A great friend of mine inspires me with his poetry

Take a moment to read this deep poem, if you like it - follow his link at the end and let him know!

My Time

As I walk through the fields
The light dims to a distance
Far from the past

I see the branches blown by the wind
Creaking like an old door
Waiting to fall from the hinge
From rusted screws

I walk past an old cemetery
And feel the ground move below
Telling me to watch where I step
As if I might step into a dark place

With faces watching,
I tumble down a steep hill
A giant oak tree breaks my fall.

I notice a tombstone
The writing faded out
Like the pages from an old book

I look and I see something
Written on the face.
To my disbelief,
My eyes straining to the sight,
As my mind utters in thought...

Is that my name and birthdate?
Written in stone??

I look towards the stone again,
Looking for the date that comes at the end,
But nothing but a blank stone stares back

Why am I here
Why does this stone take my name?
Where is the final date?

A face stares at me from the distance and says
You should take the walk that you started on
And not look back,
The final date will beckon you.

When you have taken your last step,
The last step of the journey
That you are destined for,
Your feet will walk no more.   

C. Nastu
http://allpoetry.com/poems/by/C.%20Nastu

I had to share one of my old homemade book trailers. It is funny how it touches on bullying even before I had a thought of writing a book on the topic! I hope you enjoy the 2 minutes!     

Helping friends

I was asked today if I felt anger toward my friends who continued to have a few beers around me when I was in the beginning of becoming sober. I responded that I had no ill feelings toward anyone because I know they did the best that they could at the time and anger in our hearts only hurts ourselves. I felt that it was my battle that I was going through at the time and who am I to ask everyone around me to change their ways in order to make my life simpler. In fact, I felt more satisfaction as I made it through my daily journey with the temptations that surrounded me. It was my choice to be there in the first place and we don’t live in a perfect world.
I don’t think that we should judge one another for our mishaps and screw ups. I feel that we should try our best to help each other through the difficult times knowing that each one of us is blessed with free will. We can’t force our beliefs onto anyone and shouldn’t anyhow. When someone is ready for change, he or she will take the challenge and hopefully will ask for your help. I was also told that I should not try to help if this friend asked for it. Bologna! If someone has the strength to ask for your advice then this is the time to give it! You will always feel best when you know that you did everything that you could because you did. Walking away from someone who is struggling will only hurt everyone involved.

Let God do the judging, unless you are perfect. We all make mistakes and we all have issues so don’t pretend that you are perfect, but instead lend a helping hand anytime you can no matter the situation. True friends help each other without motives and that is what makes us friends.

Prayers to everyone in Sandy Hook

I tend to write about the goodness in life. I try to put on paper what I feel and how I try to live my life. I always look at the bright side of situations and how we overcome challenges. This is why I enjoy conveying my thoughts to you; the readers. Today I am having a difficult time writing of the good surrounding me because I feel an emptiness from the horrific actions of just one man. A man that shot his way into an elementary school and murdered innocent people and children. My faith says that anyone who takes the innocence or hurts a child will be condemned for all eternity but, this doesn’t seem to calm my initial feelings of sadness, anger, and confusion. We are all asking why and how this can happen to the most innocent in our society? We want to know what is going on with this world. Some are saying the Mayan apocalypse is on the way while others are saying that evil has visited this small town of Sandy Hook, CT. I don’t believe either of those scenario’s. I think that a mentally ill or sick individual has visited that town and that we need to focus on learning from the horrible situation. We need to hug the ones we love everyday and be thankful for every moment that we have on earth. We need to listen to our family and friends and pay attention to what is going on in their hearts.


We will never be able to prevent chaos and evil but we can fight it with the most powerful weapon known to all mankind; Love. I have never known Love to create such sadness or anger that evil creates. I have never seen Love be jealous or cheap. Love is unconditional and fair. It is something that these innocent children had stolen from them and their families. I am certain that with this very same Love we will see Strength flourish. You see, Love and Strength go hand and hand. We need to be strong and have faith that there is much more good than evil in this world and we need to stand united and always be good to those that surround us. When we do this we will help to prevent these actions from happening again.

