Stronger Than All Obstacles

“The dance between darkness and light will always remain, the stars and the moon will always need the darkness to be seen, the darkness will just not be worth having without the moon and the stars.” ― C. JoyBell C.

When just short of two years old, this child fell ill and it took from her both sight and hearing. There were many people who wrongly attached the stigma of being dumb when faced with this blind and deaf child. It was said that being unable to see or hear the speech of others, a child could not learn.

Despite these challenges, this child grew up to become

... a college graduate.
... a public speaker.
... the author of several books.

The accomplishments of this child, this woman, were not entirely accomplished by self alone. There were other people that believed in her as well. But if she had not worked with all her ability to respond to the efforts of her teacher and those other people, this woman would not have reached all of those great accomplishments.

The woman that I speak of is of course Helen Keller.

She is quoted as saying, "the most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the immeasurable contrast between the two lives which it connects. It was the third of March; 1887, three months before I was seven years old."

Helen gave an example of what she experienced by saying, "Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbour was. "Light! give me light!" was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour."

Achieving with small steps of progress, slowly finding your way down a path of experience is a wonderful thing.

In her accomplishments, Helen Keller goes on to say, "No deaf child who has earnestly tried to speak the words which he has never heard--to come out of the prison of silence, where no tone of love, on song of bird, no strain of music ever pierces the stillness--can forget the thrill of surprise, the joy of discovery which came over him when he uttered his first word. It is an unspeakable boon to me to be able to speak in winged words that need no interpretation. As I talked, happy thoughts fluttered up out of my words that might perhaps have struggled in vain to escape my fingers. "My little sister will understand me now," was a thought stronger than all obstacles."

Achievement is possible in many forms with persistence towards that end.

For Helen Keller, it could be said it was if Isaiah's prophecy had been fulfilled in her. And each of us will experience this same feeling in which "the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands!"

Experience the wonder of achievement by never allowing darkness to win.

Your life is worth every tone of love, song of a bird and stronger than any obstacle.

Stay inspired my friends.

Honest Achievement

“Achievement is not always success, while reputed failure often is. It is honest endeavor, persistent effort to do the best possible under any and all circumstances.” - Orison Swett Marden

A few years ago a major American baseball record (home runs in one season) was surpassed. There was tremendous angst over the method or possible method in which it was achieved.

World hunger and society worried about a baseball record.

There were claims of illegal steroid use and other performance enhancement drugs. What followed were other players being accused and caught up in these methods of artificially enhancing their performance on the field.

In our society, everyone wants to see new and bigger records get set. The pressure to achieve lofty goals can result in less than honest achievement.

Society tends to forget who came in second place.

At the same time, society also wants to see achievement but achievement with some strict written and unwritten rules. Those rules state you better achieve with legal means. And you had better do it honestly or people will cast a shadow of doubt or shame upon the accomplishment.

Time and history will settle the score regarding these achievements.

For the individual, each will have to live with his/her own honesty in how achievement was gained. For some, conscience does not have the same 'equalizing' effect upon them as it does other people.

True achievement means to always be honest in the pursuit.

Achieve your goals in life honorably not only for yourself but for those that support you. The reward will be greater in the books of time.

Stay inspired my friends.

Sisyphus Kept Going

"The will to persevere is often the difference between failure and success." - David Sarnoff

In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king who was punished and made to roll a huge rock up a hill, only to watch it roll back down. He repeats this throughout eternity.

The sheer will to keep performing his task has different meanings but maybe in the struggle itself towards greatness is enough to fill your heart. In other words, maybe it is the journey we should be enjoying.

I am pretty sure that Sisyphus was not enjoying his journey but something kept him going. He showed perseverance to continue his struggle over and over again.

We also persevere in our efforts to reach a goal, dream or final destination in life. What we fail to do many times is to enjoy that wide spectrum of activity between starting and achieving. It can be in the "doing of life" that provides us with the most enlightenment and enjoyment.

The achievement itself is wonderful but many times it simply becomes another step to something even greater. It is the journey which continues beyond our achievement and perseverance that keeps us moving forward.

