Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise uncompromised standards today!

 I run into the most interesting things here in New Orleans!  Here’s a message that caught my attention:

 Some of the coolest dreams that ever came true weren’t dreams at all, but standards that simply weren’t compromised.

 I’m embarrassed to think about how many decades I wandered Earth before I even pondered such a thing as personal standards. And, just because they roll around in our heads doesn’t mean they’re defined.

 How would you define your standards of excellence?  Your standards of integrity?  Of character?  By what criteria do you delineate the few who make up your “inner circle” of confidants, mentors and partners – the people you will spend a lot of time with and those with whom you’ll have limited time?

 This wonderful little message etched on a slate sign in The Big Easy reminds me of the continuous inner work I have to do. After all, my coolest dreams may be depending on it!

 Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!! 

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com

To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit:  www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom Correction

I appreciated Mayor Booker’s words shared in today’s Wednesday Wisdom, and therefore want to accurately credit his thoughts as well as make it easy for anyone who wants to read more about him (as I will) to access information.  Therefore, when Leslie Charles pointed out that I had his name incorrectly, I wanted to correct it as soon as possible. His name is actually Cory Booker, not Gary.  

Referring to the Mayor as brilliant, principled, and courageous, Leslie also shared that he rescued a woman from a burning house a few weeks ago.  My intrigue for an interview increases!

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise contemplation today!

I’m working in Louisville this week. On a long drive to get here with colleagues, we had spirited conversations about topics we’re socially warned against discussing: religion, marriage and raising children in today’s world.  A bit ruffled, I unpacked, made a call home, then sat at my desk to check email and send a few messages. It was then that I saw this message posted by Fred Schmidt on Facebook. With a calm, it reminded me of the need to contemplate – seriously contemplate:

Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people.  Before you tell me how much you love your God, show me how much you love all His children. Before you preach to me of your passion for your faith, teach me about it through your compassion for your neighbors. I’m not interested in what you have to tell or sell as much as how you choose to live and give.        

                                                                                  ~ Gary Booker, Mayor, Newark, New Jersey

The next time I’m inNewark, I’ll work to get an interview with this man.

Life is calling . . .  Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!! 

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com

To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit:  www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise thoughts today!

Dusty’s Cellar is a wonderful restaurant and wine bar in Lansing, Michigan. Along with serving great food, it’s been a pioneering business, a memorable landmark and a community contributor for as long as it has existed.

One of my dearest colleagues, mentors and friend for almost 3 decades, Leslie Charles and I have a ritual that includes dinner at Dusty’s every month to 6 weeks. It’s a comforting routine that often includes a long walk in the woods near her home to enjoy the changing growth & new blooms as well as the seasonal sounds of birds and toads. Then, we walk to Dusty’s for dinner, have a jama party, walk to the local diner for breakfast the next morning and take an adventure at Kelly’s Consignment in search of treasures before I depart for another month. A splendid ritual I look forward to with grand anticipation!

Another delight about our tradition includes time with Billy the Bartender over dinner. It’s obvious that Billy is exceptionally skilled in the art of service. Imagine our experience coupled with his passion for life and a genuine desire to lift the spirits of others. As a new daddy of a beautiful baby boy, he gladly shares his newest pictures of Liam I request to see – how much they grow each and every month!

As I was looking though the pictures on his IPAD the last time I was there, this quotation appeared midway:

Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you no one would believe it.

Great thought to focus on! After all, thoughts are things. So, let’s not forget that we become what we dwell upon. Therefore, when we focus on who we want to become we have a better shot of actually becoming worthy of this gift called life.

Thank you, Leslie for our precious time together. Thanks to the Universe for continually serving up people who teach me such great lessons. And, thank you, Billy for your discipline to be kind and graceful (in the most masculine way!) even when you don’t feel like it (because who always feels like it!?!)

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow wise with character building today!

Last week I gushed about our adventure to the Sonoma Valley. Let me share a few more pieces of wisdom our wine expert, Donna shared with us at our wine tasting.

First, she showed us pictures of various soil beds with new and old vines growing in them. One picture had grapes growing in clay and another in rock – rock! I was befuddled! When I asked how they could possibly grow in such a challenging environment, Donna responded:

The grapes always represent the environment within which they are grown. For instance, last year we had fires in surrounding vineyards and even though we didn’t experience the fire, the resulting wine produced here will carry the smoky flavor.

Hummm . . . sounds like the human condition! What a reminder of the importance of being aware of our environment – our family of origin, the culmination of our experiences, the internal and external ecosystem of our lives . . . understand, then move beyond.

