Our Traveled Road

“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.” - Dag Hammarskjold

The part of the United States in which I grew up was mid-western farmland. The landscapes was huge and wide expanses of corn, soybean and wheat fields. Farm homes dotted the landscape like stars in the sky.

To get from one location to another, country roads are on a grid of one mile squares which made it unlikely to get lost. This pattern of roads is like a checkerboard table cloth your Mom would spread on a picnic table.

The familiarity of home was never too far away.

Yet each road could lead to any place and each road could lead back to where you started. My early years of growing up were a series of these square one mile sections that would slowly expand further and further. One of these roads near my home always intrigued me.

It was a section of road which led down a bluff towards what is called Cedar Lakes and the adjoining Platte River. It was a slow curved dirt road dug deep into the hill with trees lining each side that seemed to reach the clouds.

I imagined great and exciting things awaiting me on the other end.

This was a road that generated great expectation. A road that would not allow me to see what was on the other end but a road, a simple curved road leading to the river which also led to something greater.

Each of us have a similar road in our life. It is a road to our dreams and future. It may seem like we never get past the winding curve of that road but it is a road leading us to our destination.

All we have to do is keep traveling our road.

We keep moving forward, around the bend and following the stars that await. You may not see the horizon far out beyond your reach and what you might see is yet another bend in the road. But your road leads somewhere. Be surprised, be trusting that there is a road to take you where you want to be.

Stay inspired my friends!

Fork in the Road

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." - Yogi Berra

On the surface, the above quote is amusing. I take it to mean in life, when we come to a decision point in life, make a decision and move on. For those that know me, making a decision can be a hard thing for me. I am notorious for having a difficult time making a decision.

Each of us come to these decision points in life.

We stand still, evaluating, trying to decide which way to go. We spend a lot of time trying to decide, but never actually making the decision. Do not misunderstand me, we need to make a well thought out decision where possible. Yet sometimes we get lost in the evaluation, wasting time that can be better spent on the journey. When you reach this 'fork in the road' life decision, go ahead and examine the paths before you.

Don't waste your life constantly evaluating.

If you can not make a choice, then 'pick up the fork' and go down either path. You will learn from what lay ahead and you can adjust. I have described this in different ways to describe moving on in life. In my book CHANGED LIVES, the idea is to step through an open door and move on to greater things. Other ways are removing the things which hold you back such as 'rocks in a wagon' you are pulling. Or maybe you have read where I simply say that 'movement causes changes', so don't stand still, move.

You simply need to keep moving forward.

Which ever method works, just keep moving. Lewis Carroll said, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Life is a journey and many different paths exist for us to take. Standing still does not slow the journey down, life keeps happening. Standing still will only dull your view of life. Keep enjoying the ever-changing view that moving along life's paths provide.

Pick up the fork and keep moving.

Stay inspired my friends!

Build a Road

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." - Johnny Cash

I was driving home from work one day and came upon some construction workers. They were bricklayers piecing together an intricate stone wall. It was interesting to watch them and I had the time to do so. There was road construction ahead and stopped traffic, so I sat there watching.

As the bricklayers did their work, complaint was bubbling up inside of me with the annoyance of delay. It could have been quite easy to fall into the trap of getting upset about the situation. So I turned my focus to watching these men as they built their wall.

The bricklayers picked up each unique piece of stone and carefully laid it within the wall. Each piece was selected in order to fit and complete another section of the wall.

Do we build walls in our lives by using complaints and disappointments?

In relationships, we take little dissatisfactions with each other and place it on our wall. These are the small stones of objection, petty differences or disagreements added to the construction. Soon we find we have built a wall between ourselves and the other person. It may seem like we are trying to build a majestic wall when in reality it will be a wall that separates us.

We may not even realize the wall has been built until such time we can no longer see beyond it. At this point we may come to our senses and begin the process of tearing it down. But some of us will choose to cap the wall and finish the separation, walling ourselves off forever. It is a choice eventually made.

Know that these walls do not build themselves.

We are the ones who create and choose which stones to use. Maybe it is time we choose to use those stones differently. Maybe instead of using them to build a wall, we choose to build a road on which we walk, leaving the stones of discontent behind us. Maybe we let the complaint go and lay a path to better relationships instead of walls.

I never had the opportunity to see how the completed wall looked. I am sure it was going to be a majestic wall. It would be a wall that would enclose all within.

