How old is to old?

I had a birthday yesterday. I am proud to say that I am 46 years old. What does that mean? It means whatever I want it to mean. Let me explain.

First some things to think about:

My high school basketball coach used to tell us that if we wanted to win, we had to start strong in the first half and early in the second half. 46 is not as old as it just to be :) At the same time, if I live to 92, I am right now at half time. And according to my coach, I need to have a strong third quarter to win.

Have you ever heard anyone talking about how long it will take them to do something? Sometimes, they say -- "do you know how old I will be when I get done?" Of course the correct response is, how old will you be if you don't do it? Take Nola Ochs.

Nola Ochs is 98 years old and she just got her Masters Degree. No surprise for her, she got her college degree at the age at 95. Wonder what she will do at 101.

So where are you in the game of life. 1st quarter, 2nd half, overtime? Here are the facts:

1. We are blessed to have life, it s a gift.  As the old saying goes, what we do during that life is gift back to God. How is your gift coming along. Are you living your life in a way that shows your appreciation for the chance in this wonderful opportunity.

2. Regardless of the economy or political unrest, no other generation has ever had the opportunity that we have today. We have information at our finger tips, anyone, who puts their mind to it, can become an expert in their chosen field. How are you doing at taking advantage of those opportunities?

3.  Time happens.  We can't stop it, control it, or get more of it.  We can look back at the key points in our lives, high school, college, when our kids where younger, etc, and say "I wished I would have done things differently."  But until we change what we do every day, our "wishes" are never going to happen.

Regardless of your age or stage of life.  Take it seriously.  Take advantage of the opportunities, look for the things to be thankful for and stop focusing on what you perceive as negative.  In ten years, those of us who are lucky enough to be living, will be ten years older.  What really matters is what you do everyday during that decade.  Go make it happen.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at my Branson Business Blog  then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

What is the bigger tragedy?

By now you know of the tragic death of Nadar Kumaritashili in a practice run just before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Kumaritashili was a 21 year old luger from the republic of Georgia.

This sad story once again points out that life is a gift, a very delicate gift. Like many people, I had never heard of Nadar Kumaritashili until his death on Friday. Admittedly, I am making one big assumption in this entry, that Kumaritashili was doing what he loved to do. We know that he was performing on the biggest stage that his sport offered. Even with that assumption, this week's entry offers us all something we can think about and learn.

Life is a gift, use it. My mom used to joke with me whenever I got clothes as a little kid, she would smile and say, "we will save those for good." It could be anything...socks, underwear, blue jeans, everything was "for good" Luckily mom was joking.

Sometimes though, that is how we live our life, waiting for good. What about you? Are you using your gift? Are you living everyday with the attitude that it is a gift and it might be my last?

Life has an expiration date. It is not something that we spend a whole lot of time talking about, but we are all going to die some time. Which one is more tragic, the death of a 21 year old that lived life to the max or an 80 year old who never got out of their comfort level, never dared to dream, never worked on their gift? That is a question each of us need to answer for ouselves.

This week I challenge you to spend some time thinking about this gift called life. What have you always wanted to do? What have you always dreamed of accomplishing. What is stopping you? Go for it, no need to save it for good.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

What are you about?

Last Friday Night, January 16th, I was honored to be The Master of Ceremonies for The Branson Believer's annual awards banquet. There are a number of reasons why this night is so cool.

1. The recipients are people that the majority of folks probably would not know. It is not a "kiss-up" opportunity to the well known. It is truly an award to highlight how people live their lives.

2. The recipients do not know they are receiving awards. In many cases, they are there thinking that they are going to award someone else. The emotion is amazing and the honesty is real.

Many of the recipients talked about their passion, how they are lead to serve, and they know that they are doing the right thing. How about you? What are you about?

I think it is important to follow their lead and all of us ask ourselves those types of questions. What is our passion? What are we about? How are we making our community a better place to live.

Our Journey on this earth goes fast, even faster when we distract ourselves with things that are not our true passion. Spend some time this week, asking yourself some questions. Start with, "what am I really about?" Have a great week.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.

Most people hate one of my favorite sayings!

(Disclaimer...there are people who are reading this blog who have just heard some terrible news, a death, cancer, a loved one in prison, or a job loss -- please know this post is not directed to you. I am praying for you)


I have this saying, a lot of people get tired of hearing it, but it makes sense to me.

It simply says. "if that is the worst thing that happens to you today, its gonna be a great day." Here is why I like the saying:

1. It puts things into perspective. Sometimes, we simply over-react to the smallest problem. For example, how many times have you been following a "slow car" and you decide to pass. Now, you are making great time. Then you get to the next stop light and look in your rear view mirror, and there is the slow car right beside you.

2. It helps you focus on your blessings. Recently, I heard a lady talk about picking up her husbands socks. How she was so tired of constantly picking up after him. Until, he died. Then, there was no more items to pick up. Through her tears, she said that she would give anything to "have" to pick up after him.

3. It helps you move on. How many times has one little thing in our day destroyed our entire day. The person who cut you off in traffic, the drive through worker who forgot to get you ketchup, your friend who forgot to call, etc. Really, if any of those things are the worst thing that happens to you, it's gonna be a great day.

I am not sure why people don't like my saying, but I encourage you to adopt it anyway. Life is life, we can't stop aggravating things from happening. But, we can do something about how we react to those aggravating things.

As the people who fall into the disclaimer category will tell you, sometimes life is truly hurts. Don't waste your energy constantly worrying about the small stuff. Stay Tuned.

The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.