Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Michaelangelo's David


So the story goes that a number of artists were presented with this large slab of stone and asked to create something of it. This large slab went from artist to artist all of whom could not find or think of what to do with it.

Eventually this large slab of stone got to Michaelangelo who took on the task and started chiseling away at it and eventually created the famous Statue of David.

When asked how he conceived of such a beatiful work of art he responded by saying ...I didn't, it was already inside, I just had to find it...


Whats the moral of the story...???


Think of little children-how innocent, happy, adventurous and unaffraid they are.

As the years pass by though and they grow into adults these "layers" start to build up, to surround the "child".

These layers are comprised of fear, judgement, criticism, uncertainty, lack of confidence, lack of adventure and so much more.
The "child" has become smothered.

But the "child" is still there, still inside everyone.
You just have to chisel away at all those layers to find it.

If you are going through some chllenging times right now in your life, whether personal, professional, financial or health related-think back to when you were a child-


What made you happy?


What excited you?


What made you jump up and down for joy,

or made you roar in laughter?


Discover that inner child, don't ignore your issues, but start living a happy life again.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Goal Setting


Reesa and I have attended numerous "Personal Development" or "Motivational" seminars throughout our Professional careers. We always come away energized and invigorated as these sessions are designed to do. Inevitably all of the "moderators"/"coaches" throw out an excercise for eveyone to do and it surrounds goal setting.

This excercise in to plan 10/20/50 or 100 things you want to do before you die.


QUESTION.......


How Long Do You Give Yourself..."before you die," that is?


Do you give yourself 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 50 years?


Well the truth is that one NEVER knows!


Rather than worrying about "how long" I suggest you write down these goals and then "Enjoy The Journey", to paraphrase my brother's suggestion.

Setting a time limited goal is certainly good for some activities but does create undue pressure to achieve within that frame.

Remember that Life is a Journey and achieving goals are journeys within the journey-so ENJOY.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

See You Later.....


So have you paid attention to the words we use "automatically" when we part ways from someone, from a meeting, a friend, etc. Words such as "see you later", "I'll call you later/tonight/tomorrow/next week...", and so on.
You get the drift.
But my point is...


Says Who?
Who says there will be a later, tonight, tomorrow, etc.
Now I am not being morbid here but the fact of the matter is;
We Only Have But TODAY!!!
or better yet
We Only Have the NOW!!!
Yesterday is Gone, Tomorrow is Not a Guarantee, ENJOY the NOW!!.
Yes its great to make plans, we all do. That's what life is all about-planning vacations, planning careers, planning families, setting goals, developing yourself both physically and mentally-that is definitely what life is all about.
But Do It Humbly.
"The Lord Has Given Us But Today"- 2 Very key words-Given and Today.
Life is a GIFT!!
Enjoy TODAY!!
Lastly Remember-

Its Not What's Been Give To You-Its What You Do With It.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Lessons I Learned the Day I Died-What Can I Do To Help


I am very fortunate to be surrounded by very supportive and loving family members, friends and colleagues. Each and every family member pitched in to help in every way they can through last year, and I'll detail more of those heroes later. It is when friends or business colleagues offered "...call me if you need anything..." or "...what can I do to help..." that I found it difficult to answer. It was/is great of them all to come by for a visit, offer words of encouragement and offer help, but deep down I know that while they are all sincere, I could not possibly ask for anything that would pull them away from their own family obligations. And so as these offers of assistance came in I found myself telling them to "pray for me".

Well just a few weeks ago Reesa and I attended a benefit concert by Dudu Fisher, a former Cantor who turned his talents to entertainment on stage and even performed at Les Miserables in England. During this benefit perfomance he would introduce each song with a few words and as he introduced the song "Bring Him Home" (from Les Miz) he offered that

"The Prayers of Many Are Heard".

Well I could certainly attest to that as the prayer of the many who prayed for me certainly helped!!!


I have yet to touch on the "Lessons I Learned". I will begin to do so shortly. I just I'd share some thoughts, memories and experiences that touched me over the past year+.


Again, please recommend my Blog to anyone you feel may need some words of Hope and Encouragement.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Lessons I Learned The Day I Died-Transformation



As my Chaplin once told me "...our brains are not geared to deal with death..."


How True.


We all go along our daily lives, making plans, setting goals, business and career plans, social plans, vacation plans, education plans, family plans, personal growth plans and so on. Point being we are focused on LIVING.


And that is a good thing, a natural thing.


Then one day you go to the hospital for something you suspect, in my case a bowel obstruction, of which I've had a few and all have passed in the past. TWO months later and surgery as well I am told I have less than a year to live.


This is not something I would wish on anyone.


I've had numerous discussions on whether its "good to know or better to go" and I'll share my thoughts on that later. As well as the wave of emotions that you go through-also at a later post.


A couple of things do stand out in my mind though;


I remember reading the newspaper in early 2009 and came upon an article about the upcoming winter olympics in Vancouver and throwing the paper away in disgust because my only thought was "why bother reading about this, I won't be around to enjoy it anyways".


Another incident that stands out in my mind is looking incredulously at my wife when she came home from a shopping spree and one of the items was a 4-pack of Colgate toothpaste. What a waste of money I thought, I'll never live long enough to use them all up.


Well going from those "frames of mind" to now making plans again, looking ahead to the future, is a transformation that took quite a while and one that has taught me a lot about life.


I have always been a modest peron, living a modest life, blessed to be married to an incredible individual and having a succesful career. I've always taken great joy at helping others, whether at work as their manager or at the community through volunteer work.


Now it was


WHY ME?


And now it still is


WHY ME?


When I was stricken I always wondered WHY ME? But ironically when I was blessed with the good news this past January I also asked WHY ME?


I feel that my current situation comes with a big responsibility-one of sharing, inspiring, giving hope and motivation.


Stay tuned for future posts as I take you on my journey and the elements that brought about my Transformation.


Please pass along this blog to anyone you feel may need a "pick me up", wherever they are in their journey of life.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Lessons I Learned the Day I Died-Introduction


On January 19th, 2009 I was diagnosed with Malignant Metasticized Melanoma.

On January 19th 2010 my most recent cat scan report showed "...no evidence of Melanoma...".

On January 19th 2009 my Oncologist told me that with succesful chemotherapy I "may" have a yer to live.

Today my Oncologist and other doctors are using my case in a medical journal and have called me a "walking miracle".

My name is Uzi and here is my story........

I am a 52 year old male, living in a suburb of Toronto and over the next few weeks I hope to provide Hope and Inspiration to anyone reading this Blog, whether a Cancer patient or not. I feel that we all need Inspiration on a daily basis and living the past year thinking I am getting closer to death I have learned a lot about the gift of Life.
I was and still am surrounded by a Circle of Love, one comprised of Family members near and far, Friends and Business Colleagues. They were able to pull me out of the darkest of days and provide me with hope each and every day. Their support, which will be documented, was one of a number of "ingredients" that led to my "miracle".

To anyone reading this Blog, your feedback is always welcome and I'd be happy if you share it with someone else.

I will try and Blog every day and provide insight, philosophy (not to be confused with religion) and would love to hear back from you if I've had some positive impact on your life.