Since the holidays is the time when most people wake up and realize their true blessings, I figured its a great time to share a few things that I am thankful for.
I'm thankful for:
Life
Family
Friends
Love
Happiness
Music
Knowledge (and my continuous quest to get more of it)
My Job
Wisdom
Open Minds
Sunshine
Now its your time to share. What are you thankful for??
While you're making your list, give a listen to "The Turkey Song"
Like the elephant, we are unconscious of our own strength. When it comes to understanding the power we have to make a difference in our own lives, we might as well be asleep. If you want to make your dreams come true, wake up. Wake up to your own strength. Wake up to the role you play in your own destiny. Wake up to the power you have to choose what you think, do, and say. -Keith Ellis
Wake up people!! Awaken the beast inside of you and become unstoppable. When someone puts an obstacle in your way, figure out a way to conquer it. Dont let the obstacle force you to quit. Quitting is not an option! There is always a way to make something work, you just have to be willing to find it! Accept the cards you were dealt and play them as best you can. Stop using the past as an excuse. You cant change where you were born. You cant change who your family is. You can't change what your childhood was like. What you can do is focus on the things you can change. Focus on deciding the type of person you want to become. Focus on sculpting your career path. Focus on your future and use your past as motivation for a better life. Focus on surrounding yourself with people who can help you become better. When things (job, relationship, school) don't work out in your favor, it is because you do NOT need those things in your life anymore. Dont spend your time dwelling on failure. Bad relationships, negative people and jobs that dont challenge you are all DEAD weight; BURY them! Do not mourn when you lose those things, use them as a challenge to wake up and recognize what you still have. Dont fall victim to complacency. Dont be afraid of change. Dont be afraid to eliminate the things that are holding you back. Wake up and give yourself the opportunity to do something great today!
When life hands you lemons, ask for sugar and water and make a delicious lemonade!!
P.S. Remember to go through your social networking accounts and remove everything that doesnt pass the "Grandmother test." Whats the grandmother test? Its a standard for social networking that requires you to remove anything from your profile that you would be too embarrassed to show your grandmother.
GREAT morning beautiful people!! Happy "Almost Friday" to those of you who work a standard workweek and a Happy Thursday to everyone else!
"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” -Albert Einstein
Have you ever noticed there are moments when you are so happy all you can do is smile? I sure hope so. Do you remember what you were doing? Was it shopping? Was it spending time with your family? Was it snuggled up with your significant other?
Its no secret that we have a tendency to tie our happiness to people and things, but today I challenge you to break those ties. While I am not recommending that we rid ourselves of the things that make us happy, I am challenging you to transfer your happy energy from people and things to goals and accomplishments.
Is your happiness tied to the weather? Are you as happy in the rain as you are when the sun is shining?
Is your happiness tied to material things? Are you as happy when you're at home watching television as you are when you're out shopping?
Is your happiness tied to a person? Are you as happy doing things alone as you are when you are with your S/O?
Is your happiness tied to food? Are you as happy when you're eating (even though you're not hungry) as you are when you decide you're satisfied with the food you've already eaten?
YOU are the one who must decide to tie your happiness to your goals & accomplishments. Focus on yourself and what makes YOU who you are. Things perish and people let you down. Master the ability to deal with your own problems and discover what life is like when you have decided you want to be happy!!
Remember you have to believe in yourself before you expect others to do the same!
If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
This morning's message is all about giving thanks. Today I woke up and it was one of those mornings where I realized how blessed I really am. I dont think you get it. I lit'rally woke up this morning and said "Man I am blessed." Although I publish inspiration for you all, sometimes I lose sight of my own strength and inspiration. I have my own struggles and insecurities but I chose not to allow them to get the best of me. This is because I believe for every ONE thing I could choose to complain about, there are 100 other things I could give thanks for. For example, I could complain about having a headache OR I could give thanks for awareness, for sanity, for having the funds to purchase meds and for having a warm place to sleep it off. I have come a long way on my journey to adulthood and I am still learning and deciding the type of person I want to become. I am not the wealthiest woman in the world but I am not poor either. I am thankful for where I am and I appreciate everyone and everything in my life right now. I encourage you to do the same. Maybe you dont understand what it means to be thankful for the little things but I hope you do. With that said, I hereby declare today a day to give thanks. Don't wait until Thanksgiving (or any other holiday) to recognize what you are thankful for, you can do it right now! Fight for what you believe in, give yourself to the people you love and remain humbled and thankful for all that you have. At the same time, recognize that you can work to create or obtain the things you lack.
Since this song was in my heart this morning, its my song choice. Check it>> Total Praise.
GREAT morning beautiful ladies and gents! Happy Tuesday!
