One of the best weekends ever.

 Almost two weeks ago I told you about our pending trip to Dallas. Now we are back and all that I can say is that my experience was much greater than anything I ever could have imagined. The event, the National MS Society's Annual Leadership Conference, started on Thursday and ended on Saturday and in between were general sessions, breakout sessions, gala dinners, entertainment and more than 500 of the nicest, kindest and most caring people that you could ever meet.

Then it occurred to me. “Of course they are nice. After all, this is a cause.” The people who work for the MS Society are a kind and caring bunch, otherwise they would not work there. The people who volunteer and contribute at this level are kind and caring, otherwise they wouldn't be there.  To be immersed, among and gathered with all of these people was an absolute joy. It was a great thrill for me and a weekend that was filled with  praIses and accolades. I do not know if that is because of the job that I did or because they are so darn nice. Either way, it sure felt good.

 There were X Games Gold Medal winners, Clay Walker, David Osmond and a very talented 10-year-old girl who brought the house down when she sang “the Climb”. There were astronomical fundraisers who have raised millions of dollars for the society, activists who have helped make great changes in how Medicare treats those of us living with MS. There were students who were scholarship winners, researchers and clinicians. Barbecues, cocktails and a video being shot that had everybody singing and dancing.

 In other words, it was fun, moving, informative and inspiring. It was everything that you could hope for at an event like this. It was without a doubt one of the best experiences of my life. My only hope is that someday all of you have the opportunity to attend an MS Leadership Conference.

 Who knows? Maybe next year we can all meet up in Denver at the next conference.

Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

To me it is a very big deal!

I feel like I've told lots of people about this. Yet, almost every day I realize that I've left somebody out and the fact is that I want everybody to know.

 In mid-August I was contacted by the National MS Society. Not the local chapter where we normally direct a lot of our time and attention, but the Big One, the Parent, the Behemoth, the “national” National MS Society asking me if I would co-emcee their National Leadership Conference to be held in Dallas next week. Me?  They were asking me? There are a lot of Michael Gerbers in the world. Did they really mean me? They did and there have been very few times in my life where I have felt so honored and excited to be asked to participate in something. This was one of those times.

 As the song says "Our bags are packed. We're ready to go.” We are actually leaving a few days early to visit a very close friend in Austin, which we are also excited about. In fact, it will be a reunion for four us who have known each other for more than 35 years and who live in different cities across the country. Then it is off to Dallas for the really big show. An opportunity for us to meet and greet the real movers and shakers behind the MS Society. Individuals who have raised more than $1,000,000, companies that have raised millions of dollars, researchers who are at the forefront of the progress being made to lead us to a cure and the management and staff of the Society that make it all happen. 

 “The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” Our journey is thousands of miles (round trip, that is) and begins with an airplane ride. I promise to share some of the details when I return. Until then, I trust that your good wishes are with me as mine are with you every single day.

 Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

“Staying married is its own reward”

That phrase, “staying married is its own reward” was told to me almost 26 years ago.   I think that until someone has been married for 15 or 20 years, they cannot fully understand how meaningful and true that statement is. It is for me and I should know. Today is my 32nd wedding anniversary.

 There is an intimacy that comes with the knowledge and comfort of another person that comes with time. You know how they think, feel and breathe. You can hand them things before they ask, or know what is needed before they do. You can finish sentences for each other, help remember names, watch their diets, remind them to make calls, and let it be okay if they fall asleep watching TV. You might have disagreements, but then you go on.  They may be less than perfect (not me, but other people) and that is okay, it is part of who they are. That is how it is for us.

 There is a tremendous feeling that comes with just knowing that they are there.  They could be in the next room or laying next to you in bed, but the certainty that they are there is more than comforting. It is an assurance that all is right in the world. That is how it is for us.

Ask couples who have been married for quite a while what it takes to succeed and you will get a lot of different answers. “Don't go to bed angry.” “Always show respect to one another.” “Laugh at his jokes even if you have heard them 100 times.” I have an answer that I believe trumps all of that and I can tell it to you in a single word: gratitude….at least that is how it is for us.

Gratitude is the key to happiness in all areas of life and relationships are no different.  Gratitude must be felt and expressed, it must be shared or it is of no use. It must be genuine and never forgotten. At least that is how it is for us.

On the day we were married we were so grateful to have found one another. What we did not know then is that the expression of gratitude must be done regularly or it will be forgotten. Once forgotten, a partner can be taken for granted and when that happens there can be troubles in the relationship.

Today our relationship is better and stronger than ever. Why is that? Because we have learned about gratitude, feel grateful and constantly express our gratitude to one another.

