Underneath the Drip

Underneath the Drip! Are you so blindsided by what you don’t have that you fail to see what’s right under your nose? What about the days when it seems like the world is against you and nothing you do is working?  Remember that one thing that you knew was a sure go and it turned out to be a mistake in the end?  You cried your heart out because you just knew she was the one.  You spent hours in the kitchen preparing his favorite meal because you were told, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”  Well, all is not lost!  There are times when we are getting exactly what we need for growth from a very unlikely source.  We are so conditioned to micromanaging our results that we can overlook our blessings.

During my bible study today there was this story about a man who saw a beautiful flower growing up through a crack in the concrete. He wondered how did this plant manage to survive with such hostile surroundings.  When he looked up he saw that there was an air conditioning unit dripping water directly above the plant.  The plant received the help it needed from the water above.  We are just like that plant.  We need to appreciate the help that is sent even if the source is not what we expected.  Are you underneath the drip?

Know Your “Right Now” Vehicle

Tom Arrowsmith @tom_a

Know your right now vehicle!  A vehicle is something that takes you from one place to another. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a motor vehicle, although that’s our first thought.  What about your business or career moves?  What resources bring you the best results?  What are your weaknesses and your strengths?  Why not work hard on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses?  Are you trying to get to the top on your first vehicle?  We need to know what our “right now” vehicle is, and master the gift where we are before upgrading to a new vehicle.  As we close out one year and look to the next, it can be easy to get caught up in what everyone else is accomplishing. Maybe they have been riding the same vehicle for awhile and you just didn’t see them.  Remember we all have a back story to our success.  Be careful about wishing for someone else’s life, because you don’t know what it took for them to get there.  Do you really want to carry their cross?

Brave Enough to Break Your Own Heart

 @simmonmigaj

How many times has your heart been broken? Not just by the opposite sex.  What about having your heart broken by your children, your boss, or by your dreams?  When it comes to reaching for the moon we tend to hesitate, because we think that if we don’t make it we have failed.  There are so many things that I have done or started to do that broke my heart.  But I learned so much about who I am and what I am capable of getting done under pressure.  Just because you fail at something does not mean that you are a failure.  Failure teaches you what not to do and/or what needs to be done differently.  Most of the time failure prepares the way for a smoother ride going forward. We allow others to break our hearts and we continue to survive, so why are we so afraid to be brave enough to break our own hearts?

When I did my book tour this year I was so psyched it was unbelievable. However, when I ended up visiting two states instead of four, I never considered it a failure.  The knowledge, the exposure, and the momentum that I gained simply by having my name out there was indescribable.  Now doors are opening for future collaborations in the year 2018.  Remember, everything you go through is preparing you for now or later.  No time is wasted if you look at life from a learning perspective and realize that things happen at the right time.  In addition, I have people who have watched me grow over the years and are now asking me to speak.  If you put in the work eventually you will reap the benefits.  Patience and persistence will always create results.

Disappointment is Caused by Unmet Expectations

Tom Pumford @tompumford

Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations.  It is normal to expect things in life. If you sit in a chair, you expect that chair to hold you.  If you work all week then you expect a paycheck on Friday, or whatever day your payday falls.  There is nothing wrong with having expectations.  When you create a vision board don’t you expect those visions to become reality?  Why else would you do the board?  Why waste your time and energy on something that you don’t expect to happen?  A disappointment starts when there is an appointment.  There are four elements to an appointment:  1)people, 2)place, 3) purpose, and 4)time.  So all of these elements play a vital part in why and how we become disappointed.  First, people will let you down.  Second, this may not be the right place for what you anticipate to happen.  Third, you may have the wrong motives for this particular endeavor.  And lastly, it just might not be the right time!  So think about these elements as you put your plans into motion.

The other side of the coin is when we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves and on others. This automatically sets us up for disappointment.  Unrealistic can mean that, there is no way that it can be done, or it could mean, that based on previous experiences you know that it’s NOT going to happen.  Not to say that people and circumstances can’t surprise you, however, then it becomes a pleasant response to your expectations rather than a disappointment.  You cannot be disappointed about something that you didn’t expect to happen.  That’s just common sense.

Uber Dating

santiago-gomez-413715Santiago Gomez @iamsantiago

Uber dating! Now that I have your attention, let me ask you a question: Have you heard about people using Uber to get to the ER rather than using an ambulance?  I was shocked when I heard that.  Who would risk their lives in the hands of an Uber driver when it comes to your health?  It was stated on the news that riders said, Uber is cheaper so they are willing to take the risk for illnesses that are not life threatening.  I thought emergency rooms were for life-threatening illnesses!

Back to my story about Uber Dating! I didn’t literally get a “real” date through Uber.  But for two hours on a recent Friday night while driving for Uber, I pushed aside all my financial concerns as I sat in an Improv Comedy Show downtown thanks to one of my Uber riders.  I picked up this couple and her brother who were going to Theatre 99.  As I was sharing my conversations about who I am and why I do Uber, I also talked about some of the blessings that I have received as a driver.  During our conversation I mentioned that I had always wanted to go to Theatre 99, but for one reason or another had never gotten around to doing that.  Low and behold, the brother who was sitting in the front with me turned and said, “I have an extra ticket for tonight if you want to park your car and go.  I’ll give it to you for free and you don’t even have to sit with us if you don’t want to.”  So, for once in my life I decided to do something impulsive and stop the world so I could get off.  The gentleman gave me his phone number and told me to call him after I find a park and he would meet me at the door.  In less than ten minutes I was parked and seated inside the theatre with three people who did not know me from Adam.  I had the most fun that I have had in a long time.  We all talked and laughed as though we had planned to be together.  Because of that gentleman’s generosity I will start to enjoy life more and will definitely go back to that theatre: I plan to schedule a date with myself for my birthday next month.  Bottom line, it pays to be authentically yourself!

