Sunday Morning Thoughts on What Are You Leaving 7/14/13

Another good week and I know for certain that I'm beyond blessed for many different reasons. The people that I have surrounded myself with continue to validate more and more what my purpose in life seems to be. I am truly humbled by what I appear to be called in the direction of. Life gives us all confirmation and reminders every minute of every day, but it takes the right mindset to see it at times. Not sending out the PQOD for two days was something I didn't think anyone would really notice, but boy was I wrong. I must say that yesterday afternoon I received an email from a young man named SJ and these were his words: "Nick, Lemme get some quotes man.. They still keep me on my feet man..." That message reminded me that I can't slack because I've fostered something over the last several years that has become a part of a lot of people's lives. I guess I forget that even this small thing does make a difference more than I realize. I guess timing is everything considering that there have been a few thoughts on my brain the last couple of days, and my interaction yesterday cemented that I was on the right path with my thinking. Not sure how I arrived here this week, but I started to wonder about what I might be leaving with people after every interaction. Or even what people were leaving me? I know a lot of us think about the impressions that we make on people and the impressions they make on us, but what about what we leave with people or what they leave with us. May take a little bit of thought to transition to this as we have been conditioned for so long to deal with impressions. As we mature we begin to think in terms of value for everything that we do, so it only makes sense to think of the value of every interaction. Are you following where I am headed it. In every aspect of our lives beyond an impression, we are leaving something behind with every action. Are you leaving something good/bad? Are you leaving something of value? Maybe even when we leave something behind still puts us in growth mode because we have learned to get by without something. Who knows, not leaving something behind is something that could be hindering us from getting to the next level. Is there something that you aren't quite ready to leave? Think about your career? Relationships? Your life period? I know that as I thought about these things how much clarity I received about what I have been prepared to leave in this life. I do know that most of the time I leave people with the thought of there is a reason why our paths crossed. A lot of times the reasons are confirmed at a later date, but nonetheless there is value seen in the interactions. Life is too short and I am thankful that I have learned to take full advantage of everything here. I strive to live so that there is mutual benefit for all of my relationships. While we all have different things to give/receive in this life, I trust that over time we are leaving the necessary things with the right people. So again, I ask what are you leaving with the world? What have you left As you prepare to start a new week and embrace new opportunities, I can only ask as always that you live life and be phenomenal. “Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house... let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness.” Mother Teresa “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.” James Michener “You never really leave a place or person you love, part of them you take with you ,leaving a part of yourself behind.” “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.” Marian Wright Edelman “Traveling is not just seeing the new; it is also leaving behind. Not just opening doors; also closing them behind you, never to return. But the place you have left forever is always there for you to see whenever you shut your eyes.” Jan Myrdal “False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine but leaving us when we cross into the shade.” Christian Nevell Bovee “The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of growth, which means leaving things inside us.” G.K. Chesterton “Every person has the power to make others happy. Some do it simply by entering a room -- others by leaving the room. Some individuals leave trails of gloom; others, trails of joy. Some leave trails of hate and bitterness; others, trails of love and harmony. Some leave trails of cynicism and pessimism; others trails of faith and optimism. Some leave trails of criticism and resignation; others trails of gratitude and hope. What kind of trails do you leave?” William Arthur Ward

