why, she simply said, “I always had a desire to know things.”

I love these stories. It’s worth turning on the news, just on the off-chance something like this will come up. Maybe that’s partly because I’m only 18 years from that age myself. It’s nice to know people can and do still get out there and chase their dreams, even when most others their age would be happy to kick back and coast through the final ride.

My grandson and I have always enjoyed a day at the local theme park. I still enjoy the thrill of a good rollercoaster, especially the ones that defy gravity with loops, corkscrews, and inversions. And as I stand in line for those rides with people who aren’t old enough to buy their own ice cream, it’s heartwarming to see people older than I am in the same line.

Now, I can’t say my doctor would be all that happy about seeing me in that line. That’s okay. He’s too wimpy to ride these things anyway. But there seems to be a misconception that, once we reach a certain age, we’re supposed to start acting like old people.

I’ve always tried to instill a spirit of youth and hope in my daughters and grandchildren, and I’m sure most of you do as well. I always told them they could accomplish anything they set their mind to and encouraged them to embrace their dreams. And let me tell you, kids can dream! It’s hard sometimes not to bring them back to “reality”, but it’s so important that we don’t.

So, at what point in life do we decide dreams are to be reeled in and it’s time to face the real world? For me, it began in high school. I had grand visions of life as a rock star, complete with a waterfront mansion and my own personal yacht. That’s when Dad started coaching my dreams a little and suggested maybe I should come up with a more realistic plan. Okay, his exact words were “get your head out of the clouds and find a real job,” but you get the idea.

And he didn’t mean to be negative. I didn’t mean to be negative as I gave my daughter some career advice when, at the age of 17, she informed me that she was looking for something “in management.” There are, after all, certain steps we have to take if we want to climb a particular ladder. You may skip one or two rungs along the way, but you can’t just jump right to the top.

And, even though I had to dash her dreams for the moment and tell her that being “third key” at the vitamin store just isn’t all that impressive on an executive resume, she eventually climbed that ladder and moved to the top of her career field. Because, like her dad, she never stopped dreaming. Her sister is the same. I guess the nut really doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

What made a 79-year-old think she could go to college and get a degree? The same thing that makes a toddler think they can climb the shelves of the refrigerator to reach the marshmallows. It’s an inner desire, a fire that just won’t be extinguished, and a brain that never learned the meaning of “impossible.”

What are your dreams? More importantly, which of your dreams have you pushed to the side over the years? You know, they never really die. Like an abandoned puppy, they sit there just waiting for the right person to come along and enjoy them for what they are, and what they can become.

Several months ago, a Michigan man found out the rock he’d picked up and had been using as a doorstop for the past 30 years was actually a meteorite worth $100,000. Wonder how many people kicked that rock out of the way before he came along?

You’re never too old to dream. And you’re never too old to act on those dreams. Give up on that whole concept of acting your age and accepting whatever life throws your way. And stop leaving your dreams on the side of the road because you picked up too much extra baggage along the way and something had to go.

Life will deal you enough disappointments without adding any more of your own. And the best way to work through those disappointments is to keep those dreams alive. If you have kids, you’ve probably told them “you can do anything you set your mind to.” Well, maybe it’s time to say it again. Only this time, stand in front of the mirror when you do it.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

You’ve Practiced – Now Do It!

January 22, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

I was thinking about my grandson today, wondering how he’s holding up in boot camp. A lot of memories started to flood in, and among them was his penchant for rehearsing conversations that may or may not ever take place. Do you know anybody like that? We’ve all done it at one time or another. But this kid takes it to a level of commitment I’ve never seen.

And I guess it’s good to think through what you plan on saying, especially if it’s something that may not be well-received. Like when you’re telling the boss you want a raise, or letting your wife know you’d rather not eat last night’s “special” dinner again this century. Get that one wrong, and you may not want to eat anything else she cooks for a while. I’m just saying.

But there comes a point where we can rehearse things so much, we never really get around to the real thing. And, even if we do, odds are nobody else was there for rehearsal, so they don’t know how the conversation is supposed to go anyway. You say something, and they think you want them to respond with whatever comes to mind, not some carefully scripted dialogue only you know.

