What More Could Have Been Done?

"What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?"

-Isaiah 5:4

The prophet Isaiah told the story of a man with a vineyard on a fertile hill. The man cultivated the ground and removed the stones so that nothing would hinder the vines’ growth. He planted only the best quality vines. He built a tower in the middle of the vineyard so he could watch for wild animals and intruders. He constructed a wine vat so that he would be ready for the ripe grapes. Then he waited. Rather than producing good grapes, however, the vineyard produced worthless ones.
The story illustrates the relationship between God and His people. God has done everything necessary for us to produce an abundance of spiritual fruit in our lives. He saved us when we were without hope. He gave us His Holy Sprit so that we can produce fruit in our lives. (Gal. 5:22-5:23) He removed our sin so that we are free to serve Him.
We have access to more Christian books music, videos, conferences schools, radio and television stations, magazines, and seminars than ever before. There are churches of every kind and size. We have the bible in numerous translations. We have teachers and pastors to instruct us and encourage us. Most of all, we have direct access to God through prayer. Jesus said that to whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48). One day God will hold us all accountable for all that He has done for us. He will ask us to show Him the fruit of all His bountiful provision for our lives. What will He find?

Well it is the Fourth of July! Happy Independence Day!!! The United States of America is absolutely the best country on the face of this earth for more reasons than one. The countdown has started. I have exactly one year from this day until my Financial Independence Day Party which will occur either here in San Antonio or Tampa Bay. Due to this wonderful country I have been blessed with the ability to create enough wealth to retire at such a young age of 25. You have to ask yourself one question. Am I pursuing His calling in my life? “We are all here blessed to be a blessing” as my friend Slim says. If you are blessing others you will be rewarded. The world is out there for you to grab it but we all conform in line and do what everyone else does and expect to get different results. I have chosen to walk a different path. I took the blue pill in the matrix and see things much differently now. What a wonderful world and what a great country we live in. God has blessed America and now it is time for us to receive it and plant new life for the next generations to come.

Who Declares The Path To Success?

You don't need fancy highbrow traditions or money to really learn. You just need people with the desire to better themselves."
-Adam Cooper and Bill Collage

"America believes in eduacation: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week!"
-Evan Oscar (1899-1995)

"The First Rule Of Education Should Be:'Do No Harm'"
-Shaun Kerry, M.D.Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Article From http://www.education-reform.net/dropouts.htm

The present day educational system is damaging to young people. Evidence of this harm is being presented from psychological, neurological, sociological, statistical, and common-sense perspectives. There are many notable people, who did not complete their formal education, but accomplished great things. Bill Gates, founder of the software giant Microsoft, and the wealthiest person in the world, dropped out of Harvard in his freshman year. His incredible rise to prominence in the computer industry is testimony to the fact that formal education is not synonymous with success. In fact, his phenomenal knowledge of computers was not acquired in the structured environment of the classroom. Instead, Gates pursued this interest after school by studying the BASIC language from a manual with his friend Paul Allen, helping a local company debug its computers, and designing computer programs.
Many will dismiss Gates as an exceptional individual, who may have dropped out of college, but excelled in high school before being accepted at Harvard. There are, however, many other people who have reached the highest echelons of their profession without even completing elementary school, let alone high school. The following list offers a small sample of the thousands of individuals who have achieved tremendous success in their lives without completing their formal education:

• Albert Einstein: Nobel Prize-winning physicist; "Time" magazine's "Man of the Century" (20th century) (after dropping out of high school, he studied on his own and passed the entrance exam on his second try to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
• John D. Rockefeller Sr.: Self-made billionaire American businessman-philanthropist; co-founder of "The Standard Oil Company;" history's first recorded billionaire (dropped out of high school two months before graduation; took business courses for ten weeks at Folsom Mercantile College [a chain business school])
• Henry Ford: Self-made multimillionaire American businessman; assembly-line auto manufacturing pioneer; founder of the "Ford Motor Company"
• Walt Disney: Oscar-winning American film/TV producer; animation and theme park pioneer; self-made multimillionaire founder and spokesperson of "The Walt Disney Studios/Company; "Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; French Legion of Honor admittee/Medal recipient (received honorary high-school diploma from hometown high school at age 58)
• Abraham Lincoln: 16th President of the United States; (little formal education - Lincoln himself estimated approximately one year; home schooling/life experience; later earned a law degree through self study of books that he borrowed from friends)
• Carl Sandburg: Pulitzer Prize-winning American author (little formal education; later passed entrance exam to Lombard College and graduated)
• Diana, Princess of Wales
• George Burns: Oscar-winning actor/comedian (elementary school dropout)
• Dave Thomas: Self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder-spokesperson of the "Wendy's" fast-food restaurant chain (equivalency diploma)
• Martin Van Buren: 8th President of the United States (little formal education; began studying law at age 14 while an apprentice at a law firm, later became a lawyer)
• Andrew Carnegie: Self-made multimillionaire American businessman and philanthropist (elementary school dropout)
• John Chancellor: American television journalist; evening news anchorman
• "Colonel" Harlan Sanders: Self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder-spokesperson of the "Kentucky Fried Chicken/KFC" fast-food restaurant chain (elementary school dropout; later earned a correspondence course law degree)
• Samuel L. Clemens ("Mark Twain"): Best-selling American author and humorist (elementary school dropout)
• Christopher Columbus: Italian explorer (little formal education; home schooling/life experience; went to sea in his youth)
• Davy Crockett: Early American frontiersman; U.S. Congressman (Tennessee Representative); died at the battle of the Alamo (little formal education - less than six months; home schooling/life experience)
• Charles Dickens: Best-selling British author (elementary school dropout)
• Joe DiMaggio: National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Sir Francis Drake: British explorer; knighted in the United Kingdom (little formal education; home schooling/life experience; went to sea in his youth)
• George Eastman: Self-made multimillionaire American inventor; founder of the "Kodak" roll film camera, corporation, and chemical company
• Thomas Edison: Self-made multimillionaire, most famous and productive inventor of all time; invented the filament electric light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture camera; electrical power usage pioneer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; knighted (France: bestowed the rank of Chevalier, (had no formal education - home schooled)
• Benjamin Franklin: American politician - diplomat - author - printer - publisher-scientist - inventor; co-author and co-signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence; one of the founders of The United States of America; face is pictured on the U.S. one-hundred dollar bill (little formal education [less than two years]; home schooling/life experience)
• Clark Gable: Oscar-winning actor
• George Gershwin: Oscar-nominated and most celebrated American songwriter-and classical composer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient
• Amadeo Peter Giannini: American-born founder of "Bank of America"
• Cary Grant: Oscar-winning actor
• W.T.Grant: Self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the "W.T. Grant Company" department store chain
• H.L. Hunt: Self-made billionaire American oil industrialist (elementary school dropout)
• John Huston: Oscar-winning American film director-actor (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon, The African Queen, etc.)
• Elton John: Oscar-winning songwriter-singer; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee; knighted by the United Kingdom
• Andrew Jackson: 7th President of the United States (no formal education; home schooling/life experience)
• John Paul Jones: Scottish-born American Revolutionary War U.S. navy commander; famous quote: "I have not yet begun to fight." (little formal education; home schooling/life experience; went to sea in his youth)
• Henry J. Kaiser: Self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of "Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation," "Kaiser Steel," etc.
• Kirk Kerkorian: Self-made billionaire American businessman
• Ray Kroc: Self-made billionaire American businessman; founder of the "McDonald's" fast-food restaurant chain
• Jerry Lewis: Actor-comedian-singer-entertainer-humanitarian; knighted (France: Chevalier [or Chev.] Jerry Lewis)
• John Major: British Prime Minister 1990-1997
• William Shakespeare: British playwright; best-selling British author
• George Bernard Shaw: Nobel Prize-winning Irish-born British playwright; best-selling author
• Frank Sinatra: Oscar-winning actor-singer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient
• John Philip Sousa: American composer-conductor (elementary school dropout)
• Zachary Taylor: 12th President of the United States (little formal education; home schooling/life experience)
• George Washington: 1st President of the United States; former general; Chairman of the Constitutional Convention; U.S. nickname: "The Father of Our Country"; face is pictured on the U.S. one dollar bill and twenty-five cent coin (quarter) (no formal education; home schooling/life experience; went to sea in his youth)
• William Faulkner: Nobel Prize-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning American author; screenwriter (dropped out of high school in second year; later attended University of Mississippi but did not graduate)
• Herman Melville: Best-selling American author and writer of Moby Dick, arguably the greatest novel of all time.
• Liza Minnelli: Oscar-winning actress-singer • Robert Mitchum: Oscar-nominated actor
• Claude Monet: French painter (elementary school dropout)
• David H. Murdock: Self-made billionaire American businessman • Florence Nightingale: History's most notable nurse; best-selling Italian-born British nursing book author (no formal education; home schooling/life experience)
• Thomas Paine: American Revolutionary War era political theorist; best-selling British-born American author; famous quote: "These are the times that try men's souls." (little formal education; home schooling/life experience)
• Millard Fillmore: 13th President of the United States (little formal education - six months; home schooling/life experience; studied law while serving as a legal clerk with a judge and law firm; later became a lawyer)
• Will Rogers: American author-humorist-lecturer-actor-entertainer; famous quote: "I never met a man I didn't like."
• Frederick Henry Royce: Self-made multimillionaire British businessman; co-founder-designer of the "Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Company"; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Frederick Henry Royce) (elementary school dropout)
• Edmond Safra: Lebanese-born billionaire banker-philanthropist
• David Sarnoff: Russian-born American radio and television pioneer; given the title "Father of American Television" by the Television Broadcasters Association
• William Saroyan: Oscar-winning screenwriter; Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright
• Vidal Sassoon: Self-made multimillionaire British businessman; founder of "Vidal Sassoon" hairstyling salons, academies, and hair-care products
• Walt Whitman: Best-selling American poet (elementary school dropout)
• Orville & Wilbur Wright: Aviation pioneers; Congressional Gold Medal recipients
• Grover Cleveland: 22nd and 24th President of the United States; face is pictured on the one-thousand dollar bill, which is no longer printed; (dropped out of school to help family earn income; studied law while serving as a clerk at a law firm, later became a lawyer)
• Irving Berlin: Oscar-winning American songwriter-composer; film story writer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient

