Are You Getting Better or Getting Worse?

As you go through your day, when you are tempted to get discouraged, remind yourself that you're future is getting brighter; you are on your way to a new level of thinking, a new level of being.

You may think you've got a long way to go, but you need to look back at how far you've already come.

You may not be everything you want to be, but thank God that you're not what you used to be.

Daniel Goleman says in Primal Leadership, we're doing either one of two things... We're getting better or we're getting worse. Which direction are you headed in?

Keep your eyes on your vision and make it become a reality. I ended a great week where I received sign off in a number of areas and on my way to achieving the 2nd level of trainer out of three levels.

Setting The Direction

I have discovered the power of setting my compass for the day. Before I leave the house I tell myself it's going to be a great day. No matter what comes my way I will be able to handle it just fine. The negative energy will bounce off my force field my compass has set for me.

I started taking on different and better behaviors each day by reading a motivational/devotional over my first cup of coffee. I make sure there is no room in my heart and soul for the negative thoughts and motives to take root.

I'm in the middle of Joel Osteen's devotional book from his book "Your Best Life Now". The picture to the right is the cover of the book I start each day out with.

Joel Osteen has the largest Church in the United States with over 15,000 seats in a former arena in Houston. They have 4 services a Sunday serving over 62,000 people a week. Plus millions across the globe via television.

Joel has received a lot of pressure from mainstream churches since he doesn't preach a more "fire and brimstone" message.

Joel's is a message of hope and positive life experience. He brings in everyday life to his messages and I believe that's what attracts people, even if you don't believe there's a lot of life lessons you can still take away from his teaching.

This book seems to hit me over the head every day with something applicable in my life. I deserve the best things in life and in order to reap them I have to continually improve myself and the world around me.

Power To Choose Attitude - Set The Day's Direction

After a rough week of figuring out relationship at work and when people are being authentic or not I decided I would change the way I view people and their short comings. Thursday morning came around and I prayed as I drove to work and again the same on Friday morning.

I decided no matter what's going on around me and the games people may be playing or not playing with me I would choose my attitude for the day.

What a difference it makes when you choose your attitude before you even leave the house.

It's amazing the negative situations that will bump against and however not change it if I've already set it for the day.

I have too much to focus on right now learning the material. It's like memorizing a three day movie script.

I have a goal to be an Assistant Trainer by December 1st so there's a lot to accomplish between now and then. Study, Study, Study. My Director says it's like getting a PHD on Steroids.

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

Today wasn't a good one. When you think you're making a difference, then someone turns the tables on you. Communication is a very tricky skill to master. You say something in passing and it's taken and sensationalized and/or exaggerated and used in a negative manner.

This was the first day where I just wanted to give up. I'm caught in between two people who have great influence over me and I feel like a pawn on their chess board.

I respect and admire both individuals however they can't stand one another and have no trust between each other and I'm stuck in the middle.

This picture represents how I ended my day in the office.

I had a co-worker thank me for being me and gave me an article on trust.

It made me cry since the other side I'm getting feedback from says I'm not acting or behaving in ways they see as acceptable.

9 Year Old Speech With More Meaning Today

This is a speech delivered back in 1997 to the Mecklenburg County Commissioners in Charlotte, NC. The words of this speech ring even more true with what this country is going through with banning gay marriage. Read the entire speech, I think you will find the words profound and relevant to what's going on in our country today.

Background on why the speech was given:

Remarks to the Mecklenburg County Commission in opposition to a resolution to eliminate funding for the Arts & Science Council

NationsBank Principle Corporate Affairs Executive Joe Martin
Hearing in front of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
April 1, 1997

On April 1, 1997, the Mecklenburg County Commissioners in Charlotte voted 5-4 to adopt a proposal that would eliminate $2.5 million in funding for the Arts & Science Council - a unified arts campaign that annually funds more than $11 million worth of art initiatives in the Charlotte area. This year, associates at NationsBank gave more than $700,000 to the Arts & Science Council campaign.

The resolution adopted by the commissioners will deny the funding of projects that "promote, advocate or endorse behaviors, lifestyles and values that seek to undermine and deviate from the value and societal role of the traditional American family."

NationsBank Principle Corporate Affairs Executive Joe Martin was among the crowd of more than 700 who gathered at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center for a public hearing before the vote was taken.