In his book Ten Powerful Phrases for Positive People, Rich Devos wrote “If you wait until you have all the knowledge and experience you think you need, you’ll never take a risk or achieve a goal.” My mom had another way of expressing that thought, but I won’t repeat it here. Her philosophy was don’t take up space in the outhouse if you’re just sitting there thinking about it.

When I was getting ready to begin my career in standup comedy, I read several books, watched a few live open mic shows, then wrote what I thought was the funniest five minutes of material in the history of show business. Then I set up a video camera in the basement and practiced. That alone should have deterred me from ever stepping onstage, but I never claimed to be a genius.

Still, there came that point where I had to turn off the camera, set aside my notes, and make a decision … do I call the club and get a spot on the show, or just sit here and dream about it? I made the call. Not only did I book myself in the next open mic show, I invited everybody I knew to come watch. I guess I figured there was no way I’d chicken out with that many witnesses.

That was the first of about 1500 shows for me and, after a while, I got pretty good at it. But it wasn’t until I stopped rehearsing every set word-for-word as I paced nervously outside the club that I finally learned to relax and enjoy it. And that’s when my audiences started to enjoy it as well. Sure, I missed a few lines and made some mistakes. But I was the only person in the room that even noticed.

There are things we need to rehearse, or learn to a certain degree of expertise, before we’re ready to share our newfound skill with the rest of the world. Flying a plane would be at the top of the list, along with wrestling alligators, performing a high-wire act, and defusing live bombs. Any one of those could really mess up your day if you aren’t up to the task.

But most other things in life are a bit more forgiving. Yet we still let the fear of being slightly imperfect keep us from taking the first step toward achieving our goals. As a teenage boy, I was hesitant to ask girls out. Not because they might not be interested in me, but because I was afraid of flubbing the words and ruining my one and only chance at happiness. Seriously???

And I see that scenario play out all the time. We know the things we need to do in order to achieve our goals, but we hold back waiting for the perfect opportunity, or the perfect conditions, or until we’ve rehearsed the perfect sales pitch. And, because nothing is ever perfect, we never even try.

Most times, the only thing standing in the way of our happiness is ourselves. We can achieve anything we want, but we have to first accept that the timing will never be just right, and we’ll have to work through some less than ideal conditions. From the back of the plane, the pilot’s expertise in navigating a thunderstorm is awesome. Only he knows how close we came to catastrophe.

It’s important to take time to learn new skills and practice what you’ve learned. But never let the fear of imperfection keep you from stepping into the ring. Any New Yorker will tell you the way to get to Carnegie Hall is practice, practice, practice. But none of that matters if you never take the stage. That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

What’s Your Super Power?

January 21, 2019January 21, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning! I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

For those of us in the US Midwest, it was a weekend of brutal weather. Our weather here wasn’t quite as bad as the forecasters had predicted, but it was still a mess. It started with a light drizzle most of the day Saturday, followed by ice, snow, and a 30-degree drop in temperature that froze everything in its path.

Yesterday morning, I woke up to the sound of a snowblower running outside. Our neighbor was out in single-digit temperatures clearing the sidewalk on our entire block. When he’d finished, he came back to clear our driveway, and up around the car. I didn’t even have time to make him a cup of hot cocoa before he was off to the next driveway.

When we first moved to Ohio, I remember asking my dad how he found the energy to shovel his own walks. Funny, he was the same age I am now, but back then that seemed a lot older. And, as it turns out, he never did have to shovel. His neighbor, a much younger man, came by with a snowblower each morning and did it for him.

So, when I bought my snowblower I decided to pay it forward. We had a couple of elderly ladies living next-door, and when I went out to plow my own walks and driveway, I always did theirs as well. And when we moved into this house, I did the same for my neighbors. When my grandson was old enough to run the snowblower, he carried on the tradition.

But this year, my grandson is in boot camp and my snowblower decided to take the winter off. I have no idea why it won’t start, but I’ve had it for 20 years with nothing more than a few minor repairs, so I can’t complain. Still, I’m not used to being on the receiving end of neighborly kindness. I’d rather be out there with them.