"It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction."Warren Buffett
Always surround yourself with positive people who will keep you in line but its time to add another characteristic to that list: someone who is better than you. Are you the smartest person you know? Are you the wealthiest person you know? If your answer to either of those questions is yes, its time for you to get out and meet some new people. Today's challenge is to find people who are better than you. Do not get this challenge confused by allowing people who make you feel insecure and "less than." Do not ever allow anyone to make you feel that way and if its clear they do so on purpose, grab the scissor and cut all ties. No one is better simply because of who they are; they are better because of what they have accomplished and because of their potential to accomplish more. Find people whose behavior is what you aspire to be and allow their attitudes to rub off on you. This person could be a mentor who just passed the NY bar (Congrats XW) or they could be a friend who is a better writer or a better dancer than you are. Connect with people who are better at the things you seek to improve about yourself.
A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep. -Vernon Howard
I challenge you all to cease searching for the approval of others. Seek first to accept everything about yourself and to love yourself unconditionally. Do not worry about whether your friends will approve of your decisions or whether your family will be disappointed. While I admit there is a special kind of satisfaction that comes with hearing "job well done" I encourage all of you to motivate yourself. You know when you did a good job and you know when you fell below the standard of excellence. Make all of your decisions going forward based on what really makes you happy. Work where you want to work. Date who you want to date. Live where you want to live. Drive what you want to drive. Eat what you want to eat. Teach people how to treat you. Set your own standards and do not allow the opinions of others change them. As long as you allow your decisions to be influenced by what you believe others will think, you will be married to the opinions of others. Its time to divorce yourself of those opinions and live your life for yourself! Although your decisions may impact someone else's life, you are the only one who has to live with all of the consequences of your decisions. Make your own mistakes. Make your own goals. Create your own stamp of approval and stamp your own life.
Its time to do your happy dance. Today's song choice: Kid Rock-Born Free
In honor of Veterans Day, today's inspiration is dedicated to all Veteran's, near and far. Below are a few quotes to live by:
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. -George S. Patton
It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. -Unknown
Freedom is never free. -Author Unknown
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. -Mark Twain
Where there are too many policemen, there is no liberty. Where there are too many soldiers, there is no peace. Where there are too many lawyers, there is no justice.” -Lyn Yutang
This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. -Elmer Davis
To every veteran near and far, I'd like to take the time to say THANK YOU! I encourage all of you to thank a Veteran today for the freedom you enjoy. They sacrifice their time and risk their lives through the bold decision they make to become a serviceman or servicewoman. I'd also like to thank the families and others who support our veterans because you all deserve recognition as well.
Do something today that embodies the theme of Veteran's Day: "Honoring all who served."
Before you carry on with your day, take a moment of silence for all of those veterans who lost their lives serving our great nation! Before you say anything, YES I understand that is what Memorial Day is for.
Check out Obama honoring Veterans during his visit to South Korea.
Sidenote: I recently sent a care package to a very special soldier overseas. It was easy and more simple than I imagined. If you have a few moments a month, I encourage you to adopt a soldier and send him/her their favorite knick-knacks and you can do so for under $20!!! For many of them, it is not about what is inside the package as much as it is about the care and thought that went in to sending it.
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today I challenge you to decide what type of person you want to be. Sometimes we get so caught up in becoming the person our parents, employers, friends, family and spouse want us to become that we forget who we really want to be. You get to choose who you want to become. You decide if you want to become a person who wakes up early or a person who sleeps in late. You get to decide if you want to be a trend setter or one who conforms to trends set by others. You decide what your dreams are and what success looks like for you. You decide your own definition of beautiful.
Do you want to be the type of person who is known for remembering birthdays or forgetting birthdays? Do you want to be known as dependable?
Do you want to be a fan of a certain NFL team?
Do you like playing a certain sport?
What are you waiting for? Get up and make it happen! Its your world and you deserve to conquer it!!
Remember in order to open your heart to receive the love of others you must first let go of the pain in your past.
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will find them gradually, without noticing it, and live along some distant day into the answer." -Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Instead of taking up time sharing how this quote impacts me, I want to hear from my readers today. What does this quote mean to you? How do you plan on beating the Monday blues?
Today's song choice: "Four Women" performed by Kelly Price, Marsha Ambrosius, Jill Scott & Ledisi during last evening's Black Girl's Rock show which aired last night on BET.
GREAT afternoon beautiful people!!! Happy Tuesday!
Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways. ~Stephen Vincent Benét
The above quote speaks volumes. This day will NEVER come again and you do not get to rewind the days to correct your mistakes. Taking advantage of every day starts with taking advantage of every minute and then taking advantage of every hour. After you spend a few minutes reading this, get off you butts and make great things happen!
Sidenote: Tomorrow is my birthday!!! Do a pre-birthday happy dance with me to this song.
