A way to joy and happiness

My genuine wish for you is that this will be a truly happy Monday.

     From time to time I read or hear of individuals living their lives in poverty, misery, want and need then when they die their relatives discover stacks of hidden cash or huge sums of money that the individual had in a bank account. These stories are not for fetched because I have known such persons and so too likely many who are reading this. We tend to look upon such persons with horror and most times declare I would never do such a thing.
      Many of us however have dreams, thoughts and ideas which we never act upon but allow to go to waste. The chances are had we dared to venture we would have been not only the recipient of monetary rewards but also would have experienced the joys of seeing our efforts bearing fruit. Too often we envision the results of our efforts with minds that are naturally programmed towards the negative when the reality is that the positive is far more likely to happen. At its worst a failed effort should spawn other ideas.
     We are no better than the person who possess large amounts of money but live in poverty and misery if we fail to or refuse to act upon our thoughts, ideas or acts in times of inspiration.
     It is hard for some individuals to understand when a person might say "I have so many things to do but I do not have the time." The reality at present is that I wish that I had persons to whom I could pass on my thoughts and ideas so that I might have help in pursuing them all. I wish I had the money and time to devote to my thoughts and the ideas.
     The ground work has been laid and I continue to pursue my dreams and ideas and I am enjoying the journey. I am recruiting a team to assist me as I go along because it is impossible for me to do it alone. In some instances it will require investing money but I give thanks that I have discovered a way to dream big and start pursuing my ideas without a great amount of money and now they are showing the possibility of returning a huge pay day.
     At the same time one of the sad things that becomes a reality ever so often is a quote made over two thousand years ago "It is only in his own country and among his own relatives that a man does not have any honor." Do not expects support and encouragement from your relatives and friends because they do not necessarily want to see you succeed. How sad.
    There is joy and happiness in pursuing those dreams, thoughts and ideas. I hope you will begin today because soon you will experience the joy of not having enough time to pursue them all because they are so many.

Dream something big today

My wish for you today is that it will be a truly happy Monday.
It is impossible for the human mind to conceive something that it cannot achieve. This is incredible when one considers the fact that the human mind is creative and is constantly subjected to inspiration, thoughts, concepts, dreams and ideas. The missing ingredient to all of these is believing that it is possible for the thing to happen or that it can be done.
Believing is active and actually requires a step of faith and work to be actually be done. Believing and doing nothing is wishful thinking. Neither should the believing person expect to see miracles happening. The miracle will be seen in the end when what existed in the mind actually becomes a reality. Miracles happens to the unbelieving to get them to believe. Those who believe are tested, tried and honed to make them the standard bearers. Those who believe will not be seeing any miracles.
There are natural processes in life whether it be with man, animal or plant. In man first there is conception then birth, growth, maturity and finally reproduction. In plants there is planting, growing, bearing and then reaping. In the present days of fast food and instant gratification too often it is forgotten that what is served in the fast food chains went through these processes before it got to the restaurant. Movies that are condensed to one and a half hour or two hours often are years and months in the making. Scenes are shot multiple times and then edited to present the nest. Unfortunately in life you and I do not have this luxury of getting a chance to repeat a scene.
In the desire to satisfy an insatiable passion those who have gone through this process now are demanding that aspirants give their best initially. These individuals are correct because they have their moment of fame here and now and will soon be replaced by someone that is considered to be better. They see no value in being regarded as being among the greats two hundred years in the future because they want their moment of glory here and now. You and I must decide if we want our moment of glory now or in the future
The reality is that those who truly desire to pursue the dream will attract opportunity because no man can control opportunity and opportunity will find those who truly desire to find it but remember that there is no short cut to success. Today you have an opportunity to dream big, you will not get another chance to live today again so why not make something big of the day.

The value of patience

It is a beautiful day and I am wishing for you a happy Monday.

Living in some respects is often comparable to farming or at best the same principles that are applied to farming can also be applied to life. The principles to be applied to both are somewhat similar which is preparation, sowing, growing, maturing and finally reaping. The same principles are followed by the farmer who grows crops or rear livestock.
There is another important thing that farmers must observe and that is knowing when to plant and what crops to plant. Agriculture is subject to weather conditions but if crops are planted out of season then there will not be a harvest to look forward to reaping.
Many persons think that it is too late to begin or they are too old to start pursuing a dream and this is a lie. life has equipped everyone with experiences and we all have thoughts and ideas so it is up to you and I to begin where we are. You and I can succeed where we are.
We should never forget however the principles of farming and like the farmer cultivate patience. The farmer does not reap a crop a week after he sows the seed nor are livestock ready for slaughter a month after birth. In a similar way you and I need to patiently watch over the seeds of ideas that we sow until the time of reaping.

