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Yesterday I had a “daddy day” with my two year old daughter Samantha. It was wonderful. I took her to see the San Francisco Giants play the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park in San Francisco. We had so much fun and Samantha loved it…running around the ballpark, watching the “baseball boys” play on the field, getting a pink Giants hat and orange foam finger, meeting lots of neat people including “Lou Seal” (the Giants mascot), and much more.
When we got home and I was giving Samantha her bath before bedtime, I asked her, “What was your favorite part of the day?” She said, without hesitation, “Eating popcorn!” When she said it, my first thought was, “Eating popcorn, are you kidding?” I then thought to myself, “I can make you popcorn at home, why did we have to go all the way to San Francisco, spend all the money we spent, and do everything we did today for you to eat some popcorn.” As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I stopped, smiled, and laughed at myself.
What a great example of being able to appreciate the simple things. For Samantha, eating popcorn at the baseball game with her daddy was fun and she appreciated it.
Each and every day we have the opportunity to appreciate the simple things in our lives. Too often we don’t stop to notice and pay attention to all there is to appreciate around us.
Today, see if you can stop as often as possible to appreciate the simple things in your life…when you do, you will not only notice that there are so many…you will also feel great about yourself, the people around you, and your life.
That is the power of appreciation in action!
With Gratitude,
Mike
Samantha’s dressed and ready to go to the baseball game!
As someone who is very interested in current events, politics, sports, and more – I pay a lot of attention to the news (sometimes more than is probably healthy for me). I read my newspapers (San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, NY Times), check the Internet (CNN.com, HuffingtonPost.com, ESPN.com. MLB.com, and others), watch TV (CNN, MSNBC, ESPN…and the Daily Show on Comedy Central of course), and listen on the radio (KCBS, NPR, ESPN radio, etc.). With all of this news and information, I am often struck by how little of it is “good news.”
While there is probably a certain amount of negative stuff that is important for us to know about, if we spend time checking in with most of the “mainstream” press – it is easy to get the impression that life is really scary, negative, and that there are lots of terrible things are happening all over the place.
What about all the good news? There are literally billions of positive things happening all over the planet at this moment…most of them we will never hear about or know about. Think of how much good stuff goes unnoticed, unacknowledged, and un-communicated even in our own personal lives.
I recently found out about an amazing woman, Daryn Kagan, and her remarkable website, https://www.darynkagan.com/. She is a former CNN anchor and reporter who has started her own media outlet – sharing real life, positive stories of real people like you and me. After 12 years at CNN (and 20 years total in the news business), she left in 2006 and launched this website with a vision of uplifting people and sharing some of the wonderful “good news” that is all over the place.
Her new book, What’s Possible, is all about this. She picked 50 incredible stories that will touch your heart and soul. She also includes some valuable nuggets and “take-aways” from the stories that you can practice in your own life right away.
Way to go Daryn! I applaud you for your work, your vision, and your commitment. To have someone with your skill, awareness, and expertise using the media to share all of this good stuff…is wonderful and what we all need more of on a daily basis.
Check out Daryn’s site and book – you will be glad that you did. And, in your own life – share as much good news with others as you can.
With Appreciation,
Mike
I often find myself running around – going from task to task, meeting to meeting, event to event – just trying to get to the “end,” (which, by the way, never comes). I have recently been listening to the incredible class that Oprah is doing with Eckart Tolle on his book The New Earth (which I highly recommend). Something simple, but powerful that Eckart keeps saying is that “the access point is in the present moment.”
When and if we can actually be present in this very moment, we have access to peace, love, joy, transformation, connection, healing, beauty, and anything else we want to experience in our lives. Instead of working “hard” to get to some destination out in the future, we can experience fulfillment right now if we appreciate THIS moment.
Take a moment right now as you read this to stop, look around, and pay attention to this very moment in time. When we do this, anything and everything is possible.
