Obvious Choice

Sanibel Island 2009
Sanibel Island 2009

“Be yourself.  Everyone else is taken.”Life Is Good slogan

I used to look for sea shells on Sanibel Island, Florida.  You know the ones – the perfect shape and color.  The ones that looked like they came from the sea shell store.

Not any more.

Now, I look for ones that are unique and special – broken and beautiful.

Just like us humans.

Broken and beautiful.

Like Tiger Woods.

Like me.

Like you.

A Very Nice Ending

Had a very nice ending to a great week.  The Writer’s Retreat was highly productive.  Set a significant, new benchmark number for weekly website hits.

I attribute this to the both the quality and quantity of time spent learning, and applying what I learned, each day.

I was pleasantly surprised and delighted yesterday morning, when I went to the front office at Mitchell’s Sand Castles , to check on coming back next year.

Frank, who I had just met a week ago, was new.  In fact everyone there was new.  Not new to hospitality.  New to Mitchell’s Sand Castles.

I was nervous about the sweeping change in management and wrote about this at www.junglejeff.net on July 3, in a blog post entitled,  This Reminds Me .

To make a long story short, Frank blew me away with his efforts to go above and beyond to make me feel special.

Sunday mornings are always busy in a Resort, but Frank made me feel like the only customer he had.  I got to know him and really enjoyed building a nice relationship with him.

We’ve been visiting Mitchell’s Sand Castles for 21 years – this was our 23 time, which is how I knew it would be the perfect place for my first Writer’s Retreat.

If you are looking for Old Florida Charm, in a Beach Cottage setting, along with a laid-back, informal atmosphere, on a secluded side of Sanibel Island, Mitchell’s Sand Castles is perfect.

It ain’t the Ritz-Carlton, but we love everything about it, especially the fact that our dog is welcome.

Wish there was more time to write, but I’m back to the real world tomorrow and have go press my white button-down shirt for tomorrow morning.

I miss the Sanibel Island sunsets, the Sanibel sea shelling, the Sanibel beach, the palm trees, the sunshine, the soothing sound of the Gulf of Mexico, and my new friend, Frank.

Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

Life’s A Beach?

“Life’s a beach”.

Ever heard that one?

I think it’s a spin-off of, “Life’s a bitch, and then you die”.

I look at those two phrases and am reminded that we have a choice.  We always have a choice.

Over our attitude.  Maybe nothing else, but certainly our attitude.

And no one ever said choosing was easy.  It can be extremely difficult.  But we do get to choose.

And I believe I must choose the positive attitude versus the negative attitude.

If this bores you or seems too elementary, go look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I a mountain of positivity or a molehill”?

What?  You do have a mirror, right?

I just looked.  Looks like I’m an antagonist this morning.

I chose it on purpose.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