Today I am very grateful. Grateful to have found someone to share my life with. Grateful to have found someone to build a life with. Grateful to have a partner that is loving, kind, affectionate and so much more.

Happy anniversary, Gail. I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.

Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

Amazing Perspective....."The Options Are Limited”

I wrote this three years ago and came across it again recently. For me, it is more relevant than ever and I thought it was worth posting again. I hope that you agree.


I don’t remember all the details, but the moment is forever etched in my mind.


One day I was talking with a woman. We were just getting to know one another and she began to tell me about her life. It was extraordinary and amazing. I had never met or even heard of anyone whose life was filled with so much tragedy. It was truly extraordinary.


Her parents had died in a car accident when she was young.
Her first child was born severely retarded.
Her husband died leaving her with two children to care for, both under the age of ten.
She herself was battling cancer.


I think that is a lot for any one person to have to deal with. I even told her so. Then I asked “How do you do it? How do you get out of bed every day and face the world?”


Her answer was so simple. But at that moment it struck me as profound. Four simple words that I have repeated so many times since that day we spoke and that I will never forget. “The options are limited.”


Sure. She had a choice to make and every day she chose to get out of bed and face the world. She was alive and chose to live. In spite of her problems, her past traumas, and what seemed like insurmountable odds, she wasn’t done yet. As long as there was breath in her lungs, she was going to live her life the best she could.


Am I faced with challenges? Of course. We all are. Having problems is a condition of being alive. So I say bring it on. Let me face every problem as an opportunity. Let me deal with the challenges that I face in a way that makes me feel alive. Let me always remember the strength, courage and wisdom of the woman I met who taught me that “the options are limited.”


I love being alive. After all, the options are limited.


Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

Our circumstances have nothing to do with our happiness

I wrote this more than three years ago and came across it again recently. In today's world, it seemed appropriate to publish it again. I hope you think so too.


Sick or healthy. Rich or poor. Thin or fat. Tall or short. Curly haired or bald. None of it matters when it comes to waking up happy everyday. What does matter is gratitude and perspective.

What makes a man rich? It is not money. There are plenty of poor people – “economically challenged” – that feel wealthy in ways that are beyond their wildest dreams. They are ‘loaded’ with family and friends, rich in experiences, and participate in life like tycoons. They are showered in immeasurable riches of making a difference to someone and to the world in which they live. These are the people whose vocabulary does NOT include phrases like “I will be happy when…”, or I would e happy if…”


These people know that there are two keys to happiness. Those keys are gratitude and perspective and they go hand in hand.

Gratitude comes from the recognition of just how much you already possess. Gratitude is the opposite of taking things for granted. The challenge for most people is that they don’t know what to be grateful for or where gratitude begins. There are hundreds of items on my list. Below are some of my favorites.

1. Eyes to see and read
2. Ears to hear and listen
3. Arms to hold. Hands to touch
4. Mind to think and understand
5. Heart to feel and care
6. Roof overhead & bed to sleep in
7. Food to eat and tongue to taste
8. Friends to care for & care for me
9. Family to love & spend time with
10. All of my good health. (Other than my MS, I have a lot of good health that I don't take for granted.)

These are all items that you can’t buy and that cannot be taken away from you. Even if I lost one of these, say sight or hearing, there is still much to be grateful for.

Recognizing the value of these assets is a matter of perspective. What’s your perspective? Where does your gratitude begin? Just how rich are you? It is my hope that if you are reading this, you are already a very wealthy person.


Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

The power of the internet to do good. More about Chelsea's Hope

I wrote a blog about 18 months ago called "What if it was your child?' It is about my niece, Chelsea who has an extremely rare and always fatal condition called Lafora Disease.

It is so rare that there are only a couple hundred known cases worldwide. There is also no treatment and no cure. Here is what we know about Lafora today:

Kids are typically diagnosed in their early teens

The mental and physical deterioration occur rapidly

No one with Lafora has lived to be 30 years old

Life expectancy is usually about ten years from the date of diagnosis. Chelsea was diagnosed almost six years ago.

What does all this have to do with the internet? Plenty.

Increased awareness means increased funding for research and treatment. Chelsea, or rather Chelsea's Hope, a non-profit organization founded by  her incredible parents is now in the final round of a contest sponsored by Toyota. 

If we win, a car will be decorated and dedicated to Chelsea's Hope. To win we need votes which you can do every day until May 1st. We need your vote.  We need your friends to vote. We need you to go onto Facebook or MySpace or Linked In or whatever social  network you belong to and help us generate as many votes as you can. That is the power of the internet to do good in the world. But if we do nothing, nothing will happen.

