I hope you’ll take 3 minutes to watch and revel in the above video of Poet Laureate W.S. Merwin – as he talks about what he learned from Ezra Pound on the importance of “taking our work seriously.”

As 17-time Emcee of the Maui Writers Conference, I had the blessed opportunity to talk with W. S. Merwin under a gentle night sky at the Presenters Reception of our first MWC at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua.

The private reception was held on a white sand beach. It was an exquisite evening as a full moon shone on our faces and the trade winds gently ruffled the palm fronds of the trees overhead.

I had recently written a book on Concentration and asked Merwin, (our opening keynoter), “How do you define concentration – and how has it played a role in your life?”

He told me that understanding the importance of concentration prompted his pivotal decision to move from New York City to Hawaii.

I’m paraphrasing here because I did not write down what he said (that’ll teach me …-)

.. but the gist of his decision was that he and his wife Paula knew that continuing to live in NYC meant they would constantly be surrounded by distractions and temptations.

As an in-demand winner of a National Book Award and two Pulitzer Prizes, every night and day brought with it invitations to soirees, readings, dinners, conferences and charity balls. Merwin realized it would be oh-so easy to become part of the “glitterati.”

Merwin concluded his work as a poet would suffer as a consequence, so he and his wife made a bold move to Maui to live a simpler life on a former pineapple plantation, raising palm trees and immersing themselves in their work.

I was reminded of our conversation recently when I opened the Jan. 13th Washington Post Sunday Magazine and read an article entitled “Is Poetry Dead?”

The author, Lauren Wilcox, referenced Merwin reading to a rapt, reverent audience at The Library of Congress, but referred to him as a “bit of a recluse.”

Hmmm.

If you watch Merwin in this exquisite 3 minute video, you will not see a “recluse;” you will see an intensely alive, almost luminescent man with the light on in his eyes, who talks eloquently of his epiphany that …

“I love both the city and country.
But when I was in the city, I thought about the country all the time.
And when I was in the country, I thought about the city some of the time.
So, now, I live in the country … and go to the city sometimes.”

Brilliant.

There is a man who knows who he is.

There is a man who knows what is important to him. A man who intentionally created a life where he is freer to focus on his priorities. He moved out of an environment that would pull him off track – and into an environment that’s congruent with getting his legacy work out of his head and into the world.

I’ve come to believe this is one of the biggest challenges – and opportunities – we face as SerenDestineers.

Our environment helps us or hurts us when it comes to “taking our work seriously.”

If we are in an environment that surrounds us with temptations and distractions, it’s difficult to concentrate on our SerenDestiny® projects. As a result, they may get delayed and never get out the door.

What do I mean by SerenDestiny®?

SerenDestiny® is a life where the light is on in our eyes. It’s when we’re doing what we love most and do best and have turned our passion and purpose into a meaningful, satisfying mission and profession that serves all involved.

Are you taking your SerenDestiny® seriously?

Have you moved out of an environment that compromises your concentration – and into an environment that facilitates focus and flow?

I’ve come to believe it is not selfish for us to sequester ourselves and become a less public person.

If we truly believe our work will add value to the world, then it is up to us to stay focussed on it instead of frittering away our time and talent on “lesser” activities that, in the long run, won’t contribute to the greater good.

This means setting boundaries and saying “No.”

It means saying no to tempting requests for our time, attention and talent that won’t move our SerenDestiny® forward.

It means saying no to activities that fill our hours and days but that, in the long run, don’t add enduring value.

You may be thinking, “I agree with this in theory, but it’s tough to do in practice.”

Agreed.

Which is why I think each of us need to create clear, measurable policies about what we will and won’t commit to. We need to strategically schedule our accessibility instead of being available 24/7.

We need to block off legacy work days on our calendar and do a deep dive into our SerenDestiny® projects so we make tangible progress each month … instead of coming to the end of the year only to find we’re still talking about that book, invention or non-profit we’re going to get out in the world … someday.

I’ve asked SerenDestineers what steps they’ve taken to protect their productivity.

Here are a few of the best-practice policies they’ve put into place to “Create A Cocoon of Concentration” so they stay focused on what matters most:

1. No Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn 5 days a week. Check and update them only twice a week.

2. Devote the morning to your legacy projects. I call this WAKE AND WORK.

(Remind me to tell you my Frank McCourt – author of Angela’s Ashes – story about how he discovered the value of Wake and Work. Aww heck, I’ll tell that story in my next blog).

Wake and Work means exactly what you think it means. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Don’t read the paper. Don’t watch the news. And, God forbid, don’t check email.

Get up, walk the dog, grab your cup of coffee or tea … and then GET TO WORK.

Devote your morning to SerenDestiny® projects and leverage that productive beginning-of-the-day energy. Tackle client work and business admin/operation activities only after 12 noon.

3. Announce an email sabbatical Create a “Out of Office” response so everyone emailing you receives a friendly yet clear, “Thank you for your email. I am working on my ( … fill in the blank …) this month and will be answering email once a week each Monday.

If this is an emergency or business communication, please contact my assistant who will happily help you. Thank you for understanding. I’m excited about finishing this (what project?) and look forward to launching it into the world and appreciate your support.”

4. Establish an across-the-board policy you won’t meet people for meals on weekdays – or you only meet with people on walk-talks (so you stay fit AND connected with friends).

You may worry you’re going to offend someone by taking yourself off the grid. Or that you’re going to hurt someone’s feelings by not being available whenever they ask.

You might want to ask yourself, “Am I supporting, facilitating and advancing everyone else’s interests, needs and projects … at the cost of my own?”

It is our responsibility as SerenDestineers to think big … and to think long.

What is the long-term cost of dropping everything and being available anytime, anywhere … in person, online or on the phone? What will we have to show for this, years from now?

I am not suggesting we become a round-the-clock hermit and ignore friends and family.

W.S. Merwin isn’t a hermit; he is simply selective about when, where and how often he takes himself away from his work to be available to the public.

He simply balances demands on his time, attention and talents with his dedication to his SerenDestiny® – which keeps the light on in his eyes and keeps him contributing at his highest level.

How about you?

Is 2012 the year you take responsibility for turning your passion and purpose into a SerenDestiny® mission-profession that serves all involved?