Enjoy your journey and persevere throughout the process. Achievement will only be temporary. The real reward is in the journey itself.

Stay inspired my friends!

Reaching the Moon

"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, September 12, 1962

Trying to achieve great things in life is not easy to do. It takes faith in oneself, hard work and the ability to adapt to the changing circumstances. There are those who win the lottery or a huge inheritance, but the vast majority have to work long and hard for it.

People such as Chris Gardner, going from nothing to having all he may ever want. Or others such as the actor Jim Carrey, software giant Larry Ellison, media personality Oprah Winfrey or famed chef Gordon Ramsay.

Even the famous Rockefeller family had to start somewhere as did John D. Rockefeller whose full salary for his first three months' work was $50. This is a very modest $1000 a month in terms of salary in the year 2009.

When you read stories of where these and other successful people started, you begin to realize each started with only a dream of 'achieving the moon' in their lives. Each found their own version of the moon as they achieved the goals set.

You can get to your own moon by starting with a belief in yourself. Reach for your dream by placing one foot in front of the other in movement. Eventually you will find the earth leaving quickly behind you as the moon begins to draw closer.

Stay inspired my friends!

Taking Flight

“If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.” ― Coco Chanel

This is the day that our daughter Pareesa takes steps on a stage to take hold of her college degree. The many late nights of studying, writing papers and dreaming of accomplishment are over. The reward of dedication to learning is acknowledgement before a multitude of family, friends and peers.

We are so proud of her in this and all the moments of her life.

With her degree in hand she will take flight to even greater heights. The world awaits all of us to accomplish great things. Pareesa, like all of our children, have and will do so much in their lifetime. The sky is huge and full of possibility to spread her wings wide. She will soar to success unimaginable even by a parents greatest expectations.

There will be great love and pride lifting those wings.

Where the winds of time carry her, we always know those same winds will carry her home to us from time to time. Pareesa will have a life of greatness, of achievement, and of happiness. Life is a wondrous thing to have and she will embark upon it with courage, wisdom and strength. As parents, we will get to watch from our perch, happy and confident in her ability to soar ever higher.

We love you Pareesa and are so proud of you on this grand graduation day!

Stay Out of the Weeds

"Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement comes apparent failure and discouragement." - Florence Scovel Shinn

Out in the distance we have set in our mind a vision of what we want to accomplish in life. Some type of achievement or goal that weighs upon our hearts and minds. You can not necessarily see it with the natural eye, but you know it is out there.

So you set out on the path, fixated on what lay straight ahead of you.

The path is at first flat and spread wide in front of you.

Sure, you may encounter a few bumps and obstacles but you remain focused. The journey will and does become frustrating. The temptation arises in you to stray off the path in attempt to find an easy way around those obstacles. But doing so, you lose sight and end up out in the weeds, in a place where you never intended to be.

The path becomes lost, time is lost, experience lost, and vision of the goal is lost as you try to find your way back. You struggle even more to find your way back onto the path towards your dream.

Maybe those obstacles on your path are there for a reason.

Maybe they are there to let you learn and adjust your vision.

If the path were easy, everyone would be standing within reach at this very moment. Staying on the path is never easy and the terrain can become quite difficult. As you climb over and through, your vision will come into focus even more. The vision will become more focused as you overcome those things that stand in your way. The vision will still be there, firmly in front of you, waiting to be achieved.

Keep your vision in sight and stay upon your path. Overcome the obstacles and do not get lost in the weeds, far from the sight of your goals. Achieve what you seek.

Stay inspired my friends.

Flying Upside Down

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” ―Seneca

When you step out into the unknown, there will be fear encountered both real and imagined. A few years back, many of us attended a couple's retreat in the North Georgia mountains. The camp had what is referred to as a challenge tower, four stories high and with various climbing obstacles to overcome.

During that retreat, a friend by the name of Belinda conquered something greater than the tower that day. She accomplished it in ways that you can not imagine. In fact, I think what she overcame that day was fear. In doing so, it set her up to overcome years later a brain tumor.

You can read about her miraculous story by picking up a copy of Bwenna - A Story of Hope and Faith.

