Bad moods are often caused by things that are minor

• There is a cure.
• Ask, is what’s bothering me this minute worth being bitter.
• People who flip off things that get them down are taking charge of their happiness.
• Then when a big problem occurs, focus on a big solution.
• If you’ve ever played golf with someone who messes up shots and laughs off mistakes and still has fun, just watch how to do it.
• Every irritation is not worth the same level of misery.

Why are we even listening to people who say negative things to us?

• Ignore them.
• Change the subject
• Laugh it off
• Never engage, never enrage
• No one can get into your head if you clap back words meant to hurt or control us.

Viktor Frankl’s account of his time in a World War II concentration camp (Man’s Search for Meaning) is chilling.

Happiness in itself does not qualify as such a purpose; pleasures do not give our life meaning.

In contrast, he points out that even the dark and joyless episodes of our lives can be times when we mature and find meaning.

Creating work, appreciating nature, works of art or simply loving people and facing the ups and downs of life.

These times may be difficult to endure but according to Frankl, our lives take on meaning through our actions, through loving, and even through suffering.

How many times have you heard someone apologize by saying “if I offended you, then…”

The quid pro quo of apologizing.

Sorry should be the easiest word we could say – actually, we should say it many times a day because …

• What we type into chat, social media and emails is bound to offend someone.
• Without seeing or hearing another person, we miss out on their reaction to us.
• Some people are more sensitive to things than others.
• And words have consequences – they matter.

Sorry isn’t bad, it means you’re good.

But the best apology is the one that includes what you’re sorry for – it’s a way we humans have of not having to be perfect.

1.  You are always in charge, always make the final decision and choose what is right for you.
2. You accept no criticism because criticism never makes you better without first hurting you.
3. You are responsible for believing in yourself not outsourcing it to others who could on a whim take it away some day.
4. You don’t ask for help without offering it in return.
5. You get endless re-dos as long as your heart is in the right place.

No matter how bad things are today, tomorrow they will get better.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Go back through your life and discover that hope is what sustains us until relief arrives.

The Beatles producer George Martin was a big part of their success.

He did what many in power would not do – he let them be.

Strange, talented, creative.

Managing people can be the fine art of letting them manage themselves because The Beatles were in the capable hands of George Martin who kept his capable hands off their talent.

This is the essence of good management – both being there and staying out of the way.

Warren Buffett says successful people have one two-letter word in common.

No.

No is like yes for people who take on too much, have weak boundaries and who get lost in other people’s work.

Buffett goes further.

He says no to almost everything.

A clear way to look at this advice is to think of getting in your car and taking off on a trip.

Even if you know where you want to go, you can’t turn at every intersection or you will never get to your destination.

The struggle is to understand why you have too little confidence.

And so the search becomes all-encompassing and self-directed.

Finding more confidence by obsessing about not having enough rarely works.

Empowering others is palpable, an instant confirmation that your actions can make a difference.

The next time you need a jolt of confidence, ask this:

What can I do to make someone else’s day better?

Get back in touch with the power to do good.

Kobe Bryant spoke publicly and lovingly about his Lower Merion, PA high school teacher who taught him a key driver of motivation:

“Rest at the end not in the middle”.

Bryant joked that sometimes he actually listened in school – judging from his basketball career, he really listened.

Making ourselves miserable because of something that happened in the past is useless.

What happened then has already occurred, we cannot change, edit or alter it.

If you want to put regrets, insights, awakenings and everything that seems to occur as a result to good use, look forward.

The past is a guidebook.

What to do.

What to do differently.

What to let go of.

What to embrace.

Regretting the past just feeds more regrets.

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it – why not put life’s lessons to work in the future?

Embrace fear.

Turn it into something powerful.

Let it inspire bravery.

Make every fear thought transformational.

“It’s okay to be sacred.  Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.”

1. Before getting out of bed November 25, think of 3 people who love you.
2. Then think of 3 people who are the most in the world to you.
3. Wherever you go to celebrate or whatever you do, smile at 3 people without saying a word.
4. Find 3 people you can catch doing something awesome like making Thanksgiving dinner, spending time with you or making some kind of sacrifice – say something publicly to shower them with the appreciation of others.
5. After losing a loved one close to this holiday, I decided to display a picture and tell someone about them so they could be with me that day and in the future (it was my mother and I told how she made broccoli in garlic and olive oil every Thanksgiving).
6. Before bed, love yourself by thinking of 3 things that you are proud of doing and then close your eyes.

In the days of vinyl, the record business used to say this about a song or album:  if it’s in the grooves, it’s a hit.

Yet the same thing is true of other things where substance is more important than anything else.

Good relationships are based on shared values but you don’t have to have the same personality – in fact, we know that opposites often attract.

A great career is not usually the one that pays the most money.

When searching for satisfaction, look first to what’s already there – “in the grooves” – instead of trying to become something different.

1. Self-doubt multiples exponentially.
2. There is never a reason to talk yourself down – even a mistake does not make you incompetent so avoid damaging thoughts when things go wrong.
3. You are your own advocate – it isn’t necessary to accept criticism or criticize yourself to be better.
4. Love yourself before asking someone else to.

With all the things that bombard us, it’s hard to get in the right headspace to do certain important things.

Interesting thing about radio and TV talent – they can snap right into the right headspace no matter what happens in the outside world away from the studio.

I knew a radio newsperson who was fired from their job and was asked to work their entire shift – the one that would be their last.

They did it – professionals have a way of rising to the occasion even under duress.

I think of that example a lot when I am finding it hard to get my mind focused on what’s in front of me through all the distractions.

A positive attitude does not require everything to go your way.

Be concerned about the people who are here, not the ones who have chosen not to be.

So often in our lives we pursue the unavailable to the detriment of those who grace our lives.

Focus attention on those who are available to you in your life rather than waste it on those who are not.

It just sits there until you open it.

You wouldn’t leave a birthday or holiday gift unopened and expect the joy and to experience the excitement of what’s inside and the same is true of every new day.

Those who complain about how bad things are aren’t seeing that special gift of life that is often left opened.

Given the choice of trading your problems for someone else’s, time after time people choose to keep their own problems.

So, every day is a gift if it is opened and enjoyed.

Otherwise it’s a missed opportunity.

Why do we resolve to make changes on New Year’s Eve instead of before the end of the year?

The average person gives up on their New Year’s resolution by February 1 — 68% say sooner than that.

New Year’s resolutions should be made before Thanksgiving so there are at least 30 days to change the habit and achieve the result.

Then at New Year’s you can celebrate accomplishing your goal with 12 full months ahead to enjoy the intended benefits and zero likelihood of giving up on it before January 1^st.

• A small room can be a wide world – embrace it
• Authentic never goes out of style
• People can hear a smile without seeing it
• In life, your mic is always on – act accordingly
• The secret to effective public speaking is to feel like you’re talking to one person at a time
• It’s what’s between the music that counts – in radio and in life