The year you get your dream projects out of your head and into the world where they make a positive difference for others and a prosperous living for you?

The year you establish and hold yourself accountable for clear policies about your availability?

I’d love to hear your experiences and insights about this topic.

What challenges have you had in devoting yourself to your legacy work?

How do you carve out time for what matters most so you make tangible progress every month?

How have you taken responsibility for saying NO to what fritters away your time and talents … and YES to creating a cocoon of concentration that helps you focus on and fulfill your SerenDestiny®?

And – if you’d like to explore more on how to find and fulfill YOUR SerenDestiny; check out our Feb. 27th, 2012 tele-seminar at http://serendestiny.eventbrite.com/

Can’t make the live teleseminar where I go into detail about exactly how you can identify what you love most and do best – and get paid for it?

Contact us at Cheri@SamHorn.com to order the MP3.

“I have heard every excuse in the book – except a good one.” – Bob Greene

As I interview people about whether they’re fulfilling their SerenDestiny (a deeply satisfying life in which the light is on in your eyes because you’re doing what you love most and do best) – I hear a variety of reasons why that’s not happening for some of them.

Their reasons (excuses?) seem to fall into 7 basic beliefs that seem to be preventing them from leading the life they WANT to live.

You might want to review these beliefs – all of which are false – to see if any pertain to you.

7 False Beliefs That Hold Us Back from a Life Where The Light Is on In Our Eyes

1. Doing what we love is selfish, irresponsible and won’t “pay the bills.”

2. We need lots of expertise, experience and money to launch a SerenDestiny business, product, program or non-profit that serves all involved.

3. We must do a lot of research and have all our “ducks in a row” before we begin. We can’t start until we have 100% clarity about our how-to’s and next steps.

4. It’s arrogant and grandiose to think big and believe we can create something on a national or international level.

5. If we start something and it doesn’t succeed right away, we see it as a sign that we were foolish to do this and we’re doomed to fail.

6. We assume we’re solely responsible to provide all the energy, discipline and drive to turn our dream into reality.

7. We think (or we’ve been told) we’ve missed our window of opportunity. We’re too old; we’re locked into a golden handcuffs career, we’re unemployed and HAVE to find a “real job,” or we have people depending on us so we’re not “free” to pursue meaningful work that matters.

Want good news? I’ve met hundreds of people who are walking-talking proof that the above beliefs don’t have to be true.

In my next blog, I’ll share one of my favorite stories of someone who shows it’s never too late – or too early – to find and fulfill your SerenDestiny.

How about you?

Do any of the above beliefs resonate with you? How so? Or tell us how you USED to have one or more of these limiting beliefs – and how you changed them to set your SerenDestiny in motion.

“If you are working on something exciting you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” – Steve Jobs

One of the great joys of my life is interviewing SerenDestineers who are getting paid to do what they love most and do best.

You can’t make up the stories I’ve heard from people around the world who have turened their passionate purpose into a paying profession that is pulling them through life.

Take a few minutes to answer these questions – they can help you determine if you’re in that exquisite state of SerenDestiny. They can also help you pinpoint what’s helping and what’s hurting when it comes to living the life you’ve always dreamed of.

And if you have the pleasure and privilege of earning a GOOD living doing what you’re born to do … please comment below and contact me so I can interview you and share your lessons-learned with others.

SerenDestiny Quiz: Are You Living the Life and Doing the Work You’re Born to Do?

by Sam Horn, The Intrigue Expert and originator of SerenDestiny

1. Are you in a state of SerenDestiny? On a scale of 1 – 10 with 1 being “I don’t like my life and work at all” to 10 being “I love my life and work and things just keep getting better and better,” where are you?

2. What’s contributing to your state of SerenDestiny? What’s compromising it?

3. Part of SerenDestiny is choosing a “less traveled” path at a Crucial Crossroads that FELT RIGHT for you – even if it was a risk and you didn’t receive support at the time. When was a time you “went with your gut” and it ended up being one of the best decisions you’ve ever made?

4. SerenDestineers understand the importance of acting on coincidences and honoring intuitive hunches. They know that “serendipity” is not woo-woo and it’s not an accident – it’s our best future meeting us halfway. Has there been a “God wink” that jump-started a life you love?

5. Finding our SerenDestiny often involves becoming a social entrepreneur. You had a vision or saw a problem, need or opportunity and thought, “Somebody should DO something about this.” Then you realized, “I’m as much a somebody as anybody. I’ll do something about this.” Is that what happened for you? Explain.

6. Fulfilling our SerenDestiny often requires us to persevere through the desert of our dream. A time there was no “there, there.” Our idea, invention or initiative only existed in our mind and we had to keep going – even though we didn’t know what we were doing, the money wasn’t coming or things weren’t progressing the way we hoped. Was there a time like that in your life? How did you keep going?

7. Who is someone you know who’s a walking-talking example of a SerenDestineer? Describe that person. What did they do to create a personal and professional life where they’re in their wheelhouse?

8. Do you have a calling or a mission? A unique talent, special gift, singular experience, belief, hobby you love – and you’d like to make a living at it – but just don’t know how? Or, have you abandoned this pursuit becaue someone told you it was silly, crazy or would never work? Explain.

9. SerenDestiny is a way to live a rewarding, meaningful life where we don’t end up with regrets. Why don’t more people do it?

10. A joyous aspect of SerenDestiny is aligning with compatible people who have our back AND our front – who believe in us, stretch us, hold us accountable, keep us centered. Who is that person or group for you? What impact have they had on you?

11. Have there been times you’ve wavered from your SerenDestiny? Times you’ve fallen off path, gotten off purpose, frittered away your gifts? What happened? How did you get back on track?

12. What’s the biggest challenge about living a life of SerenDestiny? The biggest reward?

13. What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you about leading a life where the light’s on in your eyes?

14. What advice would you give someone who wants to find and fulfill their SerenDestiny?

15. Do you have a favorite inspirational quote you keep “in sight, in mind” to remind you of what matters most so you stay in a state of SerenDestiny? What is it?

“You can give without loving; but you cannot love without giving.” – Amy Carmichael

You’ve heard it’s better to give than receive?

I don’t think it’s an either/or – I think it’s both.

I think it’s better to give AND receive.

