Flowing Opportunity

"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." - Whitney M. Young

Opportunity abounds most every where you look in life. It is very likely that you pass it daily and not even recognize it is there. It flows through businesses, personal lives and out on the street where you may least expect it. It stands right behind you when looking the other way. It will sometimes leave a door open that has always been shut. Opportunity creates a light in what was once a dark hallway. And there are opportunities that you find on your own and those that are pointed out to you directly by others.

But grabbing hold of opportunity can be difficult if you are not prepared for it. The reason I say this has to do with being able to recognize the opportunity itself. An old saying is that you can not recognize that which you do not know. Most certainly you can be given an opportunity without knowing anything about it. You will struggle to understand that opportunity handed to you and if not done quickly, the opportunity will slip from your hands.

Even worse is that we walk by so many opportunities without realizing it. And the reason is because we simply can not se it. We do not have the knowledge to see it. We do not have the vision inside to know that it exists.

So the first thing you need to do is to increase your knowledge; knowledge of anything and everything. Read books, newspapers and magazines on multiple subjects. Every bit of information that soaks into your mind becomes a library of knowledge that will feed your vision. You will than be much better prepared for opportunity that presents itself to you. You will have the ability to identify opportunity flowing eveywhere that otherwise you may not have seen. You will touch that flowing opportunity and make it your won.

Secondly, you have to be prepared for change. It will be the type of change that is required to take hold of those things that come your way. There are many that see opportunity, can recognize and touch it, but have built walls of resistance to change. Change that is sometimes required to fully experience the opportunity found. this inability to make change in our life will prevent you from seeing what lies beyond the opportunity. It keeps us from being able to grab hold of new possibility in life. If you break down that wall of resistance, you will see a difference.

It is said that opportunity is like water. When it comes to containing water, it will always find a way, a path through which it can flow. If you dam it up, the water will rise and flow over the top. If a leak in the dam occurs, the water will find it and open it further. Opportunity is also like this. It will flow to the path of least resistance and if you have a wall built up around you, opportunity will flow around you. It will flow to those that are open to seeing it, grabbing hold of it and letting it change their lives. Grab hold of opportunity for your life, change your life and achieve your best life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Tools You Use

Isn't it strange
That princes and kings,
And clowns that caper
In sawdust rings,
And common people
Like you and me
Are builders for eternity?

Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass,
A book of rules;
And each must make--
Ere life if flown--
A stumbling block
Or a steppingstone.

-R.L.Sharpe

Impossible or Not

Everything that was impossible.

"Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television"

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"640K of memory ought to be enough for anybody." -Bill Gates, 1981

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -Western Union internal memo, 1876

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." -Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." -Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." -Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre, France

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." -Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.

"I don't know what use any one could find for a machine that would make copies of documents. It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." -Head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox.

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp, 1977

Did someone tell you that your dream or goal was impossible?

Don't believe them. Even the smartest people in the world have failed to see that the impossible is possible. Stay inspired my friends.

Your Vision - Your Goals

"If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up." -J.M. Power

Being goal-oriented means never leaving home without knowing where you are going. It means being visionary about what you want to do with your life. You look for possibilities and figure out how to turn them into actualities.

Being goal-oriented means having a plan and a result in mind. It means being prepared for the journey and enjoying the trip along the way. Ultimately, it means having a view as to what lay at the end of the trail.

I will admit that I have never been the best at being goal-oriented. That isn't all that true because I do establish goals. My success has come from having a vision in mind and then simply moving upon it. I make changes and adjustments along the way as I journey towards that vision. Over the years, this process has taught me that it works to establish a vision even though the path is full of twists and turns.

If you want to bring your vision to fruition, establish goals for that vision. Two things to help you do this are;

- Write down your vision
- Write down three goals that will set a course towards your vision

By writing down your vision and goals, it will make your vision much more real, much more attainable. Setting goals will move you towards your vision and give you check points along the way. Once you have completed the steps above, now do the following;

- Make several copies of the vision and goals you just wrote down.
- Put one in your billfold or purse.
- Place one on your desk at work, at school and at home.
- Tape one to your bathroom or bedroom mirror.
- Put one in places where you will see it during the normal things you do through out your day.

Repeat your vision and goals to yourself when you can. Keep reminding yourself of how and where you will be. Tell your story to others when the opportunity presents itself. Allow your family and friends to be your touchstone; allow them to hold you accountable. More importantly, stay focused on your goals.

Your vision will grow and shine brighter within you and become much clearer as you get closer to realizing it.

What Kind of Success

"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one." -Benjamin Franklin

There is a section of London I stay in when visiting on business. The area is quite near to Kensington Palace, a bit west of Buckingham Palace. This area is a very well-to-do area if gauged by the expensive flats and cars parked out front. There are a number of Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and the sight of a Bentley or two that make me realize my older Chrysler Concorde would be out of place among them.

As you walk through this area you can certainly feel the presence of money. The imagination begins to run wild with thoughts of wondering how these people living in these nices homes make that money. I can imagine that many of the people living in this area are involved in finance, insurance, the arts or possibly politics. My mother would have said, "yes, but you don't know what their credit card bills are like." There is probably a bit of truth to that. My guess is that they can afford the credit card bills.

Yet wealth comes in many fashions. My wife had reminded me of the story in which two people who liked to gossip. This couple had seen a new expensive car that another couple in their church were driving. Of course they came to a conclusion that this couple could not have obtained it through legal means. The rumors they passed on became more cruel and outrageous. The couple with the new car became deeply hurt when they heard the stories. They had simply inherited a great sum of money from a relative that had passed on. In this particular story, the saddened couple left the church.

So tell me, would you begrudge someone that had obtained a certain level of financial success?

Why do people gossip and think hurtful thoughts in this manner about the success of others?

I can only believe most of it has to do with jealousy. Jealous of what others have. When we don't have what others do, we allow envy to enter our hearts and minds. It can become a very devastating way to view others. It is my contention that we should choose to be happy for those that have achieved. A greater share of these people have worked hard and truly earned their success.

Most certainly there are those that have obtained success in a not so reputable fashion. But choose to believe in the majority that have honestly earned it. We should be proud of them because doing so is a step in getting out of your old attitudes and into new ones. Dream and believe that you will have that level of success as well.

Petty jealousy is what keeps you down. Be a bigger person and throw away those thoughts. Revel in others success as it can be yours one day. And remember, success is not only financial. Success is a feeling you achieve inside. You will know it when you feel it deep inside.

For me, I'm already a successful man with the family and friends that I have. I have a job that I enjoy immensely and allows me to travel. I get to meet others from all around the world. I get to experience their kindness and pass it on to others. Success is a feeling inside and no one can take that from you.

