Attitude is everything

March 30, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Inspirational, Musings 

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” — Scott Hamilton

“One of the main qualities it takes to be successful is energy…
it may be the only thing.” — Katherine Hepburn

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” — Helen Keller

While we cannot control many of the things that happen to us, we can control how we perceive and deal with them.

A bad attitude can suck all the joy out of even the best people and things you encounter in your life.

A positive outlook can make even the worst days better. Maybe not great, but better.

Here is a short movie that presents seven ways to help you stay positive…

Every moment of our lives, we can choose how we will live. That is a wonderful gift that too many people overlook or devalue.

Right now, you can decide how you choose to live.

That choice will immediately make a difference in your attitude. It may be a positive change for a better life, or it may be a negative change that will make your life harder.

Choosing a better attitude has already improved your life, but it’s probably not all you need to do to see different results.

It may take time to achieve what you want, and it may take effort to get there, but a decision is the first step. You can’t know when you’ve arrived, unless you first know where you want to go.

Whether you are concerned about your health, career, relationships, finances, or anything else in your life, you can choose to change one thing: your attitude.

Some people say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Others say, “I’ll see it when I believe it.”

By changing your perception of the world, you change the world.

It’s not magic. It’s just a matter of deciding to take that first step on the journey to your new destination.

Then another…

…and another…

Until you arrive.

Sometimes, however, we can’t change our circumstances. Sometimes we are dealt a terrible hand of cards in the game of life. I won’t try to say it isn’t so.

But…

It’s not just the cards we hold, it’s how we choose to play them.

We have a choice in our attitude and how much we choose to enjoy the game.

Even on my worst days, I choose to laugh and enjoy life. It can be a very difficult thing to do, sometimes. When there is nothing to laugh about, I feel better by laughing at myself and doing my best to not take things so seriously. This attitude has helped me get through the loss of a lover, unemployment, deaths in my family, business failure, losing my home, bankruptcy, divorce, a cancer that tried to kill me, and other obstacles along my journey through life.

I’ve even managed to survive broken fingernails, bad haircuts, and the first scratch on a new car. (grin)

On my best days, I choose to laugh and enjoy life. It’s a lot easier, on those good days!

Attitude is everything.

All the best,

JD

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An attitude of gratitude

March 28, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Self-Improvement, Simple Truth 

There are a lot of ways to look out on this wonderful world we share.

Today, I want to talk about gratitude.

I am grateful to be alive and to have all that I need to sustain myself and to do a few of the things I most want to do.

I could look at it differently and say that the last year has been very hard and I still don’t feel very good. I’m too poor to travel the world, buy a new car, and get all the stuff I want.

The truth is, however, that I really am grateful to be alive and getting better. I have all I need and can’t think of anything I don’t have that I really want — except for an iPad and I plan to buy one this year.

Other than that, I’m pretty content with my life and where it’s headed.

I know from personal experience that when I complain, I become a crap magnet.

When I am grateful, happy, and supportive, I get that back, in return.

I understand and freely acknowledge that these statements are not 100% accurate and that there are exceptions. Good things happen to ungrateful people, and bad things happen to people who are grateful for what they have and are.

But for the most part, speaking only about myself and my experiences, I think those statements are more true than false.

I want to share a couple of salient quotes and a short video with you.

“When we choose not to focus on what’s missing from our lives
but are grateful for the abundance that’s present…
we experience heaven on earth.” — Sarah Breathnach

…and…

“Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…
it’s about learning how to dance in the rain!” — Vivian Greene

So, with those thoughts in mind, sit back, relax, and enjoy this two-minute inspirational movie, Learning to dance in the rain…

Learning to Dance In The Rain Movie

All the best,

JD

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-27

March 27, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Twitter 

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March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month

March 26, 2011 by JD · 3 Comments
Filed under: Health, Musings, Personal 

I just now learned that March is colon cancer awareness month.

In my case, that really is true. One year ago, towards the end of March, 2010, I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. I had surgery on April 1, 2010, followed by other medical procedures including radio frequency ablation of my liver, and half-a-year of chemotherapy.

One year ago, I was in very bad shape and it wasn’t clear at all that I was going to survive it. But, during the year, we’ve kicked cancer’s butt. I’m feeling much better and slowly getting stronger.

