Transcript here - KissMyALS

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.