Labor Day

"If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend." -Doug Larson

It would be a close second to the day after Thanksgiving, which is why many prefer not being out in it. To see the constant stream of traffic, bumper-to-bumper with lots of frustration. It can make you wonder why anyone would enjoy placing themselves in that condition.

But then I begin to understand that placing yourself among others is a way of placing yourself in the path of opportunity. Opportunity to meet new people. Opportunity to find new ideas. Opportunity to set an example of goodness in front of others.

The crowded streets and packed stores can be both frustrating and exhilarating. All you have to do is set yourself in a proper mind set. To be prepared for the inevitable slow traffic, the long lines and the frantic pace of it all. But also be prepared for meeting new people, of spreading a little smile here and there.

The possibilities that exist when you place yourself in the middle of it are endless. A new friend, a new partner, a new business associate, or a new direction are out there waiting for you. People changing your life. You changing people's lives. Together all of us changing life.

Enjoy your Labor Day holiday here in the United States. Enjoy the crowds. Enjoy your life.

And The Beat Goes On

It Goes On by Kimberly Dickinson

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." -Robert Frost

Lots of things are going on all around and to us each and every day. The car won't start, traffic is backed up, our child has a fever, and the economy remains depressing. We wonder if any of it will ever end. Will the madness stop chasing us each and every day?

It can wear you down if you let it. There are those that let it get to them and they decide the battle is not worth it. And do you know what happens when you give up?

Life goes on.

So you need to keep moving, keep struggling forward, keeping in time to the rhythm of life. And the beat goes on....the beat goes on.

 

Coffee Cup Idea

"Everyone who's ever taken a shower has an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference." -Nolan Bushnell

In the 1996 movie called Michael, there is a line in the script in which one of the characters reveals, "I invented the hole in the coffee cup. When you get coffee to go. I was the first person to rip the little hole in the lid, so you could drink it in the car. Could've made a fortune. It's weird."

How many times have you thought of something and never acted upon it? Later you find out that someone else had the same or similar idea, but they actually did something about it. Sort of irritates you doesn't it?

Every day we probably think of one or two things we would like to do. We then get home, go to bed and forget all about it. The idea is gone, lost forever until one day you see that somebody else had the revelation to actually act upon it.

When you get an idea, write it down in a journal. Then take some time to contemplate it, to digest and evaluate the idea to see if it has value in your life. If it does not, write down why and then leave it alone.

But if you find that it does have value in your life. If you realize that it is something you would like to do, then do it. Write down why it is something of value in your life, then start 'doing' things to achieve it. This may mean writing down the next steps, learning more or just getting up and moving.

Some would call it procrastination that holds us back. Others may call it lack of confidence. But to me it is simply 'you' that keeps 'you' from acting upon an idea. As I like to say, "BELIEVE in your vision, ACT upon that vision and only then will you REALIZE that vision."

Get up today and invent a better 'hole in the coffee cup' and amaze the world and yourself.

Immersed In The Clouds

"Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now." -Epictetus

Recently I was flying into Seattle on a business trip, coming in over the Cascade Mountain Range. In the morning light, their peaks brightly point to the blue sky while the dark shades of the forest line reveal the scattering darkness.

This particular morning clouds had filled the valleys and low areas between the undulating mountains. It was a thick covering that looked very much like a pillowy white blanket covering the landscape. Knowing we would be landing soon, I also knew that we would have to immerse ourselves into this blanket of white.

So with faith in the plane's technology, the skill of the pilot and a touch of excitement, down into the cloud we went. I had a vision in my mind of what awaited us. I believed that we would get through and safely onto the ground. But for a moment, we have to just reconcile ourselves to believe we are prepared for anything that happens.

The same can be said of most anything we attempt or involve ourselves in. We dream of great things in our life. We dream of doing much more but hesitate when we see a blanketing cloud of the unknown. We become afraid to immerse ourself into something if we can not see beyond it.

The future is not something we can see beyond the present. We can only envision it and then have the confidence to go forward. When we decide not to enter that cloud of the unknown, all we end up doing is circling round and round for a lifetime. All the while, what you want in life is just beyond the white fluffy cloud cover.

Choose to immerse yourself in the unknown. To achieve success, dreams or goals, you will have accept that things are not going to be worked out ahead of time. There will be moments of sheer terror, moments of disappointment and moments of failure. But there will also be the ability to learn, new opportunity and success.

Take yourself beyond where you stand today. Do not be afraid of the unknown. Soon you will find yourself on the ground standing right where you wanted to be, dreams fulfilled.