Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Why Not Las Vegas?


"When all think alike, then no one is thinking." -Walter Lippman

I was asked recently about our C3 Americas Conference for North and South America being held in Las Vegas.

"Why Las Vegas?"

"Why not Las Vegas?"

It may seem like an odd question to be asked. Every year, every month, and every week there is a conference of some sort going on in Las Vegas. The gambling and entertainment mecca of the world. Some might disagree about that, but it is certainly one of the most identified with it.

The question stems though from the fact that the C3 Americas Conference is a church affiliated conference. That is right, a church conference in Las Vegas. Were we crazy or worse yet heavily imbibed in something when the decision was made?

My answer to the question and raised eyebrow is really meant to make the person asking think. Think of why other venues would be any better suited. A person would say "Well, you know, it is Las Vegas, Sin City. That isn't a proper place for a church conference!"

The conference could have been most anywhere, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, or right here in Atlanta. One could make an argument for or against any one of those locations. But a church conference?

Sorry to disappoint you folks, but we are ordinary people just like you and others. We get up in the morning, get the kids off to school, get irritated by the rush hour traffic and work hard each and every day. We watch many of the same television and news programs you do. We are just like you, trying to do what is right in life, and trying to achieve a best life for our family and ourself.

So again, "Why not Las Vegas?"

When we do the same thing over and over, we reap the same thing over and over. But when we step out and challenge our thoughts and perceptions, that is where change begins to occur. The possibilities of what life has for us abound in great quantity within our mind. Yet that is where they remain if we do nothing.

Turning your dreams into actions is when the excitement starts. There are all those questions asked such as "why mess with what works", or better yet "why Las Vegas?" My point here is that there will be the naysayers trying to put out the flame of passion you have lit. Your change is happening and movement has begun to take hold of your life.

Of course, you are like everyone else out there. You get up in the morning, get the kids off to school, get irritated by the rush hour traffic and work hard each and every day. You watch many of the same television and news programs everyone else does. You are just like them, trying to do what is right in life, and trying to achieve a best life for your family and yourself.

The difference is that you are shaking things up from the ordinary. The ordinary has gotten you to the point of doing the same things over and over. But it is in the stepping out and doing something different that will move you forward in life. Yes, that is the difference and is the real answer behind "Why not Las Vegas?"

Stay inspired my friends.

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