Stay inspired my friends.

One Of The Twelve

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." -William Shakespeare

There is a known business fact in which any contact you have with a customer, it takes twelve (12) positive experiences by the customer to overcome just one (1) negative experience. If you think about it, that is an amazing figure. The odds are 12:1 against you that a customer will continue to come back. That is a difficult position for you to be in if you happen to be the next person in line dealing with that customer.

What happens if you are one of those next twelve experiences the customer has with your company?

First thing to remember is that in the eyes of the customer, you are the company. You equal your company. You have to take responsibility and represent the company in the appropriate manner. You can not hide behind any excuse such as, "I only work here". Sorry, when you were hired, a trust was placed in your hands to represent your employer.

Now it may be that you have a small level of authority. But it does not diminish the fact that you are your company at this point in time; the time in which that customer is standing in front of you. If you can not accomodate the customer, then certainly go out of your way to assist that customer in getting to the right person. Taking just a small amount of concern and effort for the customer will go a long way in the customer relationship.

Do not be the road block to success, be one of the twelve positive experiences.

Every time you pick up that phone and each time you encounter a customer, consider this the first of twelve needed positive experiences. You can use this same work ethic outside of work, at home, at church or at the store. Those people you encounter could be considered as just having had a bad experience.

Here is your chance to be one or more of the twelve positive experiences this person needs. Understand that lifting others will ultimately cause your life to be lifted up. You can be the one to make the experience a positive one. Your wife had a bad day at work or one of your kids is frustrated with school; you have the opportunity to start changing their world.

Don't Be The One - Be One Of The Twelve

Stay inspired my friends.

Your Cornerstone

"Setting a firm foundation better prepares us for success." -Dean Sweetman

Here we are, half way through the month of April. In fact it is tax day here in the United States, the last day to complete and turn in our tax forms. With all that is going on, January 1st is quickly fading from our minds and slipping into the quiet past.

Even with the taxes and everything else going on, it is a day not much different from the day before. It is a day that is not much different from any other day as time passes by us. But it is a day that can have significance for every one of us if we stop and think about it.

If January 1st is the 'starting point' for what we want to accomplish this year, than have you? If you have not, than the importance of today is to get started; begin today. If you have not started to lay the foundation for what the year has to offer; begin today.

The opportunities that may come our way, the experiences we will encounter and success that is ours to achieve are built upon a firm base. When those April showers come our way and the flowers of May spring forth, will you be ready for it.

If January 1st was our day to start preparing, then March 20, the Spring equinox is our time to begin planting the seed of change. If you don't prepare yourself, when the time comes to plant it will be too late. You will miss opportunity to plant the seeds that will change your life.

You don't want to miss opportunities of rain and growth that will sustain you through the long hot days of summer. Without a strongly rooted vision, growth can not be sustained and the fall harvest of achievement becomes another lost opportunity. With another long cold winter to think of what may have been.

Don't wait to start setting in motion your foundation for a great year. If you haven't, then start today, start with change and start with belief that this year will be different.

Stay inspired my friends.

Influences

"We perceive and are affected by changes too subtle to be described." -Henry David Thoreau

I hear many times during the work week people talking about the issues they have with their job or life that is going on around them. Listening to them, you would wonder how it is they struggle to even get up in the morning. To face the world must be such a huge problem for them. As I listen to them, it strikes me they have a few things in common.

One is that they have a perpetual wallowing in self doubt and complaint regarding their surroundings. I have wondered why they remain within that constant cycle of complaint. Maybe it would be better to step back, look at life and examine their surroundings. In doing so, maybe they will begin to understand the influences that surround their lives.

Now is the time for you to figure out what is happening in your world that forever holds you back. Now is the time to change things in your life. Maybe a different radio station. Maybe a different route to work. Maybe just a determination to change your own attitude.

The influences that surround your life are very powerful in a subtle way. Do you congregate with friends that are always negative about things? Try meeting more positive people. This does not mean to bring your troubles and pains to them. It means to listen and catch the spirit of their life.

I have repeated to many people an old phrase which says, "tell me your sad story and I will tell you a hundred sadder stories." What happens to you, to me or to others is life. Life itself is an influence on us and how we choose to respond is up to us.

An example of changing up the influences in life is one of music. I have a wide range of musical taste and for a long time listened to rock stations on the way to and from work. With the aggressive music I found myself becoming much more aggressive in my driving habits. I would race to be ahead of the other 20 or 30 thousand cars on the freeway. Driving this way would push me to the point of complete irritation.

I found my work day was starting out in a very bad way and coming home I was wound so tight, the transition to home life was difficult at best. Something had to change, I needed to find a way to relax during the drive. So I found it by switching the radio station to classical music. My drive became filled with the soothing sounds of the great composers. My drive to or from work is now filled with relaxation and not irritation. It certainly helps me stay unwound and better able to focus.

The point being is that I examined one part of my life and made a change. I made the choice to change my life and attitude which in turn effected others around me. By doing so, by examining your surroundings and than making a change in your life, the results can be amazing.

Enjoy the results of change by changing from the wrong influences to the right kind of influences. And most of all, say inspired my friends.

To Goatee Or Not To Goatee

"The hardest battle you're ever going to fight is the battle to be just you." - Leo Buscaglia

I have seen many men that can easily carry a moustache, beard, or goatee upon their face. The neatly trimmed or scraggly beard that adorn each one is individual in nature. I marvel at how comfortable they are with the look.

For me, it had been many years since I last carried any hair upon my face. In my twenties it was a moustache red as can be. There was no use in trying to grow a beard because any attempt looked like a map of the Caribbean Islands. so I settled for the narrow place between my upper lip and nostrils.

I felt decent with a moustache but eventually shed it for a smooth and clean shaven look. Call it the changing times of fashion or simply feeling it was not the real me. So for twenty plus more years, I have diligently shaved my face each morning.

And than a few weeks ago the urge to grow a goatee came upon me. I'm not sure why, but it felt like something I should try. So I set about the task to grow and maintain a decent goatee along with the patch of area above my lip. The full redness had disappeared as my years have grown, the gray colors dominating the look.

Eventually it filled in and I started to get used to the feel of it. There were those that said it looked good. Others that simply humored me I think. And there were those that plainly said it just wasn't me. I tried to wear the goatee with comfort but inside I felt the same; it just wasn't me.

Was I trying to be or look like somebody else? Was I trying to hide behind a new look or trying to create a new image? I can honestly say I'm not sure which, but I do know that it just wasn't me.

