“Reclusive? The inner city will secure your privacy
better than any desert cave.”

- Mason Cooley
(1927 - 25 July 2002)

The signature keyboard part is played on a Hohner Pianet, and the organ is a Vox Continental.

When at Blair Academy, Mark Sebastian submitted the lyrics as a poem for the literary magazine. That poem, entitled "Summer In the City," had the refrain "but at night it's a different world, go out and find a girl, come on, come on and dance all night, despite the heat it'll be alright, and babe don't you know it's a pity, the days can't be like the night, in the summer in the city." His older brother John changed the slower verses to a more upbeat model, keeping the title and the refrain. Mark's part remains as he wrote it, words and music. Bassist Steve Boone added the instrumental coda in the middle...

   Thank you so much for sharing these articles, Charles! I enjoyed the insights - particularly those in the first article. I was thinking of you when that last Shuttle flight took place. It's a very surreal thought to realize that the program has come to an end.

'Have you ever done anything of particular merit?'

'Well, I can think of one thing,' the Texan offered.

'On a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen. So, I approached the largest and most tattooed biker and smacked him in the face, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, 'Now, back off or I'll kick the @#$% out of all of you!'

St. Peter was impressed. 'When did this happen?'

'Couple of minutes ago.'

      Thanks, Norris Sweetie - you are a hoot!

By Warren Wojnowski

Are you happy? Have you actually made the decision to be happy in your life?

Do you have fun living your life each day? Are you having fun living your life today, right now? If not, why not?

Wouldn't it be terrific to wake up in the morning full of gratitude for the opportunity to live a great life today, and then to go out and live it? How would that make you feel? What would that look like for you? What would it sound like?

You can have all of that, and you can experience all of that; and you can begin to have this right now, starting today.

Do you believe me?

Clearly there is something inside of you that, at the very least, wants to believe these words. Allow me to share my story.

I spent 23 years of my adult life (not to mention most of my formative childhood years) believing that I had to live my life according to someone else's rules. I was locked into a formula that was essentially prescribed to me by the environment (parents, schools, government, church, etc.) in which I was raised.

It went something like this: get a good education, get a good job, work hard and keep your nose to the grindstone, scrimp and save your money, put off what you'd love to do until later, avoid taking any risks, and if you're lucky you'll get to enjoy yourself in your twilight years.

Does this sound vaguely familiar?

In my particular case, it actually was working out reasonably well. I had a "good job", was earning a reasonable salary and had achieved a degree of success in my life. Or at least that's how it appeared on the outside.

But on the inside, I was miserable. I was caught up in the struggle of my day-to-day life -- quite literally choosing to make it a struggle without ever realizing that's what I was doing. I was in a sleep walk of day-to-day drudgery. I was most definitely not living the life of my dreams, the life I love.

Until one day I simply decided it was time to stop. I chose to wake up.

Finally there came a day when I simply couldn't take it anymore and so I made the decision that it was time to stop. I made the decision to change the way I was living and to jump off of the treadmill. I made the decision to change my life. I made the decision to begin living my life on my terms.

The effect was magical. A thousand pound weight was lifted off my shoulders. I felt relieved. I felt alive. I felt inspired. I began actually enjoying my life.

And so now here I am suggesting to you that you can begin to live the life you want -- the life you love -- right now beginning today.

Because all it really takes is for you to make the decision.

Oh, I know that sounds simplistic. Yet it's true, and deep down there's a part of you that knows it's true.

By truly making that decision -- that single, mental decision -- everything changes. Everything changes because your perspective changes.

For me, my decision led to some very explicit actions. I resigned from my job and decided to build my own business with my wife Michelle, from home. Frankly I had no idea how any of it was going to work and how we'd be able to pay the bills or keep the kids fed and clothed, except that I believed it would. Looking back now, I suppose I just knew it would.

Well, go figure, things have worked out beautifully. The sky didn't fall. The world didn't end. Things have certainly changed, mind you. We don't hang out with all of the same people we used to. Our activities have become more focused on family and friends as opposed to fitting things around my job. We live a much more relaxed life. We have fun every day.

What about you? What do you love? What are the things you'd love to do right now with your life? Can you feel them calling you?

If you can, then listen to and follow them. For there is one thing that is absolutely true: there is no need to struggle in your life. You make real whatever you believe is real. This is the basic law of the universe, the law of attraction.

So the first thing to do is to let go of the notion that it's different for you or that somehow you are not allowed to live the life you want. Let go of the notion that you're somehow not deserving of that privilege. Stop marginalizing yourself.

You deserve to be happy and enjoy your life. That's the whole point of living -- to experience the joy of it.

Yes, the entire idea of following your bliss can be extremely frightening. And fear leads to all sorts of wild emotions, but that's part of being human. Remember though, fear is all in your head. It's all about what you imagine might happen. Those wild emotions that you feel as a result of your fears need not define you.

In his book, Conversations With God, Neale Donald Walsh tells us we have three tools of creation. They are thought, words, and action. It is your thoughts, your words, and your actions that define you -- for they are the summation of who you are being.

So this begs the question, who do you want to be?

Get in touch with your own truth about who you want to be and then start being that person right now, today. Begin to live your passion and enjoy your life. It's much easier than you suspect. It's remarkably easy to let the "how" unfold; just let your inspiration be your guide.

Your inspiration will never misguide you. By being focused on who and what you want to be, you will be inspired to think the thoughts, speak the words and take the actions that make that being your reality. The more you are being, the more you'll be doing and the more you'll be having what you want. The more you will be living the life that you love.

And so the circle repeats, over and over, with each cycle more strongly reinforcing who you are and what you love to be.

It's a magnificent thing. It's freedom.

And so now it is time for you to begin your path to living the life you love. Begin living the life you want right now.
Begin by making the decision to be happy with your life right now. Begin today.


About the Author:

Warren Wojnowski is an Intrinsic Coach® and both a dedicated student and practitioner of law of attraction and life success principles. Learn more about Warren and his happiness program at http://www.7stepstohappiness.com/7-steps-happiness-program/.