Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

I travel a lot and I’m away from my family one week every month. I miss my wife and son terribly while I’m on the road but there is one advantage to this situation. Every time I go, I learn how much my two favorite people mean to me. Distance gives me perspective and strangely, it brings me closer to what really matters.

I’m on the road again this week and I thought I’d send a note out to my wife:

I’ve lied to you and I’ve hurt you.
And you forgave me.
I’m deeply flawed.
And yet, you see the light coming out from the cracks in my personality.
I’ve lied next to you in our bed and felt your warmth.
We’ve done so much together, you and I.
You smell good and you look even better.
I feel like every day is a journey, and it’s a journey I want to take with you.
We’re on a road-trip babe, with the music cranked and our feet hanging out the window.
You stick your tongue out at the world and I’m right there with you, laughing at it all.

I love you Charlene.

Take time to appreciate the people that make life worth living. If you want to improve your friendships, relationships, or marriage, why don’t you tell them exactly how you feel?

Send a note like this and make it count. Nobody’s keeping score and paying attention to your vulnerability. The best thing you can do is connect to another human being with real feeling and passion.

Now, go for it.

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When I was 9 years old I read the book “My Side of the Mountain.” It was the story of a young boy named Sam, who ran away from home and learned to live in the wilderness of the Catskill mountains. The book captivated me - it became a long-time dream of mine to do just what Sam had done in the book. I didn’t run away for two reasons; I worried about devastating my mother, and I realized that the batteries for my Sony Walkman would eventually run out.

I still think about what would have happened if I’d followed though with my plan for adventure and solitude, but the real value of that dream for me, was to open my mind to the world of possibilities.

How the Hell Did I End Up Here?

I’ve met many people with a promising professional career and buckets of money who wish they’d become an actor, painter, or musician.

Ask a ten year-old kid, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” They’ll never say, “I want to be a regional manager for a large insurance firm. If I can’t do that, I want to sell carpet.”

When we’re kids, we want to change the world and explore our curiosity but we get lost in a sea of other voices telling what is possible and what is not. Don’t ever lose your curiosity - it is the one quality that will always bring true meaning to your work and to your relationships with others. Be a kid again. Allow yourself to dream and plan. It takes guts to admit you’re not happy and then do something about it.

Show Me What I’m Made Of

You will bring meaning and fulfillment into your live when you align yourself with what you value most. Unfortunately, most of us don’t really know what our values are. We say we do, but too often they are the values and expectations of the people around us. We make poor life choices when we listen to the voices of others and mistake them for our own.

The Search For Meaning

Look within yourself and question what really makes you tick. What makes the hair stand up on your neck? What are your real ideals? What motivations you? Are your daily actions in accord with your dreams and ideals?
Are your actions bringing value to others as well, or are your motivations selfish and hurtful? Goals that bring no value to the people around you will prevent you from having lasting success. Life is meaningless without love.

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