What I did find is that the real me had to shave off the goatee. The real me was not going to stand behind a face of hair that looked like one person, but sounded like another. I was going to be the real me once again, so I shaved off the gray and red upon my face. When I looked in the mirror, all I could say was hello to me again.

Do you try to hide behind something you are not? Is there a real you waiting to come out and be the person you are meant to be? You need to shave off those feelings and costumes that we hide behind. We need to live our lives as the real us...the real you.

The time will come when the facade we carry needs to come down. Be bold and be the person you are inside. And stay inspired.

Smile for Life

“Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.” -Mother Teresa

This week, my wife is in Ecuador on a mission trip. She and a group of folks from the C3 School of Ministry here in Lawrenceville, Georgia are impacting the lives of people in need. It is a trip of importance in the lives of those being helped and in the lives of those on the trip. Doing great things for others is a two-way experience.

Yes, most mission trips bring help to those in need including clothing, medical, education and other forms of assistance. My wife is part of that effort but she also brings her smile. A wonderfully conforting and encouraging smile that lets you know everything is going to be just fine.

I have spoken of seeing her smile for the first time in my book Love Is. It is the same smile that I remember seeing on the face of my grandfather as he waved goodbye for the last time. They are smiles that wrap a genuine peace around your heart and soul.

All of us can bring a smile into the lives of others close to us and to those that we meet each day. We can smile in Cuenca, Ecuador and we can smile in Lawrenceville, Georgia; in either place it has an impact. So smile and change someone's day, week or life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Tending Your Field

“The fields are black and ploughed, and they lie like a great fan before us, with their furrows gathered in some hand beyond the sky, spreading forth from that hand, opening wide apart as they come toward us, like black pleats that sparkle with thin, green spangles.” ― Ayn Rand

The world around you, regardless of where you are, is your field of influence. It is a field that includes the hearts and minds of other people who enter in and pass through it. Your sphere of influence is generally any one that you encounter through out your life. It is a field that you have an impact upon by your actions and words.

As a farmer plants seeds and tends to the field, you have responsibility for the seeds you plant in the hearts and minds of others. You can tend to them over time and watch people grow and move to greatness. Or you can ignore them and watch them wither. These interactions go on everyday both to you and by you.

You may be 'planting' seeds within the fields of your influence, but others are doing the same as you enter theirs. When two mindful farmers enter each others environment, a wonderful thing happens to both people. The metaphor for tending a field of influence can be difficult to follow in its concept, but the more you think about it, clarity will come to your understanding of what I am writing.

The basic premise for me when it comes to 'farming' your field of influence is this; do not leave people where you find them. Help them, nurture them and bring them to a higher place. Leave them with hope and understanding that life has much to offer them.

The 'harvest' of a well tended field will yield much to you. Your life will be enriched for the experience and be more bountiful in its rewards. In all that you do, leave that which you enter better then when you found it. Leave the heart and mind of others in a better place.

Stay inspired my friends.

Creating a Wave

"The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt." -Frederick Buechner

If you take even the smallest amount of time out from your day to help another person, well it is always a great thing. There will be different points in our lives when opportunity comes come along to do just that, help another person.

There is a great commercial that depicts these "opportunities" and shows them occuring in the most mundane ways. I would hesitate and state that commercials are not necessarily the best forum to learn about life. Yet at times, advertisements can teach us basic principles about living even though the intent is to sell us something. It is really no different than me writing about ways to live life I would suppose.

But beyond that, this particular commercial is from an insurance company entitled "Responsibility". The advertisement is from an insurance company called Liberty Mutual. They have a few versions of this but it primarily depicts one person making a choice to do one thing for another person. Others notice and it starts a ripple effect of others helping others.

In previous articles I have written of this same thing, this "ripple effect" of choices and actions you take in life. It is like a pebble dropped in the water. Small vibrations of water begin to flow out from this one seemingly insignificant pebble. As the ripple continues to move out further, the vibrations grow into waves that eventually create a great wave breaking at waters edge.

You can have this same impact in life, with small actions such as helping others. Your actions will be noticed and be carried by others further and further. It is unlikely that you will see the large wave on the outer edges. Sometimes you do and it is a wonderful feeling. But even if you do not, grab the vision that it does occur.

Like surfers riding atop these giant waves crashing with final impact upon the beach, your own simple movement results in waves of final impact on a greater world. Others will ride this wave of movement to a destination of greatness. The great thing about it is your actions create the same thing in others.

Other people will create pebbles in the water with circles of change moving out from their own center. You will get the ability to ride those waves to greatness when they come along.

Some might say that it creates a rough pool of water. Yet my belief is that calm water means the boat remains still, motionless with little chance of getting anywhere. But a breeze comes along and the boat begins to move, your movement begins and waves begin to form.

Change begins and your life will never be the same for you are moving towards something great. Create waves in your life by helping others and than catch the waves of change which come back your way.

Stay inspired my friends.

Build a Home

"Seek home for rest, for home is best." -Thomas Tusser

Coming home, it is a wonderful feeling when one has been on the road. Whether it has been a short trip down the road to another city, or a long journey to another country, returning home is always a comforting event.

As much as we try to expand our horizons with new experiences and places, we tend to be home bodies at heart. Home is the one place where you will always find those closest to you. A wife or husband, father or mother, child or friend; those that know you most dearly.

When I travel, the vast majority of people I meet are for the most part quite friendly. They are ready to help you with whatever you need and genuinely ready to assist in most any way.

But the hotels are different from my own house. The food is different from my wife's cooking. The sounds and atmosphere simply do not have the same familiar feel. When I come home though, I can slow down from the hectic pace and be among close family and friends. All of the familiar come rushing back once again to ease my soul and calm my life.

In your daily life, many of the stresses you encounter can be absolved simply by coming home. Do not make your home a stressful one. Make your home a comforting one, a home that nourishes and rejuvenates the soul.

There is a great quote by the famed poet Maya Angelou. She says, "The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." It means to me that we should build a home that we will always ache for when we are not there.

Stay inspired my friends and enjoy the quiet comfort of home.

Work Environment

 

Have you ever walked into a workplace (private or governmental) and told yourself that you are glad you don't work there? The environment is dingy and just not very pleasing for a number of different reasons.

In the area that I live, we once had such a place; it was called the Department of Motor Vehicles Licensing office. To label the office miserable does not begin to describe the office conditions, not to mention the large numbers of county citizens using this location. The customer service being provided by the employees working there were certainly a reflection of their work environment. Many of the office people would try but one could see how truly difficult it was.

Then one day I had a need to visit the new DMV location. It was a trip I had performed a few times before with my boys. This visit would be another one to help my son get his drivers learner permit. I was bracing from the pain and misery of standing in long, uncoordinated lines and just a rotten day.

