Only I Can Change My Life, No One Can Do It For Me

“I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts.”

-Bethania McKenstry

A man observed a sign in the window of a restaurant that read "Unique Breakfast" so he walked in and sat down. The waitress brought him his coffee and asked him what he wanted. "What's your Unique Breakfast?" he asked inquisitively. "Baked tongue of chicken!" she proudly replied. "Baked tongue of chicken? Baked tongue of chicken!? Do you have any idea how disgusting that is? I would never even consider eating anything that came out of a chicken's mouth!" he fumed. Undaunted, the waitress asked, "What would you like then?"
"Just bring me some scrambled eggs," the man replied.

If the world is ever going to change, it relies on those who don’t do as everyone does. I like the way George Bernard Shaw put it. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
So why did I include the chicken story? It was because people have ideas all the time that get shot down. Everyday there are new ideas sprouting up and some dream stealers as we call it tries to shoot down your vision. These are generally the people you are really close to and in most cases your family. It is understandable because they want to see you safe and not get yourself into trouble, but, what that does is makes you never step outside of your shell and really see what the hell you have to offer. After a while you stop believing in yourself and never do anything much of worth discussing further than a boring 3 minute conversation about your job…maybe it turns into a 10 minute bitching fest about how you hate your boss and this bitch who works in the next cubby. Well, I am looking forward to reading Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life by Larry Winget. That title just grabs me. People today have more to complain about than ever before. But it is your decision to do something about it. So, not that I don’t care, cause I care more than anybody you probably know, but if you are not willing to do anything about it…then you get one chance to lean on my shoulder. Then the next time we talk about it, we are going to decide to make a change and do it. The problem is this. It is called the 80/20 factor. Now I am not making this stuff up…so bare with me. There are two types of people. People that live by letting the problem be 80 percent of their discussions and 20 percent solution, or 80 percent of the solution and 20 percent of the problems. I promise you once you stop letting yourself get focused on the problems and start thinking of the solution things become a lot easier. Period.

Some Things Have To Be Believed To Be Seen

"They Can Conquer Who Believe They Can"

Virgil (70BC-19BC)

Don't be fooled by me. Don't be fooled by the face I wear. I wear a mask. I wear a thousand masks. Masks that I'm afraid to take off; and none of them is me.
Pretending is an art that is second nature to me, but don't be fooled. I give the impression that I am secure, that all is sunny and unruffled. Within me as well as without; that confidence is my name and coolness is my game. That the water is calm and I am in command; and that I need no one. But don't believe me, please. My surface may seem smooth, but my surface is a mask., my ever-varying and ever-concealing mask.
Beneath lies no smugness, no complacence. Beneath dwells the real me in confusion and aloneness. But I hide that. I don't want anybody to know it. I panic at the thought of my weakness being exposed.
That is why I frantically create a mask to hide behind-a nonchalant, sophisticated facade-to help me pretend, to shield me from the glance that knows. But such a glance is precisely my salvation, my only salvation, and I know it. That is, if it's followed by acceptance, if it's followed by love.
It is the only thing that can liberate me from myself, from my own self-built prison wall, from the barriers I so painstakingly erect. It's the only thing that will assure me of what I can't assure myself-that I AM really something.
Who am I, you may wonder. I am someone you know very well. I am every man you meet. I am every woman you encounter. I am every child as well. I am right in front of you. Please...love me!

-Seeds of Greatness, Dennis Waitley

My Bike and Me

"Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men."
Marcus Valerius Martialis(40AD-103AD)


Well, I purchased my first mountain bike finally! I am having a blast riding aroung the trails and stuff in San Antonio. I never thought it could be so much fun. So about 3 or 4 times a week my roomie/life partner and I go riding. It is incredible exercise. Phew it can be tough going up those hiills and down huge trails avoiding all of the trees/boulders in the way. One false move will put you in checkmate. The scenery is incredible not to mention all of the wildlife we are seeing along the way. It is an incredible experience as well as the benefits of exerciing. I don't know if I'll ever run again! We are planning several camping trips out in Texas to just have a blast. I haven't had such a blast since I ate my first ice cream cone. I have some pics from our adventures...enjoy


My first mountain bike. The Giant.




























How could anyone want to shoot these adorable animals?































Ouch!

Mind Your Mind

“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.”
Edith Sitwell (1887 – 1964)

“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”
Martha Washington (1732 - 1802)

“A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.”
Patricia Neal

“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”
William James (1842 - 1910)

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.”
William James (1842 - 1910)

Attitude determines altitude. It is vital to your success and happiness in life. A positive outlook will always bring a better ending. It may not be the desired ending but it will definitely be a better one. And if all else fails know this quote...

"A Positive attitude may not solve all of your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
Herm Albright((1876-1944)

There was once a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today," so she did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw she had only two hairs on her head. "HMM," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today," and she did and she had a grand day. The next morning she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw she had only one hair left on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a ponytail." So she did and it was a fun, fun day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Remember you may not be able to control what someone says or does or some of the situations that life throws at you, but you can sure control the way you react.

The Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living

"The First Step To Getting What You Want Out Of Life Is: Decide What You Want."
-Ben Stein

So many people these days get stuck in the struggle for less. They sell themselves far shorter than they are worth. I don’t know were it happens, well I sorta have a couple ideas but that is a blog to itself altogether…but somewhere along the way they decided to be more realistic and lost their aspirations and beliefs that they can do ANYTHING. A friend of mine gave me a good visualization once. He said that as a young boy he would hang pictures of super expensive cars on his walls like every boy does...such as Lamborghini's, Ferrari's etc. But once he reached 15 he realized that those cars were far too unreachable by his means so down they came and up went the Civics souped up with ghini doors. So is it reality that settles in or is it the belief that we can not get what we truly desire because of the belief in ourselves? Someone owns those cars...why not me? What makes them different? What makes them better? It is only in your mind, they believe in their worth and value themselves so much that they become succesfully driven people. Most people lose their dreams and become broken and settled. My Pastor at Eagles Nest, Rick Godwin did a sermon called “Quitters, Campers, and Climbers”. Quitters are people who quit and never see things through. Campers are the majority of people who make it to a nice plot in life and decide that they could do better but remain camped out for the remainder of their lives. Climbers are people who stop to camp and rejuvenate, replenish, and then continue the pursuit for more. I have learned these following things in my climb that might be of some value to you.

-Simplify our lives. Stop collecting. Start celebrating, for no apparent reason.
-Gather memories instead of memorabilia.
-Do some genealogy about your family ancestry. What were they like? What soul-deep legacy, if any, did they pass on to us? What did we learn and love most about our grandparents and parents?
-What will we gladly give up to improve the quality of our lives?
-Dream as if we had forever. Live as if this was the last day to live.
-Think globally, act locally.
-Don’t just treat everyone the way we want to be treated. Treat everyone the way they should be treated to believe they can reach their full potential, based upon their own beliefs and heritage.
-Never judge a person by their belongings. They may be healthier, wealthier, wiser and happier than us, and probably is.
-It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature.
-Love what you have, even if you don’t have all that you’d love.
-We are All different, on a life path heading the same way.

Since we are all different we have developed our own beliefs and values but we are all moving forward to death and we are all going to get their eventually. So lets make this life a great blessing and be joyful for the time we have.

Get Bitter or Get Better

"Accept The Pains, Cherish The Joys, Resolves The Regrets; Then Can Come The Best Of Benedictions 'If I Had My Life To Live Over, I'd Do It All The Same"
Joan McIntosh



Sometimes God works in ways that hurt. Success is based on being able to look at those hard situations and know there is a purpose for them. In order to be successful you have to accept His fate and will and act on it. So you can either get bitter or get better.

Success is determined by growing. You can be the most talented person in the world but never grow to use your God given abilities. We can make bad decisions and mistakes along our journey. In fact, it is pertinent. I wish we didn’t but we are fallible human beings. A lot of people fail in life because of 2 reasons. They succumb to it through discouragement and the inability to pick their selves up after something tragic in their life throws a curve ball or they don’t have the ability to commit. Some of the most talented individuals never make it to the top because they cannot stay committed to hanging in their during the seemingly monotonous daily routines. That is what makes you a champion. Too often they look for the shortcut, or the easy way. Champion is a word that can be used in any situation for success. I was not a champion in Angie and my relationship because I was not able to stay for the arguments that were necessary to get us through all of our stuff. Therefore it fell apart. I always looked for what was easiest for me, not for us because all I say was the things that caused me harm and my way of dealing with it caused her harm. It all comes down to this. “In life, you get what you pay for.” This means that you have got to put in the effort, the hours, or even the years that are required to master a certain skill that make up the mindset of a champion. These special skills need to be branded into your subconscious so they will become habit-knit patterns of behavior like driving your car or brushing your teeth.

The most successful champions in every arena in life don’t press, push, or struggle their way to the top, conscious of every move and mistake. On the contrary, they function in the zone: a quiet place where there is no past or future, only the present moment. They have internalized the skills through hours of coaching and practice to set them free for victory.

Winners don’t force themselves to win. They allow themselves the freedom to win by depending on their reflex actions of the body, spirit and mind that they have learned over a period of time. If it takes an astronaut, gifted musician, or Olympian many years of daily training why do we expect to be able to do it by eating a magic pill or with immediate gratification?

The problem that most people have in becoming a winner in life is that they spend most of their time practicing their mistakes and errors, rather than practicing the correct moves and reinforces success. For example, every time high handicap golfers go out on the driving range to hit a few buckets of balls, what happens? Much of the session is spent reinforcing an incorrect swing.

What we all need are role models and mentors to talk us through and demonstrate the winning techniques and swings in our lives. In addition to accepting the fact that winning and losing are learned habits, I believe there are three fundamental habits of a champion.

A long-term vision of success, A short-term view of failure, Laser focus on near-term goals

A Long-Term Vision Of Success
Success is a lifelong process, not a status. To help you reach your goals, break them down into sub-goals and priorities.

A Short-Term View Of Failure
Failure is delay, not defeat. So when you fail, get more information and insight then try again.

Laser Focus On Near-Term GoalsIt has been discovered that the main reason individuals fail to reach their goals is that they never really set them in the first place. Have you set a date for moving down a size in those jeans…or securing your financial future…Think of your own dreams and goals as previews of coming attractions in your life, you are the producer, scriptwriter, and star performer in an exciting documentary. Remember, focus always precedes success.