01-08-20 07:51 PM - Post#892336    

Good morning all,

In Dan’s weekly newsletter, he mentioned & gave us his top 10 – bottom 10 lists with his life for 2019.

He then mentioned about having a Top 10 - Bottom 10 list for the past Decade. (2010 – 2019.)

Tomorrow, I will give you mine. I would like to hear all yours from the past Decade when you have had a good think.

Andrew Gunn

01-09-20 04:57 PM - Post#892379    

I will have to really think about this one!!!
My worst list just isn't as bad as some decades (the 1980s was brutal, then my dad died!)

Great idea. I need to think this through.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-09-20 04:58 PM - Post#892380    

Well as promised, I will provide you my Top 10 – Bottom 10 lists for the past Decade. (2010-2019). These were the events/life experiences that impacted me the most during that era & had a lasting effect on me.


Top 10 (2010-2019)
1) Still married to my first wife. 15 years going strong. We have our goods days & bad days but are hanging in there.
2) I have 2 great kids. A 12-year-old Son & 10-year-old Daughter who would make any Parent proud. They are thriving at school, happy, outgoing & know Right from wrong. I have seen my Son go from a shy little boy to a confident, popular young Man who always tries his best.
3) Getting our beloved German Shepherd, " Spice' who has been with us since 2012. Spice & I walk every morning without fail. She keeps me accountable. I solve a lot of issues & riddles on these walks.
4) The tremendous family holidays that we have had. – Beach holidays, Bushwalking holidays to many beautiful places that we have discovered.
5) Reconnected from friends from the past. Especially 2, who over the many years drifted out of my life. However, these past 18 months, we have reconnected.
6) Started competing again in master's Athletics. Nothing too serious but clocked 12.77s for 100m for a 45 yr old. I was proud of that.
7) Promotion at work. Took a lot of years of hard work & dedication but I am now Head of Finance at a very large, reputable firm that has over 300 employees.
8) Started Reading again. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a difference. Since 2011, I read nightly. This is a part of my nightly routine for a good night sleep.
9) Discovered my Cousins in Ireland. More on that later.
10) Discovering Dan John & this Website. I don't say this lightly. The knowledge that I have gained from all this immeasurable. I move better now, look better, train smarter & my training is so much less complicated but more structured. I only wish I discovered Dan John years ago instead of 2017 !

Bottom 10 (2010-2019)
1) Brisbane floods. This was a natural disaster that really impacted my local community & City where I live. Thousands of homes were badly damaged & destroyed. Quite a few deaths & lives were impacted. Good friends of ours lost everything.
2) My Dad died of Dementia. Dementia is a terrible condition. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
3) My mother almost died in Ireland after returning there for the first time in 40 years ! My mum, who was born & bred in County Louth, ventured back there for the first time in over 40 years. Long story short, 3 days into her adventure, she ended up in hospital in County Donegal & spent the next 8 weeks in Letterkenny Hospital. I received a phone call from the Surgeon one morning, telling me to fly over to Ireland immediately because your mother has just had a Gallstone rupture through her Gall bladder that is causing blood poisoning & has only got Days to live. I spent the next 4 weeks in Letterkenny, watching her slowly recover. Thankfully, she is still with us today & I also met my Irish cousins for the first time who were incredibly good to my mother & me. We keep in touch regularly.
4) We had to put down our beloved German Shepherd, " Jess".
5) I had a falling out with my Brother. We haven't really spoken since late 2018.
6) A former good Mate took advantage of my generosity & ripped me off $30k. We live & learn.
7) Losing a considerable amount of money on ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) with 2 bad species. Will recover over time.
8) A major Shake up at work where people who I have known for years had to be let go.
9) My Daughter battled some Health issues since May last year. She was in constant pain for 6 months & we were absolutely baffled as to what was causing her chronic condition. She went from a happy, active girl to a shadow of herself. Was very painful to watch. The Experts were as confused as us. She had every test you could think of but the results were always clear. It turned out that an extra tooth was growing upside down in her mouth, putting enormous pressure on her nasal passage that was sending messages to her nerves to the Brain. She is slowly but surely getting better.
10) Australian Bushfires. As a proud Aussie, this has been breaking my heart. The amount of destruction to life, wild life & peoples lives is incredibly sad. However, when it comes to a challenge, us Aussies stick together & help each other out. The Aussie Spirit is alive & well, even if our Leaders are terrible.

I am normally an upbeat Guy known for my Positivity & enthusiasm however the Bottom 10 list seemed to flow effortlessly for me for the past 10 years whereas I really had to think long & hard to reach my top 10 List.

Then it dawned on me this morning on my daily walk with my Dog. I am still married to my first wife, my kids are happy, smart, resilient & good mannered, I have a Dog who is my best Mate, I am relatively injury free & healthy, we have a roof over our heads & holiday twice a year. I have a lot to be thankful for.

I also know that the past should never, ever affect the present or your future.

01-10-20 09:04 AM - Post#892415    

I'm struggling on my Decade list. I left Juan Diego in 2010 and moved to California. This decade has had:
Both daughters graduate from college (debt free!; Kelly with a Masters), Marry, and Kelly has two kids...Danny and Jo.

I have traveled the world yearly since then. Most of books, workshops and the rest have happened since then.

Two Total Hip Replacements and a belly button hernia repair (thank you Yoga!)

Tiff is doing amazingly well.

My health is back.

Sirius Black.

My brother died, Coach Lualhati died, family members...but save Phil: not a lot of tragedies.

Lost some friends to "stuff."

Met lots of new friends.

Watched the KB community split and die (in all honesty)

Bought two houses.

Got my job with St. Mary's

The whole decade I had financial independence.

Delta Diamond for most of it.

I haven't thrown the discus since July 24, 2010.

I need to work through this.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

01-12-20 11:51 PM - Post#892524    

Sirius Black. I like it.

01-13-20 01:22 AM - Post#892526    

Yikes, this one takes a wee soul search then, don't it.

Life's too short to worry about longevity.

01-13-20 11:22 AM - Post#892545    

Two kids graduate from college debt free?? Teach me your ways!!

01-13-20 12:56 PM - Post#892549    

Focus on academics. No TV on school nights (I would include a ban on social media, email...texts). Have Tiffini come over and read them a chapter of Harry Potter every night.

Don't do their projects for them. Insist they get involved; this has its own issues. Choir, Recorder Club (those whistles!), student gov't means dad has to go to a lot of things.

Play sports et al, but NEVER talk about scholarships with sports, just academic scholarships.

Be honest about college money. Cost to Benefit and all the rest.

Summer school and night school for Kelly; she didn't like college so chose to go more and get done sooner.

Lindsay never found a class she didn't think she could skip. Three majors...but she was rewarded with some cool scholarships for her enthusiasm and works at the U of U now.

I was debt free too. My body pays a price daily for that athletic scholarship!!!

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you