Comparing Jim Rohn's Legacy to Tony Robbins This Early Morning

 Back in the late1990s, while working at the Gainesville, Florida USPS mail processing plant on SW 34th Street, I discovered that I could listen to Anthony Robbins' personal development tapes.  His big attraction at the time was how to achieve personal power.  Although I never fell for his live seminar gimmicks like the stunts where everyone walked over the hot coals, I did appreciate some of Robbins' pointers that resembled stoicism when it came to approaching some of life's sticking points, like "I always act until I succeed" or "the meaning of a communication is the response I get".  I memorized and adopted them because they made good sense to me.  Even in future projects Tony Robbins seemed to project a strong, positive aura about himself that I found very appealing.  He's still around, voice a bit scratchy and rough but with the same "can-do"personality.  A few days ago I discovered on YouTube the late personal development coach JIm Rohn's collection of podcasts.  Most of them are pretty direct and sometimes confrontational, demanding a response from the listener and indicating a "it's my way or the highway perspective from Rohn". Rohn, born in 1930, passed away from pulmonary fibrosis in 2009.  His business and professional life much resembled that of Am-Way's Bubba Pratt in that they escaped the common day-to-day workplace existence I followed at the post office to make their fortunes largely from sales and seminars.  Not that I'm complaining, since I'm grateful for the benefits and wages I received from there...including the opportunity for excellent health care and retirement accounts.  today I awoke a little before four, resisting the temptation to return to bed to continue A.C.-comforted sleep (something I'm considering returning to a little later this morning). 24 hours from now I'll be in a position to get ready to go with Melissa to Depot Park to participate in a new Parkrun 5K...it would be the second complete event I've done in 2026.  Today marks my late sister-in-law Krista's birthday...she would be turning 63 today.  Even in the middle of her medical ordeals, she was very positive and encouraging.  Well, Mr. Rohn has inspired me to keep tuned to his messages, which I think have a good amount of value to them.  I like stoic wisdom, and sometimes just getting out there and refusing to succumb to comfort is a healthful undertaking.  Now let's see if I can't make some more real progress today getting through that horrid Khan book. I did do some eight minutes of running in place already...

First Anniversary of My Prostatectomy

 Today marks the one-year anniversary of when I underwent a radical prostatectomy operation at the UF Health Cancer Hospital on the south side of Archer Road.  My dear, late sister-in-law Krista was staying in the same building when I entered it, climbing up its winding stairway to the second floor.  The procedure went smoothly enough, but in the early evening when I fully awoke it was very sharply painful for me 'down there'.  Melissa promptly got me on my feet for a brief post-op walk around the floor, and the Foley catheter had already been inserted.  For the next ten full days I would have little trouble with my urinating and emptying the bag...on the 17h all pain disappeared when it was removed.  Dr. Joseph performed the meticulous surgery, which took a few hours.  We left the hospital for home early on the 7th.  Krista remained there until she was released into hospice in early July.  God bless her, I miss her so much.  A few weeks after the catheter was gone, I speed-walked another Depot Parkrun 5K. The Director, Shauna...who has yet to give me volunteer credit for the end of last September when she asked me go far up and beyond the call of duty for a simple tail-walker assignment...was not at all happy with my participation, claiming health concerns. Too bad she treats it all like a competitive race whenever she runs it.  So today I got up early, ran in place a few minutes, and brewed some coffee.  And what do you know, here's Melissa! And what do you know, it's 4:30...