Overcoming her fear of climbing prepared her for the fear that could grip even the heartiest of us when a doctor says the word cancer.

It could be fear of failure to reach the top or fear in your own physical ability to accomplish the climb. It could be that "step off the platform" for the zip line ride that grabs hold of you. For others, it may be the fear of simply reaching the top and being so high up in the air.

It was during this same event that I watched in amazement as another friend scaled the tower with little problem. She had reached the top and quickly we all learned that she had a fear of being so high. It caught me by surprise, but she had conquered it. She conquered that thing which holds her from moving forward in life. She had let go of fear and created the path to achieving so much more in life.

For me it was a certain fear of not being able to make the climb. After watching so many others ascend and questioning my own ability; fear was beginning to creep in. Yet I made that step forward; actually up the tower. My focus became the goal, my focus became ensuring my wife made it to the top, my focus was to overcome.

Once achieved, everything became much more clear to me. It seemed to me that my ride down the zip line was now the reward. Stepping out from the platform, taking the ride upside down was the only way. Flying upside down, everything was crystal clear to me at that moment.

Take a chance by stepping out into the unknown. Let go of the fear and know that even if you find yourself flying upside down, everything will be clear. Enjoy the ride!

Stay inspired my friends.

Climb a Mountain

"Big thinking precedes great achievement." -Wilferd A. Peterson

On June 7, 1913, Hudson Stuck, an Alaskan missionary, led the first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, the highest point on the American continent. Located in the state of Alaska, the mountain's Athabascan Indian name is Denali, meaning "The High One." In 1896, it was renamed in honor of Senator William McKinley, who became president of the United States that year.

When they set foot on McKinley's south peak, considered the mountain's true summit, it was an achievement many thought unattainable. A member of the group, Robert Tatum later commented, "The view from the top of Mount McKinley is like looking out the windows of Heaven!" To achieve something so large took large thinking.

It took thinking beyond the word no. It took believing in themselves and in the possibility of something greater. It also took them seven and a half weeks to climb what amounts to fourteen Empire State Buildings. A total of 20,320 feet into the bluest reaches of the sky.

Nothing comes easy in life. To scale the highest mountains of your life, it can take time. But you can take an ordinary day like June 7 and turn it into a great achievement. It all starts with thinking big things for your life and then living your journey today.

Start dreaming of large mountains to climb and then start climbing. The top isn't nearly as far away as you think.

Achieving Adventure

"Adventure is worthwhile in itself." -Amelia Earhart

There is so much in life to experience. From the time we are born, crawling across the floor to a toy all of the way to old age discoveries, we can experience new wonder. It is a great part of living, being an active participant in so much of everything.

A flight for business to Ireland placed me next to a man from Colorado. A man flying back into his past. a man flying back into adventure.

At this time I couldn't tell you what his name is. Nor could I tell you the name of his brother. And I certainly can't tell you the name of their father. But I can say they are on an adventure together, rediscovering their history.

I hope that I hear from them after the trip so that I can write about it. But if not, my imagination tells me that they are going to have a wondrous time together. They will have the time of their lives. They will be adventurous.

Each of us need to experience some level of adventure. It might be taking a canoe down the local river or fling half way around the world. It is pushing your limits slightly past your comfort level.

By stretching ourselves we realize that the impossible isn't quite so impossible. We find that our ability to achieve becomes more real when we push beyond our comfort.

Finish Line

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another." -John Dewey

I have heard it said many times that starting a journey towards a goal is the easy part...finishing it is the hard part. Its a true and sometimes painful lesson for many of us to learn in life.

We set forth at the beginning of a new year with plans for many things. But by the second or third month, life and our own selves get in the way. We lose interest, become interested in other "bright and shiny" things or simply give up. It is a common theme for many of us and finishing really is the hard part.

I wrote recently that my son graduated from the University of Georgia, picking up his Bachelor of Science in Geology, Summa Cum Laude. Now it is graduate school (should he decide) ahead of him. I am sure it was a long and hard road to achieve this moment. Yet he pushed and kept his mind on the goal and beyond.

