6 Months Left to Live

The Gallup Organization recently asked this question in a poll to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide: If you knew that you had only 6 months left to live, would you live your life differently in anyway large or small?

The fact is we don't know how long we will be here on earth. We don’t know for sure if we will wake up on Saturday. We often hear the phrase, “Make the most out of everyday that we have.” Yet, we still get caught up in the details and dramas of life and forget what is truly important to us. We lose focus on we are and who we are becoming.

In every moment there is an opportunity to create a new experience and memory

Fortunately most of us have more than 6 months to live. One of the main points of the survey of course, is what will you do to make the most out of your time. Here's my list of things to do to make the most out of each day:

Tell someone "I Love You"

Show someone that I Love Them

Laugh, often

Take at least a few moments to appreciate nature...especially when I am very busy

Learn something new...the other day I learned how to make a Pineapple Sandwich!

Listen to something or someone inspiring or motivational (Many times I find inspiration in music)

Write or read something inspiring or motivational (Some times I inspire others too)

Give a kind word or help to a stranger

Eat chocolate

Sleep well

Hug and be hugged, often

Dream of my next opportunity to travel

Step away from all of my life's stuff and enjoy the company of the people that I love and respect (and vice versa)

Live in the moment...instead of the past (If only I would have...) or the future (Tomorrow, I'll...)

Focus and take action on what I want in my life...instead of what I don't want

Separate myself from the drama of other people's lives (including those on TV)...reminding myself that their drama is not mine

--

By the way, 98% of people that responded to the Gallup survey said that they would live their life differently in some way large or small. What will you do differently?

Andrew Sanderbeck

The Pepper Grinder

The Friday News Minute!

A weekly gem of information you will be using on Monday!

The first principle of success is knowing what you want. Yet, I find many people have more focus on what they don't want in their lives. "I don't want another boss like her", "I don't want to date another guy that is a loser" etc. And there are some people that are stuck, claiming that they don't know what they want. Knowing what you want seems to be a simple thing. Yet it isn't. Mainly because we get in our own way. We change our minds, (not always a bad thing) create our own fears and doubts, lose interest and faith. We don't take action on what we want.

Taking action on what you want. That then must be the second principle of success.

The Pepper Grinder

We have some wonderful neighbors. Charles and Nancy. We enjoy each other's company, socialize when we can and enjoy the opportunity to laugh, have fun and learn about life through a different set of eyes and ears.

On our most recent visit we were having lunch with our friends when Charles came back from the kitchen with a beautiful, rather large, gold colored pepper grinder. He seemed to beam with pride as he put pepper on his ham sandwich and explained where he found the grinder. "And" he continued,"it took nearly two years of searching and testing to find the right blend of pepper to fill it."

I was delighted by what I was witnessing.

Without even knowing it (or maybe he did!) Charles was giving a grand lesson at the dining room table. A lesson in knowing what you want and taking action. The pepper grinder itself was a great example. To search and test for two years to find the right blend of pepper was even grander.

Today or this weekend I challenge you to identify one thing that you want in your life and to put it writing. It could be your own pepper grinder. Or it could be a new place to live. As you are writing, be specific about what you want.

And then, make a plan of action. Put it in writing too. One day at a time. One step at a time, take the actions needed to achieve your success.

No excuses this time. Nothing will stop you. You are unstoppable.

One final thought:

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein." -- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Andrew Sanderbeck

Friday News Minute, July 31st, 2009

The Friday News Minute!

A weekly gem of information you will be using on Monday!

I had a new friend come visit me this week. (Itch, itch, scratch, scratch) Well, it was not exactly a friend...and it wasn't exactly a welcomed visitior. It was (and still is) Poison Ivy. This was quite a shocking development. To say that my face was red and swollen (and scary to look at!) would be an understatement.

After a few days of trying to treat the symptoms myself, and wondering if I would look like this for ever, I gave in and went to see the doctor. One shot below the waist and a prescription later, I'm on the road to recovery. I have been warned that my prescription has side effects including binge eating and being grouchy. Oh how lucky my family will be for the next two weeks! This is my "big bad wolf" and it got me thinking about a quote that I saw earlier in the week.

All of us have a "big bad wolf" that we're dealing with

We all have our big bad wolves. For some of us it can be a health issue seemingly out of nowhere. It could be an audit or a surprise from a Government Agency or a lawsuit. Maybe its an issue with money. Or a relationship issue with family and friends.

The big bad wolves seems to play no particular favorites. Well, except that most times the issue that brings the wolf calling is something that we have done to ourselves. Either consciously or subconsciously.

Obviously I did something to get Poison Ivy. Even if I don't remember how I came in contact with. I found it somewhere.

With our issues comes our fear. Fears that are real and imagined. Fears that can paralyze us into taking no action and that make our big bad wolves even bigger and badder. Since I didn't know it was Poison Ivy until I saw the doctor I was really afraid of what was happening to my body.

