Monday, February 13, 2012

Monday Evening Thoughts on The Hunger that Fuels your Desires 02/13/12

The last two days have been extremely relaxing and they couldn't have come at a better time. Lately, I have developed even more of an appreciation for seeing another day as I am reminded often that tomorrow is not promised. Beyond tired as my mind and body have been virtually drained recently, I still can’t stop myself from thinking. The thoughts in my head continue to run all over the place these days, but what else is new. Even though my mind never rests, I don’t think I would know how to live any other way.

Unless you have been disconnected from the world, you know that we lost an amazing singer with the passing of Whitney Houston over the weekend. I send my thoughts and prayers to her family as I know how difficult it is to lose a loved one. Also, running rampant in the news on sports sites as well as business journals is the emergence of newly found NBA star Jeremy Lin.

I am sure that you are wondering how I will connect the two items I mentioned and expound on my thoughts. All I can say is stay tuned as I think the dots will connect quite nicely. While the passing of Whitney Houston is tragic, we must not lose sight of the impact that she had on the music industry and the country as a whole. Her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in the Super Bowl almost 20 years ago, still reigns as one of the greatest National Anthem performances ever. In that moment, young singers everywhere desired to have a moment like this someday. Although merely having the desire for the moment is not enough to get you there.

In the case of Jeremy Lin, like most young men who had more than stellar high school basketball careers, there was the desire to play at the next level. Coming from Silicone Valley, California there weren't a lot of success stories that lead to the NBA, but his is different. It is a tale of his desire to make it and the hunger that kept him going until the world began to notice who he was.

A couple of days ago I found myself contemplating, as I sat looking at the words desire and hunger. For years I often used the words interchangeably, thinking that they meant the same thing. So I decided to take a deeper look at the meanings to see how they were related. It is ironic that I began thinking about the accomplishments of Whitney Houston and Jeremy Lin as I began to gather my thoughts.

DESIRE

1: conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment
2 a: longing, craving

HUNGER

1 a: a craving or urgent need for food or a specific nutrient b: an uneasy sensation occasioned by the lack of food c: a weakened condition brought about by prolonged lack of food
2: a strong desire : craving

If you take a few moments and reflect on the definitions of both words I am pretty sure you are asking yourself similar questions as I am right now. What is it that you really desire in life right now? What are you really hungry for? What is it that fuels your desire? Do you have enough hunger to satisfy your desires? Have you lost the hunger in the past? Now? Why do you think that is? Failure? Disappointments? Distractions?

If you really step back and take a look at most things in life, desire is at the core of some things we want, but somewhere along the line we lose the hunger to go after it. So basically you can have all the desires in the world, and the absence of hunger you may find it a little harder to attain all the desires of your heart.

I know that for me in particular, I feel as though there is not a desire out of my reach as long as I live the #POSITIVEMOVEMENTSFORWARD lifestyle. Keeping a positive attitude in spite of anything that I have going on helps maintain my hunger for the desires of my heart. As long as I have an opportunity to see the desires of my heart, I know that my hunger will take me there.

As you move forward in the rest of your week, I wish all of you a Happy Valentine's Day. Live life and be amazing in the moment that is now and not later.

“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”

-Napoleon Hill

“Hunger knows no friend but its feeder.”

-Aristophanes

“If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it.”

-Brendan Fracis

“A hungry man is not a free man.”

-Adlai E. Stevenson

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

-Mario Andretti

“Truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is.”

-Nadine Gordimer

“We always long for the forbidden things, and desire what is denied us.”

-Francois Rabelais

“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.”

-Robert Kiyosaki

“Ego has a voracious appetite, the more you feed it, the hungrier it gets.”

-Nathaniel Bronner

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Tuesday Evening Thoughts on "Your Actions, Your Plan" 2/7/12

A week into the month of February and it seems as though 2012 is motoring along. I am sure that this past Super Bowl weekend people enjoyed a lot of food, friends, and good times while watching all the commercials. Believe it or not I missed most of the game and all of the commercials. Thank goodness for Youtube as I was able to catch the funny commercials.

I was more excited about my Godson's 13th birthday this weekend than the Super Bowl. When I woke up on Saturday morning, the first thing that I did was called my Godson Michael to wish him a Happy Birthday. I must say that I am quite proud of this young man. He is growing up fast and is becoming quite the respectful young man. I was very proud of him as he was telling his plans of becoming a Psychiatrist. I was shocked to hear him say that and excited all at the same time because of where his head is at even at 13 years old.