Ultimately, what distinguishes the aforementioned individuals from the rest of us is their passion for learning that transcends the structured environment of the classroom. Instead of limiting their education to formal schooling, they were curious about the world around them. With their fearless spirit of exploration and their desire to experiment, these individuals discovered their true passions and strengths, which they built upon to achieve success later in life.
Imagine what a loss for the world it would have been had Thomas Edison decided to conform to the system, and invest his time in doing homework, rather than pursuing his love for invention. What if Walt Disney had confined his learning to the requirements of his school's curriculum, and followed only the guidance of his teachers, rather than his own internal motivation. His extraordinary animated features may have never been created.
Ultimately, formal education - by placing the control of learning in the hands of teachers and administrators, and imposing rules and requirements on students - stifles the natural love for learning. We must learn from these exceptional individuals who had the courage to defy the coercive force of formal education and carve their niche in our history.

• H.G. Wells.......best-selling British author (dropped out to help family earn income; later returned and went on to college)
• Jim Clark........self-made billionaire American businessman; founder of "Netscape"; first Internet billionaire (17, U.S. Navy)
• Jimmy Dean..........singer-songwriter-actor; self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the "Jimmy Dean
Foods" brand sausage business (16, U.S. Merchant Marines; 18, U.S. Air Force) • Andrew Jackson......7th U.S. President; face is pictured on the U.S. twenty dollar bill (13, U.S. Continental Army; orphaned at 14; little formal education; home schooling/life experience; studied law in his late teens and became a lawyer)
• Leon Uris..........best-selling American author (Exodus, etc.) (17, U.S. Marines) • Walter L. Smith.....former president of Florida A&M University (equivalency diploma, at age 23)
• W. Clement Stone....self-made multimillionaire (some sources indicate billionaire) American businessman-author; founder of "Success" magazine (elementary school dropout; later attended high-school night courses and then some college)
• Jack London.......best-selling American author (dropped out at 14 to work; later gained admission to the University of California; left after one semester)
• Arthur Ernest Morgan....American flood-control engineer; college president-author; appointed by President Roosevelt to be director of the Tennessee Valley Authority public works project (left high school after three years; later attended the University of Colorado for six weeks)
• Ray Charles.........singer-pianist; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
• Cher......Oscar-winning actress-singer • Maurice Chevalier.... Oscar-winning actor-singer; French Legion of Honor inductee/Medal recipient (note: rank bestowed in 1938
• Pierce Brosnan......actor
• Ellen Burnstyn......Oscar-winning actress
• Raymond Burr.......actor
• Sammy Cahn.......... Oscar-winning American songwriter-composer • Michael Caine.......Oscar-winning actor; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Michael Caine)
• Glen Campbell.......country music star
• Daniel Gilbert......Harvard University psychology professor (equivalency diploma)
• Dizzy Gillespie.....musician-composer (received honorary diploma from high school he attended)
• Patrick Henry.......American Revolutionary War era politician; Virginia's first governor; famous quote: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" (little formal education; home schooling/life experience; later studied on his own and earned a law degree)
• Peter Jennings......Canadian-born American television journalist; evening news anchorman
• Ansel Adams.........American wilderness photographer; photography book author; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Julie Andrews.......Oscar-winning actress-singer
• Louis Armstrong.....singer-musician
• Brooke Astor........wealthy American socialite-philanthropist-author; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Pearl Bailey........singer-actress; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Lucille Ball........actress-comedienne-producer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Bill Bartman........self-made billionaire American businessman
• Count Basie.........bandleader-pianist
• Jack Benny.......... comedian-actor-violinist
• Humphrey Bogart.....Oscar-winning actor
• Peter Bogdanovich....Oscar-nominated American film director-screenwriter (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, Mask, etc.)
• Whoopie Goldberg....Oscar-winning actress-comedienne
• Benny Goodman.....bandleader-clarinetist
• Lew Grade.........British film/TV producer (TV: The Avengers, The Saint, Secret Agent, The Prisoner, The Muppet Show, etc.); knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Lew Grade)
• Philip Emeagwali....supercomputer scientist; one of the pioneers of the Internet (high-IQ high-school dropout; left school in native Nigeria due to war conditions and lack of tuition money; continued to study on his own and earned an equivalency diploma; later won a scholarship to Oregon College of Education in the United States; transferred after one year to Oregon State University)
• Danny Thomas........actor-producer-humanitarian (actor: Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show; co-producer: The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, etc.); Congressional Gold Medal recipient
• Peter Ustinov.......Oscar-winning actor
• Hiram Stevens.......American-born engineering inventor; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Hiram Stevens)
• Patrick Stewart..... actor-writer-producer-director; former captain of the Enterprise on TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation and in films.
• Kemmons Wilson.......self-made multimillionaire American businessman; founder of the "Holiday Inn" hotel chain
• Kjell Inge Rokke.....self-made billionaire Norwegian businessman
• David Puttnam.......Oscar-winning British film producer (Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, etc.); knighted (United Kingdom: Sir David Puttnam)
• Anthony Quinn.......Oscar-winning actor
• Julie London....... singer-actress
• Sophia Loren.......Oscar-winning actress; best-selling Italian-born author; former model (elementary school dropout) • Joe Louis..........boxer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient • Roy Rogers..........actor-singer-guitarist
• Walter Nash.......New Zealand Prime Minister 1957-1960; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Walter Nash)
• Olivia Newton-John.... singer-actress; British-born Australian author
• Rosa Parks.........U.S. civil rights activist-pioneer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient; Congressional Gold Medal recipient
• Mary Pickford......Oscar-winning actress; early Hollywood pioneer; co-founder of "United Artists Corporation" (little formal education [six months]; home schooling/life experience)
• Sydney Poitier.....Oscar-winning actor (elementary school dropout)
• Frederick "Freddy" Laker.... self-made multimillionaire British businessman; airline entrepreneur; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Frederick [or Freddy] Laker)
• Tommy Lasorda...... baseball team manager; National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee
• David Lean.........Oscar-winning British film director (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr .Zhivago, etc.); knighted (United Kingdom: Sir David Lean)
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek....Dutch microscope maker; world's first microbiologist; discoverer of bacteria, blood cells, and sperm cells)
• Richard Branson.....self-made billionaire British businessman; founder of "Virgin Atlantic Airways," "Virgin Records," etc.; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Richard Branson)
• Isaac Merrit Singer....American sewing machine inventor; self-made multimillionaire founder of "Singer Industries," "I.M. Singer and Company," etc. (elementary school dropout) • Alfred E. Smith.....New York Governor; 1928 Democratic U.S. Presidential candidate (elementary school dropout) • Charles Chaplin.....Oscar-winning actor-writer-director-producer; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Charles [or Charlie] Chaplin) (elementary school dropout)
• Sean Connery........Oscar-winning actor; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Sean Connery)
• Jack Kent Cooke.....self-made billionaire Canadian-born American media businessman
• Noel Coward.........Oscar-winning actor-director-producer-playwright-composer; knighted (United Kingdom: Sir Noel Coward) (elementary school dropout)
• Joan Crawford....... Oscar-winning actress; former dancer
• Charles E. Culpeper....self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early 1900s' owner and head of "The Coca Cola Bottling Company"
• Robert De Niro......Oscar-winning actor-producer; knighted (France: Chevalier [Knight] of the Legion of Honor; Chevalier [or Chev.] Robert De Niro)
• Gerard Depardieu....Oscar-nominated actor; knighted (France: Chevalier [or Chev.] Gerard Depardieu) (elementary school dropout)
• Richard Desmond.....self-made billionaire British publisher
• Thomas Dolby........ musician-composer; music producer
• Joe Lewis........self-made billionaire British businessman
• Carl Lindner.......self-made billionaire American businessman
• John Llewellyn.....U.S. Labor leader pioneer; for 40 years until his retirement, president of the United Mine Workers' Union
• Marcus Loew........self-made multimillionaire American businessman; early Hollywood pioneer; founder of the "Loews" movie-theater chain; co-founder of "MGM" studios (elementary school dropout)
• Mary Lyon.........American women's education pioneer; early American teacher; founder of Mount Holyoke College (America's first women's college)
• Sonny Bono...........singer-songwriter-actor; U.S. Congressman (California U.S. Representative)
• Duke Ellington......Oscar-nominated American composer-bandleader; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Ella Fitzgerald.....singer; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Aretha Franklin....singer; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
• Horace Greeley.... American newspaper publisher-editor; U.S. Congressman; 1872 U.S. Presidential candidate; co-founder of the Republican party in the United States
• Thomas Haffa......self-made double-digit billionaire German media businessman
• J.R. Simplot.......self-made billionaire American agricultural businessman
• Robert Maxwell.....self-made billionaire British publisher
• Rod McKuen.........best-selling American poet (elementary school dropout)

