LIVE A GREAT STORY
On October 1, 2017, I became a LIVE A GREAT STORY Ambassador and in 2018 I became a LIVE Leader.
A couple of years ago while away on business in my home state of California, I spotted a LIVE sticker in San Francisco. From that date, I began following the journey of LIVE founder, Zach “Zoom” Hovarth and the LIVE A GREAT STORY movement.
How do I LIVE A GREAT STORY? Besides doing what I can to be the best Husband, Father, Friend and Human that I can…for the past few years, I have had each foot in different mantras. One foot in the Plan [b] Project, “Spread Social Good” mantra and the other foot in the SpencerIsland “Live like you are on vacation” mantra. I feel these both sum up why I believe in LIVE A GREAT STORY.
Spread Social Good
One half is doing that I can to give back to others and the other is to live life to its fullest. When I say Spread Social Good, I mean do good, every day, everywhere. Spread it. Make it contagious. Do it because it is the right thing to do. Giving is not always financial. Giving can be either your time or your skill. You can make a difference. This was why I started the Plan [b] Project after losing my Mother to Cancer. Plan [b] gave me the courage to be involved in many other organizations. I could go on and on, but this is not a Plan [b] post! 😊
So go out and Spread Social Good, do good, spread good.
Live like you are on vacation
Living like you are on vacation is also how I live my life. Because I live on and island and have a private beach and tiki bar, friends think that living like I am on vacation means I am sitting on my @$$ drinking rum on the beach. (Well…that is some days! 😊) but what I mean is ‘LIVE’ like you are on vacation. When people go on vacation, they get out and see the world. They plan a great day and/or night. They do things they would not normally do while NOT being on vacation. They eat at places for the first time. They spend quality time with their loved ones. They meet strangers and at times, those strangers become life long friends. They are excited to wake up and tackle each day. Why do we only do this 2 weeks out of the year. Why should these feelings only be when we are on vacation?
It does not matter where you live on this planet, you can live like you are on vacation. Make a plan to do something NEW once every week. Eat something new or eat somewhere new. Make a picnic or pick up take out, and eat at the beach, park…or local mountains. Make a plan to do something new with your family, spouse…or kids. Let them also be excited about doing something new.
LIVE A GREAT STORY
I don’t want to sound like a broken record, because everywhere you look…people are telling you life is short, but guess what….life is short! All you hear now a days is, “Live for today”, blah, blah, blah. But….really, it is true. We spend every day, waking up, going to school or work, coming home ‘exausted’, going to bed, getting up and repeating the same day, over and over. It’s not hard to understand why we are told to love what we do. I feel that some people are stuck in something they don’t necessarily love. If you don’t love what you are doing (but need to do what you are doing) add things into your life that you love. Fill that void. The right thing will come or you will slowly create that right opportunity you love. I am lucky enough to have a job that I love. Helping people every day (and their staff) feel at ease knowing that their health is protected. Continue to add things to your life that you love or have a passion for. Keep learning. Keep doing. Surround yourself with NEW people. Someone that I had admired from a far (Keith Saarloos to the right) became a good friend of mine this past year. On his 41st birthday, he shared a list of 41 things he had learned in his first 41 years on this earth. I love all 41 items, but there were two that I feel worked hand in hand, # 7 and # 9.
# 7. Acquaintances – as many as you can. – Friends Few and Tight – Do anything for them. – Family is the only thing that matters.
# 9. Connect your friends and make them friends.
Of course there were other items he listed, like # 11. Say Yes to as many things as you can (my wife hates when I quote this, after being exhausted but being invited to another island event….”Remember # 11 Honey?”) and # 36. Love it when your friends Win. Help them Win. Make them Win. (As I said, I love them all).
The reason I love # 7 & # 9 is because going on this journey alone is no fun. We need to share experiences with the ones we love. Our Friends and Family. Under # 7 Keith says “…Friends Few and Tight – Do anything for them. – Family is the only thing that matters.” He uses the words Friends and Family as they are ONE in the same. Well the older I get, the more I realize that Friends are Family. I bet most of you have more Friends that feel like Family, than you have Family and that feels like Family?
When I found out that I was chosen to be a LIVE Ambassador, I had no idea in such a short time, that I would be surround by many amazing, talented, caring individuals. I have met, so far only online, other LIVE Ambassadors and have learned their stories. I have become moved and excited to be on this journey with them. I look forward to sharing their stories and adventures (remember # 9 above from Keith?) with all my closest Friends, I mean Family 😊.
A HUGE shout out to Zoom and his team, for spreading the LIVE A GREAT STORY word. I am super excited and grateful to be able to also spread with word.
Remember, every day you have the option to do the same old thing or do something amazing. Spread Social Good or Live like you are on vacation. Or do both. What ever you need to do to LIVE A GREAT STORY, what ever that means to you. At the end of each day, I hope you can look back and think how awesome that day was. When you wake up the next day, you can do it again….or if that day was not the best, realize you have a new opportunity to make the most of it.
Do what ever you need to do to remind yourself to get up, get out and LIVE A GREAT STORY.
This is what I plan to do for 2018!
(The above is how “I” LIVE A GREAT STORY. Please follow LIVE A GREAT STORY on Instagram: instagram.com/liveagreatstory, Facebook: facebook.com/liveagreatstory and/or Twitter: twitter.com/liveagr8story)
The header image was shared from the LIVE A GREAT STORY – FAQ page.
