Monthly Archives: January 2001

He will never have true friends who is afraid of making enemies. – William Hazlitt I think this has been a problem for me at times. Maybe not making enemies exactly, but letting people know when I’m mad or irritated … Continue reading →

Gratitude, Day 3 Practice Gratitude for the people who love you or like you. Don’t be concerned about how many there are, or how nice or attractive or helpful they are. Just focus on the simple fact that there are … Continue reading →

Gratitude, Day 2 Practice Gratitude for the fact that you have a house, an apartment, or a tent that shelters you from the elements. Practice Gratitude regarding the comfort it provides you. I really do like our house. It’s old. … Continue reading →

I’m thinking about doing a ‘goals thing’ for a month to test the idea of doing goal setting within a blog. Yesterday, I did my morning meditation for 15 min, sports psyching exercise for 20, started Day 1 of my … Continue reading →

The more we do, the more we can do; the more busy we are, the more leisure we have. – Hazlitt I don’t quite get all of this but I know there’s something to it. I’ve heard the saying, “If … Continue reading →

I installed a little toolbar on my browser called Alexa. One of the nifty things it does is rank the website you’re currently viewing against all the other sites on the net that it knows about. For example, AOL.com is … Continue reading →

Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn. – John Wesley This is why my wife Robbie is successful in her business. And though I definitely feel on fire with enthusiasm for Real … Continue reading →

The book How to Want What You Have by Timothy Miller has a chapter on practicing Gratitude, developing it as a skill. Since I’m working on the mental skill of relaxation this week, I thought I’d try his 14 day … Continue reading →

At least I’m consistent. I couldn’t get back in the groove yesterday morning and lost my final racquetball match, playing poorly once again. Ah, well, now I have a good reason to start and maintain this mental exercise program that’s … Continue reading →

When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.- Eleanor Roosevelt The book that this quote is taken from puts ‘making a contribution’ in the context of ordinary day-in and day-out interactions with people, not some big picture … Continue reading →

I was just as tight for my 2 pm game yesterday in the 35+ bracket as I was for my first game on Friday night. Again, I was playing a better player, but I couldn’t find “the groove” with my … Continue reading →

Ya can’t t’ink ‘n hit at da same time. – Yogi Berra That’s my problem. I have to learn how to ‘not think’ when I hit the damn ball. Yogi, remind me of this today!

Oy, talk about calling it right. I played like shit my first game the Men’s A bracket racquetball tournament last night. I absolutely could not get loose. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference as the guy was way better … Continue reading →

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. – Goethe Reading my “pre Real Joe” journal entries from 2-3 years ago, it’s surprising how many times I wrote something … Continue reading →

My Wednesday noon racquetball partner and I were chatting after our match this week and we discovered that we both have a tendency to play crappy in the first round of a tournament if we’ve had good practice sessions or … Continue reading →

You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. – James Lane Allen This quote doesn’t quite fit with my experience of how Real Joe has come to be. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

I was cleaning out my paper planner yesterday and I stumbled upon some of my journal writings from late 1997 through early 1998 where the initial ideas and ruminations that led to Real Joe first began percolating. It was oddly … Continue reading →

We were temporarily turned down for seed money for a radio show. The company liked the writing in the essays I submitted but the committee making the decision wasn’t unanimous in the overall concept of “an irreverent Oprah for guys.” … Continue reading →

I expect to get some news via email today and when I see the header, my heart will beat a little faster and I’ll step away from the computer, take a deep breath, and stifle my reflext to say a … Continue reading →

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained. – Robert Albert Bloch I was anxious on and off all day yesterday, waiting for word … Continue reading →

Comparisons are being made between Hillary Clinton and Jesse Jackson’s wife, Jacqueline. For example, Salon’s Joan Walsh wrote in a piece titled, The Aphrodisiac of Power that “Like Hillary Clinton, Jacqueline Jackson has reportedly had a tough time looking away … Continue reading →

My wife Robbie and I had a good laugh over the weekend when I realized I’d bugged her three different times to read an article in the current issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. “How many guys do you suppose … Continue reading →

We are told that talent creates its own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents. – Eric Hoffer Assuming my ‘intense desire’ for Real Joe is not misguided, I’ve … Continue reading →

I expect to hear today on whether we’ll receive some funding for a radio show pilot. I keep reminding myself that I’m entitled to the joy of working, but not the results. So in this case, that means reminding myself … Continue reading →

Lost warriors have only to open their eyes to find the right and good path. – Chief Red Mountain For me, ‘open your eyes” is another way of saying ‘wake up’ or ‘pay attention’ or ‘learn at the feet of … Continue reading →