Paying Forward

"I guess it's hard for people who are so used to things the way they are - even if they are bad - to change. Cause they kind of give up. And when they do, everybody kind of loses." - Trevor McKinney, Pay It Forward

My notes from the road today are about serving others.

Paying it forward is not a new idea and has been written about before. There was a very nice movie with the same name which did quite well. The idea of "paying it forward" also does quite well in our lives and that is what I am here to talk about.

Our lives are truly impacted by the acts of others. You will notice I did not say our life is determined by others. We are impacted by others and our response or attitude towards them are of our own doing. 

The principle of paying it forward is not a self serving way of life. You don't perform these acts expecting anything in return. The idea is to do one good thing for three other people. All you ask of these people is that they each do the same for three more people each. 

Think of it as "network marketing" but only with goodness intended. Instead of three people recruiting three people to build you up. What you are building up is so more in that you are building up people and they in turn are doing the same. You are that pebble dropped in the water, rippling outward to impact other people. 

It is easy to do and all I ask is for you to try and do something good for at least one other person today. Don't ask for anything in return but do ask that person to do something good for another. So on and so forth life goes, making it a little better for each one of us.

Stay inspired my friends.

A New Sun

“You see but your shadow when you turn your back to the sun.” ― Kahlil Gibran

What is happening in your life right now, this very instance? Are you trying to dig yourself out of a hole financially, relationship or any one of a number of circumstances? Is the darkness of your situation covering you with a blanket of despair?

Each of us go through many of the calamities one reads or hears about every day. There is a parking ticket under the windshield wiper after an especially tough customer meeting. It might be a broken arm after slipping on the icy steps at home. You find mounting medical bills with no pleasant options of overcoming either.

The daily things which happen to lots of people, of all genders, race and social status. Yes, all of us go through things and many of us allow the darkness to encase us in its shadow.

Yet the light of a rising sun can bring hope to our life. The warm rays of light upon our face can renew us and chase away the darkness if we allow it to.

Never give up on the possibilities which exist. The darkness will fade and great things will come upon your life. A warm and brilliant day awaits you.

Stay inspired my friends.

Friday Favorite - Shrinking the Sea

I work for EMC Corporation and our yearly customer conference called EMC World is nearing once again. For a Friday Favorite, I am re-posting a very popular article I wrote back in 2010. I hope you enjoy it as well.

"I think people are isolated because of the nature of human consciousness, and they like it when they feel the connection between themselves and someone else."
- James Taylor

Here I sit on the third full day of EMC World, a yearly technology conference put on by the company I work for. Many of us assist, present and meet with customers to give them more detail on our products and services. This year is no different with a large turn out of people. there are roughly 7,000 people roaming the Boston Convention Center this particular day.

There is always something new and exciting which happens at an event this large. Sometimes stressful, sometimes exhilarating and sometimes just tiring. But the experience is always enjoyable because of the people.

With such a large crowd of people moving about, you can begin to feel like a small boat out in the middle of a very large ocean.

Miles from the shore or miles from anyone you know; it can result in feeling very much alone.

Yet there is an expectation you just might run into someone you haven't seen in a long time. A familiar face suddenly appearing within the crowd with a smile intended just for you. It can lift even the most weather beaten individual. All at once comfort in this large crowd occurs and you become connected.

Within this large sea of people, there is also opportunity to lift and inspire other people. A chance exists to do something in their life, to make a connection and not leave them alone out in the vastness of crowd. These people can become new friends, new influence in your life or be pushed to a higher level of greatness.

Conventions can be a workload to some, but to me it is a chance to connect with others. It is an opportunity to make a difference, large or small in the lives of other people.

And it doesn't simply happen at conventions.

The ocean is large and vast, so is your life and the influence you carry each day.

Whether it be at EMC World, your job, in school or at the grocery store; connecting with others can have a significant impact. You can be the one that changes the life of another person with a simple smile and hello.

Approach each day believing that someone in the crowd is waiting for you. Waiting for you to be that friendly face with a smile just for them.

When you do, that large and expansive sea of people will become a little smaller.

To those at EMC World, enjoy the final two days and do not lose this chance to connect with someone new. Change their day and next year at EMC World in Las Vegas, you just might see that familiar face in the crowd smiling back at you.

Stay inspired my friends!

Endless Ceiling

"Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you." - George Whitefield

Each of us have an ability to move beyond pain, grief or disappointment. We can move beyond the circumstance we find ourselves in. So much is possible if we just press forward and speak the future out loud to ourselves. We can find a way to see beyond what blocks our view.

We can get beyond what is holding us back.

There is an old story about a bedouin within his tent wondering how he would ever achieve all that he wanted. A friend told him to look up at the ceiling of his tent.

"What do you see" he asked the bedouin?

"All I see is the ceiling of my tent" responded the bedouin.

"Come out of the tent and see my ceiling" said the bedouin's friend. "What do you see?"

"I see no ceiling but a sky full of countless stars" replied the bedouin.

Exactly as the bedouin saw, your life has no ceiling above it.

The possibilities are as endless as the stars in the night sky. The paths you can choose are as vast as the eye can see. All it takes is moving beyond the present.

Do not let the past hold you firm in its grip. Break free to reach for a star or even the seemingly impossible.

Step out and look to the night sky. Find a star and begin your journey.

And stay inspired my friends.