It is no surprise that as I relax on my day off I happen to have a lot of things on my brain. With everyday that I exist in this world, I am still learning more about myself. I can't lie and say I am not enjoying the learning because I see the growth. Between the learning and all the thinking I know there is a reason that these experiences are coming my way. The million dollar question is what are my takeaways from it all.

The more I live and build relationships with people I am figuring out why people are sometimes not successful in different areas of their lives. In my opinion it all boils down to the inability to take action. Think about how many people you know that are always talking about doing something, but you never see them do anything. The motto 'don't talk about it be about it' comes to mind. It is actually really kind of ironic that while I was debating about how I would to tackle this topic that has been floating around my head for a couple of days, a facebook conversation provided me the additional depth on the subject I needed.

Earlier in the day I was talking to a young lady who was telling me that she wasn't quite happy with what she was doing for a living and wasn't in her desired location. She continued on to say that she wants to be married, have children, and be someone's backbone. Surprisingly enough, while she wanted all this, she clearly could see that she wasn't ready. Toward the end of the conversation, she was able to reveal that fear was one of the main things keeping her from taking action on a few things. As I listened to her intently, I could see that she had a lot of things that she saw in her future, but needed to put together a plan of action that she would actually carry out in order to get where she desires to be.

I learned awhile ago that even the best laid plan is no good without the appropriate actions. I have a few questions that I have asked myself and maybe they will make you think a little deeper. Are you ready to take action? Or are you waiting to take action? Do you tend to be proactive? Or are you more reactive? Are there some things that you are more proactive about versus others? Why do you think that is?

The questions are designed to make you take a deeper look inside to help you determine if you are taking the right actions according to your plan. We are all different and some actions that are right for you, may not be right for some.(If that sounds familiar, I was singing the Different Strokes theme song earlier). At the end of the day you have to take the actions according to your plan and not someone else's. We make decisions and we take actions to live with the consequences. Simply stated in life, 'You reap what you sow' so if you aren't sowing you aren't reaping. Think about it like this, a dream will never be a reality without you taking any action.

I wish you the best this week and ask that you continue taking the right actions for your life. Live life and be amazing in everything you do.

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”

-Andrew Jackson

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world.”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Don't wait. The time will never be just right.”

-Napoleon Hill

“Contemplation often makes life miserable. We should act more, think less, and stop watching ourselves live.”

-Chamfort

“Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold -- but so does a hard-boiled egg.”

“I never worry about action, but only about inaction”

-Winston Churchill

“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.”

-Jules Renard

“The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.”

-George Bernard Shaw

MLK Holiday Thoughts on "Our Progress" 1/17/12

Today was quite the relaxing day and it was no secret that I needed it. Outside of stopping by Clippers Barbershop to get a quick edge up, I did absolutely nothing today which was perfectly fine with me. The last several days have been emotionally, mentally, and physically draining for me. There have been quite a few thoughts floating around my head since Sunday, but I am glad I waited awhile to share. On Sunday evening I had finished my thoughts on finding your purpose and believe it or not I was reminded on Monday of my purpose.

For the last couple of years around the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend I have found myself writing something to bring more attention to what we can be doing in the world today. I won't go into much detail but over the last couple of days in my daily interactions with people I was subjected to the lack of education and tremendous amount of ignorance that still exists in the world today. If anyone knows me, you would probably agree that I do respect all opinions as we all have them. What I don't respect is opinions that are not based on any facts or show that you are speaking with a knowledge deficiency. I can blame my mother and my family for instilling in me that knowledge is power.

As I listened to negativity and inappropriate comments I can't say that didn't get a little upset, but I used the opportunity to educate others. It's almost like many of the leaders before me where standing right there with me telling me to be visibly cool and use the platform as an opportunity to educate the world by bringing the light to their darkness. It may be ironic that when sending out my quotes yesterday, I focused on two of them in particular when I began to feel the anger and hurt inside of me based on what I was hearing.

All I know is in that very moment these two quotes from Dr. King never meant more to me.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

As I thought about the quotes I knew that I needed to use any of the negative energy that I was feeling and live out my purpose in the moment. I couldn't remain silent so I began to ask questions to understand the basis of the comments. Clearly, I could see that they didn't know, so what a great opportunity to talk to them about my experiences at the Civil Rights Museums in Birmingham, AL and Memphis, TN as well as the King Center in Atlanta. Funny how eyebrows were raised and ears were open as they were surprised to hear about my background and knowledge of the Civil Rights movement. Again I thank my mother for all those years of making me have a major role in the Black History Month Celebrations the 34 years I lived in the world.