With Appreciation,
With Super (Duper) Tuesday tomorrow, I felt compelled to write about Barack Obama. I often get nervous to passionately express my political views too loudly as I don’t want to offend anyone, be too pushy, or to turn off or push away people who may think or feel differently. And, here on my blog which is read by people of all backgrounds, faiths, political persuasions, and more it feels risky to me to put this out here. However, for a myriad of reasons this moment feels too important to let my little insecurities get in the way of speaking my mind and sharing what is in my heart…
I am inspired to my core about the possibility of Barack Obama getting the Democratic nomination and being our next President. I imagine you have already made up your mind about who you will be (or already have) voted for this primary season. And if you haven’t or have been thinking another way, as Oprah said yesterday at the rally for Obama at UCLA, “You are allowed to change your mind.” 🙂 While I respect and admire Senator Clinton and Senator McCain on so many levels, I truly believe Barack Obama is the person who can help transform and heal our nation. He speaks about and understands love, empathy, change, equality, peace, hope, unity, and possibility (and so much more)…these are the core elements of what is called for and needed at this important time!
My passionate support of Barack Obama began when my wife Michelle and I attended the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. We were at the Fleet Center that July night when he gave his historic speech and introduced himself to the country and the world in a BIG way. About 5 minutes into his speech that night, I looked over to Michelle and she was crying. I looked around at a dozen or more strangers sitting near us and many of them were crying too. Within moments I was in tears myself. Many of us looked at one another as he was speaking and mouthed, “Who is this guy?” in sheer amazement. It was a truly spiritual experience and the highlight of an experience (being at that convention) that was a pinnacle moment in both mine and Michelle’s life.
We have since met him in person (see the photo below from our trip to DC in Feb. 2007) and seen him speak live in San Francisco and Oakland. I have been moved to tears dozens of times listening to him. I have never felt this way about a politian in my life and have never seen or felt what is happening in this country and with his campaign. We have the chance to make history, not just in electing the first African American president, but in empowering a spirit of hope, passion, and love that is needed and necessary at this time in our country’s and our world’s evolution.
In reading both of his books and watching literally thousands of his speeches, interviews, and more (yippee CNN and youtube.com) I am thoroughly convinced that Barack Obama is the right person at this time in our history to lead us in a much needed, loving and healthy direction. Just think what an incredible message we will send to our children, our country, and our world when we have Barack and Michelle Obama in the White House. By the way, if you have not seen her interviewed or heard her speak, check her out…she will knock your socks off too!
I love being alive at this time and am grateful to be able to share my passion, my love, and my commitment not just for Barack Obama, but for this incredible nation and world we live in right here in this email to you. Whatever you do, vote! And, if you are still not sure or thinking about changing your mind…vote for Barack Obama! Thanks for reading this, for participating in this process, and for being who you are.
As Barack says, “YES WE CAN!” I so agree with him. https://origin.barackobama.com/tv/ (click here to watch his “yes we can” speech from a few weeks ago in New Hampshire).
And, once he is elected, the real work will begin. It is time for all of us to step up, play big, and participate in the political process with love, hope, and faith in what is great about ourselves, each other, and this country. He is calling on all of us to become conscious citizens and to create the country and world we truly want. Yes, we can do this!
With Inspiration and Passion,
Mike
P.S. Here is a link beautifully written piece by my friend and best-selling author Marianne Williamson called “My Journey to Obama” that she posted on the Huffington Post a few weeks ago: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marianne-williamson/my-journey-to-obama_b_81372.html
2/1/07 – we were in Washington DC for the Peace Alliance conference and we visited the Senate…we ran into Barack in the elevator and got this photo with him. Amazing! 🙂
Hey there…happy new year. Can I still say that, even though we are about two weeks into the new year already? I guess it still works for another few days. I have been meaning to post to my blog for weeks now – all about the holidays, year-end appreciation and completion, goal setting for the new year, and more. And, 2008 is off and running for me in such a way, this is my first opportunity (or the first time I have forced myself) to sit down and write here on my blog. I hope you are doing well and that the year is off to a good start for you.
So, what kind of a year will it be for you? Are you waiting to see, as most of us do. Or, are you setting your course and making it happen? I recently heard Joel Osteen on Larry King, it was a re-play of his interview from a few months ago when his book came out. He made a comment about the difference between being a thermometer (which just tells the temperature) and the thermostat (which sets the temperature). I like that analogy and it is a good thing for us to consider about ourselves, especially as the year gets going.
Make a commitment to yourself about what kind of a year and what kind of a life you are going to have. Instead of waiting around to see how it turns out, get out there and turn it out the way you want it to.
I wish you all the best for a great 2008. I am excited to be able to connect with you this way.
Cheers,
Mike