Your View Master

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol

There was a toy many years ago that people will remember. It was a child's toy called the View Master. It was a toy that could take you to the steamy jungles of the Amazon Jungle or high atop the Swiss Alps.

A new adventure awaited in every picture reel placed into the viewer.

The View Master would show you a world that existed beyond your own small space. It allowed you to dream of far off places which could one day be visited. It revealed everything which lay beyond your backyard, waiting out there for you.

It showed you the many possibilities awaiting you.

Your own eyes are like that View Master toy. All you see beyond the doors of your home, beyond the surface of first impressions and out past preconceived notions is possibility.

It is opportunity to see things not for what they are, but for what they can be.

One could say they have no need to see or lead our lives beyond the doors of our home. Yet, we lead ourselves in the very least. We lead ourselves to decisions made on what to eat, to wear or what to do, life starts with one. You also lead within family, work, church and in other aspects of life.

It means your view can lead to new possibility for you and those around you.

Do not see just whom you are. Better yet, look at what you can be. Look at what others can be. Through eyes of vision, your own View Master will give you a glimpse into the possibilities which exist. Use your vision to change the view you have in life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Remove the Moth

"We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist."
- Queen Victoria

On September 9, 1945 faculty members at the Harvard Computation Laboratory were attempting to trace an error in the Mark II Computer. This new computer was being constructed with high-speed electromagnetic relays instead of electro-mechanical counters used in an earlier version. Thus making it faster than its predecessor.

Moore's Law for computers was very much in its infancy.

The error was elusive until they traced it to a moth trapped in one of the relays. This is where people first coined the term "bug." It is better known today as a "software bug." This bug was carefully removed and taped to their log book and now you know.

An amusing story but an eye opening one which shows that people were persistent in their quest to build faster and more powerful computers. Their vision was not deterred by a single moth frustrating their efforts. These folks were not going to be defeated.

The possibility of defeat should not be your first thought.

The possibility of achievement should be your path in all that you do. To chose a path of defeat as your first step only creates a wall. A wall that you must first climb, tear down or walk around. It is an obstacle that you self-create and only makes the journey that much harder.

Believe in the vision or goal from the beginning and see that the start of your journey is possible. Than start moving. Should a moth get in the way, remove it and move on.

Stay inspired my friends!

A New Sun

“You see but your shadow when you turn your back to the sun.” ― Kahlil Gibran

What is happening in your life right now, this very instance? Are you trying to dig yourself out of a hole financially, relationship or any one of a number of circumstances? Is the darkness of your situation covering you with a blanket of despair?

Each of us go through many of the calamities one reads or hears about every day. There is a parking ticket under the windshield wiper after an especially tough customer meeting. It might be a broken arm after slipping on the icy steps at home. You find mounting medical bills with no pleasant options of overcoming either.

The daily things which happen to lots of people, of all genders, race and social status. Yes, all of us go through things and many of us allow the darkness to encase us in its shadow.

Yet the light of a rising sun can bring hope to our life. The warm rays of light upon our face can renew us and chase away the darkness if we allow it to.

Never give up on the possibilities which exist. The darkness will fade and great things will come upon your life. A warm and brilliant day awaits you.

Stay inspired my friends.

Doors to Possibility

The art comes from an artist named Sifi and is titled "Doors to Possibility."

As the artist describes, "...represents the two poles or two doors - one is the door to the extinction moment, which mankind seems to take great delight ushering other people to and the other the door of possibility, the pole of potentiality ..all that we could be......"

Much like the age old question of whether the glass is half full or half empty, you have to make the decision yourself.

Choose the door of possibility and open yourself to what can be.

Do not be afraid to make that choice.

Simply make a move and movement will happen around you.

Stay inspired my friends.

Possibility in Change

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” ― Anne Frank

Here we were, three people sitting side by side facing a long flight from Atlanta to Seattle. It was an evening flight so very little could be seen out the window. Much of what one sees from 35,000 feet is pretty plain anyway except for the occasional river or other large landmark. Forget about seeing anything when flying above the fluffy clouds.

