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Inspiration – Instant Sean

Instant Sean

Tag: Inspiration

  • One Shot…

    One Shot…

    My wonderful BOLD wife Joanna Watson Donahue took a chance, left her comfort zone because she knew one thing… let me tell you a story to illustrate it:

    For my first wife Angela & my first house, it was going to the house that had a tree stump in the middle of the living room. The sellers never had the stump removed when they built the house, they just put a glass table on top of it.

    Don’t get me started about the cow house that had cows EVERYWHERE including the wall paper and didn’t have a working HVAC system inside….

    Or the house whose sunken living room had a spa in the middle of it.

    Joanna knows that every family has a “home” story. Those were the stories I still tell today because when we saw the teacup roses outside our current home we knew it was perfect.

    Right now, she’s looking for the first referral, the first opportunity, the first person who will discover that she is willing, wanting and able to do whatever it takes to be their real estate agent.

    Enimem said it in “Lose Yourself,”

    “Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
    To seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment
    Would you capture it, or just let it slip?”

    She’s willing to capture it. Are you willing to give her one shot?

    Try her app :
  • Parenting : The Masters Class

    Parenting : The Masters Class

    Dear Mom and Dad,

    Growing up I asked you all the time about parenting. Not all the “How does going to bed at 7 P.M. is going to help my development as a future adult,” but “why,”?

    You always seemed to have the answers. The questions you didn’t have the answer to, you just told me that I would understand when I got older.

    Initially I thought it was a blow off answer. But now I know you were right.

    For all the mistakes I made, you were there to pick me up.

    For all the mistakes you made, you tried the best you could under trying circumstances

    For all the hard times we had financially, you gave value to the possessions we did have.

    For every meaningless toy we wanted but couldn’t and shouldn’t have gotten, you gave us an adventures money could never buy. How many stories could we fill about adventures on the way to adventures, such as walking down a parkway in Chicago to get White Castle or me wasting a half of a roll of film to get a picture of a rooster at Knotts Berry Farm.

    I just didn’t get it.
    For the hand me down that filled our closets, there were stories behind each of them.

     

    You gave us hope through the darkness of a New York blackout, and love through the darkest moments in our family. When people attempted to divide, we came closer as a family.

    You asked me this weekend if anything was wrong.
    This weekend I was quiet, just swallowing every little moment, savoring the opportunities, every hug, kiss and second with my kids, like you used to do to me.

     

    I used to push you away, in fear of something I could never put my finger on, maybe it was a cool factor or just misunderstanding the moment you were having.

    I just didn’t get it as a child

    Love is a fleeting gift, a moment that is here and gone. Moments, like Shelby’s graduation won’t be measured in the seconds of confusion or anger over something trivial but will be measured in the tears that fell from my eyes as Shelby’s name was called.
    There never has been a book on parenting your kids the way you have and thus it’s the reason I’ve realized this afternoon I had taken a masters course in parenting all during my life.

    I didn’t get it when I was a kid but I finally understand today.

    I love you,

    sd

  • Not easy being divorced…

    Not easy being divorced…

     
    For years I have told my friends that living as a divorced dad isn’t easy. With my daughter and son being across the country from where I live, I couldn’t come over and fix the problems they encountered in their lives. It wasn’t easy. I also did not make it easy on them with living arrangements. It was either their mom’s place or mine! There were no bouncing around like a super ball in an enclosed glass space.
     
    I was a jerk. I had to be. If I made life easy on them, I would be doing them a disservice. I have always told them “life isn’t fair, you have to fight for what you believe in.”
     
    So I was completely blown away when my daughter told me of her decision not to go to Ball State. She decided her goals could succeed at Indiana University – Southeast. Part of me pained, definitely my wallet as I had found different things with Ball State Cardinals on it. But I digress.
     
    She was afraid to tell me because she thought I would be mad. She didn’t want to hurt my feelings. That’s how considerate my daughter is. There are plenty of words in this world describing my Shelby. I am not sure I can articulate them all in one post. Every time I look at her with the feeling of failure, because I wasn’t there every day, from her first bike ride to her first dance. I was wrong. Somehow by osmosis, by some miracle, I have no idea, my daughter got it right. She thinks of others and not her own happiness and somehow, by a miracle, I get it.
     
    All the sacrifices we make as parents, are mere pittance, to the ones we fail to see.
     
    I told Joanna I failed as a father, and yet somehow tripped into a wonderful woman. I have to give her mother and stepfather credit. They did a good job.
     
