The only things in this life that you’ll regret are the risks that you didn’t take.
Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard that before. Me too!
But do we do anything about it?
We have the choice to go after our dreams and make things happen or we can sit back and take it easy.

If you stare at a box of cake mix does it get baked?
No. Nothing happens.
Nothing. My three-year-old grand daughter can tell you that. The same is true for our dreams and our life.

It’s human nature to fight change and do what’s easy. Easy is a choice, but choosing it means that you won’t reach your goal of losing weight, write your novel or learn Russian.

Easy means we won’t act unless we’re forced to. This means you won’t lose weight until after a heart attack. You may never finish the novel or learn the language because most dreams are things we want to do, rather than must do to survive.

Easy means we’d rather watch TV, eat a burger and goof off than get off of our sorry butt and make the cake.
Those cupcakes won’t bake themselves and neither will your dreams.

Dreams take effort. Walt Disney didn’t create Disneyland by sitting on his tush doing nothing. He made it happen.
He knew the secret of success.

I’m going to share it with you: Sustained effort. That’s it!

Work hard.

Keep at it.


Most people don’t succeed because they aren’t willing to work. They play, hoping that somehow the cake will be baked and someone will hand them a thick luscious slice.

Guess what, not happening.

Creating your dreams and making your life work is up to you.
I won’t sugarcoat this:
No one else really gives a damn about your dream.

That’s harsh. But getting to the end of your life full of regret and having never tasted that cake, that’s far crueler.

Open the box of your dreams, read the directions, set your goals and then follow them. Do something! If you find the cake wasn’t as good as you’d hoped, try another flavor and go for it. Keep at it. You will accomplish something just through the effort. The biggest regret is having never tried.

Dreams are what make us human; working toward them is what makes life worth living.

 I hope to see you bake your hearts out and eat your cake.

Gossip? Oh no. I don't engage in rude barbs and hurtful comments of those not present to defend themselves.
Good for you!
What about well meaning news? That's not gossip.
Oh, but it is.

According to the Oxford American Dictionary gossip is: Casual talk, especially about other people's affairs.

It's human nature to talk, share and purge to our friends. It's how we connect.
Connecting is great, but make sure that it's your own news that you share.

Why is gossiping such a ruinous activity?
Because we don't trust those who talk about others. We wonder what they say about us.
Trust is essential in all relationships.
Your success is built on the trust of family, friends, your co-workers, and customers.
To protect your hard work and success decide now to avoid any speaking about those not present.

This includes text and e-mail messages. Not kidding.

How do we do this when people love to talk about others?
One way to avoid engaging in other-talk is to redirect the conversation by telling the person that you'd rather hear about them.
This usually works. Most people love to talk about themselves.
If this ploy doesn't end the spewing of information, kindly tell the person that you're not comfortable talking about those not there.
Refuse to take part in, listen to or share information on others not present.

Trust and your integrity are closely aligned. Do not blow it with idle conversation.

Gossip is like the fabled siren's song. It entices and lures us. We get sucked into the seductive tones until we are smashed on the rocks of truth.
Why truth?
Because the person in question usually finds out and you're the one shot full of holes in the end.

I've cut people from my life because I couldn't trust them. 

We value those we trust.

Be a person others value.

Now for the fun! One lucky commenter will win a print copy of my new book APOLLO'S GIFT. Make sure that I can reach you by putting your info on the contact page.

            The world is out teacher, constantly sending gentle lessons our way. Think of them as course corrections. We ignore most of these because we’re busy and fail to hear the subtle murmur prodding us to act.
   This instructor speaks through feelings and situation. Humans were once eloquent in the use of metaphor and symbolism, but this skill is going the way

of Latin, becoming a dead language to all but scholars.
This ability isn’t difficult to learn.

 Awareness is key.

Basically, this is how the course corrections work:

The Universe sends a small message, like a car sounding odd. We may choose to ignore it. If we do, the sound gets worse and now is grinding. We’ll take the car in to be looked at as soon as we have more time. But we don’t.
Now we have a crisis, the car won’t start. Or a disaster, we have an accident because the transmission failed on the freeway.
Here’s an example:

I’ve a family member who had a great job. He made six figures in sales without the aid of a college degree. Money poured in. As a single guy, he bought jet skis he used twice, theater tickets he ended up giving away, and generally pissed away his earnings.  He ignored the odd noise.  When something seems too good to be true—it is! Pay attention.

When the company went through a merger and restructuring, he was offered his same position at a cut in pay for two years, but stock in the new company. He was convinced that lucrative jobs were abundant for a guy like him. He declined and accepted a generous severance package, enough to live on comfortably for two years. This would be a gear grinding.

What did he do?

He looked for a job, expecting to land the same pay for a similar position. After three months, realization slapped his fanny.  You’re 38 years old with a high school education. We need someone with a college degree, but we can offer you a position at $24,000.00 per year.

Did he listen to the Universe screaming at him and go to school? He had the time and the money.

Hell no!

He was unemployed for three years before his funds ran out and he had to borrow from a relative to keep from loosing his home. He currently works a mediocre sales job for average pay.

Yes, this is a true story.  Ugh!!!  Truth is stranger than fiction.
He ignored the signs, the nudge, the grinding gears halting his progress and ending in near disaster.

Where in your life is the Universe nudging you?