DONT "CHILL" TOO LONG!!!

There was this one time that I was hanging out with my brother at his house. Whenever I'm with my brother there is usually beer involved. So, we bought some beers and brought them up to his house. But, I left 2 in my car to bring home with me. So, we drink the beers right away. A few hours later I leave my brothers house and get home and I forget to take the beers out of my car. So I keep forgetting about them and forgetting about them a couple of weeks went by and I remember that they are in the car and I go to take them out because these are perfectly good beers and I want to enjoy them today. But, it was summertime and the beers were all hot by now. So I bring them upstairs and I put them in the freezer just to "Chill" for a little while. My intention was only to have them "chilling" for 45 minutes to an hour or so. But, life happens and I got caught up doing a million and one things and I wasn't even thinking about the beers. Life went on and I didn't even realize that the beers were still "Chilling".  A whole day went by and I finally got back to the beers that were "Just chilling" and when I opened my freezer there were shards of broken glass and chunks of frozen beer all over my freezer. Somehow, the other beer didn't explode but It "froze" Because I wasn't paying attention to how long I that I let the beer "Chill", the beer "Chilled" and "Chilled" and "Chilled" until it was completely frozen at which point it was completely useless it had become a mess. That I now had to go clean up. The other beer that didn't explode was frozen and I tried to salvage it by letting it thaw out, but by the time it thawed out it lost its taste and freshness and flavor and fizziness (I doubt if that's a word but, you get my point). The beer had to thaw out and when it did the beer lost all of its qualities that make beer good. It was watered down and eventually I threw it away and replaced it with a new beer that I bought fresh from the store.

I guess the moral of this story is that our lives can kind of be like those beers. I speak with a lot of people and I often use other peoples dreams and goals and energy as fuel to propel me to keep trying to achieve my own. But, often when I ask people what they are up to the response is often "I'm just chilling". I'll say how are your plans your dreams and goals going are you moving closer to them or farther away and they say "I'm just chilling". I guess the moral of the story is that when you are "just chilling" its easy to lose track of the time that you are "Just chilling" for. But I have learned that if you "Chill" too long you might freeze. If you "chill" too long and freeze, you are now motionless, your stuck and you cant move. You are no longer fluid or have the ability to move or make moves or crash boldly like flowing water in motion. You become motionless and stuck. Your life could explode and end up out of control and  becoming a mess that you or someone else is going to have to clean up. You may end up freezing and having to thaw out. And those good qualities and skills and talents that you had that made you, you will be all watered down and lose some of their value and you may lose some of your value in the market place you could become easily replaceable by those who have kept their skills and talents sharp and fresh.

I guess my whole point is STAY BUSY! STAY IN MOTION! ALWAYS BE WORKING! ALWAYS BE THINKING! ALWAYS BE DREAMING! KEEP GOING! KEEP ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME! When you think about quitting or giving up on your dream or when you think about "Chilling", remember Newton's first law of motion. The law of inertia which states that AN OBJECT/BODY IN MOTION STAYS IN MOTION AND AN OBJECT/BODY AT REST STAYS AT REST UNLESS ACTED ON BY AN EXTERNAL FORCE!

FOR ALL OF THE BODIES AT REST ALLOW ME TO BE THAT EXTERNAL FORCE THAT GETS YOU INTO MOTION!

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS GETS ROUGH AND LONELY AND DARK AND DOUBTFUL, BUT NONE OF THAT IS OUR CONCERN! LETS KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE! AND LETS KEEP GOING!

IF YOU ARE GOING THROUGH HELL, KEEP GOING!
-Winston Churchill

STAY HUNGRY, KEEP IMPROVING, KEEP YOUR MIND AND YOUR SKILLS SHARP! AND REMEMBER....

DONT "CHILL" TOO LONG AND END UP FROZEN! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO KEEP MOVING! KEEP FLOWING! I ENCOURAGE YOU TO......

"BE WATER MY FRIEND"
-Bruce Lee

ITS OUR TIME!

THE WORLD IS OURS!

LETS GO GET IT! KEEP MOVING!

PEACE!

WHICH ONE OF US IS WITHOUT SIN?

