A high school drop out who did kinda okay

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Michael J. Fox’s latest book is ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future’ and yes, he is the high school drop out in question. In the book Michael J. Fox certainly does not promote quitting High School! Far from it. What the book focuses on, by sharing his story, and the challenges he faced and took on along the way, what you can learn as a student of life, being open what the people around you (especially your children) can teach you, and to be present in the moment. The only book I can think of to compare it to, and this is high praise considering my love of it, is Randy Pauch’s “The Last Lecture” (another must read). It’s a fantastic book, a great story, with lessons all of us can learn from.

Thank you Richelle for buying me this for Father’s Day. It came at a good time.

YouTube: “Good Morning America: Michael J. Fox’s Life Lessons “

NPR.org: A Lesson In Life From Michael J. Fox (with excerpt)

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

He signs the book off with “Live to learn.”.

Merlin Mann – “No, really, do it.”

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Merlin Mann on “Watching the Corners: On Future-Proofing Your Passion”:

Nothing can actually “future-proof” anything. Anyone who claims to know the future is either a madman, a charlatan, or, often as not, both.

Thing is, regardless of the passions (or goals or values or priorities or whatever) that we hope to protect or defend, we’d all do well to remember that it is still ultimately OUR passion that’s at stake.

That means we’re the only one responsible for seeing that its functional components survive and adapt in a world in which each one of us has just north of zero control.

If we embrace the fact that no one can or should ever care about the health of our passions as much as we do, the practical decisions that help ensure Our Good Thing stays alive can become as “simple” as a handful of proven patterns–work hard, stay awake, fail well, hang with smart people, shed bullshit, say “maybe,” focus on action, and always always commit yourself to a bracing daily mixture of all the courage, honesty, and information you need to do something awesome–discover whatever it’ll take to keep your nose on the side of the ocean where the fresh air lives. This is huge.

Anything else? Yeah. Drink lots of water, play with your kid every chance you get, and quit Facebook today. No, really, do it.

What could you/we/us do to help the Gulf Coast?

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It is easy to be depressed about the oil leak in the Gulf Coast. It is easy to feel helpless. It is easy to feel ineffectual rage.

So don’t.

Share what is it that you, me, we, us can do to help the Gulf Coast in the here and now? (examples: aid packages, directed money, etc)

Share what is it that you, me, we, us can do to help the Gulf Coast from ever experiencing a man-made tragedy like this again in the future? (examples: carpooling, public transportation drives, home energy usage improvements, etc)

We are not helpless.

Don’t be fearful and not offer an idea because it is not a fleshed out solution. An idea you have might turn into a solution when others see it and can build off of it.

PS – I will be taking your suggestions to our CIM Volunteers meeting.

Are you past, present, or future oriented?

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Our perspective of time drives how we perceive the now we live in and the decisions we make.

Watch (it’s only 10 minutes) YouTube: “RSA Animate – The Secret Powers of Time by Professor Philip Zimbardo”:

I can actually trace where, in different parts of my history, from living day to day sleeping on the train, to going to Chubb Technical Institute, to meeting Richelle, to becoming a Dad, my perspective has changed.

It reminds me of a short video I posted to my Facebook account I tripped upon earlier that is worth posting here again (2 minutes – watch it): YouTube: “The Unsettling Truth About Life”:

You can tell what orientation Alan Watts thinks we are all being distracted from.

Both of these are worthy of your time – thought provoking stuff.