Tag Archives: Blog

The Year I Learned to Write

 What can you do today that you were not capable of a few years ago?

Capable

When I think back to where exactly I was 365 days ago, it never ceases to amaze me the jagged artwork that change has woven into the tapestry of my life.  Each seemingly unconnected event has worked to put me exactly where I am supposed to be.

Many philosophies support the idea of a preconceived plan for everyone. I am not sure about that yet, but sometimes it seems like things fall into place in ways that you would never believe. So here are some of the things that I can do today that I was not capable of a few years ago.

Blogging

blog-cartoonThe first and most obvious is blogging. I had heard of it a year ago but had no conception of what a community stood behind WordPress.

 It was really an accident I ever found out about it at all. Or was it?  I had written a bit on my website but never participated in blogging.

 I was too busy or too afraid or both to write on a regular basis and then kind of call attention to it.  Reading other people’s thoughts and commenting on them.

 It is like reading a book and being able to initiate conversation with the author as you move through it.  I love that type of interaction. I encourage it and try hard to be grateful for each comment I get.  This has been a life changer and 365 days ago I was incapable of doing this.

Writing What I Think

For those who don't know this is a typewriter, it is a keyboard with no computer.
For those who don’t know this is a typewriter, it is a keyboard with no computer.

There was a time not that long ago when I wouldn’t dare to write something that I really thought down anywhere, let alone on a public blog.  I had many negative voices in my head telling me: Nobody cares what you think.  That makes no sense. You are the only one in the world who believes that.  Nobody could possibly understand that.   As you can see, I was a bundle of confidence when it came to writing.  It was as if the Universe were conspiring to push me into writing about my thoughts.  It started with freelance writing, which forced me to write a large quantity of posts last summer in a relatively short amount of time.  This forced me to publish many things anonymously which I found to be quite liberating. It removed the negative voices completely and I could look at my writing from a pretty unemotional and detached view.  Then after the summer I moved to a newer phase of writing at the urging of a friend I started to write about the things I thought about.   Like taking the smallest snowball and rolling it through the snow, I took my ideas and started to craft my thoughts into posts for my website.  It started with a project and ended with me becoming involved in the world of WordPress. A year ago I was incapable of writing this post it has been an expressive year.

Being a Coffee Shop Author

Any old coffee shop will do I hope I see you there!!
Any old coffee shop will do I hope I see you there!!

One of the best parts of writing for me is that some of the best thoughts I have are written in coffee shops and I was fortunate through fate to visit a number of them all over New England over that past year.

A year ago I might have felt awkward, and self-conscious about sitting and writing in a nice coffee shop. Today, all I need is electricity and the internet and I can write quite easily and comfortably.

This transformation was by necessity so I started to get used to going into new cities and towns and finding a place that offered free wi-fi and then writing my mind out.  It made me a bit of money but more importantly it allowed me to improve my writing and gave me many great ideas about topics I should be writing about.

I have my favorite chains of coffee shop to write in and it would be difficult to choose just one.  Coffee shop chains are designed to handle the writing kind.  Individually owned coffee shops are too worried about the space you are consuming to cater to you.  A year ago I never would have known this or cared. I can write in almost any Tim Horton’s, Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts in the world.

 

Enjoying the Moment and Going with the Flow

marjorie-ray-hinckley-quote-about-enjoying-lifeI have been working on this for several years, but in the last year I have put it into practice as often as I can.  I have a good friend to thank for this because hanging around with them you never knew from one day to the next what was going to happen.  It allowed me to enjoy the moment that was happening right now.  The moment may be gone in an instant.  There was also an acceptance of whatever came and enjoying it no matter what. Or at least appreciating the experience even if it wasn’t the greatest and most fun.   Most things however can be enjoyed, and a year ago I wouldn’t have been capable of enjoying them.  The difference was that I learned to let go of what I thought should be happening and accept what was happening.   This was definitely not an easy process and I still work on it today, but a year ago, I was not even close to this.

 

Gratitude is the Attitude

gratitude-journa&#1I have written about this before but it is true, that adopting an attitude of gratitude and experiencing heart-felt gratitude for what you do have, rather than focusing and feeling bad about what you don’t have is a pathway to not only enjoying life but to having more of the things you like in it.