    This week a friend of mine was having issues with his kids. He does anything and everything to make them happy. But yet his kids treat him with anger and pain.
     
    He asked me what the secret of being a divorced dad was.
     
    I shrugged my shoulders and said, “taking it one day at a time. Somehow, by some miracle, my daughter that was learning to walk a mere blink ago, is graduating from high school. Grab those moments, forget about the bad ones, laugh, love and keep moving forward.”
     
    One day you will trip and realize in your effort to do everything right, that somehow, you survived. And that my friends is what being a long distance parent is all about.
     
     
     
     
     
  • The beginning…

    The beginning…

    After careful consideration, I’ve decided that I will be spending less time on Facebook and more time on my website here at www.donahue.org. I don’t have to deal with Facebook’s insane algorithm. My goal is to find someone to help me create a new skin and post photos, stories and information where if I choose, I make the revenue. I would love for people to not give their hard-earned creativity to a site that selectively doles their talent out and not freely giving it to all.
     
    I work in a creative medium and I spend too much time on things that most people will never see.
     
    I intend to change that. This isn’t an April Fools Joke. I’m serious. My goal is to write more and be more creative. I am happier when I allow myself to be creative… Like it, good. Don’t like it, direct your complaints to the nearest brick wall.
     
    I’ll see you here each day with my goal, to post something original… for me and not Facebook. I’ll be bringing back my writing challenge…
  • Work Is Better When It’s Fun

    Work Is Better When It’s Fun

    Today, I got a reality check. I’ll tell you about it in a second but I need to tell you a story first.
    For years I had tried to prove my worth to others I respected. I worked harder to the loss of my first marriage trying to get their approval and it never came because in all honesty, I wasn’t worth their approval.
     
    There are people in this world who crave attention, they try their damnest to tell you why they are important and “things you need to listen to them about”. But are they truly respected or just in a circle of self-esteem needy people. Yes, I am wrong more times than I am right, but the times that I change a perspective have more meaning than the times it would be better for me to direct my concerns to a brick wall. I am not a yes man, I am a realist who looks at things with clear lenses not rose-colored glasses. I do not know everyone I should but I am a connection or two from the person who can help me. I have friends who I have talked poker, politics, sports, money and social media. I am not an expert in any of those, but my ability to communicate is my best attribute.
     
    Some people do not understand my hatred of empty promises, of hype with no payoff. Do not tease me with “guess who’s coming” because 99 times out of 100, it is not me. I probably knew months ahead of you concerts, events and things that would blow your mind, but you will never hear me say them out loud.
     
    I don’t have to prove that I am worth your approval. Because in all reality, you are probably seeking my approval. Stop guessing.
     
    My dad hated guessing games. If we couldn’t tell him what we wanted him to pick up for dinner without arguing, we would end up eating fish sticks. “fuck em & feed em fish sticks,” he would tell my mom.
     
    You want me to respect you?
     
    Don’t tell me that you are going to tell me 12 ways to improve my social media , especially when #5 will blow my mind. It never does. 9/10 the crap you are telling me is stuff most people know. Give me deep insights and I will follow you & share/repost. Otherwise, you are just chumming the water. Some sharks will come to get caught, but most will stay away because they are smarter than that. Why is there always a story of an uncatchable fish? Because he’s smarter than his predators. He eats alone, doesn’t get caught up like the eager ones and is the patient one. Oh, so patient he is.
     
    I have spent the last two plus years watching Twitter chats and other social media groups and it always comes down to the experts who share, the experts who want you to buy their latest book and everyone else who claims expert status.
     
    My friends and people who couldn’t give a damn about the words from a 21+ year radio vet, it is not about chats or world-wide tweet ups. I want honest to goodness relationships with people who want to work together so we will both will succeed together.
    I always tell my interns that my goal was to see them succeed and when they entered reality that they never worked a day in the lives but enjoyed their job. Today I received an ACTUAL MAILED THANK YOU CARD (they do exist) from a former intern that no one remembered but me.
    It read:
    Sean,
    It was great to see you the other day! I’m so happy you remembered me. Maybe one day I can come spin some tunes on the air! Hope to see you again soon!
    Thanks for giving me my first internship! You taught me that work is better when it’s fun!
    This simple card made more of an impact than any other moment I’ve had trying my damnest to please others.
    Sometimes you just have to please yourself and the rest will take care of itself.
    If I can help you, please ask. If I can’t, someone you know could use my help, please give them my contact info.