I have stated before that there are really only good days and great days in life. And I truly do believe this is one the key life principles that we all need to live by (or at least aspire to). And as I was thinking about it today, it dawned on me that while I might view the day in such a light it seems to me it is only one half of the story. My premise is the other half relates not to how we feel about our life but rather how we see the great things that go on around us - I dare say that all too often we miss them. So, what is that about? Maybe we are too busy, maybe the national news is reporting on a tragedy, maybe we are just distracted and cannot see what it is that just happened before our eyes. Regardless of the reason, I suggest we need to challenge ourselves to be better than that. We need to feel the good around us, absorb it, echo it back to the source and to others. So the challenge then is how you can get better at appreciating the goodness (and often greatness) in others – a good place to start is by training yourself to be able to focus – why focus you might ask? Well it seems to me that we are mostly living “distracted lives” – the simplest things can distract us, a text message, a stray thought, a background noise etc. And forget it if someone interrupts what you are doing – all focus is lost and the ability to see, hear and appreciate is ever more challenged. So, without focus, distractions win and we see none of that which is around us – especially the greatness in others.

I am happy to report that today I witnessed both focus and greatness and it was fun and exciting! On a field trip, to the inner section of Brooklyn, with some of my colleagues we met 12 amazing kids who decided to grab hold of their lives and to chart a new course forward. They committed to using education to change their lives and today they graduated from high school; proud of what they accomplished and setup for a future full of opportunity and achievement. What I noticed, and there were many things to notice, was in this setting no one was checking their phone for messages, emails or texts. We did not stray from the amazing emotion of the moment – we stayed in it, smiling, and feeling alive – alive because we were witnessing wings being spread and productive people being launched forward. It was indeed easy to see the greatness today. But in the subtlety of life, greatness is not so obvious - but for sure it is ever present. Thus, we need to focus, to seek out such wonderful moments in our everyday life - moments when opportunity is born, where kind deeds are done, where love is being spread. These moments are around us every day – focus on them, do not get distracted. Appreciate them and celebrate them as they are the essence of life and the catalyst for more good / great things.

So, are we still doing the Sally dance? I am hopeful that some of you continue on the quest. And for the inquiring minds – the blizzard is not a day off. So, I got to the end of the song – not terrible – not easy either – push up challenge 176 tonight – on 4:17 minutes. This one is going to take some time.

And hey, if you live in the Northeast and you are feeling spunky and want to venture into the blizzard – do a few more pushups – it might just keep you in your house and alive 

Loving life, even more today

Joe