Britt Morris Thinks...

Chilly Winds

Burrrrrrr!!!!! Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!  I love it.  My birthday always seems to bring the first tast of cold weather to the metroplex each year.  That being said, I thought I'd use this time to share some of the pictures from our summer sailing trip. 

Have no doubt about it,these pictures are intended to incite jealousy and envy in each one of you.   It was nothing short of a trip of a lifetime and these chilly winds remind me of fonder times.  We had an amazing crew of friends and some of the best waters in the world, the best food on the high seas, and perhaps a bit of the pirate lifestyle.  Don't worry, I'll somehow link this back to a bit of boring real estate talk.  There was an island down there for sale for 32 MIllion.  Any takers?  See, now I can write this blog off at the end of the year. 

Yeoh Ho HO on with the pics. 

That's right, I was captain of the boat, as you can see from this picture right here. That's actually not totally accurate.  They let me sit in the captain's chair when we were docked.  I was captain of falling down on the boat though.

Down below you can see the view up at the sails.  I can honestly say that view was a big player in our week.  Lots of laying on the deck and sunning ourselves.  Does this remind you of the weather outside.  Don't forget to put on your North Face jacket.  It's cold!!

 

Now maybe you'd to take a look at my dinghy.  I guess it was the boat's dinghy really.  I actually was captain of this all week.  Trust me it's not an honor.  You're responsible for carting everyone back to the boat in the dark after several rum drinks.  My dinghy privileges were revoked after an incident which will not be mentioned here.   Suffice it to say I may not be allowed on the island of Jost Van Dyke again.

It was such an amazing trip and I'll be devoting more that just this blog to it.  I would like to leave you with one of my favorite photos of the trip.  I think this pretty much sums it up.

More to follow.  Stay classy San Diego!!!!

 

Back It Up Tex!

It’s amazing what you can learn from a one year old.  They have a knack for making a decisions without hesitation, regardless of the consequences.  Although that fact can wreck a parent’s life, there’s a great beauty in their innocent recklessness.  Today I saw a valuable lesson painfully acted out by my toddler.  He’s been walking for a while now, always moving forward.  He’s always in pursuit of the next best thing to explore.  He constantly seeks that which will light his little heart of desire on fire. 

Today, that pursuit of happiness trapped him in a corner, literally.  He looked like a little Roomba vacuum cleaner bouncing off one chair, then the table, then the chair again.  As I’m sure you can imagine it doesn’t take much of this activity to elicit a blood curdling cry for help.  However, instead of just picking him up and setting him free, I helped him back out of there.  It was hilarious.  It was as if he’d never realized that he had another gear….reverse. 

Fast forward three hours to the front yard.  Imagine Michael Jackson circa 1983 in the Thriller video.  That’s right folks, we’re talking major Moonwalking.  If you’ve never seen a one year old moonwalk, you haven’t lived.  I use the term ‘Moonwalk’ loosely, a ‘cautionary back-peddle’ may be a more accurate description.  Suffice it to say we spent the rest of the day walking backwards and enjoying all the blessings being able to move in reverse has to offer. 

It gave me pause to think about my daily pursuit of happiness.  Sometimes I’m so focused on moving forward I get stuck and can’t see the true goals.  It’s nice to be able to take a step back sometimes and review your core values and the way they influence your goals.  I know I’m guilty of moving forward without really knowing where I’m going.  That’s an easy way to get stuck. 

So what’s my reverse gear right now?  It started by reading Todd Skinner’s book Beyond the Summit.  It’s something I’d really like to share with you.  I’d be happy to mail a copy to the first five people who post comments on the blog.  Wouldn’t you like to know what’s beyond the summit? 

Health, Wealth and Family Part II

As the health, wealth and family series continues, I thought I'd bring to focus some helpful advice I learned about my family.  We have so many friends who've recently been blessed with the pitter patter of little feet around the house.  I personally have a seven month old who's slowly but surely getting into everything.  I found some great advice the other day adapted from Dr. Segal's book series "Your Child at Play". 

If you're a young parent you've probably experienced a desire to find encouraging and engaging activities for your little tyke.  I know after about three hours of my favorite game, "quit grabbing the laptop", followed by twenty minutes of "put that down", I'm ready for a fun and exciting activity my son can actually enjoy.  Here are some great tips. 

