Tag Archives: blogs

Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on June 20, 2021
Tags: , being a father, , , , blogs, father's day, , , , , true dreamster,   

A Blogger’s Diary 6/13/21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, Collecting Sentiments, and Father’s Day

The Week

Well, after the trip to Los Angeles, work was/is busier than ever. We are now planning for the Fall Term and are going to offer in-person classes for the first time in over 15 months. Wow. Excited and, well, somewhat nervous. Normal, of course.

Alright, let’s take a look at some reflections on my latest writing.

Writing and Reflecting

Photo by Tong Nguyen van on Unsplash

I’ve kept to my new blogging schedule, and it feels good. I enjoy having a couple of days off, where I can simply focus on seeing what all of you inspirational people are up to and writing about. Much fun.

I do have some leadership posts in mind, and have one on Servant Leadership that is just about completed, yet, am being so drawn to writing poetry right now, I don’t see those new leadership posts being published soon. However, who knows? Maybe, they’ll find their way into a post sooner than later.

I’ve been reflecting more upon compiling a poetry book, and will start to look into this soon. I am also a part of two new Anthologies, through True Dreamster, which I am also excited about, and will have more details about in the next few weeks.

Collecting Sentiments

As you all know, I am very honored to be a part of Astha’s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, which will be published soon through True Dreamster.

In my first post about Utmost Feelings, in last week’s A Blogger’s Diary post, Alec made a lovely comment about Astha, and asked if his sentiments could be passed along to Astha’s family.

I am glad to report this is now possible. If you are interested in sending your sentiments about Astha to Astha’s family, you will find a Google Form at the end of this post, and all of my future posts for, well, I don’t know how long. For a while anyway. Thank you for considering.

Father’s Day

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

On July 10, 2019, my dad passed away. It was sudden and unexpected. I was at work when my younger sister called me and told me what was happening. When she first called, it was unclear whether he would survive the heart attack and stroke.

I learned rather quickly that, indeed, he would not. I remember being overcome with emotion, and yet, also in action. Meaning, that I immediately talked to the doctors, got clear on his condition, called and booked a plane, and was in Los Angeles within 4 hours.

When I arrived, he looked quite peaceful, and, of course, my mom and sisters were, just like I was, distraught, confused, and full of sadness. My dad’s soul left his body that evening.

On this father’s day, I am reminded of all the times my dad was there for me, supported me, encouraged me, and, in his way, loved me deeply, as he did my mother, sisters, and all of his grandkids.

I love and miss you dad.

I am also reflecting upon being a father, and how lucky I am to be the father of two beautiful young men. I am so lucky, and I love them more than these words could possibly convey.

I hope you all have a wonderful Father’s Day.

Sending you all love and blessings on a wonderful week.

Utmost Feelings – Coming Soon!

If you’ve not yet checked out Astha’s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, please check it out when you have a chance, and share as you are able. Thank you.

Additionally, the coauthors of Astha’s Anthology, Utmost Feelings, are creating a space for people to send their sentiments to Astha’s family.

If you are interested, please add your sentiments to this form, thank you, and stay blessed.

#astha, #being-a-father, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #blogs, #fathers-day, #life, #loss, #love, #reflecting, #true-dreamster, #writing

Jeff Flesch 3:00 pm on June 6, 2021
Tags: , , , blogs, california, , , , , , , , , ,   

A Blogger’s Diary 5/6/21: On the Week, Writing and Reflecting, and Traveling to Portland and Los Angeles

On the Week

This past week, I’ve been writing quite a bit, yet, as you may have noticed, my blogging schedule has changed. Yep, it was intentional. A few weeks ago, I mentioned slowing down. Little did I know at that time, the writing would keep pouring out of me, yet, I am pleased with developing a new schedule.

My goal is to post about 5 or 6 times a week, with a couple days off mixed in. We will see how it goes.

Oh, and it’s time to travel. Wait, what? Yep, it’s time. I leave for Los Angeles tomorrow morning. Wow. I am very excited to see my mom, sisters, and nieces and nephews, and, of course, to be in LA. More on that in a moment.

First, let’s take a look at some writing that occurred this week.

Writing and Reflecting

The poem Night’s End was first inspired from a WDYS prompt, from Keep it Alive, by Sadje, yet, as I reflected on the poem’s beginning, I had another insight for the prompt, which ended up being the poem My Years. It happens like that sometimes.

Anyway, the poem Nights End then, was a reflection on the trials that we all face, and the knowledge that these tests are a part of the experience of being a human being on this planet. I firmly believe that they are given to us to help us learn. Learn more about all of our shared human beingness. Beautiful.

