Robert C Slayton - Grief to Joy and Inspiration

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 2/21/2026Day two dawned with less on our plate. He had the obligatory stop at Waffle House for breakfast. Why? Because who doesn’t want to hang out with a bunch of questionable people and have the waitress call us “darlin.” We struck up a conversation with a truck driver about Rock City. We planned on stopping there before ending up in Chattanooga. He gave us tips and advice and then we were off.We started driving towards Rock City Tennessee when GF thought to herself whether she should check to see whether the main attraction was open.It wasn’t.So we rerouted directly to Chattanooga. We didn’t have a hotel booked and on our journey, we dropped by a rest area where GF’s family used to stop on their way to Florida. It was her dad’s favorite place, surrounded by a lake. During that discussion, she mentioned that her dad always talked about the choo choo hotel in Chattanooga. It was a place where if you book far enough in advance, you could stay in an actual train car for the night. As an aside, her dad wasn’t doing well health-wise. He was 80 and a lifelong smoker who had contracted pneumonia along with a couple other conditions.He had never stayed at the hotel, so we decided to book a room there. We weren’t able to get a train car, but the hotel is classically beautiful inside and the room gave off the feel of an old time train car.As we were celebrating our anniversary, they gave us a bottle of wine.We settled in and relaxed before going out. There was a place that had line dancing which we were going to check out after dinner.Dinner was at Elsie’s Daughter, the restaurant on the campus. It was a lovely place that had heaters to keep it warm (as it was still colder here than in Chicago).I sat down and promptly broke the bench. In all fairness, it was just a metal bench that one sets out in the garden and the nut holding the bolt that secured the back was missing. We laughed and I replaced the bench with a chair so we could sit next to one another.Dinner was delicious. We ordered and shared everything. She had an espresso martini while I had a diet soda (yes, I’m such an exciting guy).From there we got ready to dance at Westbound Honky Tonk bar. They had line dancing lessons from 6 pm to 8 pm and we danced then and until the college crowd came and took over the bar. The instructors were really nice and helpful and the drinks were relatively cheap.We wandered down the strip and stopped in at STIR. A more metropolitan feel where we sat at the bar and had a drink. The bartenders and other people were really nice to chat with.After a nice stroll, we went back to our hotel and crashed for the night. In the morning, we ate at the Frothy Monkey. With a name like that, how could you NOT eat there. It was in the old train station with a soaring ceiling and exposed architecture. Very pretty. They had a multicolored flag to welcome people of all orientations. The food was delicious and servers were great.Then it was off to Savannah.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 2/23/2026.This is how I’d create the most awesome bookstore ever!First, you have no advertisement, no street-side signs indicating there is a book store. Like a secret speakeasy, someone had to tell you where it is. As you step up to the non-descript door, you have to give the secret knock. Only then can you step inside the foyer and find the next clue on how to open the door to the book store (maybe a statue where you have to pull the arm down or an idol which you have to remove and replace with another idol). This part changes monthly based upon the book of the month. Once inside, it opens up to a maze of aisles filled with old and new books. There is a colored stripe on the floor that guides people to the checkout desk and separate door people exit from. Nobody who comes in the front door leaves from the front door. There is a sign with clues as to where to go to find the genre of books you are looking for. The clues are based upon the genre. For kids books, the clues are easy and obvious so that young children can figure out and find their way as simple as color coding and having colors along the aisles to guide them to that section.If a person is looking for mysteries, then they need to solve a simple mystery to figure out where that section is.Romance, maybe write a love note on an iPad that will then give you directions.Fantasy may be pointing a wand at a target.You get the idea.Next is as you get closer to the section, the books/corridor change to reflect the genre of books you are coming up to. You could stack books to resemble an arrow. Then when you arrive at the section, if it’s romance, you’ll have romance adornments (hearts, male mannequin with flowing hair and amazing chest embracing a beautiful woman). Think silk, could be leather ropes and handcuffs, make it fun and almost tasteful.Fantasy may have armor, wands, cloaks, maybe a tree nymph. Little houses/scenes.Mysteries may have guns/daggers, cloaks, fingerprints left over some cases that have been “shattered” and there is a crime scene.Rotate images as often as you can, preferably monthly to keep people guessing.Why does this work?Readers love to see their interior worlds of their mind come to life in the real world. We get a dopamine hit when we feel we are special and find new things to discover.A book store nobody can find except you.A maze of books allowing you to wander and discover new reads.Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.Readers don’t like being spoon fed, so give them little challenges along the way that they need to figure out to find what they are looking for.If you want to double down, you have the exit lead into a cozy coffee shop lined with used books where people can grab a drink and pastry and sit down and either read the books they bought or pull one off the shelf and read it.Note that the exit from the book store has to lead into the hallway of the coffee shop so that it’s not obvious where people are coming from (maybe the exit leads to the corridor where the restrooms are located). This exit is one way, nobody can get into the book store from that direction. They may only leave.I’d probably own both the book store and coffee shop as they go well together. If you skip the stealth getting into and out of the shop, you can have a regular shop/coffee shop all in one space.Let me know how you’d design your perfect book store. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 2/9/2026It’s been awhile since I’ve written. Frankly, I’ve been on the road and distracted by several major projects happening simultaneously. If all go through as expected, it will dramatically change my personal and professional landscape.Let’s get into this.Every year I attend the YOU Powered Symposium. The premier conference in my industry. Emma Fox is creator and organizer. An amazing, powerful, thought leader in our industry. She created this conference to disrupt other conferences in the field of benefits. She’s a friend, colleague, and plays to the top of her game and our field.It was being held in Savanna Georgia at the beautiful Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa starting Sunday February 1st in the evening. I decided to see if my girlfriend (yes, my future forever person) wanted to come along for the ride. We’d make a weekend of it.When I first mentioned this (about a month into our relationship), she thought I was crazy. Then after dating another month, she decided to say yes. We set it up to leave Friday morning early and make our first stop of the night Louisville.We decided to book a distillery tour and Woodford Reserve had spaces open, so it was set for 1:30 pm Friday. It asked whether we were celebrating anything and of course I checked the “yes” box. Then it asked what we were celebrating…As we weren’t really celebrating anything I asked for suggestions. GF suggested our anniversary. It was kind of true as our 4 month anniversary would be on February 5th, so I said “anniversary.”We left before 5:30 am on a dark and cold morning and had good roads except for a 45 minute backup due to a fatal car crash. Due to the backup, we weren’t able to grab lunch beforehand, but we did make the tour. When the lady checking us in noticed we had a celebration listed, she asked what we were celebrating (I was required to put it into the notes). I replied “anniversary!” and then she handed me a card. The card was signed by all of the workers there who managed the tours and included a card for free engraving on any bottle we purchased.Cool.The tour was great and we got to taste both whiskeys and bourbons. We chose a whiskey and had our names and 2026 engraved on the bottle. A really nice souvenir.We were hungry, so stopped by The Stave. A local restaurant. Due to the whether that had occurred the prior weekend, this was the first day they were open that week. To tell the truth, the road to the distillery off the main road was a little dicey. Luckily I had a big AWD Pilot which I was very thankful for.I got a fried bologna sandwich since the last time I had one was when I was a kid (and used to fry up the bologna myself). I kid you not, the slice was over an inch thick. Holy Mother of God. Really?Due to timing, we couldn’t make Buffalo Trace Distillery, so headed into Louisville. GF and I dance, so we found that there was a line dance/country swing dance at the Hotel Louisville. I looked at the pictures online and then called about booking a hotel as it looked like the rate was cheaper by booking directly.I asked to book a room for the next night and the lady refused, saying that I can just come in and get the room. No reservation needed as they have never not had a room available. We show up and it looks like a homeless shelter. Old bedding strewn about and a security guard at the door asking what my business was. I inquired about a room and then left.“I have good news and bad news.”Okay, she replied.“They don’t have any rooms. That’s both the bad news and good news.”So we sat in the parking lot and booked a Holiday Inn Express 4/10s of a mile away and drove over.The general manager checked us in and here was the conversation.“Your parking space is around the back, I gave you the handicapped spot.”“But I’m not handicapped.”“It’s okay. It’s closest to the door to get into the hotel out back.”