The Oak Door

“Every wall is a door.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

In my book CHANGED LIVES, the chapter called "Choice at the Crossroads" talks about my early years. It is those times of your life that tend to form the 'first' you. These early years will cement much of who you are.

We each have to learn where we came from in order to better understand who we are today. With that knowledge, we can better make choices that will allow us to change.

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It was during these formative years that I developed the ‘good son’ mentality. Do what was told of you, do it to your best and then do it even better. Being raised on a farm in eastern Nebraska allowed one to work hard as well. It was not always easy, but there are no complaints when one doesn’t know anything different.

My father had a depression era view on many things. Save as much money as you can, reuse as much as you can and old stuff can be considered new if you are seeing it for the first time. Take old oak doors for instance, the old heavy ones that you rarely find these days.

There can be many uses for these doors if you put your mind to good use. On our small farm we raised hogs, the type that end up in the grocery store and on the dinner table. If you look at pictures of them in story books, they are cute and seemingly cuddly. To raise them is a different story and is a lot of work.

There are days that require you to divide them up, some for fattening, and others for market. The process can be quite challenging and it was the oak doors we used. An oak door with door knobs intact makes a great way to separate hogs. These doors are also quite heavy for a young boy that didn’t have the physique of a football player.

We would find these doors at the old trash dumping location near our hometown. This dump was a ravine, back again during those times before much stricter regulations. That which we could not burn was taken to this dump.

Most times we returned with more then we took. This is the ‘new stuff’ I referred to earlier. My father had a great ‘eye’ for things that could be potentially used on our farm. He could spot an old oak door many yards away. One such day he found one laying about half way down the ravine. All we had to do was climb down, attach a rope and pull it back up. I was the available son and was instructed to ensure that I tied up to it securely.

So down I went....

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What things stick in your mind, that form much of your thought process today? Tomorrow, pieces of other lives.
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Changed By Choice

"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit." - William James

A few excerpts this week from my new book are my offering this week. There will be those that can take comfort from reading this book, while others will know someone (maybe them self) that can use the words to inspire them.

So as I begin, here is something to start your day.

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In the course of life, each generation will ask itself if it has had it better or worse then the other generations. The comparisons are generally hard to make as experience, time and more importantly circumstance dictates what happens. In general, it is just life happening around us. One generation or another is just lucky or unlucky enough to live during that period.

What becomes important is how you work your way through both the good and the bad. Yet there are so many of us that struggle to learn how to change in meeting challenges in our life. Our tendency is to float through life blissfully unaware when things are going good. When bad times befall us, we do as Elijah did in the bible verse of “1 Kings 19”. We go and hide in a cave wondering if we are worth any more effort.

It is during those times that we need the strength to proceed on to a greater life. We need someone, such as God, to ask us, “What are you doing here…” We need to know that we are not the only ones that have gone through a tough time. And we need a glimpse of the possibility that exists for each of us.

The good news is that change can occur. Change has happened in the lives of other people and it can happen in your life. All it takes is finding an open door of opportunity and choosing to walk through it.

As my mother lay in her final hours, she talked of seeing many doors before her and not knowing which door she was supposed to walk through. The answer is that you will know which door is the correct one. It will be the door that opens up and shines with brilliance to light your way.

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I do not mean to say that it takes death for you to see and choose. Those doors of possibility exist today, waiting for you to walk through. You will know which one is correct. You can begin by reading a book, mine hopefully or any others that tell the story of others that made a change in their life. Now is the time to do something.
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Foot Prints Of Change

Today is the second day that distribution of my book grows to many more outlets. It is a neat process to follow and watch as its availability grows. Your own dreams will take time to grow and develop as well.

In the coming days, I will provide excerpts from the book. I will also look forward to hearing your comments. The ability to take a dream and develop it into thoughts and actions is in every one of you. Begin by simply doing something.

I began by writing one blog article. I developed my own style over time and as I wrote, I read more articles and books. Before I knew it, I had written hundreds of articles and worked through much of my thoughts for the second book.

So take a step forward and make movement in your life. Change something in your life and let it grow.
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The New Phone Book Is Here

It can be much more official now, "The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!" The line comes from a movie starring Steve Martin called, "The Jerk". At one point, his character Navin is so excited about the delivery of the new phone book.

His friend Harry says, "Well I wish I could get so excited about nothing."

Navin responds, "Nothing? Are you kidding?! Page 73, Johnson, Navin, R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book every day! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity, your name in print, that makes people. I'm impressed! Things are going to start happening to me now."

Well, I have that same excitement about my new book, CHANGED LIVES. Distribution has started and it can be found online at most any location including Amazon and Lulu online stores.

The ISBN number is 978-0-578-01674-0 and is my second book, the birthing of new words for all to read. So I would really appreciate some feedback on the book. It is a great read and actually feel it is a great book to give out to others that need some inspiration to move on in life. I have given out dozens and hoping for a ground swell of support.

I am also working on possible speaking engagements and turning my 'little project' into that 'big project' my friend Dean Sweetman spoke about. All it takes is a little excitement about what otherwise might be considered nothing.

So get excited, the new phone book is here!!
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