re•mark•able [adjective]: worthy of being noticed, especially as being uncommon or extraordinary
If you want to break out of the mold of average, the first thing you need to do is to make a decision to be radically different. Most remarkable people are people of action, and for a good reason: if you don’t take decisive action, nothing will ever change. But this first step is entirely mental. It calls for a clear decision to rise above the culture of mediocrity.
And then, of course, it does call for action.
How do you decide to be remarkable?
1. Stop making excuses. Just stop. No one wants to hear why you couldn’t do something, so make a conscious decision to stop talking about it.
2. Take responsibility. This is the opposite of giving excuses. Take responsibility for your own success, and take responsibility for the success of projects you work on. When something goes wrong (it usually does), take responsibility for that too.
3. Start questioning rules and expectations. Always ask questions and pay close attention to the answers you hear back. Some good starting questions are: Why is this rule in place? Who benefits from this rule being followed? What are the consequences if I don’t follow this rule or meet this expectation? What is the worst thing that could happen if I don’t follow this rule?
4. Find work that you love and do it well. Depending on who you are, this requires up to two big changes in your life: first, you have to find work that you love, and second, you have to do it well. Do it better than expected and people will be amazed.
5. Begin living your own life. This is what it’s all about—the life you were meant to live. If you don’t know what that is yet, start looking for it. Why would you want to live someone else’s life?
6. Take it up a level. Take what’s already working well and exponentially add to it. Grow your business 300%. Apply for the position of CFO when you’re the Accounts Payable Clerk. Visit five countries instead of one on your next trip (or if you want to explore one place well, stay three weeks instead of one).
Beware of Excellence
But watch out: being remarkable is addicting. It’s like regular exercise or healthy eating. When you first start a new exercise routine or diet, the adjustment is hard for a while. But after about 3-6 months of following it consistently, you build up a natural addiction to it.
Once you get used to regular exercise, you’ll feel bad when you’re not doing it. The same is true with being remarkable: do it once, and it’s scary. Do it a few times, and you love it. Stop doing it, and you’ll get depressed.
Many remarkable people deal with depression and anxiety all the time because they see the world differently than average people do. Their own failures and perceived failures are magnified. When others say, “Don’t worry about it,” they can’t understand why someone would think something like that. For this reason, a lot of geniuses throughout history have been chronically depressed.
Those are the hard things—and you also have to think about the critics, the skeptics, and the competition. We’ll come to those later. On the other hand, there are some great benefits to being remarkable:
HELP FROM A COMMUNITY
As you proceed with your plans for world domination, or whatever you want to do, you’ll be naturally drawn to others who have made the same decisions to be different. Even better, they’ll be drawn to you. You’ll learn from them and vice versa.
Whether you live in the Dilbert Cube, the Ivory Tower, the public sector, or are out there on your own somewhere, there are lots of ways to be remarkable. The specific application is up to you, and when you choose to make your own way, other people who “get it” will seek you out.
Remarkable people are all minorities in a world of average living.
HELP FROM THE UNIVERSE
You’ll find help in all kinds of unexpected places and from people you never knew before. No one really knows how this works, practically speaking. It’s okay; just accept the gifts that are given to you. They are given for a reason.
WHAT GOES UP STAYS UP
Instead of shrinking over time, your vision will actually get bigger. The funny thing about big goals is that they often take less time to achieve than you expect, and once you achieve them, you’ve already mentally moved on to bigger and better goals. As you proceed with questioning authority, building your army, achieving your goals, and helping others, the vision keeps expanding.
This is why it is not much more difficult to grow a business from $1,000 a month in sales to $10,000. The challenge is in getting that first $1,000 together.
This is why artists scrape together a meager living for an average of seven years before being noticed. Most of them drop out along the way, but for those who stick with it, all of sudden they’re selling paintings for $8 a square inch. (And by the way, art that sells for $10,000 isn’t always better than $100 art hanging in the coffee shop.)
This is your personal tipping point—not when everyone else starts adopting a new trend and makes it mainstream, but when everything comes together for your own vision. But you have to get in the game first, and you can do that by being remarkable.
