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Birthday Greetings

Wednesday Feb 07 2007

It's Jim's birthday today and everyone at Serene Ambition would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the difference he has made in our lives. Thank you, Jim!

"Happy birthday, dear Jim. As you have transformed so many things in your life and in the lives of others, I acknowledge you for now transforming our notion of what it means to be 65. For so many in our culture, it has defined the age of taking ourselves out of the action and retreating to the sidelines...from being an active contributor to being subsidized by those still working. Thank you for leading us...by your example, through the Serene Ambition community, and through so many other thoughtful and courageous actions to change our conversation of “aging” ...and for opening up new options for vital living as elders.

Many blessings on your birthday, Jim."
~Don Arnoudse

"Of the many thousands of people we come across during our lifetime, there are only relatively a few that make a deep, profound and lasting impact. Jim Selman is one of those people for me. He is the dearest of friends. He was born a teacher. He developed himself into a being an inventor, creator and entrepreneur. He swims in uncharted waters -- and continues to do so at 65. He is a difference-maker. And to top it all off, he has a heart of gold.

I remember several times when Jim asked me a question or offered a view that totally transformed what I could see or say. With one single statement or just one probing question, he would shift my reality. He always did this with a twinkle in his eye and that impish smile. As much as I initially wanted to strangle him for pulling the rug out from under me, I couldn't, because I always got his unconditional love for me.

One time as a young man, I was venting about my difficulty in handling the extra weight that my wife had put on. I remember saying, "I can't help it, an athletic figure just more suits my taste." Jim smiled and said, "Well, change your taste." On the surface, that seemed pretty unsupportive and definitely unlikely. Yet, over time, I began to see that he was right. I could run my taste or my taste could run me. That statement gave back to me the freedom to choose. I could see the possibility of "getting off it". I actually began to re-define beauty. Jim has given me more gifts than he could possibly imagine.

At 65, I wish Jim the happiest of birthdays. He epitomizes youthfulness -- in his thoughts, energy, actions, and in his state of being. (Well, maybe his golf swing isn't as flexible, but his mind is even more so.) He is one of those people that many see as a shining light -- I sure do. I thank God for putting Jim Selman in my life."

~Vince DiBianca

"They say everything begins as an idea in someone's mind...well, I saw the possibility of a friend, business coach and 'creative colleague' in my mind's eye for many years. And to think Jim appeared in my life at an informal meeting on Peak Oil that I almost didn't go to! Well, the Universe delivers surprises every now and then...and he certainly qualifies that.

I wish you the happiest of birthdays today, Jim. Thank you for sharing your insights and wisdom, for being such a compassionate elder, and for inspiring me to recreate myself and make a difference in the world. May our conversations continue ...."
~Shae Hadden

"I first met Jim at a training course about the commitment-based approach to creating a future that is different from what we have today. His perspectives resonated for me and I subsequently arranged a course for my management team so we'd share a common language about how we were inventing the future in our region ... with excellent results. After that, I attended his mastery course in coaching and have become a coach for other leaders. Jim gave me a framework, a paradigm, to help me understand what I was trying to do instinctively, a means by which I could consciously engage others in far more effective ways. There is something wonderful in knowing that limits don't have to be limiting and that anything is possible. Thanks, Jim. Have a very happy birthday, my friend."
~Marilyn Hay

Marilyn Kentz is the outspoken brunette of the comedy duo "The Mommies". She co-created and co-starred in the stage show that catapulted her and next door neighbor, Caryl Kristensen, into stardom. And she began that adventure at age 45! The Mommies' swift rise in popularity led to an NBC sitcom, which led to an award-nominated Showtime Comedy Special, which brought about the ABC Talk show “Caryl and Marilyn: Real Friends”.

"When Caryl and I were in the beginning months of performing the stage show, Jim sat us down and asked, 'Why are you doing it?' We answered all kinds of superficial things like, 'It's fun to make people laugh,' and 'We need to get out of the house,' and even, 'Because we like to wear costumes!' Jim continued probing. The more we answered, the closer to the truth we came. And then, one last time, 'Why are you doing it?' 'Because we want women to feel like they're not alone.' There it was: the nugget. And we held on to that ideal throughout the rest of our career. Every decision after that had to fit that criterion. Does it make women feel like they're not alone? I am truly grateful to Jim for the nugget. To this day, it is with me at every crossroad. It's more than a nugget--it's my foundation. Thank you, Jim for such a precious gift. Happy birthday!!!!!"

~Marilyn Kentz

"I first met Jim in the late 1970s when we were both participants in an organization called 'Growing Older.' Then, about ten years later, I joined his staff when he was the head of Transformational Technologies. Listening to him coaching affiliates on the phone I knew he had something very special to offer them. I was inspired by him then, even as I have remained inspired by him over the years as I've followed his career.

I'm privileged to call Jim my friend and offer my congratulations on his 65th, a birthday that testifies to his having reached adulthood. My love to him now and always."
~Elizabeth Russell

"The old in the new
The new in the old
Jim turns 65 new years old
In a context that is 1 year old
growing young by growing old
New conversations unfolding from old
Elderhood leading the old
Bridging the gap from young to old
Transforming the future of the old."
~Adib Saikili

"My complacent sense of order first came up against Jim’s sere intellect several years ago during training he was providing to our organization. As a schoolboy in England, I was given to understand that the idea of progress arose during the 17th century or so, as civilization turned its back on the idea that the world was in a perpetual state of decay and rot, and that modern thinking held that knowledge, invention and improvement in one’s lot was steadily escalating on moral as well as physical bases. In Leviathan, Hobbes wrote of a certain joy that arises from the imagination of man’s own power. He was thinking of course not of pathologies, but of the infinite wonderful possibilities that an open mind may admit. Jim reminded me of these elemental lessons imperfectly learned and long since forgotten. Moreover, he altered my conception of the future. 'We can bring the future into being – and the thinking person will readily appreciate this – by the power of our commitments, our promises,' he said. He influenced my perceptions of relationship-building as a competency, a re-framing of a complex process that assisted me better to assume responsibility for it.

I remember reading once that the existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel was asked how he came to change his attitude toward a personal value question he had discussed during a presentation (I’ve long forgotten what it was). His answer, surprisingly direct but exquisitely existential, was that it was a personal encounter. Nothing else ever makes us change important value assessments as powerfully as personal encounters. Jim exhibits that authoritative power that operates through the medium of friendship and trust that assists in understanding, appreciation and moral discernment."
~Stu Whitley