Daily Gratitude: Who would have thought Oprah would be so wise. As I told someone the other day. Usually the most important things in life are very simple. And sometimes they are even easy. This quote is both simple and easy to understand and use. If you remember the quote when things aren’t going perfectly, you can use the concept of “contrast” to help improve your mood and outlook. For example, think about all the complaining people do about how cold it is in winter. Then in a month or two the same people are wishing it was winter because it’s so hot. Without one you wouldn’t know and appreciate the other. When you haven’t slept well, take the time to appreciate good sleep. When you’re tied up in traffic, be grateful you aren’t in an accident. I always remember when I worked in Washington, DC I lived 75 miles away. One day a snow storm was moving in and I asked my boss if I could leave early since I had to drive that distance AND drive on Interstate 95, a perpetual parking lot anyway. He said “no” because we were having a guest speaker or something. I was upset and angry. By the time I left it took me 8 hours to get home because of a 100 car pileup on I-95. Had I left when I wanted to, I would have been in the middle of the accident and probably would have been out there in the snow all night long if I hadn’t been injured. I didn’t mind the 8 hours in traffic at all when I heard about that. Always think of the opposite and find something good about your situation now.

Daily Gratitude: As I am doing the Vol State podcast, I see more evidence of this with almost every person I interview. They all have some special memory of when a road angel (or in my case, Yoda Jan) has come up to them and said a little something and it turns out that completely turned their race around. A few little words. Jan told me one thing and it finally convinced me after 73 years. I don’t imagine she knew it was going to turn my life around – not just the race but my entire life. Never pass up the opportunity to smile or say “hi” or let someone pass. You have no clue what will matter. Don’t worry or feel you have to have a purpose for everything you do. A smile is something we should all do. If it helps others, great. That’s being a kind human being. You shouldn’t expect the Medal of Honor if it made someone feel good. It’s just what you should do. I don’t like to “should” on people but this is one time I will. Practice being kind. There is a man on the park route that I saw all the time during the pandemic and now still see him although I’m not as regular about my times. He has never even looked at me or looked up or said anything. I smile but it’s smiling at nothing since he doesn’t look. Foolish me though, doesn’t say “hi” or anything because I’m afraid I’ll look stupid. That thought is stupid and I should overcome that. But I remember him because he’s the one person I don’t interact with in some way. It took me the entire pandemic to realize it’s him, not me. Duh. I have work to do obviously

Daily Gratitude: This concept could help so many people no matter the age or profession. Ideas come to everyone. It’s just that so many people let them come and go without even trying to grab hold of them, pull them close like a baby bird, nurturing it in their minds, feeding it so it can grow. The majority of people think something like “I can’t do that. What a silly thing for me to think of” and then they go about their daily business. I got the idea for “It’s not about the miles” while doing the race. One of the guys I used to work with kept asking what it was that I was doing. I didn’t have time to explain it all in the middle of the race. I will be forever grateful to Scotty Eckert for taking the time to explain it to him, ending with “it’s a metaphor for life”. That struck me in my heart and it was early in the 10 days so it gave me the opportunity to pay strict attention to everything that happened that year. I came home and wrote the book. If Scotty hadn’t been tuned in; if the guy hadn’t been so persistent and if I hadn’t been receptive to the great and powerful sentence Scotty wrote, I wouldn’t have written that book and probably not the other 3. Open both your heart and your mind and let ideas settle. Then work with them. Don’t discount or discard anything!