Episode 134 – We’re All Fighting Battles (Time And Chance Happeneth To Them All)

Personal Development, Podcast / By

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Ecclesiastes 9:11 “ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”

Our recent health scare put me in a contemplative mood. More so than normal.

So many others have much more severe worries and concerns. It makes me ashamed to think of my own life – and family. But so it goes. Our life matters, if only mostly to us.

None of us could get out of bed in the morning if we carried the weight of everybody’s sorrow. That funeral procession you pulled over for the other day…you didn’t know who was in that hearse. Perhaps you were carting the kids to a birthday party where some little child was celebrating turning 5. Those are the ironies of life. Some mourn while others celebrate. Some die while others are born.

I hope you’re experiencing good times. We all need the mountain top experience. Hang onto it for as long as you can.

Maybe today you’re in the valley. Maybe you’ve been there so long you can’t remember what the mountain top looks like. Hang in there. Endure. Overcome. Slog through it. You’re strengthening the muscles you’ll need for the ascent back to the top.

We’re all learning as we go. Going up demands different skills than going up. We need both if we’re going to successfully navigate through life – and help others do the same.

Go hug your wife. Or husband. And your children. And grandchildren. Don’t leave out close friends either.

Take care of yourself. Your family deserves it. Don’t ignore your health or fitness! It’s incredibly selfish if you neglect or abuse yourself. So, if you didn’t know it before now you do – it’s why I go to the gym daily! I decided a few years ago that I couldn’t “do that” to Rhonda.

Leave me a review over at iTunes, please!

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How A Health Scare Can Produce Immediate Focus (And Other Little Lessons Learned)

Randy Cantrell, Video / By

This is a follow-up to the last show. Good news!

We appreciate all the kindness, the thoughts and prayers. Thank you!

Fear will help you prioritize on the fly faster than anything I know. Fear of loss. Fear of suffering. Fear of watching a person you love endure hardship.

Fear can create instant focus. If you’re like me, Fear has his hand on a switch not available to most emotions. The switch that controls distraction and obsession. BAM! In a flash, Fear flips that switch and my life has a clarity that no amount of money could have provided mere seconds earlier.

I’m going to try to learn more from this experience.

The challenges are simple to list, but figuring them out, well…that’s gonna take a lot of work.

1. How can I better manage my own ability to focus? Can I gain greater command of it?

2. How can I be more appreciative, thankful and compassionate?

3. How can I better serve others who are suffering? What actions can I take, what words can I say, what steps can I take to soothe the suffering of others?

4. How can I be more mindful, more aware, of what other people may need – in that moment? What cues should I look for?

As with most challenges and trials, I suspect this one has the capacity to make me better. It’s up to me to use it wisely.

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Trouble, You Can’t Fool Me. I See You Behind That Tree. You Want To Jump On Me.

Randy Cantrell, Video / By

No podcasts, no videos, no posts, no Twitter, no Facebook, no Skype.

I’m going to be quiet for awhile. This post and this video explain why.

Ry Cooder is among my all-time favorite musicians. On a record called Bop Til You Drop he recorded this song.

Trouble you can't fool me I see you behind that tree
Trouble you can't fool me trying to get the ups on me
Trouble you can't fool me I see you behind that tree
You want to jump on me

We can all sing that song.

Life knocks us down, drags us out into the back alley and kicks our butt. Regularly.

Joys are offset with sorrow and sadness. Thankfully, sadness is then overcome with joy, laughter and good times.

Life is not a tranquil lake…always. Sometimes waves beat on us and fear grips us.

Who can deny that troubles make us better? Watch the Biography channel sometime and you’ll see a story of tough times, challenges and adversity. And you’ll be reminded that you’re watching the story of a famous name! Fame, wealth and prosperity often emerge from tragedy.

Our own success – measured however you choose to measure it – is often the result of muscles we strengthened during tough times.

If you’re suffering right now, press on! If you’re not, press on, but be prepared. Trouble is right behind that tree waiting to jump on you.

As another favorite musician sings, “We’re all just one phone call from our knees.” *

For a little more than a week I’ve been (more frequently and fervently) on my knees praying for the health of my wife of 34-1/2 years, Rhonda. I recorded this on Thursday, June 7th. As this post publishes on Tuesday, June 12th, we’re in a hospital where she’s having surgery at the hands of a doctor she’s worked for – for 15 years. That’s a whole ‘nother story.

As always, I owe you a big THANK YOU for giving me your time and attention. I know how valuable they both are.

Hold a good thought for Rhonda this week — please.

* When trouble comes I think we belong on our knees. And yes, I do have a man-crush on Mat Kearney. And he knows it. Even if he doesn’t acknowledge me.

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My Current Reading Habits (And Some Changes I’m Going To Make)

Personal Development, Video / By

My love affair with books didn’t fully engage until late in high school. Well, that’s when it began. During my first semester of college it was full-blown. It’s been relentless ever since.

Before that reading was a favorite thing, but not books. Magazines. I loved Popular Science. Audio. Stereo Review. High Fidelity. Rolling Stone. Melody Maker.

Peppered in there somewhere were a few sports biographies, historical biographies and Mad Magazine’s Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions, Vol. I and Vol. II.

It dawned on me – don’t ask me what took me so long – that my reading habits are terrible.

One, I juggle too many books at one time.

Two, I suffer too much book envy.

So I’m going to attempt to change a few things. What about you? What do your reading habits look like?

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June 9, 2012 – Saturday’s Smile (A Fan Remembers Jim Unger, Creator of HERMAN)

Saturday's Smile / By

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A Special Short Episode: Download Or Non-Flash Playback

 

 

 

I was very sad to learn that Jim passed away. I’ve enjoyed his work for so long now it just seems strange that the world is now without him. I never met him, but through his work – I loved him.

“Everybody knows themselves when they see Herman,” he once said. “We all think we’re so different and we’re not.”

I discovered Herman at some point in the mid-1970’s. I don’t recall the year, but I was in high school. Back in junior high I fell in love with single panel cartoons. Herman was my first real favorite.

I wanted to be a cartoonist. When I was in junior high I did a class project that involved interviewing somebody who is in a field you’d like to pursue. The only cartoonist available happened to be a fellow who cartooned for the city’s newspaper. I remember my mother taking me up there to talk with him. He had gone to art school with Charles Schultz of Peanuts’ fame.

I drew pretty constantly throughout high school and into college. Friends in high school thought some form of art, perhaps cartooning, would be in my future. Others figured it’d have something to do with speaking. Go figure.

At some point in my college years, the dream died. I didn’t personally know any cartoonists and it seemed a very impractical life. I don’t know if I had the talent for it or not, but no matter — I quit. Selling stereo gear produced an income that only my friends dad’s could relate to. I was making more money than any of my buddies, and like many men of my generation, I fell into a career that seemed more to choose me than me it.

I continued to love great cartoons, but didn’t find too many of them funny or entertaining. Jim Unger’s work stood out. I could look at his drawings and laugh…before I ever read the caption. For me, the great cartoons begin and end with the drawing. The caption is just there to make sure we’re all on the same page. Understanding what we’re all laughing or smiling about.

More smiles and laughter have filled my life thanks to the work of Jim Unger. I’m glad he didn’t quit. And while I’m saddened by his death, I can’t help but look at these people who lived in his head and smile. Thankful that he had the talent and tenacity to show them to me.

Sometimes I laugh out loud.

Sometimes ’til I cry.

P.S. Here’s today’s Herman, released earlier this morning. Smile!

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