Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

kwmccarthy

Living Longer with Purpose

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You know of my passion about purpose and living on-purpose.  A friend sent me a link to an article: a recent study of seniors and how those with a stronger sense of purpose live longer than those without.  It doesn't matter what the purpose is.

"It can be anything — from wanting to accomplish a goal in life, to
achieving something in a volunteer organization, to as little as reading a
series of books," said study author Dr. Patricia Boyle, a
neuropsychologist at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and an assistant
professor of behavioral sciences at Rush University Medical Center in
Chicago.

Read the rest of the article here.

Join me.  Live long on-purpose!

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Stanley Cup Runneth Over

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SeaWorld Orlando has Discovery Cove where you can swim with the dolphins and the Penguin Encounter where you can watch penguins frolic and play in a frozen environment.  

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Move over Orlando, Pittsburgh has bested SeaWorld with Super Mario's Mansion where the whole family can swim with the Penguins AND the Stanley Cup. 

I grew up in the Pittsburgh, PA area and we Pittsburghers do love our sports.   My brother, Bob, who lives there, keeps me up to date with lots of happenings around town.   Sports are something fun we've shared as kids, especially since we were a family of athletes.  

Mario Lemieux is the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The team's former star and hockey legend naturally threw a party at his home for the championship team.   My brother has some friends who attended the team party and forwarded these photos.  (Note that the kid in the yellow flotation device is not wearing Red Wings.)

Don't be too alarmed by the scene.   The Stanley Cup is traditionally hoisted and jolted by the winning team.  It is revered enough to fight for; real enough to be enjoyed.  The Stanley Cup adds yet another page to its history of storied adventures.

Let's hope that Cup can swim!

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Mario's Mansion outside of Pittsburgh:

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The Stanley Cup on display before it takes a dip in the pool.

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Profiles On-Purpose: Janet Cronstedt is Awakening Worth

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Janet Cronstedt and I began doing business together in 1999. Quickly we became friends and have remained that way since. We do very little business together but we remain connected thanks to email and cell phones.

She is one on-the-go lady these days. Janet was the Senior Vice President of Take Shape For Life, the health coach company and plan that helped me lose my 50 pounds a few years ago. In fact, Janet introduced me to Dr. Wayne Andersen, the Co-Founder of TSFL, who engaged me to speak at their National Convention.

Below is the full article Janet wrote in her weekly column for TSFL called From My Heart to Yours. Her story of becoming an on-purpose person humbles and excites me. Enjoy getting to know my friend, Janet.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

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“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both!”
James A. Michener

When I turned 50 my husband asked me what I wanted for my BIG birthday. I responded with, “I want to go away on a weekend retreat to Orlando, FL, which promises that I will walk away with a clear idea about what on Earth I am here for.”

Try saying that to your spouse of 30 years! There is not a doubt in my mind that Bob would have so preferred I said, “A piece of jewelry.”

That weekend and my discovery at the Power Up On-Purpose seminar, hosted by Kevin McCarthy, author of The On-Purpose Person, changed my life. It led me to leave a comfortable job, affiliate with a new company 3,000 miles from home, and for the first time in my 58 years, live on my own 50% of the time. Married at 20 and entirely dependent on my wonderful husband, that was probably the most difficult part of it all for me!

My purpose, awakening worth, continues to guide me, stretch me, shape me, challenge me, scare me, excite and reward me in amazing ways. I exist at TSFL to awaken worth. YOU matter to me and awakening your worth gives me joy every day in every way. I enjoy every precious moment!

As Dr. A says so well in Chapter 21 of Dr. A’s Habits of Health, “until there is purpose, life lacks vibrancy and is at some level, joyless.”

Chapter 21 ROCKS. Read and re-read it. Share it. Let it lead you to purpose. You and those you touch will never be the same.

Better together,
Janet Cronstedt
SVP

“Without fulfillment, we can’t achieve optimal health.” — Dr. Wayne Andersen

Profiles On-Purpose: John Francis

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"Part of the mystery of walking is that the destination is inside us
and we really don't know when we arrive until we arrive."
John Francis

John Francis has a remarkable personal and professional story. He is an intelligent man with a warm and gentle spirit that I personally find engaging and attractive. I'm profiling him here, however, not necessarily for his vocation within the environmental field; that is noble in his niche. More importantly, here's a man who has silently and literally walked into his calling only to discover the importance that going more deeply into who he is requires change, release, and willingness to leave the past behind and to step into the present and future in spite of the risks of losing one's known identity.
This video featuring John Francis on TED is compelling – a 20-minute peek into a man making a difference based on the strength of his convictions, yet recognizing how his strength had become a prison. Toward the very end of John Francis' talk, you'll learn life lessons about the On-Purpose® process that is always underway in our lives.

One day in 1983, John Francis stepped out on a walk. For the next 22 years, he trekked and sailed around North and South America, carrying a message of respect for the Earth — for 17 of those years, without speaking. During his monumental, silent trek, he earned an MA in environmental studies and a PhD in land resources.
Today his Planetwalk foundation consults on sustainable development and works with educational groups to teach kids about the environment.

