Personal Journey - On Writing - Old Friend from Far Away

Just finished reading a great book on memoir writing entitled "Old Friend from Far Away". I love the title. The author Natalie Goldberg reignited a flame. It's re-inspired me to write and study writing. The book reminded me of my love of books, writing, language and stories. Years ago I started in that direction during my two years in a MA program on creative writing at City College of New York. I studied writing with many teachers but I remember one teacher Grace Paley who was also an author. I read fiction voraciously and remember my love of a few authors including Raymond Carver, Madison Smart Bell and Andre Dubus. It's been years since I've read fiction or memoirs. Today I still read 1-2 books a week but they are mainly non-fiction. I feel a fiction and autobiographical phase coming on.

Years ago I came at writing from many interesting directions. I read oral histories and conducted oral history interviews, studied journaling and started a writing journal that has now expanded to over fifty life journals, studied writing and performance of one man shows , read books by Spalding Gray, Eric Bogosian and other performance artists and wrote and performed in theater performances of my autobiographical material. I used my journal writing to explore stories from my life, keep a dream journal, used it to self analyse myself and kept writing about my life.

During the passing years I have filled fifty journals, filled five journals for and about my life with my daughter, written a one man show, wrote an autobiographical screenplay now entitled "Sugar Cane" and now have turned another corner and started a blog that while focused on motivation has also explored some of my personal life journey. Yet I don't think of myself as a writer or even think that I write that much.

The latest chapter in my life has reconnected me with my roots and taken me back to Ireland and family. The Chinese have a saying we live in interesting times and i have had a very interesting and unique life. A cousin described it as I've turned a lot of corners and I have turned a lot of corners, walked through a lot of doors, reinvented myself many times and lived many different lives all in this one life. Having met my lively ninety four year old aunt I hope I have many more lives left. So I step off the cliff again and hope I can fly. It's time to write to explore my daemon, my unique spirit and share the stories of my life. It's time to write to challenge myself again and to get another completion in my life. it's time to write..... Write on.....

Motivation Speech - Steve Jobs

Some good insights.....

Thought for the Day - Be a Winner

You were Born to Win, but to be a Winner,
You must Plan to Win, Prepare to Win, and Expect to Win
- Zig Ziglar -




Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

Thought for the Day - Life is Precious - Appreciate it

The incredible, unpredictable and almost incomprehensible loss of life in China and Myanmar bring home the reality of how precious life is. The world feels the sorrow for the losses in these countries. A truly sad situation. Life is Precious.... Take a moment to be grateful for the gift of life....

Thought for the Day - Follow Your Dreams

I don't know if he's related to my mother's family the O'Donnell's in Glanduff,
County Mayo but I celebrate his call to Follow Your Dreams....

A motivation inspirational book from Ireland's Daniel O'Donnell.

Thought for the Day - Create a 30 - 90 Day Challenge

I'm a big believer in creating challenges for myself from the little to the big. One way I do this is by creating 30 day or 90 day challenges. I used to do 30 day juice fasts as a way to interrupt and reprogram my eating habits. You can focus on one area to make a break thru or I like to make it 3 areas.
I am creating a 90 day challenge for myself in the following three areas:

Writing
Fitness
Internet Marketing

I set goals in all three areas and create a list of daily musts in each area. If you haven't done it before try it and if you have done it start up some new ones.....

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

Thought for the Day - Keep Moving Forward

A little extreme view of life maybe but some words of truth. As Les Brown puts it "When life knocks you down, make sure you land on your back, because if you can see up you can get up".

Be willing to pay the price and keep moving forward.....

Happy Mother's Day - R&B and Irish Musical Tributes

I''ll Always Love My Mother - In Memory - Ann "O'Donnell" Duffy

Ireland and the UK celebrate Mother's Day in the last week of March.

So a belated Happy Mothers Day Aunt Maggie. Happy Mother's Day Rose & Sharon and all the mother's in my new extended O'Donnell Clan.

This is for you Mom. And for your sister Aunt Maggie who sang a "Mother's Love" for us in Glanduff / Foxford Ireland on St. Pat's 2008 and there wasn't a dry eye. I made it to Glanduff for you. I know you're smiling.

Thank You. You're always in my heart.....


Happy Mother's Day Jean, Happy Mother's Day Jeanne.

Thought For the Day - Four Things

"Leadership begins with recognizing that everybody needs FOUR things," "something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and something to believe in."

Lou Holtz

What do you Do?
Who do you Love?
What do you Hope for?
What do you Believe in?

Thought For the Day - Choose to be Happy

It was at the darkest moment in my life that I realized that no matter how bad things were in my life I could choose to be happy. And I did choose to be happy.

Winter is always followed by Spring. And just like the seasons my personal winter passed and spring returned and I turned things around but I also realized that I could be happy no matter what was going wrong and that was a very empowering belief.

So Choose to be Happy no matter what.......

Thought For the Day - Commitment

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy". The answer is to move from What If I Can't to How Can I?
I'm in that place right now trying to make a decision and applying to above to the situation

Thought For the Day - Choices

Your life is determined by the Choices you make. You always have a choice.......

I read two stories this week in the LA Times that brings this home.

The first story is about a teenager in community college in Berkley who was scheduled to go car shopping the next day with his Dad. The night before he made a choice a bad one and stabbed a honor student to death. He destroyed two lives with one bad choice.

The second story is about former gang members in Los Angeles called "The Businessmen" who are trying to make up for the poor choices they made when they were young and are working to make a positive difference in their neighborhood. They are role models for the reality that it's never too late to make some good choices and a difference.

Choose carefully and make some good choices.....

California Dreaming

It's why I moved to California from New York. I saw this view twenty years ago and the decision was made.

Brainstorming Tool - Mind Mapping

There are software programs that use these principles. I use the software "Inspiration" for my MacBook.

Motivational Mix - Jim Rohn & DJ Vattivegas

Thought For the Day - Power of Decisions

The decisions you make will shape your life. Decide wisely.....

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video - # 2 Bocelli & Kenny G

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video - # 1 - Zucchero

Zucchero Ronan Keating The Flight Il Volo

A Knight's Tale: Brave Boy to be King of O'Donnell Castle

A nice moving story about dreams and people making a difference...

BRAVE little Erin Logue, was yesterday made a knight in shining armour to realise the dream of a lifetime.

The nine-year-old from Loughanure, Co Donegal, rode up on his steed to be given a sword of honour at a medieval investiture ceremony in a real castle -- Solis Lough Eske Castle near Donegal town.

It was the start of a special weekend which will include a banquet in his honour before he gets to "battle" his way through enemy knights on Monday to rescue a golden Labrador in another castle, the 500-year-old O'Donnell Castle in Donegal town. He will also judge a jousting contest and other knight events.

Erin's adventure of a lifetime was all made possible by the Make a Wish Foundation when it was told of Erin's dream by a nurse at Letterkenny General Hospital.

Erin has been battling a rare cancerous brain tumour for 18 months. His illness was one of only three of its kind seen by his surgeon in the past 20 years.

His amazing courage is being recognised after he revealed his favourite dreams -- to be a knight and to own a dog.

His mum Mary said: "Erin has bounced back from his illness well and is in great form these days."