For me, I had a road being built ahead of me.

A road which will lead me past those walls that would seek to confine my life. A road that enables me to leave all the complaints and disappointments behind. A road built to carry my relationships, my dreams and my life to greater places.

Do not use your complaints, disagreements and disappointments as material for a wall. All that creates is confinement in your life.

Take the stones and build a road to your future.

Use it stone pavers for the road you are constructing for your life. Put up a sign in your life that says "Road Construction" and see where you can take your life; a far greater place for sure.

Stay inspired my friends!

Road Less Traveled

"The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind." - Maya Angelou

There is an old saying which goes, "if you are going down a beaten path, then it isn't yours." There are so many paths we can take in life and sometimes the well worn and used path is not the one we should be taking. In fact, to have a full and great life, we may need to take the one less traveled. That type of path just might lead you to greatness.

If we take a new path, new adventures, new opportunities and unexpected situations will mold us into something much better. We will find ourselves in the chaos of adapting to the unknown. And it will not be easy to make this choice.

Just know that quite a few people make this same choice on a daily basis. You are not alone in your choice. Greatness can come from the unexpected simply by taking the road less traveled.

Stay inspired my friends.

The Road Ahead

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

In a song called "Home" by Phillip Phillips, the opening lyric is "Hold on, to me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road." And as we begin a new year, 2014 will have its share of hills, pot holes and stormy weather. Through each and every twist or triumph, we will be successful together.

I will do my best to motivate you.

I will do my best to inspire you.

I will do my best.

No matter the road we take, if we take it with others the journey will never be lonely. The journey will be exciting and fruitful because of our joined experience. The destination will wait for you so enjoy the road side distractions, the rambling conversations and the unexpected encounters.

Stay inspired throughout the year my friends.

Hard Coffee Road

"The road of life can only reveal itself as it is traveled; each turn in the road reveals a surprise. Man's future is hidden." -Unknown

There is a phrase that I became familiar with growing up in the farmland of the midwest. If you were being given directions to get from one field to the next, you might hear "its a hard coffee road." The phrase meant that at least one of the roads being traveled was not in very good shape. More than likely it was a poorly maintained road full of ruts and bumps. In turn, it would be a hard road to drive down and drink coffee at the same time.

I have been down that type of road many a time. It is the type of road that you may have been down as well in life. A road you might be traveling in life, drinking a cup of coffee when all of a sudden things become quite bumpy. That nice smooth ride, sipping on your morning coffee suddenly becomes difficult and hard to enjoy.

There are going to be those days during your drive in life that drinking your morning coffee is difficult. The coffee will burn your lip, spill onto your tie and make you wonder why you even drink coffee. And know there are really only two options.

You pull over on the side of the road and enjoy your coffee, but to stop your forward movement is will not get you to your destination. Your coffee will either become cold or you will have drank until the cup is empty. You are simply left sitting on the side of the road and not one step closer to where you want to be in life.

The other option is to manage the situation and keep moving forward. You could always slow down a little bit while drinking that coffee. You could always put the coffee down for now, getting rid of that distraction and concentrating on the more important things. And even if you keep trying to drink the coffee, with it splashing back and forth. Remember that a little bit of spilled coffee is just coffee.

It might be a "hard coffee road" you are currently on, but just keep moving. There are better roads ahead for you.

Stay inspired my friends.

Shout It Out

"As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision." -Helen Keller

It is December 31st, the final day of the year, the final chance to do one great thing for your life this year. And that one last great thing is to let it go. Let go of the hurt and complaints that crept into your life during the year. Today is the day to pour out any pain or disappointment that remains.

Your life is like a bucket, some shiny new while others are getting old and tarnished, but both capable of holding great things. But we carry complaint like a full bucket of water, heavy and cumbersome. We carefully carry it so as not to spill any of it from our lives. The only problem is that while we are concentrating so hard on the complaints, we lose sight of the great things in our lives.

Now that the year has come to an end, pour that complaint out of your life. With an empty bucket to start the year, it DOES NOT mean we fill it with complaint for the coming year. In fact, pour it out, turn the bucket over, stand on top of it and shout out all of your worries, your complaints and your doubts.

Shout out the complaints from the past year.

Shout out the complaints you are sure to have in the new year.

