Blog Archives

Sense of Humor Is Key In Life!

6/30/2019

On Thursday, June 27 I got the opportunity with two good friends of mine, Paul & Craig - to see the one and only David Feherty at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan. I have always been a big fan of his throughout his playing & broadcasting careers. So when I saw that he was having his show there, I knew I had to go. Let me tell you - he was incredible!! An absolute joy to laugh so hard for just about the entire 2 hours and 15 minutes that he spoke.

One of the key elements that David talked about was having a sense of humor. Some of his language could be deemed offensive by some people and he made sure that was never his intent. His intent is to show humor in life's ups and downs. In fact, he mentioned one important thing - and I agree with him. It's tough to trust someone who doesn't have a sense of humor. Maybe trust is a strong word, but at least it's tough to work with them, like them or have a good relationship with them. I think many people are drawn to people with a sense of humor in life.

To hear his story of the ups (playing pro golf, winning tournaments, and playing in the Ryder Cup) and the lows (alcohol / drugs, growing up in a war zone, divorce, etc.) and his sense of humor and gratitude are what got him through life. You see, he became a citizen of the United States after he was born in Northern Ireland. The importance of what this country offered him as far as opportunities - he did not take that for granted. During his talk he shared his love and affection for the USA and it was one of the many things that helps to connect him to many people.

I walked out of this show in total gratitude for what he shared with us. Laughing so hard that there were tears in my eyes and to share it with friends made it even more enjoyable. It's been said that laughter is good for the soul, and I totally believe it. I walked out of there more appreciative and grateful for what I have in my life. I also will be focusing on having a sense of humor more in my life, especially when I look at myself. There are many ups and downs in everyone's life and David reminds us to look for those humorus moments and laugh a little bit at them before you go and do something about it.

0 Comments

Imagination - Not Just For Kids

6/24/2019

0 Comments

Going back a little bit - to when we were all kids and Imagination was a big part of our lives. As we get older, we tend to lose it a little bit of it. The key is to keep it alive as it is so important for us to control our thoughts, control our thinking and actualy think about things in our future. Listening to Andy Andrews a lot lately and this was one thing he brought up with Bruce Van Horn on his Life Is A Marathon podcast - check it out here: http://www.lifeisamarathon.com/liam-477-andy-andrews-the-bottom-of-the-pool/ This is a great show to listen to. Find some time to do just that.

The things he brings up are so basic, yet so powerful. This is a wonderful conversation that really gets us thinking about the power of not only controling our thoughts, but also the importance / necessity to think about things we want to have happen in our lives. I've been listening to a lot about Andy Andrews' message that centers around his new book "The Bottom of The Pool" and the coversations that I've been listening to lately about this book, there are some powerful and important messages that must be listened to from this.

This will be a book that I will have to pick up very soon.

0 Comments

Purpose, Passion & Education

6/20/2019

0 Comments

I was listening to a couple of great podcasts today - I find so much value from Sam Crowley and John O'Leary. These are just two of the podcasts that I listen to out of maybe 12 -15 that I find so much key & valuable information.

Sam always hammers home the points about Purpose & Passion. He's got it right in understanding that we don't have a ton of time here on earth, and we shouldn't spend it chasing after the wrong things. Sure we need to have money, but it should not mean that we have to settle for things throughout life. I think all of us at one point or time in our lives think about things that could be if we every chose to go after things that fire us up. Most of those dreas and goals start disappearing as we get older. We get comfortable & content with things the way they are. We get tired as we get older. Life starts happening to us and things get in the way. It sure is easy to kind of let go of those dreams or at least put them on the back burner. Amazing things start happening when we move them to the front burner and start believing that we can actually start doing some things that may make them happen.

Now, John O'Leary also speaks about finding our Passion & Purpose in our lives and all of his guests will back that up. Heck, even his best selling book, "On Fire" is all about people with passion & purpose in their lives. But today's guest was Hill Harper a famous actor who brought up how important education is in our lives. Not just a degree or diploma, but true education that makes us a better human being. Finding the connection to what we are meant to do alon with investing in ourselves so that our lives deal with making a difference with others.

Like I said, these two podcasts really connected with me and I think they will connect with you too. They inspire me to think harder about what I want to do in my life and they remind me not only the importance of making choices that match with my purpose & passions in my life along with looking to make a difference with others.

Checeverydayissaturday.com/podcasts/k out Sam Crowley's site & his podcasts here (http://everydayissaturday.com/)

Check out John O'Leary's site & his Podcasts here (http://johnolearyinspires.com )

0 Comments

Morning Reflections & Life Purpose

6/17/2019

0 Comments

We recently had our last day of school - for me it was my 30th last day of school. It started with reflection and a cup of coffee. I found myself taking a few extra minutes looking at the countless pictures and magnets on our refrigerator and in doing so, I had some tears going to start my day. You see, the pictures are from family & a few friends throughout the years. The Magnets? They are from so many of the places during our married life that we have been blessed enough to visit. Obviously or whole fridge is covered and that's just how we like it.