***
Of all the steps required to change the world in the way you see fit, the decision to be remarkable is the most important. With this decision in place, other variables can be changed. Don’t rush this—it’s a big commitment.
Once you make the commitment, you need a vision to change the world. What will it be? Whatever you choose, make sure it’s remarkable enough to suit every gift you have ever been given. Once you decide to defy the expectations of being average, there will be a lot riding on your ultimate success.
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
8 Reasons Why People Drink Soda & 16 Reasons To Give Up Soda Drinking
1. It's Very Tasty!
The taste could be one thing that gets us addicted to drinking soda, it is delicious. In fact, it is so good, that many people drink it with every meal!
2. It's Everywhere!
Even if you wanted to drink something else, you would be hard-pressed to find it as prominently displayed in vending machines, at fast-food chains, and supermarket checkouts. You might not realize how ubiquitous Coke, Pepsi, and the like are in our society until you try to stop drinking soda.
3. Convenience, "Grab-n-Go"!
The most addictive thing about soda is the convenience. If you want something quick or are in a hurry, it is so easy to grab and convenient to drink.
4. Promotion and Advertising
Soft drinks are heavily consumed in part because companies promote them vigorously - Billions of dollars are spend on advertising sodas - and market them everywhere - in stores, restaurants, gas stations, museums, and even schools.
5. Soda Habit
For some people, drinking several sodas a day is a force of habit. You know drinking soda is a habit when you find yourself going to the grocery store at 10 p.m. because your refrigerator is tapped out.
6. It Is Cheap
Soda may be pretty inexpensive when compared with fruit juice and milk. With combo meals, a large soda is only an extra dollar, and you get fries!
7. Thirst
Often people drink soda to quench the thirst. However, this is probably the worst time to drink soda, because when you are very thirsty or dehydrated you have low levels of saliva. And saliva helps to neutralize acids (soda is the most acidic beverage you can buy) and wash your teeth clean.
8. Caffeine Addiction
Many soft drinks contain caffeine and caffeine is mildly addictive. This fact is part of the reason soda is such a hard habit to break. If you're addicted to the caffeine in soda, you're really having two habits - the soda habit and the caffeine habit.
16 Reasons To Stop Drinking Soda
These were reasons why we drink soda and here are 16 powerful reasons to give up soda drinking.
Do you know the extent to which drinking carbonated, caffeinated, sugared, or artificially sweetened beverages harms your body? Giving up soft drinks can be one of the best things you can do to improve your health.
1.Soda Is Useless.
First of all, there are no nutritionally beneficial components in soft drinks. Soft drinks mostly consist of filtered water and refined sugars. Yet the average American drinks about 57 gallons of soft drinks each year.
2. Weight Gain & Obesity
Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink. Drinking a single 330 ml can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than 1lb of weight gain every month.
Several scientific studies have provided experimental evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers2 calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.
According to the results of high quality study3 reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages helped reduce body mass index in the heaviest teenagers.
3. Diabetes
This is a consequence of #2. Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda not only contributes to making people fat, but it also stresses the body's ability to process sugar5. Some scientists now suspect that the sweet stuff may help explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.
Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put more strain on insulin-producing cells than other foods. When sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands that a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin. Also, insulin itself becomes less effective at processing sugar; both conditions contribute to the risk of developing diabetes.
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School4 analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study II, a trial tracking the health of more than 51,000 women. None of the participants had diabetes at the onset of the study in 1991. Over the following 8 years, 741 women were diagnosed with the disease. Researchers found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks a day gained more weight and were 83% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who imbibed less than once a month.
4. Weakened Bones And Risk Of Osteoporosis
Frequent consumption of soft drinks may also increase the risk of osteoporosis,6 especially in people who drink soft drinks instead of calcium-rich milk7. High soda consumption (particularly cola15) in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.