Let it all go now, today and let it seep deep into the ground and out of your life. The bucket will be ready for all those great things to happen in the year to come. This empty bucket will now be ready for you to fill it with goodness, no complaining, no regrets, no looking back.

The end of a year is like a paved road ending. All that stretches out in front of you is a dirt path. It is an uncharted course, with the unknown but something of great promise around the bend.

Take this final day and unload all of your complaints from this year. Unload all complaints for the coming year. Be done with complaint and free up your year for all of the good that can happen.

A new year awaits you filled with many great things. Take your empty bucket into the new year and fill it with all of those great things.

Stay inspired my friends! Have a safe and happy New Year!

Getting Over the Bridge

"When a decision has to be made suddenly, experience and gut feeling is sometimes all you can go with." -Joseph Primm

Here I was coming up I-278 towards the interchange with I-87 near the borough of Manhattan in New York City. If I successfully navigated this during rush hour, I would successfully make it out to my hotel in Teterboro, NJ. I wasn't worried because getting lost doesn't phase me too much, just the idea of not figuring it out would have bothered me.

So negotiating the various lanes, lack of signs and a 'general' map of the route, instinct had to work. I had prepared or so I thought, the maps looked rather easy but sometimes reality is a bit more harsh. Life tends to be that way most times as well.

We plan and plan, writing down on paper those goals in perfect order. If we do this first, exit to the right here and cross over the bridge to the next step; then everything will work out perfectly. But than you come to the interchange of I-87 and I-95, looking for exit 7S. Check out the map and then see what the reality is.

You and I both have had dreams for what we wanted our lives to be. Each of us held onto those visions and were working slowly towards them. Life than got in the way, the reality of circumstance and failed decisions.

What do you do when that happens and life needs you to be in the left lane when in fact your trapped in the right hand lane? What do you do when all of a sudden there are multiple exit choices and no proper signs to guide you? What happens if the GPS on your life conks out and a decision has to be made now?

You trust in yourself and simply make a decision. You go with that and adjust from it. The traffic in my life prevented me from going the original direction I wanted to. I couldn't get over into that left lane and my life took a vastly different course. So I took the road handed to me, adjusted my plans and moved on.

The destination may look different, but it is one filled with happiness and contentment. I made a decision not to force myself back into the left lane. My experience and gut feeling told me to go ahead and stay in the lane and take that course. It took me to where I needed to be, it got me across the George Washington Bridge and my best life.

You can achieve your best life, a happy life even when faced with making a quick decision. Let your instincts guide you when needed, prepare at other times, but take the road and let it lead you to your destination in life.

The Road Not Taken

"We are never prepared for what we expect." ~James A. Michener

Robert Frost wrote a poem that is sometimes mistakenly called "The Road Less Traveled." It is a well-known poem and one that will make you give pause to think about decisions made in life.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergroth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference


There are generally two interpretations of this poem. The popular one is where people take the last couple lines literally. They view them as being individualistic, not going with the crowd.

Myself, I prefer to take the poem as an ironic interpretation when reading those lines in the entire context of the poem. It seems to me that the poem is about making decisions in life, and rationalizing the decisions that we make, either with joy or pain.

We move through our lives planning and trying to figure out where our decisions will lead us. And even though we plan, we never seem to be fully prepared for where we end up. So whether we plan to take a road less traveled, the freeway or sit by the side of the road; are you ready to deal with the outcome of your decisions?

My advice is to continue with your plans, make your decisions and reach your destinations. But also be ready to accept the decisions you have made. It is equally important to achieving all that you want in life.

Build a Road, Not a Wall

"You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space." -Johnny Cash

I was driving home from work the other day and came upon some construction workers. They were bricklayers piecing together an intricate stone wall. It was interesting to watch them and I had the time to do so. With road construction ahead and stopped traffic, I sat there watching.

As the bricklayers did their work, complaint was bubbling up inside of me with the annoyance of delay. It could have been quite easy to fall into the trap of getting upset about the situation. So I turned my focus to watching these men as they built their wall.

These bricklayers picked up each unique piece of stone and carefully laid it within the wall. Each piece was selected in order to fit and complete another section of the wall. It made me wonder if we sometimes build walls in our lives by using our complaints and disappointments.

In relationships, we take small little dissatisfaction with another and place it on our wall. Those small stones of objection, petty differences or disagreements add to the construction. Soon we find that we have built a wall between ourselves and the other person. It may seem like we are trying to build a majestic wall when in reality it will be a wall that confines us.

