The C.A.T. Principle – Global Ebook Awards GOLD & SILVER Winner for Best Self-Help Non-Fiction Ebook of 2014 & 2016

Santa Barbara Days…

Welcome to my inaugural blog and new website featuring my soon to be released book, The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By!

Now you may be wondering why my home page features a beautiful picture of the California coastline at Santa Barbara given the website dedicates itself to a book about the eternal concepts of Change, Action and Trust. Fair question; so allow me to explain.

Early this June, I had the good fortune of spending a week in Santa Barbara on vacation. ‘June gloom’ was in full swing as the Californians call it. Waking up each morning, I figured rain would be the ingredient of the day, but true to its nature, with the exception of just one day, the clouds would break and with it the ‘gloom’. The sun would shine as bright in the sky as only a California sun can do.

Mornings I would run through a bird sanctuary to a little gym in Montecito (Montecito lies on the southern edge of Santa Barbara), where I’d lift a few weights and do a few stretches before continuing to jog along the ocean. Passing the Four Seasons Hotel I’d run east over the Highway 101 before heading up the hill above Montecito and then back down and around through the village center, where I’d make a routine stop for a morning cup of  green tea. Relaxing a few minutes on the outdoor patio I’d sit back and watch the comings and goings of people cluttered by background conversations arising from fellow patrons on the patio.

There’s something about travelling alone that makes one’s senses keener than if one is joined by a companion. We tend to see things that otherwise we wouldn’t notice and we often hear things that otherwise we wouldn’t pay the slightest attention to. It’s as if our social antennae are on full alert, subconsciously looking for ways to connect with people, even if only for a sliver of time.

One morning sitting on the patio, I couldn’t help to overhear a conversation of two local late middle-aged men talking about their day’s activities. One asked the other if he’d already had his Porsche painted, while the other asked him if he had practiced his drums that morning. No doubt, these two were well to do, enjoying the fruits of their labors, whatever those labors may have been. But then the conversation turned, when one asked the other about a woman he had met at a party hosted by the other. “Oh, didn’t I ever tell you,” said the other. “She turned out to be a front for a burglar gang wanting to case homes in the area. Yeah, to think that I even invited her to my party. I mean I thought that she was legit and all. It’s amazing; you just can’t trust people anymore!” Bang! Those words hit like a ton of bricks!  “You just can’t trust people anymore!” Coming from the mouth of an obviously successful person living in the paradise that Santa Barbara is, they hit doubly hard! For even in ‘paradise’ trust can be lacking.

I tell this story because it’s so representative of what we all must endure in our lives when it comes to trust. Whether Santa Barbara, Miami or Toronto, or anywhere in between, we’re all tested when it comes to the timeless concept of trust and what it means, or doesn’t mean. No doubt, the words uttered by that gentleman were used more as a gesture of emphasis, than to literally mean that he didn’t trust anyone anymore. Nonetheless, the very fact that he used them, as many of us probably have as well, does say something about the state of trust in our society and what often seems to be a lack of it.

My Santa Barbara days didn’t come to an end without some of the necessary visits I always try to make to local museums. It is here I love to indulge in stories of by gone years and learn about people that actually made things happen in their communities. Like all great towns and communities everywhere, they‘re a product of the people that made them great.  People, who dared to act, people who stood up for what they believed in, no matter the consequences, and never shied away from civic duty.

That Santa Barbara today ranks as one of the most architecturally beautiful cities anywhere can largely be attributed to a group of citizens who banded together in the 1920s to push for the beautification of the city, along with retaining and building upon a rich Spanish architectural heritage. Were it not for these people taking action at that time, Santa Barbara would most certainly not be the stunning city that it has become. Nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the crystal blue Pacific Ocean, it’s a prime example of what people can do when they put their heads together and take action for a cause greater than themselves. In this case, it was laying the foundation for the creation of a fabulously livable city.

This is notable to say the least, especially given the recent filing for bankruptcy by Detroit. One of America’s economic powerhouses of years past, it now stands as a prime example of what happens when inaction becomes rampant and nobody seems to care. Surely politicians could see the financial crisis coming years ago, but no one seemed to have the courage to step up and do what was necessary to head it off. Heaven forbid that this is the sign of the times we live in. It’s now said that Los Angeles, Chicago and many other cities and towns across America could be in the same position, and sooner than later. Alas, where have all those citizens of action gone? Must we wait until the whole house of cards collapses before action is taken – hopefully not?

Naturally, anyone visiting Santa Barbara can’t help but come away with a feeling of awe for the grandeur of the Pacific Ocean. The sound of waves pounding upon the shore becomes etched in one’s mind making one wonder about life itself. As persistent as the waves hit, they’re impact is nothing but a state of constant flux. Each wave is different, the change is never ending. Just like life, no two days are ever exactly the same. We’re always changing, even if we don’t notice it – it’s happening whether we like it or not.

I can’t think of a better analogy than the constant beating of water upon the earth. Even a rock is eventually worn down by a steady drop. Water’s fluidity epitomizes the essence of change – it flows. And just the same, so do our lives. Nothing ever stays the same. Everything flows. All we can do is prepare and anticipate the change that will come our way, for come it will. It’s up to us to deal with it, or become like the starfish washed up on shore, pushed around by the “waves of life” having no direction and not knowing what to do next.

Santa Barbara days…

For more check out The C.A.T. Principle: Change, Action, Trust – Words to Live By, a 2014 Global Ebook Awards Nominee, available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Sign up above and start receiving this blog to your inbox every two weeks. Comments and thoughts welcome…