GOOD TIMES A-COMING!

Hurray! The ten years described as The Decade From Hell by TIME magazine are ending. This is a momentous thing. In fact, I personally am more excited about this second decade of the 21st Century than I ever was about the dawn of 2000 with all its hyped up Y2K fears. Not that a sizable segment of the population isn't trying to sell a doom and gloom vision of the immediate and forseeable future. A good friend of mine, who used to be an optimist, has apparently come under the influence of the right wing torrent of Obama hatred and belief in the decline and fall of the American way of life.

He writes:

The Republic is in decline and there are perhaps 9-10 trends/factors/forces that could really whack us more badly or derail us entirely this decade.

Sorry, but I don't buy it. Not that there won't be challenges. We are in a period of perhaps our greatest transformation. Economic, social, political transformation. There will be stumbles as with any major paradigm shift. Some people will be hurt by holding on to the old beliefs and behaviors despite the changes. But others will triumph beyond their wildest dreams by seizing the opportunities that will appear. And who are those people who are most resisting the change, kicking and screaming as they are dragged into what I like to think of as a do over of the New Millennium. The old guard, the fat cats who have been purring throughout it all with huge bonuses and larger shares of the nation's wealth. Of course they want the status quo--they're at the top of the heap now and see themselves headed in one direction only as more and more people participate in living their dreams. And so they lie and scheme and finance radical radio and poisonous blogs.

Of course these enemies of the Republic don't want universal health care--it may level the playing field a bit. Oh, boo hoo, it may raise my taxes to cover thirty million more people who don't now have coverage. But think about this--just a handful of those thirty million, unencumbered by untreated conditions or scrambling to pay for medical services or not dying too young, may be exactly the people who innovate us out of the most serious of our current challenges and obstacles. Accounts of the early life of Bill Gates indicate he had some health issues. What if his parents couldn't afford superior health care? Or Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak?

There are some who have lost faith in our ability to innovate ourselves out of any problem, and this includes some in the environmental movement as well as some avid anti-government diehards. But the truth is that just one aspect of this new era has the capacity to change the entire game. The Internet. I have written before about hardly anyone understanding its true power and significance. Imagine a world in which everyone is potentially connected to everyone else--instantly. Well that world is happening right now, and those who learn to navigate through the overwhelming piles of information bombarding us every moment will have amazing success.

Rather than nine or ten trends that could "whack us badly," I see trends that can lift us dramatically, propel us forward into a wondrous decade of accomplishment and personal power. Does big government get in the way of some of this? In some ways, absolutely. But you can allow yourself to get derailed railing against the abuses of government or stay on track and reap the benefits of the profound changes coming.

One such trend, that many upcoming entrepreneurial success stories will be stimulated and inspired by is the increasing devotion to personal service, to human contact in this increasing age of electronic communication. As I wrote over thirty years ago during the very initial stages of the computer revolution, with more dehumanization in the culture, those people who can deliver superior human services will triumph. And despite the unbiquitous robotic computer generated voices answering most customer service questions nowadays, there are an ever-growing number of companies actually training real, live people in dealing with clients and customers with intelligence and courtesy. This will be an increasing trend in the new decade--and it means jobs and a more pleasant business and personal environment for all of us.

And more and more people are thinking "outside the box" to deal with the major challenges of the day. Paying for extra healthcare coverage? How about major taxation of all the rich foreigners who come to the U.S. for our better medical facilities and practitioners?

So my suggestion for what I will continue to think of as the start of The New Millennium is to party like there's no tomorrow with the certainty that tomorrow will be even better.

Happy New Everything!

Jerry

And by the way, this new year, new decade, and self-created New Millennium means for me a new approach to life and my career. Read all about it on my other blog,

www.MoneyloveBlog.com under

PROSPERITY COACHING--RESTARTING THE

NEW MILLENNIUM.

HOW NEW WILL YOUR NEW YEAR BE?

So, here it comes, 2010, a new year--but is it for you? In the midst of my own campaign to have us consider this impending milestone as the chance to do over The New Millennium that didn't produce the results we hoped for in 2000-2009, I am looking at what I am willing to do to assure that it will indeed be a new year for me.

Most research on the psychology of human behavior seems to agree with one basic point: in order to change our lives, we have to do some new things in new ways.

And sometimes we can shake up our imaginations by choosing to do new things that may not seem profound or life-changing, but merely give us some inkling of a new perspective, maybe even a new paradigm.

And three easy tasks you could set for yourself in three areas of life:

1. Learn something new.

Right now, I am considering salsa lessons, though I haven't made a final decision yet. To find out if I choose this one and accomplish my goal, you'll have to check me out at next year's New Year's Eve party.

