Category: Inspirations

No matter how hard we try there is no way to solve the world’s problems.  But I do recall reading somewhere in my bible, that God said we are His hands and His heart.  It is so easy to look around and see who is going to meet the need when it presents itself to us.  How many times have you passed up an opportunity to be the answer to someone’s prayer?  How many times have you had a conversation and said, “It’s a shame that he/she is going through such a hard time?”  Did it ever cross your mind that god may have put that person in your path so you could be the vehicle of help?  This week God has been teaching me about His provision and how much I really need.  We all do spring cleaning and give our stuff to Goodwill.  But I’m not talking about cleaning out your closet.  I’m talking about sharing with others from your abundance, whether that means giving your old laptop to a friend because you got a new one, or giving from your overflow of finances.  I have realized that the more I give the more I receive.  Please know that you can never outgive God.  I dare you to try it!

There are so many days when life throws you a curve ball and all you can do is say, “Lord have mercy!”  Many of the things that we go through in life are not of our own making.  It is a result of the universe making all things work for the good of those who love Him.

When we think about “Heart Month,” we not only think about the heart as an organ subject to a heart attack, but we also think of the heart as the center of our actions.  Most of our responses to various situations come from the heart.  When someone “breaks” your heart, you get a different reaction than when someone pulls at your “heartstring.”  I’m not just talking about relationships.  It can break your heart to see someone fail at life when you know their potential.  On the other hand it can pull at your heartstring when you see your child or friend struggling to make ends meet.  Even though you may be barely getting by yourself, a part of you still wants to help out.

We’re talking about the HEART!  The heart is not only an instrument of love, but it’s also a place of right decision making.  We have all heard the saying, “just follow your heart.”  Often times we want to say and do whatever comes to mind, but being a child of God, you have to make decisions based on what Jesus would do.  In the past few months, I have had situations where I did not want to follow the heart of God.  It would have given me so much satisfaction many times to just scream and holler all the thoughts that were going through my mind.  But I thank God, that I have a heart after Him.  Sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps us sane.  A heart of God!   Those are the times when you know that if it wasn’t for God, the you that you know, would have handled it differently.

Then there are times when someone “steals” your heart.  Like my three-year-old grandson.  Now I already have a twenty-three-year-old granddaughter, but when she was born it was nothing like having my grandson.  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that there are so many girls in the family, and now we have a boy.  Plus, boys are so different with their interactions and curiosity.  My grandson has been so amazing in the way that he retains knowledge, every since he was able to turn his head.  We immediately noticed his keen observation of his surroundings at such a young age.  I just started calling him a genius, because I wanted to speak that into his life.  Now at age three he is smart as a whip.  So, someone can also “steal” your heart as well.

At the end of the day, the only heart that matters is the one you’ve given to God.

 

“There is no Path Unless You Take a Step”

How many of us spend time asking God to order our footsteps and direct our pathway?  Yeah!  We pray during our meditation and we throw it out there when we talk to others, but do we really practice what we preach?  Do we allow God to order our footsteps or do we just step in mess everywhere we go?  There are days when you see mess a mile away and you still walk right into it.  You hear conversations that you know will lead to nothing positive, yet you still take part in them.  Take a step back sometimes and be quiet!

Now let’s talk about stepping into your greatness!  You are the only who knows when you are in your element.  Whether it’s on the job or working on your dream career on the side.  You know when you hit that stride and you are operating in the will of God.

What about the times when we just stand still because we don’t know which way to go?  We want the path to be clear before us when we take that step.  We want all the answers.  We want to ensure that we will not fail.  Good luck!  As long as you feel that way then you will be still standing there, wondering what your life would have been like had you stepped out on faith.

I told a friend the other day, “I am so excited about my life at this moment, because the only thing that I have to balance is my excitement.”  I am putting on my first “Geri Speak” Seminar in Charleston, SC, and there are no words to explain my joy!  Although I have done this for many years in Virginia, it feels good to finally come full circle.  I give God all the praise, because I waited for His timing, and did not step out on my own.  There is no path unless you take a step!

I am not the kind of person who complains a lot or complains for no reason.  However, if I am a regular customer at your business and something is not right I will let you know. Today I stopped at two grocery stores to grab three items.  Both stores are upscale grocery markets that I visit every two weeks for the same items.  I am a creature of habit!  One store sells my eight-piece baked chicken, and the other store sells my yogurt.  At my first stop to get my chicken, all the packages were over-cooked.  After searching, I picked the least worst of them.  While headed to the register I decided to let the manager know and ask for a reduced price.  The manager ended up giving me the chicken free, as well as the can of milk that I was going to purchase.

