BIG DREAM

MY friend told me that they just don't see any
sense in thinking about things that ain' gonna
be anyway.  "Why put yourself through it
man, you know that S*%# don't work."
It's not like folks don't say that to me
all the time, I hear it all the time; and
after while, you get to where you don't
really hear it, because you've heard it
so often you just shut the cynic out- and
you begin to pray that somehow - some way, they'll hear again?  That -that old heart of their's that's gotten like a rock, when it used to be like a marshmallow-will thaw a bit, and they'll see, BUT, the
way things go, what do you think they'll do?

SO what do you think is really going down?
Because I think I see it, very clearly, it's the
death of the inner dream, it's the way that
people are slowly taught that they can't- so
they don't try.  It's how the ones who used
to have hope, lose hope, and then turn the
ones who still have hope, onto, their
hopelessness?  It's the death of the inner dream.

I grew up so poor that most folks wrote me off-
in fact, most of the people who know where I've
gotten to, can't believe it, still today- they all say
the same thing, "we figured you'd get
killed man." They were right- I was
not a good person at all,
but inside me, something was burning,
a desire to get into better, somehow,
to grow to achieve, to not be alone,
to learn to earn, and then to
give back as my friend Anthony Robbins says.
There were folks who tried to steal my dream
as Zig Ziglar calls them; but I wouldn't let them,
I clung to it, "life," I said, "has to be about more."
And guess what?  It is...

So when you read this - please focus on these three
items- for a while- just think about them- you can't
spend a dime here- there's no way to do it, that I 
know of, so this is completely and totally free-
FREE- I just want you to consider these three
items and then - after you've thought about it-
AFTER - you've thought about it- call me.
SIMPLE- don't care what you decide, either,
by the way- BECAUSE these three are FREE-
1)  If you stay just like you are, will that be cool?
2)  If you don't stay just like you are, what might
     be different?
3)  Do you know what love is?

Think on them for a while...maybe a few days,
then call me, let's talk, that's free too ...BTW...
Love to you always

Get On With It ...

My family is like many families in America
today, in fact, we may be just like millions
of other "middle income," families.  We
are seeing what we used to have in savings,
going down, while we are seeing our no
longer "full time," work hours, going up,
without, so called, benefits?  Our dollar
is getting thinner as it's stretched out, and
our brain is getting less patient as it's
stressed out.  Our ability to reason and
remain calm is getting called upon every
second now, instead of every minute,
and it used to be every hour, or every
day, or every week, or every month, in fact
there was a time patience was measured in
years- now it's measured by the length of
time it takes a certain hamburger maker to
get your order out to you - OR ELSE!

Is it possible to slow down, just a little?
Is it worth it to slow down?  Here is something
that I share with someone whom I've known
for years, a person who used to care more
about living life, and enjoying it, than work-
but who now spends more time at work-
than anywhere else?  Why- because this
person knows, nobody on their death bed
says "man if I'd just worked one more hour!"

What can you do to slow down?  Here are three
suggestions:  1) Call a friend and ask them to
have lunch with you.  2)  Call a friend that
you haven't called in a while and spend ten
minutes with the cubicle door shut and
actually listen to what they say.  3)  Go
to the one you love and tell them you
love them, and listen, to what they say.

Issue Based? How real - or unreal is that?

We live in a world where the reality
that we go through is defined for
us, and the tough part is, the defining
is done through powerful forces
of thought.  Thought, the process
of looking inward at what you
are coming to know, that can be
influenced, and is influenced by
the culture that you exist in.
We might like it, or not like it,
but the choice is often fronted
for us in forces we don't really get-
like comic book heroes that seem
to always come out on top- we
are led down a false trail that
says that things have to have a
happy ending, when in reality the
ending is often anything but.

You are probably familiar with
the idea that you control your
own reality.  That's a type of
thinking that is particularly strong
in our westernized view of how
things must be.  There are other
ways of thinking, though, even
though, those aren't presented
as often, or, in as nice a light,
let's say, as, you controlling your
own destiny is.  What that means
in your life is that media is very
powerful, but so is your mind.
When you put those two into
the same mix, I'm not real certain
that anyone really gets what comes
next, but my suspicion is pretty
strong that we're not ready for it.

