Learning from Life: Simple Ideas to Add More Joy to Your Life

By James A. Morack

Every one of us is on our own unique journey through life. And each of our journeys contains many learning opportunities.

What we choose to do with those learning opportunities shapes our individual destinies. How we respond to life, its challenges, and its blessings defines us for who we truly are.

Learning from Life describes one mans journey. It highlights the significant yet simple ideas that have played a role in not only his ability to survive challenges, but to understand and grow from them. Therein lies the magnificence of truly learning from life. Some of those lessons include the importance of gratitude, taking care of yourself, dealing with fear, going beyond our comfort zone, self-discovery, setting goals, and much more.

There is real joy in knowing that at any point in your life you can create a new beginning. This book will provide you with insights and ideas on how you can do that too.

With each lesson learned comes a new beginning, a chance to step out once more and do things differently the next time. Armed with a greater understanding of what comes from finding the beneficial aspects of our life experiences, we can greet each new moment in our lives with a fresh perspective, one that hopefully makes living more enjoyable for us and those around us. And in greeting that new moment with a fresh perspective, we create new beginnings for ourselves continually.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 28, 2007
• ISBN: 9781469102870

James A. Morack

Jim Morack has over 25 years of management experience in customer service, call centers, operations, and consultative sales, and has an MBA from Eastern University. His passion is speaking to and inspiring people and organizations about personal growth and development, goal-getting, and creating powerful new beginnings - personally and professionally. Jim works with people and organizations that want to transform themselves and energize their goals. He is the author of “Learning from Life: Simple Ideas to Add More Joy to Your Life” as well as a member of the National Speaker’s Association. “My focus is showing others how to make significant advances in their lives by understanding the power behind making better decisions. Businesses and individuals alike can create their desired destiny, once they realize the power to change for the better is just one good decision away. Change doesn’t have to be painful, uncomfortable, or scary. It could be a loving adventure in self-exploration. Be more playful and let life be the wonderful adventure it was meant to be.” The book is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and my website at www.JimMorack.com.

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Copyright © 2007 by James A. Morack.

Front and back cover art by Connor F. Sheridan

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This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

To two very beautiful and influential people in my life:

To my dear mom, the first person who ever believed in me and never stopped believing in me. You were part of it all, Mom. Thanks for giving me my wings.

To my dear late wife, Lori. Thank you for showing me

the meaning of courage, strength, and how to live life.

Your inspiration has brought light to this world.

I miss you.

What one approves, another scorns,

And thus his nature each discloses,

You find the rosebush full of thorns,

I find the thornbush full of roses.

—Arthur Geiterman

INTRODUCTION

This book has been a ten-year labor of love. It was not supposed to take this long to write, but a number of things happened on the way to the final chapter. Some of those things you will read about.

Not only has it taken longer to write this book, but its entire focus and theme have greatly changed since it was first started. It has evolved in ways I could not have predicted. This book was intended to be a real-time success story, but turned out to be something much more meaningful. I hope by the time you reach the final chapter you will understand the power of reflection and perspective and how they hold some important keys to our success.

I do not put myself out there as a self-help expert or an authority on personal development. Rather, I am just an average person who would like to share a few ideas that could have some value to you. In most ways I am probably just like you. I go to work each day, support myself and a family, have a mortgage, try to take a yearly vacation, struggle to find some free time, and try to enjoy life.

My daily goal is to do what I can to make today better than yesterday. In doing so, I know that the only way that will happen is if I do something to make it happen.

As the title of my book suggests—Learning from Life: Simple Ideas to Create More Joy in Your Life—it is a book about learning. But most of this learning did not come from high school, college, or classroom training. Rather, this learning comes from the greatest of all teachers, life itself. The important lessons contained within these pages are those I have learned from life thus far. As a result of learning from these life lessons, some very simple yet powerful ideas have emerged. Those ideas are the core of this book. And those ideas can lead to new beginnings in any area of your life.

