Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Laugh of the Day... Squirrel!

Hi Max!

Had to share this strand of postings from a friend of mine's FB page... he broke a mug and here are his friends' thoughts on how to "cover it up" (Look at Carole and Debbie's):

Chris Brown
the unforgivable - i broke a co-workers coffee cup. what should I do?
about an hour ago · Like ·
Cari Knapp likes this.

Nancy Rein Larson If you need to ask FB this question you got serious issues.
about an hour ago · Like

Chris Brown LOL - issues aside [i concede that point] it is not FB i am asking, it is the people and friends that I connect with here, Nancy. but... you knew that, didn't you. =0) I am looking for 1. creative, 2. sarcastic, or 3. heart warming ideas...
about an hour ago · Like

Carole Sanek male or female?
about an hour ago · Like

Chris Brown uh- my assistant's, Val
about an hour ago · Like

Nancy Rein Larson You be a man. Walk up to her tell her I'm sorry I broke your coffee mug. I'll buy you a new one by lunch time. Any particular color? Geez what was so difficult with that????
about an hour ago · Like

Viki Hettinger It could be a long day!
about an hour ago · Like

Carole Sanek Sarcastic? and she is your assistant NOT!!!! Get creative quickly - open a window, draw little squirrel footprints where the coffee cup was, cut a few strands of hair (cut them short) say you grabbed the little b*st*rd by the tail after you found the evidence
about an hour ago · Like · 5 people

Jen Machalicek A new mug with a few Starbuck's cards tucked inside.
about an hour ago · Like · 2 people

Connie Simon She knows you're sorry from the look on your face. Now just tell. Don't get just any cup. Find a special one for her.
about an hour ago · Like

Nancy Rein Larson Unless it's from the Ming dynasty then you are screwed. Take a second mortgage on your house for that replacement!
about an hour ago · Like

Chris Brown OMG- you guys are awesome. keep 'em coming...
about an hour ago · Like

Val Gonzalez Mendoza Simple... Crate & barrel by millennia mall....lol just kidding !
about an hour ago · Like

Val Gonzalez Mendoza My favorite ???? Jen's !!!!!!! :))))))))
about an hour ago · Like

Chris Brown I like Carole's idea.... seeking squirrel fur as we speak...
about an hour ago · Like · 1 person

Carole Sanek thank you Chris Brown I can get very creative when I need to be
about an hour ago · Like

Kathi Adkins Super Glue back together and sheepishly hand it back to her
about an hour ago · Like · 1 person

Rob Arnold I like Jen's answer. Going to have to kiss up to her today.
55 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Kathryn Llamas Cardinal punishment!....Nothing but a year's worth of Starbucks coffee would suffice....
54 minutes ago · Like · 2 people

Dawn Marie Sypniewski Rodriguez Give her the day off to grieve......=)
you can also go to a craft store like Michaels or Jo Ann's, they have coffee mugs you can buy and design them yourself... you can personalize it however you want just for her!!!!
49 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Chris Brown ‎Kathryn Llamas - i dont know if i could afford that!
48 minutes ago · Like

Chris Brown ‎Dawn - that is a cool idea. i am afraid that it would result in a blank white mug. i am not that creative when it comes to that stuff... =0(
47 minutes ago · Like

Dawn Marie Sypniewski Rodriguez Time to get creative!!!!! Lol....=)
42 minutes ago · Like

Mike Jones Put it in the garbage and they'll think it's missing! C'mon all of you know that's what you were thinking... you just didn't have the guts to say it :)
32 minutes ago · Like · 1 person

Debbie Smith Seiber I like the squirrel idea however, you need a video to accompany the story. Have a coworker video it from their phone... Buy a toy squirrel, show you wrestling with the squirrel for the mug (explains the left squirrel fur), as the mug is falling; you are falling to the ground to catch the mug (reenact this in slow motion.. Sound as well), the squirrel pushes you just as you are catching it, mug falls to the ground.. crashes & breaks, squirrel jumps up on window sill turns back to give you that " squirrelly little look", then takes off for another office building to never be found. That should do it!
22 minutes ago · Like

And of course, here is Val's next coffee mug... wait for it...


Haha! Love it!

Have a great day at "school" today! Love you.

Blessings,

Max's Dad (Michael)

Friday, June 24, 2011

We're about ready for affirmations with you, Max...

Hi Max!

Wanted to share this video with you because I am such a believer in affirmations and I can't wait to share this with you when you can put them into play.

Here's the video: "Click here!"