- Paddy Clancy

http://www.independent.ie/

http://www.wish.org/

Power of Decisions and Choices

Sidney Poitier:
I became an actor by accident. I was a dishwasher in New York City. And I was alone. My family was in the Caribbean, where I came from originally, and I was in New York washing dishes for a living. I used to get my jobs out of a black newspaper called The Amsterdam News. I was in the want-ad section one day looking for a dishwashing job and on the opposite page there was a theatrical page and it said "Actors Wanted," just like it said dishwashers wanted, and porter and elevator operators wanted. So I said what the hell, "Dishwasher Wanted, Actor Wanted," and I looked up the address and went to the place that was saying this and I got to The American Negro Theatre at 135th Street and Lenox Avenue in the basement of the Schomburg Collection Library. There was one guy in there. The theatre was not quite as large as this--it had a small stage like this--and the guy said, "Can I help you?" I said, "Yes, I saw this thing in the paper about actors."
He said, "Are you an actor?"
I said, "Yes."
And, to make a long story short, he said, "OK, here's a script." I never knew what a script was. He said, "Page 21. You read so and so, I'll read so and so."
So I got up there and I'm reading, but I went to school for a year and a half in my life, so I hadn't really yet learned to read very well. I started reading everything marked under "John,"--I assumed that's what he wanted me to read--and I was stumbling over the words. He saw immediately that I was not an actor and he came up on the stage--he was a very big guy--and he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and yanked me off the stage and marched me to the door. As he threw me out he said, "Stop wasting people's time. Why don't you go out and get a job as a dishwasher or something?"--absolutely true.
I'm walking down the street, going to the bus and I said to myself, "How did he know? Was there something about me that gives off that I am dishwashing material?"
It was that day that I decided to be an actor. Not to be an actor, but just to show him and myself that there was more to me than washing dishes. I intended to become an actor to show him one day and go, "he, he, he" and then give up the business. It didn't happen that way.

Self Growth Articles

Articles I wrote on Self Growth website:

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/15_Rules_To_Master_Your_Life_Or_At_Least_Make_It_Better.html

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Book_Review_-_Make_The_Impossible_Possible.html

Inspirational Story - No Limitations

AP

NEW YORK — John Fernandez should not have been playing lacrosse in the Army-Navy alumni game at Madison Square Garden.

By all rights, the former U.S. Army first lieutenant should be dead. But luck intervened.
"It was just a matter of chance — pure luck," said Fernandez of Shoreham, Long Island, who was severely wounded in Iraq after a U.S. plane dropped a 500-pound bomb on his Humvee in a case of friendly fire on April 3, 2003. Shrapnel from the explosion shredded his legs. "I crawled," Fernandez recalled. "I couldn't walk."

More than five years later, the soldier can do more than just walk. He can play lacrosse thanks to prosthetic limbs as he demonstrated during the Heroes Cup, which preceded the New York Titans professional game Saturday night.
"Change of direction is a little bit more difficult just because I don't have ankles," Fernandez said. "I get around. I'm not necessarily the guy who's going to be taking the ball and driving from behind the cage. I'm out there and playing. Running around, setting picks and scoring goals."

Fernandez speaks impassively when he recounts what happened to him. But his story is extraordinary. Somehow the bomb, which ripped through his Humvee, spared Fernandez who was sleeping next to the vehicle on a cot south of Baghdad in Karballa. It did not spare his driver, gunner nor the platoon sergeant who was nearby in another Humvee.
Seven others were injured.

Afterward, Fernandez, 30, was flown to a naval base in Spain and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Doctors delivered a grim prognosis when he arrived. Part of his right leg had to go. They could try to save his left foot but it might be more trouble than it was worth. There could be lasting complications. Fernandez told doctors: "Just take it off. Cut it off and move on. It's literally cutting your losses."

Surgeons amputated his right leg eight inches below the knee. They also removed his left foot. But Fernandez was undeterred. He returned home that June for many months of painful rehabilitation. The soldier in him refused to lay down — so did his wife Kristi who helped Fernandez recover. "We just kept looking ahead," she said while watching Fernandez play at the Garden, cheering the Army players who eventually lost to Navy 10-6.

The first few years were a learning process, but over time he adapted to his new legs. His latest set are made mostly of carbon fiber. He's been able to play sports for about four years. "I put on my legs in the morning like you put on your shoes," said Fernandez, now alumni director of the Wounded Warrior Project in New York dedicated to veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And he never limited himself.
"I wanted to be able to do everything I could do prior to the injury," said Fernandez, who has two children and a third on the way.

One of those things was lacrosse. Fernandez played at Rocky Point High School on Long Island. He was also captain of his team at West Point. Fernandez wasn't quickest player. He wasn't a star. But he had other skills. "My saving grace was that I hard shot," he said.

When he takes the field with his prosthetic limbs, changing direction can be difficult though he was able to bound up and down the artificial turf at the Garden with little problem. His wife says he gets better each time he plays, and he scored in a previous alumni game.

The other players show him no quarter and certainly the ones from Navy did not at MSG. Most of the time, players aren't looking at his legs. They're looking to jar the bar loose with a good hit. "I try my hardest," he said. "I try to put the ball in the back of the net." Playing lacrosse at the Garden, perhaps, isn't his proudest moment on two legs since his injury.

Fernandez had intended to marry his wife in a big ceremony but had to quickly tie the knot in a civil service shortly before he shipped out to Iraq. "The deployment got in the way," he said. A proper wedding had to wait. Only seven months after Fernandez narrowly avoided death, the couple finally had one.

"I danced and walked down the isle," Fernandez said. "I did it all."

Irish American Story Project

Article I wrote for Irish-American Story Project

http://irishamericanstoryproject.com/?p=95

Submit articles to them about your experiences as an Irish-American.......

Blogging

A fact that makes you go Hmmmm

It's estimated by Technorati that over
112.8 million blogs exist in the world
and that over 175,000 new blogs are
launched EVERY day!

That's 112.8 million blogs. Fascinating

Thought For the Day - Stop Shoulding All Over Yourself

"Stop shoulding all over yourself" - Just Do It........

Thought for the Day - Flexibility is Power

If it works, great. If it does not try something else. Don't act from rigidity or dogma...Be flexible... Be wiling to try something new.
Flexibility is Power.........

Ireland Is At Peace - Bertie Ahern

The great day of hope has dawned

The following is an abridged version of the address by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress, Washington DC, yesterday.

Your invitation to address this Joint Meeting this morning honours my country and honours me also. It reaffirms the enduring bonds of friendship and esteem between our two peoples and between our two republics. Those bonds have been built and nurtured and refreshed over the centuries. America and Ireland have something that goes beyond a friendship between countries. To be an Irishman among Americans is to be at home. So, Madam Speaker, I stand here before you as a proud son of Ireland. And I stand with you as a steadfast friend of the United States of America.

Parnell turned to the United States, as have many Irish leaders since, as we strove to emulate the achievements of America and to vindicate the principles that inspired your founding fathers: the principles of liberty, of equality and of justice.
In the early part of the last century, Eamon de Valera came here seeking help as Ireland struggled for her independence. In more recent times, many Irish leaders have come here in the quest for peace in Northern Ireland. Whenever we have asked for help, America has always been there for us -- a friend in good times and in bad.From the very outset, Ireland gave to America presidents, patriots and productive citizens of a new nation.....

The Irish helped to build America.

The New Ireland -- once a place so many left -- is now a place to which so many come....

The Irish are to be found in the police departments and the fire houses, in the hospitals, the schools and the universities, in the board rooms and on the construction sites, in the churches and on the sports fields of America.
Their contribution is seen in much of the great literature, film, art and music that America has given to the world. Each of them is a green strand woven into the American dream.
In all of America, there is Irish America.

On September 11, 2001, some of the most terrible, evil events in world history occurred. Close to Ellis Island, near this very building and in the skies and fields of Pennsylvania.
It is a day that is etched into the memory of all humanity.
On that day, Father Mychal Judge, the chaplain of the New York Fire Department and the son of Irish immigrants from Co Leitrim, rushed to the World Trade Centre to help those who were in danger and to minister to the injured and the dying. Along with so many other good, innocent people, Fr Mike died inside the Twin Towers that day. He was officially designated Victim Number 1. Of course, he was no more important than any other victim. He was just a simple man of faith and of courage trying to help others. In recognition of the bravery of all who died on that terrible day, I am deeply honoured to be joined here today by some of Fr Mike's comrades from the New York Fire Department and New York Police Department. I honour them and all of their fallen comrades -- those who fell on that day and all who have fallen doing their duty to serve the people.
There was a day of national mourning in Ireland after 9/11. Every city, town and village fell silent in remembrance of the dead.

Ar Dheis De go raibh a nanam dilis go leir.

In Ireland, we firmly believe our experience of hardship and of forced emigration is at an end. For that achievement, too, we owe so much to America.
Our two countries are reaping the rewards together. We are investing in each other's economies, bringing together our entrepreneurial energy and creating employment across Ireland and across America. That is the true measure of our economic achievements together. It points to a friendship every bit as strong in the future as it is today.