As I was heading in for my last day of school for my 30th year, it hit me. How blessed I am to be doing what I'm doing for a living along with even more so, how blessed I am to be part of all of those pictures and magnets. I think by looking back at times we can be helped in our present which directly affects our future. Without learning from our past, we do ourselves a big injustice. We always have to remember that our past is one of our best mentors that we will ever have in our lives. This few little moments that I took to start my last day of school for this year, did me a world of good.

I also found this article, from Success Magazine of course - love the title, love the content of these stories. This article was all about finding your purpose in the world. It really helped connect me to becoming better and doing more in my life. It got me fired up for sure and I know it will last awhile this summer. Check out the article here: https://www.success.com/clarify-your-purpose-in-the-world/ Sit back and enjoy this show as I got really fired up for this one. It was a great start to my day and I hope it is for you too. Find my podcast show here - #279: http://www.buzzsprout.com/110453/1282933-morning-reflections-on-purpose-podcast-279

0 Comments

D-Day Memories With A Friend... John Wisely

6/8/2019

0 Comments

This post is a copy of a fantastic article that a friend & high school classmate of mine, John Wisely wrote about D-Day rememberence during the 50th Anniversary. June 6, 2019 marked the 75th Anniversary of one of the most important dates in our world's history. Thanks to John for allowing me to repost it here so that we can learn & remember some of the powerful lessons from this part of our history. I've also made a note of it in my podcast #275 - you can listen to that HERE. Here is John's article:

John Wisely – story on 50th Anniversary of D-Day

"You know you’ve been in this business a long time when you see the 75th Anniversary of D-Day in the news and you remember covering the 50th. I was working Downriver at the News-Herald and the paper put out arequest for D-Day veterans to share their stories for a special section to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the invasion.    The subject of my profile was Pfc. John Nerowski of Wyandotte, Mich. He was one of the most memorable interviews of my career.

We met him at his home. I asked him to tell me about his involvement and he was off to the races. For the next two hours, he talked non-stop, pacing the living room floor waving his hands as he spoke. I scratched notes as fast as I could. He was 18 in 1944 and his Army unit prepared for the invasion. In England, they practiced for the orders they knew were coming. They’d be awakened in the middle of the night by officers blowing whistles to roust them.   They’d dress on the fly, sling gear on their backs and race to their boats only to find an officer there staring at his watch to check their time. Just a practice. Go back to bed.  It happened repeatedly.

As the calendar turned to June, the tension grew. The night before the invasion, they were pretty sure this was the real thing. Nerowski was convinced he would die in the attack so he sought out a priest and confessed his sins to clear his conscience. His was the second wave to hit Omaha Beach. The first wave was pretty much wiped out when they arrived. He described climbing over the bodies of his comrades, some of whom were not yet dead. Some of them were crying out for their mothers as they died. Troops were under strict orders to not stop in the water lest they become casualties themselves. He said ignoring their cries was the hardest thing he ever did. He made it ashore safely but about 75% of his unit died that day. Over the course of the rest of the war, about 95% his unit was killed in action. He was a statistical outlier in history’s bloodiest war.

Nerowski took some grenade shrapnel in his forearm. It was enough to earn a Purple Heart, but not enough to keep him out of the fight. He was part of group that liberated one of the concentration camps, where he saw piles of corpses and prisoners on the edge of starvation.

After the war, he returned to Wyandotte, married a pretty Polish girl and started a family. After he’d been talking to me for about two hours, he excused himself to use the bathroom. When he walked out of the room I looked over at his wife, who’d sat silently through the whole thing. She was crying.   I told her she’d probably heard all these stories before. She shook her head no. They’d been married 40 years and he’d never before spoke of it. She’d asked him many times over the years about his experiences. His answer was always the same: “It was awful’ he’d tell her, offering no details. She told me he still had nightmares about it. They came frequently when he was younger but less often as he aged. Still, once a month, or every other month, he’d start thrashing about in his sleep, screaming and kicking hard enough to bruise her. She’d shake him awake and he’d be soaked with sweat.

When I interviewed him in 1994, he’d recently retired from a long career as a butcher. For more than 30 years, he worked the meat counter at the local Farmer Jack store.   I couldn’t help but wonder how many people over the years had thanked him for some chops or a roast, never knowing what he’d been through as a teenager. I wrote his story and it ran in that special section. When someone bares their soul to you like that, you always wonder what they thought of your piece. Did I capture him correctly? Did I do justice to his story?

A few days after it ran, I got an answer of sorts. I didn’t see him come in, but I glanced out the office window and spotted him walking out the door with a pile of special sections under his arm. I took that as a stamp of approval.

The internet tells me he died in 2011 at age 85. God bless the John Nerowskis of the world.
Journalism faces an existential crisis right now and we all worry about its future, but it’s still an honor to tell people’s stories."

0 Comments

Sense of Humor Is Key In Life!

Imagination - Not Just For Kids

Purpose, Passion & Education

Morning Reflections & Life Purpose

D-Day Memories With A Friend... John Wisely

Coach John Daly

Archives

Categories