Voting is simple. Just CLICK HERE.

To learn more about Chelsea's Hope, CLICK HERE.

To make a difference I the world, TELL A FRIEND.

That is the power of he internet to do good in the world. I hope you will help us to do that.

Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

Five Rules for a Happy Life

I have my share of problems and challenges. I have stress, financial worries, children to worry about and a million other daily “life issues” just like everybody else does. I also have a disability and chronic disease that keeps me from working and walking. But none of that keeps me from waking up happy every day of my life.

I have broken down ‘my approach’ to life into five simple rules that I want to share with you. Why? Because they work for me. Maybe they will work for you too.

The rules are as follows:

RULE ONE: The last person you should be thinking about is you. If you are thinking about yourself, then have that thought start with “How fortunate I am”, “How lucky I am”, “How blessed I am.” Or ask questions like “How can I help?”, “What difference can I make?” But if you are thinking “Poor me”, get off the pity pot! Happiness begins with gratitude and making a difference to others.

Don’t get me wrong, we do have to think about ourselves sometimes. We have to take care of ourselves and our physical and spiritual needs. “Necessity is the mother of invention” and many of the advances that we enjoy today were the result of somebody having a problem and solving it. But if focusing on your own problems is getting you down, try focusing on and helping someone else. It will help. Remember, things could always be worse.

RULE TWO: Trust everyone. You will find that you make mistakes sometimes, but being trusting is a much better way to approach life. If you live and work in such a way that your life is an open book, you will have nothing to worry about, people will trust you and be trustworthy.

RULE THREE: Know that everything in life happens for a reason. Expect life.

Scott Peck begins his book “The Road Less Traveled” with three simple and powerful words: “Life is difficult.” He goes on to explain that the challenge many of us face has to do with our expecting life to be easy and it isn’t. He then goes on to say “that once we see this truth, we transcend it.” In other words, just knowing and expecting that life will be difficult, makes it less difficult.

Some people I know say “always expect the worse and you will never be disappointed”. I disagree. Remember, everything that happens in life happens for a reason. We get to choose what the reason is. Find something of value in every event and circumstance and you will never need to expect the worst.

RULE FOUR: Make a difference. Be involved with something. Don’t just be a member. Be a participant. Show up. Don’t sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else have all the fun. Do more. Give more. Play more. Write more. Love more. If you want more out of life, if you want to be able to say “I got more then I gave”, be a participant.

RULE FIVE: If you are not happy about something, change it. If you can’t change it, then change the way you feel or think about it. The one thing in life that we can control is how we feel about things, our judgments. Exercise that ability and you will build strong character and be a happier person.

Problems? Challenges? Sure. I have as many or more than the next guy. But those problems don’t mean that my glass is half empty or half full. My glass is overflowing.

Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.

Everything in life happens for a reason.

Experience has taught me that everything happens for one of two reasons. Those reasons are that we either have something to learn or something to teach, often both. I may not know the reason or understand why things occur and I don’t have to. Just trusting that there is a reason helps.

The real prize is that I or we get to decide what that reason is. It is up to us to find, create or associate a value to life’s circumstances. Why did someone lose their job? Why did someone have to die? Why do I have multiple sclerosis? I can answer that last question.

I have learned volumes about myself, the world around me and what it means to live with a disability. Much of the judgment I held about people with disabilities has been erased and I have become much more sensitive to how accessible our world is to those with physical challenges. I have also learned that though there are some things that we cannot control, we have influence over matters that we often never exercise.

Living with a disability has also been an extraordinary lesson in gratitude. All of us take much for granted. I now take far less for granted than I used to.

Most notably, I have something to teach. My children, friends and family all witness how I choose to live my life. Is it difficult for me to get from Point A to Point B? Yes, but I do it anyway. Do I ask for help when I need it? Yes, I have to and have discovered in the process that the world is filled with kind people. Have I found new ways to express myself and participate in the world? Absolutely.

People who know me can see by my example that “when life deals you lemons, make lemonade.” While all of that may sound like what I have learned (and it is), it is also what those who know me best have learned by observation.

“Everything in life happens for a reason” is not some cosmic or new age approach to life. It is a practical, humanistic approach that allows us to determine the meaning we give to our lives and the events that take place.

One can assume that life is a series of random, meaningless events. Perhaps it is. Perhaps not. Either way, giving reason and purpose to my life makes it all the more worth living.

Participate. Make a difference. Live a life that matters.