The poem The Moment’s Prose was a reflection upon how fleeting each moment we have with each other truly is. However, when we are present to this fact, we cherish and relish each of these moments. This was not always the case for me, thus, in this poem, I was reflecting upon the entirety of the concept of love lossed. 

I was also very honored and humbled at being placed in the top 8 of Soni’s Writing Contest this past week. I am so grateful to Soni for facilitating such a lovely writing contest, and am so honored to be selected alongside all of the talented writers. Congratulations to all of the writers that joined Soni’s contest. You are all inspirational and amazing. 


If you’ve not visited Soni’s blog, please do. Soni’s site is inspirational, motivational, and hyper-creative.

Traveling to Portland and Los Angeles

Well, as you may recall, I visited Justin in Portland last weekend, and it was a lovely trip. We enjoyed a lovely hike, visited and talked about a book we are reading together, had some wonderful food, and generally just enjoyed each other’s company.

Here are a couple pics from the trip.

And, yep, next week, tomorrow, in fact, I’ll be boarding an airplane for Los Angeles, for the first time in over 15 months. I am both anxious and very excited. As you may recall, my father passed away about 6 months prior to the pandemic, so seeing my mom will be wonderful.

I’ve no definite plans, will need to work a little while I am there, yet will get to the beach, for sure, and do some shopping, places I cannot access here, and then? Visit and love my family.

Alright, that’s all for this week, my dear friends.

Have a lovely, lovely week.

Image Credit

#poetry, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #blogs, #california, #life, #los-angeles, #love, #oregon, #poem, #poems, #portland, #reflecting, #travel, #writing

Jeff Flesch 6:00 pm on January 24, 2021
Tags: bigbear, , , blogs, dodgerstadium, , huntingtonbeach, invisibilia, kingtaco, , replenishment, santamonica, tiredness,   

A Blogger’s Diary 1/24/21: On Writing, Growing up in LA, A New (to me) Podcast, and Being Tired

Photo by Arash Asghari on Unsplash

Well, next week we enter the fourth week of the winter term, and tiredness has become even more present for myself and the team. More on that in a moment.

Let’s first take a look at the writing from this week. Here we go.

Look at that, two My One Thing entries this week. That’s fun.

Alright, and what about next week?

Well, as we discussed in my last entry, I am continuing to write ahead, so have two posts for next weekend almost complete, which are.

  • The Leadership Series Part 3: Developing Teams
  • The Law of Attraction

I am also working on several more haiku’s, tanka’s, and poems. Fun.

This past week, I’ve also been reflecting upon growing up in Los Angeles. I don’t know if I’ll actually live permanently in LA again, however, it is a future possibility. Anyway, because of these reflections, I thought I’d share just a few of my favorite places in LA.

Here we go.

Wow, well I could fill several posts with all of the places I love to visit in LA, however, that will do for now. Alright, so quick descriptions, starting from top left, and working our way around clockwise.

  • Chavez Ravine, Dodger Stadium
  • Hollywood
  • Santa Monica
  • Big Bear
  • Huntington Beach
  • King Taco

Now, as some of you know, I also spent a lot of time in Orange County, CA, and will have some pics of OC in one of my future diary entries.

A New (to me) Podcast

I’ve been listening to a new to me podcast lately called, Invisibilia. The show explores the invisible forces, such as thoughts and feelings, that drive our experiences. As you can imagine, I fell in love with it immediately. It is well done, and, well, quite frankly, excellent. I highly recommend taking a listen.

Being Tired

I’ve been feeling more tired lately, and, as such, have been reworking my schedule. Taking off from work a little early each day, coming home and taking a nap, and then proceeding with my day. I don’t do this everyday, yet am doing it more often than ever before.

It occurs to me that we all need to continue to find new ways to get the rest we need. Whether that rest takes the form of a nap, meditation time, a walk, or some other form matters less, than we create the time, and take the time to replenish ourselves.

The important thing is to check our body and mind often for tiredness. And, when we feel depleted, to take the time needed to recover.

When we ignore our own tiredness, we, in a way, run right over our own intuition. And, our intuition is an important part of the human beings we are.

