Stu Saunders Presentations

Stu-Pendous Blog - Archives for May 2010

These are the thoughts of speaker, author and camp director Stu Saunders.
For Stu’s original blog, you may still access his archives here.

Really? Really? No? Really?

May 31, 2010

I wander down the street, enjoying the sunshine, my soul is warmed by the sun and the full day that was ahead of me. I wait in line for a tea at the local fair trade coffee shop. I stand behind a woman in her late twenties. She turned to her friend and said “This weather sucks, so frickin’ hot. I hate it, I really hate it.”

This actually made me say out loud, “Really? Really? No? Really?”

She turns and glares, I look at the price on a bag of coffee and point, smile.

Behind me a couple of teenage brothers are very grumpy busy complaining that their parents wouldn’t buy them the new iPod’s. This made them very upset.

“Mom is such a B!&CH! I asked her like three times, I even took out the garbage today. Man I hate her!”

Again, I repeat (this time in my head), “Really? Really? No? Really?”

Hey whiners, STOP! Most people in this country have NO idea the beautiful life they have been given. I once, complained to a friend about not getting what I want, I was depressed. Feeling empty. She simply smiled and said two of the most important words that I remind myself of every single day. Those words, find joy.

If you think it’s bad please move to Afghanistan. Otherwise, enjoy your clean drinking water, you freedom to travel, the sounds of birds and not bombs, the freedom to dress with as little clothing as you want, to shop in grocery stores full of fresh foods, to walk into a public library and READ, to vote freely, to own an iPod, iPad to have eyes. To simply be whom you want to be. This idea has been repeating itself over and over again in my head for months.

In the winter it’s to cold, the summer to hot, the spring to wet, the fall sucks because the winter is coming. Our jobs are unfulfilling, our parents are unfair, our teachers are mean, adults “don’t get it!” Young people just waste it. We spend our youth wanting to be older and our adulthood wishing we had done more when we were young. This is a never ending cycle. It’s human nature right? Just the way people are. Never quite having enough. The internet connection is not fast enough and there is nothing on TV.

Here is the idea that I wish we could all embrace. Find joy, move forward, learn from our lessons, celebrate our freedom, help someone in need and laugh often. Care, listen, love and say thank you. Find Joy, find peace, find beauty. Embrace what’s right. Be STUpendous. Don’t get caught up in extremes. Don’t judge. Be you, be fair. There are no extra people on the planet. You matter, you can count, you really do count, be happy that you learned to count. Life is hard, life is equally sweet, life is a choice. You are who you spend time with. The past is gone, the future is unknown and today is a gift that’s why it’s called the present. Be the change, be the example, be, simply be.

In the end you will succeed if you choose. Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.

Breathe, dream, find joy.

Yes, it’s really, really just that simple. Really.

Posted by Stu Saunders in Leadership on May 31, 2010 at 5:14 am | Permanent Link | Comments (6)
McHappy Life

May 9, 2010

Simple isn’t it. Life, I mean. It is the the one thing we all have to participate in it. I guess we could choose not to if we want, but then what’s the point. We all are given the same opportunity to lead a good life. Yes, no doubt that where you are born, the country, the economics and the time you are born all have significant impact on how you will live from day to day. But, the chance to choose to live fully is given to everyone.

There are the stories of people in every corner of the world that have been born into war, mediocrity, poverty and hunger yet still live extraordinary lives. Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Terry Fox, Richard Branson and my mom are all great examples of people that have lived well despite the hardships presented to them.

My mother during the second world war witnessed and survived the Blitz full on. She was shipped to the country side of England, separated from her mother, father and brothers. When the war was over and she returned to London the front of her home was gone. She could stand on the street and look at her home resembling more of a doll house then the family home she left. Most of the walls missing, destroyed by German bombs. She would live that way for more then a year, no washroom, shower or privacy. Today, she is a proud home owner and she is actively living each day.

Why is it we complain, whine and bitch about everything. We are SO lucky to live when we do and how we do. We are responsible for our own happiness. It’s now always easy. Unlike a McHappy meal we just can’t order joy. We need to make decisions that will help facilitate our own happiness. If you aren’t happy, then make the change. When you know what will change you from a negative attitude to a positive one, do it.

I too need to make a constant effort every day to make sure I am setting myself up for success. I need to put out what I want back. I need to attract the uninhibited joy into my life. This is my choice and it’s your choice. Make it. Stop complaining and start celebrating!

“To attract something that you want, become as joyful as you think that thing would make you. The joy, not the thing, is the point.” - Martha Beck

Posted by Stu Saunders in Leadership on May 9, 2010 at 2:19 pm | Permanent Link | Comments (1)
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