The noise or as they say in Brooklyn, “Da noise...son.” You can’t teach self-awareness. But the one thing that will prevent you from becoming self-aware, from figuring out who you really are, your truth, is listening to the noise. Noise is all around us. We hear it from our parents, peers, spouse, siblings, our children, boss, co-workers, society and even the voices in our own head. That imaginary noise where we worry about what other people think. I myself fell victim to the generational noise of my day. Just don’t rent space in your head for it. If you just stop listening to the noise, you will discover who you really are, your truth. It is as easy as turning off a light switch. Only, the switch is in your head, not on the wall. And when you finally stop listening to Da Noise, you will find your truth. And this, my friends, is when the magic happens.

On Christmas Day, I watched the classic show It’s a Wonderful Life. This show reminds me year after year that I really do have a wonderful life. But some people have a horrible life. 23 years in law enforcement showed me that bad things happen to good people. Many people are living in squalor hoping to just find a warm place to sleep at night. Many of us are living in constant despair unable to see a way out. Many of us are living in self-imposed mediocrity looking for a life-line. Many of us are just faking it; fooling our peers and ourselves that we have a wonderful life until we cry ourselves to sleep. But there are some of us who have found that something or someone who allows us to truly have a wonderful life. And this is my Christmas wish for you.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hopefully you have given love & joy to everyone around you because Christmas is about giving, not getting, right? I encourage you to keep giving throughout the day and the next and the next. In fact, I challenge you to keep giving. The Holiday season isn’t so joyous for everyone. I challenge you to continue to spread joy regardless of your situation while being empathetic to the situation of others. You can spread joy just by saying “Hello, how are you?” to a stranger. They may be in a very bad place in their life. By saying hi, you just validated their existence enough that encourages them to get through the day. Maybe you yourself are not in a good place. Your random act of kindness toward someone else may be just what you need to put your own life in perspective. Love, joy & happiness are free. It doesn’t cost us anything to share it with others and we shouldn’t have to pay anything to experience it.

‘Twas the day before Xmas and all through the town everyone was scurrying around. Today is Xmas eve 2019 and in Italy, we say Buona Vigilia di Natale. I have 4 quick tips to help you get through this crazy last day of shopping. 1. If you have to buy more gifts, pay with cash or debit. 2. The malls will be crowded so don’t play a game of chicken for that choice parking space and start a road rage incident. 3. The roads are full of Holiday cheer which means that there will be an increase in drunk & aggressive drivers so be careful and get home safe. 4. Once you are done, enjoy the people around you because the best gift of all that you can give others is YOU.

Sadly, I have witnessed integrity dwindle over the years and now it has completely fallen by the wayside. I am talking about a lack of integrity at all levels. From regular Joe’s like you and me to the very top. Our President last week became the 3rd U.S. President to be impeached. Last year the police commission of Suffolk County, NY was convicted federally for a Civil Rights Violation for abusing his power and just last week the District Attorney who tried to cover this up, was convicted as well. Oh what a tangled web we weave. I come from a place of integrity and it is unwavering so I don’t understand this aspect of human behavior. But I do know this. To all the fakes out there wearing that smug look on your ugly face while you are screwing over your customers, co-workers, the citizens you are sworn to protect, etc. You can run but you can’t hide. You will eventually be exposed for the fraud that you really are. Pleasant dreams.

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My motorcycle story started out by turning 25 years of regret into a fulfilled dream which led to a summer of excitement which turned into a full blown passion fueling a new journey. I put 3000 miles on my new Indian Scout and decided that I want to ride down south and explore America. But my first season of riding made me realize that as sexy and powerful as the Scout was, it is not the right bike for my new journey. I needed a touring motorcycle so I took advantage of some end of the season savings and purchased a 2018 Indian Chieftain Limited touring bike. Now I am cooking with gas. I can ride 70-75 mph on the highway without the wind knocking me around. I have a touchscreen GPS navigation system with Bluetooth radio. More importantly, I have electrical & mechanical diagnostics like oil pressure, fuel consumption and tire pressure monitoring making for a longer safer ride. I turned a lifelong regret into a passion fueled new personal journey. Whether you are retired or not, please find that thing that makes you feel alive and just keep doing it. Live my 3 D’s of Happiness and Do You, Do it for You, and Do it every day.

Let me share with you my first season riding like the wind. April 2018 my Blue Angel finally arrives at the Indian Motorcycle Dealership. I make the inaugural ride on my 2018 Indian Scout filled with fear and excitement after visualizing for 4 weeks each curve, turn and bump in the road I would be faced with on the 50 mile route to my home. I made it home safe even though I suddenly came face to face with a rather surprised hawk in front of my windscreen. Since then I have asked God to ride with me on every ride and He has. I cannot truly describe for you how alive and free I feel on the bike. The power and command of the road with each turn yet vulnerable to the potential hazards. I went on short local rides by myself and with groups to learn and get used to riding. You can learn by watching other riders but I also learned that group rides could be dangerous for new riders. The take away from my first season is this: when you are on your journey doing you for you, stay in your lane and run your race. Because your journey us just that, it is your journey. No one else’s.

I love motivational speakers and I have been listening to them since 1987 starting with Tony Robbins, then Eric Thomas, Les Brown and my current favorite Gary Vaynerchuk aka Gary Vee. Gary will be the first to tell you he is not a motivational speaker but he is the only one who got me to get off of my ass and actually execute. The other guys are great but they just tell us what we already know. But if you don’t take action, it doesn’t matter what they say. Gary tells you exactly what you need to do. He is a practitioner not a dreamer. I am not a motivational speaker. I am just a retired guy who finally started enjoying my life two years ago at 55 and if I can inspire just one of my 8 listeners to take the first step and start enjoying life sooner than I did then I succeeded.

I have been retired now for 5 years and I give my self a “C”. In fact, if I was back in Catholic grade school, the nuns would surely smack the back of my hand with that big wooden ruler. I made some leaps and bounds but my overall performance sucked because I wasted the first 4 years of my retirement spinning my wheels. I didn’t stay true to myself, did not respect my DNA, and did not go with my strengths. My friends, please have that conversation with yourself, whether you are retired or not. Ask yourself who are you, who do you want to be and where do you want to be? If you answer these questions, follow through, execute and become a practitioner of your destiny, I promise, you will live a fulfilled life.

Regret motivated me to break a 25 year pattern. Some regrets you can’t do anything about and shouldn’t dwell on them. Some regrets you can do something about so make a choice, execute and become a practitioner of your destiny. Regrets yet to come are those we face every day. Choices we face that can potentially turn into regret. When you are on the fence with a particular decision, just apply the Rocking Chair Test. When you are old and grey, are you going to say to yourself that you wish you said yes. If that’s the case then go buy that new guitar, take that Alaskan cruise, or go get your pilot’s license. Do you before it’s too late.