One thing I’ve learned from writing this book is that each of us is presented with many, many occasions over the course of our lifetime to learn something. Our days are filled with a number of obvious and not-so obvious opportunities that invite us to grow. These opportunities are placed on our path, and we must decide what to do with them. One question we must answer is, how will we let these events or circumstances affect us? Said another way, what lesson(s) will we choose to take away from these experiences? The way we answer that question will have a profound effect on our future.

We must have a desire to learn, and then we must want to do something with what we have learned. My hope is that after reading this book, you will have a desire to do something very positive with what you have learned.

This book-writing effort is my personal reflection on my life and those experiences that led to important learnings. Many of you may have gone through similar situations in your own life, but came through them with very different lessons than I did. That is okay. There are no right or wrong lessons. My understandings or learnings are no better or worse than yours. They are simply mine.

But it is important to realize that what we take away from our life experiences serves as the springboard for the next set of circumstances we will face. Therefore, it is very important to take something positive from these situations in order to create the kind of atmosphere and attitude that will allow us to be the kind of people we had hoped to become at the end of the day. In other words, when we lay our heads on our pillows each night and reflect upon our day, did we do the sorts of things that brought us closer to or took us further from the kind of people we truly hoped to be?

The subtitle of this book—Simple Ideas to Create More Joy in Your Life—only came to pass once I began writing the last few chapters. As I went back and reflected upon the previous content, there was one very powerful theme that stood out: the opportunity for creating joyful new beginnings in any area or stage of life. There is a gift that comes from understanding that in each moment of our lives we have the ability to do something different, to make a better decision, to think and act differently, and thus, create a better outcome or, as I call it, a new beginning. That option is given to every single one of us at every crossroad we face.

That thought is very powerful to me. I hope as you read through this book, that thought will become very powerful to you too. With the opportunity to do something different—something better—we can create more joy in our lives. Therein lies the benefit of learning from life.

After seeing how the subjects for each chapter began neatly falling into place, I became inspired to write a poem to introduce each chapter. I have always loved poetry for I feel it speaks directly to one heart from another heart. Over the years I have written a number of poems. But the ones I have included here were inspired from a different part of me; a part much closer to my core. My hope is that they will add to your overall experience in reading this book.

Chapter 1—The Most Wonderful Day of My Life—is different from all the other chapters in this book, yet it is vital to the progression of the remaining portions of this story. It is the blank canvass that serves as the backdrop for everything else that follows. It is the bridge that connects the end to the beginning. Or is it the beginning to the end? I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Chapter 2 is a transition for the rest of the book. It is where the driver realizes that sitting in the seat of his car is not enough to get him across town. He must plan out his journey, make sure the car is in good running order, fuel up the tank, buckle the seatbelt, turn on the engine, put the transmission in drive, then safely and confidently navigate his car until he successfully reaches his destination. But there is something else this driver hopes to do as well—enjoy the ride. Because anyone can get from here to there. The key, however, is to immerse yourself in the experience and feel alive while you are doing it.

The remaining chapters of this book are about how to enjoy the ride. It’s about taking in the scenery, the smells, the sounds, and anything else that will make this trip worthwhile, enjoyable, and memorable. It also talks about things to be mindful of along the way that could detour the ride. I hope the balance of the book will demonstrate the power of plugging into some empowering thoughts and ideas that provide direction and energy.

As we all move forward in our respective lives, we will inevitably deal with obstacles and challenges. How we face them, handle them, and learn from them defines us as people. We either become shining examples to others in dealing with adversity, or we become dull illustrations of what not to do.

At any given moment in time we have been both. And that is what learning from life is all about. Some people get things right the first time, but most don’t. Rather, the lessons and learnings we earn come from gaining appreciation and insight from our misunderstandings and mistakes. And that perspective comes from experience. Sometimes we gain those lessons right on the spot. But more often than not, we only see them as we reflect back on our lives. No matter how the lessons came to us, the only thing that matters is making those learnings a benefit to ourselves and others going forward.