In the 1950s, children drank 3 cups of milk for every 1 cup of sugary drinks. Today that ratio is reversed: 3 cups of sugary drinks for every cup of milk. Tellingly, osteoporosis is a major health threat for 44 million Americans. Most experts now say that the real culprit is soda's displacement of milk in the diet, though some scientists believe that the acidity of colas may be weakening bones by promoting the loss of calcium.
5. Dental Caries And Erosion
Soda eats up and dissolves the tooth enamel8. Researches9 say that soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay.
The acidity can dissolve the mineral content of the enamel, making the teeth weaker, more sensitive, and more susceptible to decay. Soda's acidity makes it even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.
Dental experts continue to urge that people drink less soda pop, especially between meals, to prevent tooth decay and dental erosion.
6. Kidney Damage
There is good evidence that cola beverages can increase the risk of kidney problems, more so than non-cola sodas.
Researches clearly demonstrated that large quantities of cola result in enhanced kidney stone formation16-17. If you're wondering exactly how soft drinks cause kidney stones, it's because of their acidity and radical mineral imbalances. Your body must buffer the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from your own bones. As this calcium is eliminated through your urine, it slowly forms kidney stones.
In a study published in the journal Epidemiology14, the team compared the dietary habits of 465 people with chronic kidney disease and 467 healthy people. After controlling for various factors, the team found that drinking two or more colas a day (whether artificially sweetened or regular) was linked to a twofold risk of chronic kidney disease.
7.Increased Blood Pressure
Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of fructose, particularly in the form of soft drinks, leads to an increase in blood pressure22.
8. Likely To Cause Heartburn
Soft drink consumption is a strong predictor of heartburn20-21.
9. Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factor
Soft drink consumption is a significant risk factor for developing of metabolic syndrome18, a combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance.
10. Harmful Effects On Liver
There is evidence that consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have19.
11. Impaired Digestive System
Soda, no matter who makes it, is the most acidic beverage you can buy, with a pH of about 2.51, about the same as vinegar, but the sugar content disguises the acidity. To put that into perspective, consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH level of 7.
Why does that matter? Throughout the digestive system, that starts from the mouth and ends up at the anus only the stomach can resist an acidic environment up to pH 2.0. But before the acidity of soft drink reaches the stomach it passes through all the other organs involved in the digestive system thus causing an abnormal acidic environment. The linings of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus are highly sensitive to acids.
The phosphoric acid present in soft drink competes with the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and affects its functions. When the stomach becomes ineffective, food remains undigested causing indigestion, gassiness or bloating (swelling of stomach).
12. Dehydration
Another problem with sodas is that they act as dehydrating diuretics. Both caffeine and sugar cause dehydration.
Caffeine is a diuretic and causes an increase in urine volume. High concentration of sugar is drawing off water because your kidneys try to expel the excess sugar out of the blood. When you drink a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you will actually become thirstier.
13. High Caffeine Content
Another advantage of avoiding sodas is that you will avoid the unnecessary caffeine. Soda drinks are a major source of caffeine in the American diet.
High doses of caffeine can cause irritability, restlessness, tension, insomnia, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disturbance, excessive urination, irregular heartbeat and other side effects.
14. Toxins - Aspartame
If you think diet soda is better think again. The poison in diet soda is an artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. It is used because it's about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.
Despite US FDA approval as a "safe" food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances added to foods. After you drink an aspartame-sweetened product, aspartame breaks down into its starting components: phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (that further converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.). There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption10-13.
15. Possible Cell Damage Ability
A new health scare erupted over soft drinks recently amid evidence that they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative E211, known as sodium benzoate, found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.
Sodium benzoate occurs in small amounts naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks.
16. There Are So Many Healthy Alternatives!
Soda replaces healthier drinks. By drinking soda, you cut the intake of fresh juices, milk, and even water and deprive yourself from essential vitamins and minerals.
* Water. Water is the best drink in the world.
* Tea. Any kind of tea - herbal, green or black - is rich in antioxidants, which were shown to protects the body form many health problems.
* 100% Juice. Fruit juice can be also useful for flavoring your water and teas.
