Freedom, Eight Questions from Coach, A Gift from my Daughter, Blessed to be a Blessing

"The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel and put on a mask in exchange. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first."
— Jim Morrison

Good morning; I slept well I trust you did as well. I just ground up the first batch of a newly opened bag of Death Wish Coffee; the beans are oily, the coffee is next-level awesomeness. Add to that; I just got two cases of Liquid Death Water, my world is complete.

I headed up to Muncie yesterday morning; I had my thought leaders call at 10:00; I ran it in the American Model Aeronautics parking lot. My group was impressed Muncie had landed the organization; I shared that it was between Muncie and Des Moise. However, our chamber put together a better package.  

Our topic was peace and how we, as thought leaders, instill peace in our communities. Sharrise led the discussion and started with a question about internal peace, and then the second question was about external peace.

We had a great discussion about bringing our world back together; we will see how each person uses the information in their community work. Finally, I left the parking lot and headed to see some friends; Todd and Alan were making bacon sandwiches; I chatted with the wise sage, Alan, before moving on about my day. 

On my way to meet my friend Paul for lunch, I spotted a homeless person; I waved him over, Mike was appreciative of the $40.00 gift, I was rolling two days of my $20.00 gifting program, good luck Mike, I hope you used the money for joy. I met Paul at Roots Burger Bar, my go-to when in Muncie. I had a cup of Chili; excellent work, Mr. Wise. Roots now have a couple more locations in Indianapolis, find Roots and enjoy some fantastic food and service.

I headed to Beautiful Parker City to move our You Work project forward. I called my protégé Maybree and worked out a deal to get the space ready for launch on February 1st. Trey helped me by putting key code locks on the doors; here we grow. I plan to convert our Indianapolis office as well, we need to do some minor construction, and then we will begin leasing space to locals that require high-speed internet and a high-end printer, scanner, copier.

Many years ago, we were blessed with the addition of Allen Sprunk to our team. Allen is our benefits producer, a hockey coach, and a good man. He rides a Harley and is maybe the hardest working person on our team. Allen is wise, and he shared his rules for the life he wrote 35 years ago when he was 40 years old. He had written these rules down on a green index card and had carried it with him to remind him what was important. So I asked that he send it to me and I would share it with the world. 

I ask that you copy these questions and ask yourself or remind yourself of these wise words.

1. Do you celebrate the things you do have?

2. Are you aware that someone has it worse than you?

3. When was the last time you tried something new?

4. How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?

5. What would you do differently if you knew people would not judge you?

6. Are you holding on to something you need to let go of?

7. Who do you love, and what are you doing about it?  

8. Do you ask enough questions or settle for what you know?

My wife brought in a package that she found in her car. It was a gift bag with a card and gift inside. It was from my daughter, given to me on her wedding day, 8/8/2020, and it never found me until yesterday. It was a beautiful message from a daughter to a father and included a bracelet reminding me that she will always be my "little girl" and "sis." I don't mind sharing that I had some tears; I sent my daughter a photo and said, "sis" I just got this! She wondered if it got lost in the wedding day chaos and was happy it made it home.   

My wife arrived home; I got a few kisses, I missed her, and we decided to go to the Dugout for supper. We sent our neighbors, the ones who took us in when homeless, to see if they might want to join us? They did, so Rick and Saundra and my wife and I walked to our local bar for some food and drink. We had a great meal and then returned to their home for a nightcap. Our neighbor Bill was going to join, but he has COVID. So tonight, we take our homeless hosts out to Prime 47 to thank them for their shelter. We will miss our friends when we head back west.

Saturday morning, it's about 7:30; I slept in a little my wife is still asleep, as is our pup, soon they will get up, and we will sit and get ready for our day. I don't know what is on the schedule, but I suspect we will head to Costco for some supplies and return home for a relaxing afternoon before dinner tonight.

I just got my second cup of my Death Wish Coffee; if you have not tried Death Wish, maybe you should? I buy five pounds on Amazon; I like to grind the beans in each pot, making sure it's as fresh as possible. Then, mix it with some Liquid Death Moutain Water, and you have a morning cocktail for the ages.

I encourage you to have a blessed day, enjoy every moment; you never know when your number will be called, and it is up to you to enjoy every moment. Smile, laugh, look at the little things in life; those are the gifts, and know that everything will work out. There is a gift and opportunity in everything you experience, stop being negative and start learning from those things that cause you consternation. I want to end with a lyric that resonates with me every day. You may steal it if you like:

I'm free
Praise the Lord; I'm free
No more longer bound
No more chains holding me
Soul is resting
And it's just another blessing
Praise the Lord!
Hallelujah, I'm free

"The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel and put on a mask in exchange. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first."
— Jim Morrison