To my surprise, the new location was a huge transformation, not only in atmosphere but in the spirit of the employees. Things ran much smoother, much quicker and with much less tension. Efficiency is most times joked upon when it comes to governmental services. But do not forget government employees are people are just like you and me. Think about how well might perform if you had a poor work environment.

A pleasant and well designed work location will be reflected in your employees. This means more efficiency through out the workplace.

• Efficiency gains translate into a more stable work force.
• Efficiency gains translate into a more satisfied customer.
• Efficiency gains translate into dollars.

Think about where you work and what that work environment is like. Are you regulated about having a plant on your desk or have such poor lighting that you couldn't keep a plant alive?

If the environment is tiring and displeasing, a change needs to occur. As an employer you need to recognize it. As an employee you need to make sure your employer knows it. It boils down to an environment where the customer, employee and business owner all benefit.

A report from the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) Productive Committee discusses the costs of a great work environment and what the potential payback is. You can read the article at http://www.wbdg.org/design/productive.php.

There are five principles of productive building designs that I'm quoting from this article;

• Promote Health and Well-Being

Indoor environments strongly affect human health. A productive workplace should be designed to support and enhance the health and well-being of its occupants.

• Provide Comfortable Environments

A workplace designed and operated to provide the highest achievable levels of visual, acoustic, and thermal comforts for its occupants is the underpinning of worker productivity.

• Design for the Changing Nature of Work

Providing spaces with flexibility and technology to promote new ways of working is a cornerstone of change and innovation.

• Integrate Technological Tools

Effectively integrating technological tools and distribution networks required in today's office environments to enable workers to perform their duties starts first and foremost with properly designed pathways and spaces.

• Assure Reliable Systems and Spaces

Reliability is one of the greatest concerns for building occupants—it directly affects their safety, health, and comfort. Workers must be able to rely on building systems, equipment, and tools that function consistently and are properly maintained.

So take some steps - make some changes - shake up the atmosphere and see what happens. Because sitting still and doing nothing will leave you behind everyone else that are moving on and getting ahead. Change the work environment from one of working in the sludge pits to one that creates a great environment.  Unless of course you actually do work in a sludge pit, which means a different article for discussion.

Stay inspired my friends.

Natures Force

"When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal." -Napolean Hill

Wow! Did you see the video of the tornado activity in the Dallas, Texas area? The scenes of nature's destructive force tossing and tearing apart the landscape were amazing. I was awestruck by the video of the tractor trailers being tossed like children's toys.



This force of nature is not something you can control once it gets moving. We simply have to allow it to run it's course and clean up afterwards. It is very much like life when it starts to spin out of control for us. We get caught up in the spinning effect of destructive events.

Choices, Not Mistakes

There are certainly things one can do in life but many times we fail to see what is happening. All of a sudden we have been swirled and lifted to a dangerous height. That moment comes when we drop hard, down through the funnel of our bad choices. And those are bad choices and not mistakes.

There is a difference and an example of that is Tiger Woods and his self created ordeal. Author Andy Andrews related a story he had heard in a radio interview in which Woods talked about mistakes he had made. Andy says that good advice would tell Woods he had made choices, not mistakes. “There’s a big difference,” Andrews said, adding: “It’s about living in the truth. Only then can there be a reset.”

Once we hit the ground, what we find is the destruction we left behind. The pieces of our life are scattered about the ground. At that singular moment we are alone. But like a natural disaster, people will come into the picture, willing to help you rebuild. All you have to do is accept their help and guidance. We can start to "reset" our lives at this point.

Eternal Optimism

I am an eternal optimist and it is very cliche to say this, but the sun will cast its wondrous gaze upon you once again. The blue sky will open up and reveal that there are no limits to what you can accomplish in life. Even after the destruction we can cause in our lives, we can rebuild once again. We can "reset" our lives and move forward.

When you get caught up in the destructive forces of nature, of bad choices, know that after the fall there will be others to help you pick up the pieces. Together the rebuilding will happen so believe in yourself, believe in Mr. Blue Sky.

Stay inspired my friends.

Living Without

"It's amazing what you can do without, once you've done without." -Andy Penick

Okay, I have quoted a friend this morning but I make no excuses for it. You probably know a person like my friend Andy. You have possibly been a person like Andy. I know that I have been there and been amazed after the fact.

Each of us have driven ourselves towards success in life. We are supposed find the perfect job, the perfect salary, and the perfect rise to stardom. The world tells us we add in a perfect marriage, a perfect church and a perfectly average 3.2 kids.

There should be the big house in which everyone gets their own bedroom. A two car garage to hold two cars that are no older than two-years in age. There is possibly a boat, two family vacations and a yearly anniversary trip. And since we are living this way, the best in clothing and jewelry.

As we gather and grab for even more, we work harder and harder to keep the money flowing in. At this point, it is not successful living but living to look successful which has occurred. Don't take this wrong, success is great and all of the "things" that come with it.

What happens is when you are working to look successful, life can happen. It becomes a very difficult juggling act and some things end up crashing down to the ground. Living what appears to be a successful life will soon consume each of us. It can be very overwhelming and than it all falls and what you thought you "could not live without" is gone.

You are now faced with a new normal, which means not having all of those things. Your life is forcibly readjusted. You might fight it at first. Eventually you realize that you really didn't need all of those things. You begin to focus once again on the important things in life.

Your church, your health, your relationships, your kids and your friends. The material things are not what made you whom you are. You are you and you will be amazed at what you can do without. Even having the perfect church, perfect relationships, or perfect life is found to be less important.

You can not expect perfection in life because life itself is imperfect. What you can expect is how you will react and respond to those imperfections. You will find that it does not take a whole lot of material things in life to have a fulfilled life.

Without the burden of "keeping up appearances" you will find life in much better order. Your church, your spouse, your family and friends will seem so much greater. You will be so much greater. Life will begin to come back into alignment for you.

I have been through it, my friend Andy has been through it and each of you have been through it (or will probably go through it). Once you have come through this life lesson, that is when you will find what real success is. The things that truly matter in life will fill your world. You will not be "living without."

Stay inspired my friends.

Expect It, Anticipate It

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.” -Orison Swett Marden

Expectation - as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is;

Main Entry: ex·pec·ta·tion
Pronunciation: \ˌek-ˌspek-ˈtā-shən, ik-\

1: the act or state of expecting : anticipation
2: something expected; basis for expecting; assurance; prospects of inheritance —usually used in plural
3: the state of being expected
4: expectancy; expected value

The 'act or state of expecting' of something different or 'anticipation' of something that could happen in your life. Each of us should and do have expectations of an event or change happening for us.

