Lost and Found – The Ripples Project (post by Kirk Weisler)

Posted on May 20, 2013 by mzsunflower

I found this in my inbox this morning… just waiting to be found and shared. It is from a very interesting guy I met years ago who founded something called “The Ripples Project.” Explore the extraordinary power of tiny actions. http://theripplesproject.org/

It’s the times you feel like you’ve lost everything that you find everything you didn’t know you had. –source unknown, shared by Zack W. via Facebook

Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are. -Arthur Golden, shared by Sarah in Fond du Lac, WI

It often seems like my #1 job on this planet is to remind us all to hang in there during inevitable challenges that we encounter. I’ve learned from experience and from supporting others that the tougher challenges often yield larger opportunities for growth. The toughest races offer the biggest prizes, right? Life can be exceedingly difficult, and we sometimes have to get to the finish line to find what we lost and what we gained.
To my peeps that are facing difficulties right now, HANG IN THERE! Remember to BREATHE, remember to ask for help when necessary, and remember that we often fail to realize how TOUGH we are until we’re tested. YOU’VE GOT THIS!

Paul, The Ripples Guy

p.s. If life is going fairly well for you right now, keep an eye out for others who are currently struggling. They might need a hand or a hug or both.

Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: inevitable challenges, strong wind, tough | Leave a comment

Ears that Persuade (post by Kirk Weisler)

Posted on May 17, 2013 by mzsunflower

One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears – by listening to them. — Dean Rusk

I heard that…and I agree! As we seek first to understand we dramatically increase our ability to influence any outcome. Kirk Out

Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: conversation | Leave a comment

Rejection

Posted on May 16, 2013 by mzsunflower

Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: rejection | Leave a comment

There’s Still Some Good People in the World!!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by mzsunflower

Florida Prom-Bound Teens Exit Limo to Rescue Car Crash Victims

Decked out in tuxedos and ball gowns, 20 prom-bound high school seniors and their limousine driver came to the rescue after a van overturned on a Florida highway.

The well-dressed students managed to pull seven passengers from the van Saturday and make it to just 15 minutes late, limousine driver Danny Izzi told ABCNews.com.

The students were traveling on Interstate 595 to their prom at the Westin Hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach when the van, which was in front of the limousine, began swerving, Izzi said.

“When it hit the wall and turned over, I was right behind it,” Izzi said.

He hit the brakes and got out of the car to help.

Frank Tucker, a football player at Western High School in Davie, Fla., said the students had no idea why they had come to a stop until he peeked out the window.

“I saw the bottom of the van,” he told ABCNews.com. “We kind of reacted to it, ran out of the limo and did what we had to do.”

Izzi and the teens braved blood and broken glass to pull five adults, a 9-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl to safety.

Sgt. Mark Wysocky of the Florida Highway Patrol said the girl was not wearing a seat belt, but she and the other passengers suffered only minor injuries.

The driver of the vehicle was charged with failure to use due care and a child restraint violation, he said.

When ambulances arrived to take the victims to the hospital, the teens continued to the prom, arriving 15 minutes late and a bit disheveled.

Tucker’s girlfriend, Krista Pulcini, had blood all over her gown, he said, but she managed to wash it off and continue on for the evening.

“It was a good prom,” he said. “Everybody had a story to tell.”

http://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-prom-bound-teens-exit-limo-rescue-car/story?id=19177177

Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: good people, kids, prom | Leave a comment

Does Your Stuff Own You? (post by Kirk Weisler)

Posted on May 14, 2013 by mzsunflower

“If you possess something but you can’t give it away, then you don’t possess it… it possesses you.” —Frank Sinatra

Do you own stuff or does it own you? What would you do, what could you do if everything you owned fit in a backpack?

I am reading 3 books right now…all about decluttering, simplifying, and minimalst living. A few things have inspired me to read in this direction. First and foremost my wife Rebecca who is a “chucker” who is anti-clutter and loves simplicity. Next is the story of Ian Usher who sold everything he owned on e-bay… including the URL to his website that said he was selling everything he owned on E-bay. http://www.ianusher.com/ And the story of Betsy and Warren Talbot a couple who wrote the book Dream, Save, Do about how they put together a plan to sell everything and live out their dreams with backpacks and passports. http://www.marriedwithluggage.com/our-story/

Am I going to live out of a backpack? No – but could I live with less stuff? YES. Rebecca and I just sold our beautiful home in Atlanta. We are ready for a new adventure in a new city. And as we began talking about where that might be – we also naturally began talking about what type of home we wanted to live in. With Brittany going off to college and Jake soon to follow we knew we no longer needed or wanted a home with 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 5 acres and all the upkeep that comes with it. (Though I will miss my garden, bees and chickens). In fact Rebecca said, she would like to dramatically simplify….with a focus on more experiences and far less stuff.