I can't lie and say that I wasn't upset about everything as I stepped back and looked at everything. I can say enough that I love my family and extended for talking to me about the situation and all the emotions that was feeling. I was pretty heated for awhile, but did not allow those outside my circle to see. My purpose here is not fulfilled as I need to share my light in even more places.

As I think about Dr. King's Dream then and now I can only wonder about what he would think about where the world is today. Let's take a moment and think about a few things to see where we are.
What kind of meaning do you think the Dream has today for people? Do we need to revisit the Dream? What kind of progress has the country made since the "I have a Dream" speech was first delivered? Are you committed to progress? Are we moving forward? Or are we moving backward?

Maybe I am little to passionate about some things, but ultimately I want to make a difference. If I ruffle a few feathers I may not mind too much as the needs of many far outweigh the needs of a few. I am not in anyway trying to force an opinion or belief on anyone, I would like to see indivduals even in 2012 embrace differences and know that we could do amazing things together. It really is okay to admit you don't know some things, but discredit what you don't know because you are actually fearful of knowledge.

I know that there is still quite of progress that needs to be made in my life and that is probably just a small reflection of the progress that is still needed in the world. Collectively, I know that if we believe in something as simple as #PositiveMovementsForward we can continue to progress with the messages in Dr. King's I have a Dream speech. It won't happen overnight, but we need to be committed to make a difference somehow some way.

I challenge you to actively be a part of progress so that we don't regress any further.

“Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

-Mark Victor Hansen

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation”

-Oscar Wilde

“Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”

-Shirley Hufsteddler

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

-George Bernard Shaw

“We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.”

-C.S. Lewis

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sunday Evening Thoughts on 'Finding Your Purpose' 1/15/12

As I look at the date, I can confidently say that week 2 of 2012 is in the books. Not sure if it is because I am starting to get older but I swear that time is really starting to pass by pretty face. Only 2 weeks in and I can't wait to see what else in store. This past week couldn't have started better as I was able to watch the University of Alabama's Football team win their 14th National Championship.

I was able to talk to a few people that are important to me as I shared birthday wishes with them. To the Godfather, Gerald, Ms. Allen, and Sister T I know that the anniversary of your birth was amazing. Whether it was a few moments or a lengthy conversation I did have the opportunity to catch up with some folks that I do care about a lot. Funny how whenever I have casual conversations with people that I care about they manage to leave me with something to think about.

As I sat down over the last couple of days trying to organize my thoughts, I figured out that it was purpose which has been stuck in my head. I bet you are wondering what I could be thinking right now. My thoughts are all across the board, but I know that it is all going to make sense in the end. I am challenging myself to create something that shows that I am still growing. It seems like I am fueled by the desire to do better with my purpose in life to make the world better.

I think that it is kind of funny last night that as I was talking to one of my homies that he was telling me about how much he enjoyed a piece I wrote around New Years. He went on to tell me that out of all that he has read from me that it was one of my strongest pieces that he has read. What I am learning over time is that based on where we are in life that my writing may have more meaning to some than others.

The original intent of putting my thoughts on paper was to release anything I was feeling to gain clarity about where I was. When it all started I never would have thought that all the writing would serve a much larger purpose in the long run. While therapeutic for me, I didn't realize that I was also giving others reasons to do a little self reflection themselves. At the end of the day, I have grown to love writing and sharing a message or two.

I guess I shouldn't even think that its ironic that on Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday Weekend that my topic of conversation is 'Finding the Purpose.'

We all have a purpose in life, but have you found it? Have you matured enough to see that all the events that have happened or are happening in your life are designed according to your purpose? Even in terms of your relationships, there are people that are examples for you and others in which you are an example to. Whether you believe it or not, everything has a purpose even if you don't realize it at that moment. As I sit here and type my thoughts I know that there is a reason why I am doing it at this very moment.

I can only suggest that you find purpose for what you do and figure out what makes you happy in all aspects of your life. I think I know that my purpose here is to share all that I have to offer with the world. As you move into this new week, I challenge you to channel your energy into living a purpose driven life if you aren't already. Put your best foot forward in all that you do and remember that #PositiveMovementsForward will get you where you need to be. Live life, be amazing, and embrace your purpose no matter what it may be.

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”

-Og Mandino

“It may be that your whole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others”

“It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honor him for what he is.”

-Hermann Hesse

“Life without a purpose is a languid, drifting thing; every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves, 'This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught!'”

-Thomas Kempis

“A warrior…feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul.”

-David Gemmell

“Man is not born to solve the problems of the universe, but to find out what he has to do... within the limits of his comprehension.”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Some people are born to lift heavy weights, some are born to juggle golden balls.”

-Max Beerbohm

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

-Mitch Albom