This year, in Ireland, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It was a defining moment in Ireland's history. In the years since then, some doubted that the Agreement would endure.
I never did.
I knew it would last because it is built on the highest ideals of democracy -- the ideals of liberty, of equality, of justice, of friendship and of respect for our fellow men and women. Above all, the settlement of 1998 will flourish because of one simple and unalterable fact.It represents the will, democratically expressed, North and South, of all of the people of Ireland to live together in peace. That is far more powerful than any words of hatred or any weapon of terror.

On St Patrick's Day 2008, a few short weeks ago, I came here to Washington. I came with a simple and extraordinary message: That great day of hope has dawned. Our prayer has been answered. Our faith has been rewarded. After so many decades of conflict, I am so proud, Madam Speaker, to be the first Irish leader to inform the United States Congress: Ireland is at peace.

Our dream, and the dream of all of the friends of Ireland in America and across the world, has come true. To you, to your predecessors and to all of the American leaders from both sides of the aisle who have travelled with us, we offer our heartfelt gratitude. We also recognise the steadfast support of President Bush, of President Clinton, their administrations, their envoys and of their predecessors.

Do not underestimate the good you have done. Do not forget the legacy you have forged. And if ever you doubt America's place in the world, or hesitate about your power to influence events for the better, look to Ireland.
Look to the good you have done. Look at the richness of so many individual futures that now stretch out before us for generations, no longer subject to conflict and violence. Look to the hope and confidence that we now feel on our island.
The healing of history. Look and be glad.

An American President once said: "The supreme purpose of history is a better world".
Making a better world is also the supreme purpose of representative politics in our two democratic republics.

I will shortly step down from the office of Taoiseach after almost 11 years.
I am honoured to have been elected by the Irish people to serve them in that great office.

On May 6, I will go to that famous field on the banks of the River Boyne in Ireland where, over three centuries ago, fierce and awful battle was waged between the Protestant King William and the Catholic King James....

Today, both sides, proud of their history and confident of their identity, can come together in peace and part in harmony. They can offer each other the open hand of friendship. They will reaffirm again what Ireland has achieved and what we know in our hearts to be true.
Centuries of war, of strife and of struggle are over, and over for good. The field of slaughter is now a meeting place of mutual understanding.
Our children will live in peace. And their children will enjoy the fruits of their inheritance. This is the triumph of people and of politics. This is the achievement of democracy. The great achievement of Ireland and the great blessing of peace.

There are no finer words with which to finish and upon which to say: In history, in politics and in life, there are no ends, only new beginnings.

Let us begin.

Go raibh mile maith agaibh.
A thousand thanks to you.

Read the full speech......

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/the-great-day-of-hope-has-dawned-1363533.html

Thought For the Day - Winners

"Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win"
Winners don't expect to get something for nothing. They are willing to pay the price. Game Time.....

Reading My Palm - Interesting

My 10 year old daughter read my palm last night. She said I had a long life line and would live to be very old, she said I had a long brain line and was very smart, she said I had a long heart line and was very loving. She said I had a weak destiny line and I would never know what the future would bring.

Now I'm not a believer in palm reading but I would like to believe all she said was true. How could I argue with the first three and I never have known what the future would bring. I've always lived my life going through open doors and seeing where it takes me. A cousin reading my blog said it looks like I've turned a lot of corners in my life and that was a very true observation.

So I look forward to turning more corners, walking through more open doors and discovering my destiny as it appears. And hope that my life is very long so I can achieve all the goals I have.....

Thought for the Day - No Failures Just a Learning Experience

'Nothing is a failure unless you don't learn from the experience"

Lynne Cox

She was the first woman to swim the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the first person to swim the Straits of Magellan in Chile and the first to swim around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa

Thought for the Day - Attitude is the Main Thing

Attitude isn't everything but it's the main thing. Many people fail because they don't have the right attitude. All things being equal, two people standing side by side, the person with a great attitude will win every time. And it's a choice.

John Maxwell

Ireland Homecoming - #1 Glanduff Co Mayo Cead Mile Failte

The journey home started Mar 14th on a Aer Lingus flight from LAX. Feeling excited and a little anxious. Twelve hours later we land in Dublin. We need to clear customs and catch our plane to Shannon. We have less than two hours to get to our plane. It's not looking good. Customs is moving at a snails pace and airport personnel are not interested in hearing about making your next flight. An hour and forty five minutes later we have cleared custom and we're told we need to RUN to catch our flight and it's a good ten minute Run and they can't hold the plane. OK we bolt thru the airport with my 10 year old daughter in the lead. I'm sweating but running like OJ in a old Avis commercial. Ten minutes later still running but we see the gate and we just barely make it.

We sweat the whole forty five minutes to Shannon but it's all good, we made our flight. We arrive and now it's the next challenge. I have to drive three hours to Foxford. Normally no big thing but I'm exhausted, very little sleep, still tired from our run and I have to quickly adapt to driving on the other side of the road and drive from the other side of the car. I won't say the wrong side but not my comfort zone. I think I'm up for it but first I get lost looking for my rental car in the parking lot. Not a good sign. I find it and hey I'm in Ireland. I'm cool. So I start out of the airport and it's taking all my attention to not drive on the wrong side of the road. I'm not doing bad and then I run into my first roundabout....... Okay I got to read four signs very quickly and they are in two languages and I'm on overwhelm. My wife is trying to help but I am stressed big time and let's say we are both a little testy at this point. Fun, fun fun except if you're the driver and I'm the driver. The look on my face would have made a good YouTube video. Well I survived my first roundabout but there were many more to come. Next up was a narrow and I mean narrow road with rock walls on both sides and a bus coming in my direction going at least seventy and I got no room to move over. If I could have I would have closed my eyes and prayed but somehow the bus doesn't hit us. I've lose all sense of space and physics. I'm in Ireland.

Finally four hours later we arrive in Foxford and I'm happy to get out of the car. We greet my second cousin Sharon who made this miracle reunion possible. We meet her family. They have traveled from the UK to the reunion, also a long trip for them.My niece and her family has arrived already from New Jersey and we greet them. We later meet Sharon's dad and my first cousin and his wife. They also travelled from the UK a few days earlier to organize the event. We are all very happy to finally meet in person for the first time. Finally we decide that my niece Jennifer, my cousin Tony and my second cousin Sharon and myself will go up the hill tonight to meet my Aunt Maggie and my cousin Marie. Our spouses will stay with the six kids. I'm exhausted having not slept in twenty so hours but I'm used to long hours on a film set so I'm not going to let a little exhaustion get in my way.

We arrive on top of the hill after a fifteen minute drive. The door opens and I see my 94 year old Aunt Maggie. It's a very emotional reunion. She's crying, my niece is crying and I'm crying and we are hugging each other and all talking at the same time about the miracle that brought us back together........

To be continued.........

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video - # 2 New York State of Mind

New York - New York Frank Sinatra

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video - # 1 New York State of Mind

Odyssey

Thought For the Day - Direction

If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.

Yogi Berra

Thought For The Day - Perspective

If you are ever feeling a little full with yourself or think the world revolves around you, think about the following.
A Chinese parable : No matter how great you think you are, there are one billion people in China who don’t care one bit.

Thought For The Day - Who We Keep With Us On Our Journey

It is not who we meet along the pathway of our lives that makes us who we are. It’s who we keep with us as we make our way forward and who we choose to leave behind.

Thought For the Day - Why Not?

You See Things And You Say, 'Why?' ,
But I Dream Things That Never Were; And I Say 'Why Not?"

George Bernard Shaw

Ranks of Rich Swelled World Wide

If you're committed to producing success, financial independence and wealth in your life this is good news and if you're not then it's not.....

By Daniel Thomas in London
Published: April 20 2008

The ranks of the world’s rich swelled to 8m during 2007 as the wealthy proved immune to the strains across global economies in the latter half of the year.

There was a 4.5 per cent increase last year in so-called “high net worth individuals”, those with investable assets of more than $1m excluding primary residence, according to the 2008 wealth report compiled by Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank, published on Monday.

