Brand New Magic: It’s Just About… Life

There’s the idea, the words, the image, the vision, and then all it takes is a picture to fill in the blanks. That’s what my buddy Mark Pallack did for me this morning, as I finished my workout and decided the theme of my weekday blog, simply by texting a picture of his daughter Piper.

We’ve all been where I went yesterday. I left my house at 8:15am, pulled into my driveway at 10:50pm.

Long day.

I should have been tired. I should have been worn out. I should have been ready for bed. But I was energized, because I was grateful. Grateful for every piece of the day, among the many moments of the day, for which I could give thanks.

It’s not the easiest thing to do, but it gets easier every day you do it.

A few moments from my day:

My morning workout in my basement got interrupted by my daughter and I was never able to go back down.

My dog threw up on my daughter’s comforter and I spent part of my morning getting it clean.

I went nearly an hour out of my way before my first appointment of the day to drop my other daughter off at her friend’s house. I got stuck in traffic three different times and thought I would be late for every appointment.

I had my lane on the beltway suddenly run out on me because of snow banks and I almost died, twice.

I only closed 50% of the appointments I sat with – in three different counties – over a span of 10 hours.

The only dinner I had was a bag of pretzels.

I nearly ran out of gas.

I had little time to listen to any of my motivational CD’s or music because my phone kept ringing with agents and clients.

I ended my day visiting a house of mourning for a cousin who lost his brother.

After that there was an hour drive to get home.

That was most of the 18 hours of my day before bed.

Now… the same day focusing on the power of the magic of gratitude:

I did complete my morning work out upstairs with a modified version.

I took care of the comforter and was even able to have a moment to toss it in the dryer before I bolted out of the house in the morning.

I could see in my daughter’s eyes she was thankful when she realized I was going in the complete opposite direction, up the beltway, to drop her off in the morning before my first appointment.

I actually got to my first appointment early. In fact, despite the traffic of the day I was on time for every appointment.

I managed to change lanes in time to avoid crashing into the snow banks.

I put myself in the position to close all four appointments. The reason two others didn’t close were completely out of my control. I did it right, circumstances beyond my control made it impossible. But on the final appointment of the day, the farthest one from my home, I submitted an application with two minutes to go before the cut-off of business for the week.

I had a new agent with me on three of those appointments during the day and she got to learn a ton about the health insurance business and how people think and react.

At least I found some pretzels to eat and didn’t succumb to the hunger for a fast-food run.

I didn’t run out of gas. I made it to the gas station and filled-up for $40. Just a few years ago it cost me twice as much.

Although I entered a house of mourning, I left feeling fulfilled. I got to see some extended family members I don’t get to see much at all. I got to engage with some younger cousins and hear about what they are doing with their lives and even share a conversation with one of them, decades younger than I, who has read the same book I am reading for the 3rd time: The War of Art. That’s some serious synergy.

The last words I spoke to my cousin as she closed the door were, “I love you”. A reminder that despite the distance miles and time can create, there is still family to bring your heart back to center.

I got to speak to my wife and say goodnight on my hour drive home. I got to talk to a great friend of mine and I got to listen to a song which has become one of my favorites: Brand New, by Ben Rector. (The You Tube link is at the bottom of this blog, I encourage you to start your day with this song, you simply can’t lose!)

And before I went to bed, just before midnight, I read a great passage in the other book I am reading. In fact it’s a book my entire mastermind group is reading and engaging in – The Magic, by Rhonda Byrne – all about the power of gratitude. I believe so strongly in the power of the number three and last night as I read the following paragraph it offered me complete validation for my own perspective:

Saying thank you three times is also a magic formula, because it is the mathematical number of all new creation in the Universe. For example it takes one male and one female to create a baby. The male, female, and baby total three, completing a new creation. The same rule of three applies to the creation of everything in the universe, including the creation of your desires, and so when you say thank you three times in a row, you are using the magic number of creation, and a secret magic formula!”

A little magic in my day and the focus on being grateful.

What about yours? Can you find the magic? The more you do it, the easier it gets to feel gratefu…and brand new.