Your Windmill Effect

"Your spirit is like the wind; you can not see it but you can see where it has been." -Unknown

So many people have so many different characteristics and ways about them. There are the funny, always have a joke for you type of people. There are the serious and very business kind that march in a very definite manner. We even know some of the downtrodden, "woe is me" people in life that only the bad things in life happen to them. The opposite exist as well, the ever upbeat person that never lets anything bother them type of person.

Whatever type you are, each of us has a spirit about us that can not be seen.

It is the "something" about us that others have felt after an encounter. Think of the last time you spent around one of these types of people. Did you feel "downtrodden" or "upbeat" after the encounter? Maybe you came away with needing to be more serious about life or maybe not so seriously?

But we will be impacted by everything that happens around us.

The spirit or nature of another person will have touched us and left its mark in our life. How you conduct your life, how you express yourself; your spirit will come through and leave its mark as well upon others. While it is said that only you can determine your own attitude, which is true. You can be influenced by others and their attitudes.

You can also influence others with your attitude...with your spirit.

Think about what your true spirit is and look behind to see what is left in your wake. Same as the wind blows through a windmill, we do not see the wind. What we do see is the effect it had upon the windmill. Our spirit will go unseen, but how it affects others can be seen. Understand what your spirit is and have a positive effect upon others.

Stay inspired my friends!

Even the Smallest

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." ~Mother Teresa

As we watch the Major Baseball playoffs, it reminds me of a story regarding a pitcher named Roy Halladay. Roy became only the second person to ever throw a no-hitter in post season play on October 5, 2010. It was quite an accomplishment when you look at the history of baseball. More amazing is that on May 29 of that same year, Halladay had also pitched the 20th perfect game ever in Major League Baseball history.

As they say, "27 up, 27 down" to complete the game.

So what can pitching a no-hitter in baseball have to do with living a great life. Most certainly having that level of talent brings adulation and money, lots of money that helps make life comfortable. But it is the person behind the talent, their character, that makes a great life. And Roy Halladay did something beyond just receiving acclaim for his accomplishments.

After pitching the perfect game earlier that year in May, he arranged to commemorate the accomplishment. Halladay went and presented 60 Swiss-made Baume and Mercier watches he had purchased to everyone in the clubhouse. Each were presented in boxes bearing the inscription: "We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay." To top it off, on the back of each watch was engraved the date of the game, the line score, and the individual recipient's name.

Those sixty people were not just his fellow ball-players. They were the coaches, the trainers, and people that others might have considered to be insignificant participants to his accomplishment.

But not to Roy.

Roy understood and acknowledged that even the smallest of us have a large impact on success in life. While you toil away at something in life, you may feel insignificant. Just know that even the smallest flower along the roadside serves a grand purpose. The nectar a bee consumes, which creates food for the hive yet sustains the bee to carry on the pollination of other plants. The smallest flower is involved in the circle that will carry life forward.

And if we have greatness in our life, we need to remember and acknowledge all the other people that helped us accomplish it. For without many others your life can not be sustained for very long. Without the smallest flowers, the bee has less to draw upon. In time, the bee can no longer sustain its grand work. Even the largest depend upon the small; life is pretty grand in that respect.

So know that your life is never too big to have done so on your own. Nor is your life too small not to have an impact on the life of another person. Not all of us can pitch a no-hitter, but each of us can make a difference in the life of another. And when we impact the lives of other people, its as good as having a "27 up and 27 down" great life.

Stay inspired my friends!

It Will Be Fine

"What it all comes down to, is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine."
-Alanis Morissette

Despite all that you have gone through this past year.

Despite all that you will go through in times to come.

Everything will be fine.

Keep your head up and know that it is a journey filled with learning and lots of living.

So stay inspired my friends.

Developing a Vision

"Envisioning the end is enough to put the means in motion." - Dorothea Brande

Main Entry: vi·sion
Pronunciation: \ˈvi-zhən\

1 a: something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy ; especially : a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation b: a thought, concept, or object formed by the imagination
2 a: the act or power of imagination b (1): mode of seeing or conceiving (2): unusual discernment or foresight, a person of vision c: direct mystical awareness of the supernatural usually in visible form.
3 a: the act or power of seeing : sight b: the special sense by which the qualities of an object (as color, luminosity, shape, and size) constituting its appearance are perceived through a process in which light rays entering the eye are transformed by the retina into electrical signals that are transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve.

Creating and having a vision is the most powerful way to keep your focus on what you really want in life. It keeps you motivated to achieve that goal. By taking the time to visualize the end result of a goal will provide you with a particular kind of clarity, inspiration and direction to achieve it. Many people will experience anxiety and frustration by not having this vision.

But how do you develop this vision?

Begin by knowing what you want either short term or long term. Just where is it that you see yourself one year from now and five years from now? Are you looking for greater wealth; are you looking for greater health? What is in that 'minds eye' picture of your life? And be specific about the details of what you want.

Now write it down because visions become clearer and more real when you physically place it on paper, which reinforces the memory. Take this paper and make copies; place them on your bedroom mirror, bathroom mirror, car dash and in all the places where it will serve to remind you.

Read if often so you can see yourself already in possession of that life. This well defined vision will help you focus; it creates a purpose and becomes a measurement for success.

Some steps to achieving your vision I've learned;

1) Believe you will become who you want to be. Believing in yourself is the first and most important.

2) Learn what to do after you believe you will become who you want to be. I've heard it said that it is like trying to go to "New York City", but you don't really believe "New York City" exists. How will you get to a place you don't think exists?

3) Think good thoughts, block out negativity. Your thoughts and beliefs can be very fragile.

4) Success is created from within. It does not come from a place or live outside of us. Once you believe you will be successful, it's just a matter of creating it.

Your vision can be reality. Step forward and grab hold of it.

Stay inspired my friends!