I don't know if every one reads or even believes in the Bible or what your feelings are about the Bible. I have read the it Old Testament and New a couple of times and I am working on the Qur'an now. I don't read these books from a religious standpoint but more so for the amazing stories and parables with meanings and morals that are applicable to life. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is in John 8:1-11. In the story it says that Jesus went to the Mt. Of Olives and the next morning he went into the temple to teach. When he started teaching the people came to Jesus with this woman and they said Jesus Jesus we have this lady who was caught committing adultery. I mean she was literally caught in the act. We caught her red handed. The people said to Jesus according to the "Book" Moses in the law commanded that a person caught in the act of committing adultery is in violation of GOD'S law and she should be stoned. The people said "Well, what do you want to do Jesus? Lets go ahead and get this stoning going". Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground and pretending not to hear the crowd wanting to stone the woman. The crowd again said " What's up Jesus, what do you want to do. The law says we are supposed to stone her, for she has committed sin". So Jesus, stands up from writing on the ground and says "Y'all, want to kill this woman right? Let me get this straight. Y'all want to stone this woman to death because she committed sin? Am I hearing this right?"  The people said you heard right. The book and the law that Moses passed on says that she should be stoned for committing such sins. Jesus said "Ok stone her then, but do me a small favor first Jesus said LET HE AMONGST YOU WHO IS WITHOUT SIN, CAST THE FIRST STONE!" Seriously, y'all are right! Stone this woman because she has sinned! I want everybody to pick up your stones, and all I ask is that the person who has never committed sin throw their stone at her first. The crowd all looked around at each other and there was not one, who had not committed sin. One by one from the oldest to the youngest, they all dropped their stones and turned around and walked away. Jesus was eventually left alone with the young lady said to the young lady where are your accusers now? Has anyone condemned you? The woman said no. Jesus said, neither do I. Now go, and sin no more.

Jesus could've called her names or gossiped about her and told her how bad she was. Jesus could've said "now you know you have no business sleeping with all these men. You should be ashamed of yourself" Jesus could have called her all kinds of names and stuff but he didn't. He could've called his friends and was been like "Such and such was sleeping with such and such". He could've gossiped about her but he didn't. He told her to go and sin no more.

Growing up my father was into politics and helping the community and helping to get people Jobs and helping people get back on their feet. So growing up, I was surrounded by Drug addicts, ex convicts, parolees, Judges, Mayors, County Legislators, Attorneys, musicians, pastors, reverends etc. My father told me that some people may do bad things. But that doesn't make them bad people. We all make mistakes and we all commit sins. But none of us are perfect or without sin, therefore NONE OF US ARE IN POSITION TO SIT AND JUDGE ANY ONE OF US. Though we may all be STRIVING for perfection NOT ONE OF US HAS REACHED IT YET.WE ARE ALL IN THIS LIFE TOGETHER WE ARE ALL A PART OF THE WHOLE, AND WE WOULD ALL BE BETTER OFF LEARNING FROM AND HELPING ONE ANOTHER THAN WE WOULD JUDGING OR CRITICIZING EACH OTHER. My pops told me that MOST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ARE GOOD PEOPLE AND TO TREAT ALL PEOPLE GOOD!

WE ARE ALL IN THIS THING TOGETHER!

LETS CONTINUE TO LOVE, LETS CONTINUE TO DREAM, AND FOLLOW OUR DREAMS AND LETS CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO DO THE SAME!

THE WORLD IS OURS!

LETS HELP EACH OTHER GO GET IT!

PEACE!

 

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SHARPENED YOUR AXE?