I Spy A Happy World

“Be Around The Change You Want To See In The World.”
-Kathy Sierra

Or the original version

"Be the Change That You Want To See In The World."
-Ghandi

It seems strange sometimes where you find advice and inspiration. I find myself stopping a lot more and really appreciating nature. Rumi said “The morning breeze has secrets to tell you.” Well, the breeze has been blowing here lately and I notice myself doing a lot of searching for those secrets in nature’s hidden mysteries. Everyone internally has a desire to be happy. To return to source is in essence true love and happiness. Even miserable people envy those happy people and shudder with disgust, jealousy and anger.
When I was a depressed boy, I asked myself what it took to be happy. I found that happiness in purpose personally. Yes I fully believe it takes Jesus, well that is what it took for me, but that alone was not enough because until I took Jesus’ purpose in my life only then did I decide to pursue my happiness with Him. You will often find many theories on the truth of happiness. And, each for somewhat are factual and help in their own ways. As I mentioned though, you need to find inspiration in everything and every word. It is there if you perceive it to be. Don’t expect others advice though to be the mold for perfection in happiness for your life. The best advice I hear in happiness often has nothing to do with happiness. I was reading my now new favorite blog to read www.headrush.typepad.com and in the blog she wrote entitled Angry/negative people can be bad for your brain

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/04/angrynegative_p.html

where she reminded us of the flight attendants statement, “That You Must Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First.”
What a profound statement. So find inspiration in all things because unlike what you may believe, I believe God created everything therefore we are all connected to everything…goes back to the apple pie theory, so you can find inspiration in everything. But, if you find yourself in a place that is not inspiring to you, leave. What is the point of being in a place you find no inspiration?

Every Careless Word

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give you account of it in the Day of Judgment."

Matthew 12:36

Jesus spoke plainly about our idle words, yet His warning often goes ignored and unheeded. Jesus said that for idle word there will be a time of accounting in the Day of Judgment. We would expect Jesus to condemn profane and vile uses of the tongue, but idle words? Idle words are things we say carelessly without concern for their impact on others. We too quickly assume that the sins of our tongue are minor sins, sins that God will overlook Yet Jesus was fully aware of the devastating nature of our words, for the idle words that come from our mouths give a lucid picture of the condition of our heart (Matt 15:17-20).
The Book of Proverbs encourages us to speak less rather than risk saying something offensive (Prov. 17:28). Often when we have nothing significant to say we are tempted to speak injurious, idle words. The more time we spend in idle chatter, the greater the likelihood that we will say things that are harmful. James cautioned believers to be "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19) we are in much less danger to saying something offensive when we are listening than when we are speaking.
Think carefully about the words that come from your mouth. Christians should only use words that uplift and bring peace to others (Eph 4:29). Do you need to speak less? Do you need to be more careful about the kind of humor you use? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you evaluate your words build up others or whether they destroy and hurt others.

Monkey See, Monkey Do.

"Whoso Neglects Learning In Their Youth, Loses The Past And Is Dead In Their Future."
-Euripides (484 BC-406 BC)

"We Learn By Example and By Direct Experience Because There Are Real Limits To The Adequacy Of Verbal Instructions."
-Malcolm Gladwell

Thankfully we can become different individuals above the influence of childhood by renewing our mind and faith, but damn it could be easier than ingraining our children with terrible aspects, traits, thoughts, actions, emotional outlets, social proof and examples. Where have all the cowboys gone? I hope this video impresses upon you some patience and makes you realize the ridiculous actions we humans do on our daily routine. Show some love. Please?

Perception Is Paramount

"Money Is Either A Good Or Bad Influence, According To the Character Of The Person Who Possesses It."
-Robert Kiyosaki

It’s true. Money has no character, no personality, no values. Its actions only reflect the desires of its owner. Money can build great hospitals and schools, or it can be gambled away or squandered on meaningless possessions. Money may build museums to house beautiful works of art, it may construct beautiful houses of worship-or it may be used to create instruments of war and destruction. As you build your personal wealth, make sure you build your character by setting aside a portion of your income to help others. Choose a church, a charity, or a cause that you can enthusiastically support. Then give of your money and your time in support of that cause. The primary beneficiary of such noble actions is always the one who gives, not the one who receives.

"We Make A Life By What We Get, We Make A living By What We Give."
-Sir Winson Churchill

Man vs. Mind

"If You Must Be Deceitful, Be Sure You Never Try To Deceive Your Best Friend-Yourself."
-Robert G. Allen

A better understanding of what you are about-your goals, your dreams, and your aspirations leads you to a better understanding of those around you. It is critical, therefore, that you be honest with yourself at all times. The moment you begin to deceive yourself is the beginning of the decline in your character; it is the beginning of a process of rationalization that permits you to justify unacceptable behavior. Make sure you are a person whom you like, a person of sound judgment and character. If you don’t like yourself, how can you expect others to like you? Step back and examine your behavior as logically as possible. Ask yourself, "Am I the kind of person I would like to be with?" Developing good character traits is like achieving any other objective. Determine where you wish to be and then develop a plan for getting there.

Why Don't You Act 'Black'?

