DO YOU BELIEVE IN FAIRY TALES?

Do you believe in Fairy Tales?????

Larry is lying in bed, near death. He calls out to his wife, “Martha, where are you?" Martha runs to the bedside and reassures him that she is there. 

Larry asks, “Where is our son Jonathan?” Martha says, "He is here too." And she calls her 30-year-old son Jonathan to the bedside. 

“And where is our daughter Hilda?” Larry inquires. Again, Martha calls 27-year-old Hilda to the room. Finally, Larry anxiously asks, “What about Eddie?” Martha calls 25-year-old Eddie and tells him to come at once.

Surrounded by his entire family, Larry screams out, “So who is minding the business?"

In other words, staying involved in life is the only way to have a happy ... "landing."

We don't believe in "endings" here. 

As we start out the New Year I want to share with you my experience with the question of Fairy Tales and if they do really come true. Well, as I just found out ... they do!!!!!!

Shout the message to young and old, plan early, keep planning and dreaming and your Fairy Tale "will" come true.

Since January 1, all my efforts have been concentrated on two things:

My book and my ongoing life.

My life as a Food, Beverage and Laundry Consultant has been limited by a physical impairment.

While all of my friends and Clients in the Industry keep in touch, I have been more and more concerned about how to continue to use all of my earned knowledge to help the industry grow.

In my soon to be published book, and in these blogs, I have told the story of the journey from life to death. I have offered advice, based on my experience, about how to live a full and complete life ... as we deal with all the bumps in the road. I advised you to never give up on pursuing your dreams, or on enhancing important relationships.

I have had a good education, but a difficult childhood because of my father’s long battle with diabetes and his early death, my own struggle with Crohn’s Disease, heart and back surgery, as well as struggles resulting from bad choices.

But I never, NEVER gave up!

I had a vision of continuing to use my mind and remaining active as I reach the age of 85 in just a few short weeks, and then my Fairy Tales would come true. BUT THE FAIRY TALE CAME TRUE EARLY!!

I finished the book and sent it off to my Editors to finalize it for publishing and voila!  The very next day I received a call from a dear friend and former colleague who told me that he had just taken a new job with a major corporation in the industry.

He asked if I could meet with him later that day to discuss some business. I agreed, and he drove several hundred miles to meet ... to ask for my help in his new venture and I agreed. We were able to work out how - with my disability - we could do that and are proceeding.

Folks, again to remind you, I'm about to be 85. In some ways, I'm just starting out!

And then, a day later, another Fairy tale came true. I have a very special friend who - for numerous reasons - I had not seen for some time, but was always on my mind. As I was on my way home from a meeting, and on my way to yet another one, it was my intention to run an errand after the second meeting. At the last minute, my mind changed and I decided to run the errand "before" going to the second meeting. I stopped to do that and the person who was so much on my mind was walking by my car. What a wonderful surprise!

Who said age is a detriment? It is an "enabler" of knowledge! Who decreed that physical impairment limit your ability to enjoy life? Who said that wonderful things cannot happen to you at any second of life?

So ... start the year 2014 with renewed vigor - like me - and a strong belief that if you follow the path outlined in my book, you can and will have a happy landing.

Not an "ending." A "landing."

Happy New Year.

Bernard ("Bernie") Otis is the author of the upcoming international bestseller, "How To Prepare For Old Age (If You Haven't Married Into A Wealthy Family)". If you have a question or comment, please send me an email to seymour.otis@gmail.com.