My invitation to you, as it is to myself everyday, is to pay attention to how your thinking and feeling. And, when your thinking feels skewed, or you just feel tired, to rest in a way that will replenish your body and mind.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Photo Credit

#bigbear, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #blogs, #dodgerstadium, #hollywood, #huntingtonbeach, #invisibilia, #kingtaco, #los-angeles, #replenishment, #santamonica, #tiredness, #writing

Jeff Flesch 9:12 pm on October 10, 2020
Tags: , , , blogs, dalailama, , milarepa, science, ,   

A Blogger’s Diary 10/10/20: On Spirituality, Science, and Writing

Photo by Adam Dutton on Unsplash

Milarepa

Alright, so last week a good friend of mine gave me the book Tibet’s Great Yogi, Milarepa: A Biography from the Tibetan. Wow. The last book that gave me that many insights, which I still read, was the Bhagavad Gita. Powerful.

Milarepa is an account of a great Yogi Sage, Jetsun Milarepa.

What I loved the most about the book, similar to the Bhagavad Gita, was the multiple connections to life today. Yep.

For instance, there is a part in the story where Milarepa is asked by his Guru to build a house on a particular piece of land. Well, Milarepa did as he was told. And?

Milarepa’s Guru came to inspect the work, and although the work was fine, the Guru said, hm, nope that’s not quite right. You’ll need to pull that entire structure down, and start again over yonder. Wow.

Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash

Well, this happened 9 times. Yep. 9. What’s the point? Hm.

Think about life. How many times has life said to you, nope, that’s not quite right, try again? Yep, of course. Me too.

That’s what life’s about. Creating, acting, learning, growing, and loving, with both our minds and hearts.

Milarepa’s Guru was teaching him persistence, discipline, and about the trials and tribulations of being a human being on this planet; and, the compassion and grace we all need, both for ourselves and for each other. Important.

The Dalai Lama

Right, so the next book is Dalai Lama, My Son: A Mother’s Autobiography. It is good so far. Very interesting, well written, and, of what I’ve reads thus far, a wonderful historical account of Diki Tsering, the Dalai Lama’s mother’s, upbringing.

Now, the reason I brought this book up is this, ready?

So, I start reading the book a couple of nights ago, and it occurs to me to watch a little television. And?

I turn on the television, and guess what show comes up first? Ha! Watch.

YouTube

Check that out! Fun.

Anyway, so I watch the documentary, and it is wonderful. You can find it on Peace Jam. What’s it about?

Well, essentially, it is about conversations that scientists and the Dalai Lama have been conducting for over 30 years. It is a fun exploration and comparison of what is termed in the documentary as Western Science and as Buddhist Science.

I’ve always known, and have read quite a bit about the similarities between things that happen in laboratories experimenting with quantum physics, and the body-mind laboratory experimenting with deep meditation.

I have, however, developed a whole new level of experiential knowledge in the latter area over the past three years, so the documentary was even more fascinating.

What’s Next?

I had a blast writing the two social construction installments this week.

  1. The Social Construction Series Part 4: The Social Construction of Reality
  2. The Social Construction Series Part 5: The Social Construction of Time

I had already planned on writing the social construction of reality, and then the social construction of time just showed up. Just like this post. Happens like that. Fun.

Right, well, I’m also almost done with the post on integrity. Has been fun. And, I’m also working on a post about servant leadership, and I have a few more ideas, we will see.

Alright, that’s it for now.

Here is to each of you. For being the human beings you are, just as you are, right now. You are just so.

I appreciate each of you. I have tremendously enjoyed all of the wonderful posts and conversations we’ve had this year, both on your blogs and on mine. So much fun.

I look forward to many more conversations in the weeks, months, and years to come.

You are love and light.

Be well and have a wonderful Sunday, and week ahead.

#blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #blogs, #dalailama, #diary, #milarepa, #science, #spirituality, #writing

Jeff Flesch 7:23 pm on September 26, 2020
Tags: , authenticityandpurpose, beingwhoyouare, , , blogs, goodnightlights, , , makingadifference, movingonepersonatatime, ,   

An Insight, An Inspiration, and A Quote: On Purpose and Authenticity

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

I recently wrote the post, 3 Reasons Why Creating Alignment With Your Why Is Important; And, 3 Simple Steps to Create Your Why, and it occured to me on my hike today that I missed a very important aspect of understanding, creating, and then relaying our why. What, you ask?

Authenticity.

An Insight

Anyone can create a why, right? You get a prompt, why do you do what you do? You answer. Yet, that’s not quite it. If your why is disconnected from your authentic-self, people will not be attracted to it; why?

Because they will know/feel that you are being inauthentic.

It is, then, super important when creating our whys to be the authentic human being you know yourself to be. Let go of preconceived notions of who you think other people believe you are, and write your why from the space of who you know yourself to be. Important.

See, creating a why, or a purpose statement, is not about pleasing someone else, it’s about you. About the person you are today, the person you are creating yourself to be tomorrow.

