Setting Your Foundation

"Setting a firm foundation better prepares us for success." - Dean Sweetman

January 1st, the first day of the year, is quickly fading into the past. That first day of the year is not really much different from the day before. But it is a day which most of us apply a significance to.

A way we as humans process time or events.

So if we view January 1st as a starting point for what we are going to do this year, then we need to start now. Even at this time well into the month of February. If we have not started, now is the time.

We must begin laying a foundation for what the year has to offer.

There will be opportunities which might come our way. There will be experiences encountered and success to achieve. We need the foundation built in order to take advantage of all that can occur in our favor.

When April showers come and May flowers of spring, will you be ready?

If January 1st is our day to start preparing, March 20 which is the Spring equinox, is our time to plant the seeds of change. Again, we must prepare ourselves early before the time to plant becomes too late.

Do not miss opportunity to plant seeds which will change your life.

Planning your foundation early and planting seeds to grow will prepare you for opportunity. The opportunity of rain and growth which sustains you through the long hot days of summer.

Without a strongly rooted vision, growth can not be sustained. Tall harvest of achievement will become a lost opportunity. That leaves us only with another long cold winter to think of what may have been.

Do not wait to begin setting your foundation for a great year.

Start today, start with change and start with belief that this year will be different.

Stay inspired my friends!

Unafraid to Change

"What is a human being, then?" "A seed" "A... seed?" "An acorn that is unafraid to destroy itself in growing into a tree." - David Zindell (1992) The Broken God

As a child, my formative years took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The 1960s have been described as the counterculture and social revolution; many times described as an era of irresponsible excess and flamboyance. The 1970s were influenced by social progressive values which began in the 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and economic liberty of women.

These were two decades which seemed radically different from what we might see as our western culture today. There were excesses and missteps that occurred along the way, but than again, change never comes cleanly. Change does not come in a nice tidy box with a crisply tied bow on it.

Change can be down right messy and difficult.

One of the things I do remember were the struggles women fought for equality in the workplace. There are still inequalities today but not what was going on back in those days. My mother battled these things in a changing culture. Fighting to be recognized in the workplace as an equal to the men around her.

Fighting for the rights which eventually opened doors for other women to step through. And yet, my mother would never see herself as a person who paved the way for women in the workplace, but she did. She set an example for many other women of her time.

Mom worked in retail and credit for many years. She made her way to becoming the store credit manager and eventually store manager. It took a course of years from 1967 to 1986. The business world was not fully ready for it and neither were many men and women with old outdated thinking.

Never afraid to step out; to achieve those dreams.

Today I see my own wife and daughters working, achieving things in life that seemed out of reach back in the 60s and 70s. Are all things fair and equal today? No, I am not suggesting they are. What has changed is no one should be afraid to reach out and pursue their dreams.

The achievements women like my mother attained reinforced the idea that dreams are possible. They also established the idea that you must shed fear and be unafraid to step out boldly in pursuit of those dreams. The idea of being unafraid is not only for women, but for everyone.

To reach your potential, you must shake your fears and strongly create movement in your life. To reach out towards a vision for a better life. To begin your walk down a path others have laid a foundation to build upon.

You will walk this path or possibly create a new one.

Let go of the fear, be unafraid.

Stay inspired my friends.

Solid Foundation

“Character is like the foundation of a house - it is below the surface.”

There are stories many of us have read regarding failed character of others. There are stories of ponzi schemes run by people whom on the surface were charitable and seemingly very good hearted people. There are the stories of people leading a double life of cheating on a spouse. Or one of many other stories in which a person's underlying character is finally revealed.

You could think of it as a very nice looking home. A new paint job, new roof and a well maintained lawn. You enter the home and enjoy dinner parties with your host. The fireplace always seems to have the right glow to it and everything seems so perfect.

Yet laying just beneath the surface is a poorly laid foundation. Loose rock, cracked blocks and bricks along with poorly prepared soil. It is a foundation that with heavy rain, strong wind or a small earth rumbling will fail.

A house built upon a poor foundation will crumble when trouble occurs.

A life built upon a poor character will crumble when trouble occurs.

The foundation of our life is built upon our character. Others may not at first see what lay beneath but eventually the stones fall away. The facade crumbles and your true character is revealed. The true essence of whom you are will be exposed for all to see.

If you build a strong character, your foundation will last a lifetime and beyond. Your character is what determines who you really are. Paint fades, a book cover weathers away but your character can last forever if the foundation is solid.

Build a strong character as your foundation for a great life. An article describes five things to think about.

1. Understand what character and Integrity are.

The definitions of these words are often stretched or misrepresented. Learn what they truly mean:

Character is the sum of qualities show up in a person or group, moral or ethical strength, and the description of a person's attributes, traits and abilities.

Character is who you are. It defines you and guides your actions, hopefully in a positive way.

Integrity is steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code, being unimpaired, sound, whole and undivided; completeness.

Integrity can be summed up simply as doing the right thing for the right reason even when no one is watching.

2. Choose a set of rules, morals, or principles that you believe will lead to a happy, satisfying, and righteous life, as well as a better world.

3. Look at the choices you've made in your past, and observe how much you have or haven't lived by those principles. Don't waste time feeling regretful or guilty.

4. Decide what you must change in your behavior to align your life more closely to what you believe.

5. Be conscious every day of the decisions you make, however big or small, and how close they bring you to being the person you really want to be.

Your character is a huge part of your life's foundation. Build it strong and your life will be strong and lasting. A rock solid foundation that will withstand even the hardest of times. And should your foundation crumble from a weakness, then rebuild your life repairing those areas of your life that need strengthening. Repair and maintain a balanced wheel of life that will roll on and on and on.