Are You Having Fun Yet?

Today contains 1,440 minutes.  Approximately seven billion hearts are beating all over the world.  Some are having fun and some aren't.  I believe the difference between the two groups comes down to one thing — choices.  Yes, no matter what your circumstances are today, you get to choose how you will spend your 1,440 minutes.  I chose to live the dream today.  Not tomorrow.  Not next month or next year.  Today.  Here are some choices I'm making to make sure I live the dream today:

1. I'm posting this positive message on my personal blog.  My only cost is the time it takes to type the message and post it.  That's about thirty minutes.  I still have 1,410 minutes of my day left.  The measure of my happiness does not come from what I get but what I give. 
2. I'm looking out the window during my commute.  Every day there is something different to look at.  Right now the leaves are changing color.  I have thirty minutes to soak it all in before I arrive at my day job.
3. While I'm working I'm going to discover something new.  It may be a new way to handle my tasks.  It may be an opportunity to develop a creative idea.  I may learn something from a fellow employee.  I expect something good to happen while I'm working today during my 480 minutes on the job.
4. My ride home will give me an opportunity to view an awesome sunset.  The dusk is never the same.  I will think about my family waiting to greet me when I get home while I'm driving home.
5. Dinner time is sharing time.  My family will share what lessons they learned.  They will discuss the highs and lows of their day.  This is a precious moment.  Yes, it's a fun time.  We usually finish our day with a comedy on TV and then we get to bed early for eight hours of sleeping and dreaming.

I hope you decide to have fun today.  Live the dream.  And if you have a spare minute or two, please share what you are going to do today to have more fun in your life.  Thanks for your input.

Are Your Goals Gridlocked?

The best way to forecast how well someone will do on a job is to look at past performance.  The same is true with goals.  Some people are able to set goals and accomplish them.  Today's story is for those who can't break the gridlock.  No matter what they do, they hit a traffic jam.  The weight won't come off.  The retirement account won't grow.  The credit card debt won't shrink.  Here are some suggestions that may help:

1. Don't sign up for a gym membership at the beginning of the New Year.  The gridlock will annoy you.  The long lines are from the same people every year who promise themselves this year will be different.  Within thirty days they will give up.  Instead of waiting until the new year to get in shape, start today.  No one is thinking about resolutions at this time of the year.  Why not get in shape when there's no gridlock at the gym?  You have 90 days to try this out before the gridlock.
2. Invest in a fitness DVD.  My children discovered how quickly you can change your body without leaving your home.  Twenty minute workouts can transform your body in less than 30 days.
3. Sign up for automatic investing.  The reason your retirement account is stagnant is because you pay everyone else before you pay yourself.  Is that expensive car payment really worth more than a healthy retirement account?  Instead of signing up for a lifetime of car payments, stop buying expensive new cars and use the money you save to make automatic monthly payments to your retirement account at the beginning of each month.
4. Put up some speed bumps on your spending.  Your savings account is gridlocked because your debt load is in overdrive.  Decide today that you are going to lock up your credit cards.  If you can't pay cash for something, don't buy it.
5. Focus on one goal at a time.  You may be gridlocked because you're trying to accomplish too many goals at the same time.  Decide today what the single most important goal is and then work on it for the next thirty days until it becomes a way of life.  On New Year's Day you can tell the world, I eliminated all the gridlock in my life."  Once the gridlock is broken, you will gain the confidence to work on all your other plans for the New Year.

What are you going to do today to break the gridlock in your life?  How will your life be better if you can work on your top goal for the next thirty days and make it a lifetime habit?  Please share your thoughts so you can be an inspiration to others.  Thanks for joining the conversation.

Why You Should Listen To Your Inner Voice

How often do you hear your inner voice?  What does it say?  Do you like what you hear?  I like to describe the inner voice using these words:

Inkling, urge, impulse, strong desire, longing, compulsion.

