Laurel

So since we are ten days from leaving for the Livestrong Challenge in Philadelphia I see it as the home stretch.  So everyday until then I am going to share a video from the Livestrong Army youtube channel.  Today we meet Laurel, a triathlete and a cancer survivor.

Be inspired...Be informed....Be involved

If There Is Anything I Can Do.....

What motivates you?  Does there always have to be WITFM or (Whats In This For Me) aspect in order for you to do something you were not really planning on doing?  Like at work, what if you are asked to do something that may take you an extra few minutes a day to cover for someone else out.  Would you expect to be compensated for that extra few minutes? Just take some time to really ask yourself those questions.

Reason being is because I find people are trained to expect something in return for anything that they do no matter how small it may be.  For instance, the gold of all giveaways, the t-shirt.  I am convinced that you could almost get anyone to do anything for a free t-shirt that proves they spent an hour doing some kind of sporting event.  So they can wear into Kroger's on a Sunday morning and show everyone, "Look I did something active and the t-shirt I am wearing with 30 sponsors on the back proves it.  Between t-shirts and york peppermint patties they have trained people to always expect something for really nothing.

This leads me to a word that is controlling everyone today, selfishness.  I know people who when asked to do something will not do it unless it benefits them in some way.  They would rather not participate if it doesn't give them something free or improve their place in life.  As I get older I find this to be very sad and unfortunate.  Selfishness is what controls the actions of a lot of people in ways they would never admit to you face to face.

Now I know the whole world is not selfish, and a lot of people everyday do a lot of great things for others without any thought of compensation.  Lately, I have found I know less and less of those kinds of people.  I find that everyone is jocking for position to make sure they come out on top or get whats coming to them.  When you ask them they have no time, but if they need something they expect everything you have yesterday.  Funny thing is when you need something no one is there but when you die everyone shows up and all they want to say is, "If there is anything I can do let me know."

Kind of ironic.

First Thoughts

When you wake up in the morning what is the first thing you think of, or what pops into your head? Maybe a priority list of things that needs to be done.  Or how many times you hit the snooze and how much time you have to get to work before you get fired.  Whatever it may be it probably  is about you, and what you have to do.  Not what you want to do.  Now this is not a bad thing really, I mean you made the choice to do what you do so to you it seems fine and it is I suppose.  I can remember some of my best first thoughts in the morning had to do with the night before and what may or may have not transpired.  Wondering who is Lisa and why do I have a number from her.  Who am I kidding I never got a girls number at a bar.  Oh well with age comes a different set of priorities and first thoughts.  Now normally my first thought is how can I get my damn wrist fixed so I can jump into this game of food for which I am decades behind.  Which leads me to the second thing I dwell on in the morning, how do I get a sweet cushy TV show all about me and my culinary perspective.  News flash, I don't have some special, cute and cuddly food perspective.  If I had to write one up for a Food Network talent agent I would say, "Making food is my last chance, without it I will surely dive off the ledge of a bridge."  Which would be followed by , "Now make a cute little show about that, Tuschman."  I can say all that without any worries because my face is more a radio one than a TV one.

Although seriously I am not kidding about the ledge of the bridge deal.  I know it sounds a little dramatic but I have reviewed the options for suicide and the bridge jump wins.  I believe that if I can't learn to cook in a restaurant I will be destined to a life of peddling cell phones in kiosk in a mall.  Which I have done before and its a blast.  When I say blast, I mean like being punched in mouth with a sledge hammer, twice.  So with the constant nightmare of the  sledgehammer punching it seems I have put a lot of pressure on myself to do well enough to call myself a working cook.  I refuse to use chef, others call you chef, I will always be a cook. This pressure is now with me everyday I walk into the Midwest Culinary Institute.  This, if you don't know, is where to go to school and it is where I am trying my best not to screw up.  So far not to bad, but I hear the heavy stuff comes later so I am looking forward to my first butt chewing session when the scallops are over done.  Now I seem to do well under pressure, and I think I look for it and need it to do a good job.  This may be the only reason I feel I might have a fighting chance at making it through culinary school and maybe landing a mediocre job in some restaurant.

So remember what you parents told you about yourself right?  Mine told me to be the best I could be and never to give up.  I work hard everyday to have those as first thoughts as I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.  Now I know parents don't always say the right things at the right times and well mine have said a lot things that have discouraged me more than encouraged.  This can never be used to blame them but to encourage yourself and to push yourself closer to what you know is right.  To help you have your own first thoughts and to not be defined by what others think but you or what you know to be true.  First thoughts of this wanna be cook boy...

"Run before you crawl and dive in with no water in the pool."

Prayers For David

Before we go any further here please watch the video below:



David and Mary need our prayers, I have no doubt that they are fighters but some help wouldn't hurt.  David will be on my mind everyday this coming up week.  Be grateful for the days you have and live them to the fullest, because a simple pin prick can change your life.

To learn more about David and Mary go to their website or visit their page on Facebook.

Together we win....  LiveSTRONG David.

Sending You My Happiness

Someone once told me that to be happy you start by making others happy first.  This is true in so many ways, in almost every aspect of your life, whether it be personal or your relationships at work.  It is a simple idea but normally those are the hardest to understand and apply to our lives.

The reason for the deep thoughts, Jack Handy, moment is because I believe this may be why I am so passionate about the LiveSTRONG cause.  Not because it makes me feel good, but because it generates a spinning wheel of hope and determination for those who can fight for themselves.

It would be easy for me to just pay the entry fee for the LiveSTRONG Challenge and then come home feeling all good about myself and brag to my friends about the soft cheeses and French babies.  If I did that then I would be missing the point of it all and really wasting my time.  Because this is not about the bike, its about generating awareness and being a voice for those who lay in their bed in a hospital staring out the window and feeling alone.  Feeling like they are condemned to a life of pain and death.

When I wear yellow its not about my obvious bro-mance with Lance Armstrong, its about starting that conversation and about mamograms and prostate exams.  Coversations about who may need support in their time of struggle with cancer.  When I think of how hard it has been on some of my friends it breaks my heart.  Next month when I clip into my bike and head out for 45 miles of prestine Philadelphia hillsides I will be thinking of how happiness may seem so far away for some.  I hope together we can bring that happiness to them before it is too late.

 To support the LiveSTRONG cause to fight cancer please click the below link:

My Livestrong Team

Thank you.