Blessings,

Max's Dad (Michael)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Just had to upload this photo from Festival of the Trails! This is YOU!...

Hi Max!

If I had to pick a pic for your demeanor, this would be it. You are ALWAYS so dang happy! :) This picture instantly brings a smile to my face, just like thinking about you does. Great photo and you are really in your element going down the "bouncy house slide".

Blessings,

Max's Dad (Michael)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Fathers Day!

Hi Max!

Thank you for surprising me with breakfast in bed and the awesome picture book today for Fathers Day! You're first book! The day is only halfway done and I'm looking forward to the second half! :). Love you.

Blessings!

Max's Dad (Michael)

Saturday, June 18, 2011

06-18-11: Serving Leads to Deserving...

Hi Max!

Was just thinking about you today and was compelled to share this message with you:

Servlng leads to deserving. I've been credited with that quote and if I'd love to have one preceding my name, this would be one. There are so many strengths to leading with serving.

1) Serving leads to deserving. As you increasingly help others, your capacity and ability to help grows - like a muscle - the more you work it, the stronger it gets. You meet people who can help more people better and faster and solve their problems and challenges faster and at a higher level. Your network of helpers (I call this your Team) gets larger, stronger, better, and more precise. Rather than having a few tools in your tool chest, you have an arsenal of tools that work in many places.

2) Serving leads to deserving. Serving people and "serving the time" leads to a feeling of deserving the rewards. When Vijay Singh knocked Tiger Woods off the perch of the #1 Ranking of PGA Tour golfers, he had hit 1000 balls per day every day. He practiced daily and pursued the endeavor with full focus and intensity. The result: he knocked what many consider the greatest golfer of our time off the #1 spot*. When asked how he did it, Singh responded, "I hit 1000 balls per day every day... I worked harder than anybody else. I deserve #1." When you serve, you deserve. Many people don't get referrals in business because they don't feel like they deserve the referrals. "I'm not good enough. I don't work hard enough. I don't have the experience/I am new. I am part-time. I don't have a team. I don't deserve this." are all comments that equate to excuses. When you work hard, you feel you deserve the rewards. When you serve many people, you feel you deserve the business and the referrals. (*By the way, read this article and look at the quotes about Vijay Singh on his way to #1. Do you see some correlations to the Generosity Generation here? Click here)

3) Serving leads to deserving. As you serve more people, your self-esteem rises. Dr. Karl Menninger was asked, "What should a person do if he felt a 'nervous breakdown' coming on?" He said: "Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need, and do something for them." Not just those at the desperate end of the spectrum can benefit from helping others. We find our own value in helping others. We help a person and it feels good. We find that we are useful. We help another and we feel even better and we find that we are even more useful. Continue to give and help, and you find your usefulness to the world almost immeasurable. Our value to the world is determined by our value to the people of the world. The Law of Compensation says the greater our value to the world, the higher our compensation (the more the world will pay us for our help). Dave Ramsey, in his study of billionaires, found two common characteristics of these highest of the high earners - they were consistent (the tortoise always wins) and they were givers. Do you think they were givers first or billionaires?

There are many more reasons "Serving Leads to Deserving", but these are three of the most important. Many of the people I speak to are sales people and they need to take this to heart - after all, the root word for "to sell" is "sellan" which means "to give" or "to serve" (read that in The Go-Giver).

Max, you are a natural-born server. I have seen you help your classmates, your mother, me, and others without even knowing that what you were doing is out of the ordinary. You get it and I love that about you. As you get older, I hope this talent takes you far and my bits of what I've learned over time helps you hone that talent.

Blessings!

Max's Dad (Michael)

P.S. Dr. Karl Meninger has some of my favorite quotes:

On love
"Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."

On love II
"Love is a medicine for the sickness of the world; a prescription often given, too rarely taken."

On love III
"One does not fall into love; one grows into love, and love grows in him."

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Had to share... Family + Festival = FUN!

Hi Max!

Had to share this from this weekend! :) We had some fun at the Festival of Trails in Gardner, KS. Too funny! Goofy times! It was a Happy Birthday for me - lots of laughter.

Click on the picture to see a larger image.

Blessings,

Max's Dad (Michael)

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Happy Birthday... to me! :) The Horoscope & a #1...

Hi Max!

You are sleeping now. It is 11:23 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2011. Today happens to also be my Birthday. And a great one it has turned out to be.