I have been true to my gratitude journal since I first wrote about it and there have been things happening that I never would have thought of.  I believe that positive energy we create translates to others and makes all experiences better.  This begins for me with gratitude for all that is happening in my life.  I never would have tried to keep a journal about it a year ago, or to share that I did this as well.  You can be critical all that you want, but if you are that way, you probably are more worried about what you don’t have than what you do.  I am glad I am not in that frame of mind anymore, this year has allowed that to disappear.

 

I could continue to write a small book about this topic and I am sure that I am not uniques in this.  A year is a long period of time for some and a short period of time for others but we all experience changes every year of our lives.  I hope that I notice and enjoy all of the changes that come my way in the year to come.

 What can you do today that you were not capable of a year ago?

Day 10

Who knows what this next trip around the sun will bring.

 

 

Thank You Great Story Tellers

ithinkthereforeiblog I have been fortunate enough to fall into this strange little world and it has truly been a wonderful rabbit hole experience. There are thousands of people out there writing their thoughts, hoping to connect with others in a more meaningful way. These connections have helped me become a more comprehensive thinker and a more dynamic writer.  There is no questioning that this experience has helped form my personal growth.

No Idea What I am Doing

It was several years ago that I first realized that there was a community of people who spent their time writing and diligently posting on their blogs each day. Providing know how thoughts and even motivation to the general population at large.  I remember feeling like Alice in Wonderland, stepping into a new world I didn’t know existed.   I had written on my website for a time, but really just did it for me, to express my feelings and thoughts.  Who else would want to hear them?  It must have been time to share.

The First Blogger got me Hooked

I had stumbled into this world because I installed Zemanta onto my site.  It’s a program that makes adding articles from other people to the end of your blog easy.  I actually got a note from one Raraof the people I had pinged back.  When I looked at their site, there was a green little dinosaur gravatar I couldn’t help clicking on.  It was called Rarasaur and it was one of the best blogs I ever saw.  It was there I left my first tentative comment and was blown away that I got a thoughtful response.  It was awesome and started me searching deeper into the world of blogs.

Mysteries Abound

One of my most naive thoughts was the everyone who blogged seemed to have developed interesting monikers and identities that symbolized who they were and what they meant.  It was too late for me at that point, I had already built my site years before. My name was no mystery, and I often wondered if I should start over with a secret identity.  I often wonder about the lives of the bloggers I read.  Do they have problems like me? How often does writer’s block affect them?  What are they grateful for? What motivates them?

Bloggers I Love to Read

There really are so many that to make a list would short change somebody but I am going to list five excluding Rara because she clearly is a favorite and should be read.  Many of these people I first read because they guest posted on her blog.

Mr. Tookles

This blogger from Holland is one of my favorite people in the world. She is a fantastic word artist and says more using fewer words than I could imagine possible.  We share a love of bacon and have a mutual hope that life is going to show us what we are supposed to do.  Don’t mess with her though, because she will hit you on the head with a frying pan. (her threat) Seriously, funny, intelligent and so very creative, she is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.  Follow her and see what amazing things she creates.

matticus_Matticus-

He writes on his blog each day like it is a mission. I am often in awe of the number of posts he makes and the quality. He loves movies and movie dialogue and each Friday he leaves a post about it.  He has a great sense of humor, but his best quality to me is the friendship and feedback he has shared with me on my work.  He is a relatively new Dad, and with a young family I wonder how he finds the time, but I am glad he does.   Reading his blog is a trip to an enchanted land, I encourage you to make the trip.

sass_and_balderdashSass and Balderdash

Written by the witty, sarcastic and sometimes inappropriate Katie, this website has never met a topic it wouldn’t address.  Katie is funny and makes me laugh and usually think. I think she writes more to women than men, but I have honestly learned more about how women think about everything from shoes to working out in the gym.  This blog is one that I try to read every day because it is worth it, if you like intelligent, witty observations about life then this is the blog for you. Katie is awesome even though she lives in Chicago, which is known for…………wind.

camel_lifeThe Camel Life

This is a relatively new blog on my must-read list but Breezy K who writes this blog has won me over recently by writing on a regular basis and talking about her “dynamic” life in Canada.  She writes with a lot of funny images, but deep down her topics are interesting and even though she is from Nova Scotia, I think that it is very close to my experience in living in Maine.  She is funny, insightful and definitely doesn’t take herself very seriously.  The reason I feel this is a must read blog, is that it just entertains me. From the “witty” way she plays on words, to the perspective of diet and exercise. I always learn something and most often laugh as well.

tranquil_dreamsTranquil Dreams

This is kind of unfair because Kim who writes this blog is one of my favorite people.  She visited Maine this summer and I met her and her boyfriend and we had a lovely time.  Her blog is a combination of reviews, recipes, and thoughts but what wins me over is that Kim has always been so nice and supportive of me.  She leaves positive and supportive comments, and I like that.   This blog is well worth checking out and reading.