We may not even realize the wall has been built until such time that we can no longer see beyond it. At this point we may come to our senses and begin the process of tearing it down. But some of us will choose to cap the wall and finish the seperation, walling themselves off forever. It is a choice that will eventually have to be made.

Know that these walls do not build themselves. We are the ones that create and choose which stones to use. Maybe its time we choose to use those stones differently. Maybe instead of using them to build a wall, we choose to build a road on which we walk, leaving those stones behind us. Maybe we let the complaint go and lay a path to better relationships instead of walls.

I never had the opportunity to see how the completed wall looked. I am sure it was going to be a majestic wall. It would be a wall that would enclose all within.

For me, I had a road being built out ahead of me. A road that will lead me past those walls which would seek to confine my life. A road that enables me to leave all of those complaints and disappointments behind. A road built to carry my relationships, my dreams and my life to greater places.

Do not use your complaints, disagreements and disappointments as material for a wall. All that creates is confinement in your life. Take those stones and build a road to your future. Use them as stone pavers for the road you are constructing for your life.

Put up a sign in your life that says "Road Construction" and see where you can take your life; a far greater place for sure.

Looking Back To Today

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." -Mark Twain

Recently a friend posted a few pictures of our college days on Facebook. He, myself and several other folks spent a couple of years together at Peru State College in Nebraska. A diverse lot of fellows that somehow seemed to put most differences aside and had a really great time.

Seeing the pictures started pulling on my strings of reminiscence. So off to the attic to pull out the worn pages and pictures of days gone by. Let me tell you it was a wonderful journey back in time. It was a view back that made me wonder how I had made it this far. It was also a view that explained exactly how I reached this wonderful point in life.

As I looked through the pages of old newspapers and pictures, I felt the ground beneath my feet. The path I was creating came from mistakes, success, boredom, shear terror and blind boldness. The cobblestones were laid out in front of me with friends and family. The journey was given to me by my faith.

It is easy to look at our life today and wonder if we made the right choices. It becomes easy to doubt what we did. But if you look back at the proving grounds of your past, you may find that life was simply teaching you how to live.

I remember the time shown in the picture above. We were young and ambitious College Student Activity Council kids. One of the hot regional bands was a group called Cricket. They had the greatest sound and energy one could expect and we had them for an early school year performance. An outdoor concert that requires all of the crazy logistics one could imagine. I'm not sure I even got to enjoy it and how a bunch of 19-year old kids pulled it off is beyond me.

So yes, you look back and wonder at how mad we were. But the mystery of whom we are now begins to disappear. We were simply trying to figure out our lives and learning about life along the way. Those experiences have brought us to where we are today. And I am happy for having gone through all of it.

It also excites me for what the next fifty years will bring. What will I look back to and see how the road was built. Will you look back and marvel at your own journey? Of course you will. Once you do, then look forward and envision the road you will take. That road is yours to take.

There is greatness to your life that makes all you have gone through well worth it. There is greatness to come in your life for you to pursue.

No More Parking Violations

"The least movement is of importance to all nature. The entire ocean is affected by a pebble." ~Blaise Pascal

A parking violation is a "notice of monetary penalty issued for parking a motor vehicle in a restricted place or for parking in an unauthorized manner." A ticket is also issued for parking longer than the maximum time. There are reasons we may want to park longer then others feel necessary. But a time comes when we need to get back in the car and move on.

We all understand that when your life is cruising along, at various times we need to just pull over and park. We slow down and find an open meter to park for a short amount time. The time is used to reflect and rest. We are looking for that something which recharges our thoughts and energy. It is a way of refocusing on life.

It then becomes necessary to put the key back into the ignition. You turn the key to start the engine, place the car in drive and pull back out.

We have to get back into the stream of life and move on. Remaining parked will never get you to your destination.

I have seen so many talented people become fixated with stillness. They each had their own reasons. Some had fear of trying anything knew. Others liked the comfort of nothing. Yet each of them wanted more in life. Each of them had the ability within them like you and me.

They were each holding themself back. Having parked their car for so long, they had misplaced or lost the key for the ignition. The parking violations of excuses piled so high that it added to the burden which was used as an excuse not to move anymore.

