Saturday Evening on a relaxing Columbus Day weekend and I couldn’t have asked for anything more to help make this an amazing weekend. I have been in the kitchen for a little while this weekend doing a little food prep for our tailgating extravaganza tomorrow appropriately titled “Bringing the Bayou to the Desert.”
Although, I am a little disappointed that the Crimson Tide came up a little short on the football field today, I still have a lot to be excited about. Being from the south I have always appreciated how food just makes everything okay and this weekend I have quite of few things planned with friends in mind. One of my junior high school classmates from Germany just happened to be in Phoenix this weekend, and I will get the chance to visit with her this evening after all these years.
If you can’t see where I am going yet, you can probably get a little hint about the path that I am headed down. I can’t help but think about friends and friendship and how important these things are in our lives. Over the last several days I think I have talked to several people that I consider to be very important in my life as they have helped to shape me into the person that I am. It’s amazing how well our friends know the people that we are and often times speak up when others don’t know us as well. I think I have some of the most amazing people in my life that are made up of my family and friends.
As I continue to enjoy my weekend, I was thinking about a few questions relating to friendship that may make you think a little bit.
What kind of friend am I? What is your definition of friend? What makes someone a great friend? Do you have any friends in your life that you would do anything for? Do you have some friends in your life that would do anything for you? Why?
I trust that you are enjoying this weekend and preparing to be the recipient of some amazing things around the corner. Keep a smile on your face and stay moving forward in spite of anything that goes on around you as there is nothing that can stop you, but you. Thank you for being a friend and having a special place in my life.
And I am apologizing in advance for the Winnie the Pooh quotes, but I have always been able to identify with that guy as we are quite similar.
“We are friends and I do like to pass the day with you in serious and inconsequential chatter. I wouldn't mind washing up beside you, dusting beside you, reading the back half of the paper while you read the front. We are friends and I would miss you, do miss you and think of you very often.”
-Jeanette Winterson
“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”
“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin to Pooh”
-A. A. Milne
“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”
-Winnie the Pooh
“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.”
“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”
“If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together.. there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. but the most important thing is, even if we're apart.. i'll always be with you.”
-Winnie the Pooh
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Monday Afternoon Thoughts on Favor 10/4/10
Sitting here on a Monday afternoon listening to the rain as I reflect on this past weekend. One would think that I would eventually get to a point that were I would have a weekend that wasn’t amazing. I guess that I must be doing something right as the feeling happens to be here again. It really isn’t hard for me to figure the elements that need to be present in order for amazing to take place. I think I have the recipe down at least for me: friends, family, food, and growth. Regardless of if its via the telephone or in person I try to have quite a few interactions with my family and friends over the course of the weekend. It’s no surprise that I also enjoyed some good vittles over the weekend and that’s not that reason I experience growth.
I purposely included growth as one of the things that remains present in ensuring that I have an amazing weekend. At the end of the weekend I can always reflect on my experiences and interactions with people that I can see some growth within myself and those around me.
Over the last couple of days I have experienced a few conversations that have me thinking a lot about favor. Our message in church today even discussed favor. So I started to think about how often people look for the favor of those that do not have their best interests at heart.
Often times we look at situations and begin to ask questions as to why it doesn't appear that we were favored based on circumstances. It's important to realize that sometimes we are the favored ones by not receiving everything that we think that we want. In terms of dealing with people we will always see that some are favored more than others.
How important is favor to you? Who do you have favor with? Who has favor with you? Why? How does someone gain favor with you? Similar Interests? Morals? Beliefs?
No matter what perspective you choose to take in terms of favor, it is something to think about.
At the end of the day, I know this, "Don't worry about having favor with those that don't care to make you happy! Choose to have favor with those that put you before them! And you can put a big smile on your face cause you have favor with me."
Let today be the start of an amazing week for you!
“The mere fact that you have obstacles to overcome is in your favor...”
-Robert Collier
“It is the characteristic of the magnanimous man to ask no favor but to be ready to do kindness to others.”
-Aristotle
“I know the world isn't fair, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favor?”