I’m a little late to this party.

Like many of you, as a parent and business owner, I’ve done more than my fair share of giving. It comes with the territory, doesn’t it?

However, one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned over the last few years is, “Our strength taken to an extreme becomes our Achilles Heel.”

It was my good friend Mary Loverde who brought this to my attention when suggesting that my 2011 mantra be, “Receive, receive, receive.”

So, every time I walk Murph, (my cute Jack Russell pictured above who’s been a constant companion the last ten years), I think to myself … “Receive, receive, receive.”

I cannot begin to describe the miracles that have come into my life as a result.

Hopefully, I still give to others, –often in the form of brainstorming, strategizing and POP!ing their priority projects in the halls of meetings, during meals or while on walk-talks.

However, I balance that now by graciously accepting offers of assistance.

When people offer to initiate on my behalf, my new answer is, “That would be wonderful.”

When a fellow flyer offers to put my overnight bag in the overhead bin, my answer is now, “Yes, thank you,” instead of “That’s okay, I’ve got it.”

If I do a favor for someone and they say, “What I can do for you?” I think of something instead of automatically (and unintentionally) ‘dissing their offer with, “Nothing, thanks. I was glad to help out.”

I never realized that giving, giving, giving is a one-way relationship.

It often makes other people uncomfortable because they feel it’s inequitable.

One of the great truths is, …”Any extreme is unhealthy.”

Over-giving is as unhealthy as under-giving.

Thanks to Mary’s insights, I’ve got that in better balance these days, and my life’s been enriched in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

For example, a strategic retreat held at my lake-home this past weekend demonstrated the miracles that can happen when people come together with the express purpose of giving and receiving.

Notice, it’s not giving and taking.

There’s a gracious gratitude inferred in the word “receiving” that’s crucial.

Over the course of two days, 12 leaders from around North America supported each other, advised each other, recommended resources and operated as “rising tide raises all boats” emissaries on each other’s behalf.

It was a beautiful thing to behold.

I’ll be facilitating another strategic retreat on June 22-24 as the culmination of a 6 month Master Mind program that starts in January.

If you’d like the blessing of being involved in a group of smart, talented professionals from around the country – – all dedicated to helping each other achieve their objectives –- contact Cheri@SamHorn.com to receive details.

The focus is on connecting with encouraging, accountability partners via regularly-scheduled virtual meetings so you don’t have to go it alone.

You can opt for 1 or 2 hours of private consulting in addition to our group calls so you can make a deep dive into your 2012 priorities, put tangible dates on the calendar and reverse-engineer feasible monthly deliverables so you make steady, satisfying progress.

Our goal is to help you FINISH what you set out to do and get your message, mission, products and services out in the world so they can make a positive difference for others and a prosperous living for you.

A bonus?

The 2-day strategic retreat at my lake-home near Wash DC’s Dulles Aiport, plus the celebratory dinner at the National Press Club, is INCLUDED in the price of the 6 month Master Mind package.

We have four openings left. Call Cheri at 805 528-4351 or email today to register and get details.

And now … back to the dual concept of giving AND receiving.

How about you?

What are your lessons-learned about balancing the two?

Would love to hear your insights as to how this has played out in your life – and how it’s helped you set your SerenDestiny in motion and create a life and career where the light’s on in your eyes and you’re doing what you love most and do best.

As I interview people around the world to discover what contributing factors have helped them lead a life where the light’s on in their eyes; I keep my antenna up for trends.

What beliefs and behaviors do they have in common?

As you can imagine, having the courage of their convictions – a willingness and readiness to act on their own behalf and in their best interests – is one of them.

Another characteristic is being alert to and capitalzing on coincidences. SerenDestineers understand coincidences aren’t accidents – they’re kismet – their best future meeting them halfway.

However THE most consistent characteristic of SerenDestineers is gratitude.

Every single person I’ve met who has wrapped their life around what they love most and do best feels incredibly fortunate for all that’s right with their world.

It’s like the chicken and the egg.

Do they love their life so much because they have a lot to be grateful for – or do they have a lot to be grateful for because they love their life?

Whatever it is … it’s clear that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is a stepping stone to SerenDestiny.

In honor of Thanksgiving, and in honor of this “rising tide that raises all boats” emotion, I’ve collected the 20 best quotes on gratitude.

You might want to print this out and post it where you can see it every day.

You’ve heard the saying “out of sight, out of mind?”

Keeping these quotes “in sight, in mind” can help you keep gratitude top of mind so you stay alert to all that’s right with your world – the hallmark of every SerenDestineer.

Gratitude quote #1: “When you drink the water, remember the well.” – Chinese proverb

Gratitude quote #2: “When I started counting my blessings; my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson

Gratitude quote #3: “Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge.” – Carmelia Elliott

Gratitude quote #4: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~ William Ward

Gratitude quote #5: “If the only prayer you ever said was ‘Thank you,’ that would be enough.” – Meister Ekhart

Gratitude quote #6: “Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.” – Betty Smith

Gratitude quote #7: “As we express our gratitude, may we never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

Gratitude quote #8: “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘Thank you?’” – William Arthur Ward

Gratitude quote #9: “I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping green spirits of trees, for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” – e. e. cummings

Gratitude quote #10: “For lack of attention and appreciation; a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day.” – Evelyn Underhill

Gratitude quote #11: “When you give and carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling. It is as though something inside your body responds and says, ‘Yes, this is how I ought to feel.’” – Rabbi Harold Kushner

Gratitude quote #12: “One of the very first things I figured out about life is that it’s better to be a grateful person than a grumpy one, because you have to live in the same world either way, and if you’re grateful, you have more fun.” —Barbara Kingsolver

Gratitude quote #13: “Thank you, God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough.” -Garrison Keillor

Gratitude quote #14: “What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” – Colette

Gratitude quote #15: “Unless people like you care a whole lot, things aren’t going to get better, they’re not!” – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Gratitude quote #16: “Tell me to what you pay attention, and I will tell you who you are.” – Jose Ortega y Gasset

Gratitude quote #17: “What if you gave someone a gift and they didn’t thank you for it. Would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. If you want to attract more blessings, you must appreciate the ones you already have.” – Ralph Marston

Gratitude quote #18: “I didn’t realize all that was going on and never noticed. Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you.” – Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town

Gratitude quote #19: “You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before I open a book, and before sketching, painting, swimming, walking, playing, dancing and before I dip the pen in the ink.” – G. K Chesterton

Gratitude quote #20:
“Normal day, let me aware of the treasure you are.
Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may; for it may not always be so.
One day I shall dig my nails into the earth . . . or raise my hands to the sky
and want, more than all the world, your return.” – Mary Jean Iron

As Oprah Winfrey said, “If you’re grateful for what you have; you’ll end up with even more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have; you’ll never have enough.”

