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Health & Fitness

'I Wish You My Kind of Success…' - Dicky Fox

Amy's unusual view is an attempt to live deeply with extraordinary gratitude in an ordinary life.

Dedicated to my Dad (as an early Father’s Day gift) Hi Dad! I love you!

 

"...here’s why you don't have your 10 million yet. Right now, you are a paycheck player. You play with your head, not your heart. In your personal life  – (points to chest) heart. But when you get on that field, it's all about what you didn't get, who's to blame, who under-threw the pass, who's got the contract you don't, who's not giving you your love. Well, that is not what inspires people. That's not what inspires people. Shut up. Play the game. Play it from your heart.”

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This is a quote from the movie “Jerry Maguire.” An odd fact about me that I cannot quite explain is that I am not much of a sports fan but I love a movie about sports. This quote is one of my favorite quotes about how to be successful.

Some people think that work and personal life should be separate so that they can easily be two different beings in each sector like a “shark at business” and a “great, kind family person.” This makes no sense to me whatsoever. I am incapable of being anything but myself wherever I go. I am not saying this is my finest trait or anything, however I did learn from a person with tons of integrity. I learned it from my dad.

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My dad (Robert William Feucht) grew up on a farm in upstate New York. He made his living in direct mail fundraising on commission to support our family. My dad’s not the kind of person you think of when you say “salesman.” He isn’t glib, fast or chatty: he’s sort of shy, witty (instead of sarcastic) and kind. (Um, my personality is clearly more like my mom: I had to look up the word shy in the dictionary to see what it meant.)  

So, how did he make a very good living on commission? He was himself. I also think he really cared about raising money for non-profits and he genuinely thinks all people are terrific. He is not cynical.

Sometimes we confuse critical thinking with criticism, or considering all sides with cynicism. There’s a suggestion that smart people are cynical, suspicious and wary. I disagree. I think smart people are risk-takers, critical yet fair thinkers and they go with the heart – meaning they are not dissuaded by people saying things like, “Oh that will never work,” “We have tried that. It didn’t work” or “This is how we have always done it.”

“That will never work” and “We have tried that and it didn’t work”:

 

  • Abraham Lincoln lost his job (1832), failed in business (1833) and was defeated in eight elections (1838 – 1858)
  • Thomas Edison’s teacher told him he was “too stupid to learn anything.” Also, he stated that he “discovered 6,000 ways that won’t work,” while developing the light bulb.
  • Walt Disney was fired, as his boss found he “lacked imagination.” Later, MGM studios told him that the idea of Mickey Mouse would not work; a giant mouse would scare women.
  • The Wright brothers began their experimentation in flight in 1896 at their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright piloted the first powered airplane 20 feet above a wind-swept beach in North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds.

{Can you just imagine what naysayers said in the seven years the Wright brothers were trying to learn to fly?}

  • Wilma Rudolph was tutored at home by her family because she was crippled by polio as a child. On September 7th, 1960, in Rome, Wilma became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the Olympics.

This is the way we have always done it…”

We also used to get everywhere via horses, our economy ran on slavery of fellow Americans and we used children to help keep factories running. Just because we did it in the past doesn’t mean we need to keep doing it now!

You know why some people fight change? Because they are guarding their hearts. They are afraid that they will fail, get hurt or lose something.  And they are right. All those things will happen…and sometimes and we also succeed, grow and have deep connection. The answer isn’t to do less – it is to do everything with heart.

It’s so funny that we are surrounded by the ocean here in beautiful Rhode Island and forget that life is that – waves, ebbs and flows…

When I swim, I go right in. I trust that I am a strong swimmer and I know when to let the waves pull me toward shore. Of course I have been taken over by a wave and ended up with sand so strung up in my curls that days later I still has an ocean swept look! I have survived this and many other things. I think it’s best to be brave and open hearted.

I am thinking about this as I have been more involved with events in North Kingstown. Here are some people with HEART <3:

  • Working Together for Wellness Established in 1987, is a substance abuse prevention coalition. This weekend they are sponsoring and YOU are invited! They are also offering a Community Forum on Sunday March 25 from 5 to 7 p.m. at United Methodist Church called “Keeping Our Community Healthy & Connected.”  www.nkprevention.org (I am totally going!! Are you in?)
  • seeks to strengthen land use, transportation and urban design policies and local ordinances that guide the decision-making process for the built environment to be more supportive of health, particularly as it relates to physical activity and healthy eating. Walking and Biking/ Access to Healthy Food/Public Spaces /Neighborhoods and Villages  www.health.ri.gov/programs/healthyplacesbydesign.org (Watch for the Summer Food Challenge!)
  • : You are invited to join us for a spectacular two-day event on Friday evening, June 1 and Saturday, June 2. This year, proceeds from the Friday night gala and auction will be donated to Rhode Island National Guard and  the Bob Woodruff Foundation.  (Maybe you have heard of this family’s story via the book “In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing”  by Lee Woodruff and Bob Woodruff. www.wickfordheelsandwheels.com (I am helping with this event it will be fantabulous!)

North Kingstown has a lot of people with heart trying to do amazing thing. My sister told me once that there are three kinds of people:

  1. People who see something that needs to be done and talk about how impossible it will be to do.
  2. People who see something that needs to be done and ignore it.
  3. People who do something.

 

I like people who do something.

We all are busy, stressed and stretched!  I find when I get out of myself and see if I can do one small thing to help I end up with more energy, joy and satisfaction. You do not have to be a jump in type like me. For one of the above events all I did was make a poster. Is there a way you could help? A talent: computer whiz, artistic, wildly great cook? Or maybe you are someone with a big heart: we can never have too many people who want to help serving our community.

At the gorgeous shop Blue Hydrangea located on 2 Main Street  in Wickford, Donna has a pillow that says this:

"Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you may not understand how or why."

Well that is my motto. I really want that pillow. Cynicism be damned! (Oops sorry- we are a family Patch!)

(By the way!!! I am offering a Writing Workshop for youth during Spring Break April 16- April 20th – lower cost if you sign up by April 1st! contact me on my website : www.explorewritingworkshops.com)

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