When you get clear on your purpose, and convey your why from a place of authenticity, people will be attracted to it. They will see themselves in you. And, when someone shares their why with you, you’ll know if they’re being authentic, and, if they are, you will probably be attracted to them.

Photo by Taylor Smith on Unsplash

An Inspiration

You. Yes, you dear blogger.

I’ve been following more and more sites the past couple of weeks, and have been truly inspired by all that I’ve read. From food recipes to articles on grief and trauma.

In the event someone hasn’t told you recently, you are making a difference in the world. Each one of you.

Human connection is such a wonderful experience, and to connect with each of you, though distanced we are, is such a joy, and honor.

My cousin literally just sent me a new message via LinkedIn, and shared with me a beautiful story about the Good Night Lights. Have you ever heard of this? I hadn’t. Take a look. Beautiful, and moving.

Good Night Lights

I went to the site and was moved to tears. Why? Well, it is, yes, a beautiful story. And, then, it got me thinking about each of you, and the work you continue to do on your individual websites.

See, it isn’t about moving an entire population of people, or providing them access to you and your ideas, all at the same time. It’s about touching one person at a time.

One person, then becomes two people, which eventually becomes thousands, as many of you can attest to; and, thousands can become millions.

You are an inspiration, and I thank you for the opportunity to know you in the way I do today.

Here are three quotes on authenticity that I love.

A Quote

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” Brene Brown

Awaken the Greatness Within

“As I began to love myself. I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living my own truth. Today I know this is authenticity.” Charlie Chaplin

Awaken the Greatness Within

“Authenticity is more than speaking; Authenticity is also about doing. Every decision we make says something about who we are.” Simon Sinek

Awaken the Greatness Within

Always be who you are. Every day, every moment.

Be well. Be authentic.

#authenticity, #authenticityandpurpose, #beingwhoyouare, #blogger, #blogging, #blogs, #goodnightlights, #insight, #inspiration, #makingadifference, #movingonepersonatatime, #purpose, #quote

Jeff Flesch 8:12 pm on September 3, 2020
Tags: , , blogs, , , persistwithoutresistance, , , sleepisimportant, sleepisneeded, sleepwhentired, , , , theneedforsleep   

A Blogger’s Diary 9/3/20: On the Need for Adequate Sleep and Other Meanderings

Photo by Cassandra Hamer on Unsplash

I feel like each week I write the words, phew, what a busy week. Well, this week was no different than the previous. Phew, busy, busy, busy.

Open registration began this past week, and our enrollments are up from the past two terms, which is exciting. As I’ve written about in previous posts, COVID-19 has made creating and delivering experiential classes, workshops, and training, precarious.

Yet, we’ve persisted, and not resisted; and have over 150 remote classes on offer this fall term. Pretty cool.

This past week, I’ve been reflecting upon the need for adequate sleep. Yes, sleep. Really. I’ve spent the past 20 years being a, well, not very good sleeper. Yet, I’m getting better.

And, adequate sleep is needed more now than ever. More than ever.

How do you sleep?

One insight into sleeping adequately I’ve had the past two weeks is this: when you’re sleepy, sleep. Often, I think we resist. I did, for many years. Not helpful. Sleep when you are tired.

Photo by Tony Tran on Unsplash

Last Saturday, I opened up my medium account, and an article of mine had been curated. 100 submissions, and a first curation. Pretty cool.

In The Social Construction Series Part 1: 7 Reasons Why Understanding Social Constructions Is Important, I write about how important it is to understand that the whole world, and everything in it is a social construction. All of it.

Then, I got a message that curious, which is a subsidiary of medium wanted to publish it. Exciting. Of course you can find the article on my site, or you can check it out on curious.

I am now working on the social construction of knowledge. Fun. I will have it completed sometime this weekend.

Alright, that’s it for this submission.

Remember, sleep when you are tired. Really. When we resist, which I did for a long time, it does not help. In fact, it makes us more tired, less productive, and easily agitated.

Here are a couple quotes I like on sleep.

“The minute anyone’s getting anxious I say, you must eat and you must sleep. They’re the two vital elements for a healthy life.” Francesca Annis

Awaken the Greatness Within

“Sleep is the best meditation.” Dalai Lama

Awaken the Greatness Within

Be well. Sleep well.

