Category: motivation

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motivation

And Now Comes the Christmas Music!

Cartoon of Scrooge and the ghost of Jacob Marley. Marley says, "You will be visited by three spirits: The Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas present, and Ghost of Christmas Mall Music."

Earlier this month, my wife and I made a trip to celebrate our daughter’s engagement. By “earlier,” I mean it was November 3rd. As we were traveling back, I made a stop at a Jacksonville, Florida gas station. When we entered the store, we heard It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The Halloween candy was still for sale next to a display of jolly old Saint Nick.

We complain about the Christmas season come earlier and earlier each year. We’ve been doing this for decades. And I’m sorry to say, businesses will keep doing it until it doesn’t work anymore. People tend to take something seasonal and successful and expand it until it loses its meaning. We want more of something good until we have so much of it, it sickens us.

Personally, I didn’t mind the Christmas music and the early decorations. However, I can imagine the clerk wasn’t thrilled about hearing the music for the next two months. We may need to give retail clerks a little extra grace this year. The Christmas merchandising season, along with its soundtrack, came way too early!

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motivation

Making Something From Nothing

Cartoon of a mom and a boy with a figurine. The boy says, "I made this Moses out of play dough. I had a hard time fitting the Ten Commandments on there."

Before I tackled this morning’s topic, I tweeted this:

I have loved this morning because I’ve had a chance to take some more life out of a pen as I wrote my morning pages. I enjoyed praying, thinking, and writing my thoughts down.

In a sense, it’s creating something out of nothing. I let the thoughts flow and saw where I ended up.

On the other hand, can we ever truly create something from nothing? I need a pen and paper in order to write. If not a pen, maybe a keyboard. We act on something in order to bring our thoughts and creativity to life.

Every creative person needs some time to express their thoughts and see where they lead. That is where we create something from nothing.

Get your thoughts out today and express your creativity. Whether it’s with pen and paper, some craft clay or in song and dance, we all need to bring our thoughts out into the open once in a while. It’s good for our personal and business lives.

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motivation

Attitude of Gratitude on Turkey Day

Cartoon of a turkey dancing on a table while a family looks on. The caption says, "This was one Thanksgiving the whole family would remember!"

My prayer for each one of you this morning is that you find something to be grateful for.

  • Show love to your loved one, even if they have different opinions than yours.
  • Talk about the good memories
  • Talk about the funny times (dancing turkey cartoon anyone?)
  • Be generous with praise and stingy with criticism
  • Tell a loved one something you appreciated about them or something you’ve admired about them

You may have experienced pain and heartache this year. If that is the case, remember the good time too. For no matter how dark the circumstances, there are always rays of light.

On this day, take some time to have an attitude of gratitude.

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motivation

Gratitude List

In the USA, Thanksgiving will be tomorrow. Every day is a good day to make a gratitude list. Here are a few things I am grateful for:

  • I have the freedom and the technology to express myself to anyone who wants to read this
  • I grew up in a loving family and am so blessed to carry that tradition to the next generation
    • Great parents that are still living
    • Awesome siblings and their families
    • Great in-laws
    • A wonderful wife
    • Two great kids
  • I have the mind and skill to be able to express my thoughts
  • I live in a time where the comforts of heat and air conditioning are common
  • I can go where I want and travel to see loved ones this week
  • I’ve been blessed with health and the ability to exercise
  • Coffee
  • Chocolate & peanut butter: two of the most wonderful food combos ever!

I’m sure you have a few of your own. Before you head out into the crazy Thanksgiving traffic, make a list of the things you are grateful for today!

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motivation

Stay in the Game!

Cartoon of a jogging couple

I’ve been reading Your Best Year Ever by Michael Hyatt.

In the book, he tells the story of the runner, Heather Kampf. In 2008, she won a race after falling to the ground in a 600-meter dash. She could have given up. Instead, she picked herself back up and ended up winning the race.

She had a setback. Setbacks happen. If they don’t happen to you, you are probably playing it safe and not living up to your potential.

When I was active in magazine cartooning, I knew the odds were good that it would take about 120 cartoons submitted to different magazines before I sold one. There was a .8% chance a cartoon would sell. But I knew I needed to create and submit the other 119 cartoons in order to sell the one.

I knew rejection would come. But I also knew if I held out, a sale would come too. Whatever your goal, stay in the game. Know there will be setbacks and rejections. Those who stay in the game get to reap the rewards.