-Bill Watterson
“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.”
-Brian Tracy
“The bird thinks it a favor to give the fish a lift in the air
”
-Rabindranath Tagore
“Do not offer a compliment and ask a favor at the same time. A compliment that is charged for is not valuable.”
-Mark Twain
“Why abandon a belief merely because it ceases to be true? Cling to it long enough and... it will turn true again, for so it goes. Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor.”
-Robert Frost
I purposely included growth as one of the things that remains present in ensuring that I have an amazing weekend. At the end of the weekend I can always reflect on my experiences and interactions with people that I can see some growth within myself and those around me.
Over the last couple of days I have experienced a few conversations that have me thinking a lot about favor. Our message in church today even discussed favor. So I started to think about how often people look for the favor of those that do not have their best interests at heart.
Often times we look at situations and begin to ask questions as to why it doesn't appear that we were favored based on circumstances. It's important to realize that sometimes we are the favored ones by not receiving everything that we think that we want. In terms of dealing with people we will always see that some are favored more than others.
How important is favor to you? Who do you have favor with? Who has favor with you? Why? How does someone gain favor with you? Similar Interests? Morals? Beliefs?
No matter what perspective you choose to take in terms of favor, it is something to think about.
At the end of the day, I know this, "Don't worry about having favor with those that don't care to make you happy! Choose to have favor with those that put you before them! And you can put a big smile on your face cause you have favor with me."
Let today be the start of an amazing week for you!
“The mere fact that you have obstacles to overcome is in your favor...”
-Robert Collier
“It is the characteristic of the magnanimous man to ask no favor but to be ready to do kindness to others.”
-Aristotle
“I know the world isn't fair, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favor?”
-Bill Watterson
“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.”
-Brian Tracy
“The bird thinks it a favor to give the fish a lift in the air
”
-Rabindranath Tagore
“Do not offer a compliment and ask a favor at the same time. A compliment that is charged for is not valuable.”
-Mark Twain
“Why abandon a belief merely because it ceases to be true? Cling to it long enough and... it will turn true again, for so it goes. Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor.”
-Robert Frost
Friday Morning Thoughts on Being Engaged 10/1/10
September has come and gone I am sure of it as I sit and look at October 1st staring me smack dab in the face. I can’t sit here and say I don’t have a lot on my mind right this minute because it would be one of the biggest lies I could ever tell myself. Two years ago around this same time, I remember myself alone in a hotel room in Jackson, Mississippi preparing to attend my great-grandfather’s funeral. As I thought about it earlier I can’t say that I didn’t have a few tears in my eyes as I remembered how much he meant to me.
I mentioned my great-grandfather mainly because of the relationship that we had and the influence that he had on me. At this very moment, I think I have reached a fork in the road and I am going to have to make some very important decisions very soon. I wish my great-grandfather was here to talk to as I could really use his wisdom right now. I remember sitting down talking with my great-grandfather over the years when I was thinking about making any major decisions in my life. He would sit down and talk to me about his experiences as he tried to help me prepare to take my own journeys through life. I could only sit in awe as I thought about the knowledge that I received from a man that lived to be almost 100 years old. I always remember him talking to me about being really being engaged no matter what it was. When I first stepped into leadership with my company, he reminded me that my success would be dependent on how well I engaged the people.
As I think about those conversations with my great grandfather and how he stressed the importance of being engaged, I know now why he stressed it. Right now, I don’t think I am as engaged as I should be in a few areas of my life. This is a critical component to success in anything, but there seems to be something causing me to not be engaged.
Are you engaged? What is it that is keeping you from being engaged? How engaged are you in your work? Relationships? Family? Community? How engaged are you with yourself?
Do others know how to engage you?
As you usher in Friday, and prepare for the weekend I trust that you will make it an amazing day.
“love life, engage in it, give it all you've got. love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it”
-Maya Angelou
“When you engage in systematic, purposeful action, using and stretching your abilities to the maximum, you cannot help but feel positive and confident abut yourself.”
-Brian Tracy
“If you can once engage people's pride, love, pity, ambition (or whatever is their prevailing passion) on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you.”