The taste could be one thing that gets us addicted to drinking soda, it is delicious. In fact, it is so good, that many people drink it with every meal!
2. It's Everywhere!
Even if you wanted to drink something else, you would be hard-pressed to find it as prominently displayed in vending machines, at fast-food chains, and supermarket checkouts. You might not realize how ubiquitous Coke, Pepsi, and the like are in our society until you try to stop drinking soda.
3. Convenience, "Grab-n-Go"!
The most addictive thing about soda is the convenience. If you want something quick or are in a hurry, it is so easy to grab and convenient to drink.
4. Promotion and Advertising
Soft drinks are heavily consumed in part because companies promote them vigorously - Billions of dollars are spend on advertising sodas - and market them everywhere - in stores, restaurants, gas stations, museums, and even schools.
5. Soda Habit
For some people, drinking several sodas a day is a force of habit. You know drinking soda is a habit when you find yourself going to the grocery store at 10 p.m. because your refrigerator is tapped out.
6. It Is Cheap
Soda may be pretty inexpensive when compared with fruit juice and milk. With combo meals, a large soda is only an extra dollar, and you get fries!
7. Thirst
Often people drink soda to quench the thirst. However, this is probably the worst time to drink soda, because when you are very thirsty or dehydrated you have low levels of saliva. And saliva helps to neutralize acids (soda is the most acidic beverage you can buy) and wash your teeth clean.
8. Caffeine Addiction
Many soft drinks contain caffeine and caffeine is mildly addictive. This fact is part of the reason soda is such a hard habit to break. If you're addicted to the caffeine in soda, you're really having two habits - the soda habit and the caffeine habit.
16 Reasons To Stop Drinking Soda
These were reasons why we drink soda and here are 16 powerful reasons to give up soda drinking.
Do you know the extent to which drinking carbonated, caffeinated, sugared, or artificially sweetened beverages harms your body? Giving up soft drinks can be one of the best things you can do to improve your health.
1.Soda Is Useless.
First of all, there are no nutritionally beneficial components in soft drinks. Soft drinks mostly consist of filtered water and refined sugars. Yet the average American drinks about 57 gallons of soft drinks each year.
2. Weight Gain & Obesity
Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink. Drinking a single 330 ml can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than 1lb of weight gain every month.
Several scientific studies have provided experimental evidence that soft drinks are directly related to weight gain. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers2 calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.
According to the results of high quality study3 reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages helped reduce body mass index in the heaviest teenagers.
3. Diabetes
This is a consequence of #2. Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda not only contributes to making people fat, but it also stresses the body's ability to process sugar5. Some scientists now suspect that the sweet stuff may help explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.
Rapidly absorbed carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup put more strain on insulin-producing cells than other foods. When sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, the pancreas has to secrete large amounts of insulin for the body to process it. Some scientists believe that the unceasing demands that a soda habit places on the pancreas may ultimately leave it unable to keep up with the body's need for insulin. Also, insulin itself becomes less effective at processing sugar; both conditions contribute to the risk of developing diabetes.
Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School4 analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study II, a trial tracking the health of more than 51,000 women. None of the participants had diabetes at the onset of the study in 1991. Over the following 8 years, 741 women were diagnosed with the disease. Researchers found that women who drank one or more sugary drinks a day gained more weight and were 83% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who imbibed less than once a month.
4. Weakened Bones And Risk Of Osteoporosis
Frequent consumption of soft drinks may also increase the risk of osteoporosis,6 especially in people who drink soft drinks instead of calcium-rich milk7. High soda consumption (particularly cola15) in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.
In the 1950s, children drank 3 cups of milk for every 1 cup of sugary drinks. Today that ratio is reversed: 3 cups of sugary drinks for every cup of milk. Tellingly, osteoporosis is a major health threat for 44 million Americans. Most experts now say that the real culprit is soda's displacement of milk in the diet, though some scientists believe that the acidity of colas may be weakening bones by promoting the loss of calcium.
