What a wonderful time of year. The grass is green, the sun is shining and the days are getting longer! And, oh yeah, how could I forget graduations are in full swing?

So here is to you, Graduate, and a nice reminder to us all. Short and sweet!

Three Simple Things:

# 1 ATTITUDE

This is yours. It is the one thing, the only thing I might add, that you have total control over. This is unless you hand control over to someone else. I implore you to never allow your attitudeto be controlled by others. You have heard that “Perception is Reality?” Your Perception stems from your attitude; therefore, if your attitude is good your perception will be good and your reality will be great! For you see, Good + Good = Great!

Attitude – never ever forget that yours is yours and yours alone!

# 2 THE BIG PICTURE

Picture yourself as the only human being left on earth. Even for an introvert such as myself, being totally alone forever is a depressing thought. My point is that people are necessary, and yes all people, although that is pretty hard to comprehend at times. They may not all agree with you or like doing the things you like doing, but believe it or not, they are all necessary. In the Big Pictureof everybody in the world, where do you fit in? What can you contribute to the greater good of everybody? You have a talent that is unique to only you. Discovering that talent and putting it to use for the greater good will far outpace putting your talents to use for selfish pursuits over the long run.

The Big Picture – you are not the sole person in this world, nor want to be, remember that!

 # 3 HOUSING

You all, I’m sure, have heard of the following two phrases:

• You are what you eat
• No pain, no gain

Food fuels our bodies, and we all have different fuel requirements just as airplanes, rockets, tractors, cars, and boats all need fuel. They all use different types of fuels and we humans are no different. There is no one set of fuel for all.

Exercise compensates our bodies for the mostly sedentary lifestyles we live today. But like different fuel requirements, we all have different exercise requirements. Some need to put themselves through excruciating pain to feel as though they have accomplished something whereas others can simply go for a nice stroll through the park.

Our bodies are where we house Attitudes,and our Big Picture. As long as our housing unit does not take away from those two things, all is good. We were not all meant to be Barbie and Ken (or anywhere close thankfully!).

Take care of your House!

In closing, I congratulate you and you alone for this is your accomplishment. You too should congratulate yourself on a job well done — It’s Over!

I hope you will always remember:

• the mind – attitude – is yours to control
• the soul – the big picture – your heart
• the body – housing – simply holds the other two while you are on earth

Keep all three in proportion, for these are you and you alone!

PS Please enjoy the ride as you go!

Quote:“We don’t stop going to school when we graduate.” Carol Burnette

Song: “Take it Easy” – The Eagles

Game Exercise:Take some time this week to simply enjoy the moment. It would be great if you would go for a walk by yourself or go find a nice park bench by yourself and take a few minutes to reflect on all that you have done in your life.