How soon they forget

Have you ever gone back to visit your home town or maybe your high school or university that you attended and come across people who might remember your name but not your face? Or maybe they remember your face but not your name? Maybe you were a member of an organization or civic group and life took you away for a while and you show back up one day for a meeting and it just seems like time has just passed you by. Yes, you did great things in your town or school. Yes you were amazing while you were on the roll of that group or organization, but that was then, this is now. It seems like the world has forgotten your importance and now you have gone from the extraordinary to just plain ordinary. This can really hurt when you feel forgotten. Then, right when you’re at your lowest point, someone sees you and thanks you for the things you did back then and tells you how just the thoughts of your deeds made a big difference in their life. You smile and say, you are welcome.

 In life the greatest moments that we have are not the moments when we get all the glory; it’s when we make a really difference in the lives of others. These are the moments that last a life time and no matter where you go or how long you are absent, life can’t pass over these accomplishments because they last forever!!!

Spending Spree

I have been on a spending spree most of my life. It seems like the more I believe I have, the more I spend. Oh, but not on things that matter. I spend on silly stuff. A lot of times, I spend on things that aren’t good for me. I often sit back and say what a waste, but once I’ve spent it, it’s gone and I can’t get it back. When I was younger, I used to spend so foolishly thinking that I could always correct the mistakes that came along with my youth. One would think that I would have learned better by now, but not a week goes by without me doing some of the exact same spending that I did when I was so young.

A few months ago I decided that I was going to do better. I would spend more for the most important things in my life like my family, my dreams, and my passions. My desire to be what I am supposed to be will claim a lot of what I have so my life’s purpose can be fulfilled.

The spending spree I’m talking about is not the spending of money but of our most precious commodity, our time. How often do we spend it on things that don’t really even matter? Fights with our family and friends, stresses of work, worrying about things that we don’t have any control over. As each moment ticks by so goes our opportunity to have enjoyed it. We often sit back believing that we have an endless amount of time to spend. But just like parents watching how quickly their newborn becomes a toddler then a high school senior and then goes off to college, our lives and chances for success move just as quickly.

No more spending carelessly or without a purpose. I will be better and my hope is that after reading this you all will be too.

Swimming

My athletic gifts showed up early in life. I was always able to run fast, jump both high and for long distances, and outlast my competitors in basketball, football, and track.Being nimble and quick helped build my confidence. There wasn’t a sport that I was afraid to try.

At the age of 7, I decide to take on the challenge of swimming. My parents had enrolled me in swimming lessons at the local pool. I was very excited at the prospect of conquering yet another sport. During the first week, I learned how to dog-paddle with a kickboard, float, and freestyle. I took to it all like a fish.

At the end of the week, they had an open day at the pool, and older kids were allowed to come and swim. They began to use the diving board to make big splashes and have a good time in a deeper area of the pool than I had been in. It seemed to be so much fun. The skills they were using looked similar to what I had learned in my first few days in the 3-foot end of the pool, so I decided to join in the fun.

I walked to other end of the pool where the marker said 9 feet and decided to show off the skills I had learned. I ran straight for the pool and leaped as far as I could, making a big splash right in the middle. The water felt good as I touched the bottom of the pool. I quickly pushed off the bottom and floated to the top. When I reached the top, that’s when it hit me that I could no longer touch the bottom. I went down once, then twice, and on the third time, I began to panic. I knew I was in trouble. I was about to drown. Fortunately for me, the lifeguard was paying close attention. He jumped from his post, grabbed me, and pulled me to safety.

As I gasped for air and spit up water, the lifeguard talked to me and checked to make sure I was OK. He told me I needed to practice a lot more before getting into the deep end of the pool again. Over the next couple of weeks, I realized I had already gained the skills I needed to be a great swimmer in that first week. But what had I done wrong when I jumped in the deep end?

The first thing was I didn’t know where I was leaping. I entered uncharted territory. Next, I began to panic, and all the skills I had learned went right out the window. I didn’t keep a cool head. Finally, when I jumped in the middle of the pool, I didn’t notice that I was already halfway to my goal of reaching the other side.