Your inner voice is an invitation.  It's a key to a door.  Your intuition tells you there's something behind that door that will help you understand who you are.  There's something about you that goes beyond the label you wear.  That label may be your political persuasion.  It may be your own religious denomination.  Your label could be the type of job you have.  Your inner voice tells you there is more than that.  You may need to peel away all the layers of the onion to get to that inner voice.  Here's why you should R.S.V.P. when you get the invitation:

1. Your inner voice guides you to the person you really are.  There's a reason you're not satisfied with your current situation.  You became deaf.  You abandoned your dreams.  You told your passions they have no value or you don't have time for them.  You lost the most important part of yourself — your essence. Your inner voice will help you find it.
2. Your inner voice knows you better than you know yourself.  If you listen, you will discover who you really are.
3. You will never be truly happy until you make time to listen to your inner voice at regular intervals and respond.  Ten minutes of quiet time daily will give you the opportunity to discover how wise your inner voice is.
4. Some day that inner voice will stop talking.  That's the day you die.  If you want to discover who you really are, you need to listen while your inner voice is still talking.  You need to take action while you still have time to make a difference.
5. Your self-awareness increases the more you listen to your inner voice.  This increases self-confidence.  The more aware you are about how you fit into the world, the better you get at making wise choices.

What is your inner voice asking you to do today?  If you feel like sharing, please add your thoughts in the comments section.

10 Ideas to Make This Day Your Best Ever

Have you ever experienced a day when the world seems to be taking a dump on you?  I remember a beautiful day from my teenage years when I was driving my VW Super Beetle around town.  My sunroof was open and my windows were rolled down.  My stereo was blaring.  A giant bird flew directly above me and decided to express himself.  He left a nice exclamation mark all over me.  Yikes!  What a disaster.  How are you supposed to turn a crappy day like that into a happy day?  Here are some thoughts:

1. Take a look around.  If you think you're the only one in this world who is having a bad hair day, just open your eyes.  You can complain about your misery or maybe lend a hand and help someone clean up the poop in their lives.
2. Laugh.  I'm still laughing so hard from last night that my ribs are ready to break.  My wife performed with a group of football moms at a prep rally.  They were dressed like the people from Duck Dynasty.  The women were hamming it up and the crowd loved it.  Sorry, I'm not allowed to share the video.  Just use your imagination.
3. Forgive.  I know some people close to me who are still clinging to some bad memories.  It's just not worth it.  If you want to make this your best day ever, clean up the poop from your past and throw it away.  That bird who dumped on me over thirty years ago died a long time ago.  I don't need to keep reliving that memory, except to maybe laugh a little.  Today is a great day to forgive all the people who "expressed themselves" all over you.
4. Dance. Tonight I get the opportunity to attend a homecoming game with my wife.  While our son is out on the field doing what he loves, we will be in the stands dancing.  I learned some new moves last night at the pep rally.  Everyone in the stands participated.  We are going to be dancing all night.  It's fun.  That's what homecoming is all about.
5. Keep in touch.  Contact someone from your past who made a difference in your life and tell them how much they mean to you.
6. Say "I love you."  
7. Do something nice for someone who has no ability to repay you and don't tell anybody.
8. Say "thank you."
9. Turn off the TV.
10. Take a walk in the park.

Now it's your turn to add to the list.  Please share one idea you will use today to make this day your best ever.  Thank you for visiting.

The Carrot and the Stick

If you're in a leadership position, you have two styles of management to choose from — the carrot and the stick.  The challenge is to find the right balance to lead your family, your team and/or your employees.

One of my first experiences with the carrot and the stick was a summer job in Canada.  All first-year tennis coaches doubled as mentors for young campers.  We shared a cabin together.  Camp Manitou-wabing attracted campers from all over North America.  It was like visiting Disneyland.  Many of the kids thought otherwise.  They felt their parents were "dumping" them.  Some came from homes where the maids did all the cleaning.  What a culture shock it was to ask them to clean up their own cabin.  One of the kids in my cabin pulled out a wad of bills and attempted to bribe me to make his bed and do his chores.  The one thing these young campers wanted most was to get out of camp.  There was only one way — to win the cabin clean-up award.  Winners enjoyed a night at the movies away from camp.