I read this story the other day about this guy who was trying to land a job as a wood cutter. So he goes to this lumber company and approaches the foreman and said "I'm here for the job, I want to be a wood cutter". The foreman said OK cool, show me what you got. The foreman told the guy let me see you cut down this tree. Because the job had great pay and benefits and working conditions the man wanted to be sure to do a great job and impress the foreman to insure his position. So The man whipped out his axe and within minutes had successfully chopped down the tree. The foreman was so impressed that he offered the man the job on the spot. He told him that he could start on Monday. Monday comes and the man goes to work. He cuts down 18 trees on his first day. the foreman was impressed. Tuesday comes and the man cuts down 13 trees. Wednesday comes and the man concerned about the decline in his productivity said to himself "I know what I will do, I will double my effort today and I will get back to cutting down 18 trees again in no time". So, Wednesday comes and the man goes to work with a new attitude determined to cut down at least 18 trees. But, despite his best efforts, Wednesday ends and the man could only cut down 10 trees. Thursday comes and the same thing happens. The man tries his hardest to double his efforts. He even says "I'm going to skip lunch, I'm not going to take any breaks at all, I'm going to work as hard as I can for as long as I can". But despite all of this, Thursday comes and the man ends the day with 8 trees. The man comes in at the end of his shift on Thursday and hangs up his hat and his equipment and all of that and the foreman says to the man, "you can pick up your check on the way out today". The man says "pick up my check? I thought we get paid on Fridays". The foreman said "yeah we normally pay on Fridays but, we gotta let you go today because according to our charts you have fallen behind. You went from 18 trees to 8 you went from first place to last and well, sorry son we gotta let you go".  The man said "I don't get it . How could this be? I'm one of the hardest workers you have, I'm always the first to arrive and always the last to leave. I work through my coffee breaks and my lunch breaks. I never stop all I do is cut wood, I never take breaks". The foreman thought about everything the man was saying and agreed that the man was the hardest worker that he had and he never took breaks, why is he falling behind the foreman thought. Sensing the mans integrity the foreman looked up and asked the man "WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SHARPENED YOUR AXE"?  The man replied "SHARPEN MY AXE? MAN I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE SHARPENING NO AXE! I BEEN TOO BUSY TRYING TO CUT DOWN TREES!

I guess the point of this story and the point of me telling this story is I have learned recently that in our day to day lives, we can so easily get caught up in our grinds our jobs our businesses our work. We try to go so hard day in and day out thinking that the more hours we spend doing something, the more productive we will be. A lot of times what we don't realize is that our lives are similar to the blade of an ax. If you continue to use that blade without sharpening it the blade eventually becomes dull and useless. If in your life and work if you continue to work and work and never take time to read books, go back to school, take classes or attend seminars related to your field, if you don't take the time to improve your skills or gain as much insight into you business or industry or craft as possible if you forget about the importance of mental, physical health and fitness, and don't eat right or exercise at all, if you don't take time to kiss your kids or hang out with your wife and family, if you don't take time to meditate or reflect on your life and progress, and all you do is try to work and "cut wood" and go hard work and go hard GRIND GRIND GRIND. Eventually your life will end up like that overused axe blade. THE AXE AND YOUR LIFE WILL BOTH BE DULL AND USELESS! You will have worked and worked and worked your whole life and by the time you look up you will find yourself making less and less progress.

I have recently learned that if you are busy trying to "Cut down trees" if you are trying to create and run a successful business and be an entrepreneur, if you are aspiring to be a professional rapper, singer, dancer, actor or actress, doctor, nurse, speaker, sales person, barber, graphic designer, personal trainer, beautician, or launching a clothing or jewelry line etc. Remember that what you are embarking on is BUSINESS. Its called show BUSINESS, the music BUSINESS its the beauty INDUSTRY, its the health care INDUSTRY, the fashion INDUSTRY. Business and industry are CONSTANTLY moving forward. There are always new innovations and technologies and systems being developed and rolled out and if you are not reading, or going to trade shows or networking and constantly learning then you are falling behind and your "blade" will eventually get dull.

I have learned that when it comes to "cutting down trees" it is isn't always about who could swing an ax the hardest or the fastest or about who is the strongest or who could swing the ax the most times. The fella who is going to go home with the most wood will most likely be the fella with the sharpest axe.

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening my axe."

-Abraham Lincoln

 

SIGN UP FOR A CLASS, GO BACK TO SCHOOL, JOIN A TRADE ORGANIZATION, INTERN, VOLUNTEER, GO TO TRADE SHOWS, RESEARCH YOUR FIELD, EXPAND YOUR PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE, FIND A MENTOR WHO IS ALREADY SUCCESSFULLY DOING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO etc. DO WHAT IT TAKES TO GET BETTER AND IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS! DO WHAT IT TAKES TO SHARPEN YOUR AXE!