Give a thought or idea a chance

Most of us are aware that it may only take a spark to start a fire that becomes a raging inferno. We associate fire with danger, damage and destruction and respect fire because nothing is able to live in it.
Few of us stop to consider the possibility that lies in a single grain or seed. One only has to ask a farmer and he will point out that a grain or seed has the possibility to eternally produce and continually does so. It is simply a matter that no one is keeping track of the multiplication process of a single seed or grain.
There are differences between a fire and a seed or grain. A fire need three things to burn mainly oxygen, heat and fuel, it burns until one or all of these runs out. A grain or seed may  require many ideals conditions to grow and thrive however many grains or seed will thrive where they are and simply need someone to throw it outside or cover it in the earth. Once this is done some will need care and attention while others will grow naturally.
When I was living in Jamaica I planted crops around the house. There was the area that I reserved around the house as the lawn and even then I determined which variety of grass grew there. The rest of land around the house I planted with crops.
Here is my reason for doing so grass, weed or whatever will grow around the house, I had no control over that. There was plenty of rain and plenty of sunshine (it does not matter how poor the land is it will support some form of grass or weed) so I would for ever be weeding, cutting grass and bushing weeds so I determined that because this was so then I would determine what grew around the house so I planted crops and tended to them. I would ever be weeding and bushing so I determined to benefit from the process.
There are things in life that you and I will not be able to control because they occur naturally but we can benefit from the process. Many of our thoughts and ideas just need to be exposed (thrown out or planted) and nature will take care of the rest. Like a seed or grain some may need to be tended, cared and nourished, which ever way you may see things give a thought or idea a chance this week and watch them grow and multiply.

Success and winning

Wishing for you a happy Monday

We live in a world that is driven by successes and winning. Students in school are told that they all are winners and they even get rewarded  for failing. Success and winning have become so ingrained that the natural process of growth is being reversed by the experts. In the natural process of growth the best seeds are selected, the soil prepared, then planting, growth, bearing fruit, maturing, ripening and finally ready for reaping. The present process to success and winning involves beginning with reaping and doing things in reverse order.
There is much value in recognizing that it is what comes out of you that determines who you are. This is good and teachers are ensuring that it is only the good that enters into their students so as to ensure that students have only a positive outlook on life. Unfortunately the real values that makes a person outstanding cannot be taught.
Although every one is declared to be a winner only one person gets the prize and all others are losers. The man who never lost does not really know what it is to win.
Many parents do their best to prevent their children having to endure similar hardship as they did but unfortunately they cannot shield their children from the circumstances that life will throw at them.
This week you and I can be success stories and winners. We can do this although no one will be there to cheer us on but whatever task we set out to do we can complete that task.

"I know that you can do it"

My wish is that you are having a happy Monday.

Yesterday a friend issued a challenge to me when he said "The success of what you are doing will depend heavily on the quality of the person that you find. Instead of going all over the place hunting and trying to find the right person , why don't you do it yourself?"
I began to make excuses as to why I could not do what I needed done myself but his response to me was, "I am sure that I will be able to work with what you produce."
Some years   ago I got involved in construction and garnered enough skill to actually build my house with my own two hands. I earned enough money then to buy the construction materials but after that there was not enough left to pay for labor so I learned to do it myself. My friends were not pleased with what I was doing and I got told off many times because they felt I was killing myself doing it all by myself when they were more than willing to to give me the help that I needed and they were not be asking to be paid for their labors. Since that time I try to involve my friends in whatever I am doing.
Some years ago I had and idea that I could do a CD of poetry and I did attempt to make a start but inspite of my efforts I could not even begin and eventually I gave up but the idea remained with me. I now have more and better poems and two months ago I decided it was time to try again. This time I called a friend in Jamaica and sold her the idea of getting involved. She even paid to get professional help.
Last week I called a friend in Jamaica and asked him to see if he could work with the product that she had. Yesterday morning he called me and told me that she had been sold short and the product was not good. That was when he challenged me to do it myself.
I had considered the possibility that the product that she ended up with may not work and have in place the means to refund her the money she spent.The biggest loser I think will be the professional she had paid for help because he has lost out on his name getting publicized (At least through my work) and had he done a good job he would have gotten the other thing I have in mind to do.
Last year a thought came to me and it has remained my theme since then and it is this "Opportunity do not present itself to the man that had no use for it."
 Even as I write this I am scared because I know I will be taking up the challenge that my friend have issued to me. I reflect on the past and I am confident that I can do it but it is looking into the future that is scary because I can see a whole new world of possibilities before me.

The inverted pyramid

Wishing for you a happy Monday and a happy holiday if you are celebrating  on where you are.

I have been given a new formula on how to achieve success and it is the inverted pyramid approach. All my life I have been trying to find a proven, workable and universal approach to achieving success. I grew up with the old adage “If at first you don’t succeed try and try and try again”. This  has worked but when success finally comes I am exhausted and drained and there is the absence of that feeling of euphoria which I so much desire.

The inverted pyramid approach to succeeding requires that I present my best or the peak at first and then gradually spread out. The upright pyramid requires gradually elimination and narrowing until I reach the peak. The peak is the representative of the high point or at best the very top.

Success I am told is very hard to achieve and I am very unlikely to succeed but I should follow the status quo because their success is based on this approach. Hopefully a successful person will see the value of my efforts and utilize it.  I will get no recognition or credit for my efforts but at least I will have the satisfaction of knowing that it was my work.

The inverted pyramid approach requires building without a foundation or being top heavy with a narrow bottom. It requires that I give my best initially and then follow up with crap. The upright pyramid allows for a tower or a spire to be built on the peak or at best continued growth.

In all honestly I do not like the inverted pyramid approach to success because of my background. I grew up in Jamaica which is an island located in the Caribbean Sea. There are many things to which we are exposed two of which are earthquakes and hurricanes. Buildings are constructed to withstand magnitude 7.0 and above  earthquakes and to withstand 120 mph and more winds. My efforts towards success must be able to withstand what life throws at my efforts in a similar way that the buildings are expected to stand the magnitude of an earthquake or the winds of an hurricane.

I am guaranteed not to succeed anyway and if I present my best initially then I have nothing to aspire toward afterwards. This is a tough life in which I must follow advice of the experts and ignore my gut feelings.