Throwing Bricks

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." - David Brinkley

I guess in reality you are not walking down the street with people throwing bricks at you. It can certainly feel like it at times. The odd thing is that it also feels like you are picking up those same bricks to carry.

Think of it as a "double-whammy" in that you are being pelted with bricks and picking them up to carry away. You could say it is similar to a wagon full of rocks. An ever increasing load you allow others to put upon your life.

The weight and size of this load slows your progress and eventually break you down. It is a terrible thing to see a load of brick or rock come tumbling down upon someone's life. When it happens, there are only two possible results; complete destruction of the persons life or fighting renewal.

I have seen the destruction in people's lives. The kind in which they never recover and no matter how much you want; they are buried forever. It is a heart breaking process to watch but one that I learned from. No matter how heavy or burdensome, there is hope and possibility as long as life exists within you.

Start laying the bricks down, stop shouldering them and let them lift you. The foundation you build can serve a couple of purposes. One is to give you greater footing and raise you above the soft ground. A foundation that creates a means for you to reach greater heights.

These same bricks can be used to build a path for others to follow. A path that serves as an example to your spouse, your children, your friends, or others that are watching. Because the choices we make, the decisions on how we respond are being watched. Other people are learning by seeing how you respond and the path you lay for them will be everlasting.

Are you going to leave a pile of bricks or a nice brick path behind?

Stay inspired my friends!

Today is the Day

"Today, I'm leaving all my troubles behind." - Joe Pringle

Today is the day you will do it.

Yesterday it could have been done but it wasn't.

So make today the day you let it all go. Let the pain and indecision leave you forever.

Today is the day you will unload the pain and worry you have carried all these years. You will become more than what you or others have let yourself be.

There is nothing to hold you back and it starts today.

You are greater than the sum of all your worries and doubts. The only thing holding you back today is you. Let it go and get on with your life.

And today is when it will happen.

Today is the day...

Stay inspired my friends!

All is Okay

"And all your future lies beneath your hat." - John Oldham

He stood there, a man standing on the gravel drive way. He was near the house about half-way down towards the country road. I remember him as being tall and statuesque in his pressed pants and starched white shirt. The top button of his shirt was undone with no tie, the sleeves partly rolled up. His round wire-rim glasses reflected the afternoon sun as he smiled his wide smile towards me.

What I remember most is the fedora hat which covered his mostly bald head. It was probaby an attempt to keep his Irish skin from turning red. But he lifted his hat and waved to me. A gesture that seemed so comforting to me. A gesture I believed was meant only for me, his grandson.

I was only five years-old at the time as I stood in the open door-way of the corn crib. It seemed I had known Grandpa Gale for a lifetime. I guess I had known him for all my five years, but it seemed much longer. And now the wave of his hat seemed to say it would soon be over.

Soon Grandma and Grandpa would be moving to California. It would be quite some time before I would ever see them again. This final wave seemed to be telling me everything I needed to know. It was everything needed to guide me in life, all in the wave of the hat, telling me everything would be fine.

It is an image I can recall clearly in my mind to this very day. At the time so many years ago, I am sure the full impact back then was never fully comprehended. But as I recall the day, the moment, the image, I fully know that Grandpa was giving me his final bit of advice. A year later he would die in that far away place called California. A heart attack would take him from so many. Death would replace him with memories.

As I look back and recall the day, I am sure that regardless of what happens to me, everything will be okay. The wave of his hat telling me everything would be okay. It is an image he left for me, that I can go back and remind myself that yes, everything will be okay.

When even the cruelest of life's circumstance enters your day, think of Grandpa Gale and the wave of his hat. A smile given to tell you that things will get better; that life for you will be okay. Grandpa would want it that way not only for me, but for you as well.

Stay inspired my friends!

Fire Drills

"A fire drill does not demand a fire." - Nancy Cartwright

Do you remember those old school days when you practiced evacuating a building in case of a fire? Fire drills were always fun as it got us out of school work. We lined up and walked quickly without running to our designated safety area. We performed these drills 'just in case' a fire eventually broke out and our lives truly depended upon getting out safely.

Back in the 1950s, the threat of nuclear war was pervasive. People practiced 'duck and cover' in order to save themselves from the nuclear fallout. They would crawl under their school desk and cover their heads. I am not sure if that would have saved us, but we were prepared.

Yet we practice constantly in the event that something bad will happen in our lives. Those things may never happen, but we are prepared because we have taken the time to prepare.

What if we took time to prepare for the good things that could happen in our life?

Maybe we should practice how to handle the large amount of money we will earn.

Maybe we should practice what it will be like having great relationships.

Maybe we should practice having great children and a great job.

What I am saying is that maybe we should practice being positive about life.

Stay inspired my friends!