Living in the Present

  • Not living 100% in the present and focused on what and who is in front of you is living half your life.
  • When you intentionally focus your attention, you are in charge of your experience.

Better Than Winning the Lottery

  • A Pennsylvania man just won his third lottery – not all winning tickets were for a lot of money but at least one was.
  • He cautioned others not to do what he did because he has a self-confessed gambling addiction.
  • 70% of lottery winners end up broke within 7 years.
  • Winning the lottery can be fun but the evidence shows winning the lottery of gratitude is healthier, safer and rewarding in the way sheer money has proven not to be.

Sidney Poitier on Being Better

  • “I truly, truly try to be better tomorrow than I was today. 
  • And I mean better as simply a better human being, not a better actor, not a better anything, but just a better human being.
  • That will please me well. And, when I die, I will not be afraid of having lived.”

Mood Enhancers

  • There are three things I remind my students of in the final session of each semester. 
  • First, as Mother Theresa said there is more hunger for love than there is for bread. 
  • And a reminder that Viktor Frankl who survived a World War II concentration camp was able to come away with faith in people even under those tremendously challenging circumstances. 
  • Finally, that the road not taken is always the direction of choice regardless of fear or uncertainty.
  • 3 ways to stay positive by choosing to see the upside of life.

Waiting for a Break

  • When that well-earned break finally arrives, don’t be surprised if it makes little difference.
  • Making your own good luck is more focused, urgent and relevant to your situation.
  • To get a break, make a break instead of waiting for something to happen.
  • “No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you. All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.” — Mark Cuban

Loneliness

  • Millennials are described as the loneliest generation followed by Gen Z (30% of millennials say they always and often felt lonely compared to 20% for Gen X and 15% for Baby Boomers).
  • More millennials reported in a survey that they had no acquaintances, friends, close friends or best friends – and this is from a generation connected to their phones and social media.
  • Social isolation ends when the emphasis is placed on fewer but more meaningful friendships in which both sides are equally invested.
  • Mitch Albom says, “The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.”

Good Looks

  • I was disappointed to hear podcaster and entrepreneur Scott Galloway describe his looks in an unfavorable way the other day – he was brutal about himself.
  • Then I saw a study of males who basically liked themselves younger, taller and thinner than they actually were – I’ll spare you the details, unless you absolutely must.
  • What about personality, heart, conviction, honesty, empathy – where are these attributes at this moment in time?
  • The cheapest improvement to any person’s looks is a smile – we don’t see a lot of them these days but they are irresistible and cheaper than surgery.

Likeability Pills

  • The more you listen, the more people like you (even though many of us think the more we talk, the more they like us).
  • Ask questions – immediately like swallowing a pill – others warm up to people who ask questions.
  • Being in the present is good, but better turns out to be focusing on the other person in the present without distractions or the need to chime in with your opinion.
  • Being likeable is being willing to let the other person do all the talking.

Procrastination

  • Tom Taylor shares a quote from the newsletter of the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA which is named for hometown hero James Michener probably knocked out on his typewriter (which is on display at the museum).
  • “Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow.”

John Madden’s Fear

  • The late Hall of Fame football coach and beloved icon John Madden was larger than life even after winning a Super Bowl, starting a second and even more successful career in television and as an entrepreneur with his football game. 
  • But he feared flying and for all those years as a commentator, he took the train and then the bus to the stadium even if it meant riding it cross country – he had used four different buses by the time his broadcasting career ended.
  • Madden’s fear was claustrophobia – a condition that many people have but it allows us to see a great person for what he really is – human – it makes his life even more meaningful.