Dream Robbers

“Goals are Dreams Written Down.” Unknown

My son, Jordan, has a dream of opening up his own music production studio. He said he can visualize how it looks with specific detail. My daughter, Ashtyn, has a dream of opening up her own restaurant. She knows where she wants her restaurant and the type of cuisine she will serve. My wife and I support their dreams and will do whatever we can to help them achieve them. We wouldn’t dream of robbing them of their dreams.

Do you have dreams? I mean big audacious dreams! Have you achieved any of your dreams or are you close to achieving them? If you are realizing your dreams, it is probably because you have them written down. Moreover, you probably have people in your life that support your dreams.

Maybe you have given up on your dreams. Maybe there are people in your life who have said your dreams are so big you will never achieve them. There are people out there that I call dream robbers. Because they don’t have dreams of their own, they want to rob you of yours. They steal your passion for your dreams; they rob you of the joy your dreams give you through their consistent negative thinking. As a result, you are left hopeless and empty.

The drive you had is all gone and the ones who stole your dreams have the satisfaction of knowing you are going to leave them. You see there are people out there who are afraid to dream and as a result they do not want you to dream. Why? Because you will leave them behind.

I spoke at an organization for high school students and I asked them if they had dreams. One of them said he dreamed of being a disc jockey for a radio station. He said he had done research and visited a station and really wanted to pursue a career in the radio industry. However, he was putting his dream off because his parents said there is not a lot of money in it. The student was totally wiped out, all he wanted was to be a DJ. How sad!

If you allow people to rob you of your dreams, it will torment you for the rest of your life. You will look back and regret that you allowed another person to steal your dreams.

If you want to be a dream achiever I have a few security keys that will allow you to safeguard your dreams and goals:

• Write your dreams down.
• Your dreams should have a beneficial purpose.
• Distill them down to smart goals with the appropriate actions for achieving them.
• Visualize your goals. If you can see it, you can achieve it.
• Focus on achieving your dreams with a laser-like focus. This focus will drive your actions.
• Only share your dreams with those who will support you and build you up.

Don’t be afraid to dream. Dreams give you purpose and fuel for living. Don’t let anyone break down the door to your dreams and rob you. Stand firm in your desire to achieve your dreams.

I Can't Stop The Rain

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.”  ~John Ruskin

It’s cold, then rainy, then windy, and then it’s hot!  Have you found yourself complaining about the weather?  I will admit that I do.  I love the sun, I am a solar person.  When it’s raining, I can feel my internal battery draining.  I then start to complain and ask, “When is the rain going to stop?”

Recently, parts of the country have experienced extremely heavy rainfall, which resulted in record level flooding.  Lives, homes and personal property were lost.  As I saw images on the news of the total devastation of whole communities, I started to reflect, and felt bad about my complaining. 

I committed to stop my whining and embrace each and every day for the opportunity it presents. To feel the cold, the rain, the wind and the heat on my skin is a blessing.

It is about experiencing life! 

You may be experiencing rain or heat in your life.  The heat of a poor economy or the rain of a myriad of personal problems.  Hold on, take a deep breath and let go of the things you cannot control and place your faith in God, the One who is able to get you through whatever you are going through.

Can a man, by worrying, add a day to his life?

“Every evening I turn my worries over to God.  He’s going to be up all night anyway” Mary C. Crowley

Have you ever seen the Traveler’s Insurance commercial where a dog takes his bone and tries to find a safe and worry-free place to place it?  He tries to bury it.  Then he places it in a safety deposit box.  That night he tosses back and forth worrying about the bone until he can’t take it anymore.  He then returns to the bank and takes it out.  Worry!

My mother used to always tell me not to worry about anything until you have something to worry about.  I love that!  So many of us allow ourselves to worry about things that have not even happened yet.

We start to build in our minds scenarios of what can possibly happen to us as a result of something that is going on around us. We think of the worst possible outcomes and then may even find ourselves unwittingly working towards making them happen.  Have you ever heard someone say, “I am a worry wart?”  It’s almost like they wear it like a badge of honor.

During one of my speeches I asked the attendees how many of them were filled with worry, anxiety and fear?  Several of them raised their hands.  I asked, “How is it working for you?”  They all started to laugh.  Laughter, that’s a good thing.  Laughing at things you cannot control takes some of the power and sting out of the situation.

The next time you are tempted to worry, think about giving the following a chance to help you overcome the temptation:

·         Ask yourself, what is the worst that can happen?  Then develop a game plan so in the event the worst happens, you are prepared to face it head on.

·         Don’t sweat the small stuff!  Don’t let the small stuff be bigger than it is.

·         Fill your mind with positive thoughts!  Displace the negative with the positive.

