ROADS: Driving AFTER DARK. Again.

It is the journey unto beyond which caught my eye .... thank you for the kind feature and the warm wishes along the way. Keep discovering and inspiring! - Savvy Raj

Thank YOU my Savvy friend! It was your magical words that drove (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) me to question where one goes after they've driven SOUTH of the BORDER and BEYOND Well, as you'll see, I had to venture WAAAYYYYY down on the last show (so far down in fact that most of you haven't seen what I'm referring to because you're still back in 2017 and haven't even made your way through a third of that show - but trust me, the INSPIRATION'S THERE! Or should I say HERE:

And so my Savviest of friends, last year's goodbye becomes this year's greeting thanks to the one and only Mr. Rod Stewart, who I've recently become a fan of and who's waiting to meet you below.

So here we are... Driving AFTER DARK... Yet Again. If you've ever wondered what it's like to take a long night drive without the aid of headlights, we share the same dilemma as that's the precise experience that we're looking to capture. Light em up!!!

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!

?Pre-Show Opening Number: Here I Go Again - Whitesnake

We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough will therefore draw gradually nearer, and finally meet at the center: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork, you must make a decision - C.S. Lewis

Vertigo - U2

When all's said and done, all roads lead to the same end. So it's not so much which road you take, as how you take it. - Charles de Lint

The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere. - Xun Kuang

Our knowledge and all of our ideas are mutually connected; the more complicated they are, the more numerous must be the roads that led to them and depart from them. - Cesare Beccaria

Have YOU spotted any of these LinkedIn ROAD STARS Lately?

Sky Sharma

This one's for you Sky!

Mareo McCracken

Meghana Reddy Gundlapally

tohm h. boehm

Shama Hyder

Joseph David Thomas

Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

And "LinkedIn Crush" ... Brigette Hyacinth

Tina Turner & Mick Jagger - State of Shock

Jan Johnston Osburn

Wish I Knew You - The Revivalists

Adam Karpiak

Gilda de Varon Amante

Heidi Floyd

Brian Burns

Savvy Raj

Bergitte Yacoub

Curt Trent

Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang

Li Lin

Dreaming, Persevering, and Breaking Barriers - Li Lin @ TedxYouth

Qamar Ali Khan

Goldie Chan

Calvin Rambau

Renee Booths

Candice Galek

Puttin' on the Ritz - Taco

Here's Some More ROAD QUOTES for you:

" Life is filled with unanswered questions, but it is the courage to seek those answers that continues to give meaning to life. You can spend your life wallowing in despair, wondering why you were the one who was led towards the road strewn with pain, or you can be grateful that you are strong enough to survive it.” ―  J.D. Stroube ,  Caged by Damnation

“ There's more to getting to where you're going then just knowing there's a road.” ―  Joan Lowery Nixon ,  In The Face of Danger

" He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to." ―  Kami Garcia ,  Beautiful Darkness

The Lionel Thomas Art Gallery is Now Open

Lionel Thomas is establishing himself as one of Africa’s most vibrant artistic talents.

France-born and international artist Lionel Thomas brings a colorful perspective and injects new life into the art world with his myriad of vibrant works. A self-taught artist, Lionel finds inspiration in the dynamic energy of both his city of Lille and Yaounde (Cameroon) his Cameroonian and French roots and creates pieces that are rich in music culture. Lionel Thomas has also found inspiration in Jazz and Blues music.

AFRICAN COLORS FILL MY WORK WITH ENERGY

Amidst his success professionally, Lionel has made it his life’s mission to use his talent to give back to the community by remaining an active teacher. His charitable efforts have spanned Cameroon and France.

