My book of motivational, inspirational, and (sometimes) funny essays is now available on Amazon and other book retailers.
If you enjoy my blog writing, you will certainly enjoy this book.
The feedback has been tremendously positive.
Please take a look!
Impossible is an Illusion by Dr. Paul Semendinger
I truly believe we can all be almost anything we want to be. I think it just takes hard work, perseverance, some creativity, and, maybe, a little luck. Sometimes, I think, we also have to modify our dreams a little. Last week, I got to live out, in a sense, one of my childhood dreams.
I came across a passage that suggested that we should always “maintain a sense of wonder” in our lives. I love the idea of seeking wonder, or magic, in the mundane.
Life isn’t always about the things we have to do, and even when it is, that doesn’t preclude us from seeking the good and something special in every situation. This is important to recognize and acknowledge because there can be good everywhere and at any time. It’s simply about maintaining that sense of wonder.
(This passage comes from my upcoming book of essays, “Impossible is an Illusion” which will be published by Ravenswood Publishers in May 2017.)
There is a Latin phrase that reads, “Crede quod habes, et habes.”
This can be translated as, “Believe that you have it, and you have it.”
This is NFL Playoff Weekend. There are two big games coming up on Sunday. The winners of each of the games will go to the Super Bowl in two weeks. I am a casual football fan, but I am excited about the playoff games this weekend. They promise to be exciting…
(If you click on the highlighted words before each section, you’ll have even more fun with this blog post.)
This blog post will be a little different than the others. It might not end up as a coherent passage with one main theme. More, it’s a stream-of-conscious recollection of my experiences at this year’s New York City Marathon.
As I am writing this passage a week after I ran, I’m sure some of the most poignant and special things that I wanted to remember have been lost among the crowds, thrills, and emotions of this wonderful and inspiring annual event.
The first published collection of my motivational writings is titled Impossible is an Illusion. This work contains more than 40 of my best essays.
The title for the book comes from the following essay which is featured in the text. Enjoy this preview of Impossible is an Illusion!
***
Impossible is an Illusion
I’m an optimist. I always believe that good will prevail. I look to the bright side. The glass is half full – even when it is half-empty. I believe in miracles. Hope springs eternal.
I believe I can do anything. I believe we all can.
I’m not a philosopher. (It would be tough to call anyone who often quotes Rocky Balboa as someone who philosophizes…). Still, I do try to share some deep thoughts on these pages. As I have aged, and collected a lifetime’s worth of knowledge, I have been drawn to some great thinkers. For example, I have grown very fond of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I recently purchased a text (“Self-Reliance and Other Essays”) penned by Emerson that I greatly look forward to reading.
Confucius is one of the great minds of history. His philosophies, written 2600 years ago still resonate today. I figured that I’d take some time to examine just a few of the many statements left to us from Confucius to see how they relate to our lives as educators and teachers of children. We’ll begin each section with a quote from Confucius and follow that up with my own thoughts and reflections.
“Life is really simple but we insist on making it complicated.”
This is one of those stories that, at once, is hard to believe, but is the absolute truth. This is one of those stories that remind us all that failure is part of success. This is true even for people who are considered the greatest of all time, for, you see, they weren’t always considered as such.
This seems like a story about baseball, but it’s not. It’s a story about failure. And success. Great success.
Great success that came only after dismal failure.
I had a great idea for this blog post, but I just couldn’t put it together in a coherent way. As such, I was forced to scratch the original and find another idea to write about.
I tried a second time, and the words, again, just didn’t come.
If you can’t get it right the first time, try again.
And again.
Dr. Sem's Blog 