"When it comes to choosing my friends, I am still colorblind."
-Kamaal Majeed

From: This I Believe,
Read other essays at : http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4538138

Since my middle school years, I've been asked this question more than any other. It seems to me that too many people have let society program into their brains what should be expected of me, a black person, before ever interacting with me. But I believe in being who I am, not who others want me to be.
On my first day of high school, going into math class, two of my classmates pointed and laughed at me. I initially thought my fly was open, or that something was stuck in my teeth. But as I took my seat, I heard one of the students whisper, "Why is a black person taking honors?" So my fly wasn't open. An honors-level class had simply been joined by a student whose skin was an unsettling shade of brown.
Many people think my clothes should be big enough for me to live in, or expect me to listen exclusively to "black music." In seventh grade, a group of my peers fixed their cold stares on my outfit: cargo shorts and a plain, fitting T-shirt. They called out to me, "Go get some 'gangsta' clothes, white boy."
In one of my Spanish classes, as part of a review exercise, the teacher asked me, "Te gusta mas, la musica de rap o rock?" Do you like rap music or rock music more? I replied, "La musica de rock." The look of shock on my classmates' faces made me feel profoundly alienated.
I am now in my junior year of high school. I still take all honors courses. My wardrobe still consists solely of clothes that are appropriate to my proportions. My music library spans from rock to pop to techno, and almost everything in between. When it comes to choosing my friends, I am still colorblind. I continue to do my best work in school in order to reach my goals; and yet, when I look in the mirror, I still see skin of that same shade of brown.
My skin color has done nothing to change my personality, and my personality has done nothing to change my skin color.
I believe in being myself. I believe that I — not any stereotype — should define who I am and what actions I take in life. In high school, popularity often depends on your willingness to follow trends. And I've been told that it doesn't get much easier going into adulthood. But the only other option is to sacrifice my individuality for the satisfaction and approval of others. Sure, this can be appealing, since choosing to keep my self-respect intact has made me unpopular and disliked at times, with no end to that in sight. But others' being content with me is not nearly as important as my being content with myself.

Kamaal Majeed is a high school student in Waltham, Mass. In addition to his studies, he works part-time at the local public library, and enjoys studying foreign languages and writing a personal journal. Majeed hopes to pursue a career in journalism.

“My skin color has done nothing to change my personality… I believe that I -- not any stereotype -- should define who I am and what actions I take in life.”

-Kamaal Majeed

What an incredible outlook and insight on life. I just love his first quote. I am colorblind. I would like to shake his parents hands and buy them dinner. To Mr. and Mrs. Majeed, you are excellent parents! Thank you for creating such a nice gentlemen.

Be Generous

Be Generous
by W. Clement Stone

Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I to you.
- (Acts 3:6)

Be Generous! Give to those whom you love; give to those who love you; give to the fortunate; give to the unfortunate; yes - give especially to those to whom you don’t want to give.
Your most precious, valued possessions and your greatest powers are invisible and intangible. No one can take them. You, and you alone, can give them. You will receive abundance for your giving. The more you give - the more you will have!
GIVE a smile to everyone you meet (smile with your eyes) - and you’ll smile and receive smiles . . .
GIVE a kind word (with a kindly thought behind the word) - you will be kind and receive kind words . . .
GIVE appreciation (warmth from the heart) - you will appreciate and be appreciated . . .
GIVE honor, credit and applause (the victor’s wreath) you will be honorable and receive credit and applause . . .
GIVE time for a worthy cause (with eagerness) - you will be worthy and richly rewarded . . .
GIVE hope (the magic ingredient for success) - you will have hope and be made hopeful . . .
GIVE happiness (a most treasured state of mind) - you will be happy and be made happy . . .
GIVE encouragement (the incentive to action) - you will have courage and be encouraged . . .
GIVE cheer (the verbal sunshine) - you’ll be cheerful and cheered . . .
GIVE a pleasant response (the neutralizer of irritants) - you will be pleasant and receive pleasant responses . . .
GIVE good thoughts (nature’s character builder) - you will be good and the world will have good thoughts for you . . .
GIVE prayers (the instrument of miracles) for the godless and the godly - you will be reverent and receive blessings - more than you deserve!
Be Generous!
GIVE!

And...Napoleon Hill's thought for the day.

PROFANITY IS A SIGN OF INADEQUATE VOCABULARY OR UNSOUND JUDGMENT-OR BOTH.

Thank you for trying so hard to make me understand this. I was both for the longest time and am glad to have been shown a better way. Mark Twain once observed that "the difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." It is never appropriate to use profanity, especially among people you do not know well. Instead, build your vocabulary by reading and studying so that you can express yourself simply and eloquently. When you expand the number of words you know, you also expand your mind, because understanding the words and their meanings necessitates understanding the concepts behind them. Make sure you allow time each day for study and reflection with words, but actions speak for themselves.

A Sad Parallel

"From each according to their ability, to each according to their need."
Karl Marx

From a random reading article I found entitled "A Sad Parallel"

I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table...everywhere.

Then some of the birds turned mean: They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. And others birds were boisterous and loud: They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food. After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore.

I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be...quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Now lets see...our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, free education and allows anyone born here to be a automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families: you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor: your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English: Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to press "one" to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than "Old Glory", are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.

The Practical Application of Suggestion

The Practical Application of Suggestion
by W. Clement Stone

You motivate others to action through suggestion. The quickest and most effective form of verbal suggestion is to give a command . . . start with an action word such as: stop, think, try, go.
Also, use positive statements with desirable key or trigger words if you want positive, rather than negative, results. Take for example the positive statement: "You can learn" as contrasted with "You can’t learn."
Now here are a few illustrations of everyday positive or negative suggestions. The key or trigger words that propel one to action are bold:
Mother: You’re a good child. Each day you’re trying to be better.
Mother: You’re a naughty child! You can’t keep out of trouble!
Wife: The Browns are coming for dinner, dear . . . try hard to get home by six.
Wife: The Smiths are coming for dinner . . . I suppose you’ll be late as usual.
Teacher: What a wonderful day to be inside! Now we’re going to take up a thrilling, exciting subject . . . the story of the electric light.
Teacher: What a miserable, depressing, rainy day!
Friend: You look so much better than the last time I saw you! You do feel better, don’t you?
Friend: I don’t think you look so well today. How do you feel?
These illustrations of suggestion are simple. But remember, universal truths are simple.

Thought Provoking Quotes

"Man's Mind Once Stretched By A New Idea, Never Regains Its Original Dimensions."
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

The world is filled with inspiration. Inspiration comes from the Greek root inspira or in spirit. This word is far different from motivation. Motivation is self-created action to achieve a certain accomplishment. Inspiration on the other hand is a direct reflection when you are lined with His calling. Jesus said "My work is easy, my burden is light." When you are inspired or in spirit to do something you are aligned with your source from which you came and there will be very minimal if any stress associated with this calling. When stress appears, you have somehow wandered from the truth and faith to do you what you think is the best for your life. You have chosen motivation and as we all know, this wears off within a maximum of 30 days says Zig Zigler. God Realization acknowledged will pull you back to source of which you came and you will be able realign yourself with His will and things will then fall back into place. You will find an abundant source of people, funding, books, or what your are supposed to be presented with in order to further assist you in your yoking. Every time, no question forever undeniable.
I have recently revisited Dr. Wayne Dyer, an amazing mentor of mines audio program to were he makes some amazingly insightful revelations. Imagine yourself in a field. All around you are over 3 million pieces of parts ranging from rubber, metal, wire, clothe of all sorts, nails and glass. Over 3,000,000 pieces! then suddenly out of nowhere hurricane force winds upwards to 400mph comes and picks these pieces of debris up into the whirlwind and out of the blue a gigantic Boeing 747 lands completely functional. What are the chances? What are the odds? One in a billion? One in a trillion? What kind of amazing knowledge do we have in our minds to be able to use the science and math of chemistry, algebra, physics, geometry and amongst many other things that go into the beautiful creation of the 747? Do we question its source? Not at all. We are clearly intelligent enough to create this object. Do you know what it takes to build such a machine? Probably not, maybe you do...I don't. Do I doubt we can? No, I see the evidence all around me. Every time I take notice of a 747 flying I am blown away by the amount of intelligence that went into its conception and wonder how this thing can even fly. Now take the human eyeball and compare it to a 747. Makes the 747 look like a tinker toy compared to the trillions of cells that go into just one eyeball. Can we create a functioning eyeball? No. Imagine the endless knowledge that went into it. Every single minute 6,000,000 eyeballs are created in the world. Every MINUTE in the world 3,000,000 people die and 3,000,000 people are born. 3,000,000 times 2 eyeballs per person. That's 6,000,000 eyeballs every single minute created. That is not even including all the raccoon eyeballs, lion eyeballs, the fly eyeballs. Have you looked at a flies eyeball? Now, this doesn't include the livers, stomach, intestines, or the brain. We can't even fathom how to engineer such things. And this is just on Planet Earth. Our universe is endless or so we can't prove its end. How can we question in good consciousness that there is not something out there with infinite knowledge and this is all an accident compared to the tinker toy of a 747? I see miracles everywhere. Everywhere I turn there is another miracle. The problem is we have what is called an E.G.O, we Etch God Out of our lives and break the connection to source. From the first 9 months of our life when we are in utero we give God complete control to do what he needs to do to create us, then whammo. We are birthed and decide to take over and say ok buddy, I got this. Then we spend our lives searching for this connection not realizing the entire time it is already in us. Do you think if you took half of an apple pie and half of a blueberry pie and placed a slice of apple pie on the table you wouldn't be able to tell what the orginal source of the pie it came from? No, you would know where that piece came from. From the apple pie. We are out here searching without God and that is why we are a lonely society, a lost society, an uneasy, discontent society. Just my thoughts I suppose. I am not a trained clinical psyche major, nope, just a self-read philosopher who has tries to use his brain. Take it as you want, in the meantime enjoy these thought provoking quotes by great leaders of the world.

