19Nov 2014 by CJ

The journey is always challenging, but the rewards are there if you’re patient

Life & Living, Youth
This Wednesday marks a week to the day that my wife and I closed on our new house. While real estate transactions probably occur to thousands of homebuyers everyday across the nation, for us this was the final piece of a puzzle, which started back in January of 2014. It was during that time when my wife and I debated and deliberated where we wanted to spend our future. Would we stay in the comfort and security of a state we called home for almost 40 years, or would we take a chance and restart our lives elsewhere? It’s not an easily answered question – the results of which would greatly impact every facet of our lives, personally and professionally. But it’s a question definitely worth asking. Life is not…
Read More
17Nov 2014 by CJ

Going out on a “date” can truly ease another’s loneliness

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living, Love & Relationships
The other day I read an interesting article about a wife who told her husband she was going to set him up on a date. When I first read that line you can imagine how many things were running through my head – how many assumptions I was making about what kind of couple they were. I was wrong. It turns out she was setting her husband up on a date with his mother. The story tells that the husband had made very little time for his mother over the years, and this was the only way she could think of to get him to spend more quality time with her. The mother of course was overjoyed by her daughter-in-laws matchmaking abilities. She was so excited to spend this quality…
Read More
03Nov 2014 by CJ

Lists are okay, but don’t live by them

Life & Living
I’m a list maker. Regardless of the circumstance, you can rest assured that somewhere there’s a notebook page with a numbered list on it – often revised over and over again. I’m a little anal, I know. The other day I came to realize that while my “lists” are meant to guide me, all they really do is cause my anxiety levels to rise, as I begin to feel overwhelmed by my self-inflicted deadlines. It can lead me to become agitated and cranky as projects pile up with little feeling of accomplishment. Sometimes I think I overcomplicate my life by assigning importance to things that simply don’t deserve it. I allow myself to get so caught up in my “to-do-lists” that I simply miss out on the little miracles going…
Read More
29Oct 2014 by CJ

Personal accomplishment often comes quietly

Life & Living, Youth
500 dollars is a lot of money to have in your pocket. 500 miles is a long way to travel by car. 500 blog posts means you’ve got a hell of a lot to say. This post represents number 501 for me. What happened to 500 you say? Honestly, it came and went with little fanfare. I rarely keep track of how many posts I’ve logged since this blog went live in 2011. I write when I feel inspired, not just to build an arsenal of posts. But I have to say that I was somewhat surprised by this number. 500 posts seems like a lot to me, though other bloggers might think it’s just a small bleep on the radar. Still, I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve been able…
Read More
28Oct 2014 by CJ

People need to learn there’s a time and place for everything

Life & Living
Even though I’m only 39, I was born old. That’s probably why I still don’t fully understand the popularity of social media beyond giving society an open stage to perform on, with an audience always in attendance. Companies spend so much time focused on getting “likes,” yet find themselves unable to connect the effort to profitability. Though I’ll admit it’s a great way to build brand identity. But I think most of the trouble lies in what every day, ordinary people are posting. That “open stage” I spoke about often publicizes conversations and opinions that should otherwise not be shared with an online community of millions. It can be embarrassing and hurtful to those unsuspecting victims, and even damaging to the poster as employers and even colleges now search your…
Read More