Well said. Do you want a life where the light’s on in your eyes? Look around and count your many blessings. It’s the first step to attracting more …

Have you ever had an inkling to walk down this street, register for that event, reach out to this person; and it resulted in connecting you with someone or something that moved your life forward – for good?

Think about it. What are hunches? Where do they come from?

Some people call hunches “intuition.” Others call them a “gut instinct or gut feelings.” Creative people may call them their “muse.” Religious people sometimes call them divine intervention or “God Winks.” Some call them “premonition” or a “sixth sense.”

I’ve learned many things about hunches while interviewing people for my upcoming SerenDestiny book including:

a. Whatever you call hunches, they’re almost always right.
b. Hunches happen for a reason. A good reason.
c. Acting on hunches often results in a “stroke of luck,” good fortune, a blessing, a fortuitous twist of fate, what some people call “kismet.”

People from around the world have told me dramatic stories of how honoring a hunch set their SerenDestiny in motion.

The problem is, many of us don’t value hunches. We get an internal nudge to do this, go there, but we dismiss it with “I don’t feel like it. I don’t have time. That’s crazy. I’ll do it later.” And later is too late.

I remember a fascinating TV interview of Gavin de Becker, author of The Gift of Fear and a high-profile security consultant.

He said, “I ask people who have been assaulted if there were any warning signs beforehand. Many tell me they couldn’t put their finger on it, but they knew something was . . . wrong. The hairs on the backs of their arms stood up; their heart started pounding; something.

‘When I ask them, ‘Why didn’t you run or call for help?’ they often say they looked around and couldn’t see anything suspicious. Since they couldn’t see any evidence to justify their alarm, they dismissed it. They shrugged off their fears instead of realizing their body went on alert for a reason and they should take steps to protect themselves.”

What’s the point?

Our body gives us signs when it senses dissonance. Our instincts sense when something’s about to go wrong.

I’ve come to believe our body also give us signs when it senses resonance Our instincts sense when something’s about to go right.

I call those warning signs “hostile hunches.”

I call those resonant signs “harmonic hunches.”

Just as our instincts alert us to a coalescing of hostile circumstances, they also alert us to a coalescing of harmonic circumstances.

Survival hunches alerting us to dangerous circumstances prepare us for fight or flight.

Serendestiny hunches alerting us to desirable circumstances prepare us for a favorable future.

Acting on “hostile” hunches can keep us safe.

Acting on “harmonic” hunches can jump-start our fate.

One of the goals of this SerenDestiny blog and my upcoming book are to convince you of the miracles that await you if you honor your hostile and harmonic hunches.

Hostile hunches can alert you to toxic people and situations that will pull you off path.

Harmonic hunches alert you to compatible individuals and situations that can become stepping stones to a life where the light’s on in your eyes.

What’s non-negotiable is that you don’t dismiss hunches as “silly” or “trivial.”

I’ll say it again. Whatever hunches are; they’re rarely wrong.

If your gut is screaming at you to get away from a certain person or situation – even if there’s no “evidence” for your distrust or distaste – accept that it’s in your best interests to head the other direction. Toxic individuals and situations block your SerenDestiny because conflict consumes energy.

If a certain person or situation strikes a chord with you, if they’ve got a good “vibe,” seek them out. Even if you can’t put your finger on it, but an opportunity “feels right,” pursue that compatible connection in the moment.

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my years of researching SerenDestiny is the importance of capitalizing on a confluence of fortuitous factors. This “conFLOWence” is dynamic, it’s fleeting. For whatever reason, a providential combination of events has crystallized and come together NOW.

If you don’t capitalize on it immediately, that particular set of circumstances shifts and that window of opportunity . . . closes, perhaps forever.

Who knows if those agianst-all-odds fortuitous factors will re-align again?

I’m not trying to be melodramatic. It’s just that, as Graham Greene said, “There is a moment in every child’s life when the door opens and lets the future in.”

There are moments in everyone’s life when a door opens and lets their future in.

It’s up to us to be alert to those moments and take advantage of them. By definition, they only exist for a brief time.

From now on, understand that hunches are SerenDestiny Stepping Stones appearing before you are gifts from the universe. They are pointing out a harmonic path that will align you with like-minded individuals and opportunities. All you have to do is step forward in faith.

This isn’t woo-woo. Thousands of individuals have vouched for the “you wouldn’t believe it if it weren’t true” benefits they’ve reaped as a result of honoring their intuitive nudges.

Next time you get a hunch, even if you’re tired or busy; even if you don’t know where it’s going; follow its lead. Something or someone delightful awaits you.

One of my favorite scenes featured Phoebe.

You remember? The self-described blonde ditz who sang, “Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat . . .”

Phoebe was complaining to Joey about something her brother had done.

After listening to her carry on for awhile, Joey finally interrupted and said, “Well Phoebe, have you told your brother how you feel?”

She said, “Yes.”

Long pause. “Well . . . not out loud.”

When it comes to important birthdays (heck, ANY birthday); I believe in telling people out loud what we want.

I have a friend who told me that when he was growing up, his dad always told his family he didn’t want anything special for his birthday.

So, no one ever got him anything.

But when his birthday came and he didn’t get any presents, his dad would stomp around the house in a bad mood, slamming doors and giving orders.

Hmmm . . . mixed messages?

Since 2011 was a significant birthday year for me . . . I wanted to make it special.

So, I booked the National Press Club months in advance and invited friends and family way ahead of time so they would be able to carve time out of their busy schedules to be here.

This was originally going to be wrapped around a mini-triathlon.

My sons, me and a few friends decided a great way to celebrate this milestone was to train for a ½ mile swim, 16 mile bike ride and 3 mile run/walk in the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains in the town of Luray, VA.