“It’s perfectly safe and secure. We have a security guard who patrols the parking lot every hour at night. That said, please take ALL of your belongings out of your vehicle.”My thought: perfectly safe and secure, take all of my belongings into the hotel. WTF.I mentioned we were celebrating our anniversary and he upgraded us to their top floor room with two walls of windows. It was a great space, even it their top floor was just the 4th floor. I asked about the breakfast in the morning and he replied that they hadn’t gotten their shipment of food in for the day, so wasn’t sure what they’d have other than they’d have something.Sigh…We drove around back to park in front of a homeless guy smoking a used cigarette in front of the door to the hotel. He tried to waive us off parking in the handicapped space until I put the paper showing that this was my spot in on the dashboard. He left shortly thereafter and we unloaded EVERYTHING and went up to our room. It had been a long day and we still wanted to attend the dance that night, so we took a brief nap. Then I went downstairs to the restaurant to grab something to eat for us.I walked through the door to an empty restaurant and no one behind the counter. I rang the bell and a person came. I asked about food and he said, “I can make you chicken. That’s all I have. We have no lettuce, burgers, or anything else.”So upstairs I went figuring we’d grab fast food (worst case) as there was a McDonald’s close by.The dance was at the Hotel Louisville (the same place we didn’t stay). We parked and walked in. Years ago, this was a grand hotel with beautiful woodwork and layout. Today it was a tired reflection of the grandness of what it used to be. We said high to the first security guard and got directions.Then the second security guard walked us to the room.It was a nice space with a large wooden dancefloor… and six other people.It turned out that the dance had been cancelled due to weather (it was colder in Louisville than in Chicago), but 6 people went rogue and decided to dance. Everyone was very nice and Jim took us under his wing to tell us all the great things about dancing in Louisville. The dance usually hosted between 60 and 90 people. I’m just glad there were people dancing. We got to line dance, swing dance, and two step, practicing our skills all along the way. They called it at 9 pm, so we started heading back to our hotel.GF wanted milk for her coffee, so we dropped by McDonalds as they were close and open and we knew they had milk. I pulled up to the drive through and here’s the conversation.“I’d like milk.”“What?”“Milk, a carton of milk.”“Wait, what did you want?”“Milk, the milk that comes with a kid’s meal.”“Oh, chocolate milk.”“No, white milk please.”“Okay, that will be $2.”I pull around and hand the cashier a $5 bill. Then wait. We see the cash drawer open (it’s 5 feet off the floor, the cashier has to stand on her tippy toes to see into the drawer). After a couple of minutes, she said that they didn’t have enough change, so gave us back a dollar bill, dollar coin, and 85 cents with apologies.That was funny…We made it back to the hotel and went to the bar where Adrian was serving. What a hilarious guy. Very opinionated about what was going on at the hotel. Adrian was going to Chicago to work as a bartender there. He was going to stay with a friend until he got a job.We chatted with him and others at the bar and finally headed upstairs.That was the end of our first day on the road.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This is a story about firsts, fear, and what happens when there’s no way around the storm.I tried to out-plan it.I rerouted. Delayed. Adjusted.I did everything I could to avoid the thing I was afraid of.And then… there was no avoiding it.This is a story about what happens when your backup plans run out —and why sometimes the only way forwardis straight through.#TheMoth #StorySlam #Firsts #FacingFear #PersonalStory #LiveStorytelling #DoTheThing #GrowthThroughDiscomfort #TrueStory #Storytelling #Thepeopletree This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 1/6/2026.Over the summer, I traveled around Lake Michigan on my motorcycle. In doing so, there were many firsts. I’m going to be talking about these a week from Thursday at thepeopletree.org. They host a monthly storytelling gathering at Empire in Naperville. ThePeopleTree is Naperville’s version of The Moth StorySlam (see themoth.org). People tell true stories about their lives.January’s theme is “firsts.” This can be interpreted any way the storyteller desires. For me, it will be about my ride around the lake.I told a story a couple years ago, so I’m back at it again.I wrote the story, read it out loud and it is 15 minutes long. Note that the story needs to be between 6 and 8 minutes long, so there will be major slashing of the story. I will focus on one recurring theme and cut out everything that doesn’t correspond to it.If you’d like to come, simply visit the website and grab a ticket (they are $20). You can come have dinner and the show starts at 7 pm.Here’s a teaser of the story:This is a story about firsts, fear, and what happens when there’s no way around the storm.I tried to out-plan it.I rerouted. Delayed. Adjusted.I did everything I could to avoid the thing I was afraid of.And then… there was no avoiding it.This is a story about what happens when your backup plans run out —and why sometimes the only way forwardis straight through.🎤 Sharing this live January 15th.🌧️ Firsts have a way of finding us.