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Sunday Thought For The Day

Girl at the Fountain across from Vendu in Charleston
Creative Commons License photo credit: NYCArthur

“There is a foun­tain of youth: it is your mind, your tal­ents, the cre­ativ­ity you bring to your life and the lives of peo­ple you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” ~ Sophia Loren

Lance writes sto­ries from his heart, aim­ing to inspire and moti­vate, as you align more fully with YOUR true peak. When he’s not here, you can find him hang­ing out with his fam­ily, rid­ing a bike, or just gen­er­ally act­ing goofy.   Sign up for the Thoughts from the Tree­house newslet­ter and get addi­tional inspi­ra­tion in your email inbox!
Lance Ekum
View all posts by Lance Ekum

Comments

  1. CG Walters says:

    Another won­der­ful choice, Lance.
    bless­ings to you and your dear ones,
    CG

    CG Walters´s last blog post..Some Things You Just Know

  2. Dave Fowler says:

    I’m learn­ing. I’m learn­ing. But I need to find some peace and soli­tude to let the cre­ativ­ity flow freely. It’s not always easy but when it hap­pens it’s good. Have a good day Lance! :D

  3. Julie says:

    Oh so true, Lance! We shape our days, our energy and vital­ity, by how we view our­selves, life’s cir­cum­stances. When filled with hope and con­fi­dence, look­ing at all the good­ness we see every­where, we’re nat­u­rally lifted and ener­gized! It’s like tak­ing an “I’m a kid again!” pill. Really, watch­ing kids at play is a won­der­ful mea­sur­ing stick…the focus on dis­cov­ery, the thrill of accom­plish­ment, the FUN of seek­ing the next adven­ture… I try to do that with every­thing I do. And, LOL, as much as I detest house­clean­ing, I’ve even been able to make a game of that—some­times. ;)

    Julie´s last blog post..A Dozen Roses for All of Us

  4. Writer Dad says:

    Get­ting inside the heads of my chil­dren, no doubt, keeps me young.

    Writer Dad´s last blog post..Red­book… An Excerpt

  5. Evelyn Lim says:

    Most cer­tainly, I find that when I tap into cre­ativ­ity, I feel alive. And that’s what keep me young!! Thanks for the inspired mes­sage today!

    Eve­lyn Lim´s last blog post..My Vision Board Tops Amazon’s Best­seller List?

  6. It’s funny, I’m find­ing my mind, my tal­ents, and my cre­ativ­ity are grow­ing stronger with age. It is for these rea­sons I am embrac­ing the con­cept of aging. Is this the foun­tain of youth or the foun­tain of being in the moment?

    Stacey / Cre­ate a Balance´s last blog post..21 Rea­sons to Sched­ule a Weekly Night Out for Yourself

  7. Linda Abbit says:

    I love this photo as much as the quote, Lance.

    My hus­band has worked in two cre­ative pro­fes­sions and I used to think I wasn’t creative.

    I think Stacey has some­thing in her com­ment b/c as I’ve grown older I’ve real­ized I am cre­ative too, in my own way. Maybe with age comes cre­ativ­ity as well as wis­dom! Or maybe we gain the per­spec­tive and wis­dom needed to rec­og­nize and cel­e­brate our cre­ativ­ity! I think that’s what Loren’s saying.

    Linda Abbit´s last blog post..Funny Fri­days: Because It’s Bet­ter to Laugh than to Cry!

  8. Funny you should select this one. In one of Ari’s recent posts he talked about see­ing folks who phys­i­cally look younger than their age because they are doing what they love for work. I find that to be so true. When we con­sider that stress causes aging and stress is mainly want­ing to be some­where that you are not, it’s easy to make the leap to stress-free cre­ates agelessness.

    Tom Volkar / Delight­ful Work´s last blog post..Does a Busi­ness Startup Have To Be Hard?

  9. Davina says:

    You know what Lance? I think your blog’s tagline is per­fect! “Trav­el­ing through the jun­gle we call life — one step at a time.” Or in your case… one post at a time. It feels like you’re encour­ag­ing our steps along the way with your words. Thanks :-)

    Davina´s last blog post..Video — Prepa­ra­tion Inspires Self-Confidence

  10. Ain’t that the truth! :)

    Natalia Burleson´s last blog post..Anchor! Free Bracelet! :) New Blog!

  11. Mark says:

    Always awe­some! Thank you!

  12. Kim says:

    It’s true! If you stop liv­ing, you start dying. And that’s the biggest give­away of age ever.

