Get Rid of Your Stinkin' Thinkin'

Life is an adventure only if you decide to make it one!

Hello! I just got back from what ordinarily would have been just another business trip for Verizon Telecom. What I experienced instead was as an adventure filled with discovery and fascination for a time period long since gone. This journey left me with a gift of appreciation for those brilliant spirits who have come before leaving me with a heart filled with inspiration (from enthusiasm the Greek entheos “en, in; + theos, god;” or “to be inspired…”) and love.

Earlier this month I was in Boston, working at 185 Franklin Street, the Verizon building that once was part of the original Bell Telephone system. In fact in the marble face of the building above the main entry there is a brass Bell logo that says American Telephone & Telegraph, DBA New England Telephone. It is in fact very beautiful piece of Bostonian architecture nestled in the financial district of downtown Boston. I was reminded of the significance of the Vail name the role it's played in telecommunications history by viewing the many plaques that adorn the walls honoring Theodore N. Vail, the first president and CEO of the original AT&T known then as American Telephone and Telegraph. Vail was chiefly responsible for selling congress on the idea of a monopoly much like the postal service had for the U.S. Mail. Congress agreed and the monopoly of “Ma Bell” was created. Vail’s dedication to basic science inspired the creation of Bell Labs, the research arm for AT&T. He was hired to serve directly by Alexander Graham Bell.

After my visit to Boston I was inspired to do more reading on Theodore N. Vail, when my geneology research took me further back in time to the early 19th century and the historic Vails of Speedwell Iron Works; more great Vails who set in motion core elements necessary to fuel the industrial revolution. As my study progressed I learned of the enormous technological contributions that Alfred Vail made to the Telegraph, the precursor to the Telephone. As history literally unfolded before my eyes I soon realized that the people and events I was reading about all took place in Morristown, a neighboring town to Madison New Jersey where I would be working on my next business trip for Verizon Telecom. Now how’s that for being in alignment with inspiration!


While in Morristown, I visited the St. Peters Episcopal Church cemetery where Alfred Vail and his father Stephen Vail of Speedwell Iron Works are buried. I had the necessary supplies to take charcoal impressions from Alfred’s headstone. As I rubbed the charcoal pencil over the raised letters their images were transferred to paper. Slowly the characters spelling out V A I L appeared. I was moved beyond words at this moment as my consciousness realized the connectedness to the brilliance of a man who contributed so much to what we know as telecommunications.

Directly across the street from the church is the Vail Mansion. The caretaker of the church informed me that this was the estate which Theodore N. Vail had constructed to retire in. He died before he would ever live there. He is buried in Parsipanny, New Jersey in what is known as the Vail Memorial Cemetery, just a few miles from Morristown, so of course I made the trip over to Vail Memorial Cemetery located on, you guessed it… Vail Road. In 1922, The Vail Mansion began service to the City of Morristown and served as their municipal building for 70 years. It has now been sold to a private developer and is being constructed into exclusive condominium and town homes.

The next day, I traveled just a bit further down 202 in Morristown which is actually Speedwell Drive and tour of the famous Speedwell Iron Works. At the visitors center I was greeted by friendly staff. When they found out I was a Vail, I received the red carpet treatment. I was given a personalized tour of the grounds and historic buildings by a bright young man and intern by the name of Josh Rockland. Josh and I hit it off and as we walked, he exclaimed “This is so cool to be escorting my first Vail here at Speedwell.” He was obviously as excited as I was to be there. A present day Vail visiting such a historically rich site of past Vails… truly an amazing experience.

Josh and I spent the next two hours going back in time to the early 1800s, a time when the Vail entrepreneurial spirit was alive and thriving, contributing immensely to what would later be known as the Industrial Revolution. It was at Speedwell Iron Works that the Telegraph was born. Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse first demonstrated the device with two miles of copper wire coiled around the room on nails. Stephen Vail, Alfred’s father was given the honor of sending the first ever message to be transmitted over copper wire “A patient waiter is no loser.”

That brilliant message still holds true to this day and is so perfectly aligned with this quote from Wayne Dyer, “Infinite patience brings immediate results.” How nicely this ties together my personal experience of this past week with my message to you which is the “essence of allowing”. You see none of what I experienced this week would have been possible had I not allowed myself the experience. Often times when we feel a drive to pursue a goal or a desire we are quick to rationalize it away by over analyzing. We essentially think it to death. Once you believe that you can do, be, and have anything you desire, then and only then will your desires manifest for you and only to the extent that you are clear. I was so clear on my intentions of a Vail pilgrimage that what showed up not only matched perfectly to my intentions, but totally blew me away. It was truly a life changing event and I am looking forward to the opportunity to return to Morristown, New Jersey with my wife and children so they can share in the heritage and history of The Vails of Speedwell Iron Works.

Returning home with an education on the Vail entrepreneurial spirit from the days of the first Telegraph at Speedwell and a renewed sense of self, I was reminded of the entrepreneurial course that Donna and I have charted; writing, publishing, coaching and speaking by harnessing the power of the Internet. If only Alfred and Theodore could see what their inventions and leadership created… the Internet, satellite communications, wireless phones and on and on the list can go. They would be astonished. One of our Internet marketing mentors, Bill Hibbler last month showcased us on his blog titled “Meet The Vails” where he said “Their first info product… is, in my humble opinion, going to be a home run. The sales letter is brilliant and so is the product.”

