Positive Alternatives

In this 5 Minutes Thoughts episode I discuss one Positive Alternative is to make good choices. The focus is for you follow some easy, or maybe not so easy, steps to light your way.

According to an article in my recent AARP newsletter, the fastest growing rate for recreational cannabis users are people over 50 years of age. While we are rightfully concerned about how mixed messages are received by our youth when it comes to legalized pot; it seems the message is becoming pretty clear to our senior citizens on this issue.

In this episode of Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts we share some thoughts on taking it all in and coming to that best of decisions for you. Even at this stage of life I have to digest the advice but still understand that the call I have to make is 100% my call to make.

Before heading into the underage drinking party a choice was made. Before addiction took hold, a choice to begin using took place. And before the defendant showed up in court, clearly drunk, there was a choice to take that first drink, and the next, and the next, and on it goes. There is always a beginning where a choice to believe it's not going to happen to me becomes a lie some mis-guided people tell themselves.

In this episode of 5 Minute Thoughts I give you 10 ways you can turn your bad day into a good day. It starts when you get out of bed and you think, out loud perhaps, of all the great things you get to do versus you have to do. It's all how you look at it.

As the villages in Illinois determine if recreational cannabis stores are permitted within their borders, will the opting out of recreational sales actually increase impaired driving? Folks, after all, are Folks.

Day after day, year after year the court is overflowing with DUI Misdemeanor cases and lawyers who earn a good living reaching a plea between two interested parties. The path to prevention is education. We have to start young, plant the seed, and watch it grow.

Too often, in a world of hustle and bustle, we accept the answer from those in authority. Doctors, lawyers, business leaders, and politicians give us the answers and we can choose to accept that answer or we can dig a bit deeper and use our own grey matter for a better answer.

Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts - If you find yourself in a conference room full of corporate leaders or in a courtroom led by a Judge don't ever sell yourself short. Regardless of the players, don't under-estimate the skill, talent, and smarts you bring to the table. Whatever the task....you got this! 

You can not talk about Whiteclay Nebraska without also including Pine Ridge Reservation. For decades 4 liquor stores in Whiteclay, a town of maybe 12 residents, sold 3.5 million cans of beer a year. Most of the beer was sold to the Oglala Sioux who lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Despite the stores having been closed; the destruction wrought on the people of Pine Ridge will stick around for generations to come. Dry For A Year

Searching for an idea for the podcast can be as simple as opening the local newspaper (online of course) and sharing observations of man and his drugs.

In this episode we interview Andre Morgan, a Chicagoland Youth Sports legend. His legacy is foretold by his lineage of both grandparents and parents who showed him the right way to succeed is to trust your own ability to succeed. He truly lives the live of a Positive Alternative. Settle in for a great conversation.

On a recent trip to Denver I spent some time checking out the legal weed trade. Was the scene as scary as I had been told in all of my meetings? It was not long after driving on the residential streets of the Uptown area that the skunky smell of marijuana wafted my way. I share some old guy observations here. And Yes, I did enter one of the many stores and snooped around. I was fortunate the "budtender" was so forthcoming.

It's probably the better choice to respect the court by respecting yourself first. The young man came before the judge freely expressing his opinion by displaying a derogatory comment on his t-shirt. The Judge is in charge of the courtroom and today the young man found out why respect is the better road to take.

Positive Alternative 5 Minute Thoughts - Change things up, go on vacation, center your thoughts, focus on the now. Whatever works for you to re-energize and get back at it. The world needs you at your best and your are just the person this world needs today and everyday.

Before I head out for a short vacation, I want to send out my annual comments about HS Seniors heading off to College. Life changes dramatically as the freedoms a young adult enjoys can to quickly become overwhelming. Parents have set the family expectations but time and distance can sometimes blur the message.

Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts - Enjoy the Life you deserve to love. Don't wait for it to find you...Go Get It. A passionate approach to living a great life is a true Positive Alternative.

From great pain can come great love. In this episode we see how a mom who lost her beloved son to a drunk boater, reached out to a mom who lost the use of her legs to a drunk driver. It's a lesson that gives hope and teaches one and all that love is the best medicine.   Turn Tragedy Into Support

Positive Alternatives 5 Minute Thoughts - What you say in response to a perceived slight tells more about you than in does about the other person. In this world of texting, be the cooler head.

It's the time of year when I try to arrange school talks. The demand on schools time makes it hard for people like me to get some time in their schedule to talk to the teens about making good choices when it comes to alcohol and drugs. To be able to impact even one young mind to make better choices before a problem occurs makes the talk worth every valuable minute.