Don’t get me wrong – I’m a very fortunate person.  I am still blessed with having my parents – 94 and 87 yrs old.   I’ve woken up every Christmas morning of my life in the home of my parents.  It’s a time to feel a little like a child again.   Having said that, I am also an only child and the care of my parents falls to me. 

In a way, this is also one of the saddest times of my life.  My dad has Alzheimer’s and his memory is failing rapidly.  What a horrible disease.  To see such a vital and productive person become someone you can no longer have a conversation with or doesn’t even remember what happened 10 minutes ago.  Many have gone through this before me, but it doesn’t ease the pain.  He is very healthy (organ wise) – no medications whatsoever – but the quality of life is gone.

My mother is taking care of him, but her health is not good.  She will not give in to place her husband of 70 years in a nursing home, although she is really not able to care for him.  My did will not allow anyone else to do anything for him and my mother won’t force the situation.   

Now, one of the biggest dilemmas of my life unfolds – how to take care of both of them properly and still be a good daughter. 

I’m not sure why I’m sharing this very personal part of my life except to let others know they are not alone in these situations.  It has recently come to my attention that several people I know are going through the same thing, but they don’t know who to talk to about it. 

I’m not an authority on this subject, but I’ve been going through this for 5or 6 years.  There is a lot of information on the internet regarding the subject, but one of the best books I’ve found is given out free by the Alzheimer’s Association.  It is Coach Broyles‘ Playbook for Alzheimer’s Caregivers.   www.alzheimersplaybook.com.  It would be well worth your time to get a copy even if you are in this situation, but you might know someone that could use the information.

Thanks for listening.  I’ll give you an update as things progress.

This morning I came across some things that started me thinking.  

I want to help you to achieve more goals this year than you have ever done before; your future depends on it.  But first let us answer some basic questions.  What is a Goal?  According to Webster, “a goal is the point set as the end of the race; an end towards which one directs his exertions; an aim or objective.”

But you may be asking yourself, “Why do I need a goal?  Why do I need to be going any place?  I’ve set goals before and failed, why should I bother?”  You have heard it said more than once,  “Without vision, the people perish.”  You joined your business because you had a dream, a vision, a desire to achieve a goal.  You may try to deny it, but it is still deep, somewhere inside of you.

Some of the greatest successes have resulted after many failures.  Failure is not as an end, but rather a means of strengthening your character.  Achieving your goal is not the major purpose.  It is what you become in the pursuit of that goal that makes all the difference.  Goals and goal setting is more about who you become in the process, rather than what you have achieved in the end.

So how do you achieve your goal?  To reach your goal you must be specific.  Just saying you want to make more money is too vague.  If your goal is vague you will never achieve it.  Make a list of all of the benefits that achieving your goal will make in your life.  The more things on your list the greater the motivation will be in achieving your goal.  Let’s begin today just like it was January 1, 2009!

“If you don’t have a ”why” then you’ll always despise the how!”