Then, she continued:

And, like every effective parent knows: the more the vine is stressed, the more the little ones will build character. It is stress that produces character and intense flavor. Grapes grown in luscious soil produce large fruit with a comparatively bland essence. Grapes grown in the clay are smaller with more intense flavor and ones grown in rock are even smaller and exceptionally concentrated! Easy living doesn’t result in much character.

Thank you for making your points crystal clear, Donna . . . no more whining about life’s challenges!

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.
Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise original expression today!

This week, Curt and I got to enjoy the company of two of the dearest people on the planet, Robert and Candis Coleman. Once again, we explored their home territory in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. Blessed, completely blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!

Every now and then I crave the drive we make through the vineyards in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. There’s something completely comforting about land that generously gives itself to the tranquility of others. Miles upon miles of rolling hills and winding roads painted with abundant vines, charming eateries, quaint vinery, welcoming boutiques and hard-working little farms with produce stands that offer the land’s yield – all infused with the intensity of spring flowers.

We drive through the beauty to arrive at the Sonoma-Cutrer vineyard, where Robert, a competitive croquet player, practices and competes. Looking around, I feel like I’m on the set of a 1940s movie. Quiet and serene, the land welcomes us to completely relax and enjoy its visual and visceral provisions.

Even the posted purpose of the vineyard welcomes me:

Sonoma-Cutrer is dedicated to the pursuit of original expression in our wines.

Ah, how would life be different for each of us if we were dedicated to the original expression of ourselves? A calling worthy of life’s pursuit. The long journey toward understanding, accepting, forgiving, loving and respecting ourselves is a focused and discipline pursuit. The noble venture of course, takes an entire lifetime!

As I take in all this treasured terrain has to offer, I capture this moment – this tranquil, completely unruffled moment – in an attempt to take it back to the other reality I will return to as I say goodbye to this jewel once again. And, I recommit myself to the daily discipline of becoming the truest expression of my highest being.

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)
Educator, Consultant, Coach, Facilitator, Professional Speaker
Marilynn@marilynnsemonick.com

Wednesday Wisdom

Seed tomorrow with wise tax thinking today!

Perhaps I’m not alone in my relief that tax day come and gone. Every year I watch my saintly husband invest an enormous amount of time and energy gathering all the correct paper work, organizing it in a way that would satisfy an auditor (we’ve learned from experience) and finally, filing the taxes on time. And, with great awe I watch him send the last check electronically with no signs of angst or misery. I’m in complete agreement with the physicist, Albert Einstein, who said about filing tax returns:

This is too difficult for a mathematician. It takes a philosopher.

There are over 7 million words in the tax law and regulations. That beats the Gettysburg address, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bible combined! When I have to do the last review before hitting the “send” button, my head is numb.

The IRS sends out 8 billion pages of forms and instructions each year to help us through the process. If the documents were laid end to end, they would stretch around the Earth 28 times! And, still, 60% of us need a tax professional to help us through the process, spending $27.7 billion dollars a year to have those taxes prepared!

And, according to the Tax Policy Center, 46% of households either paid no federal income tax in 2011 or will receive more from the IRS than they paid in. Hummm – I don’t think I can put my head around that today without it exploding.

For the rest of us, according to the Tax Foundation’s estimate, April 30th is the day that Americans can stop working to pay taxes (dubbed “Tax freedom day”).

Breaking our first 4 months of tax paying down, the Tax Foundation estimates it will take:
• 43 days of work to pay off federal, state and local income taxes
• 30 days to pay off payroll taxes (for Social Security and Medicare)
• 16 days to pay off sales and excise taxes
• 14 days to pay off corporate income taxes (This assumes that a tax on a business is passed on to its customers, employees and shareholders in terms of higher prices,
lower paychecks and less shareholder value.)
• 12 days to pay off property taxes
• 4 days to pay off other taxes (e.g., customs duties)
• 1 day to pay off estate and gift taxes

So, congratulations to all who made the deadline, one more year! (and enjoy the next two weeks or so that we’ll be working to pay 2012 taxes!)

Life is calling . . . Today’s the day . . . Make this moment matter!!

Learn Lavishly. Live Significantly. Leave a Legacy.

Visit www.The Success Studio.com
www.marilynnsemonick.com
To subscribe to Wednesday Wisdom or to read archived postings visit: www.thesuccessstudio.wordpress.com
Marilynn Semonick, CEO (Chief Exploration Officer)