When you find yourself, dragging yourself, kicking and screaming in the direction of a goal you know damn well is good for you, get excited, you are breaking an old habit that blocks your road to happiness. Focus on the glow of how the better results feel and push through. The new habit will prevail with less pain of discipline.
Why do I struggle is, as always, the wrong question. Like, why do bad things happen to good people? The question should always be what am I going to do about it? Always go to where people are helping because there you will find hope.
Today I reach the end of my seventy-second year and begin my
seventy-third. My best friend and lover sleeps. I habitually write.
My Pop was this age when I was twelve. That’s right. Pop was
sixty when I was born. In today’s coronavirus world, he and I could be sacrificed
for the survival of younger generations. Times have not only changed, but there
is also now a paradigm shift like none other in recent history.
Examining the past to find direction for the future seems to
fail to provide answers today. There are those who dwell on the past as if repeatedly
revisiting it will somehow bring solace to their anxiety of fear of failure and
loss. Especially, in times of crisis, MY go-to for peace of mind is hope for
the future and gratitude for the present. How else can you leave the woodpile
higher than the way you found it?
I enjoy having huge, scary goals. Especially the ones when I
hear some parenting message in my head asking sarcastically, what makes you think
you can do that, kind of goals. Putting my focus on where I am headed not only
gives me a path to follow, it examples for others the confidence they need to define
their vision for their future. As is often announced by elders, be the example
you want to see in the world.
Which brings me to this incredible day. Grateful, I am, for having
my health, being safe, loved and in love, and other than some inconveniences,
having the best days of my life so far.
Indeed, this comes with some reflection and evaluation of
the present moment. My last sibling brother passed very recently. My only child
was taken by Cystic Fibrosis a couple of years back. That puts this birthday as
somewhat special for the memory banks. No immediate family member will ever
call to wish me a happy birthday. This is not a lament, simply an observation. By
now, I have folks from far off continents remembering and sending birthday greetings
out of love and respect, rather than obligation.
Happiness can be so relative. Mostly, the word is associated
with an event that brought some feelings of bliss. But how often have you been
able to say day after day, I am the happiest I have been in my life? For me,
living the dream is not a trite message of contraire. Several times each day I
find myself requesting a cosmic pinch to question my reality.
Before you find yourself muttering, lucky you, I remind you
of a line by the Rock in a recent movie. His childhood friend remarked that he
had been much less physically fit in high school and asked how he had gotten so
buff. His answer: I worked out 6 hours a day, seven days a week, for the last thirty
years. As we all learn in life, it goes Dream, Struggle, Prize and the Struggles
provide the contrast needed to verily give contentment to the prize.
As the world resolves the latest crisis, a previous world will
slip into repeated sound bites. Rapid change is inevitable. Bills Gates book
1999, Business at the Speed of Thought comes to mind. The elders who have
learned to embrace accelerated change may be the thought leaders of today and
as well, the encouragers for the current arriving generation.
Be safe and responsible for yourself and others.
Happy Birthday to me! Seventy-two successful trips around
the sun.
This is real progress. I have taken another step in understanding how the social media world functions. Here are several things I have learned in the last few days.
Rapidgo Driver Safe Travel 101 Complete, I uploaded Lesson 8 and the Summary just moments ago. It has taken 113 days from the first thought that led to this accomplishment and manifestation. Amazing!
It struck me this afternoon about 3pm what my next business move would be. I might never have made the decision had it not been for adversity, the father of invention.
The feeling of being at the right time at the right place was overwhelming. As Brian Tracy once remarked, when the flash happens you immediately need to run to the bathroom. It strikes a such a gut level of human emotion and psychological empowerment.
I waited to tell Mary until we were going out to dinner. Her perfect response. This is so perfect for you.
I arrived home to Windy Heron today and it was raining fairly hard from the airport. Most of the afternoon it was socked in. By late afternoon the clouds broke to the southwest. I wondered out to the veranda and noticed the break in the clouds and came in to tell Mary a rainbow would be arriving soon. No sooner did I say that then an extremely bright rainbow appeared to the northeast across the lake. As Mary said look at that we followed the rainbow to the ground at the point of the property near the aging magnolia tree near the lake edge. We decided to just enjoy the moment rather than rush to get a picture. That sight will forever be in my mind as that is the first time we have seen a rainbow near that portion of nearby land and from that direction. It was as if we were being told that we have the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
I have often spoken about events in my life that have been pivotal or hinge points. It has come with an awareness of being in the here and now to recognize it for what it is and to know I was in the right place at the right time. It happened with Lambda Crystal when I saw the potential in Canada enough to start an importing company. That recognition led to over seventeen years of self-employment, an international business, global travel, fantastic life experiences both good and not so good.
I am excited about the potential of becoming an Amazon Partner in logistics and further developing a business income in the States as well as international expansion for Rapidgo. So many things to think about and consider.
My life is about to change significantly over the next while.
I got this! This moment has been made for me. So many things from years past have come together to define this moment in my life.
James, I am so proud of you!
Amazon Logistics<dsp@amazon.com>
Nov 3, 2018, 5:07 PM (13 hours ago)
to me
Hello,
Congratulations! We have received an incredible response to the Amazon Delivery Service Partner program, resulting in a competitive selection process. We are very impressed with your qualifications and experience, and we are excited to inform you that you have been selected to move forward to the next step in the process.
As a next step, we will invite you for a phone interview with an Amazon team member within the next couple of months. You will receive an email to schedule a 30-minute interview closer to the relevant date.
You are not required to do anything at this time. Feel free to visit logistics.amazon.com to learn more about the program.
We look forward to learning more about you in the near future.
Well, I made it through the anniversary of Mary’s transition. As I look at her pictures each day it doesn’t get much easier. I miss her very, very much. I have set a goal of honoring her every day for my next 90-Day Adventure. I started Jul 16, the anniversary of when she arrived in Raleigh. I have uploaded stories, pictures and videos for Clara to discover at some point in her life and will want to know more about her mother and the strength she imparted to her.
It has been nearly a year since I posted on my personal site. So many things have happened. I feel compelled to mention the success I had in transferring all my websites to a new hosting company. Growing and learning as I went. Challenges with the last company led to my inability to post online for many months. I am so excited to have a newer server with a good hosting company, Liquid Web.
So I am back to posting on my jameswmfrank.commemoratemylife.me site. Yay!
I will post on accomplishments since posting in 2017.
This is my daughter and granddaughter on Fathers Day. I was asked to start the conversation about final arrangements for the funeral with my 34 yrso daughter. There are so many things to clarify. We went through approval on the obituary. The music was selected. The words to be read were identified. The letters to be read afterward and left for the next generation to discover were collected. The wishes for a party were discussed. There were tears on both sides. I expressed my anger at the inevitable. You see, this discussion was not about my passing, but for my daughter who has a fatal disease, called cystic fibrosis. It is a genetic disease that was passed from her mother and myself to her without knowing we both carried a recessive gene. It is, somehow, not right that any parent must have this discussion with their child. It is even tougher for a father to not be able to “fix” something for their child. I post this because baby boomers have learned that not everything in life is always fun. Some things cannot be fixed. I wear a CF bracelet to remind myself continuously of that fact. What source of strength from within you do you call upon when thinking and planning and fixing are not options?
