Yesterday was Sunday.  Did you have time to rest, relax with family and/or go to church?  If not, was it because Sunday became your day to catch up or is Sunday just like any other day for you?  Don’t get me wrong, if there is one thing I’m going to do is get my nap at some point during the weekend.  But the rest of the week I seem to be constantly on the go.

Presently, I live in Biloxi Mississippi – hardly a fast-moving place to live by any standards – and I still seem to always be on the go.  I’m trying to determine why I always seem to have something to do other than relaxing and I have what I think may be good possibilities.

1. I may just be spreading myself too thin.  If this is the culprit, reducing some of my activities could make those that remain better.  One thing that will NEVER get eliminated is family so adding time to spend there would be nothing but positive.
2. Our current culture sucks us into more complexity than ever before.  Remember when we were kids and used to go outside to play?  I wanted to go outside every single day to ride my bike, play wiffle ball or kill ants – don’t ask about the ants.  Kids don’t really go outside like that anymore.  Part of this could be due to computers/video games and part of it could be due to kids not being safe out there anymore.
3. Everybody wants to be rich.  Do we want too much stuff?  Is too much of my time being spent trying to chase material wealth?  Sure, I would like to be wealthy (different than rich), but I’m only going to go so far to do so – I still have to live with myself.  I know and see people all the time that would cut someone to get ahead.  I still have to live with a code (of ethics).
4. I’m getting old(er).  It couldn’t be that could it?  :D  I know I’m slowing down.  There used to be a time where I was, shall we say, a night owl.  There is no way I could keep up with my younger self.  Hmm, maybe that is why I have to get those naps.

This is about as random as random can get – not sure where it is coming from or where it is going – but it is on my mind so here it is.

1. Is there anything in life you want?  Yes, I would like to hit the Powerball too, but that isn’t necessarily what I’m talking about.  It could be you want to make your grass as green as it can be like my sister or you want to get a scholarship to college.  It could be you want your kitchen floor to be spotless or want to help cure cancer.  From something very small and personal to something huge, is there anything you want?
2. Is what you want realistic?  Do you know anyone who has all the answers and plans on almost literally doing it all?  If I say I want restore a car, it is very different from saying I want to own a car dealership by this time next month.  Don’t get me wrong, anything is possible.  However, most of us will never have that BOOM moment where things just happen.
3. The last and most important thing running through my head today.  Are you (am I) doing anything to get what I want?  Unfortunately, many of us cannot dedicate our lives to that singular thing we would like to do because there 24 hours and 7 days isn’t enough.  For instance, I want to be able to play the piano.  I don’t want to do this for fortune or fame, I just want to be able to sit down at a piano and play.  I have a keyboard in the other room right now.  I could afford to take lessons.  What I don’t have is time to do it.  That is just my own personal example, but it will remain something I want to do, without action, until I take/find the time to do it.

This is just one of many (probably thousands) thoughts that run through my head on a daily basis.  I could go the whole “Life is short” route, but that really isn’t what I’m talking about.  I’m maybe leaning more towards procrastination because what you (I) want isn’t that big of a deal.  It just takes some action.

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor, died Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47. He died at his home in southern Virginia.

You may have saw this on the news or Internet. You also may have went to Youtube and discovered a video he made. Or, you may be asking yourself why this matters to you. Pausch gained Internet fame for his “Last Lecture”, a lecture given by many professors as if it was their last lecture. For Pausch, it may not have literally been his last lecture, but it was close. His last lecture was inspirational, motivational and sad at the same time. If you have the time, watch the video below.

Pausch told USA TODAY during an interview at his home in March that the now-famous lecture was never meant for public consumption, nor was it for his colleagues or students. It was for his two sons and daughter: Dylan, 6, Logan, 3, and Chloe, 2. “If people are finding inspiration, OK, but the book is for my kids,” Pausch said.

“I knew what I was doing that day,” he wrote in the introduction of his best-selling book, also titled The Last Lecture. “Under the ruse of giving an academic lecture, I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children.”

In the video, Pausch says the following:

“…the brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something, because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the “other” people.”

How many of us don’t try hard enough? Really, if we were honest with ourselves and admitted the truth, would we be one of those few people who actually do what it takes to break down those brick walls? I know there is more I can do, more positive things in life I could take action on instead of looking at things like I don’t want to go through the hassle. Have you found your true contribution or art?

In some way, we are all artists. We all have something we do that contributes to the world around us; that something you would do all day for free that you or someone else really needs. We all know people who happen to find their art easier than others. Tiger Woods’ art is golf, Bill Gates’ art is software (sort of) and your mechanic’s art may be working on cars. Think about what it is that is your art and begin to break down those brick walls.

Come back tomorrow, for more positve actions that can change your life.