Writing on a daily basis can be very stimulating and also very draining.  Where do ideas come from day after day?  What can a person possibly have to say each day that would be interesting enough for someone else to want to read?  How can the selection of ideas be reduced to just one topic?

I’m not out of ideas or subjects yet but I admire people that have a theme running through all of their blog posts.  My posts are random and generally come from an event experienced that same day.  I would enjoy sticking with a theme but believe it would only last a few weeks.  My interests are so varied and I get distracted so easily that I just don’t think I could stick it out with one theme for very long.

So today I want to set out a method for selecting inspirations.  I would like to limit myself to only an event or idea that occurs before noon on the day I blog.  It must be a subject dissimilar to anything I have written about in the past 15 days and it needs to be something I can put into 400-550 words.

That should be enough of a framework to keep me on track.  We’ll see as the days and weeks go by.

About a year ago I was traveling from St Louis, MO to Northern Illinois and I encountered waves of birds flying south.  They were high up and I couldn’t quite see what they were but they had some flight patterns that indicated they might be geese.  Other birds fly in similar patterns on occasion so I wasn’t quite sure what I was seeing.

When I returned south following the same route in the late afternoon, I saw thousands of the birds on the ground in plowed farm fields.  They were large, white, and beautiful.  Snow geese.  I couldn’t believe the size flock I saw.  It had to be 10-15,000.  As far as I could see, the field was covered with the beautiful white birds.  I wished I could take a picture but didn’t have an adequate camera with me to get the distance that was involved.

This morning I had some things to take care of in Central Illinois and I wasn’t thinking about seeing anything special.  I was just happy the roads were dry and the temperature was above freezing.  It was pretty windy so the drive wasn’t especially easy but, all in all, it was an OK ride.

I looked along the river (Mississippi) to see if I could spot any eagles but didn’t see any.  About 5 miles past the river on the Illinois side, in the middle of a trailer park, there was a stand of oak trees.  Right in the middle of that trailer park, on the highest branch of the tallest oak, there sat a magnificent eagle.  He was a mature eagle, white head and tail and very large.  Made my day.

Half way between the river and Vandalia there is a farm with corn/beans and livestock.  Part of the livestock includes bison.  I don’t usually get to see the bison but today about a dozen were out grazing near the highway.  Wonderful.  I got an eagle and a dozen bison in one trip when I wasn’t even planning on seeing anything amazing.

Then, when I thought I had seen all I was going to get to see, I started seeing the massive flocks of snow geese.  Between Vandalia and Neoga I saw three massive flocks of over 1,000 in each flock.  They were flying formations and some were on the ground. 

What I thought was going to be a boring drive from St Louis to Illinois turned out to be something very special I will most likely not ever forget.

Have you ever heard of people that help out at shelters by handing out sandwiches or blankets?  What about the people that go out on nightly missions to abandoned buildings or areas with tent cities to give out sandwiches?  And don’t they usually say they are saving lives or helping people in need?

I just don’t agree with this way of dealing with people in need.  I think the folks that get tied in to this approach are being misled. People in need don’t deserve a sandwich tossed out to them as we would toss a milkbone to a skinny dog at the side of the road.

What we should be doing is sitting down, one on one, with people and finding out what they really need.  Sure, let’s get going right away with the nutrition.  Maybe in a soup kitchen format we can provide the nutrition but let’s also sit down with them and take the time to talk.  Do they need help finding a job or place to live or a shower and fresh clothes?  Do they need medical or mental wellness help?  Do they need groceries or something for their children?  What do they need and how can we take measurable steps to assist them. 

This is what I would like to see but it takes the dedication to being with people one on one and hearing their stories and learning about them.  It’s not about predetermination or guessing what they might need or thinking they need what we would need.  And it isn’t about politics. 

There are several places in the metro St Louis area that actually work with individuals to help them reclaim their lives.  They are able to become whole again, get jobs and/or medical help they need and totally deserve and they can achieve dignity once again and take care of their families.

Let’s look at these people in need as we would our own family members.  Let us see them as individuals and as people that want and deserve to regain their dignity and maybe their health.  I view them this way and I hope others will too.

Every morning when I get ready for work I decide, based on the time and how much of a rush I am in, what route to take.  What I am considering is the amount of risk I want to take.  It’s a two part risk question.  First, based on the time, there can be varying amounts of traffic and varying degrees of aggressive drivers.  Second, based on how late or early I may be running, I am more or less willing to take a ‘faster’ route.