That’s one of those ideas that worked better in theory than in practice.

Suffice it to say, it didn’t happen.

Instead, we planned a Saturday night in VA horse country for a country picnic at twilight polo, plus the annual Perseid meteor showers were going to be on display. What better way to spend a summer evening than on a blanket under the shooting stars with our resident astronomer, Tom Horn, (who works for NASA at Houston’s Johnson Space Center) serving as night sky guide?

Well, that didn’t work out as planned either as rain moved in and the polo match was cancelled.

What DID work out was even better.

A night spent around our dining room table, eating pizza, playing cards, laughing and conversing for hours on end.

Our own little My Dinner With Andre’. (If you haven’t seen that charming movie which captures a fascinating conversation between two men over dinner; it’s worth checking it out on Netflix).

They always say the simplest pleasures are the best. I agree.

I know it’s trite to say this, but really, is there anything better than being surrounded by the people you love? Everyone’s healthy and happy – laughing and talking about a wide range of topics, all of them interesting?

Now, when I sit at my writer’s desk over-looking the lake, as I am now, I look up at the dining room and remember it full of laughter, energy and good times. Forever fond memories.

- – – – – – – – – – – -
Now, I know all about keeping blogs to under 500 words . . . and it’s my birthday so I’ll blog if I want to . . . okay?

I’m going to indulge and go down Memory Row and relate some of the incredible things that happened that weekend.

If you don’t feel like reading this whole thing, I understand.

Suffice it to say . . . don’t “pull a Phoebe” when it’s time for your birthday.

Say OUT LOUD exactly how you’d like to celebrate your special day . . . so it is indeed special.

Back to my birthday:-)

Another favorite memory was playing “Best?” at the dinner table.

Best book? Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Orson Scott Card’s Enders Game were the winners.

My favorite? Black Stallion by Walter Farley.

This weekend was permission to reminisce and tell stories. So, tell stories I did.

I told about growing up in a small town where I rode my horse to the library. Really. I would tie him up outside while I went in to get books. The Black Stallion adventures were mana to my independent mind and searching soul.

We had more horses than people in the small town of New Cuyama, CA where my mom and dad, Ruth and Warren Reed, raised my sister Cheri, brother Dave and me.

Even when we were six and seven years old, we would take off on our horses all day and our parents never worried.

It’s where I learned to be resourceful. A reporter once asked me where I got my confidence and I said, “On the back of a horse.”

When we were out in the middle of nowhere and we fell off or got bucked off; there were no cell phones or adults nearby to rescue us. We simply had to “figure it out.”

In fact, one of the anecdotes in the Memory Jar Mary Loverde and Denise Brosseau collected for me comes from my sister who remembers the time I was riding in a gymkhana (kind of a rodeo with horse games like pole bending and barrel-racing).

I was going around the far barrel when my crazy Palomino Joe’s bridle broke. He thought that was an excellent opportunity to take off – which is exactly what he did.

It was like a scene from Keystone Cops with everyone jumping on their horse to chase me down. It was wildly romantic. Elton Kissee on his sorrel Tamper (the fastest horse in the valley) finally caught up to me and brought me to a safe halt. Sigh.
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Another of the great moments on the birthday weekend was when long-time friend Judy Gray (President of Florida Society of Assn. Execs) decided, on the spur of the moment, to cook a full course meal for us . . . in an hour.

So, several of us went shopping . We fanned out over the grocery store with our delegated items to buy.

Everyone chipped in; setting the table, preparing the fresh corn on the cob, pouring and sampling wine (my job), mashing the potatoes and getting things in and out of the oven.

We sat down to a scrumptious meal and . . . later. . . freshly-made Bananas Foster. Aaahhh .. . why does food always taste better when other people cook it?

During our meal, Dr. Nisha Money (a colleague of Deepak Chopra’s) and a practitioner of East-West medicine was talking about shamans.

Denise, ( co-founder of Springboard Enterprises – which has helped entrepreneurs receive $5 billion in funding) said, “I just don’t know what to do with shamans.”

Judy piped up from the kitchen, “Just don’t squeeze ‘em.”

You go, Judy . . .

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Simple moments, enduring memories.

What a pleasure it was sitting on comfy couches in the living room, next to the lake windows.

My son Tom was there with his girlfriend, Patty, who also works at NASA in Houston at Johnson Space Center as an astronaut planner and scheduler (how’s that for a job title?).

They were regaling us with behind-the-scene stories of the ISS , shuttle, and space program.

Like the time the astronauts on Skylab 4 got so tired of being over-worked that they . . . wait for it . . . mutinied.

Really. They were being scheduled through their lunch hours and time off. After repeated requests for a break, they announced to mission control, “We’re taking the day off,” and cut off communication.

That revolt killed their career – none of them ever went into space again – but they made their point and NASA is more sensitive to astronaut needs and requests now.

Tom also told about the time he walked in a few minutes for his shift, looked up at the console and it “was lit up like a Christmas tree with cascading malfunctions.”

Yikes.

The external cooling tank had broken.

NASA had predicted this would happen . . . someday . . . but didn’t know it would happen so soon. The crew members weren’t in immediate danger, but this had to be fixed asap which entailed training the astronauts in space how to get the spare out of storage – and remove the broken tank – and replace it with the spare.

Easier said than done.

The cooling tank weighs about 700 pounds. Once it gets moving, as Tom says, “It doesn’t want to stop.”

That wasn’t the problem though.

At the end of a 7 hour space walk, one bolt wouldn’t budge.

Imagine.

The exhausted astronauts had to go back into the ISS to rest and to give NASA tiger teams a chance to strategize what to do next.

On the next space walk, they still weren’t able to budge it. The future of the ISS hinged on this unmovable object. Finally, they did the astronaut version of “whaling on it” and succeeded in fixing it. Disaster averted.

Side note about this story. Tom and I had a chance to speak on a cruise last year – to Rome, Athens and Cairo. (Yes, it was fantastic. I will always remember jumping on a camel and riding out into the desert and gazing back at the Pyramids . . . it might as well have been hundreds of years ago.)

When Tom got back, his boss met him in the hall and said, “I need to see you in my office.”

Bummer. Tom thought, “I’m getting laid off.”

