Expect It Your Self

“The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I'm not going to let myself pull me down anymore.” ― C. JoyBell C.

An article appeared a few years back in Popular Mechanics about a doctor and assistant professor at the Stanford School of Medicine by the name of Jaimie Henderson. His specialty is neurosurgery and the article talks about the computer-aided tools he uses for surgery on the brain.

This really is brain surgery (with or without a computer).

If your job is brain surgery, it becomes imperative that you are not having a bad day and still expect to perform brain surgery. Dr. Henderson says, "We are all humbled and inspired every day by the complexity of the human brain. Absolute perfection is expected every time I operate. And that's okay."

Such a great way to approach your job or any thing you do in life.

You might think your own work in life as, "...it isn't brain surgery." Guess what, for some it really is brain surgery. Yet it should not diminish the importance of what you do each and every day.

What you do and who you are remains just as important.

Trying to have a good day everyday should be something you expect of yourself. As the good doctor says and you should say as well, "...and that's okay."

Stay inspired my friends!

Would You Believe ...

“If you're perpetually broke, you should be working hard at overcoming stupidity and not getting rich.” ― Taiwo Abraham

I have a really great deal for you.

Select eleven my blog posts for just 1 dollar (plus shipping and handling). I will then send you a "Writer's Selection" blog post once a month (plus shipping and handling) at a low, low cost for another three years. After this time, you can opt out but I'm sure you will want to continue with your membership.

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it?

Sounds all too familiar I am sure.

Columbia House Records made billions of dollars on shipping and handling fees along with the monthly selection you basically had to purchase. I myself was lured into this seemingly innocent deal. On the farm back in the 1970s, it seemed to be a good way to collect music.

Surprise, surprise as it drained my weekend job savings account.

Surprise, surprise as it drained many of your accounts as well.

Well another long coming surprise is that Columbia House just filed for bankruptcy in a Manhattan court. Documents filed by the company say its debt could be as high as $10 million, and it owes its 20 biggest creditors more than $6 million. Appears they couldn't keep up with those shipping and handling costs.

The cynical person in me wants to jump up for joy in the demise of this company and its marketing and other business practices. Many people have been harmed, duped, swindled and just plain bamboozled by this company.

Then I remember I am human and allowed it to happen.

Then I remember we are all human and did it to our self.

How did it all happen? How did we allow ourselves to be duped. How did Columbia House and others like them make money? They did so by using a business practice called "negative option billing" which effectively takes advantage of human nature.

Just decline the next item before the bill arrives. Easy enough but human nature is our tendency to forget, be late and the bills continue to accumulate. You may have gotten some great music, but could you now afford the electric bill to play those records.

We learn from those mistakes of human nature.

We learn to accept those mistakes and move forward.

Life has its lessons to be learned for every generation and every person. Some lessons learned quickly while some are learned hard. Which ever way though, we must move forward knowing how to avoid the pitfalls and grab hold of the good.

Whether you bought twelve records for a penny or simply made a bad decision in life; accept it, learn from it and move on.

There will be plenty of other opportunities to learn from but also greater knowledge in taking on the right ones.

Stay inspired my friends!

Life By Example

“He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.” - Francis Bacon, Sr. (English Lawyer and Philosopher 1561-1626)

Most everything we we do in life can be seen by those who surround us. People on the street watching you walk by. Those in line at the grocery store as you check out. The person in the car behind you in traffic. Your friends, spouse, and children all see your actions.

People learn by watching what you do, what you say and what they see.

It may seem unfair that our every movement and word can have an effect on others. It would seem unfair that you are probably getting judged like the cover of a book. But it happens and your every action is on display.

Think about our society of celebrity and the complaints those in the spotlight of public visibility express. Many would say that because one lives in the public spotlight (celebrities, politicians, etc), that they should expect the attention they receive.

Yet each of us live on one level or another of public spotlight.

The attention we draw from others may be smaller, but it is still one that can have impact on those who see us daily. And knowing our actions and words have impact, it becomes a choice for us if that impact will be a positive or negative one upon others.

Choose a life which exhibits the positive. Choose a life that will teach others a better way to live. Give others the best of you which in turn helps them to improve their own lives.

Life by example, life by positive examples, life for the better.

Stay inspired my friends!

Life Outside Your Bubble

“The danger of venturing into uncharted waters is not nearly as dangerous as staying on shore, waiting for your boat to come in.” ― Charles F. Glassman

There is a movie from 2001 titled Bubble Boy, in which a boy is born with an immune deficiency and his parents keep him in an environmental safe room at home. You find out much later in the story that doctor's had misdiagnosed it but his mother was so overly protective, she led him and others to believe he would die by stepping out of the protection.

So he lives his life in a protective room, immune from all which happens outside his door. The insulated nature of his life fuels within him a desire. His story is that of a person wishing to break free of this protective cocoon of safety.

Life is so much more. There is love of life and people to pursue.

The boy decides to risk his life outside of this room in a more portable bubble he has created for himself. He remained in steadfast belief of his need to be protected. He enters the world outside his room with a shield; a bubble that keeps him separated from others just as the door on his room did.

Stepping out to change yet holding on to his perceived truth.

Each of us do this in life. We pursue dreams but with a view of the certainty of things. Those beliefs we simply hold as truth due to the culture in which we have lived in. Some of those beliefs might be absolutely true while others are misguided acceptance.

I for many years had a misguided thought. In it, I had thought Art Garfunkel, member of a popular singing duo from the 1960s had died. Much to my surprise he was performing in Central Park during a reunited concert.

When I look back, as a very young and inquisitive child, a sibling had told me a story of his death. Most likely to quiet me from asking so many questions about why the duo had split up. But I took this information as truth and believed it fully.

My mind was opened to questioning many other truths in life.

You see the idea is not to question and be suspect of everything. It is not meant to live life with paranoia of events and people.

It means to find out as much as you can about the world around you. To live life by stretching yourself beyond the confines of life lived in a bubble.

The Bubble Boy knew he was faced with giving up his bubble of safety for his real dream; the love of his life. When he stepped out of that bubble he found real truth. His long held belief was not true and he was now free to pursue his dreams.

Sometimes we have to face the reality of what we believe.

Living inside the bubble of what we believe has a limiting effect upon our lives. There may come a time when we have to question our beliefs in order to pursue our dreams or goals. Do not be afraid to test those beliefs and take a step outside of the bubble.

You may find the air is fine and the last wall is broken through to a dream.

Stay inspired my friends.