If You Try

If You Try

Monday, April 29, 2013

Can You Afford To Be Great?



Greatness is attainable by all, but it comes at a cost. Greatness is seen in people who keep a smile on their face and a positive attitude despite being in a negative environment. Greatness is seen in the single mom who is doing the best she can to provide a great future for her kids, keeping a hot meal prepared for them, waking them up and getting them dressed for school every day, working two and three jobs to provide. Greatness is seen in the high school student who refuses to compromise his morals and faith in order to be accepted by the in crowd and the cool kids. Greatness is seen in you, every day that you wake up and decide to be great in whatever area,status,lane of life you are assigned to. Refusing to succumb to external pressure and overcoming the odds stacked against you. That's paying the cost to be great and so many choose not to.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Racism: Yep, It Still Exists... So What Are We Going to Do About It?




There are occurrences and signs that show that racial discrimination is still very prevalent. Someone recently sent me an article that talked about the hidden venom in America that continues to creep silently behind the scenes. Perhaps you could blame it on my stubborn optimism, but I am of the thought that this presents an amazing opportunity for us as a people (all races and ethnic backgrounds included) to make a choice not to repeat the negative aspects of history all over again. 
Every culture has unique aspects/gifts that other cultures can appreciate and benefit from. It is up to us to educate ourselves on who we are as a people (on both our individual heritages and the beautiful heritages of other peoples). We can't leave this responsibility solely on the shoulders of academia. Of course I know a blog post can't cure racism, but maybe it will spark a conversation that will lead to multiple conversations that inspires action in someone(s) brave enough to lead change. One thing is for sure, we will get bit in our collective butt again by this poisonous snake if we choose to ignore it and act like it's not still happening. Just my thoughts on the matter...


26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female,for you are all one in Christ Jesus. -Galatians 3:26-28

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

People Are Like The Alphabet (No Really)




Had an interesting thought come to me this morning that may (or may not) be life changing and cause a paradigm shift in the way I approach leadership. So here it is (drum roll please), people are like the alphabet. Let me explain. It is common practice to take people at face value because they look a certain way. However, each individual on earth is extremely unique (some themselves may not realize it). If you're like me, you've made the mistake of trying to get people to see everything as you do, in essence creating (or unknowingly creating) mini clones. When in fact, though we all share some of the same characteristics (i.e. the same words in the alphabet to choose from), our backgrounds, personalities, quirks, experiences, dreams, desires, goals, hurts, etc. and etc. makes no one person the same. We all have the same alphabet to create from, but the combinations of those characters are endless. Therefore, no more clone making. Rather we should (those that seek to be leaders, mentors, coaches, teachers, blah blah blah) help others discover their unique combination while helping them learn from our not so uncommon mistakes.

Monday, April 22, 2013

How To Discover The "True" Desire of Your Heart




The heart is a very tricky character, it's actually impossible (for humans) to understand. We can only hope to learn more about what makes us tick, find patterns, and make wise decisions based on discovering our "true" desires that line up with God's will for our lives. The deepest human needs are unconditional love, community, and significance. We drive nice cars, wear the most popular brands, post our best pictures/accomplishments on social media websites (I'm so guilty of this) because ultimately we all want to be important to somebody. It's not to say that some us don't enjoy nice things or accomplishments for the mere sake of their enjoyment, but often times it is tied to trying to obtain one of the three needs I mentioned earlier. Since God made us, he knows us. He wired us like he did because he wants us all to live fulfilling lives and seeking Him with everything that we have is the only way to discover what our true desires are. What's even more, I'm beginning to think that He is so crazy about His kids that he uses these "desires" to lead us to our one true desire (that many of us don't even know we have) and that is having a great relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Friday, April 19, 2013

You Are The Solution To The World's Problems (Yeah, YOU!)





Our world is facing many challenges and problems today that are setting the platforms for the next wave of leaders to emerge on. The turmoil we see today will allow those who have been in preparation the opportunity to provide lasting solutions and real change. Don't succumb to the status quo. Celebrate, refine, and hold on to what makes you different. Refuse to give up your edge, the qualities that make you unique are the very tools needed to help provide direction for those that are looking for real answers. Click here for more detailed info on how you are the solution. These are exciting times for those ready to answer the call!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Watch What You Allow To Grow In Your Mental Garden



I once heard someone say that people spend more time picking out what they will wear than planning on what they will feed their mind. This is a profound statement.
The human mind is very similar to a garden. Whatever thoughts and ideas that get sown into it, if nurtured, will eventually produce a plant. These plants are the basis for our actions. We act on what we believe. That is why it is imperative to guard your mind from harmful information and work hard to plant seeds of good information vigilantly and consistently. Again, we act on what we believe. If you find yourself exercising certain behaviors, it is due to a root system in your mind. We can't ward off all bad thoughts, but we can stop them from being nurtured and taking root. Similarly, we must be proactive in filling our minds with beneficial seeds and see to it that they are well taken care of.

Monday, April 15, 2013

I am in Financial Debt and it is a BAD LOOK!




The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.-Proverbs 22:7

I am in financial debt like several million other Americans. So I write this post not from a judgmental stand point, but from a "I know your pain" position. At one time, I used to view debt as something that was just a way of life. I was misled and believed the well marketed lie that debt is something that we all have to have in order to live. How wrong was I. Financial debt is BONDAGE, the same way hand cuffs and prison bars are. It causes us to work from a deficit position because so many of our hard earned dollars have to go to creditors as oppose to using those (hard to get) greenbacks to build wealth. Think about it, we can't build a house if we are constantly giving our materials away to others who are using our materials to build their houses (Banks and other financial institutions pay their bills with our money). We'll, I've definitely got the wake up memo. I am now vigorously attacking debt and with some hard work, intelligent decisions (that are consistent), and prayer will one day be able to get to financial independence.


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Sometimes You Just Got To Break The Rules to Succeed




Life has an interesting way of making us form unhealthy and negative thoughts about ourselves. These debilitating thoughts produce limits (or rules if you will) in our thinking and we slowly begin to think less of who we are and what we can do. I believe every human being faces this and this is part of the reason so many people are distressed (and depressed, didn't mean to make that rhyme lol). In order to overcome this, we have to take aggressive and proactive action against this stinking thinking (which creates negative rules in our minds), step out on faith, and push past what we tell ourselves internally. Greatness lies in every single human being and there are infinite possibilities within us. Just remember, God created us in His image. That's got to count for something right?