As you may know, with the shuttle program being shut down, thousands of space flight employees are losing their jobs and Tom thought that was his fate too.

He went into his supervisor’s office and there was a manila envelope sitting on his desk.

Tom thought, “Those are my walking papers.”

His boss motioned for him to open it – and inside was an announcement that Tom had been selected as NASA Employee of the Quarter. Such a deal!

How does this tie into SerenDestiny?

When Tom and his brother Andrew were growing up in Maui, Hi, we would go for walk ‘n rolls almost every night in our neighborhood near the beach. I would walk and the boys would ride their scooters, big wheels, skateboards or bikes. We would pick a plumeria for our pillow and enjoy the gentle Hawaii night air.

Even then, when Tom was 8 years old, if you asked him, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” he would point to the stars and say, “Something to do with up there.”

How sublime that’s exactly what he’s ended up doing. And how sublime that both my sons are doing the work they were born to do.
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Andrew, who runs Dreams for Kids – DC (more on that in a bit) – had a great suggestion for how to spend Saturday morning and afternoon.
“Let’s go to the Farmers Market in Reston and then go to see Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.

Perfect.

One of the many lovely things about living in Reston is their delightful Farmers Market which features fresh produce and so much more. Handmade arts and crafts. A beloved used book store on the plaza. Music. A marvelous way to spend a Sat morning . . . strolling amidst the booths, sampling fresh peaches and tomatoes picked that morning that actually taste like they’re supposed to.

What fun to see such a thought-provoking movie with your sons and best friends. And what fun to see THIS movie that has Owen Wilson, a novelist in Paris, traveling back in time and meeting Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali and other great writers/artists of the last century.

At one point in the movie, these gifted creative souls were expressing their yearning to go back to the Renaissance so they could meet Rembrandt, Renoir, da Vinci, etc.

Owen Wilson gives this impassioned soliloquy (much like Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town) where he tries to convince them that the grass is not greener – that another time, another place will NOT be better or more special than the time they’re in right here, right now.

He pleads with them to understand that” THESE are the golden times” – these times deserve to be fully experienced, imprinted and treasured. His entreaties fall on deaf ears.

But everyone in our group got the message.

We agreed as we re-entered the sunlight that these days – these simple days strolling the farmers market, going down memory row together, laughing and talking about shared experiences – THESE are the golden times.

We knew it and were enormously grateful for having this blessed opportunity to be together as our mini-Camelot unfolded.
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Mary Loverde (author of I Used to Have a Handle on Life, But It Broke and the upcoming The Invitation) creatively developed the “This is Your Life” Jeopardy Game so it focused on fun topics including why I used to wear a hat (yes, those days are over) and kiss and tell.

Maybe you had to be there.

I had a couple drinks in me and what was said at the National Press Club STAYS at the National Press Club. Although I’ll give a hint – it involved skinny-dipping and phospheresence (spelling?) in the ocean off Hilton Head Island, SC at midnight.

Her categories also gave me a chance to answer the questions, “What is a particular reason you’re proud of Andrew” and “What’s a particular reason you’re proud of Tom?”

That gave me an opportunity to talk about what it’s like realizing every parents’ dream – seeing your kids happy and healthy, with the light on in their eyes.

Katherine Graham said, “To do work you love and feel that it matters; how could anything be more fun?”

Well, the only thing that could be more fun is doing work you love that matters with people you enjoy and respect – that’s exactly what Tom and Andrew (and me too, while I’m at it) are doing. We’ll all living our dreams.

Many of you know the story of how Andrew interned for Tom Tuohy, (www.DreamsForKids.org) in Chicago. After graduating from VA Tech with a degree in Business, Andrew was fortunate to land a corporate job in downtown DC.

However, I had dinner with Andrew one night about a year into the job and the light was out in his eyes. It was a wonderful job; it just wasn’t the right job for Andrew.

I asked him, “Whazzup?”

He said, “Mom, I want to quit.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to start a non-profit. I want to start a Dreams for Kids chapter here in DC.”

This conservative person I didn’t even know came out and perched on the tip of my tongue. “Non-profit?!” it wanted to say. “In this economy? Do you know how many non-profits are closing their doors because their funding is drying up? What are you doing to do for health insurance??”

Thankfully, that conservative voice was replaced with a wiser voice that said, “Andrew, I believe in you. You’ve always been resourceful. I know if you put your mind to this; you can make it work.”

Well, Andrew has put his mind to it – and boy, has it worked!

Starting with almost nothing, he discovered the Affinity Lab (a fabulous collaborative work place for social entrepreneurs and small businesses), started recruiting interns and within one year developed relationships with the Nationals, Capitols, Legg Mason Tennis Tournament, etc. and has even taken kids to the White House.

The story I chose to share that night at the Press Club was just one of many that showcases Andrew’s leadership. (Yes, I am a proud mama – and it’s my birthday so I get to tell stories about my sons.)

This particular event was an ice hockey clinic for almost 50 kids with disabilities held in conjunction with the Washington Capitols. I was sitting next to a woman, watching her son on the ice, who had tears streaming down her face.

I asked her, “Are you okay?”

She looked at me and said, “I am more than okay” and then told me her story.

Her son has autism and she has dedicated the last 8 ½ years of her life to him. She said, “I heard about Dreams for Kids and thought we’d give it a try; although I almost didn’t bring him today because I was afraid that putting on the skates might set him off.”

Then we both proceeded to watch a mini-miracle unfold.

Andrew had conducted an orientation for everyone helping out with the clinic and gave the volunteers such enough guidance – balanced with freedom and autonomy – to bring their best selves to the rink.
This woman’s son, Sam, was creeping along the side of the ice – holding on with both hands as he took one step, then another.

His buddy, Dan, a strapping 20-something who had played college hockey, got down on his haunches a couple feet away from Sam, looked him in the eyes and said, “Skate to me.”

Dan said it with such confidence, such trust, that Sam let go of the side of the rink and skated to Dan.

Dan then put him in front of him and started skating around the rink, smoothly, effortlessly, joyfully.

I can only imagine what it felt like to Sam to have the wind in his face and to be sliding around the rink so easily and athletically. He looked a little scared, but he was also grinning from ear to ear.