“I don't deserve this award, but I have arthritis and I don't deserve that either.”
- Jack Benny

“Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.”
- George Burns

“You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.”
- Dave Barry

"I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous - everyone hasn't met me yet.”
- Rodney Dangerfield

“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.”
- Napoleon Bonaparte

“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.”
- Thomas Jefferson

“Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.”
- Yoda

“Talent does what it can; genius does what it must.”
- Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

“It's kind of fun to do the impossible.”
- Walt Disney

“We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time.”
- Vince Lombardi

“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.”
- John D. Rockefeller

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”
- Samuel Johnson

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
- Henry Ford

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”
- Henry David Thoreau

“Few things are harder to put up with than a good example."
- Mark Twain

"Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work."
- Robert Orben

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
- Mark Twain

“One of the most feared expressions in modern times is ‘The Computer is Down.’ ”
– Norman Augustine.

Free Hugs

"Hope Doesn't Come From Calculating Whether The Good News Is Winning Out Over The Bad. It's Simply A Choice To Take Action."
Anna Lappe

Taking action. One of my favorite pastors, Casey Treat www.caseytreat.com who is pastor to the northwest in Seattle, Washington spoke at Eagles Nest one Sunday here in San Antonio. He spoke about will power. He made a simple analogy that has soaked into my mind for a long time now. He said most people break their own word the first thing right away, every morning. You ask how. Well, before we go to sleep we generally set an alarm clock. The intention of that alarm is to wake up. Not to snooze and get more rest before we feel awake. So you set your alarm and then break your own word by snoozing. That is just the downward start of you not having confidence in believing in your ability. Pretty simple concept but I realized that day it is not that easy to set an alarm and wake up. So as you lose that will power and as one thing after another does not occur the way you planned it due to your own lack of self belief it continues to beat on your belief in one self. And that is where you lose hope. Start with something small like forcing yourself to not snooze. It is a great start to success and finding hope.

I included this video because this man had a dream. An amazing, power thought and decided to put it into action. Now this campaign has taken root and people all over the world are doing what this man set his mind out to do. The power of thought...till then.

I Have A Dream

You See Things; And You Say, 'Why?' But I Dream Things That Never Were And Say, 'Why Not?'
George Bernard Shaw

I have always talked about speaking things into existence, be careful what you wish for kind of stuff. It is all throughout the bible but for some reason people think it is a crazy concept. Habakuk 2 speaks about it. You pray and depending on God's timing will you receive it. This whole "The Secret" craze has certainly taken a frenzy lately. It is mostly all summed up in the book Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. But there is one thing that I always speak about that I decided to write on once again. There are 3 steps in the secrets "thoughts are things that manifest concept". Step 1, Declare it. Step 2 How (this step is not done by you) and Step 3, receive it. Also in the movie, Jack Canfield says when you have inspired thought, act on it. Otherwise you will be telling yourself subconciously that you do not deserve it and the thing you desire will not manifest.

Well I included this cute video to say that you dont have to die for your dreams. But you do have to work for them to happen. "Nothing worthwhile comes easy." Thats what Griswald said...so watch this clip and know if you want your dream bad enough, it will take constant, consistent effort. But you have the strength through God and ability to do everything you desire if you desire it.

Fail Forward To Success

"If At First You Don't Succeed, Find Out If the Loser Gets Anything."
Bill Lyon

Hmmm....does the loser get anything? Lets ask the expert on failure. Watch this short video and find out what he thinks.




I find it amazing that as humans we tend to give up just before we are about to have a break through. We fail countlessly through our lives. As we fail and learn to become successful, we as losers if we can replace failing with losing do gain much. Knowledge to change for the better.

Can A Single Not Have A Date And Still Feel Love?

"Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to be involved with them. Love is not a bandage to cover wounds."
Hugh Elliott

For in Christ Jesus...the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6

I heard an awesome story the other day about a story in John C. Maxwell’s book- The 21 Indisputable Qualities of a Leader. It goes like this.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, two strong view for leadership of Great Britain’s government: William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. The two politicians were intense rivals. You can detect how they felt about each other, based on a comment made by Disraeli: “The difference between a calamity and a misfortune? If Gladstone fell into the Thames River, it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, it would be a calamity.”
Many people believe Gladstone, leader of the Liberal Party for three decades, personified the best qualities of Victorian England. A career public servant, he was a great orator, a master of finance, and a staunchly moral man. He was prime minister of the United Kingdom four different times, the only person in the nation’s history to achieve that honor. Under his leadership, Great Britain established a national education system, instituted parliamentary reform, and saw the vote given to a significant number of people in the working classes.
Benjamin Disraeli, who served twice as prime minister, had a different kind of background. In his thirties, he entered into politics and built a reputation as a diplomat and social reformer. But his greatest accomplishment was masterminding Great Britain’s purchase of shares in the Suez Canal.
Though both men accomplished much for Britain, what really separated them as leaders was their approach to people. The difference can be best illustrated by a story told by a young woman who dined with the two rival statesmen on consecutive nights. When asked her impression of them, she said “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in all of England. After sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.” Disraeli possessed a quality that drew people to him and made them want to follow him. He had charisma.
Maxwell explains that the key to charisma is other-centeredness, putting the other person first. That’s also the chief characteristic of agape, God’s kind of love.

This is a passage a senior pastor at my church wrote for his Valentine’ Day Sermon entitled Can A Single Not Have A Date And Still Feel Love?

