Category: Blog

(Excerpt from the book – Pg. 47)

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you!  There are many people and things that influence our direction in life.  However, we are ultimately responsible for the choices we make.  Your current situation or circumstances do not have to predict your future.  Do not let others decide your identity for you.  You must decide who you are and who you want to be in life.  If you do not succeed, then you have no one to blame but yourself.  Sometimes we allow others to pressure us into acting a certain way in order to be accepted in the group.  What does it mean to be successful?  There are many definitions, but Webster defines success as, “outcome, result, the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence or high ranking.”  You need to decide what success looks like for you.  Do not let commercials, your peers, society, or anything else make that decision for you.  Success should be more than material things.

The highway of life may get rough sometimes, but when you know where you are going it makes the ride a little less stressful.  When you have a destination in mind, you anticipate the joy and excitement of arriving.  You are in control of what the outcome of your trip will be.  Life is a journey and you should enjoy the ride.  Do not wait until you reach mid-life to decide your destiny.  It is twice as hard to get there and it’s impossible to catch up.  Live each day to the fullest, keeping in mind your ultimate goal and purpose.  If you fall down do not stay down.  As long as you can look up you can get up!  Do not be afraid to go against the grain sometimes.  Do something unexpected, something you wouldn’t normally do or something you have dreamed of doing.  Take some risks!  Don’t worry about what people will think or say.  Others judge you on what they have seen you do.  You need to operate on the basis of your vision for yourself and the things that allow you to grow and gives you a sense of really being alive, and a sense of satisfaction.  The key to the game is positive thinking.  If things don’t work out chock it up to experience and move on to life’s next adventure!

Photo by Karla Hernandez on Unsplash

Your Problem Can Become Provision!  So many times in life we only see challenges as an inconvenience to where we are trying to get.  We may be blinded by the end result and fail to take our eyes off the prize long enough to look around inside our peripheral vision, where therein lies the answer to another prayer.  Maybe we find ourselves so fixed on fixing what we perceive as a problem that we overlook the solution that the problem brings with it.  Remember, there is always a problem and the problem creates an opportunity to solve it.  I’m not just talking about the saying, “God won’t put no more on you than you can bare.”  We all sing that tune from time to time!  I’m talking about expecting an answer in the midst of your crisis.  Knowing that all things work for the good of those who serve the Lord and are called according to His purpose.  That’s Romans 8:28 and a scripture that I stand on whenever I’m perplexed about what God is doing or trying to show me in any given situation.  I also remind myself to “ONLY BELIEVE!”  As long as I believe then I am one step closer to seeing my goals, visions, and dreams materialize whether it’s through a crisis in my own life or the life of another who is dear to me.  I am always aware that no matter what I go through He will get the glory on the other side of my mess.  God strengthens us so that we may be strength to others.  So, with that said, keep the faith knowing that Your Problem Can Become Provision!

With all that is going wrong in the world there are days when I feel guilty because of my happiness.  Maybe it’s just me!  I’m not sure.  When I scroll and see so much devastation, death, and pain in the lives of others, I’m hesitant to post my blessings on social media.  Why do we downplay our joy when we know that God said in His word, “The poor you will always have with you?” Should we all hide our joy and happiness so the less fortunate will feel more comfortable with their plight in life?  Does God want us to stop praising Him so that our light does not overshadow the fog and pollution that so easily take our breath away?  I would think not!  We serve a God who knows all about us and the world at large.  He made this world and gave all of us choices, although everyone’s plight is not based on something of their choosing.  I firmly believe that my little light helps the world believe in something bigger than themselves.  I know that for me, I’m always encouraged when someone shares their blessing either through social media or in person.  No matter how blessed I am or ever become, I will never take anything for granted.  I am constantly reminded that, there but for the grace of God go I, especially as a caregiver.  It’s OK to be happy.  This world needs your joy, your light, and your encouragement however you choose to sit at the table of life!

 

You hear people say, “I don’t want to talk about my past.”  Excuse me!  Your past made you who you are today.  If I didn’t have a past, then I wouldn’t be a Speaker, Author and Writer.  All my speaking engagements and my books hold pieces of my past.  So why would I ignore my past.

When you go down memory lane and see the old buildings and the old dreams that you used to have, isn’t it amazing to look back to where you came from?  My past is the thing that helped me create my present.  Without dreams and goals that required me to think beyond my current situation, I would still be living where I used to live.  I’d be in that small one stop-light town, with no college degree, and several children out of wedlock.  I wouldn’t be able to encourage others to reach their highest potential, by moving beyond their circumstances and seeing themselves inside their dreams.  My past made me a strong woman and a survivor of many challenging situations.  As a pregnant teenager at age sixteen, my past created a beautiful young lady who graces this world with dignity and style.  That experience taught me how to take care of someone other than myself, while reaching for higher heights to make sure that she never felt the lack that I did as a child.  Although there is no training for raising children, the first gave me experience for the second child.  At age thirty-two I was better equipped emotionally, physically, and financially to handle my business.  That’s because my past had taught me well.  As you consider where you are headed in life and career, be sure to look back at what worked and what did not work in the past.  Those are good barometers to help determine your next course of action.  If it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it, however if there is room for improvement, then by all means improve.  Your past is a good thing if you use it to propel you forward.  Don’t pass up the past!