Then, Dan got a hockey stick and a puck and put Sam’s hands on the stick and they started pushing the puck in front of them as they skated around the rink. He then got another stick, put it in Sam’s hands and said, “Stand there.”

He then backed away a few paces and tapped the puck toward him and said, “Hit it back to me.”

After a few tries, Sam did just that.

And back and forth they went.

Sam’s mom said, “He’s made more progress in the last 30 minutes than he has in the last 3 years.”

THAT is an example of what Andrew has created here in DC, not just with that activity, but with the water-skiing clinic at Pohick Bay, the baseball clinic at the Nationals Ball Park, and on and on.

Many of you are parents – so you know what it’s like to see your children – who we remember, as if it were yesterday, bouncing around in their jolly jumper – and now they’re out in the world contributing. What a blessing.
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Can’t reflect on my birthday without talking about my sister, Cheri. Many of you know she’s been running my business for 15 years now – but she’s so much more than that.

Cheri has been my best friend all my life.

It is rare to have someone who has your back . . . AND your front.

That’s what Cheri’s done all these decades.

(Along with her husband Joe Grimm – who has been a one-person tech team who’s created my website/bog and social media accounts and trouble-shoots all my computer/ online issues.)

Cheri’s always there for me. She encourages. Supports. Shares her wise, balanced input . . . and takes care of the not-so-fun operational details so I’m freed up to do what I love most and do best.

She is the public “face” of my business because she handles all the client contact. When I travel to speak, the first words the meeting planner often says to me is, “Cheri is a delight to work with.”

I agree.

Many of you are close with a brother or sister so you know what it’s like to share your life journey with someone who has known you from the beginning. It is a privilege to have that shared history with someone – someone who knows you inside out – someone who endures the not-so-pleasant times and still loves you and wants the best for you.

One of our fondest memories is that we were both pregnant for the first time . . . together.

We would look at each other in amazement.

Was it all that long ago that we were riding horses in New Cuyama, playing with Barbie dolls, marching in band, rafting down the Stanislaus with Gary and Ronnie, going to see Sonny and Cheri at Sacramento’s D.A.R. Constitution Hall, playing in Granny’s backyard in L.A. with our cousins, having our house T.P’d in high school, going to slumber parties and staying up all night to listen to Simon & Garfinkel’s Sound of Silence, enjoying the Santa Maria County Fair with Mom’s chocolate chip cookies and Dad helping us prepare our 4-H sheep, hogs, steers and rabbits to show?

We got to to share the growing-up years of her daughter Christy – and we’ll always remember going to an international softball tournament in Florida where Christy won the Fastest Pitch contest and pitched/played first base in 5 games in one 100 degree day.

Sending up love and gratitude to our mom, Ruth Reed, and dad, Warren Reed for teaching us to always “do the right thing” and for bringing us up in an environment of love, support . . . and animals.

We’ll always remember the chickens flying around the corner whenever we opened the back door, hoping we had some grain for them . . . and the sheep chewing gum during showmanship at the county fair (needless to say, we didn’t win) and the time I entered a buck (male rabbit) in the doe (female) class. Since Dad was the FFA advisor for our country, it took him a long time to live that one down.
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Speaking of horses, I got a final final birthday present when my friend Matt surprised me . . . with a horseback ride in the rolling hills of VA horse country. And I do mean the ROLLING hills.

This was on a glorious, sunny Tuesday afternoon so we had the countryside to ourselves. Rding along back roads with the windows down and the music playing – and then the 5.9 earthquake hit 80 miles away. Rock and roll!

How wonderful it was to be back in the saddle. It has been way too long since I’ve been on a horse.

They were a big part of my life for many years – I actually taught the Disney grandkids how to ride at a summer camp near Mt. Lassen in California where I was “Head Wrangler.” Yes, that was my official title.

I even competed for rodeo princess at my college and barrel-raced on my friend Peggy Pedrick’s horse at the Folsom Rodeo – but that’s another story – and I need to wrap this puppy up.

Suffice it to say, I plan to do more of everything that took place over the birthday week.

More hanging with my friends. More sitting around the dinner table enjoying laughs and good conversation. More horseback riding and eating fresh peaches from the farmers market. More imprinting and appreciating these golden days – these precious golden days.
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So, it’s time to bring these birthday memories to a close.

I wish that you also have the joy of family and friends coming together and contributing to make your birthday this year special and oh-so-memorable.

Whatever you do; don’t pull a Phoebe.

Don’t be subtle and hope people celebrate your big day in a big way.

ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT.

The way I figure it, your birthday is the one day a year you get to be “selfish” and spend it exactly the way you please.

So, figure out what you really, really want . . . and then ask for it . . . and then revel in it and be grateful for every blessed moment.

A dear colleague, Dr. Caitlin Williams, traveled to my home on the lake recently to spend the weekend so we could strategize her book and map out a compelling format and Table of Contents to help it break out.

It was a beautiful fall day, so we went for a lake walk to Gratitude Bench to steep ourselves in nature and jump-start our creative juices.

While sitting there and drinking in the green/gold splendor, I told her about the time I was thinking about how much I missed my walking buddy and a voice said, “We can’t do anything if you complain. You have to ask.”

Aaahhh.

So I asked, “Could I please meet someone who lives nearby, has a dog that gets along with Murph and does work similar to me so we can talk shop while we walk?”

I walked out my front door, and lo and behold, 50 yards down the sidewalk, stood Robin, an entrepreneur with her (as she calls him) Golden Recliner. And yes, we enjoyed many delightful walk-talks in the following months.

Ever since then, if I find myself thinking about what I don’t have; I turn it into a question and ask for what I’d like to have.

After sharing this with Caitlin, I mentioned the “good omen” blue heron who lives on our lake. I always feel blessed to see him, however weeks often go by without a sighting.

No sooner had I said this when it occurred to me I had lapsed into the default of “complaining.” I immediately rephrased it into a request, “Could Mr. Blue Heron please put in an appearance?”

Guess who flew over our heads 60 seconds later?

And no, I’m not making this up. You CAN’T make this stuff up.

What are the odds of that happening? Of our good luck charm being in that part of the lake at that particular moment– just as we requested a fly-by?

Have you been missing something? Could you reframe that into a request and ASK for what you’d like to have, see or experience?