I wrote about this previously on this blog and elsewhere:

I am happy to report that I’m feeling better!

Thanksgiving was the best in many years

A milestone reached in kicking cancer’s butt

Mission Health System – Western North Carolina

Over the last year, I received treatments at several of the hospitals owned and operated by Mission Health System in western North Carolina, including Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC.

Since my treatments there, they have a new blog, Voices of Courage, and that’s where I learned about March being colon cancer awareness month:

Are you at risk for hereditary colon cancer?

I learned from them that One in every 20 Americans over 20 is a cancer survivor!

More and more of us are surviving cancer. Thanks to better screening, earlier detection, and better treatments, cancer is not always the death sentence it once was. Still, many thousands of people die ever year because of this dread disease.

Recently, I was reading a post on their blog, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” – Humor and Healing

I can add my experiences to that. Every single day for the last year since I was diagnosed with colon cancer, I have searched high and low for funny things to make me laugh. I’ve watched funny movies on Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube. I’ve read and laughed at funny jokes my friends send me or link to. I’m blessed with being surrounded by people who enjoy laughing and some of them have made this last year much more bearable than it may otherwise have been. (You know who you are. Thank you!)

I have been blessed with support from my loving family and great friends, and a few strangers I met along the way.

I just now searched on their blog and found this post:

A Post from Cancer Survivor and Fighter, John Dilbeck

I have a new appreciation for sunrises and sunsets.

Every day that I wake up and I’m vertical, it’s a GREAT day!

I hope you never encounter cancer. I really mean that. Long life and health to you.

But, if it attacks you, get the best team together that you can find and fight back. Kick cancer’s butt.

I don’t intend to think of myself as a cancer survivor. I, and the rest of Team Dilbeck, are cancer conquerors. Die, cancer, die.

I have great doctors who have helped me through this.

Dr. Henry Meinecke diagnosed the cancer and did the first major surgery.

Dr. Teresa Heavner has worked, and continues to work, to keep me healthy, even though I have not been the best patient. After what happened this year, I’m listening more closely to what she tells me.

I’ve had CT and PET scans done at various hospitals, including Murphy Medical Center, in Murphy, NC, where my first surgery was performed and ongoing tests and scans have been performed.

Dr. David Moore did the RFA on my liver. The original biopsy results on my liver said it was benign. Dr. Moore called me from the beach — while on his vacation — and said the results had to be wrong. He convinced me to have another biopsy done and said he’d do it himself. He was right. The second biopsy showed colon cancer in my liver. Dr. Moore did the RFA (think of putting portable microwave wands in the liver and burning the cancer cells) and successfully destroyed the tumors.

I’m grateful that the RFA worked so well. I had been facing surgery on the right lobe of my liver and that’s a serious operation. Dr. Robert Moffatt, the surgeon who was going to do it, was instrumental in presenting my case to a team of professionals in Asheville, and they concurred that I was a good candidate for the RFA instead of the surgery. My recovery was much faster than it probably would have been, otherwise.

I received great support, counseling, recommendations, and chemotherapy from my oncologist, Dr. John Manfredi, who works in the Blairsville, GA office of Georgia Cancer Specialists.

I’m thanking the doctors by name, but they’re not the only ones who are part of Team Dilbeck. There are many nurses, technicians, other people on staff, and even a couple of ambulance drivers who helped me recover. All of them, and my friends and family, deserve — and get — my admiration and gratitude.

More people than I’ll ever know helped me win this battle.

If you are at risk, or you have the symptoms that something is wrong, see your doctor.

I know that there are millions of us who have no insurance and can’t afford regular preventative medical care, but don’t let disease, including cancer, kill you just because you can’t afford the treatment.

If you have good insurance and can afford great medical care, then be sure to get the preventative screening tests.

It’s no fun getting a colonoscopy, but it’s not as bad as it sounds (other than drinking all that yucky stuff and living in your bathroom the night before the test). Do it.

I, and millions of others, are living proof that you can survive cancer and thrive afterwards.

I’ve done the surviving and I’m working on the thriving.

All the best,

JD

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-20

March 20, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
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