There was particularly strong growth of wealthy populations in the emerging economies of China and India, as well as those countries that have access to natural resources such as Kazakhstan.

Countries such as Brazil, Canada, Australia and Russia also each added more than 8,500 wealthy residents in 2007 on the back of the commodity boom.

The report says that the rate of growth of high net worth individuals has outpaced growth in both gross domestic product, and GDP per head, which it believes indicates that the rich are getting richer relative to their respective countries.

“This is not a perfect measure of relative wealth growth across income levels,” it says, “but there is an indication here that the plutonomy model retained its strength through 2007 and is in rude health.”

The US is still home to most of the world’s truly rich. High net worth individuals make up 1 per cent of the US population, with 3.1m people claiming to be dollar millionaires, and 460 to be billionaires.

Japan claims the next highest population of the wealthy, with 765,000 dollar millionaires, and then the UK, where there are 557,000.

The UK has seen the biggest increase in billionaires, however. Numbers rose by 40 per cent in 2007, from 35 to 49. China’s high net worth population grew by 14 per cent in 2007, and now number 373,000, almost as many as in Germany.

The report says there was little change in the investment activity of the very rich during the credit crunch in 2007, other than a shift away from structured finance. It says the very wealthy are “weathering the crunch” much better than insti tutional investors, owing to the diversity of their port folios.

More than 50 per cent invest in property, which has fuelled a rapid growth in luxury house prices across the world.

London retains its spot as the world’s most expensive place to live, followed by the tax exile haven Monaco and millionaires’ playground St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

There were the first signs of trouble in paradise last year, however, with prime property in certain areas in Ireland and the US showing a fall in price. The report’s authors warned that there were likely to be further falls this year as the economic slowdown caught up with the world’s super-rich.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

What's very interesting is how it is also happening in Asia, Europe, Brazil and other areas of the world. Also see the video below (TED) on ending poverty......

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video #2 - Latin with a French Flavor

Alizee.Alizée Jacotey

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video #1 - Gaelic

Kíla - Tóg é go bog é

What I'm Reading - Books

Books I'm reading:

Rules for Renegades - Christine Comaford-Lynch (Entrepreneurship)
The Middle-Class Millionaire - Russ Allan Prince and Lewis Schiff (Entrepreneurship)
Old Friend From Far Away - Natalie Goldberg (Writing)
The Greatness Guide - Robin Sharma (Leadership) reading for 2nd time

Reviews will follow.....

New Technology - RED Film Camera

A little intro to some cutting edge new camera technology. Coming soon will be an interview with a Cinematographer friend who recently shot a feature on the new RED camera.

What I'm Reading - Magazines

Inc.

The latest May issue has some good articles on "How to Get Rich from a Recession". it's a good resource.



Success Magazine

Success Magazine is back with new ownership and it's first issue is out on the newstands.

Six Degrees of Separation & Optimism

I post this article because over 20 years ago when I was a anti-arson organizer for the People's Firehouse in Brooklyn I used to play basketball with NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson. It's truly amazing to see him with two lifelong enemies from Northern Ireland coming together to make a better life for both Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. I just returned from visiting Northern Ireland for the first time in my life and hearing about the improvement the peace process has made in Northern Ireland. A testimony to optimism and how people can work together.......



NYC Pledges Millions for North
April 16, 2008
By April Drew

FIRST Minister of Northern Ireland Dr. Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness were in New York on Friday welcoming the announcement of a $150 million investment from New York Pension Funds to Northern Ireland.

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson announced the largest U.S. investment to date since the peace process in the north at his office.

Thompson, chief advisor to the New York City Pension Funds, committed to investing $150 million with the potential of eventually reaching $750 million.

“This announcement follows the Pension Funds’ longstanding, 20-year commitment to promoting peace and equality of opportunity for all in Northern Ireland,” he said......

“Now is an attractive time for investment… in this stable political environment,” said Thompson, a probable candidate for New York Mayor next year.

Paisley, who was stunned into silence by the multi million-dollar investment — “I never thought I’d say this but I am speechless,” he said — graciously thanked Thompson and his colleagues “from the depths” of his heart and said such an investment will provide “great stimulus” to Northern Ireland at this time.

“Their decision to choose Northern Ireland as a place to do business ma-kes this a truly great day for us and for New Yo-rk,” he added.

“This in-vestment confirms that North-ern Ireland has turned a corner. We are now a sound in-vestment location that can provide the right caliber of people and projects to successfully underpin further inward investment, particularly from the U.S.,” said Paisley.

McGuinness, who accompanied Paisley on a four-day visit to the U.S. in an effort to promote the Northern Ireland investment conference in Belfast next month, described the investment as “another piece of history.”

“New York led the way and Bill Thompson put its money where its mouth is,” said McGuinness.

Read full article....
http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irish-voice/news/Articles/NYC-Pledges-Millions-for-North190408.aspx

Thought For the Day - Make it Happen

If you want something to happen, make it happen. Or another way to look at it is, If it's to be it's up to me. Success comes from taking action every day and at times massive action. So Make it Happen......

Thought For the Day - Be a Pro

Somerset Maugham said " I write only when inspiration strikes. fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp".
That's the attitude of a Pro. Create habits of success every day...... Be a Pro

Thought for the Day - Well 7 Thoughts

1. Be Proactive

"Being Proactive means more than
merely taking initiative...

'It means that as human beings,
we are responsible for our own
lives. Our behavior is a function
of our decisions, not our
conditions.

'They do not blame circumstances,
conditions, or conditioning for
their behavior..."

2. Begin with the End in Mind

"...this means to start with a
clear understanding of your
destination.

'It means to know where you're
going so that you better
understand where you are now and
so that the steps you take are
always in the right direction..."

3. Put First Things First

"This habit is the fulfillment,
the actualization, the natural
emergence of Habits 1 and 2.

'It's the exercise of independent
will toward becoming principle-
centered.

'It's the day-in, day-out, moment-
by-moment DOING it..."

4. Think Win/Win

"Win/Win is a frame of mind and
heart that constantly seeks
mutual benefit in all human
interactions...

'Win/Win is a belief in the third
alternative. It's not your way or
my way; it's a better way, a
higher way."

5. Seek First to Understand, Then
to Be Understood

"This involves a very deep shift
in paradigm.

'Most people do not listen with
the intent to understand; they
listen with the intent to reply."

Be flexible and take the time to
genuinely connect to the other
person's perception of the world.

This will allow you to be much
more powerful in your
communications with others.

6. Synergize

"Synergy means that the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts.

'...It catalyzes, unifies, and
unleashes the greatest powers
within people.

'All the habits already mentioned
prepare you to create the miracle
of synergy."

7. Sharpen the Saw

"...It's preserving and enhancing
the greatest asset you have - YOU.

It's renewing the four dimensions
of your nature...

* Physical - Exercise, Nutrition,
and Stress Management

* Spiritual - Value Clarification
& Commitment, Study & Meditation

* Mental - Reading, Visualizing,
Planning, and Writing

* Social / Emotional - Service,
Empathy, Synergy, and Intrinsic
Security

'...exercise all four dimensions
of your nature, regularly and
consistently in wise and balanced
ways.

Thought for the Day - You Got a Problem, That's Great

W. Clement Stone used to shout out "You Got a Problem, That's Great". Or another way to look at it is every solution has a problem. You can't have one without the other. Don't fear problems but expect them and see them as a challenge for you to come up with the solution. Or as someone else put it the stronger the wind the stronger the tree.Welcome the problem and know the solution to the problem is always there. Solutions. Solutions, Solutions.....You Got a Problem, That's Great......

Inspirational Films - Heartland Film Festival

The Heartland Film Festival was created to showcase uplifting films that highlight the vast capacity of the human spirit. Check them out:

http://trulymovingpictures.org/

TED - Hans Rosling - Watch the End of Poverty

A friend of mine Ronnie sent me a presentation of Hans Rosling called "No more boring data". It was fascinating, educational and entertaining. I found his latest presentation at the TED conference and it's worth the watch.....