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love said, “Every day you wake up, ask yourself, ‘What do I really, really want?’ You have to say really, really’ otherwise you won’t believe it.”

Miracles happen when we ask for what we really want.

I’m speaking from experience. As many of you know, I had a significant birthday this summer and decided it was too important to me to be left to chance.

So, I boldly ASKED for what I wanted – which was to be surrounded by family and friends, all of us happy, healthy and sharing memories.

That’s exactly what happened . . . and more.

Thanks to everyone who flew in for the weekend and for Mary Loverde and Denise Brossueau planning my “This is Your Life Jeopardy Game” at the National Press Club and for asking people from around the world to contribute to my Memory Jar.

If you’d like more details; I’m featuring the Thank You letter I sent to everyone who so graciously contributed and/or participated in my next blog.

Do you have a birthday coming up?

Why not make it the best one you could ask for . . . .

Jane Lynch is on a roll.

Not only has she won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a People’s Choice Award for her breakout role on Glee, she is hosting the Emmys on Sunday.

On top of that, she just came out with a memoir titled Happy Accidents that chronicles the ups-and-downs of her life that now “feels so right and so wonderful.”

In a USA Today interview with Bill Keveney, Lynch says her life looks “like a series of happy accidents when it was really just me saying yes and being really prepared.”

Jane is right.

Those “happy accidents” when we meet just the right person at the right time really aren’t accidents – they are our destiny meeting us halfway.

And she’s also right that we need to have our antennae up for those happy accidents and be prepared to act on them – otherwise the opportunities and connections they bring go away.

This excerpt from the intro to my upcoming book SerenDestiny® explores this concept a bit more. Hope you enjoy it . . .

A few years ago, while having dinner with my sons, Andrew said, “Hey, Mom, I ran into Ryan last night. It was kind of wierd. I hadn’t seen him since high school and was wondering what he was up to. Then, there he was, out of the blue.”

I’ve learned a lot, including . . .

Intrigued?

Want to know more?

If so, email us at Cheri@SamHorn.com, put SerenDestiny® in your subject heading, and we’ll be glad to send you the rest of that Intro plus the chapter in the SerenDestiny® book that explores the significance of “happy accidents” and how we can capitalize on them to create a life that, as Jane Lynch says, “feels so right and wonderful.”

Robin Williams 60th

Robin Williams:  “You’ve got the gig.  Relax and enjoy it.”

Went to see the movie One Day last night.

My friend Matt and I were coming home after dropping my son Andrew off at BWI Airport (on his way to Burning Man).

Matt and I took one look at the stopped cars on the Beltway outside DC and thought, “We can sit in traffic for a couple hours – or we could go see a movie.”

Hmmmm – what to do, what to do?

Easy choice. Off to the movie we went.

If someone asked me to describe One Day, I would say, “It’s about the fickleness and fate of timing. 

In this movie, two people meet cute at graduation.  They’re on their way to a romantic roll in the hay when his parents show up early.  This unexpected intervention turns these would-have-been-soul-mates into a same-day-next-year friendship.

The movie chronicles their passing years – the ups and downs as they “find themselves” and what they’re looking for (or not) – and how one becomes interested in the other, only to discover the other has other priorities at the time.  Their life is a series of angst as they experience these missed connections.

My friend Mary Loverde thinks,  ”All life is a connection bid.”

She cites research that says that the health of most relationships can be determined by studying the success of connection bids.

Connection bids are when we reach out to another person in an attempt to establish a connection that says, “We’re one, not two.”

A connection bid can be as simple as asking, ”How was your day?”

It can be as intimate as, “Want to head upstairs?” with a meaningful glance.

It can be as mundane as, “Want me to fix you another cup of coffee?”

As romantic as, “Let’s fly to Paris for a week.  Remember how happy we were there on our honeymoon?”

As simple, yet loved-filled, as turning to smile at – or touch - someone in a conversation or while at a movie theater or dinner party.

If the person you’re reaching out to recognizes and responds positivity to the connection bid – that keeps you close.

If those connection bids are rejected – or worse, dismissed with contempt – that relationship is on the rocks.

Yet, at this movie One Day shows; so often, we’re so busy, so fraught with trying to find ourselves, prove ourselves; we don’t see what’s right in front of us.

We’re rushing to get somewhere, instead of seeing that where we’re trying to get is . . . right here.

It reminds me of the most poignant interview I’ve ever seen.

Journalist Rita Braver interviewed Steve Martin on CBS Sunday Morning.

Steve  Martin is a genius . . . yet, based on what unfolded in this interview,  he is not a very happy man.

Rita started with questions about the evolution of his career – starting when he was the #1 comedian in the world (“A wild and crazy guy” “Excuuse Mee!”). He frequently appeared on Johnny Carson and Saturday Night Live and set records with the most widely-sold comedy albums of all time.

why are you ironing a kitty, young steve martin?

He transitioned into movies (Parenthood, The Jerk, etc.) and succeeded at that.

He wrote books and plays (Shopgirl  and Picasso at the Lapin Agile ), hosted the Emmys and won Grammys for his music.

Yet, the entire time, Steve was fraught with anxiety about whether his work was winning respect.

Toward the end of the interview, Rita looked at Steve almost tenderly and reached out, almost as if to reassure or comfort him, and said, “So, it’s really turned out okay, hasn’t it?”

Martin said, “If only someone had told me that 30 years ago, I could have relaxed and enjoyed it.”

Whoa.

The poignancy of that remark has stayed with me for years.

See, for Steve, the jury has always been out.

The pressure of trying to please has kept him in a constant state of ennui.

From the outside, he is an incredible success – #1 movies, best-selling books, Broadway plays.

Yet, in his mind, there’s been a relentless pressure to perform, prove, please.  It appears he’s never stepped back to relax and enjoy the gig.

So . . . to bring this inter-connected message of One Day, Robin Williams’ insight and Steve Martin’s regret . . . home.

We’ve got the gig.

There are people in our life reaching out to us; waiting for us to reach back.

There are successes and blessings all around us, inviting us to notice them, appreciate them, revel in them.

Complete the connection bid.  Reach back.  Relax.  

Instead of rushing to get somewhere else, succeed at something else; enjoy right here, right now.