When Jason Mraz sang the now-iconic hit song The Remedy at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre a few weeks ago, I wondered about Jason’s good friend, Charlie. I knew this extraordinary song was inspired by the very same situation that many of us have faced in our own lives—the possibility of losing a dear friend to a dirty old disease called Cancer.

That night, I wondered: so, what happened to Jason’s friend?  

To my relief, I soon discovered that Charlie Mingroni is both alive and doing well. Now, ten years in remission from cancer, Charlie embodies the same enthusiasm for navigating life that Jason Mraz shares musically with millions of fans around the globe.

Here’s an excerpt from my interview with Charlie:

Robin Blakely:  For me, a favorite line in The Remedy suggests the importance of attitude. “You can turn off the sun, but I’m still gonna shine.”  How do you shine?

Charlie Mingroni:  Absolutely an impressive lyric! I believe I shine by making it a daily goal to dig deep within me to do and be the most positive, real, honest and truthful person I can be. It may sound cliché, but I do not aspire to be a super star, a millionaire, famous, or a top corporate executive. I only aspire to be the best ME I possibly can, making the changes and adjustments to ring loud with truth, pure love, positivity and keeping a balance between the two beautiful inevitables, life and death. With my focus on being exactly who I am and “shining” out to all the living and passing each day, there is no other result than pure happiness. And that is the daily result I crave through my work.

See the whole interview: visit GiftsThatGive’s online magazine. 

Enjoy the song:

Does your skin itch as you drive to the office? Does your stomach twist in knots when you think about the next staff meeting? Does your mind race around in little circles like an excited puppy on a too-short leash?

Listen up! Could be your creative talent is allergic to pressures to learn and accept the apathy being fed to you from your work environment.  If you are stuck in a workplace filled with apathy, beware. In fact, put your professional gloves on.  You need to handle apathy like asbestos, because exposure to on-the-job apathy is deadly to people with passion.

Here are 7 things you need to know about Apathy in your workplace:

1. Apathy in the workplace is not invisible. It can be seen and heard. You see it in the posture of the staff—they slump. You hear it in their staff meetings—they succeed in talking about water cooler trivia and they fail to talk about the business of deadlines, upcoming events, or the need to work together outside their departmental silos.
2. Apathy is also visceral. You can feel apathy in the vibe of the workplace—it’s dead energy that makes you feel tired and weighted down. Walking through the office space may feel like a tour through a vacant house after someone dies; there’s no passion left, only traces of its former occupancy.
3. Apathy can sucker-punch high achievers. In a learned apathy environment, high achievers are most often rewarded for their innovative performance efforts by having their workload expanded to include duties that rightfully belong to others, often the office slackers. Read more