The first week I huddled with my new kids.  We came up with a plan to divide up the chores.  One person was in charge of getting everyone out of bed.  Another was appointed supervisor.  I was not the supervisor.  I was not allowed to leave for breakfast until my area was inspected and approved by the supervisor.  Our cabin was located the furthest away from the mess hall.  Once I was cleared for dismissal, I strolled through the camp to get an early breakfast.  I could hear yelling and screaming from the other cabins.  I ate my breakfast in peace.  One by one, my kids joined me as soon as the supervisor released them.  At the end of the first week we got a perfect score and enjoyed watching Indiana Jones.  The other counselors told me I was lucky to get such a great group of kids.

It didn't matter who was in my cabin.  I watched Indian Jones all summer long, each week with a new set of campers.  Here are some lessons I learned about the carrot and the stick:

1. The carrot and the stick are both powerful motivators.
2. When everyone understands what his job or role is and they understand the rewards and the consequences of their actions, the work gets done.
3. Great leaders know when to use the carrot and when to use the stick.
4. If you aren't getting the results you're seeking with your group, take a look at how many times you're using the carrot vs. the stick and change the ratios.
5. Be consistent.  No follow-through with your carrots and your sticks leads to poor morale.

How do you manage to get results through others?  Do you prefer the carrot or the stick?  Please add your ideas in the comments section below.

A Tribute to the Oldest Living Member of the Mulligan Clan ~ Dr. Thomas F. Mulligan

Eight amazing people call him Dad.  One exceptional woman calls him husband.   And for over fifty years the word has called him doctor.  I'm proud to call him Uncle Tom.  He's the oldest living practicing orthodontist in the United States — and he's celebrating his 80th birthday!

What does one do to repay an uncle who invited him to tour his office on a school day and sent him home with free braces?  If you're a nephew who believes all debts must be repaid, you try your best to pay him back.  That's like arm wrestling a gorilla.  He gave me a tooth paste commercial smile and wanted nothing in return except one small request to pay it forward and help others in their time of need.  Dr. Mulligan writes books and lectures all over the world.  And the best lesson he taught me was about the "multiplier affect."  He didn't have to use words.  Only actions.  And I believe the best example he demonstrates is in the love department.  He's only four years shy of celebrating 60 years of marriage.  He has twenty-two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. That's what happens when you love someone — it multiplies. 

Uncle Tom displays this message on his website:

I have a feeling my uncle has influenced more than a single scrawny grade school kid who showed up in his office one day with crooked teeth and a few pimples.  Thank you, Uncle Tom.  Happy 80th birthday.  God bless you.

Love,
your nephew, Michael

Life in a New Time Zone

Do you ever wonder if the time zone you're living is the best one for you and your family?  I was born in the Mountain Time Zone and lived there for over two decades.  Life was good.  One day I met a young lady from the Central Time Zone.  We fell in love.  We decided to try out a new time zone together and moved to the Pacific Time Zone after our honeymoon.  Life was good.  We settled in a small town in Southern California and lived there for a couple of decades.  We had three children.  We adopted a couple of pets.  Life was good.  One day my wife woke up and told me she had a yearning to move back to the Central Time Zone.  Life got interesting.  The children rebelled.  "If you move, I will go live with our cousins," declared one of them.  The straw poll at the dinner table appeared to favor the Pacific Time Zone by a 4-1 margin.  My wife visited the Central Time Zone during Spring Break.  Two of our children accompanied her.  When she came home she called for another family meeting.  Life got more interesting.  My wife worked the room better than Nancy Pelosi.  When the votes were tallied the Central Time Zone came out on top, 3-2.

What are families supposed to do when the votes are split?  I wasn't sure.  I prayed.  I searched my heart.  I poured over years of love letters my wife wrote me.  The underlying theme was that my wife missed her siblings.  She was ready for a new life.  I was feeling butterflies in my stomach.  The naysayers were out in full force.  "You will never survive in the Midwest," they said.  "One Winter and you'll be back."

The naysayers overlooked one thing — the power of love.  I  acquiesced.  The decision to move to a new time zone became unanimous.  We moved.  Each member of our family discovered something — life in a new time zone has its rewards.  All five of the transplants are thriving.  And I learned an important lesson:  life is good regardless of the time zone you live in.

If you ever changed time zones, how was your experience?  And if you're contemplating a move, how do you feel about it?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.