I think we mentally balance risk throughout the day with many of the tasks we do.  Is it a risk to call this person and not that person?  Is it a risk to dress casual for the day or to wear a suit/dress?  Is it a risk to wear the higher heels to go out or should the lower heels be worn?  We do this mental balance so subconsciously it is a part of our second nature.

Somehow when we have to consider how much risk we want to take with our retirement funds or our personal investment money, the decision can seem overwhelming.  What we have to do to get the decision back into the second nature realm is to keep it simple.

First, consider what would keep you up at night if your finances were not safely tucked under the mattress.  Second, learn the history and the risks involved with the investments you are considering.  Third, know your time horizon–how long you want to keep the funds invested before you need them.  Fourth, set aside a portion of your funds to have readily available in either a checking or savings account.

If you do the above steps, you should be easily able to determine how much risk you can take.  If you need an emergency fund of available cash, keep that money in cash/checking/savings.  If you have additional funds to put aside for retirement and you don’t plan to retire for 20 plus years, weigh the pros and cons of various equities.  You should be able to weather the ebb and flow of the equity market and be able to garner better growth over the long haul than if you kept the funds in fixed income.  If you worry about having too much money in equities, balance them out with fixed income.

The main thing is to truly understand what would worry you and stick within your own guidelines.  Don’t let someone else tell you what would be best for you or what you should do before first knowing what risk you can tolerate.  When you have that figured out, everything else will fall right in place.

How do you feel about your birthday?  Do you want attention, parties, gifts?  Or, would you rather celebrate quietly or not at all?  Has the new worn off your birthday suit?

I would prefer not to celebrate mine with strangers but like to get attention from family and close friends.  Thanks to facebook, I don’t get calls or cards anymore.  I might get a ‘hpy bd’ on my page if I am lucky.  My husband still makes the day special for me and I appreciate it more than he will ever know.

A co-worker had a birthday today and had told us back in October that he didn’t want any attention or notice given when the day rolled around.  I told him I felt the same way about mine and we let it go at that.  This morning I found out they had ordered a birthday cake for him and I reminded the boss that co-worker didn’t want a fuss.  Boss said that we couldn’t let the day go by without celebrating with him.

I was worried.  The co-worker was specific and I really thought he would be angry to have a cake and candles.

Not to worry.  A while later I was talking with co-worker and he told me it was his birthday and he didn’t mind some attention.  Great.  He was going to get it.

After lunch time the cake arrived.  Co-worker was still out of the office so we put the multitude of candles in the cake and prepared to surprise him.  I was suddenly worried.  There were quite a few candles and we had pretty sensitive smoke detectors and an active sprinkler system.  I started to think we were going to get an unpleasant shower out of the deal and end up with soggy cake.

Co worker returned and I distracted him while boss lit the candles.  I then tried to get co-worker to come in to the conference room to get surprised.  He was slow to action.  I almost had to drag him into the conference meanwhile smelling candle wax and almost feeling the heat from the candles.

He finally went in to the conference room, opened his birthday card, had pictures taken and almost didn’t want to blow out the candles.  The entire cake top was covered with melted wax by this time and it was dripping onto the glass top table.  More than that, the flames had combined to about an 8 inch torch and they were right under the smoke detector/sprinkler.  I was panicking.

Finally he did blow out the candles and I ran to open the door to get fresh air in and get rid of the smoke.  We all had a great laugh and enjoyed the cake.

For a person not wanting any celebration, he almost had the entire fire department there.  Next year we should just follow his wishes or maybe get some of those fake flicker candles.  Another candle on the cake might be our un doing.

It’s hard to look at a life we consider terrific today and imagine it being any less than terrific tomorrow, a year from now, or 10 years from now.  It can only get better.  Right?

What I have learned over the years is the ebb and flow of good times and bad times.  For me, fortunately, it has been primarily good times.  For some I know, it has been almost consistently bad times.  I’m not sure if I am simply blessed with decent health or if I do the right things to promote good health.  Probably a combination.  Also, I have had a fairly even balance in lifestyle and friends/family so I don’t have the stress many people have.  The one downside is that I have worked for decades in a competitive field, requiring me to sweat it out each year as to whether or not I will make the preset goals established by my employers.  Now that I am independent, I set my own goals and try to make them realistic depending on the economy and on personal pipeline, etc.  I still depend on having a decent income and being able to pay for the ever increasing costs of healthcare, taxes, utilities, and day to day life.

What I want to say here is that no matter how good our life is today, or how healthy we are, it is not a bad thing to plan for the possibility of problems in the future.  Some people believe that planning for the future with a Will or with Insurance benefits will bring bad luck or trouble.  Not so, I say.  What it should do is give a person peace of mind that they have planned for the future and offset the possibility of bad things happening.