It is that piece beyond the goal, that which lay beyond the finish line that keeps us motivated. One goal begets another goal, another destination, or another level of achievement. But none of it happens if you don't keep moving forward.

Now I fully understand that we can start a journey and then realize the path might be wrong. The goal we set may have been the wrong direction. The course we take might get altered. We may not complete the first goal in mind, but the path leads you to the next goal and the next and the next.

The best thing you can do is to set a goal and then get up and do something about it. Try to finish the journey to your goal. If you get side-tracked from it, adjust; don't just stop. Don't click on the CANCEL button. Don't click on the BACK button. Go forward and achieve a great life.

Super Bowl Achievement

"Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything." ~Napoleon Hill

Another American NFL Football game was completed last night. The 44th Super Bowl in which the winner of the American Football Conference plays the winner of the National Football Conference for bragging rights. Last night it was the Indianapolis Colts (NFC) taking on what for many years were the hapless New Orleans Saints (AFC).

I don't mean to bore you with football statistics and aim to get you excited about American football. World soccer, rugby and many other sports have their own fans. What is interesting is that in each sport, there is always one team that never seems to quite make it.

In American football, one of those teams are...excuse me...were the New Orleans Saints. With their famed "Who Dat" slogan, they kept believing, kept dreaming of achieving one of the greatest rewards in American sports.

Achievement, an overnight success story one might say that was 43 years in the making. During that entire time, a whole lot of dreams were dashed and disappointment seemed to always find its way in. Pretty much like life in general I would say.

Each of us have dreams of achieving some level of greatness. The "journey" can be a spiritual one or a physical one. Either way, the journey is a process leading to some level of achievement that will have dashed dreams and disappointment along the way.

We will change things up, the players we once had in our lives will leave and new ones will enter. The journey will take a team effort of support and guidance as we seek the goal. Our connections to others will be a great force to help achieve the "overnight" success.

The New Orleans Saints could have settled for winning a couple of games each year. But they kept dreaming and striving for even greater achievement. And you need to keep dreaming and striving for greater achievement.

Battle the disappointment, battle the dashed hopes, battle those things that will get in the way. You will get there and the feeling will be astounding.

Looking Beyond

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ~Matthew 3:24

Its amazing what can happen when our path becomes blocked by trouble or pain. Some will look and simply sit down on the side of the road. So many of these roads are littered with the shanty buildings of those that have given up.

Others though will see the mountain and have the ability to believe in something beyond it. They can see what lay beyond the obstacle and use faith to guide them past it.

With the recent earthquake in Haiti, as with any major disaster; people will see the devastation around them and simply give up. But there will be many that can see the vision of a new country. Of rebuilding a hospital or a grocery store. They see their new home where now only a pile of rubble exists.

Your problems could be simply finding that job, someone to love or getting beyond whatever troubles you. It is your own personal mountain; your own personal boulder on the road to where you want to be. See beyond the obstacle and believe in it.

Then begin your trek across, around, over or through it. There are many different ways to achieve success. All you have to do is keep trying. Pretty soon you'll leave those shacks built by others along the road. A clear and wonderful path will lay before you.

Take today and work through what you have. Tomorrow will present greater opportunity for you and yesterday is gone...so let it go. Overcome your obstacles and achieve.

Trust In Yourself

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement." -Foster C. McClellan

Possibility always exists when a dream develops inside of you. You can work on the dream yourself or with others. People, when working together, can create an atmosphere in which possibility can become reality for you and many others.

If possibility did not exist, then we would be fools to make plans for our lives. Yet it does exist and we dream about all that we can achieve. And it is in believing in that possibility which drives us towards the achievement.

Fullfilling Your Vision

“Vision; it reaches beyond the thing that is, into the conception of what can be. Imagination gives you the picture. Vision gives you the impulse to make the picture your own.” - Robert Collier

When you dream of a vision and then begin to step towards it, you are on a path to realize that vision. So it is with a friend of mine and his love of music. As part of that love, the band in which he plays Mandolin has grown to become quite popular in the Bluegrass music community.

