Thoughts I'd Like To Share...

I need to pray and I need to write.   I have been writing for as long as I could put together decent sentences.   I need to pray for patience and for God to take this hatred and anger out of my heart.   I need to write because it’s like free therapy for me.   By now, I’m sure you are intimately familiar with the Trayvon Martin case.   If you aren’t, he’s the young man that was shot down in the street like a dog by a bigoted, “wanna be cop,” vigilante calling himself a neighborhood watch captain.   First of all, George Zimmerman was not registered with the Sanford Police Department.   Secondly, he has a record so he had no business carrying a gun in the first place.   I have listened to a 911 call that Anderson Cooper had and you can clearly hear George Zimmerman calling Trayvon Martin a “coon.”   For those of you that are unfamiliar with this term, it is considered a racial slur.   Since the Sanford Police Department refuses to...

What if instead of just teaching children the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic we also taught them how to become entrepreneurs?   What if we started them on a journey of self-development at a very early age?   Just imagine how much further along they would be on their journey of self-actualization if they started sooner rather than later. Well, there is no need to imagine any longer!   I am going to embark on this journey with the few select students that enroll in our School’s Out Summer Camp.   We are going to spend eight weeks researching business models for young people and working on self-development along with having a great time doing purely fun-filled kid stuff and preparing academically. At the end of eight weeks, they are going to be ready to either start their own business or put the funding and preparation in place to start it when they are older.   They can always go and get traditional summer jobs but just suppose they could ...

Nothing like the untimely death of someone you’ve grown up admiring to cause plenty of quiet introspection. I am still in shock about the tragic and untimely death of Ms. Whitney Houston. It almost seems surreal… But it does beg the question, “Are you ready to get your act together yet?” This past weekend was my son’s 8 th birthday. True to our very unconventional nature, we decided to have a pool party in February. Now since we live in Florida, that’s not all that shocking in and of itself but wouldn’t you know it, we had a “cold snap” this weekend. Thankfully, it wasn’t too bad Saturday, about 70 degrees. But, the parents were cooperative, the children had a blast and our family was enjoying some much needed R&R. In fact, I was in the Arcade at the resort where we were staying when I got a text message from my friend, “Whitney Houston has passed? Turn on tv” To which I replied, “We’re in the arcade. Is she dead?” The heart-wrenching reply still causes a knot i...

A healthy body, soul and spirit is the key to a balanced lifestyle. In Twelve Pillars , A Novel by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener, it is referred to as living a “Life of Three-Dimensional Health. You should make sure that the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you.” Well-balanced healthy meals provide a variety of essential nutrients. Good nutrition helps you maintain a healthy weight and overall wellness. (taken from Herbalife International of America) Of equal importance is scheduling time to exercise. You see, setting goals and prioritizing your tasks is of little value if you are too sick, depressed or tired to do anything. You must attend to your spiritual well-being in addition to your physical well-being. In order to achieve success you must decide to make positive changes in your life that will help you reach your goals. Once you make that decision will you commit to doing the necessary things to reach your goals? Once you decide what you want out...

How will you prioritize your tasks for each day? You will align your activities with your goals. What is considered urgent and what is considered important? Urgent issues are equated with emergencies. Are you completing the urgent tasks first? You must commit to setting goals and aligning your tasks with accomplishing goals. According to Stephen Covey, you must…”put first things first.” You should assign a number to each task that you need to complete sooner rather than later. These are tasks that are urgent must be completed immediately or they will create crises. Urgent tasks will be given an assignment of one. Tasks that are important need to be completed in a timely manner but they are not urgent. They will be assigned a number of two. Once you determine the most urgent task that you must be complete each day, you should commit to focusing on that task until it is completed. By doing this, you can maximize your productivity and reduce the issues that require immed...

You must make an effort to find balance in 2012. Work hard but build lasting and meaningful relationships. Recently, I completed reading Twelve Pillars, a novel by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener. It has literally changed my perspective on the way I approach life. It has energized me to create a stable financial future but I also want to bring along as many other folks with me who want to work hard and play hard too! To that end, I am offering suggestions on ways to maximize your empire building efforts. The key is in managing your time wisely. Get yourself a day planner, use your phone, use your lap top but get out there and meet people but don’t forget to follow-up with them and build relationships. The fortune is in the follow-up. People want to do business with folks they know and like. The third Monday of each month is Connect over Coffee on Kirkman Road at the Jackson-Hewitt office. On Tuesday mornings at 8:30 there is a networking event operated by the SRB Networking Group ...

Protein is extremely important in the process of losing weight. The amount of quality protein in your diet is the single most important calorie that influences your metabolic rate favorably influencing weight loss. A significant body of evidence indicates that protein levels far higher than our government’s suggested levels of intake are optimal for weight loss as long as you simultaneously decrease carbohydrate intake. Increasing your intake of protein can greatly improve your odds of reaching your optimal weight. Quality protein also helps you sustain muscle during weight loss, improve muscle fitness, improve immunity, improve antioxidant function, build HDL cholesterol, and enhance insulin and leptin function – all of which contribute towards optimal weight management efforts over time. Protein is made up of various amino acids. The most important amino acid is leucine. Getting your protein intake high enough, especially proteins rich in leucine, can activate a sluggish metaboli...