I have tried judgment and I’ve tried forgiveness. Forgiveness is better but there’s a problem. I don’t get to decide what the other person’s penalty is. I don’t get to decide how long they suffer. I have to be open to loving them and spending time with them. They get a better deal than they deserve and sometimes that irritates me. It requires that I trust God with the outcome. I have to let go to do that and letting go puts my selfishness to death. I don’t like the personal pain.
There are advantages. God really is a better judge than me. He sees the big picture clearer than I do. When I forgive, He forgives me. When I release the judgment, I am released. But my selfishness has to die for me to do it and I don’t like the pain.
I have tried lust and I have tried purity. Purity is better but lust has its advantages. Doing something secret has a strong pull. If I could fly and there was a rule against flying, I would still be sorely tempted to fly. Ah, the thrill of flying. There’s a similar thrill to doing something and not getting caught. The high of secrecy.
Beyond that, lust involves theft. I take someone else’s beauty or privacy or intimacy even though it is not mine or it’s not God’s time. I justify it because it makes me feel good or it satisfies my curiosity or it makes me feel like a little God, writing my own rules, determining my own time table, doing my own thing! Sure, it’s selfish; it’s all about me. I if I can find another selfish, secretive person who’s willing to share the crime with me, it seems totally okay, at least for the moment.
The downside is guilt and stress and the fear of being caught or exposed. But purity tells me to wait and I don’t want to wait.
Purity is best. It’s honest. It’s “Walking in the light.” It’s guilt free. It develops my character. It builds a firm foundation. It pleases god. It produces fruit. It leaves a great heritage. And, it leads to the favor of God. In the end I find out that His timing is better than mine even though I didn’t believe that on the front end.
Jeremiah 2:13 says “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug cisterns, broken cisterns that can not hold water.”
The enemy says, “You know what you want. You know what you need. You have every right to go for it. Dig your own cistern, your own storage facility. Judge whoever you choose. Lust after whoever you please. Eat whatever satisfies you. Do it as often as you can get by with it. If you get caught, it was worth it. You only go around once; grab for all the gusto you can get!”
The Lord says, “I created you. I have a destiny for you. I will give you the wisdom and grace to fulfill it. I have sent the Holy Spirit to intercede for you. I will test you but only to develop your character and maturity. I will lead you through dark places. Remember, I will go with you. Your enemies will surround you but I will serve a lunch for you right in the middle of them.”
The Greeks called the two types of love Eros, sensual attraction, and agape, other-centered love. Eros offers guilt pleasure, short term satisfaction; yes, the bill comes due and it’s at a very high price. In addition, God resists us. We seek our own picture of destiny and it is characterized by one night stands, an alcoholic buzz, followed by a hangover, stolen pleasures, followed by painful consequences, life that hopefully ends on Earth we won’t be prepared for eternity.
Agape offers joy when I don’t feel happy, guilt-free living, eternal reward, and God’s favor. He unfolds our destiny. It is characterized by life long commitment, healthy living, walking in the light, and God’s blessing. That life does not end on Earth because it prepares you for eternity.
However, agape is tough love. It requires that I trust God, that I seek His wisdom, that I rely on the Holy Spirit, that I seek healing, that I forgive and be forgiven, and I develop patience.
What about the question, “Can a single feel love and not have a date?” It all depends. If your goal is selfish satisfaction, you probably need someone, a certain someone, to respond to what gives you pleasure, to speak your love language-gifts, quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, or acts of service-or possibly, all five. Your strategy may be co-dependant, a willingness to satisfy the other person’s self-centered desires. It may be fantasy, a willingness to believe that whatever brings you pleasure is therefore okay.
If your goal is agape, you’ll ask God to direct you to love in ways that please Him and that fulfill your destiny on Earth. You will do this out of faith, a belief that He will reward you in His way and on His timetable. This is God’s promise. “Don’t grow weary in doing well. You will reap in due season if you don’t faint!” The harvest He promises might be gifts, quality time, intimacy, words of affirmation, or acts of service. It might be His smile of approval. It might be enrolling you in a curriculum that will develop your character. And all of this will sometimes feel good right away and sometimes later.

Life or Death?

"Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life."
Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956)


They were there for breakfast, and they were there to cheer New York Jets running back Curtis Martin. And it was Martin who received the Athletes in Action Barr Starr Award Saturday morning. But the hundreds of people who gathered in the fourth floor ballroom at the Marriott Renaissance in Detroit, Michigan on the morning before Super Bowl XL were clearly touched by the featured speaker.

That speaker was the Colts Head Coach, Tony Dungy.

Two hours in to the breakfast, emcee Brent Jones introduced Dungy, who was welcomed with a lengthy standing ovation. Dungy thanked the crowd, then adding with a laugh, “I just wish I wasn’t here in this capacity so many times of being just that close to being in the game and just being invited as a speaker. My goal is to have our team here one day and have a couple of tables with all of our guys here. Because we have a special group of young men, a great group of Christian guys. It would be wonderful to have them here so you could see their hearts and what they are all about.”

“It hasn’t quite happened yet. But we are still hoping one day it will.” He told them he was going to talk about lessons he had learned from his 3 sons. The crowd fell silent. Then Dungy spoke.

Although this was a breakfast-and although at many such events speakers speak over the clinking of glasses and murmurs from semi-interested listeners, for most of 15 minutes the room was silent except for Dungy’s voice.

He spoke of his middle son, Eric, who he said shares his competitiveness and who is focused on sports “To where it is almost a problem.” He spoke of his youngest son, Jordan, who has a rare congenital condition which causes him not to feel pain. “He feels things, but he does not get the sensation of pain.”

The lessons learned from Jordan, Tony Dungy said, are in many. “That sounds like it’s good at the beginning, but I promise you its not, we have learned a lot about pain in the last five years we have had Jordan. We have learned some hurts are really necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what is good and what’s harmful.”

Jordan, Dungy said, loves cookies. “Cookies are good, but in Jordan’s mind, if they are not good out on the plate, they are even better in the oven. He will go right to the oven when my wife’s not looking, reach right in, take the rack out, take the pan off the rack, burn his hands and eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it. He does not know it is bad for him.”

“Jordan has no fear of anything, so we constantly have to watch him,” Dungy said, “The lesson learned is simple. You get the question all the time., ‘Why does the Lord allow pain in your life? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is a God of love, why does he allow these hurtful things to happen?’

“We’ve learned that a lot of times because of pain, that little temporary pain, you learn what’s harmful. You learn to fear the right things. Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed. Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we are not quite right and we need to be healed and that God will send that healing agent right to the spot. Sometimes, pain is the only way that will turn us kids back to the Father.”

Finally…he spoke of his son James.

James Dungy, Tony Dungy’s oldest son, committed suicide three days before Christmas of 2005. As he did while delivering James’ eulogy in December, Dungy spoke of him eloquently and steadily, speaking of lessons learned and of the positives taken from the experience.

“It was tough, and it was very painful, but as painful as it was, there were some good things that came out of it.”

Dungy spoke at the funeral of regretting not hugging James the last time he saw him, on Thanksgiving of last year. “I met a guy the next day after the funeral,” Dungy said. “He said, ‘I was there. I heard you talking. I took off work today. I called my son. I told him I was taking him to the movies. We’re going to spend some time and go to dinner.’ That was a real, real blessing to me.”

Dungy said he has gotten many letters since James’ death relaying similar messages. “People heard what I said and said, ‘hey, you brought me a little close to my son,’ or, ‘you brought me a little closer to my daughter.’ “What a tremendous blessing.”

Dungy also said some of the James’ organs were donated through donor programs. “We got a letter back two weeks ago that two people had received his corneas, and now they can see, that’s been a tremendous blessing.”

Tony spoke of a letter he received from a girl that attends the family’s church in Tampa. She had known of James for many years. She went to the funeral because she knew James.

“When I saw what happened at the funeral, and your family and the celebration and how it was handled, that was the first time I realized there had to be a God. I accepted Christ into my life and my life’s been different since that day.” Dungy said “That was an awesome blessing, so all of those things kind of made me realize what God’s love is all about.”

Dungy was asked often how he was able to return to the Colts so quickly after a James’ death. James died on December 22nd, and Dungy returned to the team one week later. Dungy said the answer was simple. “People asked me, ‘How did you recover so quickly? I told them I am not totally recovered. I don’t know that I will ever be. It is still very, very painful, but I was able to come because of something one of my good Christian friends said to me after the funeral.” “He said, ‘You know James accepted Christ into his heart, so you know he’s in heaven, right?’ I said, ‘Right, I know that’ He said, ‘So, with all you know about heaven, if you had the power to bring him back now, would you?’ When I thought about it, I said, ‘No, I wouldn’t. I would not want him back with what I know about heaven.’

That’s what helped me through the grieving process. Because of Christ’s spirit in me, I had that confidence that James is there, at peace with the Lord, and I have the peace of mind in the midst of something that is very, very painful. That’s my prayer today, that everyone in this room would know the same.”

Written by John Oeshner. “NFL Insider”-Feb. 2006 at www.colts.com


This is a powerful message I received about the ex-football coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and current Super Bowl Champion head coach for the Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy. He is an amazing man and a wonderful inspiration for our society. His view on death is very similar to mine. I have never been totally devastated by someone dying. I always ask myself, “Why am I sad? I am truly a believer, I should be rejoicing.” Now don’t get me wrong. Death is difficult but it is only difficult for selfish reasons. You will miss that person in your life because of how they are not there any longer. You are not rejoicing because they are finally free and home. It still hurts though because you know they are gone from your life forever. Bitter sweet.

You deserve the ring Tony! You are an
inspiration and icon for masculinity!!!

10 characteristics of a poverty mindset

"You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live."
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

"It is not the rich man you should properly call happy, but him who knows how to use with wisdom the blessings of the gods, to endure hard poverty, and who fears dishonor worse than death, and is not afraid to die for cherished friends or fatherland."
Horace (65 BC - 8 BC), Odes

You have a deep rooted sense of inferiority
God created you to be a wonderful and amazing person. Sometimes through past failures or terrible upbringing we lose our belief and the ability to succeed. As Christians we are to be “Hope Merchants” to people. This is an abundant God who blessed you with an amazing ability. You are amazing! You are no less than anyone else.