And, the thing is, none of us ever do these things hoping somebody will pay it back. I’m sure my neighbor was only thinking of the job at hand, and the fact that it would make somebody else’s day better – the same as I did when I was the one out there plowing. We do it because we have the ability and, for some of us, the tools to make the job a whole lot easier.

When I was a young sailor, I learned to work on cars out of necessity – the cars I owned were older and needed occasional repairs, and I couldn’t afford a mechanic. Of course, back then, cars were a lot easier to work on. I remember dropping the engine out of my VW Beetle on the side of the road for a quick repair. A little over an hour later, we were on our way.

In the process of making that repair, I found a way to replace the generator without dropping the engine, something the repair manuals said just couldn’t be done. A couple of months later, a man I worked with asked if I could help him change the generator in his Beetle. I had the job done in fifteen minutes. He tried to pay me, but I told him to just pay it forward.

Over the years, I worked on a lot of cars that didn’t belong to me, and I never accepted pay for doing it. Because I always knew it could be my wife or daughters needing that help someday, and I hoped somebody would be kind enough to help them. That’s the way this whole thing works. And even if it never comes back to you, hopefully the person you helped will help somebody else.

We all have talents, certain skills that allow us to do jobs others can’t quite figure out. Maybe we have the tools they need to get the job done. Maybe we have a truck that can haul a refrigerator or a garage where they can do their own work. And maybe our only gift is the ability to hold somebody’s hand and help them through tough times.

We all need a little help from time to time, and so does everyone around us. That’s not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of humanity. But we also have gifts of our own we can use to make somebody else’s day better. It’s our willingness to use those gifts that defines who we are.

When I can track down my neighbor, I’ll be sure to let him know just how much I appreciated his kindness. And next winter, maybe he’ll be the one to wake up to the sound of a neighbor clearing his walks. We do these things for one another, not out of a sense of obligation, but because we can. We do it because we care. And we do it because it just feels good.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

But the Label Said ‘Low Fat’!

January 18, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

What have you got planned for the weekend? I hope you’ll get out and do something really fun, or at least find some time to cuddle by the fire. Looks like that cuddling thing may be our best bet because, if the weatherman is right, we’re in for a brutal weekend. Snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures. Lovely.

For most of us, it also means a trip to the grocery store to re-stock all those healthy alternatives we’ve been consuming all year. Yeah, there may have been just a note of sarcasm in that. I think most of us go in with good intentions. Yet, when we get home, we can never seem to find all those good things we’d intended to pick up. The store must have been hiding them in the back.

I read an article yesterday that said eating healthier is the number one New Year’s resolution each year. And I read a couple of others that suggested exercising more and losing weight were at the top of the list. I guess it just depends who you ask. But it’s pretty evident that health and fitness weigh heavily (no pun intended) on our minds.

If that’s the case, why is obesity such a problem in this country? According to the Centers for Disease Control, an average of 39.8% of adults in the United States are obese. Not chubby, not overweight, but obese. And, the problem becomes more prevalent as we get older. So, not only are we big already, we’re getting bigger.

Ask your doctor about losing weight, and the first thing they’ll talk about is diet and exercise. If you’re looking for the silver bullet that’ll make the pounds magically disappear, that’s as good as it gets. Granted, some people opt for surgery, and in some cases that may be the appropriate treatment. But, regardless of how we lose weight, unless we change our habits, it’ll come right back.

And that all begins at the dinner table. Nutritionists suggest we spend most of our time in the grocery store on the outer perimeter of the store. That’s where you’ll find fresh produce, lean meats (and some not so lean meats), seafood, and dairy products. It’s also where you’ll find the bakery, so be careful. You might want to skip that section altogether.

But, aside from a few healthy products like beans and whole grains, the middle of the store is where you find all the junk that got us in this shape to begin with. Unless you get all your meals from a fast-food restaurant, in which case we need to have an entirely different conversation.

There are exceptions to every rule, and stores have learned to mix in some of the good stuff with all that other junk, because one of marketing’s best-known secrets is that if you can get a customer in front of a product, you have a better chance of selling it. If the sign over the aisle said “Junk food” we’d walk right on past. So, they mix in a couple of good things to get you on that aisle.

