A city with culture

In 2016, Cleveland has been in the spotlight for great sports teams and for the Republican National Convention.  It has been a fun year and I believe the city has a lot to be proud of in 2016!

Our Cleveland Cavaliers have ended our drought of 52 years without a professional sports team championship in our city.  The previous title was held by the 1964 Cleveland Browns.  Then our Fall Surprise was the appearance of our very own Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series.  We came within one swing of the bat of winning it all.

But there has been much more to love about Cleveland for many decades including our cultural offerings.  Two that come to mind immediately are our renowned Cleveland Orchestra and our fabulous Art Museum.    Our Orchestra is recognized as one of the finest in the world.

For more information and to purchase tickets to one of their performances, simply visit their website .  In addition to a wonderful Christmas and holiday schedule, their 2016-17 season will include works by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, and Mahler.  If you are into classical music, plan to take in one of their concerts in the beautiful Severance Hall pictured above.

Right across the street, literally, is our Cleveland Museum of Art.  After extensive renovations and expansions, our Art Museum is bigger and better than ever.  You will find amazing works of art from famous painters and sculptors as well as artifacts from around the world from past centuries.  Treat yourself to our free-admission Museum of Art.

Cleveland is truly a city of culture and I am proud to call it my hometown!

Trying to make a comeback

I have been away from this blog for a very long time.  The reason is that I thought I was just too busy.  Being busy is relative.  I started this blog several years about so that I can write out my thoughts and observations and share them with others.  Then it got away from me.

Actually my last post was almost one year ago and I was kind of surprised to learn that just now.  The title of this post is "Trying to make a comeback" because that is what I am trying to do with this blog.  Find the time to share thoughts and observations.

The inspiration comes from my buddy Rick who writes a blog post every Sunday titled Hanging With Rich where he does exactly what I was trying to do before I became supposedly too busy one year ago.  I don't know if anyone reads this blog but I know that I benefit from writing it because it helps me to understand what I think and observe.

Today is Thanksgiving Day 2016 and we all have a lot to be thankful for today!  I will leave it up to  you to decide what you are thankful for but I am sure that you have a lot!  Have a fantastic day, enjoy your time off and your families, and enjoy the season!  God Bless!

Does Hard Work Pay Off ... revisited

I have been away from this blog for a while but ... I am still observing things ... in an average guy kind of way.  One of my best-read posts ever was one titled Does Hard Work Pay Off?

Well, I am sure that it does.  In fact, I will go further this time to say that consistent hard work at your job, whatever it is, will almost guarantee success in terms of staying gainfully employed.  There will always be circumstances that jeopardize anyone's job including mergers, slowdowns, staff reductions, and more.

If a worker apples his or her energy and skills to the job in a focused and consistent way, they are so valuable to their company that they create job security through their efforts and work ethic.  This passion can also be transferred to another job or another company too.  In fact, others will observe a pattern of hard work on the part of an employee which should lead to other opportunies.

Work hard, be honest, keep learning, and you should be fine.

So, yes, hard work does pay off.

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If your company would like to promote your new products, sent them to me at mference@wtwhmedia.com and we will help your marketing efforts right away!

Happy New Year

I wish you a very Happy New Year.  I hope that it is prosperous in many ways, especially in establishing and maintaining balance in your life.  I have been reading  Rhythm of Life by author and speaker Matthew Kelly and I recommend it to everyone.

In his books and presentations, Matthew often advises people to seek to become the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.  The start of a new year is a good time to evaluate everything that we are doing and look for ways to become that.

On the Trail with TED

I like to walk and I like music.  However, I have found a new activity to do while walking.  I know, you may say, wow you are just learning about that now?  Well yes I am just now discovering podcasts.

Today I listened to a podcast of the radio show TED Radio Hour that I found for free in iTunes under NPR.  The title of the podcast was Success and I learned lot.  The contributors gave their perspectives on success.

You are probably already listening to podcasts so, if you are interested, you should have no trouble finding it.  I got the Beats as a gift recently from my employer and I really enjoy them.  Lucky!

Forgiveness

I may have written about this before but it is worth repeating.  It is so important to be forgiving!  I am not saying that I am good at this but I know that it is necessary.

We are all wronged by others at some point in our lives.  We are going to be the victim of jealousy, deceit, pride, anger, or even rage.   While it is important to be protective against our detractors, it is equally important to be forgiving.

Our Lord Jesus Christ came to forgive sinners and it is through Him that we are forgiven.  We are called to live and share that forgiveness, even when it is hard to do.

For more on the subject, check out this video by Contemporary Christian artist Matthew West.