The STU-PENDOUS BLOG!

As I sit in my seat on the plane on route to Vancouver I can’t help but reflect on my day. As a Canadian I am very proud to live in the country that I live in. is one of the most wonderful places on the planet. Our concerns although real and genuine pail in comparison to those of many other countries. I truly believe that every day I should thank my luck stars that I am alive and living here.

Today barely won their hockey game and while I was driving to the airport I tuned into the sports radio station in Toronto . The calls that were coming through to the host were of the direst type. It was as if the world was ending and these athletes were the reason. The fact and reality is that if fails to win a gold medal we will go on… Joe Sakic will continue to make millions of dollars playing hockey. No one will die…

I can not help but wonder what would happen in we all found something else more important to be passionate about. Just a couple of weeks ago I spent my weekend in the hospital with my son Matthew, he had to have his appendix taken out… it was an emergency. The surgery went well and is very routine but even something as simple as that should hold so much more importance in our lives.

Please do not get me wrong I will cheer and sing O’Canada if we win gold but I will sing and cheer every moment of every day that I get to see and hold my kids. Life is short…. live it and find a true passion, something that will give back to you. If Team wins the gold I don’t expect to get a call from Ryan Smith saying thanks for supporting us.

My last thought on this topic comes from a newspaper article that was published a few years ago when a Krispy Kreme opened in London . When the reporter asked a man in the line that was 100 people deep why he would wait so long to try a donought he responded…

“I am here for the experience!”

Take your kids on a hike, watch a sun rise or set, run a marathon, help someone who needs the help, speak out against racism. These are experiences that are to be enjoyed and reasons to be passionate.

Today’s picture comes from this past weekend. RH King Academy came by camp for a campfire. We sat outside and got a chance to experience a real winter campfire in a 30 foot genuine teepee!

Ever make a bad choice? Have you ever looked back on an event or a day and thought… I wish I could have that day back! I know I have, as we grow up and gain maturity we make choices differently. We have a different set of values and we also start to find joy, pain and excitement in different things.

I recently was reminded that I am getting older by a former staff of mine. You see the problem is that I keep getting older and most of my staff keep staying the same age. I have always felt young and always prided myself in the fact that I am fairly forward thinking. The reality is that what a 18 to 21 year old finds important I simply do not anymore.

What’s the point of today’s BLOG? It’s simple… when you make a descision do what I have started doing, look at what you are doing and ask yourself how it may impact you in 4 or 5 years. Will the choice you make today have a negative or a positive impact on you? Trust your gut… if you have a feeling that you are making a bad choice you probably are. If you start to question the outcomes of what you are doing then maybe you should reconsider.

I know I am… I feel better now that I have.

Today’s picture comes from perhaps a bad choice that I made… do not lick a cold pole in the winter!

So here I sit in Fredericton, 6:12am getting a good start to my day. I had planned to get an early start to my day, it’s important to get up and get going. Most people beleive that they need to get a lot of sleep and I have found that each of us is so different. To say that everyone needs to get a minnimum of 8 hours of sleep is wrong. Each of us different, each of us has a different size, age, weight and diet. Each of us requires a different set of daily “intakes” such as food, exercise and sleep.

I remember reading an article a few years ago that said that we should get no more the 4.5 hours of sleep, I then read another book that said that we should get many different little sleeps throughout the day. So who is right? How much sleep should we get?

I have found that my key number is about 5. I am more awake and aware through out the day at around five hours of sleep. Does that mean that I don’t like to get a long cozy winters nap? No, I love my warm bed, but I also love having a FULL day of life! 

Here is that sleep technique that I coach people on… Go to bed after a full day and set your alarm to go off 10 hours later. During the day track how you feel, are you more or less awake? Do you have a need for sleep or are you more alert? Continue each night taking an hour off your sleeping time, keep tracking your physical and mental energy. Eventually you will find your perfect amount of sleep. Don’t be afraid to have a nap during the day, it may pick you up during the day. 

Here is some food for thought… If you took off one hour of sleep a night (went from 8 to 7 hours) and you were 20 years old. If you lived until you were 80 you would gain… are you ready for this… an extra 2.5 years of life… more time to do something, spend time with family, read a whole bunch of books, run a few marathons, write a few books, learn a new language!

Take the time to find your perfect time!

Today’s picture is from our camp… sunset in the winter at YLCC. Getting ready for a long winters nap (or maybe a good solid 5 hours!)

I haven’t posted in a long time… way to long. I started my blog with the intention of trying to post at least three times a week. I have such an awesome job, I get to meet thousands of people every week and I really want to be able to communicate with them. The BLOG seems like such a great avenue to do that, the problem is that since I live deep in the woods I have to come into the city to be able to actually have the connection to post anything.

I got a call this morning from a friend by the name of Phil Doucette (www.phillyd.com) and he said I love your BLOG, but you haven’t posted in a long time. That’s the problem, the time. I have such a hard time finding time to do everything. I try and limit the sleep I get and the wasted time that seems to take over my schedule on a daily bases. So… today I took an inventory of the way i spend my day… I refocused and now I am ready to take charge again… Look out world… Stu is back.

Do that every so often… take an inventory of your day, your week, your life. Are you getting what you want done? Are you happy with the way you spend your time?

I was recently at a camp fair where camps market their summer camp programs to perspective parents. I was chatting with a fellow camp director and I asked him how his day was going, he replied to me…

“Best day of my life!”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes, I have been preparing my whole life for this day, everything I have done before today has led me to this day. So it had better be the best day of my life, it has taken me a long time to get here!”

Such a great way to look at life! What are you doing today to make tomorrow the best day ever?

Wednesday I chose to spend my lunch with the best little lunch date I could find… my beautiful daughter and I spent the lunch hour enjoying Sushi!!!