Ask Mark Ward

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Celebrate with Abandon.

When I was 21, I received an imported bottle of champagne from a fellow actor in a show that I was doing. It was his opening night gift to me. I wanted to drink the champagne, but decided to save it for a special occasion. I put the bottle in my parent's refrigerator when I graduated from college. Twelve years later, I received a call from my parents, "we have been moving this bottle of champagne from house to house and we are wondering if we can throw it away." I kept waiting for an event worthy of the champagne and the bubbly went bad.

In my parent's home, the formal dining room was only used on holidays and special occasions. The same was true for the fine china, the good crystal and the silver.  As kids, we were told not to wear our "good shoes" and clothes for an event that was deemed less than appropriate.

I have spent many years of my life waiting for things to be "right," so that I may celebrate. When <insert condition here> occurs, I will be joyful. The truth is that today is the only day that we may count on; it is the only thing of which we can be certain. Isn't being alive reason enough for celebration? We have been awarded and blessed with the gift and opportunity of another day. Let's celebrate with abandon. Let's wear our good shoes to the park, drink our soda from the crystal and sing out loud on the way to work.

Success or sabotage? If you delay your joy until tomorrow, are you really successful?

Is this going to be an incredible day? You have no day but today with which to answer the question; your answers speak louder than words.