I had my work and reading to do during the flight. I settled in with music in my ears and paperwork strewn about the little table in front of me. There are not very many things that can be strewn in such a small space, but I have a knack for doing it.

My seat was by the the window and my seat mates were Roberta in the middle seat and Joe held up the aisle area for us. They were a nice couple I deemed as they sat down. Travel weary to say the least as I would later confirm. Our age difference was noticeable but I could count them as either young parents to me or somewhere in-between.

As I grew tired of the reading and music, I removed my headphones, put away my papers and turned on the little television in front of me to the 'where are we' channel. This is the in-flight map although I call it differently as it fills that need inside of me to know where I am.

My need to know is an obsession of sorts.

When on a plane, you can not see out the front nor the back. The only frame of reference is the ground below you and unless you can make out obvious landmarks, knowing where you are is near impossible.

At that moment we happened to be flying over Scottsbluff, Nebraska. A small western town in the panhandle of the Cornhusker state. Not much out there except for sugar beet farms, open range land and some pretty cool natural monuments like Chimney Rock. The town of Scottsbluff was on the wagon trail for homesteaders moving west to great places such as California and Oregon.

There was nothing to see out the window except for darkness.

Roberta commented to me about the map and where I was heading. This opened up a conversation which reaffirmed my belief that change can happen at any point in life. I have written in "Changed Lives", you have the power to alter your condition. If things are not working out and you have tried everything within the circumstance, making a change can be the right thing to do.

As we spoke, I learned they were returning from a 20-some day vacation full of train, boat, car and plane rides. From the great Northwest to Central America and other equatorial locations, the wear on them was catching up. It is always good to "come home" and they had that look upon them.

Both lived in the northwest but each had come from the Minnesota area originally. Roberta had graduated a couple of years ahead of the famed songwriter Bob Dylan in Hibbing, MN. I'm not sure that she would have dated him because I imagine Bob being a bit 'odd' for the area given his talent. Joe was from the Minneapolis area and had a normal midwestern life and career.

Yet each found the other only six years ago.

Both came from divorce of marriages that had lasted many years. When you have been married for such a long time, the prospect of getting to experience that love ever again seems remote. But it happened for them and they are happy as can be. Roberta is retired now and Joe is in semi-retirement. As Joe stated, I'll work if and when I feel like it.

As we spoke, there was a thrill in Roberta's voice of her life and how it has all worked out. She was feeling the joy that many more years of love were going to give her. There was a spark of light in her eyes as she spoke of Joe and all that they would do together. This included moving back to Minnesota to be near her grandchildren.

As she put it, "grandchildren need their grandmother."

The details of their individual divorces have many of the same themes which run through all stories of divorce. Know from their example and the example of countless others, change is possible and will lighten your own heart.

There are things you might be going through today. It could be divorce, money issues, physical pain or any of a thousand other variations that life throws at us.

Just know that change or altering your circumstance is within your grasp.

You can make a change, you can choose a different path. Each day you are given the ability while in the plain, nondescript building near the crossroads of your life to choose change. When the door of opportunity opens and you see the light shining in, take your dreams and walk out into new possibility.

Be bold and willing to take the chance on something new.

It is most likely I will never see or hear of Roberta and Joe again. But the light of change each embraced will carry in my memory for a long time to come. Happy living and thank you to these two wonderful people.

Stay inspired my friends!

Set Sail

“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” ―Brian Tracy

You have likely heard someone tell you that "your life has great potential" in an attempt to inspire and motivate you. Even I have written about each of our own potential to achieve great success in life. But in one sense, does that also strike a certain amount of fear in you?

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard called it "...the dizziness of freedom."

It is described as "a man standing on the edge of a tall building or cliff. When the man looks over the edge, he experiences a focused fear of falling, but at the same time, the man feels a terrifying impulse to throw himself intentionally off the edge. That experience is anxiety or dread because of our complete freedom to choose to either throw oneself off or to stay put. The mere fact that one has the possibility and freedom to do something, even the most terrifying of possibilities, triggers immense feelings of dread."