My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone who is mourning and may God bless us all.

Hello Friends!

I have been a little quit here on my blog since the summer. I wanted to take a moment to say "Hi" and that I have not forgotten about you; actually it is exactly the opposite. I have been taking writing classes and learning better writing skills by silently reading your blogs. I am in a class now that is a creative writing class that is amazing. Tonight I wrote about my life as a pregnant bed bug! What a blast. I am working on my third book and hope to have it out within the next few months and will let you know when it is coming. I also wanted to Thank everyone who signed up to my weekly ezine here and look forward to sending those out weekly, so if you haven't yet - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!

Have a fun week everyone and be HAPPY!     

Good Deeds...

Our fast paced days and nights cause so much stress and feelings of being overwhelmed by competition, peer pressures, being accepted, and achieving both our own goals and goals that are put on us by society and our well meaning loved ones. If I were to fail to live up to these goals I might have self doubts about who I am or what I am doing. There are times in each of our lives that we feel challenged or weak, no matter how strong we are. We should always remember that our thoughts create realities and what we think we can do is possible. We must follow our instincts and go for what we believe is good.

There are many people who are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to put food on the table, and even a roof over the heads of the ones who need it most; kids. Today I ask that every one of us take a moment to think of a way to help someone who is in need of some help. Many are not willing to ask for help because they feel they can do it or have to much pride. Remember that the best deeds are done when they are un-noticed by our niegbors. Do something good today to help someones tomorrow.

Thanks,
Mike       

What path in life are you taking?

Today I ask you to take a look at yourself. No, not in the mirror but at your hearts. I have been watching my thoughts and my actions pretty closely and found that I have much to learn. I need to tune my ears closer to the wisdom that is offered by others who have insight and knowledge of the good that surrounds me. We have free will and can pick out what’s true and fair. Wisdom and knowledge are pleasant companions while common sense will help us travel the right paths and keep us from following the bad directions of the lost! When we aren’t paying attention to our hearts, we will find a lot of detours and dead ends. When we listen to our hearts and learn from really true friends we will find all the good trails.
Listen for the good in everything that you do, everywhere you go. You will stay on track. Don’t ever assume you know everything because there is so much more to learn! Earn a reputation for living well by doing well. Run from the ones who tempt you to do the wrong thing because they will only bring you into that maze of detours and dead ends. Don’t give that smooth talking temptress a second thought because it will only distract you from looking forward and only tempt you to join them on the path to nowhere. Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder. The ones who are straightforward are the ones who get respect.

Never walk away from someone who needs help. Don’t tell someone “maybe later” or “next time” when you have a pocket full of money or the time right now. Even worse, never try to figure out ways to take advantage of someone when they are sitting there trusting you and unsuspecting. This is one of the quickest ways to end up in a blind alley and miserable. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth, don’t tell white lies, or gossip. Keep your heart focused on the right path and ignore the sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the roads will be paved out smoothly for you!

Your words are your life. Live what you say...

Sometimes we forget how important it is to just be honest and admit when we screw up and then move on. We should always keep promises because that is one of the best ways to be sure that people will stand by you through good and bad. Keeping promises gives us purpose and it builds trust and loyalty with our loved ones. Trust is an amazing feeling and is strong and blameless! I am a trusting person who believes that you should trust in everyone unless they give you reasons not to trust them, even if we are thrown a curve ball with being hurt we need to keep our hearts open and not close them in fear of being hurt again because then we are the ones who are not letting the goodness in. Anger only imprisons ourselves, forgiveness is the key back out into the sunshine and chirping birds...

Watch for the motives of the snake oil sales person

I learned at a young age to surround myself with people who are positive and have a great outlook on life. When we surround ourselves with loving people with goals, it will always help us to stay focused and motivated on our own. It doesn’t matter what our goals are, rather just that we have them. Through the years I have been surrounded with such people in my work life, social life, and my family life. I have been blessed to be able to enjoy the day, knowing that each day will bring more successes. I know that we must make mistakes in order to learn and grow and I have a very good “gut instinct” on people I meet. I usually sense when to run from such mean spirited people who have selfish motives or who are just really evil!


