Purpose – Thought Changer

Re words rock! But, one that we can all live without is regret. Someone asked the question over the holiday, “Do you have any regrets in your career?” I immediately felt for the person who was left to answer this question. Certainly it is a common query and one that, no doubt, can plague the mind if it’s allowed to. But, the word regret is so yesterday. It conjures up feelings of disappointment, sadness, guilt, self-judgment and missed opportunity. Who needs that? Seriously, there’s nothing good about regret. Certainly, we all have things in our lives we’d like to have another crack at, opportunities we’d have tapped if given another chance, lapses in judgment we’d like to take back, etc. A recent article in Scientific American Mind by Josie Glausiusz says that focusing on regret can lead to constant ruminating, rehashing and over analyzing what went wrong or what could… Read more →

“He was in his divinity.” That’s what Sheryl Crow had to say recently about watching Michael Jackson in action. She had toured with him early in her career and remarked about standing off stage and witnessing his genius at work, about how he seemed to go to a different place. “He was in his divinity.” We probably all know, or have seen, people who seem to be doing exactly what they were put on this earth to do. You know it when you see it. There’s nothing sexier or more attractive than a man or woman in his or her element. Sometimes they even appear to glow. They seem grounded, confident and things drift easily to them, whether it’s opportunity, money or circumstance. It got me thinking about purpose and mission and why-are-we-here, which I think about a lot. A lot. I believe, after studying the works of Marianne Williamson,… Read more →

The notion of legacy washed through my consciousness several times recently. I took in the new flick, THE BOURNE LEGACY, which in my opinion did nothing to add to Robert Ludlum’s real legacy as a prolific writer of mysteries, including the Bourne novels, which were full of rich levels of intrigue and character. This new one, not written by Ludlum, not so much. CBS Sunday Morning did a profile on the late Marvin Hamlisch, celebrating his life legacy of music. As I watched it I remembered seeing Mr. Hamlisch live in Detroit when he conducted the orchestra for Barbra Streisand. I was moved to tears the way his music transported the audience down memory lane. It got me thinking about the art of legacy and what that means. What is a l egacy and how do we decide what ours is to become? Or are we even the ones who… Read more →

George Carlin said, “It’s called the American Dream ’cause you have to be asleep to believe it.” Funny irony, for which Mr. Carlin was the master. But, my mindset has changed around the whole concept of this shared national ideal. Or I should say former shared idealThe term “American Dream” was coined by historian James Truslow Adams in 1931. He also wrote, “It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as man and woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected in the older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class.” Hmmm. Now, that’s an ideal I can get behind. But, instead government, business and society redefined an American Dream that everyone bought into or was brainwashed to buy into, the belief that more is… Read more →

“I’ve been noticing lots of changes going on in your life and not enough reflection/writing on your Thought Changer blog, so I’m checking in on you!” This is what is known as a loving smack-down on Facebook! My sweet cousin Carol messaged me this week after seeing numerous posts on FB regarding my recent moving sales and upcoming move. It inspired me and got me thinking about how so often when going through a big transition or change in life we can burrow in, nose to the grindstone and eyes planted two steps in front of us, marred down in process. That can be a good thing in terms of focus, but when you write a blog about mindset and thought-provoking change, it would seem to be the most opportune time to lift my head and make note of it all. This is the good stuff! This is where the… Read more →

I was lost in the abyss. At least the abyss also known as the Second Act. I’m in the midst of drafting a screenplay that I was commissioned to write and my deadline is quickly approaching. Before starting the script I wrote a loose outline so that I know the major plot points and how the movie ends, but filling it in with interesting scenes that drive a compelling story is where I was stuck. I had all of these fragments floating around in my head as to what came next but they became so convoluted that it was causing inertia, which is exactly the opposite of what needed to happen with a looming deadline and a very patient producer waiting for a delivered, that being, an exceptionally delivered, finished script. I needed a more detailed guideline than the loose outline, something to help me sort out what comes next,… Read more →

The albatross gets a bad rap. The oft-used reference to the bird is a metaphor for carrying a heavy burden, “This (fill in the blank) is an albatross around my neck.” Before the ancient poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge created this legend in his 1798 poem, the albatross was considered good luck by sailors when it followed their ship. However, in the poem which was inspired by a series of true stories, a mariner shoots the albatross and as punishment his companions make him wear the dead bird around his neck until his death. But, after watching the Discovery Channel’s series “Frozen Planet” I’m thinking differently about the albatross. You’d think it would be a breeze to be able to fly with an eleven-foot wingspan. But, a young albatross has an incredibly difficult time getting off the ground. In fact, it takes literally weeks for him to figure out how to… Read more →

“We have an inner thermostat that determines the amount of love and success we allow ourselves. When we exceed our setting, we tend to sabotage ourselves so that we can return to the old, familiar zone where we feel secure. The thermostat was set before you could think for yourself, usually in early childhood.” ~ Gay Hendricks, The Big Leap Since Leap Day is an extra day this year, think of it as a gift, the perfect day to take a moment, take a breath and decide where in your life you want to leave the status quo, where you want to take giant leaps! I’ve been thinking about Leap Year for several months now, about how I want to take huge leaps in all areas of my life. Leap Year only comes once every four years, but the beautiful thing is that you can live in your own Leap… Read more →

A spider dangling from the ceiling. That’s what I woke up to on the first day of 2012. My first instinct was to grab a magazine nearby and eliminate the unsuspecting offender, which is what I would have unconsciously done in the past. But, based on the title of this article, I decided to take said magazine and guide the daddy-longlegs outside, releasing it to the wonders beyond. But, this cousin of Charlotte was having no part of it. I lost track of it and found it scrambling back up its invisible web strand toward the ceiling. There was something frantic about the way it ran for its life so I let it go as its spindly legs carried it off into the catacombs of my house. We made a silent agreement to live and let live. It got me thinking about how bold and fresh 2012 is going to… Read more →

When Madonna appeared on one of Oprah’s last shows this week, that’s what she said we’ve learned from Oprah, “Never. Ever. Give. Up.” Ironically, I’ve been gathering notes for this article for the last few days because this phrase has been popping into my consciousness a lot lately. A profile in MORE Magazine on first time novelist, Kathryn Stockett, The Help, carried as its theme, “Don’t Give Up.” Stockett received, amazingly, 60 rejections over a three-year period until a wise agent picked up her manuscript and proceeded to sell it in three weeks time! People told her she was crazy, to move on to something else. But, she never gave up. Ever. She kept revising, submitting, revising, and submitting. There are numerous stories like this, from Thomas Edison to Henry Ford, to Diane von Furstenberg, to J.K. Rowling, where the odds were stacked against success, and success still came after… Read more →