    Kim´s last blog post..7 Quick Takes Friday

  13. I *love* Sophia Loren

    meleah rebeccah´s last blog post..I Could. But I Won’t.

  14. avtcoach says:

    Hi Lance, back to tell you that I have posted about your site. See today’s post. I look for­ward to read­ing more of your posts. You are an inspi­ra­tion. I hope to send more of my blog friends your way!

    avtcoach´s last blog post..Three Sites To See #8: Men Of Blog

  15. Laurie says:

    I find I look younger every day! (tongue in cheek) As I get a lit­tle older I want to make sure I am active both men­tally and phys­i­cally. I want to grow older being one of those who enter a room with pas­sion and adven­ture writ­ten all over my face. I want to be a 78 year old surfer chick. I believe stay­ing active is the key. It also doesn’t hurt to have some good hair color too!

  16. Audra Krell says:

    And the prayer would be to tap this source before one more year drib­bles by. Thanks for great inspi­ra­tion this Sunday!

  17. Caroline says:

    I could not agree more! Peo­ple ask, don’t you hate hav­ing birthday’s? To me age is all in the mind. I still feel 20 (thank­fully don’t act it)…but age is a num­ber, that’s it. You give it the meaning…

    Caroline´s last blog post..Day 15 — Con­fronting fears

  18. Jannie says:

    I plan on keep­ing this foun­tain going for a long long loooong time. And you?

    Jannie´s last blog post..And “The Real Jan­nie” is…?

  19. Liara Covert says:

    AsSophia Loren implies, we each hold the secret to our own foun­tain of youth. It is all about rais­ing aware­ness to the rea­sons behind why we cre­ate our per­cep­tion. I heard about an 80 year old woman who recently climbed Manchu Pic­chu. Her phi­los­o­phy is that she will do what her mind sets out for her to do. SHe does not cre­ate lim­i­ta­tions based on exter­nal assump­tions about age and phys­i­cal limitation.

    Liara Covert´s last blog post..What are you starv­ing for?

  20. Lance says:

    @CG Wal­ters — Thanks, and same to you!

    @Dave — I’m learn­ing too, Dave! Carry on my friend, carry on…

    @Julie — Hey Julie, I like the idea of the “I’m a kid again” pills! That is what it’s like — if we can gain that won­der­ment that chil­dren have, and their abil­ity to try things just because they want to (with­out the fear of being crit­i­cized, made fun of, etc.). A game of house­clean­ing — you are a kid at heart, aren’t you Julie!!

    @Writer Dad — Yes, kids — if we can get inside their heads, and spend a bit more time thinking/acting like them — the youth­ful­ness will be ours! Forever!

    @Evelyn — Tap­ping into cre­ativ­ity — yes, find­ing that things (or things) that really bring out our cre­ative side — what a great way to stay “young” and alive. Thank you Evelyn…

    @Stacey/Create A Bal­ance — Isn’t that awe­some, it’s like you’re get­ting younger as you get older! Being in the moment — a great way to look at this. It is in the moments of our life that we become who we are. And, if that keeps us feel­ing and act­ing “young” — that’s icing on the cake!

    @Linda — That photo is great isn’t it — to me, it just really shows the youth­ful side of being care­free and alive! I think that with age, cre­ativ­ity can come — if we allow it to fully come out. And that is being in the moments of our lives, really being there — and embrac­ing what excites us. And yes, we begin to real­ize that we all can be cre­ative, in our very own unique ways.

    @Tom — Inter­est­ing addi­tion to this Tom — stress. I hadn’t thought much about it, but that makes so much sense. When we have more stress in our lives, we do feel worn down and beat up. And that’s a recipe for feel­ing older than we really are. So, by elim­i­nat­ing (or reduc­ing) stress, we do feel younger…Thanks for adding that per­spec­tive Tom!

    @Davina — Thank you Davina! That’s what I’m try­ing to do, and it’s as much for myself too…it’s a jun­gle for me out there many days!

    @Natalia — Yes, Ms. Loren really got it right — and I want that fountain!

  21. On the evening news the other night they showed a nona­ge­nar­ian danc­ing up a storm. She had always loved to dance, but her hus­band didn’t. So after he died she found a part­ner and is mak­ing up for lost time. She told the inter­viewer to come back in 8 years…she’ll be danc­ing to cel­e­brate turn­ing 100.