I think it is important to trust everyone that we meet unless they prove not to be trustworthy. Unfortunately some people are experts at deceiving us! This is why there are so many scams, gimmicks, and snake oils being sold every day. Recently I learned such a lesson. Through this lesson I learned to be on the look out for these scam artists before investing time or money with such snake oil sales people. If someone starts a relationship on false pretenses and is trying to sell you something by making you believe that they are actually looking for something that you are an authority on or may be selling, don’t just walk away from that person; RUN! It is like the age old saying that Clark Howard (one of my hero’s) always says “if it is sounds too good to be true then it is” Don’t stick around long enough to get bit; trust me. It stings!

I have been in sales for most of my adult life and I have never sold anyone anything that was useless or a waste of money. I couldn’t sell anything that I didn’t believe would help make that persons day or life better. This is why I am so trustworthy and sometimes feel that sting. I will always trust in others, knowing that most are good. My point of this entire story is to watch for selfish motives. Some people may be looking to take a foot of energy when you offer just an inch. Be sure to listen to your instincts and never trust anyone with a bitter voice or phony offer. There are many takers in society. If you are a giver and love to see people smile then leave the taker in the dust because that is exactly what they plan to do with you...

Wish only the best for the “snake oil sales person” because that is all they know to sell. Let God judge them. It is not our business to find out what their motives are. It is wise to walk away from their evil motives and try to help others from being hurt by them. Always remember that every ending is the start of a new beginning; move forward and learn from history.

Giving

There is a story about the seven years of plenty during the Egyptian’s time under Joseph where they stored up a huge amount of harvest for seven years. These years were called the seven fat years because the following seven years were a time of scarcity and drought known as the seven lean years. Imagine the people who, stored nothing and just kept getting fatter and enjoying the moment, I would bet they felt a lot of remorse and regrets! This story should remind us to enjoy the fat years and to always keep the future in our mind. We should always think about our actions and never get greedy, for these pleasures will soon be just a memory. When we have plenty, we tend to take it for granted and sometimes even expect it but, we tend to learn the most when we end up in the lean years! God has given us plenty and has also given us free-will which, is one of his best gifts to us. Free-will is what separates the good from evil.
Evil will always be filled with misery and it tries to pass that misery onto others but, the good are filled with the good light which, can never be dimmed by darkness. I try to always remember that, while, those temptations from the fat years now give me the opportunity to overcome the evil ways of men while, increasing my personal growth. Today is the perfect day to start making it a habit of sharing our gifts unconditionally, without expecting anything in return.

Every time you love someone you love life and by loving life you will be truly happy! Unconditional love is the most purest kind of love, there is the love that parents have for their children, a love that a brother or a sister share, and the love a happily married couple share. It is a love that can be tested but never broken. Unconditional love wants to share and doesn’t expect anything in return. The best part of the year for me is Christmas morning when I can watch children and loved ones’ opening their gifts and to see that excitement in their eyes and hear it in their voices when opening a gift that they really wanted. I have more fun watching their reactions than I do opening my gifts, this is what unconditional love feels like when you simply help someone to enjoy a fun filled day.  (From my second book - Life in a Week - What is Spirituality?)

Be yourself... Be happy and make a difference... Mike

Meaning of Life?

We can find meaning in our lives even when we are confronted with troubles and hopeless situations that we have no control over. Sometimes it hurts while we are going through these trials because we don’t yet understand why they are happening. Through the suffering we can transform any tragedy into a triumph or achievement because we are forced to challenge and change ourselves. Everything in our lives happens for a reason, and there are no coincidences. We are where we are because we chose to be there, now you can decide where you want to be and start down that path.
The meaning of life varies from person to person, and the meaning changes on a daily basis. It is not so much the meaning of life that matters but the meaning of your life that is important. Knowing that every person is different, has different capabilities, assets, traits, dreams, and careers will help to remind us how unique we truly are. What matters is what we do with where we are in life and how we handle each situation. We must learn from the situations and should not be in search of a generic meaning of life, but instead what we are doing with ours. No two human beings are the same. We have different experiences, different surroundings, and beliefs. We must take our own opportunities and implement them in a way that will help others.


