Here's to you NY!

If you didn't already know this. From the age of 10 - 33, I had the pleasure of "growing up" just north of New York City in Westchester County. Those who come from Westchester are glad let you know that it is the second richest county in North America, home of many famous people such as Paul Simon, Bill/Hillary Clinton, John D. Rockefeller, Puff Daddy and the list goes on. I have to say that I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunutiy to spend my time in that area. Not because of the rich and famous, although I do love the rich and famous, but for the other riches that growing up in Sub-Urban NY had to offer. When you live 30 miles from the biggest city in the world, the opportunities are endless! Growing up in the 80's  and 90's, I like to think that my friends and I took full advantage of everything life had to offer to us. Let me quickly share some of the things my mind lingers back to during my idle moments.

Food - As a 235lb man I often tell people that I didn't get this size from not liking food. Many memories were centered around food. Whether it was having a giant slice from Maria's Pizza, or working at Friendly's with all the hottest girls in high School, or late nights at the local diner. I am still convinced that I made cheese fries with gravy famous in Westchester...lol

Music -  For me the 80's and 90's were a time of GREAT music. The era of the Guitar Gods was taken over by the plaid wearing angst of the Grundge Era and the pop music was still awesome! The guido's had their I-roc Z's  with the dance music blasting and the Deadheads could be smelt first, heard second, and then seen! For those of you who are from the area, how many of you remember lining up for your wrist band for the lastest coolest concert? For shows at Giant Stadium, MSG, the Paramount in Peekskill, Jones Beach, and again the list goes on. Lining up for Ticketmaster at the Toys and Sports Wharehouse(TSW) will always hold a great memory for me. We loved the music and the music loved us. I still to this day remember hearing "Stand" by REM twelve times in one afternoon! How great was it to encite a whole section of Giants stadium to get up to dance during a U2 concert on the Achtung Baby Tour? How great was it to see Stevie Ray Vaughn at the Pier in NYC as the sun set on New Jersey and the wind wafted down off the Aircraft Carrier Entrepid? How great was it to make fake tickets to Grateful Dead concerts or see Fishbone, STP, and RHCP at Jones Beach in one show? The answer is there is nothing like it!! I was blessed to have those opportunities. Thank you NY!!

WOW... I have to admit I am a little overwhelmed here thinking about those days. What great times we had. The glue that held it all together here is 2 factors. NY and friendships. If NY was not such a great place and I did not have such an amazing group of friends to enjoy it with life would have been a whle lot different. My guess is a whole lot more boring too. So thanks to you New York and thanks to you to all the people that helped make it even more special to a little boy from Newfoundland!

Thanks!
Johnny O.

P.s. - You ask "Why the trip down memory lane?" Well the answer is I will be heading back to NY in a week. Stay tuned for video and photo blogs of my journey!

P.s.s. - Thank you NY!!

P.s.s.s. - What the hell, one more.....

_________________________________

Feel free to  @ProAdventurer

As well on my Facebook fanpage Adventures with Johnny O.

Trust Pays!!

Thanks you Seth Godin! I just read his blog for today(http://bit.ly/eiDvh4) and it got me thinking. The whole premise of his blog was that people can choose to live in a world of trust or a world without trust. It jarred me back to a book I head read a few years back, "The Speed of Trust" by Stephen M. R. Covey.

Yes the name looks familiar to the author of the 7 Habits. It's his son! The premise of "The Speed of Trust" is that in life everything works better when you have trust. For more info you can check out the book at http://speedoftrust.com/new/

Well the obvious would be to say that both the blog and the book reminded me that we are way better off to view the world with trusting eyes. It also got me thinking that all these self help books and motivational speakers have a dark side to them, and my blog is no exception. There is an assumption that you need help. Do you?

Do you really want to hear that your life is not good enough from me? That it could be better? Well I tell you what, it could be a WHOLE lot worse than it is. End of story! So from now on this blog will be dedicated to celebrating life and how great we have it. I promise that I will avoid speaking to you like I know better, or that you are in some dark whole from which you you have your head jammed up!

You are awesome... Carry on like you were normal!!

Johnny O.

P.s. - to complete my series on the 7 Habits - Habit 7 - Sharpen the saw... Google it! You just may learn something :-P

P.s.s - What a wonderful world!

__________________________________

Feel free to  @ProAdventurer

As well on my Facebook fanpage Adventures with Johnny O.

It's been a month....

Hey Gang.... It's been almost a month since my last blog. My how time flies. I would love to say that I was unavailable because I was off jetsetting around the world experience new adventures in far off wonderful places. Alas if I were to tell you that I would be a liar. Fact of the matter I had allowed myself to get caught up in a whirlwind of negative energies that ultimately involved people being hospitalized, others being arrested(hopefully), and a lot of little lessons learned along the way. I`ll leave it to your imaginations to fill in the details of my story :-)

The biggest lesson I was reminded of was to always be positive! Really...life is that simple. If you keep a positive outlook on life you will be a happier person.

Now I know some of you are saying...well how do I do that when the walls are coming down around me, or my bills are past due, or everyone around me seems out to get me?

Here are a few simple steps to help you get back on track:

1. Start small - find something in your life that you are thankful for or that brings you joy. It can be something as simple as a cup of GREAT coffee or someone you love. Think about that for a little while. Maybe drink that coffee or visit that person
2. Think BIG - Always remember that it could be worse. You are not sitting in a Nazi Concentration Camp like Victor Frankl was(http://tinyurl.com/694wg89) or hiding out in a bathroom with six other women avoiding death squads as Immaculee Ilibagiza(http://www.immaculee.com/) had to do during the Rwandan genocide. Thanks your lucky stars!!!
3. Be excellent - To quote Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure( http://tinyurl.com/7x6y5) "Be EXCELLENT to each other!" Go do something nice for someone else. Helping other people always makes me feel better. Hold the door open for someone, pick up a hitch-hiker, take your kids to the movies(the one they want to see), give your wife a hug!
4. Turn it off - If there is someone or something in your life that is causing you great distress. Turn it off. Avoid them or it at ALL COSTS!!
5. Smile! Smile! Smile!

Thanks for taking a moment to read this blog. Focus on the positive and the positives will take care of you. Have a great day and be EXCELLENT to each other :-)

Johnny O.

P.s. - I don't know who this kids is! If she doesn't make you smile, smile, smile, you ARE dead ;-)

__________________________________

Feel free to  @ProAdventurer

As well on my Facebook fanpage Adventures with Johnny O.