Take the long way

Working smart is the opposite of working hard.

But ‘working smart’ IS the result of working hard.

You have to put in the hours before you see shortcuts. You have to learn details before you learn which details matter.

You have to fail many times before you discover how to do succeed.

The long way is the shortcut.

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This website is about our WORK. To ponder today’s post about our HOME, click here.

Gracious and wise acceptance

four senior citizens at cafe table
Us-ee, normal. L-R: jungle jeff, Bryan, Walt, Dennis.
four senior citizens at cafe table
Up-high.
four senior citizens at cafe table
Down-low.

Time has a unique effect on perspective.

In this case, softness, mellowness, freedom.

It’s been a long time since the last time i sat at a Cafe four-top with colleagues from Disney Institute.

At least a decade.

We all realize we are on the downhill side of life’s bell-curve.

Freedom comes from graciously and wisely accepting this.

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This website is about our WORK. To ponder today’s post about our HOME, click here.

Merry Christmas 2026, work

christmas tree in family room
Festivities about to commence.

Cheryl starts Christmas present opening with a trivia game.

Every year, it’s a unique, one-of-a-kind creation.

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This website is about our WORK. To ponder today’s post about our HOME, click here.

Captiva Day 4, work

sunset at palm tree beach
Sunset last night.
stars at palm tree beach
Pre-dawn this morning, December 24, 2025.
7-second video: Pit stop during our 5-mile Island walk.

As we leave Captiva Island today, we are mindful that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (tomorrow) are big Florida vacation arrival days.

We have no love lost for missing the long tourist lines, limited dining availability, and full beaches.

We are also quietly, super-grateful to all the hospitality staff that “work while others play”.

Many families have one or multiple people missing on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.

Hospitality can easily get in your blood and become a lifetime lifestyle.

Worked Disney Resort Hotel operations for 15 years. i ‘get’ the lifestyle.

i frequently remind our son how i waited 13 years at Disney before asking for Christmas week off. Didn’t get it. But the key was i knew not to even ask the first time until over a dozen years there.

Note: Did ask again, in my 14th year, and got vacation time the final week of year. Yay!

Final note: God Bless our Military and their families. Not only are many not home for Christmas week, they are not home for extended periods. Many in harm’s way. Many about to be deployed into potential harm’s way. Needed to say that to ensure that my consciousness of reality is decently sound.

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This website is about our WORK. To ponder today’s post about our HOME, click here.