Waiting with anxiety and trepidation as they grow in the womb… all of your dreams and fears swirl around like a tornado… engulfing, stimulating, paralyzing…. all bathed in hopes of joy, love and anticipation.

Then you see them for the first time. And you know that love at first sight is a true phenomenon. You are hooked for life in a single glance.

Your world is forever different. Like passing under a curtain of water, once on the other side, you will never be the same as you were before. 

From that day forward, you take a backseat position in your priorities on behalf of this tiny thing with whom you have not shared a conversation, but transmitted a massive tome of thoughts and prayers.

When they are in pain, yours is worse. When they are in frustration, yours is worse. When they are in absolute happiness, yours is exponential.

Eventually you learn to let them take on life on their own terms. Your choices for them are not always the choices they want for themselves. You discover there is an even greater joy in letting go and allowing them to become further self-sufficient and you guide when asked, not when you feel like it.

They are the true meaning of life. The cause for your deepest highs, and the stimulation for your deepest fears. They add a quality to the life experience that is incalculable and they are your reward for the time, effort and continuous selfless love that you invest in the relationship.

As you grow older, you realize all the wealth, all the awards, all the acclaim you can possibly accrue over a lifetime, pales in comparison to them looking you in the eyes with joy and appreciation.

It just doesn’t get any better than that.

When I was very young, we were dirt poor, and there was no chair (ignore the one in the background of the shot) for me to sit and read, so my father would patiently lie on the ground and be my chair so I had a comfy spot to settle in and read the good stuff.

I would give anything for the chance to look into my father’s eyes again.

To all the dads… HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

If you like what you are reading in the blog, you will even love the book more. Take a free preview below and watch the Sizzle Reel. It will give you a sense of how this book might be of help in your life when you are looking to make some tough decisions.

Changing the world…One thought at a time.

This book is written for you. Whether you are just embarking on your journey in life, or if you are a seasoned veteran, we all have so much more to learn. Lessons from the Mountain is a conversational exploration of countless topics of personal and professional self help.

Mr. Weiner has collected a diverse assortment of thoughts from the great sages of the last two millennia, each sparking personalized discussions, intended to stimulate you into deeper contemplation of the subjects that intrigue you.

Leveraging his experiences in building The Illusion Factory and then, Sizzle, Mr. Weiner reflects on numerous moments of engagement that are relevant to all of us as we navigate our path in life.

In this zen entrepreneurial discussion, the myriad topics range from:

• Narrowing choices to increase opportunity

• Assuaging a hurt ego

• Managing the depression that comes with a failure

• Learning to continuously improve

• Owning your mistakes

• Increasing your likelihood for success

• Making ethical choices

• Pursuing seemingly impossible goals

• Coping with a loss

• Making unpopular decisions

• Communicating with compassion

• Learning to collaborate with others more skilled than you

• Accepting your reality, while working to change it

• Stopping bullies in their tracks

• Letting go of anger

• Deepening self-respect

• Understanding love

• Making the planet a better place

• Taking giant risks and succeeding

• The elusive pursuit of happiness

• The art of honesty and friendship

• Following your heart

• Overcoming PTSD

• Learning when to become impartial

• Questioning reality

• The probability of UFOs

• Attracting positive outcomes

• The benefits of being a zen entrepreneur

and many other interesting topics of exploration.

The book has been written over a couple of years of climbing a mountain in the darkness in order to be atop for the sunrise. Photos from those journeys accompany the beautifully illustrated aphorisms, whose content spark each of the philosophical discussions.