Windridge Reflections

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” — James A. Michener ( Michael Hyatt's blog ) I love it when life feels this way.......

"Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and try to recapture happiness in yourself and in God. Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy!" Anne Frank

I realize this little story has probably traveled the Internet for awhile now, but when it arrived in my in-box this morning it provided me with a reflective "a-ha" moment - and I like those.... "A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children,he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. 'The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.' One man, named Jim, was there that ...

"The size of the future you actually experience will largely be determined by one factor: people you choose to connect with. When you invite people who are truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited." Dan Sullivan

Changing one's behavior is not easy, and it is not instant. You must start thinking now about what you can do differently today that will get you where you want to be at 80.... Life is a journey - not a destination. Stages of Personal Change: Unconscious Incompetent "I am unaware that I don't do this well" (blind spot) Conscious Incompetent "I know that I don't do this well" (self-awareness of the need to change) Conscious Competent "I do this well only when I think about it" (transition from awareness to action by modeling others who do this well) Unconscious Competent "I do this well all the time " (permanent personality change -- high performance by reflex) Start now!

Jim Rohn is almost an endless well of wisdom and he captures the process one goes through when facing transitions, the need to change or simply the desire to develop one's self. "What we ponder and what we think about sets the course of our life. Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish, we can start a new activity. Any day we wish, we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year. "We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the...

I found what looks like a neat little web application for tracking goals. Check out Joe's Goals It looks really simple, and it's free....

This morning as I crawled onto the freeway with only 20 minutes to arrive at a destination that should, on a good day, only take 20 minutes to reach... each car that stopped, waited and then s-l-o-w-l-y crept onto the freeway seemed to take forever to move ahead and on into traffic. I glanced over to my left shoulder only to see traffic barely moving in all four lanes of the freeway and I hate to admit it, but I had one of those “What am I doing getting on the freeway at this time in the morning? This was a crazy idea... I should have known better... I should have taken a side-street... Should I get off at the next exit and wind my way around, or continue on? I’ve got to decide - I’ve got to change course - or do I?” This annoyed/irritated thought process kept me occupied until I finally entered the freeway, and low and behold in less than two minutes I was cruising along at 50 – 55 mph listening to a great podcast and enjoying a beautiful morning drive. What I was reminded of by this ...