Thought For the Day - Good Day - Bad Day

What makes a good day for you? I heard someone say that every day he wakes up he checks to see if there is dirt above him. If there isn't six feet of dirt above him it's a good day. I've adopted that philosophy. So every day starts out a good day and then it gets better from there.
Now some people have a whole bunch of rules and musts before it's a good day and they don't have too many good days because of their philosophy and their choice.
So 6 feet of dirt above you = A Bad Day
No dirt above you = A Good Day
So the choice is yours. I choose to have a good day every day. Good day or Bad day.....Your choice....

Sunday's Eclectic Music Video - Salsa

Willie Colon Y Ruben Blades - El Cantante

Film Ireland - It's a Beautiful Country

Something Different

A friend Paul J sent me a very interesting story about the Rock Chant and Kansas U. So here's to you Paul and the Jayhawks. It follows:

The Rock Chalk Chant is perhaps the most distinctive cheer in all of college sports. Some have likened it to a Gregorian chant, but anyone who has been in Allen Fieldhouse and heard the chant start low, then build and roll over the crowd knows that it is much, much more.

The "Rock Chalk" chant dates to 1866, when it was adopted by the University Science Club. A chemistry professor, E.H.S. Bailey and some of his associates were returning to Lawrence from Wichita on a train. As the story goes, they passed the time by trying to create a rousing cheer. The sound of the train's wheels on the rails suggested a rhythm and a cadence to them. At first, the cheer was "Rah, Rah, Jayhawk, KU" repeated three times.

Even though KU didn't have a football team until four years later, KU students quickly took up the chant. Later, an English professor suggested "Rock Chalk," in place of "Rah, Rah" because it rhymed with Jayhawk and because it was symbolic of the limestone, also known as chalk rock, surrounding Mount Oread, the site of the Lawrence Campus. It became the official cheer of the University in 1897.

Teddy Roosevelt pronounced the Rock Chalk Chant the greatest college chant he'd ever heard. It was used by Kansas troops fighting in the Philippines in 1899, the Boxer Rebellion in China, and World War II. At the Olympic games in 1920, the King of Belgium asked for a typical American college yell. The assembled athletes agreed on KU's Rock Chalk and rendered it for His Majesty.

The words to the chant are simple. "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU" repeated five times. The chant is special not because of the words, but because of the tone in which it is chanted and the distinctive cadence in which each verse is delivered. The only way to really appreciate the chant is to sit in Allen Fieldhouse before a Missouri game. But, if in need of a fix, the video below should recall the rocking rafters of Phog's place.

Beautiful Day - Just Because It Really Is ......

Thought For the Day - Step Up - Be a Leader

"Real leaders are different. They look for the best in people."

You have a choice: Look for the worst or look for the best. See the problem or see the solution. See the bad or see the good. Be a problem finder or a solution finder. Blame others or make things better.

"We can curse the darkness or light a candle"

You have a choice. Step up. Be a Leader

Thought For the Day - Create Your Own Special Days

Special Days are a way to remind us to do something we should be doing more often if not daily. We have birthdays, valentine's day, mother's day and they are all good days to remember those in our lives. But we can create our own special days. By creating a day doesn't create an excuse to just do it on that day but it give us a focus. Some Special Days I have or am in the process of creating for myself are:

Appreciation Day - A day to thank all those who have worked with me, been part of my team or have been part of my life and to say thank you.

Contribution Day - A day to volunteer and give back

No Tech Sundays - A day to get away from the blackberry, email, computer and TV and just enjoy people

Play Day - Once a month a day to just have fun with my daughter

Create your own Special Days and magic moments in your life......

Thought For the Day - Heavenly Day

Every Day is.....

Thought For the Day - Direction and Purpose

"The wind is never favorable to those who don't know where they
are going."
-- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

What is your direction and purpose in life? Take some time to think about it?

Thought For the Day - Keep a Journal

One of the greatest tools for personal growth is the keep a journal. I started keeping one for a writing class at Empire State College in New York. Over the years i have filled close to 50 journals. The purpose of the journals have changed and evolved as my life has. They started as a writing tool and a way to explore my memories and evolved into a tool for personal growth and a place to capture all the moments my busy life.

I read a few books about journaling that gave me ideas on how to use a journal. Two of the books I read years ago were "At a Journal Workshop" and "Your Life as Story". There are many other books on the subject that you can read if you haven't used a journal before.

Over the years I have used my journal in the following ways:

Capturing the moments of my life
Self analysis
Goal Setting
Planning and recording Magic Moments
Writing down all my blessings and things I am grateful for
Writing down all the decisions and commitments I make
Planning for all the things I want to accomplish in my life
Recording all the accomplishments in my life
Exploring new projects
Sharing my life and history with my daughter and leaving a legacy


I could go on but the point is journaling has served me well from the days when I was working in the NY Post Office as a mail handler until the person I have become today. I used it to fuel my desire to follow my dreams and to help overcome all the obstacles I faced on that journey.

I have also passed on journaling to my daughter and have also finished over 5 journals that are for her and capture all the moments in her life and our moments together. I also use it to share my dreams, wishes and thoughts for her future life.

Journaling is a great tool if you are pursuing personal growth. Journal your life and when the time is right share it with someone important in your life.......

Book Review - Ten Successful Start-Ups

For more info:http://www.harrylwells.com/

I'm happy to recommend this book by a good friend of mine. It's an interesting insight into 10 start up entrepreneurs who he counseled and assisted as a Business advisor in New York City. The foreword is written by film director Taylor Hackford.

Book Description
The lure of entrepreneurial freedom and wealth compels many adventurous individuals to try to beat the odds-to become the one in four business start-ups in the U.S. that survives the first four years. And now, with corporate downsizing and deteriorating economic conditions, more than 550,000 new businesses are launched in the U.S. every year. So how does one identify the challenges that await the new business owner, and more importantly, how can you boost your odds for success?

Learn from others who have "been there, done that." In Ten Successful Start ups, you'll discover how these common, everyday people built their businesses into multimillion dollar companies that will sustain them in the future. Let their lessons be your guide as you travel your own entrepreneurial path.

About the Author
Harry Wells is a popular entrepreneurial training workshop leader recognized by the United Nations as a visionary in developing international entrepreneurial training programs. He works in New York City as a Certified Business Advisor for entrepreneurs and small business start-ups, and lives in Brooklyn with his family.

If your are an entrepreneur or looking to start a business check this book out.......

Thought For the Day - Just Do it

Health, Fitness and Diet books are plentiful and yet people continue to eat themselves into obesity and disease. Everyone is buying all these books looking for the "Secret" to health and fitness. The reality is there is no "Secret" and there is good information in all the books but the key is to take action every day. I believe in Keeping it Simple and Just Doing It.

Many years ago I came back from college and I had gained some weight, no I gained a lot of weight and my young nephew started to call me the "Pillsbury Dough Boy". Well that caused a lot of pain for me and the pain of that name was worse than the pleasure of the eating and drinking I was engaging in. I went on a two week water fast ( I don't recommend that but I was a little extreme at the time) and I broke my habit of overeating. I then applied for and got a job as a fitness instructor at Jack la Lanne and I got into the best shape of my life.

I would later learn that the two key motivators in our lives are pain or pleasure and usually one of them is dominant in the decisions we make. I decided that the pain of being overweight outweighed the pleasure of overeating so I remain committed all my life to taking Acton daily to maintain my state of fitness and health.

I developed a philosophy and strategy of DI (tm) or Daily Improvement. I apply this to my exercise program. I always make an improvement of either adding more repetitions or adding more weight to each workout. I always raise the bar for my self. So in summary I offer the following:

Just Do It - Exercise
DI ( Daily Improvement)
Variety - Keep changing the exercise so you never get bored
Monitor - Keep an exercise journal so you can monitor the progress

No Excuses - Just Do it

Book Review - The Pope's Children

I picked this book up prior to my 1st trip to Ireland and just finished it on my return. If you are interested in business, economics, culture,history or just want to expand your world I recommend you read this book. This is a thought provoking, funny, entertaining and educational book all wrapped into one. The book shows how Ireland has arrived and become a global nation. Ireland is now one of the richest nations in the world with the largest middle class.

