Inside My Bottle

"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships." -Charles Simic

So which type of person are you?

Are you the adventurous type, preparing to set sail uncharted waters?
Are you the type of person that provides safe harbor for others?

Both types of people are important to having great relationships; to having a great life.

While the two seem different as night and day, without the other there would be no beauty in sunsets or sunrises. If not for earth and sky there would be no rains to wash and renew our spirit. If not for man and woman, the beauty of life would be unrealized. If not for birth and death, there would be no life to measure.

Build a ship or build a lighthouse...just build something in your life with others.

Stay inspired my friends!

A Purpose

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Purpose and direction, two of the things that can be essential to living a happy life. Where are we headed and why? It is a pretty simple question but can be very difficult to answer. We question ourselves over and over trying to figure this one out. So much that we can become mired in the muddiness of the question itself.

As we try to answer the question, we work hard in trying to get somewhere. We say if we just work hard enough, put out enough effort, we will end up where we want. But where is it you will end up if you do not have any idea where "that place" is?

You may be asking yourself now, "gosh, he always says that we need to get up and move in order to make change." Am I saying that you should sit still until you figure out that purpose and direction? Of course not and traveling in circles is not a good idea either.

What I am trying to tell you is that you need to get up and move. Change will come as you head off in one direction. The idea though is to examine the direction you are headed. You may find that it is not correct, but at least now you know what "is not" the purpose for your life.

I liken it to someone giving up everything to minister to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying like Mother Teresa. You may find that once you start heading in that direction, it really is not using your abilities very well. It could be that you were meant to make millions of dollars in the business world like the author J. K. Rowling whom has contributed tens of millions to fight poverty.

While Mother Teresa has passed on, what she left behind continues to accomplish a tremendous amount. What Ms. Rowling is doing will also live on for a very long time. Both created purpose and direction in their life; they are examples at both ends of the spectrum. You can accomplish an awful lot somewhere in between as well.

As you can see, it is in getting up and moving that starts to create change. You examine that change, evaluate it as you move and then change direction until you one fine moment realize, "this is my purpose and direction." It will happen when you least expect it. And above all, stay inspired my friends.

Chains That Bind

"So often time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key." ~The Eagles, "Already Gone"

We have a tendency to place limitations on our own lives. We believe that many of those limitations are placed there by others. The source of all our failure is someone else. There will never be any rising above our circumstance if we do not step beyond those thoughts.

Much of our failure is due to self-defeating words we speak inside. The kind of words we tell ourselves which are negative in nature. When you look down deep, you will find the word that has been holding you back.

It may be fear, fear of failing at what you want to do. Do not forget that many successful people failed many times before success happened. Yet they kept learning from it and kept moving forward.

It may be hurt, hurt from what others have done or said to you. So much that you have accepted that pain from them. Let go the pain and leave it in the past. Move on and away from what was.

It may be dumb, feeling you are not smart enough to do anything more then you have. We each have levels of ability, but reading more and believing in experience of life will allow you to become more knowing.

It may be self worth, that others have told you so many times you would never amount to anything. Those people can not determine your value in life, those were only words that you have to release from your life.

These and any of those defeating words need to be removed from your mind and more importantly from your heart. They are the chains that bind you from achieving so much more in life. And you hold the key to remove those chains, no one else.

Replace the negative with positive words. Replace fear with courage, replace dumb with smart or replace ugly with beautiful. These words will eventually overpower and become the norm in your life. You need to speak these words when you speak of yourself, never the negative ones. You will begin to believe and draw strength from them.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about sitting in front of a mirror like that character from Saturday Night Live, Stuart Smalley. What I am talking about is believing in yourself and not letting others dictate who you are.

When you step out of the labels that others have placed upon you, your life becomes much clearer. You unlock the weight of those chains that you have allowed to become a part of your life. Only you can choose to change, only you can choose to unlock the door through which you step. Your world, your life will be greater.

Stay inspired my friends!

Your Freeway

"The best path through life is the highway." -Henri Frederic Amiel

One morning as I was driving to work, my usual route took me from side streets to a major road and eventually onto the freeway. My commute is an early one but short. I normally head out for work around 5:30am and during these times, the traffic on the freeway can be unexpectedly busy. It requires the ritual of merging into and yielding at times to the cars already moving.

Each of those cars, those people, are driving towards destinations possibly similar to yours. Others might be heading towards home, on vacation or simply out for a drive. Although I would hope at 5:30am, insomnia doesn't cause one to get up and simply drive around.

Yet each of us had to merge onto the freeway to get where we needed to go. We each needed to step into this flow of life flowing past us. It required us to have confidence that we could speed up and become part of life flying by so quickly. We merge into the stream of life and head towards our goal.

One could easily remain parked along the side of the road. Maybe still parked in your driveway, trying to muster the courage to even start the car. We each encounter those moments of doubt. We wonder if we have the ability to move forward in life. This self-doubt can have a paralyzing effect on our ability to achieve anything in life.

In order to achieve your dreams, you have to learn to trust your own ability and to believe in yourself. Not many of us can afford to have someone drive us to success. In fact, those that can most likely started like you, sitting in their car, in their driveway, questioning themselves.

The difference is that they started the car and backed out of the driveway. They drove down the street, onto a major street and then passed that freeway entrance sign. They merged into life's stream of movement and believed in what they could achieve.

You can do the same thing by believing in yourself. Drive past the freeway entrance sign and get into the flow of life. Head towards your dreams and let a new world open up before your eyes.

Stay inspired my friends!