2. Travel to some new place.

This doesn't have to be some farflung destination, but can be somewhere fairly close and inexpensive to reach that you just haven't checked out before.

3. Taste something new.

This one's easy for me. Since my release from prison, I have been not only savoring the exquisite pleasure of foods I hadn't had for twelve years, but trying new delights like my current adventure in gourmet olives. And I realized I have never, in my entire life, tasted a luxury food often written about and elevated to almost cult status by gourmands and gourmets: truffles. I have no idea what they taste like, though I know they are related to mushrooms. So my first trip down that culinary path will be a small jar of Truffled Sea Salt from:

http://www.gourmetfoodstore.com/condiments/

This is the company I've recently gotten some of my new favorite olives from, and I love my little spice grinder with a mix called Grains of Desire (who could resist that name?) It consists of black peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, orange rind, red rose petals (do these taste different than white or yellow roses?), grains of paradise (I'll have to Google that one), and ginseng. Opulence itself and for only $5.75 per 1.3 ounce grinder, which should last months even using it as my substitute for pepper.

So I've just designed a task for myself--to taste one new food every month for the next year. I've already got my eye on Maple Bacon Pretzels as a possible follow-up to my Truffled Sea Salt.

http://vibrantflavors.foodzie.com/maple-bacon-pretzels.html

The truffled sea salt is maybe the single most expensive food item I've every purchased, $35.50 for 3.4 ounces. But that seems a small price to pay to join the millionaires and jet setters who discuss the various kinds of summer and winter truffles, and whether they are more effectively dug up by pigs or dogs.

Of course, I could go completely overboard and order one piece of fresh Italian white truffle weighing in at half an ounce for just under $200. But I'll see how I like my first sniff and first particle of the truffled sea salt on my tongue first. And for me to even ever consider spending that much, it had better be in the same class as an authentic Philadelphia cheesesteak, delicious French Fries, a fresh baked loaf of Italian or French bread, or dark chocolate covered blueberries in terms of taste sensations. I've never been one to become attached to a food that you have to grow accustomed to after a disappointing first taste just because everyone else says it's wonderful.

And one of the things that is wonderful about today's world is that we don't have to be world travelers to discover all these amazingly diverse foods--they're all just a click away online. And the only downside is you have to be careful not to drool all over your keyboard.

Jerry

THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

Well, my inspiration for this post came from my coming up with a new strategy for my personal growth and self-awareness, to list three triumphs each day of my life from now on. I've even been putting them on my Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/jerry.gillies

And this started me thinking about how many things come in threes for me. One area that stands out is the three ways in which I've most changed since paroling from 12 years of prison and walking out the doors of Folsom a little over a year ago. Some friends have even pointed out to me some of these big changes they've noticed. One friend who has known me over thirty years said what was most noticeable is my dramatically increased level of discipline. This may be largely responsible for my jump in creative production--I am writing more and creating more projects and following through on them more effectively than ever before.

So we have:

1. Discipline

Next, and related to that, is preparation. I never used to prepare for anything, going way back to tests in elementary school all the way through my career as a speaker--just thinking about what I was going to say in the moments before walking out onto the stage. I prided myself on my spontaneity and ability to work without notes. An example of this was the huge summit conference in 1967, when Russian premier Kosygin came to talk to President Lyndon Johnson in Glassboro, New Jersey. As the closest location of all six Westinghouse Broadcasting radio stations, we at KYW in Philadelphia were largely responsible for the coverage, though the two top network anchors were handling the actual summit coverage. I was with the press pool in the gym at Glassboro State College. All of a sudden, communications went down in the auditorium, where the actual discussion between the Americans and the Russians was taking place. And, as one of the newest reporters/newsmen on the scene, I had to adlib my way through the next two hours as the technical staff worked on the problem. After this experience, thinking on my feet in any situation was a breeze.

But now I have added more preparation into my work, as exemplified with going over a coaching client's answers to my 110 Questions For 2010 before doing our session, and jotting notes, and even designing some specific tasks and subjects based on those answers. It's new for me, and therefore interesting and fun. So:

2. Preparation.

And finally, collaboration. I have always been a loner, most writers are. And this has served me well. Solitude has been my friend, and I can't ever remember ever feeling bored or lonely while keeping my own company. But now, after paroling, I find myself enjoy the benefits of enlisting the support and assistance of others. Several entrepreneurs have reached out to me to help with my Internet education, and I am contemplating a whole host of ways to join together in rewarding and profitable ventures with others. So, definitely:

3. Collaboration.

And if I were to add a fourth new skill I've developed since being in prison, actually it was a big help during my incarceration, it would be actually counting my blessings.