While I don't agree at all with what
takes place in the plot, the movie
Lebanon PA is sneaky- it sneaks
up on you through some interesting
acting- it has a sense of being fairly
genuine, which is remarkable given
the extreme nature of cinema.  Yet
I've got to compare it to some other
shows I'm familiar with, but that's
my nature, it might not be yours,
but my suspicion is that you're
deeper than you let on, and quite
possibly - if you haven't seen
Lebanon PA - this review might
head you that way?  Can't say what
your conclusion will be, mine was
that I didn't like the plots axiom.

Buildings that last...

So many of my friends are in the virtual

world and know nothing of the real.

I feel so much like Morpheus talking

to NEO in the Matrix -"NEO, you've

been living in a dream world..."  Now

let's really class it up and say that 

even those who believe they get the

real world, are probably missing

it- and that's where my sadness is

hanging out- check this logic...

I have a friend who is spiritual, meaning

(it seems) that they consider the nature of

things beyond the strictly physical.

They are nice, they are hugely contributing

to peoples lives, and yet, because of an

odd statement that Jesus made in his

ministry, there is a tinge of sadness to

the fact that this person who is indeed

good if ever there was such a thing,

unless they follow the instructions-

they will not have an eternity of peace,

but one filled with horror beyond my

ability to see horror.  I cringe at such-

and cringe at the theology which makes

it mandatory to see it.  But the truth is

the truth- No man can come to me, 

except the Father which hath
sent me draw him: and I will
raise him up at the last day.

Jhn 6:44

What frightens me even more than

this, is the fact that some really believe

that it isn't important to continue to 

dwell with this person, but rather, 

"just plant the seeds," and they think

that because my heart breaks for such

people, and that my dwelling is to be

with them, in so much as it is possible

to do so; that my actions are not motivated

by a true love of Jesus?  That's a little

bit different - isn't it?  And it occurred

to me that this type of concerned and

lifestyle evangelism as some have termed

it is rather like this example:

Suppose you met a really nice billionaire-

and they proceeded to change your life, as

that much power and money can do.  It 

might be fun, huh?  So they say to you one

day, "friend, I like you, I really do, and so

what I'm going to do is bless your friends

as I've blessed you.  Go get them, bring

them to me, and I'll take it from there."

"Well sure I will, but what shall I actually

say to them?"

"Tell them you have a friend who wants

to get to know them, and the blessings

are going to be amazing."

"Can I tell them your rich?"

"Tell them whatever you want, the 

truth is the truth, what can we do about that?"

So what do you do?  I go to find my friends-

and begin to share with them what my

billionaire friend has said.  At first they

are a bit cynical, doubting that it's for real,

but as one of them gets the blessing of

a million bucks put into their account,

word gets around.  How long do you 

think it would be before all my friends

had told each other?  How many of them

do you think wouldn't get a million?

NOW that's just money-

you can't eat it, you can't build a thing

with it, other than what you purchase to

build with it, obviously, but beyond

that, it is useless except to exchange for

something else- right?  (In fact if I hear

folks right about a dollar...if you were

to eat it...you'd catch a sampling of 

cocaine?) And Money won't be around

after the fire...the truth says

that everything we know will go...

NOW, that's a little bit scary...but

not if you know Christ...we count

on Him to save us from such...

don't we?  Don't you?

So now you get the point I know-

and it's not an easy one to take in-

and there are a lot of angles to the thing-

but do you see where I'm coming from?
My friends matter to me- they are doing
the good things of life for others, they
are giving back- and giving and giving
some more- I've seen it- so yes, it might
seem "trite" but I don't think so, this
"good news" of Jesus is indeed a two
edged sword just like the Romans used.
And indeed - it does cut, both ways. 

You Matter - The World Didn't END!!!!

OK- it sounds like one of the those
"HEY- be positive" pitches, don't it?
But it's not- although it could be, that
title could mean, YOU - matter.
See it's all in how you see it, isn't it?
On the other hand, that title could also
be played with a bit to mean,
you - MATTER- as in, there is some
special stuff in the universe and it is
made out of you?  Clever though
that may be, close to the truth,
it may also be.

The bigger truths in this
world are coming down                                                                  
to the smallest elements of fact,
what matters, you matter.
Because as the world becomes much
more of a globe than a flat
fighting plane, and the
battles become much more
global in nature, such
as "will we have enough air,
water, earth? That we will survive?"
You become much more of
a factor in how that all comes out.
So pay close attention to this
next paragraph, it's important.