-Lord Chesterfield
“In motivating people, you've got to engage their minds and their hearts. I motivate people, I hope, by example - and perhaps by excitement, by having productive ideas to make others feel involved.”
Rupert Murdoch
“That is why not only we should ourselves engage in good deeds but also encourage others to do the same.”
-Sam Veda
I mentioned my great-grandfather mainly because of the relationship that we had and the influence that he had on me. At this very moment, I think I have reached a fork in the road and I am going to have to make some very important decisions very soon. I wish my great-grandfather was here to talk to as I could really use his wisdom right now. I remember sitting down talking with my great-grandfather over the years when I was thinking about making any major decisions in my life. He would sit down and talk to me about his experiences as he tried to help me prepare to take my own journeys through life. I could only sit in awe as I thought about the knowledge that I received from a man that lived to be almost 100 years old. I always remember him talking to me about being really being engaged no matter what it was. When I first stepped into leadership with my company, he reminded me that my success would be dependent on how well I engaged the people.
As I think about those conversations with my great grandfather and how he stressed the importance of being engaged, I know now why he stressed it. Right now, I don’t think I am as engaged as I should be in a few areas of my life. This is a critical component to success in anything, but there seems to be something causing me to not be engaged.
Are you engaged? What is it that is keeping you from being engaged? How engaged are you in your work? Relationships? Family? Community? How engaged are you with yourself?
Do others know how to engage you?
As you usher in Friday, and prepare for the weekend I trust that you will make it an amazing day.
“love life, engage in it, give it all you've got. love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it”
-Maya Angelou
“When you engage in systematic, purposeful action, using and stretching your abilities to the maximum, you cannot help but feel positive and confident abut yourself.”
-Brian Tracy
“If you can once engage people's pride, love, pity, ambition (or whatever is their prevailing passion) on your side, you need not fear what their reason can do against you.”
-Lord Chesterfield
“In motivating people, you've got to engage their minds and their hearts. I motivate people, I hope, by example - and perhaps by excitement, by having productive ideas to make others feel involved.”
Rupert Murdoch
“That is why not only we should ourselves engage in good deeds but also encourage others to do the same.”
-Sam Veda
Hump Day Thoughts on Regrets 09/29/10
Another hump day has arrived and I am sitting here watching the clock wondering why I am wide awake before the sun rises. Not sure what time I finally dozed off last night, but as I awoke this morning I had a few thoughts on the brain even at this early hour.
Just yesterday I was having a conversation with someone at work who was questioning where they were in life and stating that they had some regrets about decisions that they made. I couldn’t help but listen and try to offer some advice as this topic is one that I try not to visit if I can help it. Eventually, this individual and I were able to agree that regardless of whatever path that each of us had taken to arrive where we were there is value in those experiences.
At this point in my life I can not say that I haven’t had regrets about some things, but I choose to look at regret with a different perspective these days. With everything that we encounter in life we are always presented with choices. Sometimes there are things going on in our lives that cause us to make certain decisions at particular point in time. You could be in the same situation at another point in life and make a totally different decision based on your experiences. At any point in our lives, there is a reason that we make decisions that we do. I think no matter what we do in life those what if thoughts in a few situations may exist. The question is how we move past the regret to appreciate it for what it was a life experience and lesson learned.
I ask myself a few questions as I continue moving forward today and learning from my actions yesterday. Do I have any regrets? In my relationships? Career? Have my regrets hindered me from accomplishing anything? Why am I still holding onto these regrets?
Live your life with no regrets and move in the direction of what makes you happy.
“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.”
-Fulton Oursler
“I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.”
-Rita Mero
“I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said, than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I'd just been myself.”
-Brittany Renee
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
-Alexander Graham Bell
“If we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live.”
“Accept the pain, cherish the joys, resolve the regrets; then can come the best of benedictions - "If I had my life to live over again, I'd do it all the same”
Just yesterday I was having a conversation with someone at work who was questioning where they were in life and stating that they had some regrets about decisions that they made. I couldn’t help but listen and try to offer some advice as this topic is one that I try not to visit if I can help it. Eventually, this individual and I were able to agree that regardless of whatever path that each of us had taken to arrive where we were there is value in those experiences.