#blogger, #blogging, #blogs, #covid-19, #diary, #persistwithoutresistance, #quotes, #sleep, #sleepisimportant, #sleepisneeded, #sleepwhentired, #socialconstruct, #socialconstruction, #socialconstructionism, #theneedforsleep

Jeff Flesch 4:09 pm on July 12, 2020
Tags: , blogs, , , , , managetime, marketing, medium, , , , websitedevelopment,   

A Bloggers’ Diary: On Blogging, 3 Months In

Photo by Emma Matthews Digital Content Production on Unsplash

Well, it’s been 3 months since I started blogging, and I’ve learned some, and have so much more to learn. Phew, so much.

How did I get started?

As I’ve written in other posts, when COVID-19 sent everyone home, a byproduct of the pandemic was more time. Though I continued to work, the business was/is much slower than normal. In fact, the business is completely different today, and will continue to be so.

As I was looking for another outlet for the additional time, my oldest son and I had a conversation about COVID-19, discussing if future history books would show a large increase in creativity during the pandemic. Not sure, yet it is fun to think about.

Photo by Will van Wingerden on Unsplash

What I do know is that it got me thinking about creating a site where I could get out my own creativity, and could also invite others to do the same. Though the latter hasn’t been fully realized, the former has been, and in ways that I never anticipated.

At the time, I had no idea how far it would go, and it pleasantly surprised me for sure. Pretty cool.

I’ve actually integrated the blogging into my normal daily workflow. They are very relevant to each other, and in many ways, they feed on each other. Fun.

What have I learned?

Phew, so many things. Here are a few.

  • How to create, manage, update, and maintain a website – lots of work, was a steep learning curve for me. Yet, like anything, once you get into it, starting moving work forward, you learn, read other blogs, and adjust as needed.
  • How to connect social media accounts to websites – actually not difficult. The difficulty is in managing the social media accounts. Making the time to learn how to use them, as they are all very different. Lots of work.
  • How to manage my time differently – even though there was/has been more time since COVID-19 began, I had to strategically create time each day to move the work forward.
  • How to differentiate writing from working on the site – both are needed. I write everyday, and, at first, worked on the site everyday. Now, I still write everyday, yet only work on the site once or twice a week. Not sure if that is a proper balance, as I do know updating the site is very important.
  • How to follow and interact with other bloggers – much fun. I have greatly enjoyed reading other blogs, asking questions, and giving my perspective on other topics. Fun.
  • How to connect videos to websites – about a month ago I wrote this blog, How We Learn, and Why it’s Important to Understand, and after reflecting upon it, it occurred to me that creating videos would be super fun, and would be another way to engage with people.
  • How to market your blog – learning more here every day. Lots of ways to market and engage people. I will say, however, that being active and consistent is super important.
  • How to sign up and write regularly on medium – I had never even heard of medium before beginning to blog. You can follow me here.

I’ve learned so much, and have so much more to learn, which is why I thought this new diary series would be super fun to write.

Let’s take a look at how my blogs have iterated in the past three months.

Here is the first one, Creativity During COVID-19, and here is the most recent one, The Blog + Video Series 2: Writing and Life Series #4 – On Pain and Healing Through Writing.

Lots of development over the past three months. A wonderful journey thus far, and I have every intention of continuing to write in this medium.

Here are some of the topics I’ve covered in the past three months.

  • Relationships
  • Mindfulness
  • Sociology
  • Psychology
  • Human Development
  • Self-Development
  • Writing
  • Social Action
  • Business
  • Letters
  • Inspiration and Imagination
  • Possibilities
  • The Sound of

That’s actually a pretty inclusive list. The letters category is really new, it was just created last week. There is only one blog in there now, which is the one about my father passing, Letters: For My Dad.

Corvallis, Oregon

That was a tough one to write, and has me in tears now. Phew. I miss him.

What’s next?

Continue to write, and learn. I’ve got a long list of topics to write about, much more than the time to get them all written anytime soon. And, you know, that’s totally okay.

I see blogging as something that will continue to be a part of my life forevermore. I’m not interested in the short game, only in the long one.

I also see my work in higher education and blogging, as something that will continue to converge. Actually, I’ve just recently added coaching services to the website, which I am super excited about. You can check them out here.

Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

I’ve got a deep passion for personal and professional development, and have been working in this field all my life. Fun.

I also get very excited about new ways to engage, and new topics to write about, which I continue to reflect upon.

Alright, that’s all for this entry. However, before I go, I would like to thank each of you.

Thank you for reading, liking posts, commenting on posts, engaging me in however you did. You are appreciated.

#blogging, #blogs, #coaching, #covid-19, #engagement, #learning, #managetime, #marketing, #medium, #personal-and-professional-development, #socialmedia, #videos, #websitedevelopment, #writing