Does the thought of stepping out of your normal create fear inside of you?

I am sure it does but we need to overcome our perception that possibility is paralyzing. We can achieve quite a bit in our lives when circumstance seems to dictate otherwise. There are hundreds of examples that exist in which very successful people started with nothing. These were people that did not have a boat or shore to set sail from in sight. But these people embraced their own potential and searched out the shore, built a boat of possibility and set sail.

Each of us has the freedom to overcome our fears and pursue that possibility.

We will each find our own achievements, we will each find success in our life. All we have to do is step into the boat and set sail.

Stay inspired my friends!

Open a Door

"Hope is the dream of a waking man." -Aristotle

It is interesting to note that when things are going good, we will optimistically look to the future and all of the possibilities that exist. We will consider that building a great life and having success is achievable.

Yet when times are tough, all we tend to do is focus on what is going wrong and how life will never get us to where we want to be.

It is during those tough times when we most need to understand that a door exists through which possibility stands waiting for you. Hope and vision for whatever life has in store for you is through that door.

So even though you might be in a tough place currently, continue to hold onto your dreams. Know that possibility is on the other side of that door. A door that can be opened if only you make the choice to turn the handle and walk through it.

Stay inspired my friends!

Courage to Sit

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.” -Tom Krause

In most of the stories you read about a person exhibiting courage, you read that this person or that person "stood up" in an act of courage. But sometimes courage is shown by simply sitting down.

With the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington D.C. (August 28, 1963), many stood up in courage but there were many that sat down with just as much courage.

The most notable person we can look to is Rosa Parks. On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James F. Blake's order that she give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. Yes, we actually had colored and white sections in most every part of life. That is what segregation means.

Many had the courage to break through segregation.

Rosa Parks quietly refused to give up that seat in which she sat. It was a courageous act that did get her arrested, but it helped to launch the civil rights movement here in the United States. And yes, Rosa was no stranger to politics and knew very well what she was doing. She had been a secretary with the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP since 1943.

There were many that tried to create a much more innocent myth that Rosa's unwillingness to get up was due to aching feet. “No” she would say, “the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”

One act of courage in which one person sat for change sparked a nation to greater change. It would give others the example to act courageously and so many did. And you could be the one that sits or stands in courageous manner. You can be the one that takes one small act and changes a nation.

It may not seem quite so big at the time when you decide to take your seat on the bus. Moses lifted a crooked stick and parted a sea. David had a small sling-shot and brought down a giant. You help pay for a single mother's groceries one day and the possiblity of greatness happening is put into motion.

Act with courage in everything you do and realize that possibility isn't as hard as we think.

Stay inspired my friends.

The Open Door

“You can do anything you think you can. This knowledge is literally the gift of the gods, for through it you can solve every human problem. It should make of you an incurable optimist. It is the open door.” Robert Collier

A new week begins filled with work, challenges and recurring things to do. It is also a chance, an opening to new possibilities. Every day opens a new door for you that you can step through.

Take the moment and step through to what is possible.

Stay inspired this week my friends!

Your Imagination

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will." -George Bernard Shaw

Your imagination is endless and until you walk through a door towards it, you will never realize the possibility. Go forward in life dreaming big dreams and always moving towards those dreams. To stand still and do nothing means we may as well never imagine greater things for our life.

Turn your imagination into dreams...turn your dreams into goals...turn your goals into reality. Believe in your vision, act upon your vision and realize your vision.

The adventure will be a great one.

Stay inspired my friends.

Day Into Night

"To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle." -Walt Whitman

It is a rare moment I get to enjoy when flying to see the actual edge of night. There is a wonderful glow of color as the darkness chases the light, never being able to catch it. I guess one could say something similar of the morning as light chases the darkness away. But this moment of day into night seems more magical.