At this point in my life I can not say that I haven’t had regrets about some things, but I choose to look at regret with a different perspective these days. With everything that we encounter in life we are always presented with choices. Sometimes there are things going on in our lives that cause us to make certain decisions at particular point in time. You could be in the same situation at another point in life and make a totally different decision based on your experiences. At any point in our lives, there is a reason that we make decisions that we do. I think no matter what we do in life those what if thoughts in a few situations may exist. The question is how we move past the regret to appreciate it for what it was a life experience and lesson learned.
I ask myself a few questions as I continue moving forward today and learning from my actions yesterday. Do I have any regrets? In my relationships? Career? Have my regrets hindered me from accomplishing anything? Why am I still holding onto these regrets?
Live your life with no regrets and move in the direction of what makes you happy.
“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.”
-Fulton Oursler
“I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.”
-Rita Mero
“I would much rather have regrets about not doing what people said, than regretting not doing what my heart led me to and wondering what life had been like if I'd just been myself.”
-Brittany Renee
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
-Alexander Graham Bell
“If we spend our time with regrets over yesterday, and worries over what might happen tomorrow, we have no today in which to live.”
“Accept the pain, cherish the joys, resolve the regrets; then can come the best of benedictions - "If I had my life to live over again, I'd do it all the same”
Sunday Evening Thoughts on Preference 9/26/10
As I look at the sun finally going down in the valley, I can pretty much close the book on another weekend. The temperature hand still shows that we are still above triple digits even with no sun. As I reflect on the past week/weekend in preparation to have an amazing week I find myself thinking a lot about preferences.
Most times when I sit down to write there is always some sort of background to the story that aided in my arrival at a topic. Over the last week I have engaged in several conversations about preferences and why. Some of them have been quite interesting while a few others have left me with a smirk that still hasn’t left my face.
One of my very good female friends recently stated that I needed to find me ‘something to do.’ I was like what on earth are you talking about and she said that “I need to set you up on a blind date so that you can find someone that enjoys the same things that you do.” So after that was said she started asking me questions about my preferences, we ended up debating for a minute because she stated I was too picky and wouldn’t embrace the idea of what she was trying to do.
After we got passed all the debating I began to think more about preferences and why she could possibly see me as picky. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was being picky, but I felt if I was given an opportunity to weigh in to tell you what I prefer it does hold some weight. For example, it really drives me up a wall when people call me ‘Nick’ after I have told them to call me ‘Nicholas’ on numerous occasions. Ultimately I have a preference on what I would like to be called as often times ‘Nick’ means that you may be comfortable with me, when that may not be the case.
If we are in situations where the opportunity exists to choose one thing over another, we always have some personal bias to why we decision that we make. We may be influenced by people or other factors in making our decisions, but we still ultimately have a preference. I think one of the biggest areas in which are very intentional about our preferences, are our relationships with people.
So as I move forward with my latest adventure, I began to ask myself a few questions that you may be asking yourself as well. What do my preferences say about me? What are the factors that influence my preferences? People? Environment? Past experiences? Is it my upbringing that has influenced my preferences?
I trust that you are well rested from another great weekend, and that you have elected to start your week in an amazing way. No matter what your preferences are, there’s one thing that can’t be argued – you should always prefer you over anyone else that you could possibly be. No one is better at being you than you!
“We can love nothing but what agrees with us, and we can only follow our taste or our pleasure when we prefer our friends to ourselves; nevertheless it is only by that preference that friendship can be true and perfect.”
-Fracois de la Rochefoucauld
“Most people have come to prefer certain of life’s experiences and deny and reject others, unaware of the value of the hidden things that may come wrapped in plain and even ugly paper. In avoiding all pain and seeking comfort at all costs, we may be left without intimacy or compassion; in rejecting change and risk we often cheat ourselves of the quest; in denying our suffering we may never know our strength or our greatness.”