#TheMoth #StorySlam #Firsts #FacingFear #PersonalStory #LiveStorytelling #DoTheThing #GrowthThroughDiscomfort #TrueStory #Storytelling #thePeopleTreeFor reference, if you want a full overview of my trip, my first post is linked below. It’s a travel log vs what I’ll be talking about on the 15th.Robert This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 12/30/2025I have been absent from regular posts for the past two months. I’m in the insurance business focused on health insurance for companies, individuals, and Medicare people. Seventy percent of business is renewed/started between October and December which leads to zero time to do what I love, which is to write.You will see more regular posts come the new year. I’ll also talk more about the books that I am writing.So, here’s the update. I’ve started becoming a regular at the H.I.I.T. class on Thursdays. I find it’s a great supplement to my regular workouts and hits muscle groups that I don’t normally work. I did find a yoga class Saturday morning which I went to. I like Yoga because it helps prevent injuries in my normal workout routine. My regular yoga class hasn’t met in several weeks.Finally, my girlfriend and I will be celebrating New Years together at a line dancing bar in Sycamore. It’s her regular place and she invited me along several weeks ago and I’ve been attending regularly. Her friends and everyone else have been really nice. As I’m a noob at line dancing, I’ll see someone notice me and start helping me by pointing which direction I need to go and sometimes even calling out the next step.The other thing I like about the bar is that they also do couples dances. Stationary Bachata, country swing, shadow, two step, double two and more. It’s a lot of fun.The top bright spot for 2025 is meeting a person whom I deeply connect with. We are early into our relationship (under 3 months), so nothing is set in stone. We love being together and start to miss each other as soon as we say goodbye.2026 should bring some major changes in my life (not just in the dating scene). Tomorrow, I plan on setting up my 2026 goals and plans of action. It’s gonna be a trip.What’s the number one bright spot you had in 2025?Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 12/12/2025.Every Thursday I go to yoga at 7:45 pm. It’s the only time that works for my schedule. Yoga helps stretch me and keeps me from injuring myself during my regular workouts. So, I was surprised when I showed up for yoga only to find out that it had been replaced with a high intensity training class.To be fair, I never check the LA Fitness app on my phone to see whether my class was still on or changed. The only time I open up the app is when I use it to get into the gym. Even then, I hit exit on all of the changes that show up. So, this was kind of my fault.John, the instructor, had taught the prior class and was asked to teach his class in the yoga slot. As I was already there and had missed my usual Wednesday workout, I decided to join him in my crocs.He used an 80s remix of music all at a driving beat of 140 bpm. Imagine your favorite 80s songs all at a very fast pace. That’s what we had. John synchronized our movements to the music and worked clusters of muscles to make sure we didn’t work the same muscle twice in a row. He’s a master of this, teaching between 14 to 21 classes a week and personally consuming 5000 calories a day to keep up with his workouts. His normal classes average 60 people.Tonight, there was only one other person in the class, so we basically had the place to ourselves. John asked us to get light, medium, and heavy weights plus a band that would eventually go around our knees.The good news was that I didn’t need to do another workout this week as he hit every part of the body and did it long enough for me to bring my muscles to failure. When I look back at what happened, it really is a metaphor for life. You come with an expectation and when reality hits you in the face, you are left with a choice. Either go home or roll with the change. I’m the kind of guy that likes to roll with the change. It makes life much more interesting. Last year it landed me accidentally being entered into an ugly sweater contest.The worst case is that I get a fun story out of it. Usually, I learn how to deal with uncertainty and being uncomfortable. This helps me in the rest of my life.I’d love to hear from you about how you decided to go along with some change and how it turned out.Let me know.As always, I love you,RobertRobert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Written 12/6/2025.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.I’ve basically been between the bed and toilet this past week. I thought it was the stomach flu that never got better. It was frustrating and came at the worst time of the year. I looked up what to do, tried to eat the BRAT diet, etc.There was only one small problem. It wasn’t the flu. My nutritionist had put me on several supplements to enhance my already good health. The first couple days it was fine, then my stomach started to feel wonky.Of course, I continued to supplement through my “cold” and finally had a revelation yesterday. It was the supplements that were causing me to be violently ill (yes, as in vomiting, sitting on the toilet, etc). I lost over 12 pounds, mostly in water weight.Last night I was so dehydrated, that my legs continually cramped up. The problem was that I couldn’t hold anything down yet, so had to wait until early morning to start drinking water again.I feel like such an idiot that I didn’t figure this out sooner. This, during my busiest time of the year (yes, I have an appointment on a Sunday due to deadlines). The kicker is that my body was telling me the supplements were bad. That gut feeling when I went to take them, but I was unconscious to this feeling.Well, no more. I actually muscle tested everything I did today to ask my body whether it was okay or not. My method is I stand up straight, then say something truthful, like “my name is Robert Slayton.” Whichever way I lean is yes. The opposite way is no. First question this morning was, “can I start drinking water?”Yes.