Here are Joe's comments:

My name is Joe Martin. Whatever you may know about me, think of me now as an elder of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is that office that compels me to ask:

What, in the name of heaven, are you doing to this town?

This debate is not about the arts, is it? This is about something more fundamental. This is about the power of government on one hand and the nature of community on the other.

When you finish using that power to divide the community and remove homosexuals, whom will you then go after? Come to think of it, you don't seem to feel too good about mainline Presbyterians!

Here me: I am afraid of you. My family has been down this path with governments of moral arrogance before. The English burned us out of our thatched-roof cottages because we refused to obey their king or their Bible. The French burned our bodies at the stake because our religious beliefs were in conflict with the official interpretation of the Bible. And then we formed a government that allowed us to burn the skin of human beings with hot branding irons to make them our property and our government found justification for that in the Bible. So you may hide behind the Bible if you like, but I know you. I have seen you before.

"Oh, come on", you say, "we're just changing the way we fund the arts". But I've been listening to you. What you said is: "The Constitution won't let us arrest these people, so let's go outside the law and burn a few crosses on the lawns of their sympathizers."

Take a deep breath. So deep you can smell history. There's a stench in this government chamber, and it is centuries old. It is the smell of burning thatch in Scotland. It is the smell of burning flesh in France - and in Germany in this century. It is the smell of burning books in Boston. It is the smell of burning branding irons in Charleston. It is the smell of burning crosses in Charlotte.

It is the smell of government rotting in the abuse of its power, all in the name of religion.

A German Lutheran whose faith was different from yours said, "when they came for the Jews, I said nothing because I am not a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I said nothing because I am not Catholic. When they came for me, I cried out for help, but there was no one left to hear my cry."

When the word goes out into this dark night that "they have come for the gays", what do you think the people will do? Will they close their shutters and turn out the lights and put up yard signs that say, "It's okay; I'm not gay"? Or will they come out and light candles in the darkness and join hands with their neighbors and stare this government down, telling you to take your torches and back off? Back off!

Ironically, I am that "traditional American family" you keep talking about. So hear me: When one group of people uses the power of government to impose personal biases or religious beliefs on other people who are not doing anything illegal, the government itself becomes the most dangerous threat to traditional American values. And the time to stand up to that government is not when they come for me, but when they go after the first of my neighbors that they perceive to be weak.

Hear me: If you stand for the most basic of American values, say "No" to any proposal that would make anybody the victim of government power.

Life Is Short

Tuesday morning at 6:43 a.m. I received a phone call from a friend of my Mother's who has never called me before. Panic immediately entered my mind as I thought something must have happened to my parents or someone in my family. I answered and discovered that she was calling because her granddaughter was killed in a traffic accident the night before here in Las Vegas.

Monday evening October 9th at 5:15 p.m. Kellee Shambaugh was involved in a traffic accident here in Las Vegas. Kellee was killed leaving behind her husband Matt and two small boys, ages 3 and 18 months. Both are from my hometown back in Ohio and the last time I saw Kellee, she was only knee high on me. She was 28 years old when her life was tragically taken from the people who love her.

This drives home the point that you never know when you will shut your eyes for the last time. We all will have that moment when we have reached the end of this journey. How have you lived? How will you be remembered? Will people be better off for knowing you?

I thought about Kellee on the way to work Tuesday morning and it put into perspective for me just how fragile life is and the trivial things we get caught up in. How insignificant is that fight I had with a friend or loved one? It reminded me of what's really important. How many relationships have I neglected? I have some phone calls I need to make to stay connected with friends from all over the country. Sometimes it's just a simple phone call to say you matter to me, you add value to my life. Once again, it's about not waiting for times like these to let the ones closest to us know how much we care and love them. People in our life should not have to guess where they stand with us. They should not have to guess if they matter to you, if they add value to your life. I challenge everyone reading this, to take the time and make a difference!

Many times we don't put down the remote or newspaper to truly listen to how someone's day has gone. You might as well be looking them in the face and telling them "you die", anytime we're selfish, self-centered, not listening to people around us, we're basically telling them you don't matter enough for me to stop what I'm doing and take a few minutes for you. The most precious gift we can give someone is our time.

What legacy are you leaving? What ripples are you sending out? Are you giving out "live" or "die" votes in your daily interactions with people? Life is about relationships. When you get to the last moments of your life, are you going to say, gee I wish I would have caught more time with the TV or will you know that You've mattered in someone else's life?