What I suggest is that people from age 50 and up, start looking at long term care insurance and also make sure their health care directives and their estate plans are in order.  Yes, you could live to be 100 and you could be independent and in good health to the end of your years.  But, in case you are not, LTC is an affordable way to help cover high costs of care in the future.  And, having your health care directives and estate plan in order just makes sense.

So, follow the Boy Scout theme and make it your own theme for future, “Be prepared!”

I’m a news and weather junkie.  Nothing much gets by me.  But, if the weather people are wrong with the forecast, I am totally lost.  I take notice of the projected weather patterns and where the fronts are, the highs and lows, as well as isobars, etc.  Still, I have to take the word of professional meteorologists to know what the next day might bring in the way of snow/rain/storms etc.

So, last night when I went to bed, there were some snow flurries outside.  Weather forecast was for a ‘light dusting’ of snow.  This morning I got up early, before dawn and noticed it looked pretty bright outside.  I turned on the outside light and was shocked to see about 4 inches of new snow on the ground.  The brightness was caused by the three quarter moon reflecting on the snow covered landscape.

My plans were somewhat changed for the morning.  First thing I had to do was clear off the deck so I could get to the bird feeders.  By the time I got dressed and ready to shovel, there was already a line up of birds by the feeders waiting for their breakfast.  The shovel wasn’t necessary even though there was a significant amount of snow because it was light as powder.  I used the broom and had a fair amount of easy success.

Later we cleared the driveway and bundled up and drove to the park for a long walk. The wind had kicked up and some of the roads with totally ice and snow covered. The park was nice and very quiet except for the howling wind. Took a nice, but short, walk and gratefully headed back to the warmth of the car. Inched our way back home and prepared for a quiet day at home, looking out at the beautiful, unexpected gift of snow.

There’s something healing about Groundhog Day.  We anticipate it and some of us hope for a cloudy day so the hoggy will not see his shadow and spring will arrive sooner than the 6 weeks it will actually take. We also use this as a place marker, a midpoint of winter. It’s a time when we can breath a sigh of relief that we have past the mid point and realize we can move forward and truly make it ’til spring.

I always start looking at the seed catalogs in late January and dreaming of idyllic gardens and the cascades of flowers that will undoubtedly burst forth in my yard sometime in May. Realistically, not only will this not happen, but I don’t even know why I receive these catalogs. As far as I know I never ordered anything from a seed catalog. My Dad used to order every year as long as I can remember. Maybe they just decided to send them on to me since he is gone now.

Some of us also start dreaming of Spring Training and the baseball season to come. In truth, I only really like baseball in the spring when it is not too hot to sit out at the stadium and watch it. By mid June (sometimes early June) it becomes so hot it’s just unpleasant to sit still with thousands of other sweaty baseball fans and concentrate on watching the game. But this time of year, when spring training is yet to start, I am filled with the desire to hear the crack of the bat and feel the excitement of the crowd as the game gets underway.

So the groundhog fills the heart with the pleasant anticipation of days to come–days filled with sun, warm rain, flowers, and all the outdoor games and fun we miss so much during the cold and dark of winter. I am hoping the little guy does not see his shadow today and we can have that early spring of our desire.

Does competition really make us work harder or smarter?  I am trying to find out. 

My co-worker and I are both very competitive but are not in a competitively set up situation.  We have both been feeling very slow in our work process and have tried to find a way to get ourselves ‘jazzed up.’  We did this by listing some of our work goals and practices and found that we both needed to make more phone calls and make more appointments.  We also both want to grow our businesses but that is a bit off the radar right now until we get our work processes in tune.

We decided to have a competition two days a week.  We each make calls or send e mails to people to set up meetings.  The person that has the most meetings actually set up that day for the upcoming weeks, is the winner.  We haven’t determined a prize.  We probably don’t need one.  For competitive people, knowing that you ‘beat’ the other person/persons is enough.

Eventually we will be able to move our competition to something that will show financial results.  That will be who gets the most accounts or the largest accounts or the single largest account, or who, at the end of the year, has the most business and/or clients.

I am anxious to get to that point but I think having the friendly competition based on the process of getting business is the main thing for now.  And, I am not sure how friendly it will remain.  He just stuck his head in my office and said 3 appointments.  I answered 5.  As he charged back to his office he said, “If I have to stay til midnight, I’ll beat you.”

Haha.  Let the game continue!