-Rachel Naomi Remen
“To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
“Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error to an afflicted truth”
-Jeremy Taylor
“I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on”
-Rita Dove
“We demand that people should be true to the pictures we have of them, no matter how repulsive those pictures may be: we prefer the true portrait in all its homogeneity, to one with a detail added which refuses to fit in.”
-Pamela Hansford Johnson
Most times when I sit down to write there is always some sort of background to the story that aided in my arrival at a topic. Over the last week I have engaged in several conversations about preferences and why. Some of them have been quite interesting while a few others have left me with a smirk that still hasn’t left my face.
One of my very good female friends recently stated that I needed to find me ‘something to do.’ I was like what on earth are you talking about and she said that “I need to set you up on a blind date so that you can find someone that enjoys the same things that you do.” So after that was said she started asking me questions about my preferences, we ended up debating for a minute because she stated I was too picky and wouldn’t embrace the idea of what she was trying to do.
After we got passed all the debating I began to think more about preferences and why she could possibly see me as picky. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was being picky, but I felt if I was given an opportunity to weigh in to tell you what I prefer it does hold some weight. For example, it really drives me up a wall when people call me ‘Nick’ after I have told them to call me ‘Nicholas’ on numerous occasions. Ultimately I have a preference on what I would like to be called as often times ‘Nick’ means that you may be comfortable with me, when that may not be the case.
If we are in situations where the opportunity exists to choose one thing over another, we always have some personal bias to why we decision that we make. We may be influenced by people or other factors in making our decisions, but we still ultimately have a preference. I think one of the biggest areas in which are very intentional about our preferences, are our relationships with people.
So as I move forward with my latest adventure, I began to ask myself a few questions that you may be asking yourself as well. What do my preferences say about me? What are the factors that influence my preferences? People? Environment? Past experiences? Is it my upbringing that has influenced my preferences?
I trust that you are well rested from another great weekend, and that you have elected to start your week in an amazing way. No matter what your preferences are, there’s one thing that can’t be argued – you should always prefer you over anyone else that you could possibly be. No one is better at being you than you!
“We can love nothing but what agrees with us, and we can only follow our taste or our pleasure when we prefer our friends to ourselves; nevertheless it is only by that preference that friendship can be true and perfect.”
-Fracois de la Rochefoucauld
“Most people have come to prefer certain of life’s experiences and deny and reject others, unaware of the value of the hidden things that may come wrapped in plain and even ugly paper. In avoiding all pain and seeking comfort at all costs, we may be left without intimacy or compassion; in rejecting change and risk we often cheat ourselves of the quest; in denying our suffering we may never know our strength or our greatness.”
-Rachel Naomi Remen
“To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson
“Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error to an afflicted truth”
-Jeremy Taylor
“I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on”
-Rita Dove
“We demand that people should be true to the pictures we have of them, no matter how repulsive those pictures may be: we prefer the true portrait in all its homogeneity, to one with a detail added which refuses to fit in.”
-Pamela Hansford Johnson
Hump Day Thoughts on Intentions 9/22/10
Sitting here on another Get Over the Hump Day, trying to get my thoughts together as there are only two more days left in the work week for me. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy work when I am taking advantage of my time away from it.(but I am sure we all could say the same thing from time to time) It’s important to appreciate the time away from a lot of things so you can appreciate the time that you do commit.
Just the other day I found myself writing about follow through and what it means to be a man. As I was thinking about these things trying to get things in order for me, I started having conversations in my personal and professional life about intentions. It hit me in a way that made me stop and think for a minute. Most of the time in our lives, people only hear what we say or see what we do and no one ever asks what our intentions were. I often wonder if people are even concerned with what your intentions actually were. As we all have different opinions and view things differently, it’s quite possible that assumptions can be made that incorrectly identify our intentions as something they are not.
So as I continued to sit, think, and reflect on my actions, I don’t know that most people truly understand our intentions or want to. I witness it all day long at work as I see individuals that are so busy focusing on the task at hand that they don’t take the time to think through what it is that they are doing.
