Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Inspiration From Shrek

Friendships start by observing the outer shell. The friendship deepens as the layers of that shell are peeled back slowly.

With each new layer understanding and trust for one another is achieved. Eventually it is discovered what the shell truly protects...

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Daily Do-Over

Recently I have been thinking about what each new day means in my life. If you stop your hectic life for a second, and think about what it means to watch the sun rise on a new day, I hope that you will see that each new day brings with it a fresh start.

Just as the sun is reborn in the sky each morning, so to is the chance to make changes in your life.

I tend to procrastinate too many things, but I am trying to change this part of my life with each new day. We have the ability to do anything we set our minds to do. Nobody can stop you if you want to delve into a new hobby, change jobs, change relationships, spend more time with your children, paint, write poetry, and the list goes on endlessly.

So what do you want to do tomorrow when the sun greets you? Think about it now. Make a plan, then as the sun rises, put your plan into action. As the sun grows in the sky, allow it to shed its light and energy on you and your new goal. Our sun is powerful and bright, and will shine on you and embrace you in its life-giving force. If you hit a stumbling block, pause a moment, look up in the sky and feel the support from this never-ending source of strength. Absorb it's nurturing rays, then once again strike out on your mission.

As I look out the window in my office I can see a blue sky, and the snow glistening in the sunlight. After this article is complete, and posted, I will start on yet another goal that I have been postponing.

After all, I too need help and I hope that by following my own advice my weekend will be more productive.

One thing that helps, and what I try to express to my daughters, is that you should remove phrases like, "I can't" from your arsenal. To quote a little green guy with a lot of wisdom (not Kermit, Yoda), "Do, or do not, there is no try".

Don't "try" to do something, "Just Do It". Picture your goal, keep it in your mind, and go for it! Don't let things detour you in accomplishing what you want.

Granted, some goals may take longer, such as getting a college degree, but this just means that with each new new you allow the sun to recharge your biological batteries and keep going.

The saying that every journey begins with the first step is so true. Don't look at a goal as too large. If you have a lot of snow to shovel, don't stare at the job and think that it's too much snow to move, adjust your sight to right in front of you and dig in. Before you know it, the task will be done and you'll be amazed at what you have accomplished.

Early in my career I had the opportunity to help design, and build, a huge computer network. When I began the task, there was no network in place and everyone was just using individual computers. Several years later, when I transferred from one job to another I looked back and was blown away by what I had accomplished. Connecting multiple facilities together with fiber cabling, running cabling within each building, heck, just learning how to build and run a network server! If someone would have told me what I had to do when I first began the job, I would have immediately put up mental roadblocks thinking the job impossible, but on hindsight, I proved to myself that it could be accomplished.

So if you need to get out of debt, don't put it off, sit down, make a plan, and get going. If you're having trouble in a relationship, it's a new day, you can start over. Act like it's the first day of the relationship rather then just another day! If you would like a new career, get to work taking classes, or doing whatever it takes to begin moving you in that direction.

Watch the sun rise, welcome its energy, then absorb the force it provides and make things happen! You don't need anything else but the strength of your internal power to change the course in your life.

Now that this article is done, time for me to get off my butt and practice what I preach!

Politics and Common Sense

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