Southwest Airlines: Welcome Aboard

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Having flown Southwest Airlines over the years, I have to say that they are what they are.  In addition to being profitable, they are safe… and entertaining. 

Check out this pre-flight announcement.

One of my favorite Southwest announcements was at the end of the flight.   The flight attendant said that if the flight was great to please use their web site www.southwest.com to let them know.   If the flight was bad, we were to use the special complaint web site: www.northwest.com – referring us to their competitor of course. 

Enjoy the link. 

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Kidney Stone Battles: Part 2

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OK, so here I am now day 3 in the war of Kevin vs. the Kidney Stone(s).  I've turned the corner to victory after a couple of days filled with so much pain I could only think for about 20 minutes at a time before I had to rest. 

Admittedly, I feel beat up inside, my head is throbbing, but the pain is minimal and infrequent – more like being bruised.  I'm happy to be on the road to recovery and to have avoided the lithotripsy procedure mostly because my son, Charles, graduation from Christ School is this weekend.   We're leaving tomorrow and as of yesterday I knew I couldn't make the drive and might miss it.  At this stage, things are a go for Judith, Anne, and me to make the trip.

From this kidney stone episode I've learned a few of things:

  1. There are many home remedies on the Internet to help pass stones.   I tried several.  Did they work?  Honestly, I can't say that they did one way or the other.   I will say the "drink 6 cans of Coca-Cola followed by an asparagus puree" was the most challenging.  I got to 4 cans, my teeth rotted and fell out 🙂 but the fast relief I was promised was apparently 2 cans short of doing the job.   Of course, this caffeinated, sugar high creates a whole set of different challenges.  I tried apple cider vinegar and water.  I drank fresh squeezed lemon juice and water.  I tried the "jump and bump" method to shake this thing out.  The pain continued.
  2. Pain management is the key.  As long as I was in severe pain I believe my body was in some sort of shut down mode – a kind of death grip between the kidney stone and the appropriate body part waging war.  In the end, pain management, I believe, provided a window of relaxation that allowed for the gradual release to begin. 
  3. Use heat to help with the pain.  Warm showers with the water on my side works wonders.  A heating pad.  Yesterday I used an 8 hour Icy Hot patch on my back.  That was wonderfully soothing.
  4. Clearly, seek out medical advice so at least you can get the prescription for the drugs that can help manage pain.  Typically, I'm one who avoids the doctors because so many other pressures are on them to matters other than healing.  This interference on their profession causes me to pause and question the quality of care.  Legal matters have them thinking in terms of the worse case scenario and protecting themselves.  Demands to see more patients means they can ill-afford to invest too much time with one patient.  Sadly, they've become more prescription writers than true healers.  In the case of a kidney stone, however, take the prescription.  
  5. Find a "Doc in A Box" walk in clinic to get fast care.   Avoid the emergency room.  Kidney stones in emergency rooms must fall way down on the triage list.   When I had my first kidney stone I went to the local emergency room at 2 am.  Lying on the floor in pain for three hours, I finally left realizing I was better off in my own bed in pain.  Another time, after sitting for two hours in pain, I was told they were still unsure how long it would be before I was seen.   I left.  To add insult to infirmity, because I had been through triage they then sent me a bill for a full emergency room visit.   That was a residual pain I didn't see coming. 
  6. Most of all, AVOID kidney stones.  Once ones gets a kidney stone, it is my understanding, one is more prone to produce more.   How to avoid them: Drink plenty of water.  Watch your food intake. 
  7. Finally, pray.  I asked people to pray for my recovery.   Healing comes in many ways.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Update:  January 14, 2013

I've had couple of mild kidney stones since this original post.   I found this product – Stone Breaker – below that I now use when the pain comes on.  It seems to accelerate the passing process for me by "melting" the stones so they pass is a thicker disolved form rather than hard and sharp.  Whole Foods carries it if you need it in a hurry. 

Kevin & His Kidney Stone: This Too Shall Pass.

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I am at home from work with a kidney stone on my left side.   Man these things are painful.  I've been trying a variety of home remedies to avoid lithotripsy.   A few years ago I had that procedure done.  It worked but I prefer to avoid it if at all possible.  By comparison, this kidney stone isn't nearly as painful as that first one.

I can work with the pain for about 30 minutes and finally my brain just shuts down and I crawl back in bed.

So who out there has a way that helped them pass kidney stones? 

I've been drinking lots of water plus a few ounces of apple cider vinegar and then applying heat with showers and a heating pad.   Tylenol provides a measure of pain relief. 

The pattern of my problem is emerging.   Typically, when I've exercised or worked in the hot Florida sun for a long time, I get dehyrdrated and then drink something with high measures of electrolytes.  A few hours later, I'm in pain.   This has happened twice in the past month.  I also think that San Pellegrino mineral water to excess causes me problems perhaps due to the mineral content.  As the summer months come, remember to drink water.