Lionel continues to thrive in his career by taking on new projects and constantly challenging himself as an artist. His talent and conviction to share his colorful perspective with the world continues to grow and evolve

Learn more about the work of Lionel Thomas at liothomas.com

Idle Your Engines and meet the VIP ROAD STAR PIT CREW: Sou Abbas, Anupriya Abnave, Christine Accardi, Dupe Adeyoe Doug Ales, Qamar Ali Khan, Samira Akpan, Gilda de Varon Amante, Joel Anderson, Marcus Aurelius Anderson, Dr Roni Avery, Noemi Barrazueta, Olivia Barrow, Denise M. Barry, Monica Bazi, Lee Bartlett, Brett Berhoff, Amy J. Biel, Mathew Biju, Kaylaa T. Blackwell, Steve Blakeman, Amy Blaschka Conor Boden, Thom h. Boehm, Jennifer Boggs, Andrew Books, Renee Booths, Laurent Boscherini, Larry Boyer, Marc Bulandr, Brian Burns, Uzma Butt, Ivette K. Caballero, Antoinette Capasso, Nicola Chambers-Holder, Goldie Chan, Kris Chang, Rovie Anne Chopitea, Debesh Choudhury, Richard Ciach, Nick Ciubotariu, Kathie Kinde Clarke, Michael Clarke, Dr. Richard Claydon, Matthew Cohen, Peter Cook, Cheryl Snapp Conner, Margarita Cramer, Marietta Gentles Crawford, Paul Croubalian, John Curran, Anthony Curtis, Kathy Dahan, Dianne Dawson, Anthony Daniyan, Catherine de la Poer, Tess De Marzo, Marielle de Natris, Mamen Delgado, Pascal Derrien, Richard DiPilla, Milos Djukic, James Dooney, Kushal Ekbote, Fatima-ezzahra Elhasnaouy, Sarah Elkins, Barry Enderwick, Murat Erdem, Donna-Luisa Eversley, Nir Eyal, Odile Faludi, Heidi Floyd, John Flower, Gregory Foster, Michael Frazier, Phil Friedman, Cory Galbraith, Candice Galek, Lisa Gallagher, Dr. Ricky A. Gallaway, Shubhanshu Garg, Maggie Ge, Teagan Geneviene, Jacqui Genow, Brad Gillis, Caroline Gooden, Linda Gordon, Roshan Manjunath Gowda, Kathy Graham, David Grinberg, Peter Gruben, Irene Hackett Nilsen, Jeff Halfen, Melissa Harmon, Deb Helfrich, R. Leonardo Helton, Robin A. Henderson, Julie Hickman, Franci Hoffman, Michael Hughes, Neil Hughes, Shama Hyder, Brigette Hyacinth, Ivo Iacovelli, Thomas Jackson, Melvin Jarman, Elizabeth Jeanne Dehn, Lisa Jones, Laurie Kane-Carson, Sarah-Joy Kallos, Adam Karpiak, Paul Keijzer, Suzanne Kelly, Don Kerr, Qamar Ali Khan, Joanne S. Kim, Artur Kozik, Karen Anne Kramer, Phil Larabee, Jackie Larson, Lucy Lee, Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren, Rod Loader, Megan Lucas, Dustin Maherg, Russell Magidson, CityVP Manjit, Juliet Markby, John Marrett, Mareo McCracken, James McElearney, Brian McKenzie, Arnie McKinnis, Dustin McKissen, Zach Messler, Laura Mikolaitis, Amanda Mitchell, Nick Mlatchkov, Isvari Mohan, Asim Mohapatra, Anil Kumar Morathati, Francoise Morvan, Jim Murray, Timi Nadela, Lee Naik, Rekha Narayan, Wilka Nascimento, Ian Nethercott, DJ_Noir, Bwiko Kyriakos Nyamasyeki, MaryJane Obichere, Kate Obryan, Chris O'Connor, Jan Johnston Osburn, Nick Padilla, Paula M. Parker, Thomas Parr, Bonnie Petkovic, Loribeth Pierson, Becky Ponce, Lada Prkic, LaRae Quy, Robert Ramirez, Karthik Rajan, Calvin Rambau, Alex Rankovic, Nicola Ray, GR Reddy, Justin Reilly, Ralph Richter, Salma Rodriguez, Susan Rooks, Gretchen Rubin, Michael Schreck, Kate Schwid, Alex Schitter, Brian Schulman, Candy Schulman, Trent Selbrede, Sky Sharma, Vinod Sharma, Soheir Shalaby, Deepak Sharma, Vishal Sharma, Gary Sharpe, Jatin Sheth, Pankaj Shrivastava, Melissa Shull, Robyn D. Shulman, Diane Siefkes, Yvan Sidler, Aurorasa Sima, Dan Simon, Aaron Skogen, Chris Spurvey, Mark Steel, Daniel Stepel, Cheryl Stieffel, Joseph David Thomas, Lionel Thomas, Will Thompson, Brynne Tillman, Tai Tran, Thomas Trang, Cindy Tripodi, Shenoy U.K., Hudaya Wahyuningrat, Misty Joy Warren, Natasha Weisheimer, John White, Dr. des. Natalia Wiechowski, Fatima Williams, Chris Williams-Lilley, Pamela I. Williams, Heather Younger, Martin Wright, Sisi Xue, Bergitte Yacoub Zheng Xu, and...Gillian Zoe Segal

