30Mar 2016 by CJ

A trip to the NJ shore – without getting drunk

Youth
Today I was asked a rather interesting and perplexing question. To put it into context, I grew up in New Jersey – not far from the Jersey shore.  The MTV show with the same name did little to boost the reputation of the Garden State, which might explain where this question came from now that I live in Colorado. The question was, “Didn’t you go and get drunk on the boardwalk all the time?” Ah, no. Yes, I did frequent the Jersey shore on numerous occasions. But typically they were to enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean, a box of salt water taffy and to allow the smells of the sausage and pepper stand and the sea air to take me on nostalgic trip down memory lane. People…
Read More
28Mar 2016 by CJ

Success doesn’t always make sense

Life & Living
The way I see it, one’s ability to succeed is fundamentally comprised of two basic elements: 25% comes from one’s natural ability and the other 75% is based on pure old fashion luck. That statement is in no way meant to diminish the overwhelming talents so many of us possess. But it does make you think about those that have the ability, who seem to have the drive, but can’t seem to make their dreams come to fruition. When was the last time you watched a movie, read a book, heard a song on the radio or watched a program on TV and thought to yourself, “wow, that was really bad”. You spend a few moments pondering the amount of money publishers and entertainment gurus must have spent to produce…
Read More
21Mar 2016 by CJ

Being an active listener is sometimes all people need

Life & Living
"As a relationship matures, you start to see that just being there for each other is the most important thing you can do, just being there to listen and be sorry with them, to be happy with them, to share all that there is to share." - Fred Rogers Today my wife was a little down. She's usually the picture of happiness and joy, but today she just found herself burdened with the uncertainties so many of us feel at some point in our lives. I hate to see her like that, and typically I always find something constructive to say in order for her to compartmentalize her feelings and find some peace. But this time I actually found myself somewhat speechless. My mind was at a loss for anything…
Read More
15Mar 2016 by CJ

Prayers aren’t only when you need something

Life & Living
“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.” – Kahlil Gibran Though I’m not a religious person, I readily admit to saying a nightly prayer with great regularity. It’s something I started over 20 years ago after reading an article about “praying” to a higher power – whomever you might deem appropriate. Truthfully? I’m pretty surprised I’ve stuck with it all these years based on two main reasons. One: I was brought up in the Catholic faith, but gave up on them a long time ago. Their form of organized religion is laced with rules I don’t agree with and hypocrisies I certainly will never support. Two: My life has certainly…
Read More
10Mar 2016 by CJ

Mistakes remind us we’re not perfect

Youth
“Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net results of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail so many different ways.” – Samuel McChord Crothers Did you ever work tirelessly on a project, going over every little detail multiple times, only to reach the end and find a mistake? Is there anything more frustrating? Over the last month, my organization has been developing a spring newsletter. It was developed by multiple departments, proofed by countless individuals and rearranged dozens of times, and yet still there was a minor error when all was said and done. To put things into perspective, the mistake was in the “fine print” – the word “our” should have been “out”.…
Read More