What I find soothing about this particular moment is how the rush of a day, the worries that entrapped us all day fade into the darkness. The gathering night gives us a chance to rest and slow down for a few hours. While we know that a new day does not eliminate all problems, it does hold promise of something better and the night gives us the chance to realize that.

When the toils of the day become too much, stand and watch the gathering darkness flow in behind the light of day. Allow the day's burden to flow away with that light. Allow the calmness of night to ease your mind and to energize your soul. Know that a new day approaches with new possibility, new answers and a chance to overcome whatever burdens you.

Stay inspired my friends.

I Am All Things Possible

"If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done." -Dale Carnegie

There are lots of words we use every day that keep us from moving forward. We use words that diminish our ability and work against us. We use words such as; immature, immovable, impair, impatient, imperceivable, imperfect, implacable, impossible, impotent, impractical, and improbable.

The only thing that these words accomplish are to convince ourselves that everything is impossible. They set us up for a life that keeps us from achieving greater things in our life.

Sure enough, there are words we can use such as; imagine, implement, important, impress, improve, and improvise. But you can also turn the negative words into positive words such as;

I am mature
I am moveable
I am patient
I am perfect
I am possible
I am potent
I am practical
I am probable

I am all of these things which means all things are possible. It all begins by turing your negative words away. It begins by starting to speak positive words into your life, your relationships, your children, your friends and everything else you do.

Eventually you will find that possibility begins to turn into reality.

Beyond Cedar Bluffs

"I dwell in possibility.." -Emily Dickinson

Each of us have some thing that we grew up with, some thing that we allow to hold us back from achieving greatness. Some say it is the hard streets of the inner city. A place where people believe that possibility can not exist beyond two or three blocks away.

The same can be said for a young boy living the gravel roads of farm country. A place where you can see as far as the eye can see. But it can be a place where you think possibility only exists just beyond the next corn field.

We tend to limit ourselves this way, believing that we can never escape our circumstances. Many times there are people trying to hold us back. People telling us we are not good enough.

I am here to tell you that you can get beyond the streets of your city neighborhood. You can get beyond the gravel roads of Cedar Bluffs. Those roads lead to new places filled with opportunity. They lead to a place where you can have a greater life.

In my own story, I love going home to where I grew up. It helped make me the person I am today. It is also the place where I learned there was much more beyond its country roads and grain elevators.

Find your way beyond whatever is holding you back. Don't forget those streets and country roads. But know that those same roads lead you to great success for your life.

The Certainty Of Possibility

"When nothing is sure, everything is possible." ~Margaret Drabble

While in New York on business recently the above quote was used in a presentation at one of my meetings. It was used in the vision being presented for this year. It was meant to inspire and push people to excellence in their pursuit of success.

It stuck with me as the day wore on and had me thinking about how it can be applied to everything we do. "When nothing is sure", pretty much describes what life can be like. A birth, school, marriage, divorce, job, money and even with death, nothing is sure.

One could think back to the days of the Cold War when a concrete barrier called the Berlin Wall was erected not to keep people out, but to keep them in. The uncertainty of ones life and would this wall ever come down. People dreamed of the day it would happen and it did eventually. Many thought it never would, but the dreams overpowered the uncertainty. Today the German people are no longer seperated by a wall, today they live with greater possibility.

We can spend all of our time concentrating on these uncertainties. Will my baby be healthy and smart? Will our marriage be all that I dreamed it would be? Will a divorce be the end to all that my life was ever going to be? Will I achieve my full potential in my job and have enough money to live a comfortable life? Will the death of someone close change everything.

The answer to these questions is yes and no. The answer to these questions is that "everything is possible" when everything is unsure. Events and circumstance will occur in your life. One aspect of your life may end or be radically changed. But it also means that a new chapter is beginning and you have limitless possibility.

So instead of worrying about the uncertainty, focus on possibility and see your life expand.

New Year Of Possibility

"The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!" ~Edward Payson Powell

We have the ability to make 2010 anything we want it to be. You have the ability to create the face of this new year. Believe in you, believe in possibility.

Have a happy and prosperous new year!!

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.