Welcome to my Memorial Speech!

If you are here with me, please raise your hands. We will begin when all hands are raised and all eyes on screen.

Looks like we’re ready. You can put your hands down Wow. I am Honored that you are all here.

Thank You for letting these slides speak for me.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) aka Lou Gehrig’s disease is a complex, insidious and debilitating disease.

It is 90% spontaneous, can happen to anyone, and strikes an estimated 6,000 people in the U.S. every year. It is usually fatal with in 3-5 years.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.

Early symptoms of ALS often include increasing muscle weakness involving the arms and legs, speech, swallowing or breathing.

In my case, ALS took my speech first.

But ironically, I was never more prolific, creative, and inspired than in the past few years.

I believe it took losing my power of speech to find my true voice.

ALS made me slow down. Savor life. Fulfill on my promise as a human being.

Two years ago, before I was diagnosed, I adopted the view that everything that was happening, was happening in my favor.

I may have not understood it…

I may not have liked it…

It may have even pissed me off !

But I trusted, all was happening in my favor.

My voice, my legacy, can still make a difference.

When you have an expiration date on your forehead, you are LOST if you don’t have a purpose.

I had a few: ~to alter the way people are managed in corporate cultures, and the way we manage ourselves

~to spread the word that productivity and wellness go hand in hand

~to raise awareness and funds for ALS research

It took every bit of training and discipline I had to start my own company in the face of my debilitating symptoms…

I created the Master Plan Program as a structure for an empowered mindset in spite of the uncertainty of life.

People were always saying “I could never deal with what you are facing!” or “I don’t have your courage…”

This is BULLSHIT. (technical term) You could and you would.

What else are you going to do? Lay down and DIE? QUIT? Not so much.

Do yourself a favor and underestimating your capacity. It serves NO ONE.

I was fortunate enough to have gotten a Yellow Light in life. It was the Gift of ALS. I had a warning… you might want to act as if you do too.

Slow your roll, Check yourself, unplug… What are you spending the minutes of your life on?

When people are fully engaged in their life and the pursuit of what they truly want…

They experience being HAPPY

A few months ago I had the thought, “If I’m dying, why am I so damn Happy?” and then I realized I’ve been fully engaged in creating what I want for awhile now…

The results are IRRELEVANT… How long you have to live is IRRELEVANT…

As long as you are in love with the actions. FALL in LOVE with the ACTIONS

New research shows that Happiness Travels in Packs: YOUR HAPPINESS MAKES A DIFFERENCE

“Three Degrees of Influence” is a finding from Christakis and Fowler, it says everything we do or say tends to ripple through our network…

Having an impact on our friends (1 degree) Our friends’ friends (2 degrees) AND our Friends’ friends’ friends ( 3 degrees)

If a person is happy, they found it is 15% more likely their friend will be happy

It’s also 10% more likely that persons friends’ friend will be happy AND 6% more likely the friends’ friends’ friend will be happy

That’s a lot of HAPPY. Happiness is not only an individual matter Your happiness can infuse up to 3 Degrees of separation!

“When unhappy, one doubts everything; when happy one doubts nothing.” Joseph Roux

Happy people are also more ATTRACTIVE. Did you ever hit on a GRUMP?

Happy people with a PLAN are a force of NATURE.

I know if I didn’t have a plan I would have been dead long before now.

Here were some of my favorite things about planning…

“A FOOL with a plan will outsmart a GENIUS with no plan” T. Boone Pickens

Every minute you spend planning will save you 10 minutes in EXECUTION.

If you write something down, you are 50% more likely to DO or HAVE that thing.

If you review it each day, you are 200% more likely to DO or HAVE that thing…

Pretty awesome stats, right?

Let’s pretend for a moment You own a $50 million dollar racehorse…

AND that horse is your only source of income… How would you treat that animal? (No. you can’t sell it!)

Consider you are the only $50 million dollar producer you may ever own

You wouldn’t ride that horse until midnight or 2 am and expect it to WIN a race at 8 am the next day…

Yet you expect this from your self from time to time…

I’m out to enroll you in ELEVATING YOUR Self Care

Guard your energy as you would guard your optimism…

Schedule time to hang out with those who NURTURE and SUPPORT you, like you have done for me these past years.

So... My Last Wishes for Each and Every One of You.

(Yep, that means you are obligated to do them)

Care for yourself like a 50 million dollar racehorse

Plan Your Life. Allow yourself to have everything you ever wanted.

STOP waiting for LATER. Start NOW! Tomorrow is never a guarantee.

Thank you all for being part of my amazing, extraordinary, wouldn’t change a thing, life. I LOVE YOU.