One of the ways I have learned to live a responsible life is by putting others first. Before I do something, I think of ways to do it in a positive way that will be rewarding for others. Helping others first, loving unconditionally, learning to stop judging others is one of the truest ways to live a responsible life, which in turn makes you who you are and why you are here among billions of other loving souls. The true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world, not just from within. The more we love others and give to society we will learn about ourselves. Being selfless in our challenging times will have a beautiful side effect on your life and that side effect is what I call “the meaning of life.”

WICC 600 a.m. Tuesday

Hi everyone, I will be getting hypnotised tuesday to become a non smoker! I will be on WICC 600 a.m. at 9:00 - 10:00 (Eastern time) and I will be sure to let everyone know how it was! I am guesting for the hour and will become a co-host every Sunday night (same time) on the "Life Changes with Mariette" show! If you are not local to Connecticut, New York, and Long Island just go on the web and live stream us - http://www.wicc600.com/

Have a fun week!  

Honesty and sales should be universal!

(This is a posting from October 2009 and rings even more true for todays slow growing economic times.)

A big part of my job is to do the sales end of the work that we do and today was a typical Friday where we are pretty busy because we do not do estimates on the weekends. I had a quote in New Canaan, Connecticut (we do air duct cleaning for heating and air conditioning) and walked into a beautiful castle where I was met by a wonderful older woman who thought she needed our services. I did my evaluation and found that her ducts were in mint condition and did not need our service (probably for another 5 years). I let her know of my findings and she was shocked and could not believe what I was telling her! So, I took her to the basement and opened up her system to show her with my camara system, to prove to her that I wasn't trying to talk myself or her out of a great job at her home. She asked me to come back upstairs and continued to show me two estimates that she had recieved in the past two weeks.In both estimates, the blower motors and return ducts (which we just visibly looked at and scoped with a camara system and found spotless) were heavily contaminated with dirt and debris.Thousands of dollars would be the cost of such a cleaning. We laughed and she thanked me for being such an honest business man. My point of this long, drawn out story is that when we are completely honest in everything that we do, we will never need to worry about being caught in a lie and your honesty will come back to you tenfold. Within the hour I recieved a phone call from her heating and air conditioning company thanking me for my honesty and two nieghbors want quotes for our services next week!


Being truthful with everyone in life will only be contagious and will help everyone involved. You are helping others and yourself at the same time and will gain a reputation that you are proud of! I took many classes in sales and marketing and the one thing that they seem to lack (not all) is integrity, my advice to anyone in sales would be "to be successful just treat everyone as you would your family not a customer." That would be the class and the rest will fall into place. Have a fun weekend and give someone a hug today!!

Laugh and pass along the energy!

My new fun shirt that I hope brings some smiles to everyone who passes by! Life is about enjoying life and helping others to smile along the way! I hope each and everyone of you have a perfect day knowing that you are making a difference in others lives!

Have FUN!

Blog is changing to www.lifeinaweek.blogspot.com

Hello to all my "Life in a Week" friends! We are building a new website due to the demand of "Life in a Week" products and services! The blog will remain the same and the website as-well! You will be able to access the blog via http://www.lifeinaweek.com/ on the "blog" page or sign up directly through the http://www.lifeinaweeek.blogspot.com/ page if you are not signed up already!
Thank You so much for all of the support and feedback. The new site will help to contact both me and our staff more easily in the future. I apologize for any slow responses in the past, it was a bad set up by ME and my not so good computer savy! Now you can email me directly at any time and I will recieve every email directly! Also, be sure to join me on my facebook page today!
I look forward to talking with you.
Sincerely,
Mike Keller
http://www.lifeinaweek.com/