	Steps:
1.	Have a tug-of-war with your baby: Give him one end of a scarf, and pull gently on the other end. He'll enjoy a playful lesson in taking turns.
2.	Give him several rubber balls to pick up. Now that he's developing the ability to pick up small things, he needs opportunities to practice.
3.	Hang a punch ball from the ceiling; your baby will enjoy batting at it and watching it dance about.
4.	Play with spaghetti: The slippery, wet noodles will delight him, and picking up the strands is a challenging game.
5.	Fill your tub with 2 or 3 inches of water and put him on his back. Let him kick and splash. If he doesn't seem to like the activity, stop right away to avoid having him develop a fear of water.
	Tips:
1.	Let your baby be your guide when selecting activities: What new skills is he working on? What sorts of toys engage his attention? What makes him smile?
2.	If a particular activity seems stressful or frustrating, stop and give it a try another day.
3	Remember that all babies develop at different speeds, usually with spurts and plateaus.
	Warnings:
	Consult with your pediatrician if you have any concerns about your baby's development.

I hope you'll enjoy some of these activities.  Please comment and let me know how your child enjoys the games.  Have fun!!!!!

Health, Wealth and Family

Health, wealth and family.  What do these three things have in common?  They’re not just 6 minutes abs, a new Porsche and a son who just threw up in your new Porsche.  They’re the three roads to better serving everyone you meet.  What does that mean?  It means that knowledge you share about ways to improve someone’s health, their wealth or their family will enrich their lives, and in turn enrich your own life. 

So here’s the skinny.  I’m going to offer some advice to the blogosphere over the coming weeks about ways that my life has been enriched in health, wealth and family, not necessarily in that order.  I was starting with family but my seven month old is screaming right now and making it difficult for me to offer any advice other than a small noose.  I’m just kidding……about the noose……sort of. 

Instead I’ll start with the ever vexing subject of building wealth.  Building wealth is very different from earning money.  If you’re like me, and lucky enough to have found a career that’s hard work but doesn’t feel like a job, money can be earned.  What you do with that money is a different matter.  This was a funky one for me for a while until I finally listened to some great advice from my father.  Hire an expert.  You hire a mechanic to fix your car, a doctor to perform surgery, and hopefully a real estate agent to sell your house, why wouldn’t you hire an expert to handle your hard earned cash.

Enter the financial planner.  Our family has been blessed to know Ryan Huey from Perryman Financial Advisory.  We were wise enough to select the best.  Ryan was able to create for us what every family in America needs on this subject.  A plan.  Not just a thought about what could be around the corner, but an in ink year by year assessment of every asset and debt in our lives.  It was a harrowing experience at first.  If your family is like mine, sometimes you don’t actually want to see where you stand.  However, it was through this plan that we were able to eliminate debt and gain financial freedom and peace of mind.  That’s the greatest feeling of all.  And it doesn’t stop there.  If you have dreams of owning a beach house or a lake house or any other kind of asset, you have to have a plan to get there.  If you just talk about these things you’ll wake up when you’re 50 and wonder why it didn’t happen. You can make it happen.  You should start today. 
Right now.  You have just been told how to do it.  Now do it. 

Here’s the info on the best. 

Ryan Huey 972-770-4800

http://www.billperryman.com/

rhuey@billperryman.com

Shoot for the "Mooney"

How high is your spirit going to fly today?  Are you going to embrace life with the ardor and zest of Dan Mooney?  Dan Mooney????  Who's that?  He was one of my friends, but we all know a Dan Mooney.  He's the guy or gal that illuminates everything with which they come into contact.  They're gregarious, hilarious, intelligent, successful.  They're special.  They're an homage to the indomitable human spirit and a gracious gift from heaven above.  They play hard and live fast.  They make 50 foot putts for birdie and win the last poker jackpot at the end of the night.  Even as you watch them rake your pile of money across the table, you find yourself smiling all the same. 

My Dan Mooney passed away last year after a seven year battle with cancer.  I only knew him about three of those years, but he finds his way into my thoughts often.  Maybe its because he was about my age, maybe its because he was the kind of guy everyone wants to love, maybe its because he had accomplished so much at such a young age.  I think mostly though it's because he was naturally filled with what the Bible calls the fruits of the spirit.  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.  I strive in my life to be filled with those qualities.  It's easy to claim those traits when things are going well, but to truly be filled is to have them exposed during terrible challenges.  Maybe that's why I think of Dan so often.  Our true nature is revealed during crisis, and for him crisis revealed the truth of his Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

  When Dan did finally pass, his wife, Amy, prepared a compilation of music for his memorial service.  Included in the disc was a recording of her singing the Bob Dylan classic Download 01_youre_gonna_make_me_lonesome_whe.m4a "You're Going to Make Me Lonesome When You Go."  Hearing it last night reminded me again of the bittersweet joys and challenges of this life.  One of the greatest joys is being able to choose what your heart will be filled with.  So how will you begin this week?  How will you focus your mind and body and soul to deal with the challenges you know you'll face?  I'm know I'm going to remember my friend and "Shoot for the Mooney".