That’s the way it is in life. We must know the environment we’re entering. Do some research. Do your homework before jumping into the deep end.

Second, we waste time when we panic. We use valuable energy concentrating on the problem rather than the solution. Keep a cool head and realize no matter how hard it gets, you already have the skills you need to be successful.

Finally, don’t give up too soon on something you’re really passionate about. If it’s a part of you, it won’t leave you anyway. It may be deferred or delayed, but never forgotten. Using the skills you acquired and taking deliberate steps, you can reach your goal. Your goal may be closer than it appears.

Confessions of a True Addict

I can’t seem to help myself. I know it’s bad for me but I find myself going back day after day to get my fix. I have gotten to the point where it seems like I can’t live without it and no matter how much I try, I just can’t seem to break away. It has cost me friendships, family time, and even years of my life. I look in the mirror and now I know it’s time for me to make a change or I will be stuck in my addiction for the rest of my life.

You see, my addiction is that I’m stuck in a dead-end job that assures my dreams and goals are doomed to failure. The thing is I know this to be true but I keep going back everyday instead of working on a 12-step plan to get away and free myself from this destructive behavior. I have decided to attend daily meetings with my dreams to build up my tolerance for my addiction and put me on a path of success. What about you? No matter what your addiction is, be it hurtful relationships, self doubt, fear of failure, being OK with mediocrity instead of greatness or a combination of all of these, we can get through them all if we will admit that we have an addiction and then work toward changing the situation for our good. Your dreams don’t have to die!!!

Being an addict doesn’t stop overnight, but the road to our future success starts right now. Let’s take it together.

Refund Policy

I purchased a few props for a speech I had to give to a group of managers one Saturday. Once I got them home one of the props didn’t go
with the presentation I wanted to give like I thought it would. I placed the item back in the bag and took it back to the store to return it. I entered the store and I explained to the clerk the problem with this item and asked for a refund. The clerk asked for my receipt even though I had just checked out of his line just minutes before. I looked in the bag and it wasn’t there. I didn’t know where it was so the clerk told me that the refund policy was if you have a receipt you could receive a full refund, but without it you could only receive store credit for the item. I decided to keep the prop until I could find the receipt. I walked back to my car and just as I was about to sit down, there was my receipt in the seat. I returned to the store and was able to get my full refund.

What is your refund policy? In life we all go through a lot of things that hurt us and make us want to turn our backs on the world and all
the people in it. At times people have done us so wrong that we don’t ever want to see them again, but think about if stores dealt with customers that same way. What if they didn’t allow people to make mistakes and then allow them to correct those mistakes by returning the wrong items they purchased with their receipts? What does it take for you to forgive people and allow them to be part of your life? Do you hold grudges that last a lifetime or do you allow people to bring their receipts marked ‘I’m sorry’ and turn it in for a new chance for love and friendship?

For anyone that has done me wrong, I’m ready to accept your receipt so that my life can be filled with true friendships and love. For those
that I may have wronged in my life, I am holding my receipt, asking for your forgiveness.

What about you? Are you ready to give a refund?

Save Our Slogan

In the early 80’s there was a slogan that was being shouted all over the United States in every home, school and community. Just say NO used
to be the slogan that was told to kids when they were offered drugs. We were urged to say NO to the temptations of things that would take us down roads that were nothing but trouble. We were told to say NO to destroying our minds and our bodies. They wanted us to say NO because the peer pressure to make dangerous decisions was so great. I listened to this slogan and so did a lot of my friends and it helped us avoid many temptations.

We need that same slogan today. We need to say no to all the negatives in our lives. Say no to the negative friends, family, co-workers and
bosses. We don’t need their peer pressure to not succeed in our lives; we don’t need the whispers of doubt in our heads. We don’t need an anchor of negativity holding us down while we’re trying to fly to the fulfillment of our future. We must have the words of positive people and things that can propel us forward into a promising tomorrow.

