Sunday Morning

Paulo Coelho and Craig Sager. (Creative Commons.)

William “Bud” Hart, of Haverhill, shares “Success Principles”—ideas for living a greater, better and more accomplished life, and building habits that stick. He also coaches clients to incorporate strategies for boosting their mental and physical performance during everyday living.

William “Bud” Hart, of Haverhill, shares “Success Principles”—ideas for living a greater, better and more accomplished life, and building habits that stick. He also coaches clients to incorporate strategies for boosting their mental and physical performance during everyday living.

Having a cup of coffee, looking out the window at the rain and considerable amount of snow and ice on the ground, I was debating whether to go for my normal Sunday morning outdoor run. For safety sake, I decided to go to the gym and do a few miles inside. Looking for something to help with the boredom of a treadmill workout I tuned into the “CBS Sunday Morning television show.

There were two segments on this show that I found particularly interesting. Let me start with the segment on Craig Sager, one of America’s best known sportscasters. Sager passed away from cancer earlier in the week. For many years, he was a favorite of basketball fans (me included) for his engaging courtside reporting and his flashy way of dressing.

Last month, Sager published a book, “Living Out Loud,” about his career, having cancer and lessons on life. The person doing the interview said, “I thought this was the key sentence of the whole thing (book), Funny how time takes on new meaning when others tell you that you don’t have much of it left.” Sager said he was fighting cancer not just for himself, but for everyone with cancer. The interview ended with Sager being asked if his victory is in how he lives every day. “Yes,” he said, “I’ve said that every day is just a canvas waiting to be painted and it’s how you live that day. And that goes for everybody. Doesn’t go just for me. It goes for everybody.”

A second segment of this CBS show was an interview with writer Paulo Coelho, author of the book titled, “The Alchemist,” the story of a young dreamer named Santiago that teaches a multitude of life lessons about listening to our hearts. On The New York Times bestseller list for eight years (one book in my life I can say honestly that I read cover to cover), this book was written by Paulo to try to understand his own life. In his interview Coelho says, “I said, Christina (his wife), I have you, I have money, I have a work that I am not very enthusiastic about. But what am I doing here?” He wanted to write books.

Over the course of every life change is constant and inevitable. We have a choice. We can recognize transformation, subtle or in your face obvious when it occurs in all of us. We can heed our inner promptings and always move on and pursue whatever inspires and makes us feel excited, or we can stay just where we are. What I can tell you from my own experience is if you need to rework the way of life you are living and you chose the latter you can be sure you will continue to get messages that a shift is needed.

I found the Paulo Coelho piece personally inspiring because I like to write. I like to write to move and motivate and make a difference for people wanting to know who they are (especially me) and to make the most of whom we are. The two segments also reminded me that all of us are constantly surrounded, filled and informed by an inner wisdom that we can call upon for unfailing direction if we choose to.

Embarking on his writing career Paulo Coelho told his wife, “I have $17,000 to find the meaning of life. If it is more expensive, we are lost!” When we learn to develop and trust our inner voice we aren’t guaranteed success the likes of Craig Sager and Paulo Coelho, but we will live an authentic and meaningful and peaceful existence, the kind of life we are meant to live. At least that is my experience.

William “Bud” Hart is a certified “Mindset” Coach, Accountability Partner and Business Consultant. Visit Hart Group, www.hartgroupma.com for more on coaching.