Be careful of deceptive packaging as well. Low-fat usually means extra sugar. Sugar-free means they’ve added a bunch of other stuff you don’t want. And don’t even get me started on terms such as “light”, “healthy”, or “reduced calorie.” Read the labels, and then compare them to the full-bodied stuff. You’ll probably find one is just about as bad as the other.

And here’s another suggestion – when you read the labels, look for words you can’t pronounce or that don’t look like anything that comes from a farm. If those words dominate the list of ingredients, you may want to pass. Also, ingredients are listed in order of magnitude – the first thing you see is the primary ingredient, usually flour or sugar. Something to keep in mind.

It’s no secret that obesity is a leading cause of health problems. If we want to improve our health, we need to maintain a healthy weight. But it doesn’t end there. To achieve optimal health, we have to give our body more of the nutrients it needs and a lot less of the rest. That all begins with the food we eat. Supplements help fill in the gaps, but a handful of vitamins and a Big Mac won’t cut it.

So, if you’ve resolved to lose some weight or improve your health, pay attention to what you’re bringing home from the store this weekend. Eating healthier isn’t hard and, contrary to what some will say, it’s no more expensive. It’s just a matter of making healthy choices. You already know what you need to do – just do it.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Think Happy, Be Happy

January 17, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Yesterday at work, I was asked to help a new teammate get some things set up on her computer and show her how to navigate some of the programs and collaboration sites we use. Having just come back from five weeks of convalescent leave, it was a good refresher for me as well. You know the old phrase – use it or lose it.

I was able to get her pointed in the right direction, but I have little doubt she walked away thinking, “He’s certainly no expert.” Okay, no argument here. But I remember the first few days on the job, feeling completely lost, and how grateful I was for any help at all. And as we begin using what we’ve learned, it’s easy to find those areas where we still need a little more help.

One of life’s greatest truths is that we never stop learning. Hopefully we’re learning something useful, but as long as our brain is accepting input, all of that input is stored away for future use. Not some of it, or even most of it … all of it. So, it’s important to be careful what goes in. If you seek knowledge from unreliable sources, that’s pretty much what you can expect in return.

As a technical writer, I had a sign over my desk – “Garbage in, gospel out.” It was a constant reminder that, to the person on the receiving end of my work, it was their primary source of truth. If I told them to torque a set of bolts down to 22 foot-pounds in a certain sequence, they did it without question. And, since I was writing aircraft maintenance manuals, there was a lot at stake.

The same is true when we’re talking to family, friends, and co-workers about pretty much anything. Everything they say goes in the ears, and right straight to the brain. There’s no filter and no fact-checker – just a straight path to the part of our brain that stores information for later recall. And, much like a computer, the brain will spit that information back out exactly as it went in.

Yet sometimes, the information we’re receiving may contradict something that’s already stored in the brain. Maybe we have an opinion of our own, or something we’ve experienced in the past suggests another reality. So, the brain has to sift through those thoughts and combine it all together. At that point, the best we can hope for is a plausible average.

And that’s okay, if your goal in life is to be average. But if you want to step it up a notch, you have to actively seek out information that raises the average. You need more of the good, and less of the bad. Keep doing that, and all that garbage starts getting pushed to the bottom. Then, when you need to tap into your bank of knowledge, your brain will pull the good stuff from the top.

And you can’t find that positive input in negative situations. There’s a reason a lot of companies will simply let an employee go when they resign, instead of letting them hang around another two weeks. Because misery loves company, and people are only too happy to share their “wisdom” with anybody who will listen. Before long, several others are questioning their own satisfaction.

But people love sharing their successes as well. Have you ever seen a woman wear an engagement ring at work for a week before anybody notices? Never. You’ll know as soon as she walks into the office, because she’ll be showing it off to everybody she knows. And, for good reason. That is definitely something to celebrate.

Hang around happy people, and after a while your brain starts to produce happy thoughts. Hang around successful people and you start thinking like a successful person. Sure, there will be some who question your motives or make a few unflattering assumptions regarding the color of your nose. But whose opinion counts the most? Theirs, or the person you’re hoping to emulate?