Perceived Inadequacy
This characteristic does so much harm. It causes you to slow and limit your abilities in things like communication.

Lack of Money
Have you ever met someone who no matter what risk they take or chance they pursue just can’t get ahead and they always use the excuse I don’t have enough money to do that? If you always put limitations on yourself you are seeking problems and resistance instead of solutions. There are people in the world with money. Use your creative ability and tap into the infinite knowledge in spirit and find those people who can help you.

Hoarding Mentality
This can be both wealthy and poor people, someone who accumulates stuff. Random stuff that is not necessary for anything. And the reason they always say is, “I might need this one day, just in case such and such happens.” knowing that it will more than likely not even ever happen. Give it away. Don’t sell it. Just give it away. You don’t need to hoard things. The more you hoard the less faith you have in God’s ability to provide for you in time on need. All you are doing is cluttering your life. Like women who gain 40 pounds and keep dresses 15 sizes smaller than them, oh one day I might need this again. No! You are fat! Get rid of it and when you lose the weight buy a new dress.

Insecurity Regarding the Future
Don’t misunderstand me here. You should always be prepared for the future but you don’t have to worry about it. I find it funny that people no matter how good things are going for them at the moment, they can’t enjoy it because they are too freaking worried about the future. Stop and enjoy the moments you have now.

Hopelessness
This one is hard. It is not mentioned one single time in the bible that you should be hopeless. You have to know things go in cycles. Life has ups and downs. My pastor always says that Paul said “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” It did not say, “I am going to camp here in the valley.” You have to understand circumstances won’t last. If you have no optimism, you are drowning yourself and don’t need to read this to know that. I love James 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Look at Lazarus. The dude was dead for 4 days and God said, Laz, Come forward. Crazy things can happen in life. God can work miracles. There is hope and as Christians we should be the message of good news for hopeless people.

Victim Mentality
I wrote a blog earlier about being a victim or a victor. If you haven’t read it, find it…its pretty good I think. I heard a story about Dr. Phil from my pastor that this lady was saying, “Oh, I’m a victim! My husband has beaten me for 13 years!” Dr. Phil replies, “Lady, let me assure you, you are not a victim, after 13 years you are a volunteer.” If you have a victim mentality again you lose the ability to come up with solutions because all you are focusing on is the fact that it’s not your fault, it is someone else’s fault. Again, this keeps you from figuring a way out of it and sucks you into the trap. It’s not my fault I stabbed someone and I am in prison cause he’s dead now, because my daddy beat me as a child and I learned that violence handles problems. I’m a victim. That’s crap! Period.

Self-Centeredness
This is something most people are affected by. With this affliction it becomes very difficult to give, almost impossible to give without the thought of something in return. I just read a devotional that dealt with this. Jesus gave us authority to minister to people in Matt. 10:8. God sent an epileptic boy for healing to his disciples but they failed miserably due to them being self-centered and losing their belief because they thought they had no position to heal. All they cared about was moving up the ladder and gaining that new higher position (Matt. 9:32-35). Jesus responded to them with his hardest words calling them “unbelieving” and “perverse” and questioned how much longer He had to endure them. You have a mission on this earth to minister to those in need. Don’t lose sight of the ultimate calling, to bring people into the love of God. Church is not about believers, it is for unbelievers. It is not “My will be done.” It is “Thy will be done.”

Generational Transfer of Attitude
Yes, I believe some things are hereditary, but it has become an inexcusable amount of people relying on the fact that their parents were alcoholics that make them that way. I am fat because it’s genetic. No you are fat because you don’t exercise and you eat too much crap. The best one I think is how parents tell their kids they hope their children turn out just like them. Yes, kids can be tough, but what a demeaning thing to say to a child. Even jokingly. In (Exodus 34:7) “maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." But with the new covenant and sacrifice of Jesus we break this curse. Be the first in your family to break the cycle.

Rationalism for Inappropriate Behavior
Always finding an excuse for why you did something that was wrong. “It’s not my fault I turned out to be a mean, naggy witch. My momma was one too, so I learned it from her.” I used to do this a lot. Blaming others for the hurt I caused them. Well, if you had not had done this or that, I would not have done it to you. How poor minded is that. Accept responsibility for your actions and change you, don’t do it so that others will change to, although it would be nice, but that should not be the purpose of you bettering yourself cause chances are they wont.

In summary, God will provide for you in down times. Look at Elijah. He prayed earnestly and knew God would come through. Sometimes he only brought a meesly crow for him to eat, but he provided him with what he needed at that moment. Don’t be lazy and think you are better than people to not work. My pastor says, “If you don’t work, you should not eat.” God doesn’t perform unbelievable miracles in your life every time you need him to. He is not going to split the Red Sea at your demand or send Angels to protect you all the time. If it is what you need and in His purpose for you He will. Sometimes he provided you will a crusty, old, dirty bird like a crow to eat. Don’t think you are too good for that. You aren’t. You are no better than anyone else on this Earth. In fact, God loves choosing unbelievers and what we think are terrible people to do miraculous things. He touched the hearts of clean and unclean. Rich and poor. Don’t look at wealthy people as bad people. Money is just a commodity. Some people say, “That money is sinner money and I don’t want any bit of it because of how you made it.” Who cares how someone made the money, the question is can you use the money to do good will with it now that you have it? Yes! The devil uses godly raised money to do terrible things and God can use ungodly raised money to do righteous things too. He is an unlimited resourceful being. He will supply you in ways that you may not be open to receive. That is you, not God nor the bible. You may never know how God uses his means to move you. It could be fire that sets you free. Burns your house down or maybe he sends Katrina, the vicious hurricane women to flood your neighborhood to bring you to do his will. Have faith in Him and His will and learn to cast your nets elsewhere. Learn to focus on what you do have and stop worrying and focusing on what you don’t. You read this right? You have eyes and a computer so you are richer than 98 percent of the world. Just a start. It is amazing to me that this is just the beginning. Poverty can either keep you down or raise you up. I love this quote by Aristotle.

"Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime."
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

There is more crime in poverty. Yes crime occurs in wealthy neighborhoods, but not as frequent. There is also huge transformation and change that occurs from poverty due to peoples drive and desire to make this world a better place. You can either make a change in the world or become a slave to it.

7 Basic Fears

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."
Dorothy Bernard

"7 Basic Fears" by Napoleon Hill

Fear can be both a blessing and a curse, depending upon how and when one yields to it or rejects it. The fear of failure can attract the causes of failure, and the fear of defeat is an open invitation for defeat. Fear is so powerful that it can do as much damage as its opposite faith can do good. As a matter of fact fear is nothing but faith in reverse gear.
There are seven basic fears which hold many people in bondage throughout their lives. No great and enduring success can be achieved by anyone until he has mastered all seven.


Fear of poverty: This fear is harbored by people who allow their minds to dwell on the circumstances and things they do not want. All thoughts have the habit of attracting to one the things one thinks about. This explains why one must condition his mind with a "success consciousness" before he can attract success. The emotions of faith and fear have equal pulling power-one attracts failure and the other attracts success as surely as water runs down hill in response to the law of gravitation.

Fear of criticism: The fear of what "they will say" of one’s ideas or plans keeps millions of people from using their initiative in bringing forth ideas that could make them rich. And fear of criticism causes some minds to close up like clams, thereby depriving individuals of priceless opportunities to improve themselves by discovery of their weaknesses, mistakes, and poor judgment. The successful person invites criticism because he knows that it may reveal to him some advantage he had overlooked, or bring him some opportunity he had not expected.

Fear of ill health: Doctors have a sixty-four dollar word for this fear. It is hypochondria (imaginary illness). Here, the same as in connection with material things of a financial nature, the mind attracts that which it believes in, whether the belief is expressed through fear or by faith. Talking, thinking, and believing one is sick will bring about the effects of illness, and strangely enough, the symptoms appear to be the same as those which accompany real illness.