His story is like many others that have a vision or dream, but do not simply sit still. He has created movement in his life, always knowing that he would find his way to reach this vision.

You have the same ability to achieve many things in life. If you have even just a single dream, it takes making movement. The building near the crossroads has a door through which you can step through. There will be many paths you can take from that point forward and you will not have a clear idea of which one to take.

The idea though is to simply take one of the paths. Begin the journey and eventually you will find yourself standing at the gate to your dream. This final door that you have been moving towards. Step forward and find your dream.

To find out more about what was on the other side of my friend's door, check out Blackstone Valley Bluegrass.

How To Achieve Success

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful" -Mark Victor Hansen

Each day many people struggle to be successful in life. It might be in getting that promotion or just that right partner. It might be writing a book or building a new career. Always getting deterred by one thing or another that is preventing you from achieving what you want.

Age will tell you that the 'time' will never be correct. It also tells you that you will never be fully prepared for the change. Many people never realize this and grow old never grasping that which they want or succeed in accomplishing it.

Adlin Sinclair, a businessman and motivational speaker said, "you are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions." There's that word again, change. I've written of that many times, change your way of thinking.

And for goodness sake, just go for it...try something new, make movement in your life. Waiting for the perfect time will cause you to simply wait a long time. A long time that you could better use in accomplishing your goals. The type of attitude you present to your task will be an indicator of success or failure.

It will not be the result of poor timing because now is the time. Start moving with a positive attitude to your goal. "For success, attitude is equally as important as ability." is a quote I read somewhere but not sure whom to attribute it to. But the attitude that you bring to the table is just as important to the success you may have.

So start today, begin with one step, one email, one written page towards your goal and build upon it. The time will become right for your your success.

Goals: Tips On Achieving

Joy Browne writes a great article in Parade Magazine called How To Set Goals - And Reach Them. She offers a few ideas that you can use to reach a vision or dream. I have written previously and expressed to many others that you need to establish goals and when doing so, write them down.

There is nothing more powerful then looking at a piece of paper with a goal written upon it. That piece of paper can be a powerful voice to you every time you read it. I have heard others speak of placing these written items on the bedroom wall, the bathroom mirror, steering wheel of the car, as well as your computer terminal at work.

The tips Ms. Browne writes about are;

- Avoid New Year's-type resolutions
- Be Specific
- Think in steps
- Figure out your tactics
- Limit the number of goals
- Build on your skills
- Embrace change

Ms. Browne is a clinical psychologist and is well respected in her field. I suggest you read the article to learn more. I will talk more about goals and living your life with change. You can achieve things in life, you can achieve a great life. But it will take change, it will take movement by you. Grab the chance to move now.

Each Of Us Carries Something

Everyday, each of us has a different load in life to carry. The picture is from Mumbai, India and it isn't meant to be humorous or downward looking upon the individual.

What is meant to show is that each of us has different responsibilities, jobs or troubles that we must shoulder. It doesn't make one any harder or easier, just that we all share this common bond of living life.

When you consider your own issues in life, understand that many others around you have a story of their own. Each of us has different burdens but we all still have to struggle and cope with them. Try never to look upon others as not having it "as bad as you". Just realize that all of us work to overcome and to achieve all that we can.

Your Field

Recently I listened to a speaker talk about your sphere of influence. That area or impact that you can have on those that enter or pass through your life. Taken in its simplest form, as you go about life, your family, friends, co-workers, people at the store you shop in, where you buy your gas, church and everything you do.

During these moments of interaction when you speak, the way you conduct yourself and the way you respond is a chance to impact another life. If you think about it, everywhere you go you create a sphere of influence. As the saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are" and so is your ability to impact people.

What all of this means is that your influence and ability to impact people moves with you. In example, I will be leaving on a business trip to India in the near future. Many would say to me that I'll be out of my comfort zone, out of my environment. But my environment is all around me where ever I go. I carry my own environment and people I come across are coming into my field as it is called.

A field you may wonder? I'll talk more about that next time I write. Just know that as you move about in your daily life, that where ever you go, you can have impact on others. Try not to lose any opportunity to engage and create change.