My trip allowed me to see everything from the old rural Ireland on the west to the industrial north to the cosmopolitan Ireland in Dublin. The Pope's Children complimented my trip and opened my eyes to the new Ireland and the new Irish Dream.

Be prepared to learn a bunch of Irish words like craic (fun), as Gailge (in Irish), and failte (welcome) and also a bunch of fascinating terms and descriptions created by the writer including Expectocracy, Stakhanvite, Commentariat, Kells Angels, Deckland and many more. Reading the book in a lot of craic.

What's the most important theme of the book is the amazing economic progress Ireland has made in 10-15 years. Ireland has went from a nation that exported it's young to a nation that the young are moving back and it's an immigration magnet to Eastern Europe. It's a fascinating story of the good, bad and ugly of economic progress but it take a positive and optimistic view of the progress Ireland has made.

The book is the #1 best seller in Ireland but it's a book that will be enjoyed by everyone. Check it out.

Thought for the Day - No Excuses

On the wall of a Dublin boxing club:

"Winners are simply wiling to do what losers won't"

"When you're good at excuses it's hard to be good at anything else"

As I like to say:

You can either get Results or make Excuses. You can’t do both. Your choice.

Thought For the Day - Vision

"Most people take the limits of their vision to be the limits of the world. A few do not. Join them." Arthur Schopenhauer


We see the world as we are not as It is. We filter it to create our point of view but remember that's all it is, our point of view not reality. Or as someone else put it the map is not the territory. Time to expand your vision of what's possible. Break thru the limits and barriers. Create a big vision of what's possible......

Thought for the Day

If you are willing to do only what's easy, Life will be Hard.

If you are willing to do what's hard, Life will be Easy.

Chase Tatum - Rest in Peace Brother

I'm sad to hear of the unexpected death of Chase Tatum. He was a former professional wrestler who acted in the film I co-produced in South Carolina called " Who's Your Caddy?". I remember him putting me through a workout in the local gym in Aiken. We had a good time together and he was a great guy. We met again at the premiere of the movie in Hollywood and talked on the phone after that. Chase will be missed...
Rest in peace Brother......

St Patrick's Day 2008- Foxford, Co Mayo, Ireland

The O'Donnell Family Reunion

Another Door Opens - County Mayo, ireland

Tomorrow I get on a plane and journey back to my parents past and...... Only Time......

Erin Go Bragh - We are Family

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!







In a few days we will be on a Aer Lingus jet headed to Ireland for the 1st time in my life. We are going to have a reunion with my mother's family in County Mayo. We are connecting with our family for the first time. It's been years since I've focused my attention on Ireland or even the Irish-American experience in America. Yet about nine months ago I started reading books and watching movies on both. Once my relatives connected with us via the Internet and a reunion was planned I stepped up my immersion in things Irish and Ireland. Some books and DVDs I recommend you check out are:

Books:
The Pope's Children
All Souls Day
Easter Rising
Angela's Ashes


DVD's:
Black Irish
Once
In America
The Quiet Man
Angela's Ashes

You can find them and more on my links to the right of this.

Watching Angela's Ashes for the first time I was moved by the incredible poverty and suffering of the Irish people at that time in history and thought about my mother and father making the journey to America at age 18-19 to create a better life for themselves. In many ways it's that Ireland that is still stuck in people's mind so when I started reading The Pope's Children which is the #1 Best seller in Ireland I was blown away by the following facts and realities of the New Ireland.

"Today Ireland is the second richest country in the world". "Ireland is becoming the most middle-class suburban nation in Europe". "The Irish score second in the world as describing themselves as happy and 77% say they are proud of Ireland'. Ireland has been a economic miracle and is a global nation. The story of the new Ireland is worth knowing even if you aren't of Irish descent. I will review the fascinating book 'The Pope's Children" in a future post.

Now back to my experiences as a child of Irish immigrants in the Bronx. I remember as a kid being taken every year to the Saint Patrick's Day parade on New York's 5th Ave. The sound of the bagpipes just touched me all the way down to the bone.
It was a great day especially for my mother who always had a dream of returning home to Ireland. She never made the trip but I'm making it for her. I will post my experiences in Ireland and I will celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Foxford with my family. Truly amazing.........

Book Review - Making the Impossible Possible

I have read well over 500 books in the last fifteen years in the field of motivation, business and personal development but this is one very special book. The author Bill Strickland is truly a unique and amazing individual with a story you just have to read. This book may change your life if you let it. I'm going to let it change mine.

Bill grew up in a ghetto in Manchester, Pittsburgh and witnessed the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. I remember the time well. I grew up in a ghetto in the South Bronx of New York and watched the riots envelop my neighborhood as well. Through the intervention of one art teacher Bill Strickland finished high school and found his passion that would propel him forward in life. I didn't find that teacher and I dropped out of school and it would take me a while to find my passions.

Bill Strickland went from the Ghetto to Harvard Business School. He went from a poor student facing failure to become the CEO of Manchester Bidwell, a community art-education and job-training center in Pittsburgh. He never took a business course yet his center employs 150 people and services over 1,200 students a year. 90% of the kids get their high school diploma's and 85% go on to college.and 86% of the adult students find good skilled jobs after graduation. This is the definition of success in anyone's book.

What does pottery, airplanes, architecture, jazz and orchids have to do with success? Everything in the life of Mr Strickland and the programs he created to provide an alternative for residents of the ghetto. Read this book to see the most creative use of all of the above.

Bill Strickland shows us how we can change our part of the world we live it and create a life of significance.
One quote especially stands out for me. When he pitched his big ideas for a center and corporations would would say, 'Isn't that elaborate for a poverty center? and he would reply "It's not a poverty center, It's a center for success." He built one of the most impressive center's for success in the country.

Visit his websites to see the Impossible he created.

http://www.manchesterbidwell.org/
http://www.bill-strickland.org/

This book is the story of one of the most innovative visionaries to come along from of all places the ghetto of Pittsburgh,

This is a book I will read more than once. It's a book that is in my top five favorite books. It's a book I will use to inspire myself even further and I recommend you do the same. Read it.... use it.... Make the Impossible Possible in your life.....

Proud

What have you done to make yourself proud? For someone you love? For a friend? For a stranger? For yourself?
It's never too late.........

Contribution - Personal Philanthropy - Give Back

There are many ways to make a difference. You don't need to be Chuck Feeney (see review below). Give of your time, your skills, your money. It's never too late or too early to contribute. It's never too much or too little to help. Here are just some groups deserving of your contribution:

Six Degrees - Be a Celebrity for Your Cause
http://www.sixdegrees.org/


Anthony Robbins Foundation - Empowerment
http//www.anthonyrobbinsfoundation.org/

Modest Needs - Small Change - Instant Difference
https://www.modestneeds.org/


Make a Wish - Granting the Wishes of Children
http://www.wish.org/

Harlem Children's Fund - Education
http://www.hcz.org/about/canada.html

John Corcoran Foundation - Literacy
http://www.johncorcoranfoundation.com/pages/home.html

Fisher House - Wounded Soldiers
http://www.fisherhouse.org/

Ashka - Social Entrepreneurs
http://www.ashoka.org/

One Voice Movement - Conflict Resolution in Middle East
http://www.onevoicemovement.org/wps/portal/OVFAQs#q10


What have you done today to make yourself feel proud ?

Book Review - The Billionaire Who Wasn't by Conor O'Cleary

I just read a fascinating book about Chuck Feeney. I never heard about him before and I'm sure you probably haven't either. I picked up the book because of a quote on the back that talks about his contribution to Ireland. Mr Feeney is an Irish-American born in New Jersey to a working class family during the Great Depression. He made his billions creating the Duty Free Shops you see at airports all over the world.

The story especially resonated with me as I am a first generation Irish-American about to make my first trip to Ireland for a family reunion. His story is one of financial success, great contribution and social significance.

The story of how he made his money makes for a great read. The book tells a great story about how he created tax shelters and protected his identity while becoming the the thirty third richest man in the world.

