A Cheese Sandwich

"As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can; by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given." ~Mary Lou Retton

During my teen years, I worked for a farmer near our own farm. He ran a very large operation and during the summer hired several people to help him with the many different operations he ran.

One of the operations he ran was a well drilling operation. These were water wells for either farm use or irrigation wells. His youngest son ran the crew of three others, including myself when they needed the extra hand. The crew hired was fairly ragtag.

One hired hand usually spent his money each night at the bar.

While we were at work, lunch time would roll around and he did not have enough money left for lunch. This made afternoons difficult for him as he slowed considerably due to not having eaten anything.

The farmer who owned the entire operation told him one day, "Son, you need to bring something each day. Even if you have very little money, a simple cheese and bread sandwich will do."

A simple cheese sandwich, cheap and plain.

We all have choices to make.

You can choose to drink one less beer and have enough money for a cheese sandwich. Or you can get smart with your life and have many more choices than a simple cheese sandwich.

Choices in life could mean making the bread wheat or adding a slice of tomato. Having two fewer beers could mean adding potato chips or a soda to your lunchtime meal. Saving your drinking for the weekend could mean doing a better job at work and getting a raise.

It is about the choices we make in life.

Small decisions can turn into big changes that propel us to a better life. A simple cheese sandwich can turn into something great if you make different choices. Try making a change in your life and see what happens.

And stay inspired my friends.

Erase Fear

“Never fear shadows. They simply mean there is a light shining somewhere nearby.” - Ruth E. Renkel

As we go through life, trying to succeed and move ahead to better things, each of us will encounter fear in one form or another. It is a part of our human nature and instinct to have fear over things such as money, job, relationships and health. Fear can also make us uncomfortable to the point of failing to push through to the other side.

An article in Executive Travel by Karlin Sloan, founder and president of Karlin Sloan & Co. wrote about fear and provided steps to help overcome fear when you encounter it. She described fear as making us defensive and reactive instead of allowing us to be "strategic, smart and focused on the right things."

Think about what has happened to you in the past.

You were sailing along in life, performing great. You seemed to have a prophet's eye on what the next steps in life should be and how to achieve your next goal. All of a sudden life throws an obstacle into your perfect plan. Your reaction or fear of the unexpected nearly paralyzes your ability to move forward.

What is it you can do in those situations?

Ms. Sloan offers the following five steps as a starting point to overcoming those fears. Each of them have a practical application in your personal or business life.

1. Stop reacting, start breathing. Take a deep breath before you react. Deep breathing activates your automatic nervous system and shifts you from "fight or flight" responses to your executive functioning brain.

2. Take control. Make a list of your fears. How realistic are they? What can be done to negate any possibility of their happening? What plans are in place to avert crisis? What do you need to do in order to know you can focus through fear? Fear is clarifying -- it can help you understand your risk and how to get through tough times.

3. Build alliances. Leaders who are surrounded by an aligned team have less reason to fear, as well as more backup during hard times. Positive relationships are a grounding force that can nullify fear.

4. Tell the truth. Often during fearful times -- a terrorist attack, a downturn in the economy, after workplace violence -- people want to be reassured. Don't tell people everything is fine when it's not: Be honest. More than hollow reassurance, people want to hear the authenticity in your voice and feel trust that you will tell them what's really happening.

5. Shift into a positive gear. Use fear as a positive. Challenges, heartaches, losses, failures and crisis are opportunities for learning, growth and change. If you can remember this and communicate it, you will be thanked.

Move beyond your fears and get life back on course.

Take fear and use it to spring yourself into a greater place, a better life. You can get beyond that fear and back to smooth sailing. Overcome the adversity placed before you and continue living a great life.

Stay inspired my friends!

Start Tomorrow By Starting Today

#FallbackFriday

"I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day." - James Joyce

Each of us are a product of what we did yesterday. The things we did, what we ate, what we read, and how we treated people created the person who woke up today. It changed big things and little things about us and now in today's light, we must live with those changes in us.

The same thing will happen based upon how we approach today.

The news we read and the books we finish change us just a little bit. What happened to us at work or on the drive home modifies our personality slightly. How we reacted to all the events and people who passed through our world during the day have an impact.

We can make a resolution to change something about our life today.

But then we tell ourselves it can wait, tomorrow I will change. But tomorrow comes and you believe yourself to be the same person, but something has changed. You have created a person will to accept changes by putting it off. Even though we continually say we are going to do something with our life, it feels that change never happens.

To put off today until tomorrow.

But something did happen....you lost one more day, one more opportunity, one more chance to do something with your life. The you today might be similar to the you of yesterday, but there is less to show for it; less of what you want in life.

Yesterday creates nothing more or creates the start of everything for you.

Forget about yesterday and take hold of creating your tomorrow, today. Grab hold of the opportunity so that tomorrow when you wake up, a different you is slipping into those shoes and heading out the door. In order for that to happen, you must take steps today. It begins with making that first step.

One change today, changes the you of tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends.

Dream of Things

“The best endings are the ones that lead to new beginnings.” ― Mathangi Subramanian

Once upon a time there was a young family, raising children, building a new home in a place they called home.

A typical tale of hard working individuals who were now one, living their dreams of things to come. For years and years they raised these children in this home, saw them leave to have children of their own and they retired dreaming of things to come.

Once upon a time there was a young man, raised in this home, who left to marry a woman of grandeur and grace.

The typical tale of hard working individuals, raising two daughters and lived their dreams of things to come. For years and years raised these children, watched them marry, retired and moved to another country as missionaries dreaming of things to come.

Once upon a time there were two young daughters, married to fine men, living their dreams of things to come.

The typical tale of hard working individuals, each beginning their own families and dreaming of things to come. For years they will build their homes, their families and lives in great and wondrous ways. And they will continue to dream of things to come.

Once upon a time there was a long time retired couple, having lived many of their dreams, building a new home.

Our lives are filled with dreams of things to come and of living those dreams. We are given the opportunity to always dream and to chase those dreams for as long as we can. Nothing says we get only one dream in life.

Dream, live your dreams and dream of things to come.

Stay inspired my friends.