Since we know that the U.S.
is one of the most information
based countries, it's important to
understand how developing economies
within that information based system works.
So we have a federal level economic
development program, it branches down
to a state level economic development
program which then branches down
to a regional within the state system,
which then branches down to
a municipality or city level economic
development system.  It is a gigantic funnel
that produces more and more creatively
energized business concepts and ideas
to flourish within the information based
business of the U.S.

Why is this so important?  You matter, and
in the U.S. we must make the switch from
being a production based, manufacturing
based economy, to a consultive, thought
and information based economy, within
which we will discover enormous amounts
of business opportunities that at present
we don't even see.  So now, do you get
why - you matter?

New in the New Year

Year is a long time, twelve times as long as month, 365 times as long as day, and that's if we stay simple and plain in numbers that my simple head can relate to.  New; in that year is something that might happen; but how many years have you lived that have only been partially new?  How many more are you going to live, before you really, actually begin to live the year, new?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaxYYo5jc38

Here is the LINK to HOME the Movie - awesome HD viewing
I expanded it off my laptop HDMI to the Tele and it was
just gorgeous...

Here is another AWESOME piece of FREE software that
I use and encourage everybody to get into it has
over nine thousand dollars worth of free video on
university subjects etc.

You ARE Learning FASTER- You WILL Grow Faster (Cont.)

Looks like a face in there?  ;-)

Point THREE - we got the other two squared away,
we know we're growin' that's obvious- after that Pizza
tonight, I'm growin' and, we know we're making the
positive measures about that.  Because if we aren't
sure about those two, catch the previous blog entry
and it will really help you.  That's all these blog
entries are about, you'll notice, there isn't a push
here to buy a thing, is there?  There is not real
mention of any kind of anything you give other
than just reading, right?  And we want to keep it
that way, why(?), because there is a bigger truth
in play here.

Chris Voss tapped into this with me
about six months ago, he called me, just to ask me
about something; can't even remember what it was
now, that's how important it was, but I remember
that call, why(?), because Chris is a big time web
market dude- he really knows his stuff, and he took
his time to treat me like I mattered?  You matter-


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xoJevhLqDE

The worlds greatest motivational speaker...Tony Robbins:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuki4cLnn4M

Isn't Tony something?  He is not only amazing, and sharing
and - well, a star to the world, Tony changes peoples lives
for the better.  So today we went over point three...
do you feel like Tony is positive, and real?

Learn All The Time - You Can - You Do

Want 200 million dollars, well heck yes, who wouldn't?  Only, you have
to jump through 200 million dollars worth of hoops to get it, but, if you
are the one who has the idea, you know it in your soul, get after it.

Wired Site Which Has This Pop Up On It

In trying to put together a presentation for Monday afternoon
doing some research on social media ports and methods, saw this
article about a "New Twitter," platform.  That was interesting, Twitter
is one of my favorite places to catch hold of new ideas, so went to
Wired to check it out.  While there saw the pop up about GE and
the 200 million dollar contest/grant they are offering.  Nice stuff to
know, but only people who go to that website, or read this, or find
it out by some other means will even know about it.  So the question
then becomes, why'd GE choose to advertise it this way, in Wired
magazine? 

Love Making Mistakes? You've Got To Be Kidding- Nope.

The baby crawled across
the floor, he struggled, he

"Walking was a challenge...now look what I've found!"

wanted to gather himself
up on the stool, with
shaky legs,he got there,
he struggled up!
But getting up there, he clung
to the edge of the stool, he
tottered, and then he did
what we all know about,
he fell back down.

He looked a little sad,
no more big smile because he'd
made it, no, now he had a little
scowl in his face; he'd let
go and fallen and he wasn't happy.
But people around him said, "oh look,
isn't he cute, look he's trying
to get up." Have you heard or
seen things like this?
At eight months old, this is
normal, and we accept it,
at 30 years old, we'd consider
the behavior horrific, especially
if there were no physical abnormalities
to account for the falling down
and crying? We'd think an adult
who fell on the floor and cried
all the time, was horrible, wouldn't
we? Of course we would, because
we know in our hearts how to grow!