What he has accomplished in the area of philanthropy is even more interesting. He took to heart the spirit of Andrew Carnegie and has promoted the "Giving while Living" philosophy, He has given away through his Atlantic Foundation over $1 billion dollars and is on track to giving away over $4 billion dollars while he is alive. Mr Feeney not only gave away his money but leveraged it by getting countries to match his contributions. business

If that wasn't enough Mr Feeney got involved behind the scenes in trying to support a end to the violence in Norther Ireland and to create the conditions for peace and reconciliation.

The book is truly inspiring and Chuck Feeney is a role model on many levels.

Some of Chuck Feeney's Contributions:

Education in Ireland: He funded all seven universities in the Republic of Ireland and two in Norther Ireland to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hotel System in Ireland: He built the first large modern hotel in Ireland since WWII, The The Castletroy Park Hotel

Peace in Northern Ireland: Mr Feeney wanted to assist in taking the guns out of Irish politics. He directed over $30 million through his Atlantic Foundation to worthy projects in Northern Ireland including $2.5 million to help Republican and Loyalist ex-prisoners to move into peaceful politics.

It doesn't stop here he continued to fund education in Eastern Europe to support the move towards freedom there and other social projects in South Africa and Vietnam. His focus on finding worthy projects and worthy people provides a lot to learn from. His uniqueness was doing all this while trying to maintain his anonymity and to give credit to others instead of himself.

Mr Feeney is a truly unique individual and his story is one worth reading.

Amazing Grace

One moment or one decision can change your life forever. I've had a few of those moments in my life and I just received another one. Truly Amazing!!!

Book Reviews - Three Recommendations

I just read three fascinating books that I recommend you check out. I will review them shortly. They are:


The Billionaire Who Wasn"t - How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune - Conor O'Clery


Making the Impossible Possible - Bill Strickland


The Pope's Children - The Irish Economic Triumph and the Rise of Ireland's New Elite - David McWilliams

Hollywood Ending - Family Lost and Found

The story I'm about to share is a true one but it feels more like a movie script. The story starts with my parents leaving Ireland in their 20's and journeying to America circa 1928-29. It's a story of the American Dream but it's also a story of the family lost in the process. My 1st real memory as a child was watching my father die of pneumonia in our apartment. I was four years old and the year was 1956. Shortly after my mother had a falling out with her sister and we lost contact with the only family we had in America. My mother lost contact with her family in Ireland so we grew up with only my mother, my brother and myself being our only family.

My father became a US citizen and fought in the US Army in the Philippines during WW II. He died young ten years later and I never really got to know him. My mother always dreamed of returning to Ireland and maintained her Irish citizenship. I remember going regularly with her to the post office to renew her Irish passport. My mother never returned to Ireland after the death of my father. She died in the Bronx with the dream in her heart. My mother died in the 1980's and our family was now even smaller. It was now just my brother and his family and myself. If this was the way life usually works the story would end here. But it doesn't and here it spins in a direction I could never predicted. If I was writing a script this is the point where you put in the Hollywood ending.

Flash forward to the present six months ago and I receive a call from my niece in New Jersey that a relative of ours from the UK contacted her on the Internet. After a lot of back of forth communications to decide if we were indeed related we discovered that we were. Now it gets better.

This is the story as I've come to know it so far. My second cousin in the UK traveled with her parents (my cousin) to a famous shrine in Ireland called the Shrine of Knock to pray for some divine intervention with some health issues. On that trip her great-aunt who is 93 years old requested that my cousin find out what happened to her two sisters who went to America in the 20's. One of those sisters was my mother.

My cousin from the UK in the middle of dealing with her health problems took on the mission on to find us and she did. I guess you could say that partial it had to do with the power of the Internet. But it doesn't end here. She also with the help of my niece tracked down my cousins in the US who I hadn't seen since I was 6 years old and reunited us.

My niece and myself called my Aunt in Ireland and she told us we better come there for Easter to see her. So we are headed to a family reunion in the West of Ireland, County Mayo. Family is coming from America, the UK and Ireland.

Okay so let me try to wrap my mind around this. Six months ago I had no contact with any relatives and because of a trip my cousin made to Ireland and decision she made to find the family I no have family and have been reconnected with cousins in three countries.My daughter's world has grown and she now has extended family from both parents.

In one moment life has changed forever. I guess you can say it's a story of the power of the human spirit and maybe even some Irish magic thrown in. Now I tend to be a down to earth pragmatist but this whole experience is one of those moments that make you go Hmmmmmm! It just makes me realize there is so much I'll never understand. I would go as far as to say it feels almost like a little miraculous. So if I was making this story up I might call it the "Miracle of Knock", but I'm not making it up I'm just living it. I guess I had to go to Hollywood to get a real Hollywood ending for my real life story.

So as I journey to Ireland I know I am making my mother's journey home for her and completing the circle. I know she's got to be looking down on me and crying tears of happiness and maybe ...........Hmmmmmmmmm.

Street of the Bronx - Ireland to The Bronx

My parents made the journey from Ireland to Ellis Island just in time for the Great Depression. They lived and worked in the Bronx, I was born and raised on the streets of 141st and Willis Ave. As I begin to make my trip to their homeland I reflect on my childhood in the Bronx. My next post will share the journey to Ireland.

Danny Boy Ireland - A Journey Home

Over 80 years ago my parents made the journey to America. Now I am making the journey back for a family reunion. I will share this amazing story in my next post.

Listen Twice as Much as You Speak

Now this is an old admonition that you need to take the time to listen to. I was once line producing a feature film in Los Angeles and there were two Irish-American actors on the set and one of them always had something to say about everything. The other actor I"ll call Patrick said to the other actor Sean, " Hey Sean, Do you know why God gave you two ears and one mouth?" Sean, replied that he didn't. Patrick said, "So you can listen twice as much as you talk, so could you just shut the F up and listen for a change." A little cruder and less elegant than how I would have said it but probably more effective and to the point.

Listening is crucial to being an effective communicator. I've been lucky in this regard as I started out as a very shy teenager who felt more comfortable listening than talking. As I started my journey of personal growth I experienced some other tools that contributed to my understanding in this area.

The first experience was my involvement with Oral History. I began to conduct interviews for Lehman College on Bronx History. I would conduct 1-2 hour taped interviews with people with interesting stories. I learned that I needed to actively listen so I could respond to new information and take the interview into deeper areas than just following my pre-set questions. I later created an opportunity to interview and be interviewed by a master of Oral History Stud Terkel in his book, "The Great Divide". A suggestion is to watch different interview shows on television ( Larry King, Charlie Rose etc.) and see how the best are able to listen and go with the flow rather than stick to pre-set questions.

The second experience was my study of acting. I studied many of the different schools of thought in acting including Stanislavsky, Viola Spolin, Lee Strasberg, Michael Checkov, Uta Hagen and Sandford Meisner. I learned from all of them but the Meisner technique had an exercise called the repetition game/exercise. In this exercise we had to listen and repeat what the other person said over and over until a natural change in behaviour occurred. it forced us to focus on the other actor, listen actively, observe behaviour and be in the moment. An excellent acting exercise but also a life lesson for active listening and effective communication.

All these experiences contributed to me learning how to be a great listener but don't get me wrong I can babble at times with the best of them just ask my wife and daughter. I have went from that shy teenager to clearly gaining the gift of gab and while I haven't kissed the Blarney Stone yet it's clearly in my genes.

So if you want to be a great or even a good communicator you'll just have to listen twice as much as you speak. Ask questions, be curious, be interested and build rapport with the person you are communicating with not just speaking to or at. Watch how people respond to you as you make this shift.

Listen, Listen, Speak............

Never Give Up On A Dream

What dreams have you given up on? It's never too late to start again. Never quit......

Les Brown: Why People Fail

How High Are You Willing to Aim? Think About It.

EXPAND YOUR MIND – AN ECLECTIC COLLECTION

“You can tell a lot about a person by the books they read.”