Introducing ROADS: Driving AFTER DARK Again's Special Guest: Rod Stewart

Whatever road you choose, I'm right behind you win or lose.

Optimism is my best defense

Half the battle is selling music, not singing it. It's the image, not what you sing

I don't think people expect Bruce Springsteen to come out in a pink satin jacket, but Rod Stewart, they do. And I like doing it; I don't wear it because I think I have to. I'm a very flamboyant person. - Rod Stewart

Sir Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. Stewart is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. He has had six consecutive number one albums in the UK and his tally of 62 UK hit singles includes 31 that reached the top ten, six of which gained the #1 position. Stewart has had 16 top ten singles in the US, with four reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music and charity.

With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and the early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group, and then with Faces, though his music career had begun in 1962 when he took up busking with a harmonica. In October 1963, he joined the Dimensions as a harmonica player and part-time vocalist. In 1964, Stewart joined Long John Baldry and the All Stars, and in August, Stewart signed a solo contract, releasing his first single, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", in October. He maintained a solo career alongside a group career, releasing his debut solo album, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down in 1969. Stewart's early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music, and R&B.

From the late 1970s through the 1990s, Stewart's music often took on a new wave or soft rock/middle-of-the-road quality, and in the early 2000s, he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook. In 1994, Stewart staged the largest free rock concert in history when he performed in front of 3.5 million people in Rio de Janeiro. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at #33 in Q Magazine's list of the Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time, and #59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Faces. - Source: Wikipedia

Excerpted from Rod The Autobiography by Rod Stewart

"We call it "doing a runner," and it's the best way on earth to beat the traffic after a show. At the end of the last encore, drenched with sweat, I make my final bow to the whooping, applauding crowd, then jog from the stage-and keep on jogging, into the wings, where someone drapes a towel around me as I pass. In the hall, the lights stay down and the crowd continues to call for a third encore. But I'm off down the fluorescent-lit backstage corridors, where the air is suddenly cool after the heat of the stage, and out through the service doors at the back of the arena, into a waiting car, the noise of the clapping and stamping receding behind me, until the clunk of the limo door seals it out completely and the car sweeps me away.

Away, on this one night in particular, in July 1995, to an airstrip near Gothenburg and a waiting private plane. A change of clothes is ready for me in the limo and I wriggle into them as we drive. Behind me, 30,000 hollering Swedish fans. Ahead of me, a short flight to London, in the company of a few members of my team who were also primed to "do a runner" at the show's end. The Spanner in the Works tour kicked off in June and is scheduled to run until May the following year, but there is a window in the schedule and I'm heading home.

And this is always the moment, with my feet outstretched as the plane picks up speed and lifts off the runway, when I finally relax, allow the adrenaline of the previous two hours to settle, enjoy the prospect of a night in my own bed, and anticipate the meal that the cabin crew will soon prepare, the glass of cold white wine that will go with it, and the satisfaction at the end of a day's work.