Hump Day Thoughts on What Have You Prepared For 7/10/13

Another weekend has come and gone and we are now on the top side of the 2nd half of the year. Now is the time to get things in gear if you aren't already geared to make your 2013 count. I love the fact that I have surrounded myself with people whose conversations always make me think and leave me with a feeling that it was time well spent. Over the weekend, I spoke with several individuals that reminded me of every moment preparing us for our next moment. It's funny how we can look back in time and now see the things that we were being prepared to do. I never would have thought when I was introduced to the Positive Quote of the Day in 2006, that my big brother VAT was preparing me to create a platform to inspire and touch peoples lives. It's funny that as I talked to Brother Thompson, he thanked me for sending out the daily inspiration as he has been sharing with others along the way. Needless to say, he wasn't surprised that one of my brothers, mentors, and closest friends had inspired me in away that I have taken to a whole new level over the years. There's levels to this thing we call life and opportunities for growth in every moment for us. To grow we have to be prepared for change, but that is something not every one has matured enough to do. I have to ask myself a few questions; What have I been prepared for? What have my past relationships prepared me for? What are my current friendships/relationships preparing me for? Most importantly what have I prepared myself for? Great questions to pose to myself as I begin to see things across the board a little more clearer. I often think about how many people wish to be positioned in a certain place in life, but aren't willing to take the necessary the steps to get there. Ever heard the phrase "luck is when preparation meets opportunity" or "everyone wants to sit at the table, but no one wants to do what it takes to get there." Just for example, we often hear that we are living in the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND age, but how are we preparing the children to not be left behind? Are you yourself doing anything to prepare them? I guess I used that example considering my thoughts on life preparing me to make a difference in the lives of young people through mentoring. Life prepares you for a lot if you are willing to learn, but do you even see what life is preparing you for? Maybe you have been called to do something? Are you ready to answer the call? Or do you even see it? Do you have an idea of what you are preparing yourself for? Maybe the questions posed here made you think or even change your approach to a few things in the future? I know this for certain that you are prepared to live life and be phenomenal. The choice is yours and always has been. “If you want a place in the sun, you had better be prepared to put up with a few blisters” Abigail Van Buren “People only see what they are prepared to see.” Ralph Waldo Emerson “Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “The door of opportunity is wide open if you are prepared.” “To be prepared is half the victory.” Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra “If you are prepared, you will be confident, and will do the job.” Tom Landry “A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi “I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward.” David Livingstone “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” Whitney M. Young, Jr

Saturday Evening Thoughts on Feeling Special 6/29/13

The first half of the year is just about complete and I can honestly say that 2013 has been one for the books. The last couple of days, I figured I was going to melt with temperatures peaking in excess of 116 degrees. I can't lie and say this wasn't another great week because it was. When I tell you what made it so great, you are probably going to be like wow I can see how that makes you feel that way. Believe it or not there are just a few things that really inspire me to live the life I live and my relationships with the special people in my life is probably the most important. The highlight of my week was talking to one of my nieces Thursday on her 9th birthday. Its actually funny that with all the stuff I have going on that when I woke up, my most important task on June 27 was making sure I set aside some time to visit with this amazing 9 year old. As I thought about it, with the exception of one year that I was out of the country, I have always shared some special time with her even if just over the phone on her birthday. While I am highlighting how excited I was to visit with her, I began to realize how often I take time out for those that I care about to recognize these special occasions. Define what special means to you. What does it mean to feel special? Do you ever feel special? Do you ever make others feel special? As I thought about those questions I began to think about people that I have encountered over the years and how they have been placed in my life. For me it basically broke down like this. 1) People who know me 2) People I know 3) People I associate with 4) Acquaintances 5) People I just be emailing, texting, Facebooking, or tweeting 6) Friends 7) Family Amazingly enough, over the years I have learned that a lot of the people I consider family don't even share the same blood with me, but they have proved to hold a special place in my heart. There's just something about the way people make you feel when you are around them that makes everything about the relationship seem special. Maybe there's a word or phrase here that inspires you to live tomorrow differently than you did today. I challenge you to create special moments with every opportunity that you have cause you just never know if the opportunity may come around again. Don't ever forget that you are special yourself. Live life and be phenomenal in all that you do. Hopefully you realize if you are reading this right now, that you are special to me for one reason or another. PositiveMovementsForward always! “To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.” Jim Valvano “Distance never separates two hearts that really care, for our memories span the miles and in seconds we are there. But whenever I start feeling sad cuz I miss you I remind myself how lucky I am to have someone so special to miss.” “Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human” Tim Hansel “No matter what age you are, or what your circumstances might be, you are special, and you still have something unique to offer. Your life, because of who you are, has meaning.” Barbara De Angelis “The friends who grew up with you deserve a special respect- the ones who stuck by you shoulder to shoulder, in a time when nothing was certain, all life lay ahead, and every road led home.” “Will you ever? I don’t think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think you could ever know just how truly special you are that even on the darkest nights you are my brightest star.” Erica Jong “Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things.” Og Mandino