You should have anticipation of change occurring; it is why you dream and set goals in your life. So many times we set these goals or dream of something grand, only to never take it the next step.

The step is 'expecting' that it will happen by speaking into your own thoughts that you will accomplish it. I am not here to say that is all you have to do and that all dreams will come true. But if you don't believe or 'expect' it to happen, you will never step towards attempting to capture it.

It is similar to those that play the lottery. Your chances of winning the previous Mega Millions $540 million jackpot was 1 in 176 million. With those odds, you are five times more likely to get hit by lightening. But most will also say that "you can't win at all unless you actually play." So before I go on, note that I am not saying run out and play the lottery.

What I am saying is that without expectation of something occuring in your life, without stepping out towards change, nothing will occur. You will not achieve anything if you do not expect to achieve by stepping out in change. Expecting that you will win the lottery does not mean you will win it. But you have to engage in life in order to have a chance at anything.

Expect greater things for your self, expect that you will achieve more in your life. Then step out and cause movement in your life. And of course, stay inspired my friends.

Thine Own Choice

“I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude.” -Judith M. Knowlton

In everything we do, there is choice of some sort that can be made. It could involve not having enough money. Where and how much to spend or even if to spend on a certain item. It could be a need to change your living style to meet your income. Or taking on a second job. Maybe you could even take classes to improve your job skills and get a promotion.

Choices exist, we only need to be willing to make them.

It could be a destructive relationship you are in. There is so much that can be said about relationships, but choices do exist. Or how about the lack of a relationship? The choice might be to turn off the television and go to places where people gather. Maybe you turn off that television and start talking to your spouse and children.

Deciding not to do anything is a choice as well.

Using that "non" choice will not get you where you want to be. You will have turned over your life to chance. Take an example of not making a choice regarding your health. What you decide to do or not do can dramatically impact your life. Diseases and medical conditions are treated by physicians and we have to make choices regarding each.

We have a choice to do nothing about our physical state or get up off the sofa and take a walk; little steps to help improve your health. I'm not here to say you will live longer, although statistics would support me. What I'm talking about is improving the quality of your life.

Will you make a choice to improve the quality of your life?

Choice is there for the taking and you need to make one. We each are given one life and of course, how you live it is your's to decide. But if you want to change the life you live, then stand up, make a choice and than step out boldly.

Live a great life and stay inspired my friends.

Climbing Those Stairs

"Don't aim at success--the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the byproduct of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it." -Viktor Emil Frankl

People will respond to the question, "what do you want most in life" by saying, "success". As defined, success is;

1. 1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. 2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3. 3. a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.
4. 4. a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show.

Success is something that defines us or signals the achievement of a goal. But is it the final attainment and being defined as successful the real want? I believe success or the idea of being successful is just a "rest stop" along the way. Real success is the "process" or journey we take to achieve it.

Simply achieving success of a goal is not the final endpoint. Achievement of one success is a step towards even more that you can do. It is merely one end point or stopover on the entire journey of your life. As we move from one point in life to the next, there will be many successes.

Consider each success in your life as a step on the stairway you are building. It is another level in the story of your life, not an ending. Focus on the process and each success will motivate you even further.

Life is a journey that continues until you are no longer able to continue. Let successes be the tale of that journey and not the end points.

Stay inspired my friends.

Compassion Gained

Things happen in life to all sorts of different people, with different backgrounds and different income levels. It is all relative to your own place or status in life. Take for example what happened to billionaire Steve Wynn. A great and valuable Picasso painting being shown to friends is accidentally punctured...by the owner himself!

A lot of value in that painting was gone in an instant. All it took was the blink of an eye so imperceptable there would have been no way to prevent it. At this point you are probably wondering why we should feel bad for someone with so much money.

But then you must stop and consider the option of feeling just a bit of compassion. A beautiful work of art, an original painting that can be repaired is also an object that meant a lot to a person. That person may have more then you or I, but still they are a person.

One might say there is a limit of course to compassion. We certainly know that Mr. Wynn will be just fine in his loss. But when it comes to the misfortune of others, your instinct should not be to immediately 'pile on'. Find it within yourself to have a reasonable amount of compassion. It might just be you the next time having lost something of importance.

"Make no judgments where you have no compassion." - Anne McCaffrey

Overcome To Achieve Greatness

"For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So here I am, currently flying at 36,000 feet in a Delta 757 airplane, writing and making my way to Seattle. The landscape below me is much too far away for me to discern anything other than a few roads, mountains or fields.

If I look really hard though, I can pick out certain things such as certain large bodies of water or rivers famous to all. The most famous of course being the Mississippi River and as we passed over the Great Salt Lake. All look small and rather insignificant from such a long distance.

Even the Rockie Mountains and the Cascades look tame from such a far distance. They appear to be mere road bumps on our way to a destination. The goals we set for ourselves are at the end of that journey. Our destination looks easy from a distance.

While the distance seems to be much too far, the obstacles do not look all that intimidating. But as we get closer. As we come in with the distance being shorter, those obstacles all of a sudden get bigger. As we see them grow taller and wider, the mountains tops are greater and the rivers much broader than we expected.

It is at this point we might become discouraged. It is at this point many people may quit. What it reminds me of are the pioneers that made their way across the the great plains. These brave souls had a goal in mind and that was to find the west coast, to find fortune in the California, to find new opportunity.

Can you imagine as they slowly made their way across the flat lands, the heat, the wind and everything else they had to endure. I imagine them getting well into the area we now know as Colorado, only to be greated by the peaks of the Rockie Mountains.

The discussions that must have taken place had to have been heated. How far would they have to go. Would they make it before the cold and snow of winter set it. Some people must have said forget it, we'll stay here and go no further. They gave up on their dreams and settled for what they had.

Others pushed on, seeing the mountain tops as gateways to their dreams. They didn't seem them as obstacles blocking their way. They knew to rise up to the top would allow them to see the destination even clearer.

Many of those people made it through, dreams fulfilled and greatness achieved. The mountains, the rivers, canyons, or wide lakes did nothing to deter them from grabbing hold of what they wanted.

You will have similar obstacles in life. There will be mountains to face and wide rivers to cross, but each can be overcome and they will be overcome. Keep reaching, keep moving forward and move those mountains, part those waters and reach your destination in life. I know you can.

Stay inspired my friends.

My Faith In You

"Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof." -Khalil Gibran

Just having one of those weeks and if not for my wonderful wife Laura...just not sure what I would do. Stay inspired my friends.