Except that this time...

Thump!

"What the hell was that?"

We are hardly into our ascent when there is an almighty wallop on the left-hand side.

"Was that the wing?"

The plane banks sharply, then gradually levels.

"What's happening?"

Startled rigid in my seat, I look around the cabin at the faces of the people with me, seeking comfort. Next to me, my great mate Alan Sewell -solid dependable, Big Al, a secondhand car dealer by trade and a gentleman of ample proportions, often mistaken for a bodyguard at my side-has turned white and is about to begin shaking like jelly.

Opposite, Annie Challis, part of my manager's team, gives me a reassuring look, and says, "I'm certain it's nothing, darling." But that reassuring look seems to be costing her some effort, which kind of removes the reassurance from it.

Meanwhile, near Annie sits my beloved and all-knowing manager Arnold Stiefel, engrossed in the latest issue of Architectural Digest. As he continues to turn the pages, Arnold seems unperturbed, although I notice he is sniffing the air rather quizzically. Seconds later he blithely declares, "It smells just like Thanksgiving."

It's true. A strangely wholesome smell of roasting fowl has begun to pervade the cabin. Odd time to start heating up my meal, surely.

No time to start worrying about that. The pilot speaks to us from the deck. We're going back to the airport. He sounds relaxed enough. But they always do, don't they? That's what they're paid for.

The minutes that follow, in which the plane haltingly turns and readies itself to descend, hang heavily. Big Al continues to tremble. Annie begins to look unreassuringly reassuring. Arnold has discarded both his magazine and his confident demeanor and is intensely studying the in-case-of emergency laminated card, as if in preparation.

Now, in a flood of cold fear, I begin to wonder: Is this it? Is this where my number finally comes up? True, my life has been a full one-more spectacular and privileged and colorful than I would have dared even dream, with adventures and and wealth and love beyond my share-but even so, is this how it all ends: in the arms of Big Al, in a field in Sweden?

Through the windows of the plunging plane, I notice that the runway has been covered in foam and the perimeter of the airfield is alive with the blinking lights of emergency vehicles.

But I somehow keep it together. I rein it in and remain calm and in control. If it must be, then it must be. "It's all right," I say, in a quiet voice. Then, slightly louder, "It's all right." Then in a kind of half-shout, "It's all right!" Then finally, in a shrill and rising scream, "It's all right!"

It was ll right. A bird strike, apparently. One unlucky member of a passing flock of geese, sucked into the engine. The bird was ruined, and, so, too was the engine. Good thing the plane had another one and was able to land. It wouldn't have been the first time in my long and distinguished career that I had handed the tabloids a gift-wrapped headline: "Rod Cooks His Goose."

And luck within luck. After we had driven back to the hotel where the band was staying and joined them in the bar for several stiff drinks and some dramatic reenactments of the incident, I learned, that, only the previous day, our pilot had attended a refresher course on controlling a plane in the event of an engine loss.

Kind of sums up my life, really. An awful lot of the way, it's been a long luxury aircraft ride. But just occasionally the plane flies into a goose.

And somehow, every time it does, I get lucky and live to tell the tale."

Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Rod Stewart

All You Need Is Love - Rod and Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker & Eric Clapton

FOREVER YOUNG - Rod Stewart and daughter Ruby DUET

I Know I'm Losing You - The Faces featuring Rod Stewart

Grand Finale: I Don't Want to Miss A Thing - Aerosmith

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart

So you think you can sing? Ok, JUST SING...

Thank you for coming and making it a great After Dark event. After some deliberation we will return! Meanwhile, get out there and REALLY HIT THE ROAD!!!

Hot "ROD" Heart - John Fogerty

A New Year Has Come!

