Thursday Morning Thoughts on Being at the Intersection of Anticipation, Preparation, and Determination 9/19/13

‎So this weekend was pretty amazing as this is truly one of my favorite times of the year. Cooler temperatures are ahead as well as football is starting to heat up. I can honestly say that both my Crimson Tide and Arizona Cardinals definitely gave me a reason to smile as they both were victorious. If you know anything about me there's nothing that I look forward to more than football season and football food. You should have known that I was going to work food in there one way or another. It's by no surprise that hearing all the hype and commentary before, during, and after the highly anticipated Alabama Vs Texas A&M football game put a few thoughts in my mind that had me in deep thought for awhile. Not really sure if I have connected all the pieces in my life right now that lead me to think about life at the intersection of anticipation, preparation, and determination. What are you anticipating? What are you prepared for? Why are you determined? “Such is the state of life, that none are happy but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have made it, the next wish is to change again. The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw be" Samuel Johnson “For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe." Gail Devers Believe it or not the concepts are probably intertwined in many aspects of our lives if we take a step back and look at things. Was it worth the anticipation? Were you prepared for it? How determined were you to see things through? “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race" Calvin Coolidge “Luck is a crossroad where preparation and opportunity meet” “Our and our behaviour are always in anticipation of a response. It is therefore fear-based." Deepak Chopra Let's be honest, we all have the same amount of time in any given day, but how are you using your time? What is it that separates you from some of the most successful people in the world? Were they more prepared? “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” “If your're not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he'll be ready to take your job."Brooks Robinson “An intense anticipation itself transforms possibility into reality; our desires being often but precursors of the things which we are capable of performing." Samuel Smiles Sometimes in life I have found that we have anticipated things that we may have been ill prepared for, but for one reason or another we remained determined to have those things. Maybe it worked out or maybe it didn't, but you can't say that there wasn't an opportunity to experience something that you could learn from. Do you ever think that maybe we focus so much on what didn't happen that we lose sight of what actually did? What does being at the intersection of anticipation, preparation, and determination mean to now? What have you realized or what are you starting to realize? “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences." Norman Cousins “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." Albert Einstein “Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity." Henry Hartman Stop and take a moment to appreciate this moment for what it actually is, cause no matter how bad you want to see it again you won't. Live life and enjoy every moment. I can't tell you enough to enjoy time you have with your family, friends, and those you care about as life is truly too short. I say this as I ask you to send prayers up for my friend Tammy and her family with the recent passing of her sister.

Saturday Evening Thoughts on the Intersection of Your Wants, Your Needs, and Your Willingness 9/7/13

The week of Labor Day always ends up being one of the longest shortest weeks of the year as we begin the transition from summer to fall. It's yet another great time to put things in perspective as we prepare to end the 3rd quarter of the year and prepare for the last push of 2014. I don't know about you, but I have to ask the question about where has the year gone. Regardless, of where it has gone I can tell you that I am still more than ready to enjoy the balance of 2013. Doesn't really take much these days to get my mind racing in a few directions and maybe I'm about to drop something that really makes you think. Have you ever thought about where you are this very minute? Do you even realize that maybe 20 years ago you made some decisions that ultimately contributed to arriving at this very place? Digest that for a minute and just think about what has transpired over the course of your life. ‎What is it that you want? In your personal life? In your career? Within your family? “What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.” “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” Albert Einstein “Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway.” Dr. Robert Anthony What is it that you need? Personally? Professionally? Spiritually? Within your family? Financially? “When we think of failure; Failure will be ours. If we remain undecided; Nothing will ever change. All we need to do is want to achieve something great and then simply to do it. Never think of failure For what we think, will come about.” Maharishi Mahesh “I don't want to earn my living; I want to live.” Oscar Wilde “Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.” Wayne Dyer What are you unwilling to do? What are you willing to do?‎ What do you wish that you were willing to do, but for one reason or another aren't able to? What's stopping you? “Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.” Mark Twain “You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need” Rolling Stones “The gift of friendship... a willingness to listen... a pair of helping hands... a whisper from the heart. That someone cares and understands.” Is there somewhere that you would like to be? Then why not get there?? Life is all about taking advantage of moments and the opportunities that are there for you. It's up to you to make the decision that you will embrace what's in front of you. Live a life ‎that is free of regret and no wondering 20 years from now what if or what could have been. It has always been your choice and only yours to live a phenomenal life, so what’s really stopping you. Enjoy the things that you love, love the people you enjoy, and do it all with a smile on your face. Positive thoughts breed positive actions and #positivemovementsforward will take you where you need to be. When you arrive at the intersection of your wants, your needs, and your willingness, you should be prepared to get to the next level. “What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.” Leo Buscaglia

Thursday Night Thoughts on Living in this Moment 08/22/13

nickjr39206@yahoo.com Woke up this past Saturday morning and did what I needed to do in order to be strong for the people that needed me. This was definitely a Saturday filled with an abundance of love and hope as we attended the Homegoing Celebration for my Aunt Gail. I was moved to tears several times, and they weren't tears of sadness, but tears of joy that I was able to spend a part of my life with someone who was so loved. I can honestly say that I was blessed to call her my aunt. Hearing from her church members, former classmates, friends, and co-workers was just a reminder of the impact that her life had on others. I was touched by the words and also the act of kindness from the Lanier High School Class of 1970 who honored my aunt with a resolution as at least 20 of her classmates were present. After hearing reflections about my aunt and words from the pulpit, there were some things that stuck with me and got my thoughts going. 1). So what do you do when the thing that you fear most happens? Often times we have fear about certain things for one reason or another, but are we prepared after the thing we fear happens? Was the fear because we are unsure of how we should or will proceed? Our faith should provide us the necessary strength to embrace things and move forward. We can't forget that He wouldn't put more on us than we could bear. “Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.” Fulton Oursler “Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.” 2) In times of loss and sadness, where is your faith? This should be the time when we have the strongest faith, but often times we don't. 3) What a man says is not what he/she is measured by, but the fruits that they bear. This statement and ensuing words really had me in deep thought reflecting upon my own life. What type of fruit am I bearing? Good fruit? Bad fruit? How will I be remembered when the breath of life is gone from my body? “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.” “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” James D Miles “I admire men of character, and I judge character not by how men deal with their superiors, but mostly how they deal with their subordinates, and that, to me, is where you find out what the character of a man is” Gen. H. Norman Schwartzkopf 4) What does friendship mean to you? I ask this question as one of my aunt's closest friends got up to speak about her and their friendship over the years. Thinking in this day and age that some often lose sight of how important friendships are to carrying us through the ups and downs of life. I know that for me I truly care a lot about those that I have chosen to call friend. Over the several weeks, I have been reminded about who my friends are and that they truly are there for me and my family. Constantly encouraged and supported through it all I know that my friends are a reflection of me. “A true friend is one who knows all about you and likes you anyway.” Christi Mary Warner “A friend is someone who helps you up when you're down, and if they can't, they lay down beside you and listen.” “Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus With every second that we live, we are reminded about how we should enjoy every moment as we are not guaranteed the next. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed with those that you care about and love. I challenge you to live the phenomenal life that was destined for you. Are you up for it? Remember positive thoughts breed positive actions and keeping #positivemovementsforward at the forefront of every thing that you do will take you to the next level in many areas of your life.