Impact Globally By Impacting Locally

"It's stunning to me what kind of an impact even one person can have if they have the right passion, perspective and are able to align the interest of a great team." -Steve Case

Have you ever stopped to consider the impact you have on others? Stopped and really thought how your words and actions can change lives?

It happens each and every day you get up from your bed. The way you tell your wife and children good morning can set the tone for their day. It can set the tone for your day. The way in which you interact with people that come in and out of your day impacts them and you in subtle and not so subtle ways.

Impacting people globally

The idea of how we can have a positive effect upon others came up in a recent conversation. I was being asked about two people my wife and I know. These two people, Dave and Annie, are moving to Brazil in order to greatly change the lives of people in that part of the world.

Both of these people are young retirees from the normal everyday jobs that all of us take on in life. It wasn't a lottery winning that prompted them but opportunity for change. They grabbed at this change which now places them on a path to have a huge impact in Curitiba, Brazil and many other parts of Brazil. It is a global reach beyond our own doorsteps here in Atlanta.

The Jewish Rabbi, Harold Kushner is quoted as saying, "Caring about others, running the risk of feeling, and leaving an impact on people, brings happiness." It is my belief that doing these things simply provides us with the side benefit of happiness. Not only happiness for ourselves but also for those we touched. Reaching out beyond your own door and into the lives of others is what creates a great life.

Impacting people locally

So going back to the discussion I was having, this person questioned the impact oneself could have. The global impact Dave and Annie are going to have is something they could not fathom in themself. It reminded me of a phrase I have heard in various forms most of my life. "Where ever you are, there you are. So it is, you can have an impact anywhere you are."

You see the location of where Dave and Annie are going to be is but one small part of the world. Where they are going to be is where they will be impacting lives. The same can be true right here in Atlanta, down the street at the grocery store, at work, and even in your own home. "Where you are is where you can have impact on others."

Impacting people collectively

I was asked why do we call it a global impact then? How is it that what I do locally here have an impact around the world? The answer comes in the ripples of life that connect all of us. I have written of this before in how your life touches others in ways you may never realize.

The ripple of a stone dropped in the water creates a wave that washes a sea shell upon the shore to brighten a childs day when found. That child is filled with excitement and wonderment. The child is spurred to discover more about the ocean, becoming a famous marine biologist such as Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Your impact here, locally, becomes a part of the collective wave around the world. Your impact ripples to points that will touch the ripples created by Dave and Annie. It is the collective nature of these waves that have a global impact. That is how we have a global impact when we impact people locally.

So keep doing good things locally, wherever it is that you are...for that is where you impact globally. Stay inspired my friends.

Seasons of Life

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." -Hal Borland

It started on March 20 at 1:14 A.M. U.S. EDT when most of us were sleeping soundly in our beds. Quietly the season passed from winter into spring, or so it seemed. This particular year it seemed as though the clocks were busting to jump forward into spring.

Winter was hardly an event in most places, with the exception of central Europe. I can attest to some of what happened there. But for most, winter just didn't hold our attention too much. The spring weather just couldn't be contained.

Anticipate Great Things

Through the course of winter and spring, we know that we have no control over the weather. No more can we cause a wintry blast of cold and snow than cause the flowers to pop in wondrous colors. All we can do is accept and take enjoyment from what is presented to us.

I myself am no fan of winter's cold and snow. For so many years growing up, the shoveling of snow, the donning of heavy coats; none of that appealed to me. I always anticipated the arrival of spring, sometimes excited only to have winter sneak in a last blizzard of snow and cold.

The one redeeming thing is that I always knew that this too would pass. Whatever the weather, season or situation, things would eventually change. It happens with everything because you can not contain change.

Seasons of Life

We have seasons in our own lives that mimic your own view of the seasons. Winter can be unfairly seen as the darkest and most lifeless time of life. For others it is full of magical beauty. Spring becomes the start of new life and hope.

I could make a case for the summer of our lives or even my favorite season which is autumn. All four seasons are nature's cycle of life and we are tied to nature. So it stands to reason that we will go through seasons in our own lives. There will be the good, the bad, renewed hope and the shedding of the old.

While we can not always control the seasons that occur in our life, we can control how we respond to them. For winter's cold embrace, I marveled at the moonlit nights shimmering across the snow. For spring it is the budding of the barren trees as they filled in to shade the ground below. Summer is life in perfect motion and autumn with its bursting colors even while dying leaves drifted slowly to the ground.

You have the ability to control your own reaction and attitude to the seasons in your life. While we may not enjoy the bad things that happen to us, we can take solace in what beauty does exist in the situation. We can hold hope that a springtime will happen. We can know that a perfect summer will once again return.

Stay inspired my friends and enjoy the seasons of your life.

Pollen Speaks Life

"The nature of a flower is to bloom." -Alice Walker

Spring appears to have come early to the Atlanta, Georgia area. Very much like the rest of the United States, a mild winter is quickly turning into spring like weather. In fact we might just skip it and go directly to summer.

With the warm weather though comes the heavy dusting of pollen from the pine trees. This yellowish dusting is the most obvious sign although not the most annoying to with allergies. Many of the other plants with their unseen pollen invades the nostrils and lungs.

I am fortunate enough not to be bothered by allergies. But for those that are, this is a very tough time of the year. Why we have pollen is actually uplifting in my view. But to understand why, we must ask...

What is pollen?

Simply put, pollen is the powdery, dusty substance found within flowering plants. The pollen is necessary for the fertilization of like plants so that new seeds can develop, scatter and create more plants. Sounds very similar to those old high school biology classes we sat in.

The reason I find pollen so uplifting is the phrase, "so that new seeds can develop." In other words, new life is born of this process. Without it, the backyards, fields and open land would be barren. The earth would be pretty much void of anything living.

The same can be said of the words you speak into your life and the lives of others. What you say can spring forth good things in life, or they can cause harm and wither you where you stand.

• Think of good words as good pollen.
• Think of bad words as mutated pollen.

When you speak good things into your life and others, those words spark new life inside. They form with everything that is good and cause a reaction that force new growth inside of you. And like pollen, the wind and your voice will carry those words to those around you. Your words (good or bad) will pollinate inside the lives of those nearby.

• If you speak negativity and failure around your children, that is what will grow inside of them.
• If you speak positive and uplifting words, they will grow in a world of success and goodness.

We are very much like the flower, we are meant to bloom. When a flower opens its petals to release its pollen, our words drift from our speech upon others. And like the flower, we can either leave a yellowish dust to be scorned by people. Or we can spread our words quietly, silently and create new hope and birth in the lives of others.

During this season I will say "gesundheit" for all of the sneezing you might encounter. But I will also say "inspire" others with your words and don't stop when the pollen season ends.

