Passion Party #423 - Three Day Getaway

This is why you work so hard
This day of leisure
vacationing in Paradise
without getting on a plane
Three days of taking care of just myself
and my wife
our bodies
so in need of repair
our minds
so in need of a cleaning
Not blanking out
just turning off the noise
exercise and conscious eating
and being together.

Passion Party #422 - Compromise

Somehow in our society
compromise has become a bad word.
"My way or the highway" has become the
Standard Operating Procedure.
Cars have Personal Climate Control
so driver and passenger
need not negotiate on temperature.
Beds come with Firmness Control Numbers
so husband and wife
need not negotiate on sleeping conditions.

We strive for convenience
not compromise
Rather than the pursuit of happiness
we are in pursuit of personal comfort

What do we lose
in embracing the technologies of comfort?
If we no longer need compromise on the easy stuff,
what about the important issues?
Compromise is a skill
and like all skills
it needs to be nurtured and developed
or it will atrophy from lack of use.

Passion Party #421 - I'm Not So Different From My Dad

He got his start in the Sheet Metal Business
and soon he knew he had to be his own boss.
He did not love the sheet metal business
He saw it as a way to make money
improve his life
take care of his family
and be able to live well.

I got into the Mortgage Business
and soon I knew I had to be my own boss.
I did not love the mortgage business
I saw it as a way to make money
improve my life
take care of my family
and be able to pursue my creativity and dreams.

The difference is
my dad was consumed by his business.
It meant everything to him.

I built a business designed to give me
financial security and freedom to pursue my passion.
I may not get really rich financially
but my life is incredibly rich
in passion - love - friendship - creativity.

Passion Party #420 - No Limits - No Expectations

Certainly life has natural limits.
No one lives forever.
A tree does not grow to the sky.
But the human mind and human potential has no limits
Every time someone says "You can't do that",
all you have to do is search for a while
to find someone that has already done it,
and then you know it is possible.

Couple this belief in having no limits
with a lack of expectations
and you get powerful movement.
The voice that says, "It won't work" is momentarily silenced
by "Let's see what happens".
You won't know the result in advance
but isn't hat what life is about?
Living today with
no limits -
no expectations.

Passion Party #419 - After Thanks

After I give thanks
and tell someone how grateful I am
the most valuable thing I can give
is my time
and my talent.

It can be as big as spending a day at the food bank
or as simple as taking a less fortunate friend to lunch
or taking the thing I am best at
and giving it away for a day.

Imagine if everyone in the world agreed
to give 10% of their time and talent.
2 hours and 15 minutes a day
or 36 1/2 days a year
of just helping others.

It would be a different world.

Passion Party #418 - Why? vs. How?

When we were kids
every question was "Why?".
Why is the sky blue?
Why do I have to brush my teeth?
Why do the stars twinkle at night?

Then our questions turned to "How?".
How do you make breakfast?
How do I tie my shoes?
How do you drive a car?
And how does the engine work?

Schools are filled with how.
Jobs are filled with how.
We get so filled up with How
we often forget Why.

But the passion is in the why:
that is where the power lies.
Why are you doing what you are doing?

If you have a strong enough why
you can always find the how.

Passion Party #417 - The Welcome Mat

Sometimes it is the smallest things
that make the biggest difference.
A single rose in a simple vase
Allowing someone to get in front of you on the freeway
A shoe shine

Today it was my wife, returning from the store
with a new door mat
that says,
"ENJOY LIFE"
and now I get to do just that
every time I go in and out our front door.