Well, here is my first stab at a blog post. It has been a long time coming. I find myself to be quite private so this is a unique moment to break out of that protective shell and start sharing what I find to be important ideas regarding discovering my personal “Owner’s Manual”. This is what I call “Life in Training” and it really encompasses a journey I have been on for many years. Of course, my thoughts and concepts will not resonate with everyone. Yet I believe there is a large enough subset of individuals that would embrace these concepts wholeheartedly.

I would like to start by sharing a poem that I have lived by for many years. I’m not exactly sure where I first read it and evidently, it has been falsely attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Regardless of who wrote it, this is the version that I memorized many years ago:

“Success”

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

I have been at the threshold of life and death a few times where I was forced to ask the important questions. In each instance, my death appeared a foregone conclusion so once the obligatory regrets were distilled I wound up with one potent question: Has my life been a success? And this poem has always helped me keep in perspective what it really means to have been successful. Sure, given enough time there is always more we could have potentially done. Yet if today was your last day in this body would you choose to see your life as the sum of what you didn’t accomplish or focus on what it was that you did which made a difference.

So to all of you stumbling upon this site or post for the first time: Thank you for coming and I hope what you find here can potentially enhance your life in some small way.

Warren Hollinger
Feb 22, 2019