Read a Book

"Books open your mind, broaden your mind, and strengthen you as nothing else can." -William Feather

Have you ever considered one place where you can go to visit all of the world? One place where you can visit the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, and Taj Mahal all in one day. Or maybe have the ability to see what games children in an English school yard play and than check out the tessellated pavement along the shores of Tasmania.

Opening up your world

We marvel each day at what technology has brought to us. Many would say that the internet has brought the world to them. Instantly you can visit each of those places on you home computer or even on your smart phone. In the blink of an eye, you can find out just how far the Leaning Tower of Pisa actually leans to one side.

All of this technology has the ability to let you search and find a much bigger world. Your backyard has literally become not just the rest of the world but an entire universe. But you have had this ability to transport yourself for a very long time.

Where the world gathers

As far back as 2600 BC, clay tablets written in script have been discovered. These tablets discovered in Sumer (Mesopatamia or modern day Iraq) are like markers of the end of prehistory and the start of history. Books have been around in various forms for thousands of years.

What could be called libraries (private collections actually) have been found in northern Syria. Additionally, there is evidence of libraries dating back to about 1900 BC in Nippur and also in Nineveh about 700 BC. Books, manuscripts, stories and tales of places beyond our current place and time, gathered for all to read.

You also have your own public library that has been around for many years. In the United States, we have many public libraries in which you can go into freely and visit where the entire world gathers.

You can even check out these books and bring the world to your home. The world is quite literally at your finger tips. No computers, no WiFi, no smartphones; simply numbered pages with wondrous words printed on each page. To read each word, turn each page and allow your mind to dream of actually visiting the places upon the pages.

Read and be transported

So many of us dream and wonder of what we can be, where we can go or how we can do more in life. A book can help you begin the process of turning dreams into reality. When you visit a library, you start movement in your life. It is a physical act that sends you one place to another.

You open a book and see your dreams begin to unfold upon the pages. The words bring a reality to the possibility you have been envisioning. You can certainly do this with a computer but feeling the pages of a book does something else.

The fibers of the worn pages create a sensation in the finger tips. It begins a transference from the author to the reader. The thoughts and feelings of the writer are dormant upon the typed pages. But when you touch and turn those pages, life springs forth from the words. You become a part of the story and it transports you to another place.

Dream, but than act

As you read the pages of a good book, it causes your dreams to become more vivid. You probably will daydream of what you are reading. It is likely you will have visions of your own life coming out of the pages.

Dream all you want but more importantly, act upon the dreams. Start movement to visit the places you have read about. Start movement to create the life you have read about and wanted to have.

Do not just dream of yourself being that person coming out of the words on a page. Work to become that person in reality, take hold of your life and experience it. Bring the words to life by acting upon what you want in life.

A great life is not merely the words in a book. A great life is your life and the words of a book are meant to inspire. They are meant to push you to action in your own life.

So read a book, read a lot of books, but also turn the words into your best life. Stay inspired my friends.

Overcoming Obstacles

"Joy is of the will which labours, which overcomes obstacles, which knows triumph." -William Butler Yeats

I have faced obstacles in my life, challenges that could have stopped me dead in my tracks. There have been the moments of complete frustration when a car broke down, no money to pay for repairs. There was a time when I was stocking shelves wondering if I could ever do more.

There has been illness, death, divorce and a list of others obstacles placed by circumstance in my life. Each one of these seemed insurmountable at the time. Each might as well have been a deep canyon separating me from where I was to where I wanted to be.

What first?

Well into my years when these obstacles appeared, I fretted and worried tremendously about my abilities. I questioned myself, I blamed others and felt like giving up. What I immediately failed to realize each time, is that I had overcome so much before.

I started to ask myself why it is I always went immediately to defeat. Doing so only made the obstacle bigger, giving it more power over my life than it deserved. So believing that "this too I shall overcome" became the first thing to tell myself.

What next?

I began to tell myself that I will make it through, over, by, around, or anyway I could. As humans we are innately creative in finding ways to overcome and survive. And that is what you do, you poke, you prod, you explore every option.

Eventually you will find a way to climb the mountain or to walk around it. You might even find a way to move the mountain out of the way. What ever method you find, keep pursuing, keeping pushing through and you will find that the obstacle is not insurmountable.

What is behind you?

As you move past the obstacle in life, go ahead and look back, but only once. Look back to see what you accomplished. Look back and tell yourself that you did that, you can do anything. But do not dwell on it too long.

Many will stop and admire the accomplishment. They will marvel at the success while all the time failing to continue their forward progress. Use the experience as a means to carry you forward. What you have learned from the experience will prepare you for the road ahead.

What lay ahead?

What lay ahead? Life of course. Your future, more circumstance, more unforeseen obstacles, more effort. But a great life and success also exists out there in front of you.

The journey we take in life is going to be full of many different experiences. Some of us reach complete success, but do we really? Most times the success is the journey itself, always moving forward, always living life.

Keep overcoming, keep moving forward, and stay inspired my friends.

Memories and Birthdays

"Love is missing someone whenever you're apart, but some how feeling warm inside because you're close in heart." -Anonymous

Today marks what would have been my brother's 58th birthday...that is if my math is correct. But the age doesn't matter now because he is ageless in time now having passed away just over a year ago.

It really doesn't mean a lot to those that didn't know my brother. It really only matters to those that did. But what matters to everyone is that we remember those we love and lost.

The stories we have of lost loved ones should be passed down through the generations. The fun stories, the loving stories and the serious ones. We need to explain and let the younger generations know who they were. A link to the past provides understanding of where we are going today.

My brother had a lot of stories in life. Some of those stories are heart breaking and hard ones to tell. But many more of those stories show a man redeemed and full of greatness.

The same stories are inside each one of us. They are stories and memories to be passed down to our children, grand children and more. Even in death the memory of 'us' can serve as guideposts for those still living their natural lives.

So today, March 15, is a day in which I can still say, "Happy Birthday John" and many more. Love you, miss you and most of all, thanks for ALL of the memories.

Expect It

"Quit now, you'll never make it. If you disregard this advice, you'll be halfway there." ~David Zucker

Give it up people, you'll never be a success. There is no way that all of your hard work and effort will pay off. Face it, you're just not talented enough. Quit now and accept your life as it is.

More than likely you have heard one of those phrases at some point in your life. The words of discouragement that people try to speak into your life. The words that work to keep you down and feeling unworthy of success.

It is very likely that you have spoken these words into your own life. I have heard Dr. Wayne Dyer say, "if you would like to accomplish something, you must first expect if from yourself." If you speak into your life disappointment and discouragement, it is a pretty good bet that this is what life will be for you.

