As a new day dawns in my life I must find the strength, courage, knowledge, and heart to take those neccessary steps to change my life for the better.
In America, these days, it is not the best of times, but the worst of times, for many.
I have been unemployed for over a year, and am recovering from a badly broken ankle.
However, I choose not to march in the streets, and blame the world for my situation, instead taking the time to gain new knowledge, and inspiration, for the challenges I know are ahead, as I find a new life, and even a new place, for myself in the world.
I choose to believe that it will, once again, be Morning in America, and our nation will, once again, take its rightful place as the freeist, most exceptional, most powerful, most productive, nation on the planet, leading the world to a better, more prosperous, future.
I took a slew of computer classes, and while I grateful for support, and encouragement, from several friends, I have also done, and plan to still do, plenty of reading, for inspiration, and ideas, moving forward.
I have read, and plan to read, a variety of books from the Bible (& books by Diarmand MacCulloch on the History of Christianity, & the Reformation), to inspirational self-help by Norman Vincent Peale, Glenn Beck, Dale Carnegie, Seth Grodin, Tim Sanders, Richard Carlson, Dan Miller, Julia Cameron (On Creative Writing), Richard Leider, and Chris Gardner.
In my last post I wrote about one of my favortite session at The Life @ 50+ Convention ( This series actually begins with a Prelude ), the Tim Leider session.
The other session I really enjoyed was by Chris Gardner, the guy Will Smith played in the film about his life, The Pursuit of Happyness.
These 2 men are behind The Life Reimagined Project:
This Movement is "a special project with a laudable goal: to forge a vibrant and supportive peer-to-peer network of people seeking to discover “what's next” in their lives. Life Reimagined provides guidance, connections and resources for people who are navigating the shifting world of work, forging new relationships and planning the next steps to their goals and dreams."
I've never seen the film, or read the autobiography but the description of his talk on "Reimagining your life" interested me.
It was an inspiring, enthusiastic, informative, thoughtful, & thought-provoking, talk designed to encourage the listener to find the strength, & courage, to "reimagine your life". I took several pages of notes &, afterward, I bought a copy of his new book called Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You are to Where You Want to Be. The description on the back cover struck a chord with me: "If you've had the rug pulled out from under you, are dealing with the loss of a home or a job, a health or financial crisis, or simply can't find the motivation to pursue new challenges, these 44 clear, cogent, and accessable life lessons are invaluable. Chris Gardner shows us how to tap into the infinite resources we already have on hand to move in the only direction - forward!" I finished reading his book last weekend, & found it a remarkable reading experience. In his talk he discussed, among other things, how a life reimagined makes it easy to live life, and that it's hard to let go of the past, & reimagine a better life.
He had several tips to think about:
If you can't get out of it, GET INTO IT.
Be curious about life, learning, and growing.
Ask yourself what do you feel called to do? What are your strengths & talents, and how can you utilize them the rest of your life?
G x P x V = C (Gifts x Passions x Values = Calling) means finding ways to use your gifts on something you are passionate about, and reach out to others with your gifts, & talents.
Purpose is a Verb. Where your talents, & the needs of the world cross, there is your purpose in life. Figure out how you fit in the world, and use your gifts by following your passions.
Here are the notes I took on his talk:
(Yes, that's REALLY Alex Tribek!)
1. Pay Attention to your passions.
2. Do an Inventory of yourself.
3. Don't just find a job, create an opportunity.
4. Decide what you want your life to be about, and go from there.
5. You want something? Go get it!
6. You can't change something until you own it.
7. How did you get where you currently are?
8. Find the one thing you would do for free, would love to get up in the morning, and do.
9. Don't let others tell you something can't be done.
10. Got a dream? Go Get it!
11. Maybe it's not a time to find a job, but find what you WANT to do.
Find your Button. When you find your Button, PUSH IT!
12. If you are not going to push your Button now when ARE you going to push it?
Don't be afraid to push your Button!
13. Stop saying IF, and say WHEN!
14. When it comes to choosing between doing your Passion, & what's Practical, can you do BOTH?
15. Don't lose faith. Find what you love, do what you believe is great work. Don't settle.
16. Take the 1st Step: Baby Steps count as long as you are going forward.
17. When it comes to retooling your skills, what talents, skills, & expertese, you already have are transferable.
18. Find balance in your life more powerful than your checkbook.
19. Have confidence that your gifts can create your better life.
Empower yourself...Be true to yourself...Be a Creator.
20. Stop looking for a "job", and look for opportunities to use your skills, talents, and expertese.
21. Have a plan, & be clear, concise, compelling, consistent, and committed.
22. Find, and connect with, people who have, or are doing, what you want to do..
23. We are all going to fall at some point. A Life Reimagined is when you get up, & move forward.
A lot to take in, and the book was even more intense an experience.
I came away from the convention with several bags of freebeies, fliers, and brochures, and much to think about.
NOTE: The beautiful, life-like, Ronald Reagan Centennial Memorial was unveiled, this month, at Bonita Canyon Sports Park near the corner of Ford Rd., & MacArthrur Blvd., in Newport Beach, Ca. (The OCTA Bus #76 goes right to it, if you take the bus.).
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