"Is It Fun Being You?"

You know that the whole idea of this blog is to encourage you to be better at what you do, to achieve more, stretch more, learn more, be more. And I hope you accomplish all of that.

I hope you clear out the dead wood, winnow the wheat from the chaff, throw the dross on the slagpile and keep the precious metal of your personal art and craft.

But at the end of the day, after you've paid that bill, banked that dollar, put away your tools, and put up your feet to rest, ask yourself the question: "Is it fun being me?"

If you can answer "Yes," or "Yes, most of the time," then you are probably striking that balance that makes sure you aren't getting lost in the shuffle of your life. If it's "No," or "Not often," then do the reevaluation of your life, to see what you want out of life, and where you want to be in the one year, five years and ten years.

In other words, it's time once again to make sure the path you're on will get you where you want to go.

This is a small blip on your radar scope today, today being the day after the presidential election. Some of you are elated, while others are sad at the outcome. Still others of you (amazingly) couldn't care less about the outcome. Whatever camp you fall into, take it in stride, remember that ancient phrase: "This, too, shall pass."

Whatever else happens, I want to be earning enough that I am a net tax payer, instead of a tax receiver.

Whatever you need to do, within the limits of legality and ethics, do it. But, remember your core, the you that you are. Make others around you smile.

Have fun being you.

Yes, you can!

A little Bit Behind ...

While the theme of this blog is "Yes, You Can!" it is important to remember a couple of things:

Time Management
and Sleep.

I've managed to over commit on my personal projects, with the end result of not getting any of them done. Specifically: Progress on editing Yes, You Can: the Book, writing two nutshell reviews of places I've recently dined at that were good enough to talk about, writing at least one more entry here (since the 9th), and getting to the doctor.

Note that the last item should have come first. In fact, it didn't get done at all.

So, to begin:

Time Management:
We all have a thousand and one things demanding our attention every day. As the saying goes, though, we gotta keep the Main Thing the Main Thing. Set the priorities. Be ruthless. Get the "Have-to's" done ahead of the "Want-to's."

And among the Have-to's, make sure you include your proper rest. If that means eight (8) hours to feel at your best, get your eight hours! Most of us (myself included) are "just getting by" with enough sleep to keep us functioning, but not enough to be 100%.

And along with the "Have-to's" include time for your spirit. For me, that means joining with others in worship, praise and learning at my church. Sometimes I get to help with the teaching side of that (which is good for my spirit, as I am a teacher at heart).

Reading over the above, I see that Sleep made it into the list already. No need to rehash.

Just keep the priorities straight.

God Bless!

Yes, You Can!