Thankful For Milestones

If you have followed the MMM for some time you have likely read my writings on practicing gratitude year-round, not just during this particular week. For me personally, this year has been a great reminder of that mindset. Milestones are significant. We are blessed to reach them, and should take the time to appreciate and be thankful for them. For me this year I am….

• Thankful for a 25-year loving marriage

• Blessed to have celebrated my 65th birthday

• Healthy after 20 years in remission and almost 5 years for my wife

• Excited to celebrate the 20th Montgomery County Light The Night Walk

• Thankful that Blanton Advisors celebrated 14 years in business

• Proud of our granddaughter who graduated high school and move on to college

• Thankful that you all still read, and hopefully appreciate, the MMM after 20 years

Milestones are awesome. So is getting up every day, with loved ones, shelter, food and employment. Be blessed and grateful this Thanksgiving week.

Happy Memorial Day!

 

If it were not for the armed services protecting the liberties, we have in this country I might not have the freedom to write the MMM!  I try to remind myself of that, but we tend to take our freedoms for granted.  We are truly blessed in this country and should be thankful for the independence that we enjoy.  Our freedom and liberties are, and always have been, protected by those that serve in the US military.

 

I hope the BBQ is juicy, the fireworks are spectacular, and the sun is shining wherever you spend this Memorial Day holiday!

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving week!  It is the time we designate each year to give thanks, to be grateful for all that we have.  Shouldn’t we be doing that all the time?  I had a conversation just last week with some friends about the things we take for granted, food and shelter, hot running water, a coat to wear when it cools down.  If you are reading this, you are likely blessed well beyond most people on this planet.  Be thankful for that!  Be thankful for that all year long!

These days there seems to be a lot written about gratitude, and the role that it plays in a positive outlook and happiness.  Expressing your thanks can really improve your overall sense of well-being.  Studies show that grateful people are more agreeable, more open, and less neurotic.  There are many ways to remind ourselves of our blessings and encourage gratitude.  I know people who maintain a gratitude journal.  Another friend recently reached a milestone birthday and created a list equal to his age of things he is thankful for.  Don’t take your blessings for granted, Willie Nelson doesn’t.

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."

-       Willie Nelson

 Be intentional about your gratitude.  You will feel better, I promise.  

Life is hard

Recently, as I was working through a personal challenge in my mind, I was reminded of how difficult life can be.  We were not promised that life will always be easy or comfortable, and I don’t know anyone who believes it is.  Our family members battle health issues and financial challenges. Friends lose loved ones and experience family break-ups. Businesses suffer losses, economic challenges and pandemics. Churches and civic organizations face internal battles and external negative forces.  Everyone knows the saying, “It’s always something”, and it is! There is always some kind of a battle going on. We always face challenges large or small. Life is about how we deal with these things, not just what we are dealing with at the moment.

It may seem funny that I am writing about how difficult life is just one week after writing about the importance of being thankful.  I actually don’t consider that to be inconsistent.  Life is challenging, but we continue to be blessed with opportunities and solutions. How you get through your challenges today and this week make you who you are in the days, weeks and years to come.

Thanksgiving 2020 in Perspective

Here we are headed into another major holiday still under the “wet blanket feeling” of the pandemic. This holiday, and Christmas soon to follow, will certainly look and feel different.    We may not be able spend time with loved ones like normal, nor will we have the excitement of public gatherings that we enjoy during the holiday season. We might be  lonely or feeling depressed. Possibly we are frustrated and overwhelmed. Whatever the case, it will be a different and potentially challenging holiday season.

As tough as things may seem, let’s keep things in perspective.  We are still blessed.   If you woke up this morning in good health with a roof over your head, you should be thankful.  If you and your family know you will  have three meals today, be grateful.  If you have the ability to see and read this message, don’t take that for granted.  If you have family and friends who love you, even though you might not get to hug them this Thursday, you are blessed.  If you have all of these things you are in a very small percentage of the world from a wealth and comfort perspective.  We may not get the holidays that we are used to, but we are blessed and should remain grateful for the things we have. Consider the real meaning of Thanksgiving and maintain perspective.  Happy Thanksgiving

Leadership - Foresight

Several years ago my wife, Fran, and I spent the 4th of July in the birthplace of this great country.  We were in Philadelphia and toured Independence Hall and visited the Liberty Bell.  It was really special to actually be there on the 4th!  It is hard to fathom that we were in the same building where our founding fathers literally crafted our independence over 200 years ago. 

Their story is one of incredible courage and unbelievable foresight.  At the time no country in the world was ruled “by the people” the way they conceived this country to be.  They had to be courageous to stand up against the British.  They had to have foresight to see the great potential of a free country ruled by its’ people.  They also had to have an understanding of the potential impact of what they were doing. 

Leaders who do not see their potential impact may actually miss leadership opportunities altogether.  I am thankful for, and actually in awe of, how our forefathers made thoughtful, courageous and impactful decisions.  Those decisions have served this country well over the years.  While our own individual impact may not be quite so far reaching (although you never know) we certainly can impact the world around us.  To do so we have to be courageous.  We must think and act with foresight.  Most of all, we need to grasp the potential impact of our leadership decisions. 

Our founding fathers took decisive action in the face of a leadership opportunity over 200 years ago.  Today we live in the greatest country in the world as a result of their actions. 

Happy Birthday USA!  Have a great 4^th of July holiday and may God bless America!

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving week!  It is the time we designate each year to give thanks, to be grateful for all that we have.  Shouldn’t we be doing that all the time?  I had a conversation just last week with some friends about the things we take for granted, food and shelter, hot running water, a coat to wear when it cools down.  If you are reading this, you are likely blessed well beyond most people on this planet.  Be thankful for that!  Be thankful for that all year long!

These days there seems to be a lot written about gratitude, and the role that it plays in a positive outlook and happiness.  Expressing your thanks can really improve your overall sense of well-being.  Studies show that grateful people are more agreeable, more open, and less neurotic.  There are many ways to remind ourselves of our blessings and encourage gratitude.  I know people who maintain a gratitude journal.  Another friend recently reached a milestone birthday and created a list equal to his age of things he is thankful for.  Don’t take your blessings for granted, Willie Nelson doesn’t.

"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around."

-       Willie Nelson

Be intentional about your gratitude.  You will feel better, I promise. 

Gratitude

I have read and thought a lot about being grateful lately.  Making time to be thankful seems to be a current self-improvement theme.  One such article asked a journalist about the common thing they hear from all successful people, specifically entrepreneurs.  The reply was that they each make daily time to be thankful.  For many this is during quiet time in the morning, for others it is a gratitude journal, for some it is being conscious of outwardly showing thanks daily.  It is a humbling thing to look at life from the viewpoint of what we have to be grateful for.  The list grows quickly and just as quickly outnumbers our challenges.  What are you thankful for?  When was the last time you thought about it?  Wrote them down?  Spoke of them out loud?  I certainly have a lot to be grateful for. Gratitude is powerful.  It adds a great perspective to days that we think are filled with challenges and obstacles. 

Be Grateful…