5. Dental Caries And Erosion
Soda eats up and dissolves the tooth enamel8. Researches9 say that soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay.
The acidity can dissolve the mineral content of the enamel, making the teeth weaker, more sensitive, and more susceptible to decay. Soda's acidity makes it even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.
Dental experts continue to urge that people drink less soda pop, especially between meals, to prevent tooth decay and dental erosion.
6. Kidney Damage
There is good evidence that cola beverages can increase the risk of kidney problems, more so than non-cola sodas.
Researches clearly demonstrated that large quantities of cola result in enhanced kidney stone formation16-17. If you're wondering exactly how soft drinks cause kidney stones, it's because of their acidity and radical mineral imbalances. Your body must buffer the acidity of soft drinks with calcium from your own bones. As this calcium is eliminated through your urine, it slowly forms kidney stones.
In a study published in the journal Epidemiology14, the team compared the dietary habits of 465 people with chronic kidney disease and 467 healthy people. After controlling for various factors, the team found that drinking two or more colas a day (whether artificially sweetened or regular) was linked to a twofold risk of chronic kidney disease.
7.Increased Blood Pressure
Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of fructose, particularly in the form of soft drinks, leads to an increase in blood pressure22.
8. Likely To Cause Heartburn
Soft drink consumption is a strong predictor of heartburn20-21.
9. Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factor
Soft drink consumption is a significant risk factor for developing of metabolic syndrome18, a combination of the symptoms such as high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance.
10. Harmful Effects On Liver
There is evidence that consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to what chronic alcoholics have19.
11. Impaired Digestive System
Soda, no matter who makes it, is the most acidic beverage you can buy, with a pH of about 2.51, about the same as vinegar, but the sugar content disguises the acidity. To put that into perspective, consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH level of 7.
Why does that matter? Throughout the digestive system, that starts from the mouth and ends up at the anus only the stomach can resist an acidic environment up to pH 2.0. But before the acidity of soft drink reaches the stomach it passes through all the other organs involved in the digestive system thus causing an abnormal acidic environment. The linings of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus are highly sensitive to acids.
The phosphoric acid present in soft drink competes with the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and affects its functions. When the stomach becomes ineffective, food remains undigested causing indigestion, gassiness or bloating (swelling of stomach).
12. Dehydration
Another problem with sodas is that they act as dehydrating diuretics. Both caffeine and sugar cause dehydration.
Caffeine is a diuretic and causes an increase in urine volume. High concentration of sugar is drawing off water because your kidneys try to expel the excess sugar out of the blood. When you drink a caffeinated soda to quench your thirst, you will actually become thirstier.
13. High Caffeine Content
Another advantage of avoiding sodas is that you will avoid the unnecessary caffeine. Soda drinks are a major source of caffeine in the American diet.
High doses of caffeine can cause irritability, restlessness, tension, insomnia, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disturbance, excessive urination, irregular heartbeat and other side effects.
14. Toxins - Aspartame
If you think diet soda is better think again. The poison in diet soda is an artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. It is used because it's about 200 times sweeter than table sugar.
Despite US FDA approval as a "safe" food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances added to foods. After you drink an aspartame-sweetened product, aspartame breaks down into its starting components: phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (that further converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.). There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption10-13.
15. Possible Cell Damage Ability
A new health scare erupted over soft drinks recently amid evidence that they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative E211, known as sodium benzoate, found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA.
Sodium benzoate occurs in small amounts naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks.
16. There Are So Many Healthy Alternatives!
Soda replaces healthier drinks. By drinking soda, you cut the intake of fresh juices, milk, and even water and deprive yourself from essential vitamins and minerals.
* Water. Water is the best drink in the world.
* Tea. Any kind of tea - herbal, green or black - is rich in antioxidants, which were shown to protects the body form many health problems.
* 100% Juice. Fruit juice can be also useful for flavoring your water and teas.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Reality: Training is like auto insurance; otherwise get a big strong dog
We would all like to live in a world of peace and unconditional love but the reality of our existence through out history has been one of hostility and violence. So we must continue to evolve emotionally, physically and mentally expanding our knowledge and abilities to deal with the various threats and adverse situations we may inadvertently encounter.