What these people needed was a locksmith to help them find that key. All these people needed a paper shredder to help them rid the excuses. All these people needed was encouragement to place life back into DRIVE and move on.

We each have the ability to eliminate the 'parking violations' from our life. We each have the ability to help another to do the same. It may seem like a crowded road once we get back out there. The movement might be slow at first or at times. But even the smallest of movement creates distance from where you were to where you want to be. That movement will take you to a place that is on your destination list.

Open up that parking spot for someone else. Get your your life back on the road. And no more parking violations.

Open Road Missions in Peru

I wanted to pass along an update from my friend Paul O'Connell and his Open Road Missions work being done in Peru.

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Ho la from Peru,

Trying to stay connected with everyone is always a challenge but this certainly makes it easier..if you're interested, here is the latest from Peru.

Hot off the press..we had an earthquake last night..well technically the epicentre was in Bolivia. It was a 5 point something, but never-the-less a nervous experience. I don't believe things were meant to move like that. I am up on the 4th floor so not much chance of making it out if it was a big one, but it wasn't my time.

I have just returned from working at an orphanage high up in the Andes. There are about 100 orphans and they have a school along with a small medical clinic. I taught English classes and worked in the bakery. No machines here so all is done by hand. There was about 60lbs of dough to mix, a good workout to say the least.

The kids were great and teaching them was a highlight. The school also accepts kids from the surrounding area. One of the boys in my class walks 1.5 hours each way to get to school..unbelievable.

The altitude also takes a few days to adjust to. You feel short of breath and tend to have headaches for the first few days. A few minutes on the soccer field had me thinking I was having a heart attack. Yes, when you come to Peru, every day you get to experience near death emotions (just kidding). Not really, but it just reminds one of just how awesome life is and to enjoy the most of it.

If you would like to help out down here, you can donate by visiting my website at: http://www.openroadmissions.com/ or send a check to ORM P.O. Box 491985, Lawrenceville, Georgia 30049, USA, which is my home base. It is real easy and it would help me out big time.

Talk to you later! Paul
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If you have the chance, check out his website, pass along some of the information for others. He could really use your support in his efforts.
_

Open Road To A Better Life

Sending out another plug for my friend Paul O'Connell at Open Road Missions. His group was founded to reach out to people in need and bring needed resources and services into their communities.



If you would like more information, please visit his website at Open Road Missions. Also consider becoming a regular contributor to this great organization.

Something Small Impacts Big

Today I'm sharing a video update from my friend Paul O'Connell with Open Road Missions and his work down in Peru, South America.

Road Rage - Why?

A recent news item in the Atlanta area told of a tragic death. A death that could have happened in any populated area, any city or country. Another death that happens in our society whether from illness, murder, drugs among all of the deaths that happen.

This type of death though tends to mystify me, road rage. A strange event that seems to develop from our inability to control our emotions or attitude while driving. Matthew Joint says, "in its broadest sense it can refer to any display of aggression by a driver. However, the term is often used to refer to the more extreme acts of aggression, such as a physical assault, that occur as a direct result of a disagreement between drivers."

A young father driving with his wife and young child is involved in a road rage incident with another man - he ends up dead of stab wounds. I'm not passing judgement on either person for that is the job of the court system. I do know from all accounts that 'road rage' involves two people. In most cases, each person has a part they played in a situation escalating.

Each of us have been involved most likely in some form of driving 'lapse of mental control'. It is some sense of 'territorial' behavior when we get within a car that causes us to loose a certain amount of reason. We are a better driver then everyone else, or we take offense at another's driving habits. Most incidents never grow beyond your own thoughts. Many times the other driver is unaware of your irritation.

Once the other driver is made aware though, by either a look or gesture from you. It may even be you becoming aggressive by deciding to 'retaliate' in some form with your own driving skill. It is this point which you have crossed and now the chances of this escalating into road rage have increased.

This increase can result in possible car damage, yelling at each other or possibly physical altercations. The ultimate ending being someone dead from the senseless actions. Stop and think for a minute, does it really make sense to let it get this far? If someone cut you off in traffic, tailgated too much...whatever the case may be, is it worth the potential pain. A young wife and daughter living in pain, another person now changing their own life forever.

To read more about this and what you can do to change your habits and avoid these types of incidents, see the following article Aggressive Driving: Three Studies. Stay alive, stay stress free and change your way of driving...there's a lot more to life.