Expect great things in your life, expect that you will accomplish your goals. Expect you and than others will expect that you will.

Disregard the naysayers, disregard the negative talk and believe in yourself.

Revenge or Forgiveness

"The only people with whom you should try to get even with are those who have helped you." -John E. Southard

Revenge

There you are, seven o'clock in the morning driving down the freeway to work. The traffic is thick with cars but bearable at this point. The next interchange comes and goes as you pass under the bridge. But here you are in the right hand lane and merging traffic is coming down the on-ramp.

You know the rules-of-the-road and those cars are supposed to yield to you. Yet that one guy in the fancy sports car has other plans. He darts across what is known as "the gore" and cuts in front of you. With every ounce of restraint, you keep from hand signaling your disapproval.

The problem becomes that now you are fixated on getting even with the perpetrator. Somehow you are going to find a way to get in front and cut him off; to teach him a driving lesson of course. The rest of your drive to work is miserable and filled with your anger. It even spills into the rest of your day at work.

It happens this way and in many different ways. We use our energy to get back at people whom we've decided did us wrong. The offense could have been real or perceived, but either way your mind is telling you to get back at them. As humans, we have a passion for revenge that is strong and many times it is overwhelming.

Our intuition regarding revenge can be twisted, conflicted, juvenile and many times dangerous. Revenge itself is a primitive response to anger, injury, or humiliation. In many ways, it is a misguided attempt to transform shame into pride.

To seek revenge reduces you to your worst self. It places you on the same level with those spiteful people we claim to abhor. Additionally, there are studies that have shown revenge increases stress and impairs health and immunity. In essence, revenge can do more harm to ourselves than what the perceived slight caused.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the greater act, the better choice in your life. Note that I said in "your life." The other person is unaware most of the time that they even inflicted pain upon you. No, forgiveness is about you and your ability to move on from the event.

The person in the other car may not understand that their actions are rude and potentially dangerous to others. We on the other hadn can not pretend to understand that we know what is going through the other person's mind. We can only understand and control ourselves. How we react and carry on from it is much more important.

So next time you get cut off in traffic, let it go and don't let it ruin your day. I understand and admit there are much worse things in life. There are examples of pain and hurt much, much larger than a perceived traffic offense. Those events will take more effort and work to get past. But the end result is to create forgiveness; forgive yourself and move on.

Your life is so much more than one of seeking revenge. Your life is about creating a great life and not being held back by the actions of others. Forgive and move on...and stay inspired my friends.

Sylvia Alter

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." -Irish saying

I begin this week with a story of loss. It is a story that many people go through daily, but each has impact on an individual basis. It impacts people when you may not even realize it. The person down the hall at work, the lady at the grocery check out, or the driver in front of you on the freeway.

Each of them and so many others are impacted by the death of someone close. I am one of those in that I lost my Aunt Sylvia. Her children, Diana and Rick along with grand children, relatives, friends and many others are feeling a loss today. Each of them are experiencing a void in their life.

My Aunt Sylvia lived in Sioux City, Iowa; often referred to as Siouxland. It is a place that marks the general area that my American ancestors lived, worked and played. Aunt Sylvia called it home and it is where her children were born and raised. The place where a home was created and all that knew her felt the love which embodied her.

Like my own mother, Aunt Sylvia was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Time would not be on her side and it took her rather quickly. We can each empathize with family. But it did give them a chance to grab hold of those remaining days. It allowed them to create some final memories filled with love, forgiveness and hope.

My sympathies go out to her family, my prayers go out to them and for Aunt Sylvia. My happiness for her now is undeniable, her place is happy and filled with love. No pain, no sorrow, no worry is her reward. She can look peacefuly down upon all of us and smile.

When the time of her passing and funeral begin to fade away, the loving memories of her will grow. I know it, I believe and I live it each day with the passing of my mother. Be assured that those memories will fill you with greater love and the pain will ease away.

We love you Aunt Sylvia; always have and always will. Thank you for having been in my life.

Expressing Faith

"Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand." -Thomas Aquinas

There we were in west central Portugal, visiting one of the sites at which a Marian apparition had occurred. This place, recognized by the Catholic Church, was built after three children reported seeing several times the Virgin Mary (reference your Bible) in a field called Cova da Iria. The place I refer to is called the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.

The town of Fatima is located about 90 miles north of Lisbon, Portugal. A small village of no other real historical significance is host to this wonderful religious shrine visited by millions each year. The complex is quite large and very inspirational to visit.

What was intriguing about our own visit was the way in which people displayed their spiritual faith. I learned that people will pilgrimage to this place when they have dire needs in their life. Situations such as disease, or problems regarding birth and some even regarding academic tests coming up. As they make their way, they do so to make promises to the Virgin Mary or God.

The making of the promise normally includes walking by foot hundreds of miles by foot. But many will also cross the sanctuary grounds to the sanctuary, and across its marble floors upon their knees. Yes, walking upon their knees, across the pebble-laced dirt paths, ashpalt courtyard, stone steps and floors. You can see the pain upon their face, in some cases the bleeding knees, all for the sake of their faith.

It had me wondering about the sanity of these people. What could possibly be going through their minds to believe in such a way? I than began to wonder how other people expressed their faith and how I myself express my own faith. Displays of faith are truly in the eyes of the beholder one could suppose. In the Bible it is written (Matthew 5:16) in which Jesus said "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

To take that literally tells me that there are many different ways in which to show that faith. Various practices, that I won't go into detail here are;

• Jewish Kaparot
• Exorcism
• Shamanism
• Mormon Baptism of the Dead
• Islamic Niqab
• Jehovah’s Witnesses Refusal of Blood Transfusions

To those that express these customs or beliefs, the act of faith is quite normal. Is it any more strange that Catholics believe the communion sacrament (eating of the body of Christ and drinking of His blood, represented by small bread wafers and grape juice) is any less odd than the speaking of tongues in many Charismatic churches? Every religion has developed their own methods and means of expressing faith and belief in God.

Again, as written in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." So whether we are singing loudly in praise, laying on of hands, reciting scriptural passages over and over, or even walking on our knees; the way in which we practice our faith is a personal one. It is our learned way, right or wrong to the rest of the world, in which we connect with God.

We could certainly take this discussion off into some very deep theological paths. We could certainly discuss what we believe is non-scriptural or harmful. What I am really interested in discussing is that we are different in how we express our beliefs. In the finality of our own lives, our death becomes very personal with our God. The way in which we expressed our faith and belief in God will be accounted for at that time.

So express faith in your most honest and learned way possible. My hope is that by doing so we can each connect with God in such a way that makes life in the natural a deep and rewarding experience.