Focus

I'm examining the focus I have one what matters most. I am working hard to get laser focus on my learning in order to be signed off as Assistant Trainer by December 1st. It's an aggressive schedule to get me there, but it's doable as long as I keep my focus level at Laser Focus.

It's easy to get distracted by other things that seem urgent but aren't necessarily important. I went through my season pass manager on Tivo and deleted some television shows that I love, due to needing the focus on other things.

Coach Dorrance once wrote a note to Mia Hamm and left in her locker.

"The vision of a Champion is someone who is bent over drenched in sweat at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching"

Who was Mia working so hard for? She was doing it for herself. Look at the dedication and laser focus she exhibited!

Can You Figure This Out?

There are two people that know what this means. Can you figure it out?

New And Better Behaviors

In the past couple weeks I've embarked upon creating new and better behaviors for myself. This is no easy task since it takes breaking old habits and beliefs I've held near and dear. One of the ways, is I open a daily inspirational book and read the passage for the day. It's been scary how closely they fit each day. I've just had a day like the inspiration I'm reading or it makes me have an Aha moment where it shifts my paradigm to some new way of thinking.

I'm challenging myself in ways I have never done before. Reading books like I've never read before and craving more and more books for learning. I hated reading when I was in school, now I'm finding buried treasure at every turn of the page. It has scared me cause instead of just reading one book from start to finish, I'm reading six at a time.

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit or create a new habit. I just wish I could stay active at the gym long enough for it to take hold.

Someone in class today shared something from the 8th Habit that struck a chord with me.

For the body - assume you've had a heart attack; now live accordingly.
For the mind - assume the half-life of your profession is two years; now prepare accordingly.
For the heart - assume everything you say about another, they an overhear; now speak accordingly.
For the spirit - assume you have a one-on-one visit with your Creator every quarter; now live accordingly.

The body and spirit are the two that struck me the hardest today. I need to focus on these two in particular.

Anything That Can Go Wrong.... Will

I'm sure everyone knows or heard of Murphy's Law... Anything that can go wrong. Will go wrong. They say Murphy was an optimist. I can relate to that thinking since it applies to me today.

We got to the classroom for our next workshop being held at the MGM Grand University. The room was not suitable but we had to use it since we were scheduled in it. The Audio Visual equipment wasn't working properly and they have us playing the music out of a portable "boom box". If we turned the "boom box" up too loud which is really where you can hear it the best, the CD's would skip or quit playing.

I've packed up my stereo equipment in a suitcase and taking it with me to class so we will have better quality sound and get the results we should have been getting from the start with the University.

Tired Tired Tired - But I'm Not Complaining

I know those aren't good words to say at my age, but it's how I feel from the first part of the week. We finished our first class of the week and getting ready to start our second class.

This picture represents how I feel tonight. I'm so tired, but I've been studying. My coach at work suggested that I try studying when I'm really tired cause it helps retain the information better.

I'm starting a new class tomorrow and getting ready for the two new pieces that I'm presenting. I was hoping to get signed off on some of the processes that I do, but if we don't have an assistant trainer in the room, the master trainers don't sign anyone off.

I'm looking forward to Sunday morning cause this is what I'll be doing and not paying any attention to that damn thing sitting on the night stand beside me.

Sunday is my only day off work, but won't really be a day off since I have to study and read in my down time from the classroom.

This is by far the most rewarding job... Actually it's not a job, it's a privledge that I happen to get paid for. Making a difference in people's lives by assisting them to reach new levels in themselves.

Serving A Higher Purpose

I finally got it tonight driving home. I've been reading different books, including the Purpose Driven Life among others. I'm seeing common threads amongst the books.

Tonight it hit me that "It's not all about me". In fact none of it is about me.

I have made a commitment tonight within my heart and soul to let go of my status and ego. None of it matters in the big picture.

People could care less about my status or my accomplishments. When my time is through on this planet it's not about what I've gained for myself. It's about what did I do for my fellow human beings.

Have I lived a life with higher purpose than myself? Are the people in my organization, community and nation better off for knowing me? Have I left my foot prints in the sand for future generations?

Have I left a legacy behind of loving kindness and empathetically listening? Did "I seek first to understand, then to be understood" or did I fail at listening while thinking of the response I was going to come up with instead of keeping my mind clear and focused while listening to what was being said.

I'm going to truly hold my light up as a splendid torch before handing it off to future generations.