Burning Bridges You Haven’t Crossed

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Don’t burn bridges that you haven’t crossed. We get so caught up in deciding who means what to us, that we sometimes miss an opportunity to receive from those we don’t know is watching. We want to rub elbows with people in the higher echelons thinking they have more to offer us, when what you need may be in the hands of the small guy standing right next to you.  Everyone passes judgment whether they want to admit it or not.  How many times have you said to yourself, or someone else, “that person probably won’t even consider me as an option to do business with,”  or “what do I have to offer them?”  We never know where our next big idea will come from.  The person you think is too big or too small to consider your product or service may be the one who challenges your growth.  We network with a purpose, which is not always to build relationships.  We size people up based on who their friends are.  If someone does the same thing as we do, then we hesitate to spend time with them.  There is enough space, time and money on this planet for all of us.  No one can do YOU like you do YOU!

Who’s Pushing Your Swing?

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Photo Credit: @Yoori_koo

Who’s pushing your swing?  There are swings that are so low to the ground that you can push yourself with your feet, or you can have someone else push you.  Then there are the ones that are much higher off the ground, and you need a push from someone else.  We are very comfortable when people we know are pushing our swing.  It’s a different story when a stranger comes up and offer to push.  We tend to be a little hesitant, and that’s understandable.  It always seems like more fun to have someone else push, so that you don’t have to do the legwork.  Some things are only learned by doing them yourself.  Remember, there are some people who will push you so high that they hope you fall out.  Then there are the ones who will push you ever so gently because they want you to enjoy the ride.  I have friends like that who know that I am capable of going higher once I get pass my fears.  Others show up just as your swing starts to slow down.  Some are there to give you a small nudge, and some show up to discourage you and make you believe that the swing is broken.  Everyone on the playground is not playing fair.  Be careful who you let push your swing!

Defrag and Refresh

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Defrag and refresh!  The average person nowadays own a computer either for work, fun, or for their kids educational process. If you don’t own one it’s because you don’t care or you are too old for it to make a difference in your lifestyle.  This message is for everyone whether you have a real computer or not, because we all have a mind, which serves as our computer that is constantly receiving information from all kinds of sources.  This includes daily messages from God along with all the other stuff that is funneled into our brains.  Just like a laptop or desk computer, our minds can become overloaded with files that are hindering the speed at which information can be processed.  We need to defrag and refresh our computers from time to time to get rid of old files that are no longer needed.  It is important that we take stock of what’s going into our minds and what we are putting out into the world.  As technology continues to advance, there are so many people who are using technology outside its intended purpose.  On any given day you can read about someone who has been scammed or computer hacked.

As you think about who you are and how you spend your days, make sure that you are adding good to the world. It is so easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing and begin to think that it’s okay because they got away with it.  We’ve gotten to the point where we hear about something so much it starts to becomes the norm.  Let’s not allow that to happen with our expression of faith and belief in a higher being, who directs and orders our footsteps each and every day.  Let’s continue to give credit where credit is due no matter what the world believes about religion and spirituality.  In the final analysis you are the one who will suffer or benefit from what you believe.  Defragging and refreshing is an ongoing process and it may mean getting rid of some things/people that no longer serve a purpose.

Don’t Park in Your Place of Pain

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Why is it that the motto for news is, “If it bleeds, then it leads?” Have you ever wondered why there are so many sad stories in the news?  Are we conditioned to focus only on what gets the adrenaline flowing?  Unfortunately, we all created this desire for drama and now we wish we could turn it off.  I’m guilty as well.  It seems that a painful story sticks with you longer than a story about what’s good in the world.

As human beings we also tend to remember our own painful stories and we continue to share them every chance we get. I challenge you today, “Don’t park at your place of pain!”  Get out of that parking space.  Allow someone else to use it.  Take the handicap sticker out of your window.  Step outside the blue lines!  You have to reach for your blessings.  Neutral won’t move your car forward.  You gotta put your car in drive.

Mind What You Think

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Mind what you think!  All of us have probably heard the saying, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” and to go even further, we’ve also heard, “As a man thinketh, so is he.” What does those two statements mean to the average person?  To some it means absolutely nothing.  When you look at the current state of affairs we know that so many minds are wasted.  We also know that there are numerous people who never speak life to their situation.  Doom and gloom is the word of the day.  Their surroundings enforce it.  Their home environment confirms it, and their lifestyle adds the icing to the cake.  Why do some people hear these statements and grasp them right away, and others turn a blind eye to what’s right in front of them?  How is it that two people can be from the same side of the track, yet one make it out and another gets trapped in the madness?  Why?  I don’t have concrete answers, but I would suffice it to say from my own experience that it’s mind over matter.  We have to not only use our minds for good, but we also have to mind what we think.  A thought is energy that starts the process of reality.  Therefore it is extremely important that we take our own thoughts captive.  We often ask God to do that, but it’s also up to us to capture our thoughts as well.  Learn how to reign your thoughts in when you feel them taking an avenue that is not becoming to you and your character.  Listen to that little voice inside of you that knows right from wrong.  No one should have to call you on the carpet for doing something foolish.  You already know!