So get rid of the “stinkin thinkin” as the title of this blog entry wales. Get out of your own way. Remove the blocks to whatever holds you back. Welcome each new day with the excitement of a new birth. After all… the morning is the birth of a new day, so get out there and rock and roll the bones. Get busy!

Sending you love and all green lights,

Julian

Be The Vibrational Match To The Events You Intend To Attract

Hello from Boston, Mass! I am on the road for the next two weeks on Verizon business.

The inspiration for this week’s blog entry came from an unlikely experience yesterday while in route to Boston, MA from Tyler, TX. I was scheduled to depart from Tyler Pounds Field at 8:40 A.M. with a 10:45 A.M. connection out of Dallas/Ft. Worth. This schedule had me arriving in the Boston area at around 3:30 P.M. EDT.

My lovely wife, Donna dropped me off at the Tyler airport at 8:00 A.M.. Seconds after receiving my boarding passes an announcement came over the PA system: “Due to heavy thunderstorms and a tornado sighting at the DFW airport all inbound and outbound traffic to DFW is suspended. We will provide an updated status in approximately 30 minutes."

Earlier back at the house, before I began my morning, I sat in quiet meditation, contemplating my day and how glorious it is to be alive, to witness the birth of a new day and to be part of the unfolding of everything. Later, at the airport I saw that my entire schedule rapidly changing in the face of the stormy conditions 80 miles to the west, I chose did not go into any panic or fear. I intended just observe what was happening around me and allow myself to be in the experience rather than attempt to control it.

I spoke to flight crews as they watched their satellite images tracking the storm on their wireless handheld devices. They spoke of possibly flying around the storm if only DFW could be cleared for incoming flights before the storm moved too far east. You see the storm front was moving due east, straight for Tyler’s airport.

A few hours passed and the same announcements came and went. Finally, we were able to go through the security screening. Don’t you love taking off your shoes to go through security? Once at the gate, we sat and watched the storm gradually set in. The winds came up so fast with heavy rains that visibility was reduced to nearly nothing.

The storm passed nearly as fast has it had arrived and after a few power surges in the airport, we were finally able to board our plane at 12:30 P.M. Well if you’re following my story so far you’ve likely guessed that by now I have missed my connection to Boston. The only flight the airline could confirm me on wouldn’t be leaving Dallas until 7:00 P.M.

In the days prior to my spiritual pursuits I would have been a wreck by now. Grumbling about the weather or the airlines or any other thing to blast, none of which having any control over. In contrast I was just allowing and being in the moment, not stressing or feeling anxious but just being present.

Once I got to Dallas I quickly found a monitor and located the nearest gate where a flight to Boston would be leaving. I boarded the SkyLink and made my way from B terminal to A terminal. I asked the ticketing agent at gate A-13 if this flight was open and she said, “No. It’s oversold and overbooked, but I can put you on standby.” I was number 8 on the standby list.

I watched the monitor as they began to call standby passengers. One by one my name moved up the list, closer and closer to the #1 spot as each person boarded. Soon my named appeared on the overhead monitor 1. VAI / J. The agent asked for all remaining standby passengers to get in line in order according to their order listing. “Vail at the front of the line, Smith behind Vail etc.”

I was calm and fully anticipated my boarding pass. I could see my seat waiting for me. Soon a representative emerged from the jet bridge requesting for all standby passengers to “please have a seat as a tire was in need of replacement.” As I stood there waiting, I called my wife to tell her just how close I was to boarding and explained the situation. As I talked to Donna I counted twelve ticketed passengers that were running late from another flight board the plane. Had it not been for the tire delay, these seats would have been filled with standby passengers. I felt a portion of my doubting ego kick in. “There goes the available seating… Oh no!”

Donna reminded me to cleanse, “I’m sorry, Please forgive me, I love you, Thank you”. I again visualized my seat and viewed my name in the #1 position on the monitors. “This is my airplane”, I said to myself. After about 15 minutes the agent called out my name, “Julian Vail, please check in”. “Thank you. I love you!” I exclaimed to the agent as she took my boarding pass. As I walked down the isle of the plane looking for my seat I soon realized once I got settled in, that I was the last passenger to board and my seat had been the last available seat. I was now on my way to Boston!

What is the point of my sharing this story? I was able to transcend my ego mind in the midst of potential chaos and instead look at the good around me rather than the bad. By not looking at my day as falling apart and turning it around to all this is good, I became a vibrational match for my standby seat on that 3:30 flight to Boston. Rather than thinking about being delayed I just visualized myself on that plane. Had I been clouded with doubt and utterly perturbed I honestly believe I would have had to wait around DFW until 7:00 P.M.

This is truly an experience of giving and receiving, the law of attraction, being a vibrational match or whatever you want to label it. It doesn’t really matter what you call it. What does matter is if you understand it and begin to apply it in your daily life. What you project to the universe, the universe mirrors. In my case I asked for seat on that plane and the universe delivered.

Thank you, I love you.