First Step Taken

"La distance n'y fait rien; il n'y a que le premier pas qui coute."
- Madame Marie Anne du Deffand

Translated: The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that costs.

Our first steps in life vary by age, events and circumstances. When we are first learning to move forward, there will always be a first step required.

It is one step that sets us upon a journey.

Look to the Bible story from the Garden of Eden in which Adam and Eve are banished from the garden. Genesis 3:21-22; The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

They were banished from the garden, to work the ground outside from which they had been taken. Life was never the same for either of them or for the world. Adam and Eve now had to take those first steps from the garden. Once outside, they had to do something, a journey for the ages; a journey for all of our existence.

It began with first steps taken for those yet to come.

A child is born and generally will begin to walk anywhere from nine to twelve months of age. At that age, think of holding oneself up near a coffee table, looking across a huge room to a toy siting on a small table. The distance is great for such a small child but a first step towards the toy is needed.

With each tentative step, the distance becomes shorter.

A teen reaching graduation in high school, begins looking to a future away from home. It might be college, work or other options but each is planned with a mind for leaving home. Those decisions go through their mind with an uncertain future painted with so much possibility.

With a hug or goodbye, the future embraces them.

Each thing we do begins with that first step taken. Our journey in life, a dream turned into a goal or a vision of things possible require the first step. With never knowing our outcome, we step forward and begin movement towards something.

Away from the old and towards the new light...that first step.

Stay inspired my friends.

Staying Ahead of the Bulls

"If you are heading towards a goal based solely on 'that is the way it has always been done', then you may be heading towards disappointment." - Despair.com

Every year in Pamplona, Spain, the encierro or "running of the bulls" takes place during an eight-day festival around mid-July. It is performed in honour of Saint Fermin in Pamplona, but was born from necessity.

The goal? Get the bulls from outside the city into the bullring.

It starts at a corral in Calle Santo Domingo when the clock on the church of San Cernin strikes eight o'clock in the morning. It is than that the bulls begin their rough and tumble run for 825 metres or just over 1/2 mile. This is the distance between the corral and the bullring.

Usually only taking three to four minutes, it can be a painful run as young men run in front of the bulls. The intent is to show their bravado while trying to avoid being trampled and hurt. A run that means certain death for the bulls eventually in the ring.

Daily, we can feel similar to running in front the bulls.

We are running to get or stay ahead of whatever it is behind us. Our goal seems to be survival until we make it to the bullring where success and glory is found. We only need to ensure we are not trampled along the way as we repeat this gallant run every day.

Today will be the day I reach ring.

Maybe running with the bulls each morning is not the way to go about it. Maybe there is a different, more appropriate way for you to succeed. It could mean that you simply need to try a new way. Running with the bulls might be one way of reaching your goal. Not running with the bulls might be another.

If you keep getting gored in your pursuit each day, try something different and achieve your goals with new thought, new ideas and new desire.

Stay inspired my friends.

A Bowl of Cheerios

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.” - Unknown

People tend to search daily for 'things' that will make them happy. We seek out money, diamonds, cars, clothing, food, people or any of a number of things. The ever elusive feeling if only we had this or could obtain that, then we would be happy. With the holidays fast approaching, is happiness what you are in search of; of perfection?

We will search for and gather things but still not find happiness!

An article in Psychology Today on happiness, Harvard social psychologist William McDougall wrote that people can be happy while in pain and unhappy while experiencing pleasure. He writes that to understand this, two kinds of happiness must be distinguished: feel-good and value-based.

Feel-good happiness is sensation-based pleasure. When we joke around or have sex, we experience feel-good happiness. Since feel-good happiness is ruled by the law of diminishing returns, the kicks get harder to come by. This type of happiness rarely lasts longer than a few hours at a time.

Value-based happiness is a sense that our lives have meaning and fulfill some larger purpose. It represents a spiritual source of satisfaction, stemming from our deeper purpose and values. We experience value-based happiness when we satisfy any of the 16 basic desires--the more desires we satisfy, the more value-based happiness we experience. Since this form of happiness is not ruled by the law of diminishing returns, there is no limit to how meaningful our lives can be.

So how can we live a happier life?

Here are ten ideas to help you try to live a happier life.

- Look for the positive side of every situation.
- At the end of each day, take a moment to think of things that were good about the day.
- Spend time with people you love, whether they're your friends or your family.
- Be active and get some exercise, even if it's just a brisk walk around the neighborhood.
- Rest, sleep and relaxation are vital elements in how to live a happy life.
- Identify goals both in your personal and working life and work towards achieving them.
- Be grateful for the little things.
- Don't wish your life away by counting hours to the weekend, or days to your next holiday.
- Keep away from people that bring you down.
- Don't be afraid to have fun.

Aristotle said "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence". There is more to life than merely gaining happiness, but happiness or contentment is a very large part of the quality of our life. Do not waste the holidays stressing for perfection or ultimate happiness in that perfection.

Simply choose to be happy within the moments, full of contentment. Doing so will free you to direct your energy towards creating a greater life. No moping about your condition, but happily moving towards your dreams. Happy as a bowl of Cheerios!

Stay inspired my friends.

Your Sphere

"It's not just for its influence on us, but to know that we can play a part in it, to understand the influence that we have outside our own existence." - Siobhan Davies

A friend of mine, Dean Sweetman was attending a conference some years ago to a world-renowned speaker. As he sat there, he sent out a message on Twitter that read "listening to amazing stories that have impacted church growth world wide." He went on to say, "I feel small."

Dean may have felt small in that moment, yet I can feel small in comparison to Dean's huge sphere of influence. So it isn't about comparisons. It is about our own world and what we can do within it. So as I read his message again, it occurred to me that our own sphere of influence can also be quite large.

I have a rough idea of where my sphere of influence spreads. How my words and motivation reach people in many far reaching places. But more importantly, it starts closest to me both with my own attitude and my family. It then spreads to close friends and those I come in contact with as the circle grows bigger.

Think of the effect a pebble in the water has. The ripples closest to the impact (you) are largest and they smooth out the further away from the epicenter. This sphere of influence can grow and shrink over time.

For me, it grows as more people read my books and read my blog articles. For some, that influence can leap to huge proportions such as when a person like Oprah Winfrey takes notice. But even if it doesn't grow to grand expectations, the influence is just as powerful.

Each of us have levels of influence. It simply starts with the attitude you carry inside. It will impact those around you, your wife, your kids your friends and co-workers.

You carry it with you 24 hours a day each and every day.

You carry it with you at home and wherever you travel.

You carry it inside and in the things you do.

Never feel small because the influence you carry is huge. Your sphere of influence is greater than you think. Make it the right kind of influence and see what great things happen as you impact the lives of other people.

Stay inspired my friends.