The thought of being accosted or having to face the potential for physical violence is the reality of the world we live in. Kidnapping, car jacking, robbery, rape, assault, murder and domestic violence flood the news media.
The code of ethics by todays criminal is null, women, children, the elderly have all become targets, it is with this in mind that we have developed the PCW boot camp training method.
We all appreciate fitness training for a variety of reason, strength, health, body image, weight lose, conditioning, etc; But how often do consider the potential of having to face our deepest fears? What would you do? What can you do? What should you do? For training that goes beyond the physical, that taps into the base of survival tactics, that strengthens the mind, body and spirit.... PCW
We don't train with the intention of fighting, no more then purchase insurance with the notion of getting ill, or having an accident. It's a precautionary necessity. Sure we could rely on weaponry for defense, guns, pepper spray etc; but as I always make a point to tell my clients. "Unless you are prepared to walk around with them in your hand in a ready position 24-7 weapons are only as practical as your ability to get to them." It is better to prepare and strengthen your mind, body and knowledge of self defense techniques, practice under real life conditions and learn to adapt than to develop poor habits and a false sense of security around a weapon or gadget.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Are you living?
What does it mean to live life to the fullest?
Can this be achieved if we allow ourselves to be limited or restrained by antiquated social views as it pertains to any variety of judgmental or divisive thinking or attitudes toward age, skin pigment, or sexuality.
As we progress we should hope to obtain wisdom and knowledge with a higher understanding of self and the world around us. We should aspire to be and do better, lead by example and set a path for future generations.
But how can we hope to enlighten others if we are not willing to step out of the shadows cast upon us by customs and traditions, closed minds and ignorance.
It is time to step up and step out of the past and venture forward toward a new vision of the future, one that presents us with endless opportunity, creativity, friendships, love, wealth and knowledge.
Now is the time, today, this moment let us begin to unite, set goals, start on a new path and follow the vision that comes from your dreams. Live in optimism, walk in faith, obtaining knowledge of self and all things to manifest a safe and successful journey.
Can this be achieved if we allow ourselves to be limited or restrained by antiquated social views as it pertains to any variety of judgmental or divisive thinking or attitudes toward age, skin pigment, or sexuality.
As we progress we should hope to obtain wisdom and knowledge with a higher understanding of self and the world around us. We should aspire to be and do better, lead by example and set a path for future generations.
But how can we hope to enlighten others if we are not willing to step out of the shadows cast upon us by customs and traditions, closed minds and ignorance.
It is time to step up and step out of the past and venture forward toward a new vision of the future, one that presents us with endless opportunity, creativity, friendships, love, wealth and knowledge.
Now is the time, today, this moment let us begin to unite, set goals, start on a new path and follow the vision that comes from your dreams. Live in optimism, walk in faith, obtaining knowledge of self and all things to manifest a safe and successful journey.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Limitations are perceptions
I lost myself; I got caught up in the economics and lost my artistic integrity.
I found myself doing what I thought was necessary to acquire the finance rather then stay true to my passion and just do me, the me that initially broke through and received the accolades.
I had to take a few steps back in order to proceed forward and now its all clear. I now know the wall that blocked my progress was not as big as it appeared, stepping back from it I realize it too has limitations and I longer feel the need to have to break though it, stepping back from it I see there are ways around it and over it. I couldn’t see this before because I was to close to it.
I use my personal example as an artist, but it applies to all things. Removing our selves if only momentarily from a situation can offer an alternate perspective as we allow the dust to settle.
Take time for a moment of clarity free from the emotion of the situation at hand, breath deeply, release the anxiety and try to free yourself of any personal attachment so that you might visualize the situation or circumstance differently.
These are the first steps of many in a journey toward endless possibilities.
A. LaVelle
I found myself doing what I thought was necessary to acquire the finance rather then stay true to my passion and just do me, the me that initially broke through and received the accolades.