Motivation

Awaken The Giant Within - Tony Robbins
Change or Die – Alan Deutschman
Unstoppable – Cynthia Kersey
Success Principles – Jack Canfield
Do You – Russell Simmons
Making the Impossible Possible – Bill Strickland
Laws of Lifetime Growth – Dan Sullivan, Catherine Nomura
Reinventing Yourself – Steve Chandler
Leadership Guide – Robin Shawma
The Magic of Thinking Big – David Schwartz
Million Dollar Habits – Robert J Ringer
6 Questions That Can Change Your Life – Joseph Nowinsky

Entrepreneurship & Finances:

A Kick in Your Assets – Todd Barnhart
How to Think Like a CEO – D.A. Berlin
The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship – William D. Bygrave
Ten Successful Start – Ups – Harry Wells

Inspirational:

Going Places – E.D. Hill
I Chose to Stay – Salome Thomas-El
The Pact –Sampson Davis
Six Lessons for Six Sons – Joe Massengale
Reaching Up for Manhood – Geoffrey Canada
The Pursuit of Happyness – Chris Gardner

Parenting & Books to Share with Kids:

Strong Fathers – Strong Daughters – Meg Meeker, M.D.
Wisdom to Grow on – Charles J. Acquisto
Positive Pushing – Jim Taylor
Girls will Be Girls – Joan Deak

Fitness & Health:

Body for Life – Bill Williams

Creativity:

The War of Art – Steven Pressfield
Your Life As Story – Tristine Rainer
The Highest Goal – Michael Ray
Power of Personal Storytelling – Jack McGuire
The Artists Way – Julia Cameron

Journaling:

At a Journal Workshop – Ira Progoff

Misc:

The Billionaire Who Wasn’t – Conor O’Cleary
All Souls – Michael Patrick MacDonald
The Tipping Point – Malcom Gladwell
American Sholin – Matthew Polly
Fist Stick Knife Gun – Geoffrey Canaday
The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read – John Corcoran
The Fourth Turning – Neil Howe
The Man Who Stayed Behind – Sidney Rittenberg

Biography:

My American Journey - Colin Powell
Losing My Virginity – Richard Branson
Sharing the Wealth – Alex Spanos

I Can Only Imagine Father Son

Perspective. Imagine what is possible when you give 100%.

Motivational Music

Music to motivate, inspire, energize and change your
emotional state

1. One Moment in Time – Whitney Houston
2. # 1 – Nelly
3. I Can Only Imagine – Mercy Me
4. Life – Haddaway
5. Never Give Up on a Dream – Rod Stewart
6. Lose Yourself – Eminem
7. One – U2
8. Hero – Mariah Carey
9. From a Distance – Bette Midler
10. Proud – Heather Small
11. Amazing Grace – Nelvell Brothers
12. God Bless the USA – Lee Greenwood
13. You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban
14. Wind Beneath my Wings – Bette Midler
15. We Are the Champions – Queen
16. The Best – Tina Turner
17. You Can Do Magic – America
18. I Hope You Dance – Lee Ann Womack
19. A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson
20. Jenny From the Block – Jennifer Lopez
21. Forever Young – Rod Stewart
22. Only Time - Enya
24. Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton
24. Superman – Five for Fighting
25. I Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty & the Heartbeats
26. Running Down a Dream – Tom Petty & the Heartbeats
27. Eye of The Tiger - Survivor
28. Burning Heart - Survivor
29. Flashdance – Michael Sembello
30. Independence Day – Martina McBride
31. I Will Get There – Boyz to Men
32. The Times Are Changing – Bob Dylan
33. Heavenly Day – Patty Griffin
34. Rocky – Starlight Orchestra

John Duffy's Bio

John’s started his personal journey in the South Bronx. His parents were Irish Immigrants with only grade school educations. They worked as factory workers and meat cutters in the South Bronx. He watched his father die of pneumonia when he was just four years old.. His widowed mom raised his older brother and John on VA benefits and Social Security. He grew up in poverty in the South Bronx. He dropped out of high school at the age of 15 and went to work in a neighborhood grocery store. After being stuck up and having a gun put to his head he decided to quit the job. Unfortunately it wasn't’t the last time a gun was put to his head but fortunately he was never shot. Shortly after at the age of 16 he studied and later became a student teacher of Chinese Kung Fu Wu-Su. His Chinese name was “Flying High”.

John got caught up at an early age with the social upheaval that was sweeping inner cities. He saw up close and personal the urban riots that followed the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. He started to hang out with members of the Black Panther Party and a Puerto Rican version called the Young Lords Party. He joined a Bronx organization called “ The Spirit of Logos/White Lightning” that was dedicated to drug prevention, social change and revolution and went on a radical journey that lasted for 15 years. During those years he marched in Tupelo Miss. against the Klan, organized students against apartheid and protested way too much. While still a high school drop out he lead a delegation of youth and students to the People’s Republic of China and walked on the Great Wall shortly after President Nixon opened China up to US travelers.

On his return from China he obtained a GED diploma and went to college eventually receiving a BA and spending two years in a MA program. He eventually became disillusioned with the extremist politics of Marxism and revolution and he began a new search for meaning and purpose in his life. His new search led him to books on personal development and a period of introspection.

John’s pursuit of personal growth began in the late 80’s while working the midnight shift in the New York Post Office as a mail handler. He started reading as many self-help books as he could get his hands on and started to listen to tape programs from Nightgale Conant. The first program he listened to was “Seeds of Greatness”s by Dennis Waitley. He also began reading about Neuro-Linguistic Programing (NLP) and came across a flyer for a firewalk event with Anthony Robbins. The event was being held blocks away from his job at the 34th St. post office so he decided to attend.


That night he did a firewalk on hot coals on 34th street in Manhattan. That night he made a decision that would change his life. He decided to step up and to follow his dreams. He returned to the Post Office that night and realized he didn’t belong there. He would quit three months later throwing an early retirement party after working five years as a postal employeed.. He quickly realized that the road forward wasn't going to be an easy or a direct road.

The journey that took him from the Bronx to Hollywood was one of the darkest in his life. Yet it was during the darkest moment that he learned the most important lessons that propelled him forward to a new life. His ex/girlfriend and best friend was diagnosed with AIDS and he was with her when she died. He learned from her to appreciate everything he had even if at the time he was being evicted, had quit his job and was at the lowest point in his life. A week after she died he drove cross-country to Los Angleles to start a new life.

Within a couple of months he saw an ad for a play that wanted real life stories. He wrote a piece called “Goodbye My Friend” about her and performed it in a play called “Real Life”. Three nights a week he relieved the loss and the pain of his experience. He learned to turn a loss into a positive learning experience.

John has led a unique life. He has gone from “The Bronx to Hollywood”. He likes to say that he has lived at least five lives already. His eclectic job resume reflects some of those lives but always show a constant motion forward. He has worked as a: cashier, paint factory worker, taxi driver, postal worker, telemarketer, substitute teacher, tenant organizer, arson prevention specialist, aerobics instructor, health club salesman, oral history interviewer, counselor for runaway kids in Hollywood, an actor, acting teacher, research interviewer, mortgage salesman, seminar speaker, a film producer and author.

He has acted in theatre and movies. He has also produced over twenty feature films .His film resume can be viewed here. http://imdb.com/name/nm0240485/. He hosted and produced two cable shows on public Access TV called “ The Bronx to Hollywood” which was interviews with Bronx people in the entertainment industry and “Take Two” whch was a motivational interview show.

He has also written plays, movie scripts including one based on his life entitled “Waiting For Fidel” and is now working on a motivational book entitled “The Glass is 3/4 ‘s Full”.

John is passionate about sharing his personal growth lessons with anyone who desires to improve himself or herself. He has read over 500 books on personal development, growth, motivation, leadership and entrepreneurship. And he has attended many seminars on the same topics. John has also worked in the motivational field with Anthony Robbins and his motivational sales companies. He has conducted sales training and been involved in cutting edge marketing in the personal success field.

John’s mission and purpose in life are summed up by three quotes: “Make Your Life a Masterpiece”, “Never Quit” and “Commit to Daily Improvement”. He sees his life as an example of how it’s not where you start out that matters or how many obstacles you face that define your life but where you end up and how you choose to overcome all the obstacles.

He is a husband and parent with a young daughter. He considers being the best dad he can be one of the greatest successes of his life. He lives his life with daily gratitude for all the blessings he believes he has received. So the question he asks himself daily is “What have I done today to make myself proud?”