First, last night at 6:10 p.m. (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication hit #1 in the Real Estate category on Amazon.com. Your daddy has written a #1 National Best-seller! As you may or may not "be conscious" of, I have said an affirmation for 3 years now: "I am a #1 National Best-selling Author!" I have said it over 1000 times in the morning. And even through best-seller status and the continued sales, I kept the #1 as part of the affirmation - not knowing the difficulty, luck, and work it would take to be #1. The amazing thing is this feeling of a large weight being lifted off my mind. Now, I can replace that giant thought, that DREAM with another BIGGER DREAM. Hmmm. What should my new affirmation be?

I have to share this with you. I am not a huge Horoscope person, but I always read it on my Birthday - you know, just to see how my year will go. :) Well, today's stopped me in my tracks. Wait until you read this! (And yes, I read it to you this morning, but at 2.5 you don't appreciate it now as much as you will later). Here it is:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! June 11, 2011 ***** Dynamic Day: This year, call on your creativity with children and romance. You will enjoy yourself more, as will those around you. Funnel some of this fun imagination into your daily life. If you are bored, do whatever you need to do to revitalize your days. You could change the hours you work and create a new feeling. SCORPIO always adds a practical element to your life."

Okay... WHOA! Did you notice anything about that paragraph? How about that last sentence? Out of all the signs, this said one sign: SCORPIO... SCORPIO is YOUR SIGN! Wow! Just an amazing horoscope because this is going to be an incredible year - I can feel it. Two phrases come to mind as I think about 6-11-11 to 6-11-12: "Critical Mass" and "Going Global". I don't know why, but those keep coming up and pop into my mind at absurd times. But what that horoscope AND this post will do is re-focus my mind to what is most important: you, family, fun, recreation, and time to stop and smell the roses.

We went to the Festival of the Trails today in Gardner and had a blast. Can't wait to share those pictures! Next time...

Blessings,

Max's Dad (Michael)

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

05-28&29-11 Sunday is Son-Day... THE TRAIN!

Hi Max!

This weekend was Memorial Day Weekend and as always, we had the Maher Family Reunion in Independence. Any doubts as to how good your memory is were erased when you instantly asked if we were going to ride the train again. Sheri and I had a big laugh. Then, for the next 3 hours, you said, "Ride the train? Ride the train?" It was cute the first time, not so cute the next 900 times. :)

As we turned into the Independence (KS) Park, the first thing you saw was the REAL train that is parked at the Park for people to climb on and see a train up close. Nevermind the water slides, full-size fighter jet, dinosaur slides, pool, putt-putt golf center, and other distractions (er, I mean attractions). :) You were all about the trains. But alas... a hitch in our plans... the train that goes around the park was DOWN! Battery dead and no driver according to the rumors! I thought, "Oh boy."

You took the news a lot better than I thought. We sat down to eat and you were pretty focused on making a mess - and eating some. After lunch, you played trucks and cars with the other kids. Your big dump truck was a hit and besides fitting dirt and branches was the right height for you to run and push it - or is that push it and run? :) You were momentarily distracted. We ate, talked to relatives (relatives who really love YOU: Great-Aunt Linda, Great-Uncle Dan, Great-Uncle Jim, Great-Grandma Maher (still sharp as a tack), Taina, Nancy, Teresa, Paula, Uncle Rob, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Susan, Uncle Steve, Uncle Brian, Grandma Maher, and cousins Allie, Brady, Luke, Marissa, and Daniel). It was a great reunion - the most I've seen at a reunion.

You and I happened to be right next to each other when we heard, "WOO WOOOOOOO!" The train's whistle had blown and it was up and running again! Knowing that it could be one of only a few circles the train would make, I grabbed you and we made our way to the train. Fifty cents later (yes 50 cents) you and I had our tickets and were in line. They opened to gate, we went towards the front (same seat as last year?), and before we knew it, we were yelling, "All Aboard!" and we were riding THE TRAIN!

You loved it! We talked about the pool, the slides, the water, the jet, the child statues in the middle of the park, the dinosaur, the carousel, the giant slides, and the putt-putt golf center. It was like you were seeing them for the first time (again). It was almost like your entire focus was the train and now that you had achieved your goal of riding the train, the entire park came into view.

We waved at mommy and she took the photos. The conductor was kind enough to go around twice and we saw things we missed the first time around (can't look to both sides at the same time! :) It was great to ride the train with you. Makes me look forward to next year's Maher Family Reunion at Independence Park.

Blessings,

Max's Dad (Michael)

P.S. We also stopped by a carnival and had some more fun! Photos -->