I had to take a few steps back in order to proceed forward and now its all clear. I now know the wall that blocked my progress was not as big as it appeared, stepping back from it I realize it too has limitations and I longer feel the need to have to break though it, stepping back from it I see there are ways around it and over it. I couldn’t see this before because I was to close to it.
I use my personal example as an artist, but it applies to all things. Removing our selves if only momentarily from a situation can offer an alternate perspective as we allow the dust to settle.
Take time for a moment of clarity free from the emotion of the situation at hand, breath deeply, release the anxiety and try to free yourself of any personal attachment so that you might visualize the situation or circumstance differently.
These are the first steps of many in a journey toward endless possibilities.
A. LaVelle
Friday, July 11, 2008
An image in a cracked mirror can’t be repaired
(Not a failed relationship, but further growth in the knowledge of what a relationship should and shouldn’t be.)
When you are dreaming with an open heart
Reality is the hardest part of waking up
Realizing the inevitable pain as the blinding haze clears
And you are no longer walking blindly following your heart
Bruised once again, so deeply that it can no longer be ignored
Bleeding, torn and split by to many deeply stabbing words
Not enough action to prove otherwise
A one sided desire to make it work seems too obvious now
The writing on the wall glowing red from the heated flames of countless innuendo
My love is no longer strong enough to hold the reigns of two
My passion though overflowing feels as if falling upon barren wastelands
Never to harvest a reciprocal level of understanding and growth
I now see the light and it no longer shine upon my image of Eden, but resides on a continuous struggle to no avail and to continue this fight seems futile
The casualties are too great as I see my dreams slowly dying and my inspirations wane
My optimism, creativity and motivation feel as if they are fading and I feel ill inside
Emotionally drained, exhausted and in physical pain I feel I’m losing myself to hold on to an illusion
I took steps in my past to be a better person and made a conscious effort to change, I can’t go backward or allow others to lead me back into the darkness…
Life is motion and growth, positive development.
We are meant to be nomads on a continuous quest for improvements mentally, physically, and economically.
Once we become stagnant, sedentary, complacent we are out of sync with nature; hence depression, frustration and despair.
A. LaVelle
Thursday, July 10, 2008
A lifestyle of change...
Fitness is a lifestyle, a commitment to change, to be better today than you were yesterday.
Not just physically, but a commitment to emotional, mental, and spiritual growth.
Fitness goes beyond the body temple; we should strive to obtain fitness of mind as well, seeking knowledge for it is the key to growth and enlightenment. To become enlightened and knowledgeable one must be open to change and have a willingness to challenge their way of thinking for continued development and understanding. Understanding of our selves is the key to making progress. Progress only comes with commitment and a desire to see beyond our perceived limitations as we begin to visualize all that we can, will and hope to be. This seemingly radical way of thinking is not new and we have all done it at some point in our life, rather consciously or subconsciously, we have all in one way or another altered a situation in our life by changing our perception or way of thinking toward it.
The powers of prayer, meditation or positive thinking are all ways of altering karma or life energies. As children we were told to make a wish, this is no different than speaking our desires into fruition, this completes the cycle.
A. LaVelle
Not just physically, but a commitment to emotional, mental, and spiritual growth.
Fitness goes beyond the body temple; we should strive to obtain fitness of mind as well, seeking knowledge for it is the key to growth and enlightenment. To become enlightened and knowledgeable one must be open to change and have a willingness to challenge their way of thinking for continued development and understanding. Understanding of our selves is the key to making progress. Progress only comes with commitment and a desire to see beyond our perceived limitations as we begin to visualize all that we can, will and hope to be. This seemingly radical way of thinking is not new and we have all done it at some point in our life, rather consciously or subconsciously, we have all in one way or another altered a situation in our life by changing our perception or way of thinking toward it.
The powers of prayer, meditation or positive thinking are all ways of altering karma or life energies. As children we were told to make a wish, this is no different than speaking our desires into fruition, this completes the cycle.
A. LaVelle
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