Twenty One Days

"Never let life impede on your ability to manifest your dreams. Dig deeper into your dreams and deeper into yourself and believe that anything is possible, and make it happen." -Corin Nemec

The twenty-one days are over. I have completed a fasting that lasted those twenty-one days and the human that I am; so glad it is over. This was not a full on no food, just water type of fasting. What I did was skip one meal a day and no caffeine. Yes, I will say that again, no caffeine.

There will be folks that would forsake all food rather then to give up their Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts morning coffee. Mine happens to be Racetrac coffee and Douwe Egberts office coffee and Folgers coffee made at home. I even made sure that I stayed away from any type of caffeine. I only drank herbal tea the entire time.

Some would have tried to sneak in de-caffeinated coffee, but not me. I stuck with my plan and now it is complete. This morning, day twenty-two, I have bought my cup of coffee. It is decaf though, for some reason I decided the full on shock of caffeine might not be a good thing.

You might ask why I put myself though this?

I put myself through it in order to challenge myself. It is part of a wider event our church held (as do thousands of others) but I took it as a personal challenge. If I can do without something personal and self-concerned, maybe I can focus more on having a greater connection with life.

Sounds all new-age and weird doesn't it?

Well don't worry, that is not what it is. What it does is challenge some of the normal parts in my life. Can I dig deep and accomplish something such as this? I can, I did, and so can you.

Twenty-one days is nothing compared to the rest of your life.

If you can push yourself for that many days, you can do anything. The problem is that we give up before we even try. We tell ourselves we can not accomplish goals because we are not good enough, or strong enough or capable. The problem with thinking that way is it becomes self defeating. We set ourselves up for failure because that is what we are speaking into our lives. It becomes a mindset engrained in our life.

Turn that mindset around, accomplish something small or big in twenty one days. You will than realize you can do so much more. You will realize that the impossible is not quite so impossible.

There is so much for you to accomplish in life, so much to do for others, so much good that can be done. It just starts with twenty-one days.

Stay inspired my friends.

End of the Rope

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." -Franklin D. Roosevelt

You have heard their stories. You have stood and listened for hours and hours to the words of desperation and complaint. You have probably even watched the finality take hold of another person. You even may have been the one getting near the end of your rope.

In either case, you have to hold on or be the one to help another tie a knot and hang on. We each have gone through bad times and had to endure varying degrees of pain or frustration. And I am not here to say that I have been through what you might be going through.

What I do know is that there is more strength inside of you. There is more possibility of getting through. There are others that believe in you. There are others that know you are capable of overcoming anything. All you need to do is hang onto that rope a little longer.

You may be asking yourself, "But I'm not at my rope's end. What can I do?"

The answer is quite simple. Be the knot at the end of the rope of someone's life. Be the one helping them hold on. You may not have the answers or any solutions for that person. But you can help them hang on until they get it figured out. It doesn't mean that you are a crutch for them to permanently lean upon.

And now I'm talking to the person grasping hold of the knot, the person helping them hold on. A knot in a rope eventually frays thin and will slip. So don't depend upon that knot to hold up your life forever. The knot is there for us to regain grasp of our life. It allows us to start that climb back up.

There will be times in our lives when we need someone to tie a knot for us. there will be times when we need to tie our own knot. Just keep hanging on, keep trying, keep believing.

Presidents Day, Really?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.." -William Shakespeare

So why exactly do we celebrate two President's birthdays on the same day? Initially it was (for some) to honor all the American presidents, but most importantly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. If you look at the Gregorian or "New Style" calendar most commonly used today, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732.

But if you look at the older Julian or "Old Style" calendar used in England until 1752, his birth date was February 11th. And Americans back in the 1790s were split - some celebrated his birthday on February 11th and some on February 22nd. What a shocking notion that Americans were having a disagreement.

When Abraham Lincoln became president and helped reshape our country, many believed that he, too, should have a special day of recognition. The tough part was that Lincoln’s birthday fell on February 12th. And prior to 1968, having two presidential birthdays so close together really didn't seem to bother anyone.

• February 22nd was observed as a federal public holiday to honor the birthday of George Washington
• February 12th was observed as a public holiday to honor Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.

Then in 1968, things changed when the 90th Congress decided that a uniform system of federal Monday holidays should be created. A vote was made to shift all three existing holidays (including Washington's Birthday) to Mondays. This new law took effect in 1971, and as a result, Washington's Birthday holiday was changed to the third Monday in February.

Again, shockingly, not all Americans were happy with the new law. There was some concern Washington's identity would be forgotten as the third Monday in February would never fall on his actual birthday. Others also attempted to rename this public holiday "Presidents' Day", alas this attempt didn't get any support as some believed not all presidents deserved a special recognition.

With all of the holiday changes, Congress had created a uniform federal holiday law but not a uniform holiday title. There was no agreement among the individual states on what to call this holiday. There were some states, like California, Idaho, Tennessee and Texas made the choice not to use the federal holiday title and renamed their state holiday "President's Day."

It was at that point going forward that the term “Presidents' Day” became a marketing phenomenon. Advertisers sought to capitalize on the opportunity for three-day or week-long sales.

There have been attempts since that time to specify that the legal public holiday once referred to as Washington's Birthday be "officially" called by that name once again. All attempts have failed.

So what does this have to do with having a great attitude and success in life?

Most people today accept things as they are. They accept that President's Day is called that because it just is. They accept that their life is what it is. But if you dig a little deeper, you will find out more. If you dig a little deeper into yourself, you will find that YOU are so much more.

Don't accept things as they are in your life. You can get beyond what you currently have and where you are in life. You simply need to dig a little deeper and learn that you are capable of so much more.

So enjoy your Federal Holiday, then move forward in life. And 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 be a short trip down the road to another city, or a long journey to another country, returning 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 that know you most dearly.

When I travel, the vast majority of people that I run into are friendly, helping and genuinely ready to assist. But the hotels are different from my own house, the food is different from my wife's cooking and the sounds or atmosphere do not have the same familiar feel.

And I find that when I come home, I can slow down from the hectic pace and be amongst family and friends. On the road there is a peculiar tension or stress. Even with the things one does to adjust, there is no place like home.

In your daily life, many of these stresses you encounter can be absolved simply by coming home. So don't make your home a stressful one. Build a home that is a comforting one that nourishes and rejuvenates the soul. “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned" is how Maya Angelou said it.

Build a home that you will always ache for when you are not there.

Stay inspired my friends.