Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors. -Norman Cousins (1915-1990), prominent political journalist, author and professor. Authored Anatomy of an Illness that chronicled how he overcame a seemingly terminal illness through alternative methods including laughter.

I’d like to start this post off by apologizing to all my fans and admit that during the years between 2002 and 2004, I did in fact take performance enhancing drugs! I thought that by taking these drugs I could move swiftly through the world of mediocrity and ascend quickly into the inner circle of the rich and famous! I would hope that you judge me only from this point forward and realize that I am back to being a working stiff and bleeding through the recession just like the rest of you! While I do miss being 6′5″ and looking like a gorilla in a bathing suit, I do feel much less pressure knowing that it’s just plain old okay to be a “real person” again!!

HAHAHA!!! Get it? Ridiculous eh? But seriously…why can’t we find humor in everything that happens? With the sports world in turmoil over the fact that…hey news flash…you might not believe this…but there are hundreds, thousands and probably the majority of professional athletes taking drugs to gain the tiniest of edges to leapfrog to the elusive brass ring and swing from the tree tops! Didn’t you notice a long time ago that a few German female athletes looked a little too “manly?” It’s everywhere…but why not find it funny? Why do we sit in front of the TV waiting to chastise the next exposed person like an angry, disappointed parent…you know why?! Because you’ve got nothing better to do!

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. – Oprah Winfrey (1954-), media mogul and host of the Oprah Winfrey show, the highest rated TV show in history.

Maybe it’s the economy or maybe it’s just a year end case of inspirational dissatisfaction, but it just seems like this week that everybody’s on high alert! More than a couple of my friends and yours truly have been on edge about whatever is at the root of personal turmoil! I have had several conversations this week with people that are clearly struck with a case of the “Buffy Syndrome!” If you don’t know what that is, it stems from the actions of a little Schnauzer named Buffy who I used to have to take care of. I would let her out into our tiny Boston backyard while she did her thing…that “thing” being a wild circular tailspin that ended with her dazed and confused in the middle of the yard trying to relieve herself without leaking all over her own legs…needless to say…it was always a train wreck!

I’d sit there wishing I could just tell this spastic clown that all she had to do was slow down! Relax!It’s  a lot easier than you’re making it out to be! Well she would ultimately get the last laugh as I didn’t realize the Buffy Syndrome was contagious and that I had contracted it! So I’m sure you’re thinking…if you know you have it then it must be easy to get rid of…ha ha…hardly the case! You know why? Because we are so complex that we are always seeking the next goal…we can’t slow down! As Aristotle said we are teleological instruments or goal seeking so we thrive on setting and achieving goals that are important to us…not somebody else’s dream for us rather what we really want.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. – Seneca (54 BC-34AD), A Roman rhetorician whose studied great orators such as Cicero.

This weekend I was in attendance at a service for my buddy’s mother who has just passed away. I could not have even imagined a more idyllic setting as we all sat in a classic Cape Cod chapel listening to some final thoughts about Dottie! But the one comment that really made me think was a reference to a new beginning. It was expressed that to fully realize our full potential we have to pass through death. Beyond the obvious connotation, I began to think that the concept holds great truth when it comes to personal change! So many of us are seeking real and meaningful change and are trapped in a painful and sometimes hopeless spot where becoming who we really want to be would require the death of who we currently are…and that’s a tough pill to swallow on many levels!

First of all, it would require that we embrace the humility to admit that we just don’t like who we have become.I’m not talking about some public forum where we stand up and admit in a shameful way how we have gone astray…I think that’s fine when we need emotional support through our trials and tribulations. What I’m really thinking about is that moment when we look in the mirror and experience the true humility to admit that we are off track…not anybody else’s opinion of where we should be headed, rather deep inside where we reconcile the difference between what we know we could be and who we are now! Yet every time we get to that point, we take the easy way out because we associate change with embarrassment and I’m going to make a strong argument that public embarrassment could be the greatest fear of all!

If you want to be original just try being yourself. -Bernard Meltzer (1916-1998), radio host of “What’s Your Problem?”

I’m still amazed by the power of Social Media, Web 2.0 or however else you like to refer to the social phenomenon occurring as we speak! I think the most amazing part is the incredible opportunity to reach out and help so many people in so many different ways. This week alone, I have had the chance to meet and speak with a couple of new friends in both a business and personal capacity…no way to explain it other than plain old fun! But why? I think because it’s personally fulfilling and that just makes us feel good! Why? Because when you are pursuing ideas or goals that are important to you, there is a chemical change in the brain for the better as the ‘feel good’ chemicals like serotonin are released! Yet in even simpler terms, consider that you can start a blog for free, which offers you a public place to share your thoughts about what moves you, but even better is that anyone from anywhere in the world can read your thoughts and jump in the conversation…we are no longer so intellectually isolated! Stay with me there’s more…you see, isolation and the lack of the ability to express your thoughts can lead to a feeling that you are alone in this world and crush your self esteem! But now there is hope…from your safe perch at home you can test the waters…throw out some bait…and see who responds! No more worrying about saying something stupid and having someone laugh in your face! There are more people than you think who have the same interests that you do!