So how are you doing with your issues? A quote that I really enjoy says "The question to ask yourself is not do I have any problems...we all do. Instead, the question to ask yourself is: 'Are these the same problems that I had last year or the year before.' If your problems have been around that long, it's time to do something different."

Life is full of choices. We can choose to do something differently or do it the same way. The question that we should ask ourselves is "Am I happy with the way that I am handling the situation?"

If the answer is yes...keep going! If the answer is no...make a different choice. Face the fear and do it!

Remember: You can always go back to what isn't working!

Andrew Sanderbeck

Volunteerism

Folkmoot USA http://www.folkmootusa.org/ is a two-week celebration of the world's cultural heritage through folk music and dance. Held each summer in our backyard, across the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, it features performances, parades and workshops by more than 350 performers from a dozen or so countries.

Last night, we volunteered to help out in the kitchen for one of the "late-nighters"at Folkmoot. We arrived around 9:30pm, quickly jumping into the slicing and dicing and cooking as we waited for the performers to begin arriving back at the center around 11:00 pm. The representatives from the country of Romania were hosting the dinner and celebration and I learned many things about their foods inclding ways that you can use cabbage for an entree!

Back to Basics: Life is About People

I am teaching an online class on Fundraising and one of the critical points in finding and cultivating donors for your cause is to build relationships with people in the community. I have found volunteering to be an excellent method of meeting people and growing friendships. To inspire you to volunteer your time with a group that you would like to support, take a look at these quotes on volunteering.

Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.
Dr. Dorothy I. Height, president and CEO of the NCNW
One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.
Henry David Thoreau, poet, writer, philosopher

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
Mahatma Gandhi

Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love...
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The magnitude of our social problems will require that all citizens and institutions make a commitment to volunteering as a way of life and as a primary opportunity to create needed change.
George Romney, former Michigan governor

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another.
Erma Bombeck

The Friday News Minute, July 17th, 2009

A good friend asked me to go for a walk with her around Lake Junaluska last evening. This was an offer that I gladly accepted! The walk around the lake is peaceful, with breathtaking views of the mountains and of course plenty of ducks and swans to keep you company. A little more than a mile into our walk we came upon a stretch of rose bushes of all sizes and colors in bloom. Roses are one of the wonderful things in life that stimulate not only your eyes...but your nose too. I found myself stopping frequently to enjoy the different bouquet that each type of rose offered. Without sounding like too much of a cliche...the experience with the roses gave me the idea for this week's Friday News Minute.

Taking the time to stop and smell the roses

Walking beside the roses brought back the pleasant memory of the walkway through the rose bushes at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. As a one time Florida Resident Passholder, I frequently visited the Theme Parks in Orlando and would find myself caught up in the crowds...and the long lines for some of my favorite rides; Rock-N-Rollercoaster, Splash Mountain, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Test Track etc.

While the rides were fun, I found alot of enjoyment in the time that I spent smelling the roses and doing other things that allowed me to step back away from the crowds and the rush-rush. It seemed that each of the parks had its own unique area that allowed you to slow down and smell the roses. This might be one of the greatest secrets of attending the parks. In the midst of tens of thousands of people and what seems like an almost unlimited amount of things to "do"...there is an area to do nothing.

We seem to enjoy being busy and giving ourselves lots of things to do. I wonder, that in the process of doing so much...that if we took the time to stop...if we would be more and less. More productive, more peaceful, more connected to our selves, and less stressed and susceptible to life's energy draining drama.

Your opportunity this weekend and into next week is to stop and smell the roses...or to just stop being so busy. In the beginning you may find yourself impatient with stopping and your ego telling you just how stupid you are. (Really, how can you stop when you have so many things that have to get done!)

With a little bit of practice that persistent little voice will quiet down and you will enjoy the time you create to refresh, reenergize and replenish yourself for the next rounds of busily doing things. Quite possibly, you will be more and less.

Friday News Minute, July 10th, 2009

I went for a walk around our neighborhood today. Our house is on top of a hill, and as you would expect the walk down the hill seemed to be quite a bit easier than the walk back up. A surprising thought occured to me during the walk...there are stressors to different areas of the body going both up and down the hill. Interesting.

It's all down hill from here

From the www.phrases.org.uk website, The specific phrase "it's all downhill from here" is at its simplest used to mean "The hard work's over, and it's all going to be much easier from now on", with (obviously enough) the idiom stemming from finally cresting the top of a hill and starting to go down the other side. (Actually, walking down a steep slope can be every bit as tiring as walking up one)

As many of you know, I have a very diverse client list. One week I am working with a library client somewhere in the United States, another week I am working with a University or College, the following week with a corporate client and a few times a year I'm teaching on a cruise ship sailing somewhere around the world.