There are of course many other blogs and bloggers I love to read and learn from each and every day. I am certainly grateful to experience all that you do each day! Thank you for being so wonderful.

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  • Gratitude

My Deep Thought Notebook

by Jonathan Hilton

My current colorful, deep thought notebook!
My current colorful, deep thought notebook!

I am not sure what other people do with their thoughts. I mean the one’s that make you adjust in your seat and know that there is power boiling there.

The potential seed that could grow into some potentially awesome writing, or a gadget the world has never seen before and may never experience if I don’t record it quickly and accurately.  I often get hit with ideas from sources I experience every day and spend my time trying to record them in my almost magical, brightly colored, deep thought notebook.

Why I carry My Notebook

I have been carrying around a notebook for most of the past two years to catch these wonderful thoughts before they can escape me.  I call it my notebook of deep thoughts and ideas. More of a hopeful title than descriptive because it captures all ideas both good and bad.

As a learner throughout life, writing things down allowed me to internalize them, ingest them and work them around inside which allows me to decide if the idea is a good one or if it needs a bit more work. My notebook allows me to place an idea off to the side, safe and sound. Then return to it in the future and find my subconscious has found the value of that writing.

Looking for a "great Idea" in my notebook. Find them all the time
Looking for a “great Idea” in my notebook. Find them all the time

Some are from reading I do, and note taking of unique points and thought provoking phrases that highlight a feeling or spark a unique thought.  Some come from the great blogs I read online. I fill my notebook with quotes and descriptions that are just inspiring.  Like a blog I read yesterday for the first time. There were so many great writings, I filled up many pages, with quotes like:“In your shadow, I became a child.  In your light, I became a bird, and learned how to fly.” – Purnimodo

This quote and many others,  I place into the book and refer back to as often as I have to, in order to let it spawn a great expression of my own.  These are easy to do, because the words speak a story.  In a few short words, a story is spawned in my mind.  It is then just a matter of letting it flow out through my fingers onto the keyboard.

Some times during meditation, I think of those words and they allow me to encompass and cover the entire world.

Get Yourself a Thought Book

I highly suggest that you have a thought collection process for all great ideas that come your way, be they deal with spiritual things, action plans or just great information about life.  I am sure that people look at my colorful notebook and have pangs of jealousy, but they are going to have to find their own.

The great thing is that the actual book, means nothing without some substantial substance located on the pages inside. Any old notebook can provide any person with a vehicle to catch their ideas and manufacture them into greatness.  Mine cost a dollar but I have made it priceless.

 

I Feel So Much Gratitude!

Thank You
I was very shy about letting anyone know what I wrote.

by Jonathan Hilton

I was scared to death! Petrified! White knuckle, grab a hold of something, close your eyes and scream scared of what other people would think of my writing. So much so, I really hesitated to ever show it to anyone.  I had one friend who I would “let” read what I thought. They were very safe and supportive.

Finally after a bit of coaxing,  I started to take a few tentative steps out into the world of blogging.  It was a world that is very strange to me, I just never realized how many other people write and share their work.  What an amazing discovery this world has been.  It is a world of dynamic personalities, interesting thoughts and great knowledge.

I was pensive at first because I am careful by nature I guess, and looked at a few blogs, and finally got up my courage to leave a couple of comments.  I was amazed that not only did most of the blogs I commented on read my comments but they replied back!

I read another bloggers account of reading spam and pretending that it was real interaction, because at least it felt like someone had read my thoughts.  That was me for sure. So getting actual feedback from real people was like winning the Super Bowl!

thank
Thank you so much for following one of my blogs in any way!!

Other people actually read what I wrote.  What a great feeling! Now even though I have never met in person any of these people, their stories and writing is a vital part of my daily life.

Finish a job at work, sneak over and see what is happening in the blog world.  See a story that inspires, a video that puts me in awe, or a picture that makes me scared of reptiles.  What ever it is generally, specifically I am inspired.  Creativity comes from this inspiration and I want to express my gratitude for those who have followed me in as special a way as I can!!!