Fear of the loss of love: This is the fear which causes jealousy. Not infrequently it leads to both temporary and permanent insanity. Whether it is justified or not, jealousy destroys homes, breaks up business and professional relationships, and leads to physical ailments on a scale scarcely equaled by any of the other fears. It has been said that women are more susceptible to the fear of jealousy than men are, due perhaps to their knowledge of the polygamous nature of the male.

Fear of the loss of liberty: Every human being has a deeply seated and inborn desire for freedom, a gift perhaps by the Creator who gave man complete rights to use his mind-power as a means of providing himself with freedom to work out his own earthly destiny. This is the only one of the seven basic fears which is founded upon circumstances over which the individual does not have the power of control. With the world in the state of chaos and frustration existing today there is ample reason to justify one’s fear of losing his liberty.

Fear of old age: Just why men and women should curtail their usefulness because of their fear of old age is difficult to define. For it’s obvious that the Creator has so wisely provided man with everything he needs, with which to work out his earthly existence, that nothing can be taken away from him without something of equal or greater value becoming available to take its place. As one gives up his youth, its place is filled by wisdom. And history proves that man’s greatest achievements take place after he passes the half-century mark. Moreover, age is not accurately measured by the years one has lived, but it is determined by the nature of the thinking he does and his reactions to his experiences.

Fear of death: This is the grandfather of all of the seven basic fears, and the most unnecessary of them all because it is something over which no one has enduring control. One man who mastered this fear explained how he did it this way: "I believed" said he, "that death brings one or the other of two conditions. Either it results in one long, eternal sleep, or it carries us to another world far superior to the one we leave behind, and neither of these possibilities is terrifying."
Source: Success Unlimited. May, 1965, pgs. 8 - 10.

I find it interesting that when you are born you only had 2 fears. The fear of going down the drain in the bathtub with the water and the fear of loud noises. You learned to be afraid of the dark, you learned to be afraid of monsters, some love dogs and some are afraid of them due to the loud barking. The point is we learned to be afraid. We can also learn to not be afraid. You choose your method, I chose to have faith in my God to protect me.

Choose Wisely

"I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite."
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

It is amazing how wise people are sometimes. I recently started a new job working for an awesome company that handles peoples' financial livelihood and security through a mulitiude of ways. One of the companies is called Financial Advice Center and what is funny about this is that they are giving advice to people that are in the same situations they are in themselves. Just because you have a license or hold a particular series does not mean you know how to invest properly. In fact, you are strictly limited to the different things you can invest in due to that license. All JPMorgan, Raymond James, Smith Barney, Edward Jones and so on teach their financial advisers is exactly what mutual fund they are selling for the moment. It is strictly sales people! WHY CANT WE UNDERSTAND THIS!? It is not meant for you to become financially free. It is meant for you to become financially safe. The more safe you are, the less free you are. Let me put it this way. If you were locked in prison and had the ability to shower, eat, sleep, use the restroom, even read as many books as you want without the being rapped, murdered, harmed in any way would this be a free life or a safe life? You do not have the ability to do what you want, when you want without any limitations. But for some reason people continue to follow the financial advice of "Financial Experts" who set them up to be financially secure. You are secure alright in that prison. All I am saying is check the fruit on the tree. It is not a coincidence according to the U.S Census Bureau that 95 percent of people age 65 years or older can not write a check for $200 and have it clear. If you want to end up like the majority of people I suggest you do exactly what they do, but how naivete is it to think you are going to do the same things as everyone and get something different?

I read this recent article and maybe you might find it interesting as well...from my main man Robert Kiyosaki.

Wall Street recently paid out billions in bonuses to its employees. Those bonuses came from investors who believe investing is risky. In other words, there's a giant industry built around investor fears. The more fear, the bigger the bonuses.
A recent Time magazine article called "How Americans Are Living Dangerously" makes a number of good points on this reality. I'll look at a few of them.

Illusory Control

We misjudge risk if we feel we have some control over it, even if it's an illusory sense of control. The article uses the example of people who drive rather than fly.
Even though the risks of death are higher driving than flying, many people would rather drive simply because they feel they have more control driving. The facts are that only a few hundred people die a year flying and 44,000 are killed a year driving. After Sept. 11, 2001, many people took to the roads rather than the skies. Not surprisingly, between October and December 2001, there were a 1,000 more deaths.
Today, many people feel they have more control if they have money in savings. Thus the saying, "Safe as money in the bank." But the fact is that savers are the biggest losers of all.
Between 1996 and 2006, the purchasing power of the dollar dropped by 50 percent compared to gold. In 1996, gold was approximately $275 an ounce; by 2006 it was over $600 an ounce. In 1996, oil was approximately $10 a barrel ; in 2006 it was over $60 dollars a barrel. Compare the price of real estate in your area between the same 10 years and you'll notice that the purchasing power of your dollar has slipped.
The point is, in spite of the facts, many people feel safer with money in the bank because they feel they have more control over it. They don't have control over the price of gold, oil, or real estate, so they think investing in these assets is risky.

The Biggest Risks of All

The second point the Time article makes is that when we're afraid, we tend to ignore the statistics and listen to our emotions. As I mentioned above, you're over 500 times more likely to die in a car than in an airplane. Yet cars are not the biggest of all killers.
Of the 2.5 million deaths annually in the United States, the No. 1 killer is heart disease. In 2003, there were 685,089 deaths due to heart attack. Auto accidents caused 44,000 deaths. Only 17,732 deaths by murder and 1 death by shark attack occurred in the same year.
Despite these statistics, more people are afraid of sharks and murderers than driving up to a fast food restaurant and saying, "Super-size it." French fries kill more people than guns and sharks, yet nobody is afraid of french fries.
The same is true in the investment world. Since many people believe investing is risky, they go for the second-riskiest investment, mutual funds. As my rich dad used to say, "Mutual funds are like french fries. They may fill you up, but they aren't good for you in the long run."
John C. Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Funds, states in his book The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, "When we have strong managers, weak directors, and passive owners, it's only a matter of time until the looting begins." Bogle has spoken out this way because the mutual funds industry is legally looting money from investors.
To put it another way, since most people think investing is risky and full of sharks, they've turned their money over to some of the biggest sharks in the world -- the managers of mutual funds.

True Expertise Counts

One of the reasons people think investing is risky is because there's an entire industry that wants you to believe so. Trading on your fears is very profitable.
This leads to point number three in the Time piece. The magazine quotes the findings of a study in which a panel of 20 communications and finance experts were asked about the risk of human-to-human transmission of avian (bird) flu. These experts said the risk was 60 percent. When the same question was asked of medical experts, their answer was 10 percent.
The point is that you need to be critical of experts. Is the person you seek advice from able to give you a credible answer?

Qualified and Unqualified Advice

There are three experts who are often not qualified to give you sound investment advice. They are:

Non-investors-
I'm always surprised by the number of people who take investment advice from non-investors -- people such as friends, family, and co-workers. A few years ago, I found a spectacular little condominium for sale for $50,000 in Phoenix, Ariz. All I had to do was put down $6,000 and assume the loan.
At the time, it was worth about $95,000. Today the units in the same complex sell for $195,000. Best of all, the monthly rent at the time was approximately $1,000 a month and today rents are around $1,500.
A friend from Portland, Ore., asked if I would let her purchase it. My wife, Kim, and I agreed, thinking at the time that this unit would be a great start for our friend. A few months went by and we asked her how the purchase was coming along. She said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I didn't buy the unit." When we asked her why, she said, "My neighbor Marge said it was too risky."
"How many investment properties does Marge own?"
"None."
Clearly, taking advice from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about is the real risk.

Perceived experts-
Like financial planners, stock or real estate brokers
Most people take financial advice from salespeople, not rich people. Most stockbrokers are not rich nor do they invest in what they sell. The numbers are even worse for real estate brokers.

Investors themselves-
I've shown several great investments to an investor friend of mine. To this date, he hasn't purchased anything I've recommended. That's because he can always find something wrong with the investment. Instead of looking at what's good about them, he looks for what's wrong and then talks himself out of taking action.
This is one reason why I invest as part of a team, so that I can consult with other investors rather than talk myself out of great deals.
The Time article made it clear that fear is normal. We all experience fear; I admit that I've let it hold me back. I probably would've been a lot richer a lot sooner if I flew more and drove less.
The important thing to remember is to pay attention to what we worry about -- and what we should be worrying about.