I have been working with both Public and Academic libraries for more than 10 years now and it bothers me to see them going through such difficult times. The recession and downturn in the economy have been especially difficult for the libraries and to make things worse, the number of people using the libraries has been steadily rising. The Haywood County Library in my community has had to cut both their hours of operation and some staff positions. Monies for continuing education and staff development are gone.

This weekend at the American Library Association conference in Chicago, Illinois, I am launching a library sponsorship program that focuses on providing continuing education and training for library professionals. My goal is to sign up a number of vendors (whose businesses are supported by libraries) to become sponsors for the program to support libraries through these tough times.

I thought alot about my upcoming trip during my walk today and I realized that the steps I will be taking in Chicago represent my continuing steps up the hill to achieving this goal for both the libraries and my organization. I'm looking forward to writing a Friday News Minute in the near future that tells you that I have made it to the top of hill (the attainment of the goal) and to share what it is like to begin taking the next steps...whether they be down the hill or perhaps another few steps up the hill to a loftier goal.

Wish me luck...and thanks for your support! A celebration of success is coming!

In the next 7 days I challenge you to take a look at your goals for this year and to evaluate where you are on the hill with each of them. I'm guessing that you may have already reached the top with some of your goals while other goals have yet to be manifested or achieved. Use this time as an opportunity to examine and reflect upon your progress on those goals not yet achieved. Then, without beating yourself up...plan your next steps. Make your plan, take the first step and recommit yourself to achieving your goal. Build a little momentum each day until you become unstoppable. One step toward your goal today. One step tomorrow. And one step each day after. Surprise! Some days...you might even take two steps. And one day...you will have made it to the top of the hill. You will have achieved your goal.

And then you can celebrate your success too!

Friday News Minute, June 5th, 2009

The Friday News Minute!

A weekly gem of information you will be using on Monday!

Published by Andrew Sanderbeck

Managing Partner of The People~Connect Institute

www.peopleconnectinstitute.com

Lately, I feel like I have been moving very quickly through the days and weeks of my life. One event follows another and then another. While it has been exciting and fun, it can also be rather tiring. As I sat down to write this week's FNM the words "internalize" and "take a step back" came immediately to mind. I'm reminded of the song "Stop, Step Back" by the group Devotion with lyrics "Are you willing to to stop, step back, breathe and be open?". This week I dedicate this newsletter to stepping back in our lives.

Stepping back into your consciousness

One of my favorite movie quotes come from the character Brooks Hatlen in the movie The Shawshank Redemption. Brooks had been imprisoned for 50 years and was finally granted parole. He was living in a halfway house, bagging groceries at a supermarket as a part of his transition into "normal" life. In this particular scene of the movie, Brooks is trying to walk across a busy intersection in town. He is frustrated as it seems that everytime he tries to cross the street a car is moving through the intersection. The scene is narrated with his voice telling the story of the letter he is writing to his friends that are still imprisoned.

"Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry."

Indeed it has. We have gotten ourselves into a big hurry too. Surprisingly, I don't think that we really are aware of it.

Dr. Tom Miller in his audio prgram Self-Discipline and Emotional Control estimates that we are not conscious more than 80% of the time on any given day of our lives. He teaches us that our subconscious minds run our lives... reminding us that we are people of habits and routines. Something I like to call "repeatable experiences". We think and do things either the way that we were taught to do them or we discovered our own way of doing them. Either way, we continually repeat many of the experiences in our lives until we again become conscious of them. Brooks was suddenly conscious of the world being in a big hurry because he had not been exposed to it while he was imprisoned.

One of the reasons that I wanted to move from St. Petersburg, Florida to the mountains of North Carolina was that I was consciously tired of the "hurried" lifestyle. I had lived with the traffic, growth and the "go-go" lifestyle for 20 years and had found myself subconsciously going through the motions of everyday living. (And the stresses...too) It wasn't until I returned to the Tampa Bay area a few months after we moved that I consciously remembered how physically and emotionally stressing it was to live and work there. When I took a step back a few years ago to examine my quality of life, it became clear to me that a move to the mountains was needed. It was time to sell the house and move to a smaller town with less rush.

A wonderful friend from Florida came and stayed with us last week and it was very interesting to observe how she interacted with the mountains and this area of Western North Carolina. I enjoyed watching her step back from the busyness of her normal daily life's routine, as she embraced the sights, sounds and energy of the landscape. She visited the Light Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina, www.urlight.org three times while she was here and stepped back to nourish her spirituality.

Your opportunity for growth this week is to take the time to step back. To become conscious more frequently and to reexamine your repeatable experiences. Both the good and the not desirable. In the midst of the "go-go" of life you may have lost touch with someone very important...your self. This is an opportunity to reclaim your awareness of your self, your surroundings and the things important to you in your life. And then if you wish, make the changes to your life that you desire.

Take a step back and look at your life from afar.

Andrew Sanderbeck

You can listen to and buy the music of Devotion at http://www.devotionsings.com/music/buy.htm