Have you ever said or did something and immediately you knew it wasn’t the right thing to say or do?  I’m guilty as charged!  A few days ago I asked someone to provide a service for me and give me their business hours.  When I received their response it was not a time that was convenient for me to get what I wanted from them.  So I responded by basically saying that, and letting them know what day/times would work better for me.

Let’s get something straight right here and right now!  When a person or business offer a service or product that you are interested in purchasing, trust and believe they have set their business hours and use of their time based on experience and what works best for THEIR business.  It is NOT their responsibility to adjust their schedules to meet every individual customer’s needs.  The question that we need to ask ourselves is, “How bad do you want it?”  The bottom line is if you want it bad enough not only will you meet their established hours of operation, but you will also pay their price.  When I caught myself trying to push my comfort and availability onto a recent business owner, I immediately fessed up and sent them a message of apology and agreed to meet them according to their schedule.  Remember, it’s not all about YOU!  It’s a business not a pop-up shop.

You don’t have to clean your plate!  Some of you probably remember back in the day when our parents used to tell us to ‘eat everything on your plate.’  Most of the time that request came from a position of lack, because they couldn’t afford to throw food away or that particular meal had to last you awhile.

The same scenario can be used for our lives in general.  This world has presented us with so many options.  Things show up daily that we ask for and also that we don’t ask for.  Our plate gets full so quickly.  Please know that you can take things off your plate or you can move things around.  Many of the things that we deal with has nothing to do with where we are headed.  We have taken on the burdens and responsibilities of others far too long.  You know how you go to a buffet or a family gathering and they just pile stuff on your plate without asking if you want it or even if you like it.  They try to make sure that everybody gets a little taste of everything.  Suppose you don’t like it?  What do you do?  Do you eat it anyway?  No!  Well why do we have such a hard time when it comes to removing people, things, or situations that don’t appeal to our appetite?  This is your life and your feast!  You have the right to choose the type of energy that takes up space in your world.  Stop eating everything that is put before you.  Stop allowing others to pile up your plate with what they like.  You don’t have to clean your plate.  Matter of fact, sometimes it’s better to simply throw the whole thing in the trash.  Have you ever done that with a to-go plate that your friend insisted that you take with you?

 

 

It is a shame when you are so fixed on what’s in front of you that you lose sight of what’s possible.  In life there are many crooks and turns, however we are putting a ceiling on our potential by our failure to see around the corner.  God always leads us to where we need to be and not where we want to be. When you began to see your stops along the way as a training ground rather than a punishment, you will start to realize that all things work for your good. There is no need to feel like what happens in life is there to take you out. As a child who was raised with no electricity and no plumbing until I was in grade school, I know how to survive when the lights are out or the pipes are frozen. This is not a crisis to me but an adjustment instead.

So many times we get comfortable with a situation to the point where we fear moving forward. Familiarity is easier than taking a risk. Why consider going around the corner when we know what life is like in this present space? What if I go and fail? What if I don’t like it once I get there? What if they talk about me? That could happen. You may fail, and you may not like it once you get there, and they will talk about you. But I can guarantee you this much, if you stay where you are you will continue to be where you are. You cannot take what you know into the future unless you are willing to go there. No time or effort is wasted as long as you learn something. It may not be clear what the lesson/meaning is at first but in due time, you will be amazed when you see stuff start to fall into place. I cannot count the times when I have said to myself, “Wow, I’m so glad I learned or went through this or that!” So go ahead. Make that move. Don’t just peep around corner, go round it!   You never know what might be on the other side.

Staying Stress Free During Covid!  (1) Focus on your results, not someone else’s.  It is so easy to look around at others and feel like you are falling behind.  That is not the case at all.  We are designed to flourish at our own time based on the experiences, circumstances, and situations that occur in our life.   (2) Be OK with imperfection.  If you are seeking perfection in yourself or others then you are going to miss out on a lot of things.  (3) Focus on your journey – Be present. Try not to get so lost in preparing for tomorrow that you lose sight of today.  Remember the journey is where it happens, not necessarily the destination.  (4) Learn when things are enough. We cannot be all things to everybody.  There are times when we literally have to throw in the towel.  This also goes for acquiring things & stuff.  Know when you have enough, because many times less is more.  (5) Count your blessings. No matter how small or insignificant you might think something is, there is someone else out there who would gladly trade places with you.  (6)  Be in a conscious state of awareness.  When we operate in awareness we are less likely to say or do something that offends others.  It’s easy to act like the world operates around us.