"THINK LIKE A DOG!!" says Scott MacDonald. Huh? What does that mean? And is that even possible?
Read full story below to find out more......
The speaker today was Mr. Scott Macdonald, a member of the Del Mar Rotary Club with a successful past real estate and business career. After retirement he turned his hand to writing, and his second book titled Think Like a Dog explains how dogs can teach us to be happy and successful in life.
In an introductory video titled “The Lessons of Life” Scott described how he inherited an older, mixed breed dog named Sadie from his son, who had got her at a rescue shelter, and how she ultimately became the star of his book. In the process of adjusting to her new life with Scot Sadie taught him several interesting strategies about how to adjust to changes and eventually come out on top, being in control of her life and environment. So he decided to write a book about his experiences with Sadie, which was eventually picked up and published by Barnes & Noble and eventually got on their best-seller list.
Written in a humorous vein the chapters have titles such as Knowing When to Bark, Being Persistent, and Living in the Moment. Many of them are based on psychological concepts. For example, many people get stuck in the past and never move on, while others are always anticipating the future which no one can predict. Very few people have mastered the art of Mindfulness, which means living fully in the present. Dogs, on the other hand, do not worry about the past or the future, but live totally in the present and do quite well with that. They know exactly what to do to get their needs met – food, water, walks, love, treats – and they know that cuteness and love works better than barking or biting.
In a humorous cartoon video Sadie articulates many of life’s common truths, for example: a day without play is a bad day, being part of a pack is better than being alone, you don’t need a great outfit in order to have a good life, the grass always smells better in the neighbor’s yard, wagging your tail gets you far more treats than growling or threatening, be patient and nice to children if you want them to feed you some day, and the last one especially pertinent to Rotarians – leave your mark! Love and be loved, THINK LIKE A DOG!!
The book has been very popular and appeals especially to two classes of readers: people who own and love dogs; and people who are into self-help strategies and try to apply some of these axioms to their own lives.
Scott uses the proceeds of his books to establish a scholarship fund for needy college students. Currently there are about 60 – 70 students benefitting from this scholarship, with the proviso that they in turn will help other needy kids. He provides the seed money to various institutions of higher learning and they in turn raise a certain percentage of funds to match.
Scott uses the proceeds of his books to establish a scholarship fund for needy college students. Currently there are about 60 – 70 students benefitting from this scholarship, with the proviso that they in turn will help other needy kids. He provides the seed money to various institutions of higher learning and they in turn raise a certain percentage of funds to match.
In the end DMSB Club President Venky Venkatesh presented the speaker with the Joshua certificate that represents our club DMSB donating school supplies to schools in Malawi in the name of the speaker.
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