·         Remember:  This too shall pass!  Whatever you are going through will not last forever.

·         Lastly, pray and read your Bible.  Filling your heart with God’s soul food will leave you full and satisfied.

Although life will never be completely worry free, remember, worry never solved a problem or added a day to your life. 

What side of the bed did you wake up on?

Each day we wake up faced with the choice of how we are going to embrace the day.
  
How you embrace the day may depend on the amount of sleep, and the quality of sleep you had during the night.  How many times has your alarm gone off and you hit the snooze button because you are not ready to get up?  The quality of the sleep you had can make a tremendous difference on how you see the day.

Have you ever heard the term “he/she woke up on the wrong side of the bed?”  How many days during the week do you wake up feeling crabby and out of sorts?  Although sleep may be ". . . little slices of death” (Edgar Allen Poe), all of us need sufficient sleep.

A good night’s sleep can energize you and open up your mind to creative thinking.  When I get good sleep, I feel like there is nothing I can’t accomplish.

Before you get out of bed, providing you did not oversleep, be grateful for waking up to see another day. While lying down, take time to get a good stretch.  Take a deep breath.  Take time to collect your thoughts.  Now get out of the bed.

One of the worst things you can do in my opinion is to jump out of the bed and rush out of the house before you can even think about your day.

Instead of waking up on the wrong side, try waking up on the right side, the choice is yours.  

Do you have an Attitude or an ATTITUDE?

When you think of attitude what goes through your mind?  How you answer the question can reveal a lot about your current state.  Would your answer reveal someone who appears to be happy all the time or maybe someone who walks around with a chip on their shoulder?  Obviously, one is positive and the other negative.

A positive attitude is more than walking around with a smile on your face or projecting an air of happiness, not that there is anything wrong with that as long as it is genuine.  I think a positive attitude is more than just being upbeat and appearing happy.  I believe there are other forms of a positive attitude that can be just as liberating and uplifting to the people we interact with in our lives.

 

Here are just a few of the positive attitudes that I embrace:

• An Attitude of Compassion – A desire to free those who are hurting and suffering.
• An Attitude of Gratitude – Appreciation and thankfulness expressed for the blessings we have received.
• An Attitude of Forgiveness – Acknowledging the hurt and the wrongs done to you, but being willing to forgive whether you are asked or not.
•  An Attitude of Service – Living life with your hands stretched out with palms down.  Giving, not receiving.

Attitude is everything.  It is important that you embrace an attitude that elevates your mind and heart, which positively impacts the lives of those you come in contact with.

My father in-law used to say to my son, “There are a lot of attitudes out there, now go pick a good one!” 

This Is Not a Rehearsal

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.”

Wayne Dyer

This past week I met with a friend of mine that I haven't seen for a long time.  I asked him what's happening and he simply said, "Life is happening." 

It got me to thinking how many days in my life that I just let life happen to me. How many times do I go through the days and weeks with no real plan.  As I continue to mature as a person, I realize that there are no do-overs in life, this is not a rehearsal.  I also realize that I can change the course of my life by living it the way God intended me to. How? By serving others, my family, friends and the new people who come into my life.   

Life presents so many challenges, but it also presents just as many opportunities to accomplish great things, and to make a significant and positive impact in the lives of others.

If you want to live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful you can start today.  It is not too late!

Are you living life as though today could be your last day on earth?  

THIS TOO SHALL PASS!

Worried about losing your home or your car?  Are you in jeopardy of losing your job?  Is the economy running you through the proverbial ringer?   If you’ve lost your job, do you feel like you will never get another one?  Has the loss of your job affected your marriage and relationships?

The economy is down and then we hear that things are turning around, but for many of us, we do not see it.  Fuel and food prices are still high!  We want to buy nourishing food, but all we can afford is the cheaper cuts of meat and canned vegetables.  Life for many of us is a struggle.  I hear so many people talk about how hopeless they feel.

It is incredible to me how much time and energy we spend fretting and worrying about things we cannot control.  The result is sleeplessness, anxiety, and overwhelming fear.

I know you don’t believe it now, but THIS TOO SHALL PASS!  It will not always be this way.  Many of the people who went through the Great Depression and the Great Recession of the early 70’s also experienced tremendous financial loss.  But, you know what?  It Passed!

The key to making it through these tough and trying times is staying focused on the fact that things will get better.   Armed with a positive attitude and laser- like focus on uncovering new opportunities, you can make it through this dark tunnel.  There is a light at the end.

Until then, take time to enjoy the simple things in life, like a cup of your favorite beverage, a book, or visiting family and friends.   I know this may sound overly simplified, but there are so many of us who, because of circumstances, forget to take the time to remember . . . THIS TOO SHALL PASS!