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Welcome to AYD, and may this be the start of great things to come.
Pierre

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"What can we do, starting today, to build lasting success?"...."We all want to be part of something. We all want to feel great about the choices we make."

Thursday, March 21, 2013

AYD - March 22, 2013 - My Definition of Irony

Irony - that aching feeling you get in your lower back, and knees and other creaking joints,  from putting together a piece of home fitness equipment,  that is supposed to get rid of that aching feeling you get in your lower back, and knees and other creaking joints. 
- Pierre

Along the way to any goal, you are going to come to a few crossroads. You can get angry should Irony be there to meet you, or you acknowledge that there are times when you just have to shake your head and enjoy the moment because you can see the humor in it as valuable.

So I ask you ... are you easily embarrassed and then upset because of the awkwardness that feeling gives you ... or can you laugh at yourself and roll with it because really ... if it was anyone other than you in that character building moment, you would be finding it quite funny?

"One day, we will look back on this and laugh."  I am trying to learn to not wait for 'One Day'.  If what I did deserves it, I want to ride it out and be a better man for it, both in the eyes of my peers and in the reduced level of my anxiety.  I am not afraid to wear the Fool's Hat if it fits.

Laugh at yourself...and if you want to accept a dare... share your memory with someone and show your honest vulnerability.

Now if you will excuse me... my break is over and I have to return to the "Oh, don't kneel like that for too long" symphony in O minor with a Tight Back repeat chorus.

Have a great weekend.
Thanks for a great week.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, a better day for everyone else.
Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author ... and having fun with it.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

AYD - March 21, 2013 - The Oath

"Will you vow to watch over the children of the world?
To guard with your life their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams?
For they are all that we have,
All that we are,
And all that we will ever be."
- The Oath, taken from the book of the Guardians

You ever have a moment when something just strikes you.  Maybe you are not sure what to say, but you know how you feel?  Inspiration can find you anywhere...and for me, it was yet another moment reading to my son.  The parallels we find in children's stories ... to our grown up lives. The simplicity in the messages that find you in a children's story...but in our busy grown up day it almost feels like everything is a riddle.

We talk alot about believing in your dreams, and your goals, and applying the proper focus and dedication to yourself and those dreams.  But I cannot stress enough that we must work a double shift when it comes to believing.  We have to work a double and not lose sight of these other pictures taking shape in the hearts and minds of our precious young.

While we want to become the best we can be, for ourselves and our families,we must guard our children's dreams with the same passions we do our own, and not let them feel unsupported.  We lead by example, sure, but we must make time to recognize and follow the story that is playing out in their stars.  Show them how to connect the dots with those sparkling ideas.  We need to be there to ignite the flame on their idea, when they may feel like blowing it out and giving up.

We need to be there to help them polish the corners when it all seems so rough. 

'To guard with your life their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams.'

Ask about their dreamy adventures in the morning and ignore the clock when you really should be very engaged in the tales that come back in response.  Show them with your excited voice and a fall off the bed that your silly can come out to play when you hear about the adventures of a purple freckle faced Burple..( I don't know what that is, but you just created it...) and they will see it matters in the width of your smile.

Let them believe you from the tone in your voice, and the gentle truth in your eyes, when you say, "You can be anything you want to be.  Anything you set your mind to; and I will be right here for you every step of the way."

For the Children... Will you take the Oath with me?

Great morning, great day.  Great you, a better day for everyone else.
Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author...and  Guardian.

AYD - March 20, 2013 - To The Point

"I will win.
Not Immediately.
But definitely"
- Borrowed from an email with no author.

Sometimes we just need to remind ourselves, that success is inevitable.
It does not come over nite, and we are passionate and we know our goal.

So it is okay to ease off on the throttle if need be to gather up our thoughts, our progress and take a moment to breathe.

Sometimes we need to regroup, recalibrate and recharge.

This is okay, in fact I dare say, it is necessary.

It is a good time to review our gains and lessons learned.  Use it all to stoke the fire, and when we are ready to press on, we can do so with freshly energized determination.

You will win, maybe not immediately, and that is okay...because winning is a strategy that needs all of you to execute.

Recharge Wednesday, and push for gains by Friday.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, a better day for everyone else.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author.

Monday, March 18, 2013

AYD - March 19, 2013 - Value at what cost?

"Nothing is to be rated higher than the value of the day."
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

There can be only one.
One...today.
Many Tuesdays will come, and go. 
This one, will only be here once.

It is a day.
A valuable resource.
So what will you trade for it?

Will we let yet another day pass, without bargaining for some value in exchange?  Will we wake up and follow our standard routine, just to close out another day and transfer one unit over on  the balance scale, not even realizing it?

We all do it.  Hard to focus on the value in a day, each and every day...right?
Yes.  Life has many distractions and we do not always grab hold of the treasure that greets us every morning.  But... if we could grab onto even a few more...if we just became better negotiators.  If we maintain some more awareness of the value of our day even a little more consistantly...I believe we would demand a little more for the trade we make. 

Just a little more consciousness.

And we would retain a little more touch on the moments we experience.

This is where friends come in.  Life experiences.  Moments of success, shared, and planned. 
Legacy's are made.  Footsteps logged in a journal.  Decisions take on new design.

This morning, I will look upon my child, and know that in this life, I achieved greatness the day I became the husband I feared I could not be...and a daddy I prayed I would.  I will see the value of what I have been given, and in the glow of these great days I will think more clearly on what I can do inside of this hourglass that is my day... MY day ... to make myself richer in experience or action or growth or skill or wisdom or to add value to my wife and son's day by being the best of me. I have purpose and value to gain and add.

There is an amazing part of my day waiting to be discovered.  It will show itself within the boundaries of this very day.
And now, because I know it ... I will not let it sneak by.

Great morning, great day.  Great you, a better day for everyone else.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author... and working on my DayTrader Negotiation Skills.

AYD - March 18, 2013 - Hey, What's Up There?

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters - one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity."
- John F. Kennedy

I have seen this written twice in the last couple of days.  Must mean something.  Must be some kind of message to me.  At least... I can choose to believe that, and run with the benefits that accepting that explanation brings.

It is Monday after all...and I see that inspiration and opportunity can find me anywhere... especially if I have opened up shop for the week.

Crisis has a chance to be a good thing.

I guess that is sort of like when people say, 'When you are at the top, there is no where to go but down.'

I think, and this is just me, that when I get to the top ... instead of thinking that I have reached the fullest potential... I could just as easy CHOOSE to continue looking up ... way up ... and say,

"Hey!  How do I get up there?"

Opportunity Monday - turn that crisis upside down.

Great morning, Great day.  Great you, better day for others.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy trying to be a great role model, Author ... and finally looking more often at the beauty of the stars.