The bible says, “You have not because you ask not.”  Since I believe the bible, I ask for what I want in life.  But back to the story!  My next stop was to pick up my yogurt.  This is also where I get my expensive Tiramisu, a popular coffee-flavored Italian dessert, when I have something to celebrate.  Before I left home I had already told myself that I cannot have Tiramisu today because of my budget.  Well, guess what!  Now that I just saved $6.50 at the other grocery store, I can afford my favorite dessert.  Ask not, get not!

 

 

“Dreams Have No Color”

“I took part in a women’s seminar on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, where I was the only Black woman in the room.  The seminar opened with Dr. Martin Luther King’s full “I Have a Dream” speech, followed by a five minute “Dream – Motivational Video” by Will Smith.  I firmly believe that it was no coincidence that a group of white women, including the organizer, would be watching a Dr. King Speech, and a Will Smith video to commemorate the King Holiday.

We talked about how to realize your dreams in spite of the daily distractions of life.  Time is something that you never get back, so we have to be mindful of how and who we give our time to.  Networking and social media are a major part of today’s business dealings, but we need to make sure that we are sharing ideas and space with like-minded people.

We played musical tables (two people take turns sharing their elevator speech and their dream with each other), then critique each other and write it down.  You get to keep your paper throughout the rotation.  Although the conversation was mainly about our dreams and goals, we also talked about our personal lives.  I was shocked when one lady said she was told that her only career choices were nurse, secretary, or teacher.  That’s the same thing I was told.  For some reason I always thought it was a black thing.  Had no idea that white women were steered down the same career path as black women.

At the end of the seminar, you came with a dream, which you shared with everyone in the room.  After positive feedback and critiquing, including how the other person can help you succeed, you left with a plan, which was the intention of the organizer.  Never seen anything like it!  I have a newfound energy and zest for life and the vision that I have laid out for myself.  In addition, I have some new colleagues who are ready and willing to help me succeed on my journey, and I likewise.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been a while since I expressed my thoughts through my blog.  I could make excuses, but I won’t.  As a writer I never force myself to write, however, on the other hand, as a writer we all know when it’s time to write.  There is a stirring of the soul that cannot be ignored.  Well today it hit me.  Although it’s my birthday and I would like to get started on my planned celebration for the evening, my spirit would not let me skip this opportunity.  There were so many things this week that made me want to write, but I could never pin it down to a topic.  So I waited!  Low and behold, as I watched The Steve Harvey show this evening, I got my topic.  “Wait Three Days!”

As Steve Harvey celebrated his birthday today on his show, there were many surprises, including a philanthropist, Alan C. Fox, author of, People Tools for Business: 50 Strategies for Building Success, Creating Wealth, and Finding Happiness.  Mr. Fox highlighted three major tools for business, but the one that stuck with me was, “wait three days.”  He talked about things that make you mad, angry or upset.  It could be an e-mail, a tweet, or a conversation.  Whatever it is, you need to wait three days before reacting to it.  I have found that to be very true.  Most things that we think are detrimental to our well-being are usually of no significance after three days.  Sometimes we even forget what it was that had us all riled up.  I have had situations where changes were made to my day against my will, but it turned out that I avoided another situation because of the change.  God knows what is coming and He will always prepare the way for His children so they will not feel the brunt of the crisis.  So now, when things don’t go my way, I wait.  It may not always be three days, but I wait.  I’m not saying that I avoid all feelings about certain situations, I’m just saying that I try never to respond to things based on my initial feelings.  And when I give it some time, the situation usually works out in my favor without me saying a word.

A few weeks ago I had an interesting encounter with a young waitress.  Won’t name the restaurant, because that’s irrelevant.  I hesitated about writing this blog, but for some reason the encounter keeps sticking out in my mind.  So here we go!

As I get closer to old age, I am realizing that what used to be important me is no longer the same as when I was in my twenties or thirties.  I recall when I would go off on a waiter/waitress if the service was poor.  But nowadays it is more about a lesson to be taught rather than getting my way.  One day I decided that I had spent the majority of my allowed energy on getting things done in the house/office, and I did not feel like preparing a meal.  Plus, I had a taste for a nice salad.  So I only knew one place that would fit the bill and would not be disappointing in taste.  As I sat at the restaurant with my books and magazines, the waitress came and welcomed me and took my order.  Since I knew exactly what I wanted she only had to make one trip.  Shortly thereafter, my drink came and later my salad.  As I ate my salad, read my material and observed the people around me, I noticed that she never came back to my table to see if I was happy with my salad or needed anything else.  However, she spent a lot of time at the table next to me, which had three adults and a baby.  She constantly made sure that they were happy with their order, made small talk and played with the baby, but never looked over at me once, or stopped to ask if I was okay. She only returned to my table to bring my food, and once to ask if I needed anything else.  I watched this scenario play out for more than an hour as I continually got frustrated.  I did eventually ask her to get me more napkins, because the one I had was obviously worn out.  She never noticed!  Her final trip to my table was to bring my check.