“Can I drink red Gatorade?”No.“Can I eat anything?”No.Later I asked about eating apple sauce. The answer was yes.I asked about chicken soup I had made earlier. Yes.In the future, I’m going to work on listening to my body and if I am not sure about something or a food, I will ask.Try it yourself and let me know how it works for you.As always, blessings during this holiday season.RobertRobert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

“Be humble, for the worst thing in the world is of the same stuff as you. Be confident, for the stars are of the same stuff as you.”-Nikolai VelimirovicThe way I kind of think about it is that there are evil people and there are good people.They’re arrogant people. They’re humble people. We’re all made of the same stuff.The question is, how do you transform the same stuff into being that humble, amazing person you are?Let me know.I really want to hear from you.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

“Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.”-Doris Mortman.This is from the book Even Eagle’s Need a Push by David McNally.Think about it. Peace with who you are.Have you made peace with who you are?Do you value what you have?Let me know.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.”-D. Elton TruebloodAs I get older and older, my reputation is more important than my financial state because that’s passed down to my children.What are the seeds that you plant today that you know you probably never see the fruition of, but is really important?It could be playing with your grandkids or kids, could be something else.What do you do to plant those seeds in the future?Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Written 11/19/2025.Holy crap on a cracker. A lot has been going on which I haven’t been telling you about. Part of the reason is that it is my busiest time of year for what I do for a living. I handle almost 200 employer groups and hundreds of individuals on Medicare and Individual health insurance.First, I may have found my forever person. I’m so very excited about this. We talk for hours, laugh frequently and often and even when we’ve been together for multiple days, it doesn’t seem like enough time. This has been recent, but sometimes when you find the right person, things just fall into place quickly. I won’t say any more, but I’m very happy.Second, I’m co-authoring a book which we’ve targeted to release the first week of December. It started with a conversation with my close friend Melissa, which was recorded, and she turned it into a book. It will crack open the myth that everyone is happy during the holidays. Personally, the holidays are incredibly stressful. It has been lonely in the past and can be a total s**t-show when family is involved. If you can relate, then this book is for you.This book explains the conspiracy of being happy and carefree during the holidays and gives practical advice and stories on how to go from stress to happiness.The coolest part? WE ARE GIVING THE BOOK AWAY!!! “Perma-free” for the electronic edition. It’s our gift to you and the world.Please pray that we get this done in a timely fashion and it is well received. Other changes are also in the works, but those can’t be disclosed yet as nothing set in stone.Let me know what’s one thing that you do to manage holiday stress. You never know, it may end up in the book.Blessings to you all.RobertRobert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Final R of November, the final piece.It’s Relax and let go.There are some things we can’t change, right?The presidential election happened (this post is from 2024).You can’t change it.So instead of holding on to it, holding on to that resentment if your candidate wasn’t chosen, relax, and let go.It’s going to help you in your mental health, allow you to live your life.There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to happen between now and the end of the year with Thanksgiving and Christmas.There will be a lot of stuff said in the news and social media.You just have to relax and let go.Fourth quarter is the busiest time of year for me, I can either be stressed and tensioned about it, or I can just relax into my work.The same goes for shopping and doing the present buying thing.In Summary, remember November as an anagram for men’s mental health month which is: Notice small things.Offer kindness,Value quiet time,Enjoy each day,Make time to rest,Breathe deeply,Embrace change, and Relax and let go.Take care, my friends.Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Okay, we’re up to E. Almost finished with November to embrace change.This is a really challenging one for a lot of people because we’re so stressed thatchange is fearful, right?But if you realize that change happens all the time, and that you’re really good at embracing change even if you don’t think you are. Sometimes I rail about it. I might swear a lot but ultimately, I just accept it andmove on.It’s happened all the time in my business right when the affordable careact came and dramatically changed the landscape I had to dramatically change mycompany and everything that we did about it and so we all have a skill of managing change.So sometimes if you can just embrace the change of what’s happening, you’ll feel better about it.But you will also have clearer thinking about how to manage that change.Because you’re really good at managing change.You just don’t realize it.Think about all the times when a monkey wrench was thrown into your life and you’ve been able to get out of it.You’re good at change.If you embrace it, you reduce the stress, then you see how best to manage that change in your life.So good luck.God bless.I love you.Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We’re on the B of November, which is Breathe deeply.If you ever look at my Substack where I post nightly (through 2024), honestly, like a nightly blog of the crap in my head spews out on the page, I’ve had three or four posts talking about breath.Breath is incredibly important.When you get stressed, you breathe shallowly, so how do you stop doing that?If you can change that and breathe a little bit more deeply, you will feel less stressed.You’ll have a clearer head. It clears out some of the stress chemicals too. I’m going to make a couple suggestions.Suggestion number one is you could do a four or five count breathing in.One, two, three, four, five.And then out, same amount.One, two, three, four, five. Then start the process over.If that is difficult, start with shorter inhalations/exhalations.If you want extreme stress relief, you breathe in for a count and then you double it on the out.If you breathe in for four, you breathe out for eight.This helps you to sleep too.You breathe in for four.One, two, three, four.Breathe out for eight.One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.Breathing is incredibly important.If you ever find yourself taking shallow breaths, you can do the deep breaths.You’re not going to believe me, but yawning is amazing it will clear your head before you go into a stressful meeting. Do a big manual yawn. It’s going to help, and it actually brings in oxygen and energizes you.If you feel you are breathing shallowly, yawn, do some of the breathing exercises and it’s going to help you through this month. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Okay, we’re on M of November, N-O-V-E-M, which is Make time to rest.You need to take time to actually get to sleep and have, your eight hours or however many you personally need to sleep and feel refreshed.You also need to make time to rest.I’m a big fan of naps, and maybe you are too.If at all possible, grab a 10- or 15-minute nap.It helps reset me so that I can think more clearly about the rest of my day.And if you’re at work, it’s kind of hard to do.Sometimes I used to drive to a forest preserve, put the back of my seat down and just lie there for about 10 or 15 minutes.Make time to rest, okay?Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

“Let us so live that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry.” - Mark Twain.Love Mark Twain. I’m currently listening to Huckleberry Finn.If you look at what he did when he was a child, Tom Sawyer and everything, those are based on his life. What are the adventures that you’ve had in your life that people will be sorry to see you go because you’ve done some amazing things?If you haven’t done those amazing things, I want you to take the next week and do something amazing.It’s so much fun.I mean, I had a bad September 2023 which led me to Iceland in April 2024.How the heck does that happen?Follow the adventure.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.You need to be thankful, in my opinion.You can be thankful that you have food to eat, that you have a roof over your head, that you have people you can talk to.You can be thankful that you have cats.You can be thankful you have dogs.But enjoy each day.For me, when it’s really stressful, I sit back and I ease myself into the day and I just work at it and enjoy the little moments as much as possible.By the end of the day, I feel better. I feel a bit more energized. And maybe I’ll go for a walk.Maybe I’ll go for a workout. That helps too.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

“An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.” - Gaius Planus. Born 61 to 112 AD.How many times have you gone after something and finally achieved it only to see that it’s just kind of normal.Let me know in the comments.Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe

Robert’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.There is the hustle and bustle of every day.Fourth quarter is my busiest time of year. I work late in the evening. That’s the way it is, but I need that quiet time.I have a room in my house with no clocks or TV.It does have a fireplace, which is amazing.I sit there and it’s quiet and I might read a book or do something like that.Find some quiet time, even if it’s going out into the woods and just being by yourself.It’s going to be rejuvenating.And taking walks is amazing for mental health.So please, if you’re ever super stressed, go for a walk, preferably in the woods or somewhere nice and natural.Thanks for reading Robert’s Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rslayton.substack.com/subscribe