Chuck Schwartz

Hi, I'm Chuck and I am the chef of a recipe I call Chuck's Lemonade.

Chuck's Lemonade is a recipe for inspired thinking and living, for finding gifts when life gives you lemons, and for turning your lemons into lemonade.

I live on a beautiful little island named Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, and I live here with my wife Renee. I am also the father to three grown and wonderful children, Jonathan, Brett, and Alyssa. I am also a son, a brother, a brother-in-law, and a friend to many wonderful friends who are like family.

My passions are listening to music (I used to write and make music, and I am admittedly an old 80’s hair band rocker, but now I mostly just listen), taking long walks on the beach, writing, teaching, and being an inspiration to others.

My professional career includes over thirty-five years in business management, business ownership, strategic business development, sales and sales management, and marketing. My experiences span many industries, including construction, information technology, accounting, business management software, and business management consulting.

My Chuck’s Lemonade story spans my entire life:

My youth, my upbringing, and beginning my struggle with guilt

My awkward teen years(Whose wasn’t, right?)

My 20’s, which included getting married just weeks shy of my 21st birthday, and being a kid raising kids

My 30’s, which included returning to college and finally finding the gift of my college education

My 40’s, which included waking up from a life of not wanting to deal with—or be honest with— things that I struggled with and things that weren’t okay for me. I separated from my wife and had many questions, so many in fact that I decided to begin counseling. During one session I asked my counselor, “Why would I do this?” and “Why would I allow these things to happen when I know they are wrong for me?” She smiled, and then calmly told me that it’s because:

“You used to see with yesterday eyes, and now you see with today’s eyes!” That was an “ah-ha!” moment.

Has life ever given you lemons?

Has life ever let you down?

I get it. I’ve been there, too.

Life doesn’t always go as you planned, or as you wished. That’s life.

It’s what you do next that matters most!

Today, in my 50’s, I see and live every day through today’s eyes. I realize how positively this affects me and others around me. This includes my new marriage, my children, my mom and others in my family, my friends, people at work, and life in general. This also then leads to positive changes, including where I live, how I work, and doing things that make my days and my life great.

Things changed for me when I developed, and began to practice, H.A.B.I.T.S, the ingredients in Chuck’s Lemonade, and I no longer allowed negative emotions and feelings like anger, anxiety, blaming, boredom, chaos, complaining, drama, fear, frustration, guilt, pity, regret, resentment, stress, and worry to control my mind, and my life. This doesn’t mean that negative things never happen to me or happen around me, that I never feel any of those feelings, or that I am never uncomfortable, because that’s not life.

The truth is:

Life doesn’t always go as you planned, or as you wished. That’s life.

It’s what you do next that matters most!

Learn H A B I T S, the ingredients in Chuck’s Lemonade, and practice them.

Do this and you, and others around you, will be better off for it.

Because, as I’ve said, Life doesn’t always go always go as you planned, or as you wished. That’s life. It’s what you do next that matters most!

Chuck’s Lemonade ingredients: H A B I T S

H, as in Honesty

Live honestly, with yourself, and with others.

A, as in Acceptance

Accept what you cannot change, and change what you cannot accept.

Expect less, and accept more.

B, as in Beach

Find your “beach”. Your “beach” is any space or place you visit to think better.

I, as in Inspiration

Find inspiration, live inspired, and be inspiring.

T, as in Trust

Trust your gut. Your gut doesn’t lie to you, like your mind does.

S, as in Service

Love and serve, yourself and others.

Do things to make others smile (it just might make you smile, too).