Thank you so much for making my life a richer experience. I placed each person in a random order because I love all of you so very much. If I forgot anyone it is not because you are not in my heart, because you are, it is because I somehow missed you!

Samantha DeLint
http://lcdcexamreview.wordpress.com
Presley-Love
http://PresleyLove.wordpress.com
lifeinzuri
http://lifeinzuri.wordpress.com
Dave
http://www.groovydocs.wordpress.com
cast-light.com
http://castlightdotcom.wordpress.com
Maaher Sayeed
http://despicablewonderfulyou.wordpress.com
Kozo
http://everydaygurus.com/
fjpeter1961
http://frankjpeter.com
thebettermanprojects
http://thebettermanprojects.wordpress.com
sasha
http://btwnshadownsoul.wordpress.com
truelovejunkie
http://truelovejunkie.com
lifeinzuri
http://lifeinzuri.wordpress.com
Leila Dayne
http://leiladayne.wordpress.com
itstartedwithaquote
http://www.itstartedwithaquote.wordpress.com
marga t.
http://lifeasimprov.wordpress.com
socalmark
http://smallsteps2health.wordpress.com/.com
Pat Cegan
http://patcegan.wordpress.com
Angie
http://angiesgrapevine.wordpress.com
istopforsuffering
http://istopforsuffering.wordpress.com
rarasaur
http://rarasaur.wordpress.com
Ray Barbier
http://rbarbier1967.wordpress.com/
Simply Me
http://simplymejustbe.wordpress.com
madelinelaughs
http://www.spreadinformation.wordpress.com
sarahmcc
http://biointegration@yahoo.com
MG
http://SmartasseryInc.wordpress.com

Tranquil Dreams Visits Life of Jonathan

by Jonathan Hilton

A Great Visit

This world of blogging is a strange world indeed. You read blogs, leave comments and begin to feel like you actually know the people you are talking with.  Yesterday I had the great

Kim (left) of Tranquil Dreams visited the Life of Jonathan the other day. It was awesome.
Kim (left) of Tranquil Dreams visited the Life of Jonathan the other day. It was awesome.

fortune of actually meeting one of my blog friends in person and to make them an actual friend.

If you have never read Tranquil Dreams then you don’t know Kim.  She writes eloquently about food, books and especially movie reviews.  I enjoy reading her work and what I like best is that she always has a friendly and encouraging comment to share with you when you visit her blog.

Kim told me she was coming to Maine awhile ago, and I was hoping that we could meet in person when she was here.  We were able to work out the details and I was able to spend some time with Kim and her awesome boyfriend Eric.  They were kind enough to humor me and listen to my stories about camp and life.

For me it was a thrill, and if Montreal is full of people like Eric and Kim, I definitely have to visit there.

I hope anybody who is coming to the area, gets in touch with me to arrange a meeting, it was amazing to meet your blog friends in person.    Also in the picture, Kim makes me look really tall.

Teach Your Children

Advice That All Kids Ignore

ignore advice
Nobody ever listens

by J.D. Hilton  Day 64

When I was teaching high school, after about ten years or so, I thought that I was a pretty intelligent person.

I had seen a lot of kids come and go and continually I saw them make the same mistakes with their lives.   I wanted to tell all of the new students that were coming my way how to avoid all of the pitfalls that ensnared so many of their predecessors, but it seemed that  if you try to tell any kid anything, they have a severe case of selective hearing.

If you are over 25 there is no way that you could ever know anything that would relate to their life in any way.  It doesn’t matter what you are trying to teach them.  They will not listen when you tell them your own experiences.

The only thing you can do is condense everything you want them to know into small spoon sized portions that they will remember without even realizing it.  Once the thought is in their head, there is not much they can do about it.

They can ignore it, but the rules are always there, or at least I thought so.  It has been years since I had even thought about the three rules, but was reminded recently about how I told them to my advisee group when they were freshmen in high school, and probably to every class I ever taught.  They were worth telling then and worth listening to now.  At least I think so, and this is my blog so…………….here you go!