Do your intentions and behavior complement one another? What are your intentions when you wake up daily? Do your actions support your intentions? Have your intentions ever been questioned? Were they questioned by you? Others? How did you answer those questions?
These are just a few questions that I was asking myself and posing to you as you continue to move closer to amazing. I can honestly say that as I look at intentions, I know that I do the things that I do because I want to be a better person and want to surround myself with the best of the best. In my mind I feel that you are the best that my life could offer me and I thank you again for being a part of my world.
“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.”
“Advice is judged by results, not by intentions”
-Marcus Tallies Cicero
“We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions.”
-Ian Percy
“Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and unless you possess the key to their motives you may at any moment be forced to take their chestnuts out of the fire to the damage of your own fingers.”
-Baltasar Gracian
“Let your intentions be good - embodied in good thoughts, cheerful words, and unselfish deeds - and the world will be to you a bright and happy place in which to work and play and serve”
-Grenville Kleiser
“It's amazing how much you can learn if your intentions are truly earnest.”
-Chuck Berry
Just the other day I found myself writing about follow through and what it means to be a man. As I was thinking about these things trying to get things in order for me, I started having conversations in my personal and professional life about intentions. It hit me in a way that made me stop and think for a minute. Most of the time in our lives, people only hear what we say or see what we do and no one ever asks what our intentions were. I often wonder if people are even concerned with what your intentions actually were. As we all have different opinions and view things differently, it’s quite possible that assumptions can be made that incorrectly identify our intentions as something they are not.
So as I continued to sit, think, and reflect on my actions, I don’t know that most people truly understand our intentions or want to. I witness it all day long at work as I see individuals that are so busy focusing on the task at hand that they don’t take the time to think through what it is that they are doing.
Do your intentions and behavior complement one another? What are your intentions when you wake up daily? Do your actions support your intentions? Have your intentions ever been questioned? Were they questioned by you? Others? How did you answer those questions?
These are just a few questions that I was asking myself and posing to you as you continue to move closer to amazing. I can honestly say that as I look at intentions, I know that I do the things that I do because I want to be a better person and want to surround myself with the best of the best. In my mind I feel that you are the best that my life could offer me and I thank you again for being a part of my world.
“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.”
“Advice is judged by results, not by intentions”
-Marcus Tallies Cicero
“We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions.”
-Ian Percy
“Watchfulness is the only guard against cunning. Be intent on his intentions. Many succeed in making others do their own affairs, and unless you possess the key to their motives you may at any moment be forced to take their chestnuts out of the fire to the damage of your own fingers.”
-Baltasar Gracian
“Let your intentions be good - embodied in good thoughts, cheerful words, and unselfish deeds - and the world will be to you a bright and happy place in which to work and play and serve”
-Grenville Kleiser
“It's amazing how much you can learn if your intentions are truly earnest.”
-Chuck Berry
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday Morning Thoughts on Follow Through 09/20/10
As I look at the clock, I can pretty much confirm that another weekend is in the books. Monday has arrived and it’s time for me to embrace the new week to make it just as amazing as my weekend. As usual I tried my best to enjoy the weekend to the fullest and think that I may have accomplished that task. It’s no surprise to me that by the time Sunday arrived, I was reflecting on how my weekend got to be so amazing. I do know that this weekend was another scorcher as when I originally sat down to write it was about 109 degrees Sunday evening and the sun had already gone down. Looking at the weather forecast right now, it seems like the heat just won’t disappear as the high today is projected to be 107 degrees.(I guess I am at my best with the heat turned up)
I think I have an idea of the elements that need to be present to make my weekends so amazing. As I look everything, I know that I have to have food, football, friends, and family in some form or fashion for my weekend to be amazing. It seems like a routine for me, but these are the things that make me happy. I am sure we all know the elements that need to be present to enjoy ourselves.
While I mention all the fun stuff that makes my weekends amazing, I can’t leave out the other things that bring clarity and substance to my life. This particular weekend was all about the men at our church and Sunday was actually Men’s Day. I can honestly say that walking into church at 7:30 in the morning and seeing a packed house where the majority of the people present were men was a great feeling. You couple that with message that we heard talking about what a man is and what a man should do. Further confirmation that my thoughts are headed in the right direction as just the other day I found myself writing this down what it means to be a man.