Learning from Life is my reflection on my life. It is a collection of ideas and attitudes that have value for me. My genuine hope is that somewhere between the front and back cover of this book, you will also find something that is of value to you.

Thank you so much for reading this book and allowing me to share my experiences with you. May we all continue to learn from life.

With heartfelt appreciation,

Jim

CHAPTER 1

The Most Wonderful Day

of My Life

This Day I Have Made

No dark clouds in this day I have made

Only blue skies and smiles

Through flower-filled fields I wade

As I count good times by the miles

Come join me on this marvelous trip

And walk the path along-side me

From the cup of life we shall sip

Then give to others unselfishly

As we continue hand-in-hand

May our travels allow us to share

The joys of life, as best we understand

With the passion of a lover’s stare

The place is… right where you stand.

The time is… whenever you are ready.

Today was the most wonderful day of my life.

I woke up this morning greeted by the sun’s glorious first rays over the hills in front of our house. My dear wife, Lori, was still slumbering in bed, pampered by the soft dreamscape she surrounded herself in. I softly kissed her on the cheek, being careful not to awaken her. Sara and Daniel were also asleep, enjoying the last hour or so before they must start getting ready for school. I am still amazed at these two miracles Lori and I created with the grace of God. Every day lends me one more opportunity to give thanks for the beautiful family I have been blessed with. I am a very lucky man.

I went downstairs to the den, where I quietly sat for a half hour in sweet, blissful meditation. This process of quieting my mind did not come easy, but it has been worth more than words can say. Had I not pursued this quest toward life itself, I would not have been able to get in touch with the deepest part of me. How hokey the concept of meditation seemed at one point in my life. Who would want to do that? Only the so-called psychics and Yoda partook of such magic and mysticism. Thankfully, I decided to open my eyes and become a witness to the spiritual people around me. Had I only known sooner how much they really knew about the power of purpose, I may not have struggled to the extent I did before I found mine. In time, each person discovers his own path.

Every morning, I dedicate time to centering myself and examining my intentions about every part of my life: my family, work, finances, health, spirituality, and anything else that requires regular maintenance to ensure a well-balanced life. Meditation has become and grows to be more important to me. Without it, I feel myself falling prey to the lesser emotions of anger, frustration, disappointment, and sadness. With meditation, I am personally empowered to continue working on the miracle of my own life.

After meditating, I rode about ten miles on my bicycle. Riding my bike gives me that initial burst of energy I need to get my day going. Some days I walk instead. Regardless of the activity, I have come a long way from my days as an overweight man, struggling with exercise and fighting inertia. I was never much of a couch potato but never dedicated myself to regular physical fitness. Some days I did; other days I didn’t. The weight went up, and the weight came down. All too often, though, it went up, and I felt sluggish and sloppy. My confidence suffered. I feel so much better now that I have committed myself to eating right and regular exercise. What a difference. I feel I inhabit the body of a twenty-year-old.

By the time I got home from my ride, Lori and the kids were up and getting their day started. Lori did a great job getting everyone ready to sit down to eat breakfast at the same time. It doesn’t seem all that long ago I used to be the one in the kitchen doing all the cooking. I am so glad Lori took the time to learn how to cook. And I’m not ashamed to say that her cooking had surpassed mine in overall quality.

At the breakfast table, we shared our daily agenda with one another, just to make sure that we were all on the same schedule and that we were not late for any activities or games. Rarely does any family’s daily game plan go off without a hitch, but with few exceptions, we seem to have a pretty good handle on things. A round of kisses for everyone and we were all ready to leave.

As the kids were on their way to the bus stop, I saw Lori jumping in her new car on the way to meet some friends. I was the last one out the door. Usually I am the first one out, depending on where my next lecture is. This week, I’m doing a series of talks in the local metro area. It’s a rare occasion I get to drive myself to my next engagement. I am usually picked up at the airport by someone and brought to the hotel, auditorium, or theater I’m speaking at. This time, I am my own chauffeur. It’s actually refreshing. Besides, I haven’t had the Mercedes out of the garage in a while. I had forgotten what a nice ride it is.