    I think of life as a shared adven­ture rather than as a jun­gle. Same thing but a dif­fer­ent empha­sis. :)

    Jean Browman–Transforming Stress´s last blog post..Bring­ing Out the Best In Ourselves

  22. Lance says:

    @Mark — Thanks Mark for your con­tin­ued support!

    @Kim — Liv­ing, really liv­ing — is what life is about! Let’s make the most of all the moments we have in our lives, because you never know when they might end. Great way to look at it Kim!

    @Meleah — With a mes­sage like this, how can you not love her!!

    @avtcoach — Thank you very much! I’ll be check­ing it out — you are too kind!!

    @Laurie — You’re doing some pretty cool things right now Lau­rie — and that all shouts pas­sion! So, you ARE in that foun­tain. I can’t wait to see what you’re doing at 78!!

    @Audra — Yes, this is one of those things we don’t want to put off — do it now! And, I think, no mat­ter where we are on the whole “foun­tain of youth” con­tin­uüm, we can all take pos­i­tive steps to con­tinue toward even more youth-filled moments! Thanks for stop­ping by Audra, and remind­ing me that this stuff need to start NOW

    @Caroline — Yes, age is just a num­ber. Our true age — the age of our souls — is mea­sured not in years, but in our moments (thanks for the reminder on this Stacey). And, yes — we give those years mean­ing. What kind of mean­ing? That’s up to us, and how we really live out our days, isn’t it!

    @Jannie — From what I know of you Jan­nie, that doesn’t sur­prise me (and that’s awe­some)! Me? Yes, I’m going to work at really stay­ing in that foun­tain as long as I am here on earth! It’s a great place to hang out in!

    @Liara — Hold­ing our own secrects to that foun­tain of youth — I love that Liara. It says to me that we’re all dif­fer­ent — and we should embrace our dif­fer­ences, live in the moments of our lives, and love the life we are hav­ing! What won­der­ful thoughts! Your exam­ple of the 80 year old woman climb­ing Manchu Pic­chu — these are great sto­ries to hear and be reminded that we shouldn’t let our actual age limit us from what we think we can or can’t do. Thanks for shar­ing that, Liara, and remind­ing us all that life is what we make it to be!

    @Jean — What a great story Jean, and reminder that we can make changes and do the things we love when­ever we want to. Just because we’re a cer­tain age doesn’t mean that we “can’t” do some­thing — I say let’s dance when we’re 100 if that what we really want to do! Life being a “shared adven­ture” — yes, that is one of the things that makes life worth liv­ing — it’s in shar­ing with the oth­ers who have mean­ing in our lives. So, maybe (just maybe) it’s not always a jun­gle out there…(but sometimes…)

  23. Rachel says:

    Won­der­ful quote. My great grand­fa­ther always said you are only as old as you feel. We have seen the power of our minds over our body and we know it works. My great grand­fa­ther lived to be 96 and I believe his men­tal mind­set played a huge role. :)

    Rachel´s last blog post..VOTE!!!

  24. Pink Ink says:

    I am firmly a believer that age is a mat­ter of mind. I love recon­nect­ing to my inner child; it makes life more ful­fill­ing and happy!

    Pink Ink´s last blog post..If It Weren’t For Mom

  25. I loved this quote. I have been think­ing a lot about life and this is a great way to live it.

    Munchkins and Music´s last blog post..Clean Music for Teens: David Archuleta

  26. Lance says:

    @Rachel — Your great grand­fa­ther exhib­ited a great atti­tude Rachel! No doubt, this helped him to “live” as long as he did. Some peo­ple die before they really die, and I think that hap­pens when we give up on life (and it can hap­pen at any age). This is a true exam­ple of liv­ing right up until the end — awesome!

    @Pink Ink — I’m jump­ing in your wagon with you Jewel! You’ve got the right atti­tude and ideas about let­ting the “child” in you out! Let’s play!!

    @Munchkins and Music — I think it is too.…me may age in years, but that doesn’t mean we have to age in life…

  27. I sure would like to defeat age! So, thanks!

  28. This is my motto in life! I am play­ing my way through life and that’s why I am not get­ting old. I’m hav­ing too much fun being cre­ative and hang­ing out with like-minded peo­ple who are pos­i­tive and inspir­ing and keep me young. I never worry about the num­bers. I’m think­ing about train­ing for another marathon when I turn 50 in another year and a half!

    Wendi Kelly-Life’s Lit­tle Inspirations´s last blog post..Are you Plan­ning for the Fog?