Often what we forget as we get cautious with age,
that we fell hundreds, if not, thousands of times,
before we actually turned loose and started walking.
When people talk about immersion as a learning way,
we hear it, you can't really understand wet until
you get in the pool, so true, just looking at the
water doesn't change your skin condition, but
when you get into that pool, what you knew
was wet, is now, your condition. But as you
gain experience, you sometimes gain caution,
as well, and with that, a certain drawing back
from making, mistakes. When the child let's
go of the stool, it's a mistake, his legs aren't
ready yet, his balance isn't ready yet, his
ability to reason about all the difficulties
of standing up, haven't set in place yet,
and he hasn't planned out what he'll do

Click Here for Photo Source

if he does stand up; he just lets go, and
then he is in it, welcome to learning, and
welcome to making mistakes.

Imagine if a hero of the proportions of Jon
Huntsman (Recipient of the Medal for Charity
at the "Restoring America Rally" 2010, Wash-
ington D.C.)failed to get up, failed to walk,
failed to learn, failed to grow, imagine if
he'd simply laid down and cried at the hard
nature of making mistakes?

Are you capable of becoming more from anywhere
you are at, to anywhere you desire to be?  Yes
is the answer, well, how can you tell that, because
the infant gets up!  You've been there, you've done
it before- go back to the basic power lesson of
all life, and walk forward!  Because you can!
But as we go bigger and as we go to the real
marrow of this issue- we have to grow, we have to!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g

We are not without hope, and we will never be without hope,
and no matter what, we will keep on making mistakes, hey,
join with us who make mistakes!  The mistake makers!
Celebrate growth because it only comes how(?), out of the
mistakes, out of the failures, out of the falling downs,
you see, you don't know what get up means, until you
have fallen down, and every person walking around today
has shared that experience- get up, be a mistake maker
with us!

Zest for Life - Don't Lose Yours

It's better with this music?

Owl City - Fireflies download at emp3

John Eldredge writes some inspirational type books having to do with the way we approach life.  I remember this book because in it he challenged some long held sayings in the church where I attend about the heart.  I'd always heard it was wicked and that we couldn't trust our emotions, well, John challenged that presumption with this book, in a way that made me realize that what we as people have is precious, and that is our ability to work with and get along with each other; it's how our lives and
the lives of others get better.

What happens then to our lives that
we stop being loving and caring?  My
friend says that we go through a lot
of stuff that doesn't work out good, and
we aren't happy about how things work
out, and we can't always control how
they work out.  What I've been taught
of late is that we might not be able
to control circumstances, but we can
choose to be in charge of how we feel
about those circumstances?  This is
what Eldredge is such a master at
portraying. 


But the zest for life, that must come from
yet another source.  I remember the smile
in the eyes of my wife as we first met,
the joy of our first date, the great joy of
our first kiss, and where we were, that
glint in her eye was joy, it is a prime
component in zest.


When we climbed mountain to have
a lunch like no other in the little
villa at the top of the peak, the view
like no other. Riding to the top of
Pike's peak, eating one of those
doughnuts.  The quiet in the room
after our daughter was born, the
challenge that would lay ahead,
all, unprepared for; how do you
prepare to climb to the top of a
mountain for lunch, or, know your
going to enjoy a mile higher doughnut,
or be quiet after a child's birth?
But in those moments is also a
great component of zest.

I remember the art gallery kept open
by contributions and grants, how the
beauty and magnificence of the old
pieces there are so different from the
modern made to commercial stuff.
The tour of the gardens, botanical
gardens they are called, and how the
plants and heat all seem to add something
to the experience, something that you
can't quite put your finger on, but you
know it's not what you normally do?
What you normally feel?  Something
in that moment is a component of
the zest for life.

We have parts of our lives that make
up a life that has zest in it, I never
make the same spaghetti twice, my family
can tell you, spaghetti in our home, when
dad makes it, is an event, because we
all hope I'll get the ingredients right; and
"this spaghetti," is always the best, better
than the last, and tastes, better, richer,
somehow?  Now you and I know good
and well, that can't be, it's just tomatoe
sauce, and other spices, but it's the family
being there, and the history of the making
of something so simple, but if you take
one of the components out of that, it
won't be the same spaghetti, and I
guaranty you, it won't be as good.