So I say YES to your success and to all the negatives, I encourage you to just say NO.

Chocolate Choices

Yesterday I stopped at a corner market to get a candy bar. I
wanted something with chocolate. As I walked down the candy aisle, I had
prepared to get a Snickers, the old reliable candy bar, but there are so many Snickers
to pick from now. As I continued to look, I noticed so many candy bars that I
have never seen before — some with favorite ingredients, some with strange
mixes and exotic flavors that I would have never imagined being put together. I
couldn’t decide what to choose. I picked up one, then another, and then another
— all offering something different. After spending about 15 minutes going
through the aisle, I picked the original Snickers bar that I came in the store
for.

Life throws a lot of choices in front of you. Some are great,
and some offer you adventures that you could never imagine. Sometimes these
choices are designed to waste your time and keep you from concentrating on your
initial goal. Make sure you stay focused on what you want to accomplish, and
don’t allow too many choices to get you sidetracked.

Remember, it’s OK to have some candy, but too much will
spoil your appetite, and too many choices can delay your dreams.

Game Time

For Christmas, one of the gifts that our family got was the game of Bop it. For those of you that don’t know, it is a game that gives you
simple instructions and you must follow them as fast as you can. You have to keep an open mind and be quick to respond the right way in order to be successful in this game. The key thing is to listen to the voice and concentrate on exactly what is being said and do that and only that. The instructions are Bop It, Twist it, Pull it and Shout it.

In this game called life, we were put here with instructions to help us reach our destiny. Bop all of the doubts that keep us from trying because by always trying we open up our chances for success. Twist all of the negative things that happened in our lives into learning lessons that
lead to better days. Pull greatness from inside ourselves and let the world be blessed by it. And Shout to let other know their greatness
can be reached also.The question now is will you win the game?

The Ultimate Bully

When I was in school, from the 3rd grade until I started college, I was the victim of bullying. I was picked on every day. Sometimes I would be sick because I got tired of dealing with mistreatment day in and day out. I was called so many names because I was different from a lot of my classmates. I was a good kid but for some reason I was considered an outcast because I wasn’t a trouble maker. I spent many days after school questioning everything about myself and wondering why so many people could be so cruel to me when all I ever wanted to be was a good child to my parents, a good student in school, and a good friend to my classmates. For some reason this made me a target for anyone that needed someone to pick on. It affected me for years, even after school ended for me.

Many of us still face bullies every day. No, I’m not talking about kids ready to take our lunch money and beat us up after school. I’m talking about the ultimate bully. One that makes us question our being. One that tells us we are not worthy of a good life. One that tells us how unattractive we are when we look in the mirror. A bully that destroys future plans and shatters our dreams of success. I’m talking about a bully called Self Doubt. We have the power to turn this around. That’s right — you can beat this bully by saying yes to your future and no to any thought of failure. You control your thoughts because all bullies are full of  BULL!

One Size Fits All

A friend of mine went shopping a few days ago. While he was at
the mall he found a pair of shoes at the Nike outlet. He tried them on but they
were a size 10 and he wears a size 11. They were too small but he loved the
look of them and the price was right as well.
He decided to buy them and take a chance on them becoming the right size
over time. He was so excited to show off his new shoes at work so he put them
on Monday morning. It was a little uncomfortable while driving but he made it
to work. As he strolled into the job everyone commented on how he was walking trying to show off his new shoes but he was really walking funny because the shoes were hurting his feet. When he got home, his shoes had worn the sides of his feet so badly that they were beginning to bleed. He told me he should have left those shoes where they were.

Can you imagine walking around with shoes that are at least
one size too small for you? What about going around with a job that doesn’t
fit? Or how about being in a house or car that you know doesn’t fit your life
style but you think you can stretch it out because of the price? Better yet,
how about being in a relationship that has been rubbing you raw and making your heart bleed from the pain? Our life isn’t made for everything just to fit.  We have to make sure that no matter what it is, it has to fit who we are and what we are really about. If we don’t, the pain from trying to make it fit will be worse than walking around with bunions.