 

KEEP DREAMING! KEEP BELIEVING IN THOSE DREAMS! KEEP PURSUING! KEEP LOVING! KEEP MOVING FORWARD AND LETS KEEP ENCOURAGING AND HELPING EACH OTHER TO DO THE SAME, FOR.......

 

AS IRON SHARPENS IRON, MAN SHARPENS MAN!

Proverbs 27:17

THE WORLD IS OURS!

PEACE!

 

HURT PEOPLE, HURT PEOPLE!

There was this one time when I was a little kid, I went swimming with my brother and my cousins. We were at Tibetts Brook Park in Yonkers NY. My brother and cousins were all older and bigger and taller than me so they wanted to go into the deep end but I was too short. So we got in the pool and they kept walking and walking into the deep end, and I'm trying my best to keep up with them eventually my feet were no longer touching the ground and I couldn't swim. I immediately started going under panicking. I was flapping my arms and kicking my legs all frantically. I'm flapping my arms and legs and I'm coming up above water for fractions of a second at a time. But every time I would come up above water to take a breath I would gulp down mouthfuls of pool water. This was the end for me I thought, Its over. I remember being scared to death. But, I remember vividly the pool was jam packed with people (Which is probably why no lifeguard or no one else even noticed me drowning). But, in a desperate act to save myself, I saw other people swimming around me so I pushed down on them and pushed their heads down just to push myself up. I would pull down on other peoples bathing suits in order to pull myself up so that I could survive. I wasn't doing it because I wanted anyone else to drown. I wasn't intentionally trying to hurt anyone else. Its just that I was drowning. I was going down I was scared and panicked and the only way that I could think of to save myself, the only way that I could think of pull myself up would be by pushing or pulling others around me down. The people who I had to push or pull down weren't targeted victims. It wasn't personal at all.  They just happened to be the ones near me at the time.

Remembering this incident proved to be a great lesson in my older years. It taught me how to deal with people. I have learned that angry, nasty, mean, bitter, condescending people who try to push or pull others down or degrade or demean others, is usually because they are so hurt, lost and scared and so unhappy or sad or self conscience or insecure and depressed by their own lives. Because they are down and drowning in their own misery, just like the scared little kid I was when I was drowning, they feel like the only way for them to survive and live is by trying to push or pull others around them down.  I would venture to say that the overwhelming majority of times, just like those people I had to push or pull down in the pool, Its not personal, you are not an intended victim. They are drowning and you just happen to be closest to them at the time. They don't mean any harm. Its just that RUDENESS, ANGER, BITTERNESS, CONDESCENSION IS A WEAK MANS IMITATION OF STRENGTH!

I've learned that people who are unhappy with themselves and their own lives often try to even the score by trying to make other people as miserable and unhappy as they are. Those who are unhappy with the progress and status of their own lives will try to belittle the progress and the status of others. Those who have no dreams or goals or plans for their lives will try to destroy and belittle the dreams, goals and plans of others.

I've learned that when you allow negative, mean, condescending, disrespectful, bitter, nasty people to change your mood or to drag you into their misery, than THEY HAVE WON. I have learned that when you are nasty, rude, mean, condescending back to those people THAN YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN THEM!      

So the next time you encounter a negative, mean, condescending, disrespectful, bitter, nasty person at your school or your job or in the supermarket or at the DMV or in a restaurant etc. DON'T GIVE YOUR POWER AWAY! DON'T LET THEM CONTROL YOUR MOOD OR YOUR DAY! DON'T LET THEM WIN!

REMAIN POSITIVE, FAITHFUL, HOPEFUL, PEACEFUL OPTIMISTIC! SPREAD LOVE, KEEP DREAMING, KEEP WORKING, KEEP PURSUING YOUR GOALS AND YOUR DREAMS AND KEEP ENCOURAGING OTHERS TO DO THE SAME!

after all....

"THE BEST REVENGE IS MASSIVE SUCCESS!"
-Frank Sinatra

THE WORLD IS YOURS! WELL, UNLESS YOU GIVE IT AWAY OF COURSE!

ITS OUR TIME!

PEACE!