Fill your brain with positive thoughts. Read some inspirational books, listen to some motivational speakers, and spend a little more time with people who are achieving their dreams. That doesn’t mean you can’t hang around your old friends. But, if they’re not raising the average of positivity in your brain, spend more time with people who do.

You can’t plant weeds and expect to grow roses. And, even when you’ve planted the best seeds, you still have to nurture them on a regular basis if you want to produce something of beauty. The weeds will always be there, doing their level best to take over. It’s a constant struggle, but if you keep your focus on the good, sooner or later it’ll rise to the top. It always does.

That’s all for now. Be safe and have an awesome day!

Awesome Dream! What’s Your Plan?

January 16, 2019January 16, 2019 by Dave Glardon, posted in Uncategorized

Good morning, and happy Hump Day! I hope your day is off to a great start.

The week is almost half over. Depending on your perspective, that could be cause for celebration or trepidation. If you did your Monday resolutions and set some goals for the week, you may be facing the reality that you’ve fallen a little behind and now it’s time to catch up. Or you could just be working for the weekend, in which case your goal is getting closer simply by virtue of the calendar.

We all have goals. And this is the time of year when we tend to think about them a lot. That doesn’t mean we actually do anything about them, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Sure, if you’re doing something helpful for somebody else or giving them a gift. But if it’s a goal you hope to actually accomplish, it may take a little more than noble intent.

And that’s where a lot of us fall down. It’s not necessarily that we aren’t willing to do the work. We’re industrious and hard-working. We just sometimes lack the creativity to think outside the box. We want to accomplish a goal, but can’t we just do it by repeating the same thing we’ve been doing all these years?

Let me ask you a question. Let’s say one of your goals is to take your family on a Hawaiian vacation. You say yes, your spouse says yes, everybody says yes. Except the bank. And sadly enough, that’s where most dreams die.

But let’s say your CEO made you a deal. “Give me an extra 7 hours a week for the next year. Break them up any way you want, but you have to give me an honest 7 hours a week. Do that for a year, and I’ll pay for your vacation. First class tickets, a resort hotel, all expenses paid.” Would you do it?

Absolutely! If you’d known it was that easy to get to Hawaii, you’d have done it years ago, right? You can ask your CEO to make that deal, but odds are it’s not going to happen. In fact, I can pretty much guarantee it.

So, why not put in those 7 hours a week doing something for yourself? That’s one hour a day. If you knew how to spend those 7 hours, you could pay for your own vacation at the end of a year. And next year, you could go back and do it again. Except this time, instead of just sightseeing and lounging around on the beach, maybe you could be looking at real estate.

All too often, we don’t even try because we aren’t willing to spend a little time figuring out how we could actually do it. We know it’ll take work, and work is something we do all day anyway. An extra hour is no big deal. But what kind of work? What can we do that won’t require a huge investment in money or time, but can really make a difference?

And we think about that as we sit in front of the TV wishing we knew how to get to Hawaii. After a day or two, the dream begins to fade and we’re right back where we started. If you’re lucky, maybe there’s a show on TV where you can watch other people sitting on that beach as they contemplate a few real estate deals. I guess they already put in their 7 hours.

Having a dream is the first step. Translating that dream into a goal is next, because until we quantify that dream and give it a timeline, it’s just wishful thinking. But, even with a goal, nothing can really happen unless we have a plan and put that plan into action.

If your goal for this week was to lose two pounds, you probably gave some thought as to how you could do it. Exercise a little, cut out sugary drinks, yogurt smoothies for breakfast, and skip the afternoon snacks. That may be enough to get the job done. Either way, it’s a plan. You can try it for a few weeks, see how it’s working, and make adjustments from there.

Getting to Hawaii is no different. You just need a plan. And sometimes, that means keeping your eyes open to possibilities you never thought of. It means turning off the TV long enough to focus on ways to make it happen. And it means you may have to do something you’re not already doing, because what you’ve done so far hasn’t worked. If it had, you’d be dreaming of something better.

There’s not much you can’t accomplish in this world if you have a dream, a goal, and a plan. All it takes is an open mind, belief in yourself, and a little imagination. The rest is just work.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!