Tonight

I surrender

A deep feeling of my heart

To this moment

To what is

Within and before me

Not judging but observing

Tonight

In solitude I sit

Weaving thoughts and memories in my mind

Wind whips through open windows

Heavy

With the scent of change

And yet, I smile

Knowing that deep down

I trust my highest good

With the invigorating fragrance of fresh night rain

The room smelt of lemongrass

The glow from the fireplace

Incense sticks burning

Aroma spreads in the air

Thoughts quietly drift away

Silence prevails momentarily

Wordless joy livens up the atmosphere this New Year's Eve

Bringing a splash of hope

To a world sinking into the darkness

And now, the New-year bells are ringing

Bringing us closer to a new time

Let us feel a sense of peace and tranquility spreading

Welcome New Year 2018

Here's to a new dawn

Filled with a brighter sun

Beaming gold

Lighthearted and fun

To a day for us to love once more

After being battered and forlorn

To all the things that caused us pain

That they might bring further gains

Here's to the New Year

The future is an active battleground

Endings and New Beginnings

What awaits us is a hidden path

We will discover the treasured secrets to success

Then the doves sing their songs

Chirping of beauty in strength

Singing this solemn chord adoringly

Everything comes alive

And astounded I am

I respect and cherish all these components

Our hopes such as they are

Untouched

And still promising

The new dawn of prosperity

Together with the knowledge of a greater purpose

To bring something into existence

To enhance trust and harmony between individuals

And all of Nature

I yearn to learn….

As I come to the end of myself, I find you there

Laughing charmingly

And the sun will rise with us in the morning

Dandelions will dance through our way

Acts of courage that have paved the way, our aisle today

If you don’t see any footsteps ahead

There your treasures await

All along

As we all possess

~ By Kris Chang

The Soul Sinking Search for Perfect

Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Mel Robbins - the ‘change’ and ‘best practice’ gurus are everywhere. Yes, they are very cool and even insightful, but what are they teaching us? Can we really expect to have their unique experience of success? Can we consider instead, opening our eyes with a healthy sense of humility, to the miracle we see in the mirror and learn to experience our own version of a life lived well?

Every one of us is uniquely gifted and gives to life our best when we are being ourselves at every level of engagement. It makes perfect sense then, that we too can experience 'success' by doing what comes naturally to us, not by imitating someone else’s ideal. The challenge is in accepting the ‘shadow’ that lies within us, without which the light cannot shine. This requires time for self-reflection to keep us 'real', with all the ugly and pretty parts of our inner world in full view. This is how we avoid the distractions which can keep us dangerously 'numb', possibly even 'fake', ignorant of our own souls. (work, t.v., social media, big homes, fancy cars, video games, food, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.)

This search for the ‘ideal’, the ‘perfect’ in everything, so often hides the beauty and the gift of ‘what is’. Not that we should ignore our longing and desires, but that we also give honor to what and who is in front of us today, right now. All the circumstances we walked through to be here, the people that helped us along the way, the challenges we overcame that strengthened and 'ripened' us. To see our imperfectness not as something that needs ‘fixing’, but as something natural - as natural as the imperfectness of the world in which we live - this is to become the rich and complex humans we mysteriously came here ‘to be’.

The ever-present drive to ‘be better’ to ‘self-improve’, to change and expand to something more than we currently are - comes with the danger of being drawn into isolation, sadness and mourning, at the loss of our souls. Because we will never ‘measure-up’. Life will never be perfect. We will never arrive. There will always be the 'unknown', the 'uncertain'. And yet when we know and accept ourselves - when we are aligned with our souls, we can come to know that life can still be full and beautiful, despite its messy canvas, its untidy closets and its dark nights.

In this technological age of never-ending 'improvement', my soul continues to sing and shout - it cries out to the trees, to the birds the ocean and the stars, for with them I sense an honest connection that speaks of deep beauty and grandeur that a lifetime of social conditioning only succeeds at snuffing out.

The privilege that comes with years, is waking up to our souls and resurrecting the loves in our hearts that died so long ago.

May our work, our 'success', reflect the depth of our souls, rather than a socially conditioned construct of the mind. 

Irene Hackett (Nilsen)