I spent two hours in this restaurant.  As I sat there, I decided that I was going to report her to the manager, and also was not going to leave her a tip.  Just before I prepared to leave, I noticed that she was working on the other side of the restaurant in addition to serving my side.  That’s when I had a change of heart.  As she approached my table, I decided to talk to her rather than report her to the manager.  I simply explained my feelings to her.  I shared with her that I had worked in that particular restaurant and know the protocol for service.  I also told her what my intentions were before she came over to me, but let her know that I decided against reporting her.  I indicated that I wanted this to be a learning process for her rather than a reprimand.  I also indicated that I did not plan to give a tip, but also had a change of heart about that.  When it was all said and done, she apologized and promised to do better and asked me to please come again and ask for her so she could prove that the lesson was learned.  We hugged and I was on my way.  This encounter has meant so much to me and I hope that it meant as much to her.  I had no idea how I had grown.  Sometimes it only takes one person to make a difference!

No matter how nice we are, all of us have been accused of some type of wrong doing.  It might be work related, a family matter, or an issue with a friend.  The majority of the time the confusion comes because both people see the situation from a different perspective.  Either you said or did something that the other person felt should not have been said or done or you overhead a conversation that affects how you now look at another person.  Whatever the case may be, there is no need to take things out of context.  Once you learn to accept what people are feeling without taking on what they are thinking, it will be easier to operate in your own truth.  What I mean by that is you don’t always have to agree with the way somebody else explains the situation to you.  Perhaps what you did made them look bad.  As long as your intention was not to make them look bad, then it’s okay to accept what they are feeling without taking on their way of thinking.  A lot of times we carry the hurt of someone else’s perception of us for way too long.  We stop calling and visiting.  Before long you realize that weeks and months have passed since you spoke to each other.  I have learned that most of the time when I hold on to what someone has said to me, they have moved on and forgotten about it.  It’s been said that, if you know how little people think of you, then you wouldn’t care what they think of you.  Also, most of what we fear in life never really happens.  We spend way too much time worrying about what will happen instead of enjoying what is happening.  Be yourself and allow others to do the same.

When it comes to making mistakes, we have all been there, done that and got the T-shirt!  I challenge you, as we come to the close of another year and look forward with anticipation to 2015, to look at your mistakes with new eyes.  It’s only a mistake if you make it twice.  The first time is a lesson.  Once you get this message you will stop beating yourself up for things that show up in your life to grow you.  Everything you go through is to help get you to where you’re going to.  The sooner you learn the lesson the sooner you can move on to the good stuff.  I’m reaping the benefits of all my mistakes, and the good stuff is here!  Some of the lessons took a while to learn, but I got it now.  I am ready to sit down at the table.  Yes!  What I mean by this is, a lot of times we feel that we have nothing to bring to the table.  We feel that our experiences are not legitimate enough to join in the conversation.  Often times we think we need more education, more intellect, more something!  Not so much.  You never know who is looking for what you have to offer.  So speak up and join the roundtable!

E-mail: gerispeak@yahoo.com

Website: www.gerispeak.com

 

 

 

(November)

 

Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. We know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  As a breast cancer survivor, that is the busiest speaking time of the year for me.  Well this year I had five speaking engagements in October, three of which included a vendor table with my books, plus a “Book Launch” in September.  You talking about a tired sista!  I was so worn out that I decided November will be my reflect and relax month.  I’m not trying to make anything happen.  If somebody calls me and ask me to speak, then I will jump for joy.  Otherwise, I will be relaxing.

When I made the decision to take some time just for me, I realized that part of my tiredness came from my expectations of myself and others. It was not so much the speaking and writing as it was me stepping outside of my zone to create the perfect setting.  Rather than focus on my gift, I spent an enormous amount of time trying to make sure that every one knew I was speaking and was planning on coming to see me.  What I failed to remember is, my speaking is not a show.  By the time I got ready for the last engagement, I realized that people have lives outside of what I am doing.  I set myself up for disappointments and created my own stress, to the point where friends were calling me on the day of the event to find out the time and location.  Obviously my event was not important enough for them to plan ahead and know the details of when and where.  A valuable lesson learned again. Our expectations arise from our inability to experience things as they are. My speaking engagements were a huge success although some of my friends were not there.  So, as I take November to reflect and relax, I will move forward knowing that the people who need to be in the room will be there.  Everybody can’t go where you are going, so stop trying to take them with you.