The Entire Donut

"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the hotels one stays at while traveling, most have a restaurant or breakfast area available for guests each morning. The usual fair of breads, waffles, juices, and coffee are available. Many of these places also have an assortment of donuts. These donuts are of the usual fare, round cakes, so with with sprinkles and others with frosting.

Normally when it comes to donuts, you can either get a standard donut or remains of the hole. Those remains are also known as donut holes. For some reason, you never seem to see both together in the same place. I always wondered why the two are never seen together on the same table. Then again, maybe I let my mind wander off too far sometimes!

When I have seen the two on a platter next to each other made me think about each of us and what is inside versus the outside. Just like the donut, there are many types of people. There are peanut covered ones or colorful sprinkles all over them. There are the plain cake donuts and cream filled ones. There are so many varieties to choose from and sometimes you just never know what you might get until you find out more.

It is the "something" which is inside each of us that truly defines who we are. It is said when you get squeezed with stress or conflict, what comes out is who we truly are. When people see you, the one with sprinkles or powdered sugar, the unknown part is going to be the donut hole.

The donut hole is the part others do not see, the hidden or missing part of a donut.

We keep the donut hole which is whom we are inside, hidden from others. You normally never get to see the two together, side-by-side. But once we reconcile the two and we become comfortable with whom we are, both are revealed together at last. Side-by-side on a platter for the world to see, you, a complete person.

Anyone for a coffee and donut?

Stay inspired my friends.

Written in Kindness

"Write your name in kindness, love and mercy on the hearts of the thousands you come in contact with year by year, and you will never be forgotten." - Thomas Chalmers

In our search for a great life, we sometimes simply reach for the fame of being well known or admired. It becomes the sole purpose of our journey, a journey of self importance.

If you follow different social media outlets such as entertainment shows, Twitter, Facebook or many others, there are celebrities looking for admiration and attention. In a way all of us yearn for attention but when it becomes the sole purpose in life, it becomes pretty shallow.

What happens when the fame evaporates and nobody is paying attention?

This is when your life's work becomes important. Doing great things when no one is watching is what lifts you to greatness.

Take the story of Rhubarb Jones, a famed radio disc jockey, winner of awards and acclaimed celebrity by millions. In a book I wrote called CHANGED LIVES, what happens when it all comes crashing down around you?

On February 29, 2008 a meeting was called in a conference room. No one knew of what would transpire. We were given envelopes with our severance package and told that due to economic cut backs most of the full time broadcaster’s jobs were eliminated.

I was fired? How could this happen to me? Wasn't I a winner of numerous awards and accolades including being a member of the elite Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame without a job for the first time in my life?

When fame leaves you, what is left? Where do you go from here?

Write your name in kindness and it won't matter.

Stay inspired my friends!

Make 'em Laugh

“A smile starts on the lips, A grin spreads to the eyes, A chuckle comes from the belly; But a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, Overflows, and bubbles all around.” ~ Carolyn Birmingham

Some days all I can do to get by is simply laugh at the situation before me. To get overly upset or mad would only worsen the predicament. And most likely the situation is out of my control anyway.

What better way to relieve the stress than by laughing.

There have been those who feel offended when in the seriousness of it all, someone is chuckling. Each of us react to the problems life sets before us. Those issues build and compound with each other. So much that we feel our life has been targeted with all of the world's problems.

What we can do when there seems to be no way out from under all of it is to simply laugh.

Even the doctors at the Mayo Clinic say, "...laughter helps you deal with a variety of maladies, including the stresses of daily life." A laugh or even a smile can bring the focus away from negative emotions and send us into a better mood. This mood change will give us the ability to more clearly concentrate.

What once seemed like darkness begins to brighten with new light.

So if you can help someone, "make 'em laugh."

To help even yourself, "make 'em laugh."

For everything else in life, "make 'em laugh."

Stay inspired my friends!

Sliding Through Life

"It's a beautiful thing, diving into the cool crisp water and then just sort of being able to pull your body through the water and the water opening up for you." - Dawn Fraser

How fascinating the above quote is and how you can apply it to everyday life. Our interaction with others is greatly impacted by our own opening up. So many times we develop a thick carapace or shell around our lives. We protect our feelings and self; so much that the shell becomes a heavy weight upon our lives.

When we carry this shell or build walls around our life, opportunity is lost for us to experience the cool crisp water. We slowly deteriorate and harden even further to anything beyond what we have within the walls we've erected. Our covering becomes such a hard disposition that nothing new can be breathed into it.

If we open ourselves to the world, things change.

Like diving into the water, the world will pull your body through life. It is the world opening up to you. As the words from a song (paraphrased) say, "...you'll love the color of it all."

Remove the hardened shell over your life and experience life for all it is worth. Do not wallow in the silent and lonely darkness. Open up to a life that exists, waiting to pull you to new heights. Once you remove the shell, you will never want to put it back on.

Stay inspired my friends!