Rule number one  –  Always Wear You’re Seat Belt

wear your seatbelt
rule number 2

The reason for this rule was self explanatory to me, I had seen several lives cut tragically short because of car accidents.  Seeing a life end so prematurely and to possibly be preventable was a no brainer to me.  Having experienced that, I never wanted to have that experience because of one of those kids I was talking to.  Wearing a seat belt is the law and it makes sense.  I know that you can still be critically injured in a car accident even when you wear all safety equipment, but if wearing a seat belt can prevent you from dying and all of the suffering that comes along with it, then why wouldn’t you?  So wear your seat belt, it’s the law and someone out there cares about you enough.

Rule number two- Don’t Drink or Do Drugs

Such an adult thing to say to a kid, but one that I always wanted to at least say.  As adults most of us have either directly experienced the affects of drugs and/or alcohol either through direct practice or indirect observation.  There is one fact

Don't Do Drugs
Ozzy wishes he hadn’t

that I could never get over, and that was that I never heard any good reason to do either of these things.  How many lives have been destroyed because of these vices.  Alcohol has been marketed to the young through the media for decades, and is always portrayed as bringing a good time with it, when in truth you are ingesting small amounts of poison into your body willingly to change your perception of reality.  The sad part is that no matter how much you drink or how many drugs you do, they won’t improve your reality.   Nobody says when they are a kid, “Gee, I want to be an alcoholic or a drug addict when I grow up.”   , still we have so many.  I do not judge these people, because we are all just one or two different decisions away from someone else’s  problems.  I can see that using these substances inevitably leads to misery and it all can be avoided by following rule number two, I also know that I would have more of a chance of reversing the law of gravity than to have this advice be listened to, much less followed.

Rule number three- Don’t Have Sex Until You Are Married

dont have sex until your married
Nobody listens to this!

Talk about unrealistic.  I had seen how so many lives had been changed by the unexpected pregnancy that resulted from unsafe premarital sex.

In hind sight, it would have been more productive to say, don’t have unsafe sex.  But I was idealistic at the time, I have become more of a realist over time.

I would still encourage waiting to have sex though.  Again, our kids are bombarded with messages at younger and younger ages that sexuality should be exploited.

The factor I think nobody ever talks about is that sex is more than a physical act it is an emotional one as well.  And most often, almost without exception, these emotions can overwhelm you if you are not ready for them.  Not to mention the unplanned pregnancy that could result.

Once you have made the decision to have sex, you have to be ready to pay the consequences.  They may be immediate or they may come back to you twenty years later.  Whatever the case, you have to be ready to accept that responsibility, because it is a part of the deal.  I also in retrospect feel very hypocritical about saying this, because I didn’t practice it when I was young, but I guess because of this I also am the voice of experience.

 Conclusion

As I have gotten older and moved away from teaching and been able to look at things from a distance, I know that as people we try to develop rules to protect ourselves from being hurt.

Unfortunately, life is full of random acts that you will never be able to avoid no matter how many rules you make.  Life is going to happen and sometimes uncomfortable stuff will happen to you.  If you survive all of that random crap, accidents, sickness and failed relationships, and you can recognize them for what they are, just things that happen in life, you can still enjoy the hell out of what is left.

Jefferson Writing Challenge

by Jonathan Hilton

T shirt backIt has long been one of my long standing beliefs that people come into your life for a reason and you merely need to allow things to play out to find out why.   Sometimes they come in to stay for awhile, and some times they just pop in teach you something and then disappear on down the line.

I have been doing a super secret writing project with Hope Rose of Hope is Something You Can’t Live Without, well at least it is super, not really all that secret.  I wanted to take a moment and evaluate our progress.  She wanted to write and needed a little push, and I always like projects.  So I devised the rules which looking at I have broken all the time, but I never liked rules anyway.

Rules of The Project

Hope writes like a dancing machine. Cheap use of the prompt but a use none the less.
Hope writes like a dancing machine. Cheap use of the prompt but a use none the less.

I will provide you with a prompt each day.
You will have a reasonable time to post something,using any creative medium you want, along with your writing. You can take pictures, you can draw pictures, you can paint pictures, you make macaroni pictures, or you can take them from Google, videos from youtube, whatever expresses what you feel inside.  I will also complete the assignment. The commitment is for 30 days, that means until March 9.

But there must be writing that answers the prompt.

So we started this journey of very few rules and no real idea of what would come out of it. I am not sure if I expected to write like I was some sort of dancing machine or what, but it has been interesting.  I have enjoyed it and I hope that Hope has as well.  There are still ten days left as far as I can tell because we missed a few and I see more writing on hope’s blog then there were prompts. But I may be mistaken which one goes with which.