When I arrived at the university, I was warmly greeted by some well-wishers, who had my book and asked me for my autograph. I am still amazed when people do that. One thing I have realized through all my personal growth is that notoriety carries with it a great deal of responsibility. It would be easy to soak up the praise and admiration and sacrifice my humility in the process. When people come up to me on the street or graciously applaud at my engagements, my ego used to take on a life of its own. When my ego ran the show, my ultimate purpose started to get dragged down like an undertow in the ocean.

Through my meditations and prayers, I have gained valuable perspective on all the wondrous things that have happened to me. When someone flatteringly asks me to sign my book for him or her, I simply praise God for the opportunity to have the chance to make a difference in their life. It certainly makes me feel terrific when I receive a compliment, or someone relates positive feedback about my writings or lectures. Everyone needs to feel recognition for a job well-done, whether you are a housewife, a car salesman, a businessperson, or a preacher. We all do something, and it’s nice to be acknowledged for doing that something well.

Taking responsibility for our actions is also very important. When a person is put in a position of influencing others’ lives, he must exercise that influence judiciously. To some extent, we are all teachers. As parents, we are teachers to our children and bear the responsibility of raising them in a moral and ethical manner. If we are managers or business owners, we must teach new and existing employees in our philosophy and methodology so that they may be effective in their endeavors with us, allowing both the company and the employee to achieve their goals. If we are leaders in social or religious organizations, we must lead and teach by example or risk losing our credibility. Good character is so important.

I try to arrive at my lectures early enough to meet some of the people who will bless me with their presence. Just as we all enjoy speaking to someone we know, this helps me to feel more comfortable with my audience. I am always pleased to see such a variety of ages present: people who are beyond retirement age, young folks just starting high school, and every age in between. I believe it is the universal nature of my message that people come to hear. It doesn’t favor the young or the old, the rich or the poor, or the wise or the ignorant. No matter what stage of life you are in, I believe there is something of value you can take away from my presentation.

When I stop to speak to people before my lectures, I reaffirm to myself the fact that we all have a purpose here. Sadly, I see some troubled souls still trying to find their way through this sometimes-difficult world, wondering what it is all about and where do they fit in. We all experience moments like this, but some people have a more difficult time of sloughing off the less important things in favor of the most important things.

I know that feeling all too well. I lived parts of my life shackled to the emotions of depression, sadness, frustration, and discontent. So when I look into the eyes of those who feel lost and sometimes overwhelmed, I direct my heart and words especially to them. I hope my genuine desire to reach them and my words of hope help them begin to shed the doubt that surrounds their dreams.

I was set to speak at the university at 9:00 a.m. There was a time when I feared public speaking like the plague. I have always enjoyed communicating and sharing my thoughts with others but got the jitters when placed in front of an audience. I still carry a bit of the old anxiety with me, but it serves to keep me on the ball rather than destroy. Today my anxiety feels more like a child’s anticipation on Christmas eve.

After being introduced, I was flattered to hear the warm round of applause flow through the auditorium. I live my dream each time I walk out on stage. For a long time, I wondered if this could or would ever happen for me. I finally realized that there are things that you can make happen rather than wait and hope they will happen. Every endeavor requires a certain amount of prodding. Learning how to motivate yourself is perhaps the greatest key to making any of your goals turn the corner toward the light.

My lectures have evolved over the past few years, much as I have. I have witnessed my personal growth on many levels. I am still learning what things are important in life and what things are not. As I continue to travel along life’s road, I try to pass along my experiences and lessons learned to whoever will listen to me. Because I have had a successful book, I have accrued a large number of interested readers and listeners. As my message reaches more and more people, this number continues to grow. I just simply concentrate on doing what I love to do: sharing my reflections about life with others, helping people make their dreams come true, and living a fulfilling life.

Today’s talk went very well. Having a good sense of humor has certainly helped me keep my audience