Month of Sundays: Finding Your Own Personal Days of Rest

By Joseph Ventura

Yes, there once was a time when people used to say, “What I’d give for a month of Sundays.”
In Month of Sundays, by Joseph Ventura, you’ll get answers to this question and so much more.
While peaceful Sundays of visits with friends and family, walks through the park or simply relaxing at home seem to have gone the way of the rotary telephone and black-and-white television, there is no reason why we cannot recapture these seemingly lost days of joy and tranquility.
The good news is – it does not have to be this way. Your life is a never-ending work in progress.
Sundays were special. And whether we’d like to admit it or not, most of us would like to return to the Sundays we remember more than ever. In this special book, not only will you read why but you’ll also see how it can be done and surprisingly without that much effort – all it takes is the will to make our lives a bit better each day. It takes the simple will to change from the habits we’ve developed and return to the practices that made Sundays a little better than the rest of the week.
Envisioning a tomorrow made better due to simple changes made today is not as complicated as you may think. Talking with those who are important to you about what’s important to you can be a good first step. It can also be a challenging one. No one said change is easy.
In this book we’ll discuss “taking back” those lost Sundays and in the process, learn to live a richer, more fulfilling life. It’s worth a read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798369421369

Joseph Ventura

A Capital District native, Joseph Ventura is a Registered Investment Advisor at Eden Advisory Services LLC, and founder of the Eden Café. With 30+ years of financial-advisory experience, he focuses on helping others meet their financial goals in order to live happier, more fulfilling lives.

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Copyright © 2024 by Joseph Ventura.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/23/2024

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

859785

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword: Are You Content with the Status Quo of Your Life?

Chapter One: Month of Sundays

Chapter Two: Your Greatest Risk – Doing Nothing

Chapter Three: Bending the Bamboo Tree

Chapter Four: Who’s Driving Your Bus?

Chapter Five: Fighting the Powers of Darkness

Chapter Six: The Importance of Accountability

Chapter Seven: Dealing with the Loss that Comes from the Gain

Chapter Eight: Surviving (and Thriving) with the ‘Water Torture’ Technique

Chapter Nine: Battling the Forces of ‘Affluenza’

Chapter Ten: Iron Sharpens Iron, Cultivating Accountability for Personal Growth

Chapter Eleven: Designing the Blueprint for Your Success

Chapter Twelve: Creating the Master Plan for Your Life

Chapter Thirteen: Putting Your Stake in the Sand

Chapter Fourteen: Embracing Change, Driving Out Dysfunction while Embracing Humility and Remaining Open to New Ideas

Chapter Fifteen: Why You Should ‘Challenge’ Your Comfort Zone

Chapter Sixteen: The World Is Not Enough, or Is It?

Chapter Seventeen: The Pros and Cons of Change

DEDICATION

To the mentors who have illuminated my path with their wisdom and guidance, and to you, the reader, who seeks to reclaim the tranquility and joy of a personal day of rest. May this book inspire and empower you to create your own Month of Sundays, filling your life with peace, balance, and renewal. Your journey to a more restful and fulfilling life begins here.

Joseph Ventura

FOREWORD

Are You Content with the

Status Quo of Your Life?

Very few of us are. If you answered no, chances are you will continue reading. The truth is change is inevitable, it happens each day and we must prepare for and embrace it if we are to succeed. To grow you cannot remain behind the curve you’ve got to learn how to read the pitch, figure where it’s going and then hit it out of the park. But you’ve got to want to grow. And if you do, the next question is how to do so for better or worse?

Making the Leap vs. Stuck in a Rut

As noted, life changes on a daily basis – maybe subtly, maybe dramatically or somewhere in between but each day is different from the one that preceded it and will differ from the one that follows. How you react to these subtle and not-so-subtle changes may spell the difference between true success and failure. There are numerous challenges when it comes to creating a complete, thriving life full of rewarding relationships and challenges.

Very often it seems our lives can be organized into two key categories: needs vs. wants. The end result is usually something in between. The payoff however, to meeting these challenges and building your relationships is that very likely this will help you to grow while providing camaraderie, confidence and comfort in the company of those around you. In the long run, this should make a huge difference in helping you to reach your fullest potential. Throughout it all, while change can be painful, it is also inevitable. The status quo does not exist and that doing nothing may be the greatest risk of all. (We’ll talk about this last point in detail later.)

Your Life Is a Never-Ending Work in Progress

In each of our lives there regularly remains a great deal of work to be done and how you may live tomorrow can depend on which steps you take today. The road to improvement never ends. This often includes fixing attitudes formed seemingly in concrete with backward beliefs that frequently are rooted in insecurity, bad habits and influences we’ve had since childhood. None of us should have to dim our lights in order to fit into one of society’s predetermined roles. This is wrong and here’s why. We continue to tell everyone including ourselves to wait your turn and don’t make waves while praising history’s trailblazers.

Consider that many of us are living longer than previous generations. One of the ramifications of this is that we will now have to learn how to create meaningful and fulfilling lives for a much longer time period. It’s no wonder that even many who have planned may not feel emotionally and/or mentally prepared for retirement – not to mention financially.

Opening an early dialogue with those who are important to you regarding how you envision your future can lead to helpful discussions. It’s typically advisable to share viewpoints with family members and close friends early rather than later. While it may be wise to prepare with a sense of caution as well as a sense of purpose, waiting too long can be counterproductive. Waiting for a crisis to decide what needs to be done is often a very poor idea. A thorough plan includes concrete as well as personal issues because over time, a lot can change. A good place to start can be by taking a candid look at your own situation and considering some of the ideas posed within this little book. Happy reading!

CHAPTER ONE

Month of Sundays

There once was a time when people used to utter the phrase, What I’d give for a month of Sundays, or something to that effect. I’ve not heard anyone make a statement like that in some time, probably a lot longer than a month of Sundays. The reason?

Sundays are no longer special.

There was a time when the seventh day was a cherished day of rest and relaxation. It was a time to be with one’s family and friends. To take a break from the work week, reflect and prepare for the days ahead.

No more.

The reason no one ever asks for a month of Sundays anymore is that Sundays are no longer the special day they once were. No one knows the difference between a Sunday and the other six days because there is barely any difference left between Sunday and the rest of the weekdays.

What would