So here are the prompts so far and links to our answers:

#1: A Snow Day

Hope’s

Jon’s

#2 At This very Moment

Hope’s

Jon’s

#3 Beginnings

Hope’s

Jon’s

#4 Vanentine’s Day

Hope’s

Jon’s

#5 Life isn’t Fair or Life is Fair

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/14/my-fair-life/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/life-is-fair-get-used-to-it/

6. I looked Into the Fire

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/16/girl-on-fire/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/i-looked-into-the-fire/

7. Guilty Pleasures

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/16/guilty-pleasures/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/secrets-from-the-vault/

8. I should have Listened to My Heart 

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/18/she-taught-me/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/go-ahead-choose-destiny/

9. What If?

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/19/itll-make-you-crazy/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/what-if/

10. Looks Like Trouble

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/20/771/  – looking for trouble

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/looks-like-trouble-tagged/

11. What is In the Box?

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/21/gifting/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/interests/what-is-in-the-box/

12. The Monkey

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/22/thats-clutch/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/philosophy/like-monkeys-building-walls/

13. Why Doesn’t anybody Listen?

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/22/i-told-you-so/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/interests/why-doesnt-anybody-listen/

14. Postitive Thinking

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/25/super-power/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/interests/my-next-step/

15. French Fries and A Chocolate Shake

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/25/of-couse-i-want-fries-with-that/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/french-fries-and-a-chocolate-shake/

16. I was so Frustrated

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/25/train-of-thought/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/dont-believe-in-luck/

17. Night and Day

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/26/night-and-day/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/inspiration/motivation/feeling-groovy/

18. Above and Beyond

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/28/grovers-bad-awful-day/

I don’t know what happened to this one???????

19. Space

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/02/28/space-junk/

http://www.jonathanhilton.com/articles-and-stories/why-do-you-create/

20. Dancing Machine

http://hopeisastateofmind.com/2013/03/01/the-color-of-dance/

For Your Listening Pleasure: Dancing Machine- Jackson Five

Thirty Questions to Understanding

by Jonathan Hilton

It all started so innocently. I was looking for a way to improve my writing and to increase the original content on my website.  I was also looking for a way to write more about what I feel without a filter and to express what is going on in my mind.  A friend motivated me to do this, and that led me to watch this video about how this guy had done a string of personal thirty-day challenges to improve his life in some way.

This challenge resonated with me, and I started to think about what kind of project I could work on and improve my writing and expressing myself in thirty days.  That was the day I saw it, thirty questions that will change your life. I didn’t check them out or read over them in advance, the whole project clicked in my mind, and I was committed.  I would answer one question honestly for the next thirty days and publish them on my blog.

I have been right about only reading one question at a time, so I only deal with one a day.  It has been a revelation personally.  Many people say what they would do in a particular situation or are quick to share their opinion, but it takes quite a bit more to put it into writing and to place it out there for anyone to read.  The key for me has been to write honestly from a place that is honest and true, that doesn’t care for approval or worry about disapproval because it is right exactly how it was answered.

Also, I posted only the question on Facebook to get some ideas, and have found some interesting things by doing this.  I have gained some insights from some, and if they ever wonder why I am writing all of these questions, then they can read my answers and see what I am all about in life.  If they aren’t interested, that is ok too.

Here is a list of the questions, you can click on the questions and read my answer if you would like.

  1.  How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

2.  –  Which is worse, failing or never trying?

3. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

4. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?

  1. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

6. To what degree have you controlled the course your life has taken?

7. -Are you more worried about doing things right or doing the right things?

  1. If you could offer a newborn child, only one piece of advice, what would it be?
  2. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
  3. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
  4. -What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
  5. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
    • What one thing have you not done that you want to do? What’s holding you back?

14. -Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you believe it makes the elevator faster?

  1. Why are you, you?

16. -Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?

  1. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones?

18. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first? 

19.  Has your greatest fear ever come true?

20. At what time in your recent past, have you felt most passionate and alive?

21. If not now, then when?

22.  If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?

  1. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?

24. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?

25. If you knew the world was ending tomorrow, who would you make sure you visited today?

26. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by ten years to become extremely attractive or famous?

27. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?

28. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

29. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your breathing?

30. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?