When I walked through the house asking myself what is in that I really just had to have… the answer was “not much”… certainly not as much as it holds. I could even let go of most of the books (maybe)

I don’t think we will be able to reduce it down to a couple of back packs like the Talbots…but what if we could? Someone wise once said, “There is genius in simplicity”. What do you need to remove from your life to find simplicity and uncover so you can recover your genius?

Kirk Out

Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: minimalist, possess, simplicity | Leave a comment

You Close Your Eyes…

Posted on May 13, 2013 by mzsunflower

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Popcorn

Posted on May 10, 2013 by mzsunflower

Happy Friday!!

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Boss vs Leader (post by Kirk Weisler)

Posted on May 8, 2013 by mzsunflower

Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: leaders | Leave a comment

What’s Holding You Back? (post by Kirk Weisler)

Posted on May 8, 2013 by mzsunflower

It was on this week (May the 6th actually) in 1954 that Richard Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student in Oxford, England became the first person recorded to have run a mile in less than four minutes. He finished the mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Until then, many thought the four-minute barrier was impossible to break and some even thought it would overwork the athlete to the point of death. It did not, of course. Bannister didn’t hold the record for long though. After demonstrating that it could be done he broke the psychological barrier for many other athletes who would break the four-minute barrier in his wake. He stands as a testament that the mind can subdue the body into false limitations, but with dedication and focus we can use the mind to our advantage to reach beyond those limitations and into higher strata of achievement.

I don’t personally identify with Roger Bannister ( I can’t imagine myself being the first to knock down significant world record barriers – which is probably a personal problem I need to deal with!) But I can more easily identify with all those guys who broke the 4 minute mile after the mental barrier had been broken. I know I have limits…and I also know that I have rarely if ever come close to reaching them…or realizing my potential. Why? Because of other limits….the ones I have placed on myself or have allowed others to place on me. (Emphasis on “have allowed”).

What’s holding you back?

What limits have you placed on yourself or allowed others to place on you?

What would you do or strive to become if you knew you could not fail?

“If you want to reach a goal, you must ’see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal” Zig Ziglar

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“Seek to become not to acquire” (post by Kirk Weisler)

Posted on May 7, 2013 by mzsunflower

Today’s T4D was inspired one posted in 2009 titled “Seek to become not to acquire.”

One day as my wife Rebecca was talking to a group of teens she said, ”Seek to become not to acquire.” A strong compliment to her personal philosophy of being a human becoming rather than just a human being.

With a world that seems to encourage the acquisition of more and more things…. we may soon find that instead of owning things …our thing own us. The move towards simplification is also a move towards freedom. (I came across this interesting book… haven’t read it yet.)

“Seek to become not to acquire.” — Just 6 words …. but 6 words that say and suggest so much.

I believe that these 6 words can have great meaning in the corporate context as well. Some seek to acquire power, position, security or influence …. others realize those outcomes as a natural consequence of their personal development and becoming.

In our seeking to become rather than to acquire… we can free ourselves from the clutter of comparison, worry, and insecurity because we have replaced them with knowledge, confidence and strength.

While others go through the motions out of pattern and habit… let us stay in motion to create habits that matter.

Let us choose wisely to not just ”go through the day”… but to grow through the day.

Kirk Out

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Categories: kirk weisler, coffee sugar, exercise 3, yoga class, and walking in the garden. | Tags: confidence, influence, insecurity, position, power, security, worry | Leave a comment

Lost and Found – The Ripples Project (post by Kirk Weisler)

Ears that Persuade (post by Kirk Weisler)

Rejection

There’s Still Some Good People in the World!!

Florida Prom-Bound Teens Exit Limo to Rescue Car Crash Victims

Does Your Stuff Own You? (post by Kirk Weisler)

You Close Your Eyes…

Popcorn

Happy Friday!!

Boss vs Leader (post by Kirk Weisler)

What’s Holding You Back? (post by Kirk Weisler)

“Seek to become not to acquire” (post by Kirk Weisler)

Blogs I Follow

Oh What I Can See