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“Escape from Rockford...” #canon_photos #photooftheday #abandoned #abandonedplaces #rockford #rockfordil #rockfordillinois #gasstation #16imaging #tomleu >> prints at 16Imaging.com

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shiFt=to change=perspective

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#SoundMattersRadio episode 049 excerpts with @jimflorentine from @thatmetalshow on @1440wrok >> full episode #interview link in bio #radio #radioshow #talkshow #talkradio #jimflorentine #tomleu #podcast #podcasting #itunes #iheartradio #stitcher >> www.SoundMatters.tv

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Since first meeting him in 1985, #bunecarlos has always been very generous with his time, and support appearing on my previous TV show, as well as doing a book drop for me years ago. A class act past & present. Thanks Bun! #cheaptrick #rockhall #rockandrollhalloffame #drummer #drummers #16imaging #tomleu

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#haveagoodday #genius #rawk

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Thanks to Joel from the @empower_good #podcast for having me on today. Props to Joel for the great convo & #interview. Looking forward to the episode’s release soon.

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7 Habits of the Unhappy

Facebook reminded me that I posted this, on this day, nine years ago already. Still stands up, because this is the shit that holds most of us up if not attended to ongoing. And um, yeah, I still struggle with some of this stuff myself to this day. Progress, not perfection folks. Heed the words...

If a person consistently engages in any or all of the following; discontent and disillusionment will certainly arise and become a reality. Fair warning…

1. Seeking approval from others. This is natural, but only to a point. If approval-seeking dominates your life; do you really have life? Needing inordinate amounts of acceptance and validation from others indicates that you haven’t yet given it to yourself. If we don’t truly value ourselves first, no amount of accolades or approval from others will ever suffice.

2. Needing to be right. This is a version of approval-seeking. Often, in an ill-fated effort to get respect, some will sacrifice personal contentment for perceived correctness. Being right becomes more important than doing what’s right. At some point, usually later in life for most, we realize and accept the greater value of happiness versus justice; peace versus piety. Am I right?

3. Making small compromises. Just as we all walk before we run; it’s the little things that always lead to the big things sooner or later. Cutting corners and little white lies add up until we find ourselves cornered in a black hole of life. Stunned, we wonder how we ever got here. Pro tip: if you have to be discreet; you probably shouldn’t be doing it. 4. Living in the past. We often romanticize the past, recreating it in our minds as something better than it really was. But it probably wasn’t necessarily better, it was just different. It was a different time, with different circumstances, usually involving different people, sharing different life experiences. This escape to the “past tense” sometimes produces past tension. On the other hand, you can’t move on from something until you’ve been there first. We need not run from, nor regret the past; simply respect it for what it was, and more importantly, who it has made us today.

5. Living in the future. Rushing toward a future full of promise is another epidemic of the chronically unhappy. Planning and preparing for tomorrow is good and necessary for survival, but not at the expense of being present today. A better tomorrow can never really become a reality if today is side-stepped or skipped-over. Looking ahead cannot eclipse living in the here-and-now.

6. Over-indulging in substitutes. Substitutes are any vice, device or distraction we use to be anywhere else but in the present moment, feeling the shit we don’t like to feel. Substitutes provide temporary escapes from a sometimes uncomfortable or painful reality. It can be as simple as shopping or as debilitating as drug addiction. Not all escape mechanisms are “bad,” we just need to have awareness of them and use wisdom around them. Whatever the substitutes, just be conscious of the amount, frequency and motives behind their use, as well as the consequences produced from their use. Bad shit keeps happening when you do this or that? But you keep doing it anyway? Time to take a hard look at you, more so than it...

7. Going it alone. Unhappy people are often solo-artists.They are those who rarely ask for help. Whether this “help” is personal, professional, or spiritual in nature, they consistently reject assistance in most cases, most of the time. They’ll often play the introversion card (one I carry with me as a matter of fact), and while that may be a fact for many, it’s still a slippery-slope. It’s been written that “God either is or he isn’t.” This isn’t about religion. But this may be about some kind of higher power that offers a person help, hope, and possibly even happiness (eventually). It makes little difference whether you prefer to describe this “higher power” as a god, a group, diety, source, tradition, doorknob, or any other noun used to describe the indescribable; it’s an inside job. Most people at least acknowledge the possible existence of some sort of infinite presence in the world. Do we always recognize or understand this presence? Unlikely. Have we ever seen evidence of it in the lives of others or in our own lives at times? Most likely. Is it possible that there’s more to know? Certainly. Dismissal, denial, and rejection often immediately precedes acceptance. You are not alone, nor do you have to go it alone. It’s OK to ask for help. It’s counter-intuitive for many, because asking for help is actually a sign of strength, not weakness.

Both happiness and unhappiness typically involve good habits to be harnessed, and bad habits to be broken. Both are learned, and can be unlearned.

“Challenge What’s Possible; Choose New Paths; Change Yourself; Change the World...”

©2009 Tom Leu

www.tomleu.com 

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I keep running into this rock 'n roll icon through the years... Mr. Bun E. Carlos, formerly of Cheap Trick. #cheaptrick #drummer

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Cool, my current Twitter follower count has grown to the ominous '666'... Yes! Is there any symbolism here? Hell No! 😉 #punintended #pun #twitter @tomleu

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Photo by @cijayimaging - a little extra fun processing by yours truly. #drummer #drumming #drums

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The new "16Imaging" t-shirt looks quite cool if I say so myself... #tshirt #tshirtdesign #photography

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Timing is everything... 🤘🏻#youonlyliveonce

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So glad to see that my article of "mostly motivational speaker fluff" is good enough to prompt this person to change their blog slogan to my (very non-fluffish) title: ACTION OVER APPREHENSION! Bravo (Katie at trackmyfit), bravo... :))

"Don’t tell me what you’re gonna do; tell me what you did." ~ Dale Earnardt

Now, I’m not a NASCAR fan by any means, but my step-dad mentioned this quote this morning and I liked it. This is a reminder to those of you who struggle with how far you have to go, rather than remembering how far you’ve come.

When I googled this quote, I came across this article by Tom Leu. While the article as a whole is mostly motivational speaker fluff, there were a couple of paragraphs which prompted me to change my “slogan” from “Katie’s Attempt at Fitness” to “Action Over Apprehension.”

"Everyone gets scared and apprehensive at times, it’s normal. But when you’re scared, uncertain, or not confident…those are the times that action is an absolute must. Get up and DO something, anything. “Failing Forward” is better than “Stagnating Still.”  Turn and run straight into the unknown by facing your fears.

…you have to learn how to separate your intentions from your actions. We measure ourselves by our intentions while everyone else measures us by our actions. Nobody really cares what you’re going to do tomorrow; they want to know what you are doing today. The late Nascar great, Dale Earnhardt used to say, “Don’t tell me what you’re gonna do; tell me what you did.” At the end of the day, that’s all there is… Action Over Apprehension."

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The true genius shudders at incompleteness - and usually prefers silence to saying something which is not everything it should be.

Edgar Allan Poe

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Calm poise reveals the shortest route home. #quote

Alan Cohen

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Gratitude today, and everyday.

©2011 Tom Leu

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I hope you “see.”

©2011 Tom Leu