As I listened intently, there were several things in the message that caught my attention. Seven percent of the male population is in prison and 92% of the men in prison are fathers. These statistics right here made me realize yet again how important it is to always stand up and be a man in all situations. The speaker also brought out a very important point to understand how men and women are different. Men are very different from women as they respond to things on sight. For example think about something as simple as putting an item together that you picked up from Home Depot/Ikea; a man will look at the box to try and put together and a woman will read the instructions.
In listening to the rest of the message I heard a few other things that stuck out to me. If we think about it, men are more responsive when they see things. In terms of change a man will hear that he needs/should change, but most of the time will only do so when he sees something that makes him want to change.
Just hearing this message, I began to wrap my mind around what it means to be a man and thinking about follow through. If I know what means to be a man, but I don’t follow through with the appropriate actions, what does mean in my life? What does it say about me? What does your follow through say about you? What is it that causes a lack of follow through?
As you prepare to make your week amazing, there are a couple of things you may want to do as you move forward. Look around you and I am sure you will see a lot of yourself in the people you have around you. Remember that you are not striving to be the best just for you, but you are striving to be the best for those around you as well.
“In golf as in life it is the follow through that makes the difference.”
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
-Zig Ziglar
“I can give you a six-word formula for success: "Think things through - then follow through”
-Sir Walter Scott
“Those who are blessed with the most talent don't necessarily outperform everyone else. It's the people with follow-through who excel.”
-Mary Kay Ash
“In any situation, ask yourself: What strengths do I possess that can contribute towards accomplishing something in this situation? Then follow through.”
I think I have an idea of the elements that need to be present to make my weekends so amazing. As I look everything, I know that I have to have food, football, friends, and family in some form or fashion for my weekend to be amazing. It seems like a routine for me, but these are the things that make me happy. I am sure we all know the elements that need to be present to enjoy ourselves.
While I mention all the fun stuff that makes my weekends amazing, I can’t leave out the other things that bring clarity and substance to my life. This particular weekend was all about the men at our church and Sunday was actually Men’s Day. I can honestly say that walking into church at 7:30 in the morning and seeing a packed house where the majority of the people present were men was a great feeling. You couple that with message that we heard talking about what a man is and what a man should do. Further confirmation that my thoughts are headed in the right direction as just the other day I found myself writing this down what it means to be a man.
As I listened intently, there were several things in the message that caught my attention. Seven percent of the male population is in prison and 92% of the men in prison are fathers. These statistics right here made me realize yet again how important it is to always stand up and be a man in all situations. The speaker also brought out a very important point to understand how men and women are different. Men are very different from women as they respond to things on sight. For example think about something as simple as putting an item together that you picked up from Home Depot/Ikea; a man will look at the box to try and put together and a woman will read the instructions.
In listening to the rest of the message I heard a few other things that stuck out to me. If we think about it, men are more responsive when they see things. In terms of change a man will hear that he needs/should change, but most of the time will only do so when he sees something that makes him want to change.
Just hearing this message, I began to wrap my mind around what it means to be a man and thinking about follow through. If I know what means to be a man, but I don’t follow through with the appropriate actions, what does mean in my life? What does it say about me? What does your follow through say about you? What is it that causes a lack of follow through?
As you prepare to make your week amazing, there are a couple of things you may want to do as you move forward. Look around you and I am sure you will see a lot of yourself in the people you have around you. Remember that you are not striving to be the best just for you, but you are striving to be the best for those around you as well.
“In golf as in life it is the follow through that makes the difference.”
“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”
-Zig Ziglar
“I can give you a six-word formula for success: "Think things through - then follow through”
-Sir Walter Scott
“Those who are blessed with the most talent don't necessarily outperform everyone else. It's the people with follow-through who excel.”
-Mary Kay Ash
“In any situation, ask yourself: What strengths do I possess that can contribute towards accomplishing something in this situation? Then follow through.”
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