  29. Rachel says:

    Yeah for that. I find too that as I age I get smarter, more cre­ative and feel more alive!

    Rachel´s last blog post..Look­ing fear in the face

  30. I have always believed age is just a num­ber, the rest is state of mind. This quote val­i­dates that for me!

    Stacey Shipman´s last blog post..Get­ting Back to Your Senses

  31. rummuser says:

    Who else could have put it as well?

    rummuser´s last blog post..Movie Scenes That Have Stayed With Me.

  32. Mindful Mimi says:

    I did Pilates today and I painted. I had a very cre­ative and relax­ing day :-)

    Mind­ful Mimi´s last blog post..EU’s bureau­cracy keeps money away from devel­op­ing countries

  33. Suzie says:

    Can I have a soak please

    Suzie´s last blog post..A Very Very Bad Weekend

  34. Meribeth says:

    Ah! No kid­ding. I am 48 and would not trade it for my 20’s for any reason.

    Meribeth´s last blog post..It ain’t easy.…

  35. Sagan says:

    Cute photo! You’re only as old as you feel.

    Sagan´s last blog post..Ana­lyz­ing Stress and Con­trol Issues

  36. Carla says:

    That is a very beau­ti­ful quote that I have unfor­tu­nately never heard/read until now. I think I’m going to have to add it to my desktops!

    Carla´s last blog post..Hol­i­day Gift Ideas | Reduce the stress and clutter

  37. Tammy Warren says:

    Well, you know me. I am always con­nect­ing with my inner child. That is what liv­ing is about. Never grow­ing old.

  38. Jennifer says:

    Great quote Lance. Ah, cre­ativ­ity gets the mind juices going doesn’t it! I wish every­one could know my sister-n-law. Cre­ativ­ity oozes from her every being. She is very much alive and makes oth­ers that way as well.

    Jennifer´s last blog post..A Source of Huge Frustration

  39. Lance says:

    @Super Healthy Kids — Yes, let’s defeat it!

    @Wendi — And it’s a motto that fits you very well Wendi! You exude fun — and I say go for the marathon! That’s an awe­some goal for 50!!

    @Rachel — You’re doing it right Rachel. Con­tinue doing that, and life will just get grander every day!

    @Stacey Ship­man — You have a belief that will suit you well Stacey. I tend to not think so much about the num­ber, and more about what am I doing, how am I chal­leng­ing myself, etc. Here’s to keep­ing our state of mind young!

    @Rummuser — Sophia Loren really has said it well, hasn’t she!

    @Mindful Mimi — Two great ways to exer­cise both your body and your creativity!

    @Suzie — Yes, let’s all jump in that foun­tain and soak it all in — and we can — using our minds, our cre­ativ­ity, and our tal­ents — to always stay young at heart — no mat­ter what the bio­log­i­cal clock says.

    @Meribeth — Stay you Meri­beth — you’re doing it now — don’t ever stop!

    @Sagan — I love the pic­ture too — it fits well, I think, with the idea behind this quote.

    @Carla — This quote was new to me too (so you’re not the only one!). I’m glad you enjoyed it!

    @Tammy — I do believe that Tammy — you are a kid at heart! Stay that way always…

    @Jennifer — Your sister-in-law just sounds like an amaz­ing and cre­ative lady — and when we meet these peo­ple — they do share that enthu­si­asm for life with us — what a gift they give! I think you’re that way too…

  40. Marelisa says:

    Hi Lance: Sofia Loren is a great per­son to quote on how to age well; she’s still spec­tac­u­lar. The quote high­lights that even though there are some things that are out of our con­trol, keep­ing our spir­its high and con­stantly look­ing for ways to employ our tal­ents to help oth­ers is within our con­trol and a great way to stay young at heart.

  41. Hi Lance — That’s great advice from a woman who looks awfully young for her age. I’m guess­ing that’s her “secret”.

    Bar­bara Swaf­ford — Blog­ging With­out A Blog´s last blog post..NBOTW — For The Love Of Words

  42. Cath Lawson says:

    Hi Lance — great quote and pic. I just wish the foun­tain of youth worked on the out­side as well as the inside.

  43. HIB says:

    I think the foun­tain of youth is also our source of creativity.

    HIB´s last blog post..6 Rea­sons Why I Joined Toastmasters

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  1. […] of humor and writes about life, money/business and per­sonal growth. On Sun­days he posts his “Sun­day Thought for the Day” which is sure to inspire you and make you think. Another recent one to take a look at is: […]

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