My listing of three daily triumphs is part of that process. Of course, years ago, I developed the Joyful and Triumphant Fund, in which every great event in my life would be celebrated with a hundred dollar bill (more on this in my Moneylove Manifesto at http://www.MoneyloveBlog.com). But this has greatly expanded, I am most certainly more immersed in gratitude and appreciation today than earlier in my life. And one of the things I am most grateful for and feel most blessed by are my friendships. Though I don't recommend it as a strategy, prison definitely lets you know who your real friends are.

This area also tends to come in threes for me. At least in terms of three friends who have been there through it all, and with whom I maintain very close contact on a frequent basis. That's Susannah Lippman in New Mexico, Rupa Cousins in Vermont, and Mary Ann Somervill in Florida. Two are former lovers (no, I won't tell you which two, even us men sometimes have to maintain an air of mystery, and you will have to read all my blogs and books, past and future, to find out) and all are today dear and precious friends. I learn from all of them, they are all in some form of healing and extremely aware, and have created interesting and satisfying lifestyles for themselves, and never seem to get older. In fact, they are glowing testimonials to the benefits of being my friend--and attracting them as friends will forever be a shining example of my brilliance and magnificent judgment in choosing and good fortune in having their friendship.

Sorry if I seem too full of myself and self-congratulatory today. I forgot to put on my Gloat Prevention Patch before starting to write this.

Jerry

IS TIGER AN ENDANGERED SPECIES?

So the funniest line I've heard on the whole Tiger Woods episode was from Jay Leno:

What's the difference between Tiger Woods and Santa Claus? The answer: Santa only has three "Ho"s.

Tiger has done much to prove that golf is not boring, and now he takes this to a new level. Or rather, the media does. After all, he was doing pretty well in keeping it quiet for years, until apparently his wife found out. And now, like clowns pouring out of a tiny car, a procession of bimbos is pouring out, each one more anxious than the last to confess all. C'mon now, this guy makes Casanova look like Mr. Rogers...and he's a champion athlete on top of this.

What amazes me about the whole story is how proudly these assorted cocktail waitresses and such come forth. I mean, I can see one woman being proud to be the mistress of a celebrity, but to come out and say you are one of a dozen or more (do you think, in a pinch, he could name them all?) What is this, pride in numbers?

I do admire the restraint of comedians in not bringing up the comical connotations of "balls" and "clubs", but, after all, how could comic minds resist this one? Pity the poor cartoonists, and since I write gags for several of the best ones, I appreciate their dilemma. This tale is too short-lived as an object of public attention to get out cartoons that require lots of lead time. Most such scandals and tabloid stories don't make it as cartoons, except perhaps in The New Yorker, with a shorter deadline and weekly publication.

And considering that golfers don't have cheerleaders, or get to grab each other's asses on a playing field, or until now did not seem to have groupies, I say it's overdue attention. And considering all the men for whom sexual conquest is only present in vague long term memory bursts from the past, but they still make it out onto the golf course, this must be a very gratifying story. They would probably be singing, "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" if it weren't for disapproving wives or the grown-up uptight children they live with.

And how naive do you have to be to think that Tiger seduced a single one of these women rather than the other way around? A more plausible scenario is something like, "I just love to watch you play, Mr. Woods, and I'm not wearing any underwear." Let's face it, he's perhaps the best at his sport in history, the highest paid athlete ever, good looking, and has a gorgeous wife. Is there one of these women likely to ever again do something to make headlines? Yes, I know, it's sad. But hopefully they had a good time during the event itself.

An athlete engages in a physical activity that feels good..what a shock. Oh yes, he betrayed his wife. Well, she must be feeling pretty satisfied at getting her own back. And she evidently didn't do the "stand by her man looking humiliated while he confessed at a news conference" dance. And think how quickly this could have turned from comedy to tragedy if she had used a gun or chainsaw instead of a golf club. Good for her, she chose an appropriate limited response (our miliary in Iraq and Afghanistan could learn a thing or two). And the man himself has managed it very well by not coming up with excuses, not saying it was all alcohol-related and that he's checking into rehab. He's impressive in his restraint and dignity despite the circumstances. And stay or leave, she is a multimillionaire several times over. I'm sorry, I can think of a few other people in these economic times that might cause me to shed a tear or two.

And at least by sticking with him, his sponsors are not hypocrites, and realize that more people than ever will be wanting to watch him play. On the course and off, I know I'll probably offend some of you by applauding the ultimate swinger.

I know, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.

Jerry

So you want more serious topics, life-affirming and motivational in nature, perhaps with specific strategies to improve your life and your bank account? Then check out my www.MoneyloveBlog.com