We will either find a way, or make one.

Hannibal

There are always going to be people that will say it cannot be done.  The naysayers, the disbelievers, the ones with no drive or ambition are the ones that try to dissuade others from accomplishing something special.  There is society and life in general that seem to stand in the way of progress, possibility, logic even.  Sometimes it may even seem like fate and the universe are against you, holding you back and subverting all you efforts.  And for the pessimistic personalities, it could even be said that existence itself is against you.  Well, sometimes that may seem very true.

But it doesn’t have to be.  Finding a way to make the impossible possible is hard, extremely hard.  Achievement takes original thinking, imagination, courage, resolve.  I can’t really imagine what went through Hannibal’s mind when he realized that to keep Carthage free he had to defeat Rome.  That would have been a tall order for anyone.  Now I’ve never had to invade an ancient military superpower, but I’ve had some pretty difficult obstacles to overcome.  Being completely broke, alone in a city with no friends and family, and yes, even homelessness.  To say it was hard to come back from that is an understatement.

How hard is it to start over? I can tell you it was stressful, disheartening, and painful.  However, as it turns out, starting over and making a new way was not as difficult as giving up would have been.  I’m not one to quit, I don’t think I know how.  It’s really just a matter of understanding what is really important, what really matters and what I really want.  If you know those things, finding a way, or making a new way is not so impossible as you might think!

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The best revenge is massive success.

- Frank Sinatra

To me, it's a waste of time trying to tear down and destroy your opponents or enemies, because that does nothing to build you up. For my effort, I'd rather work on myself and be the best Me I can be. What do you think? Is it better to try and bring someone else down, or build yourself up?

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A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.

- Arnold H. Glasow. When things are really down and everywhere you look is dispair and hopelessness, look for one of your true friends. They'll be there for you.

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Frustration

What do you do when your mind gets so frazzled you can’t think straight?  We’ve all been there, that point in time when even though you know how to do something, your brain just refuses to function properly.  You might find yourself standing there with your pen in hand, notebook at the ready and you find it difficult to spell the word ‘what’, or you’re patting yourself down, checking your pockets for your phone while you are actually holding it in your other hand.  Or even worse, you’re trying to explain something to someone and you can’t seem to form a coherent thought, even though you know the material like the back of your hand.  You try and try, but nothing works, for the moment you are just stuck. 

Frustration for me at least, comes from trying to do too much, too fast, or something I know is difficult without enough preparation time.  It happens; we’ve all done things and made it a success even when we were under the gun or short on time.  So why is this time different?  In my opinion, I think sometimes you need to empty your mind of the extra ‘mind trash’ that gets in the way.  You know how sometimes you should clean out your computer of old files, some of you might know it as ‘Disk cleanup.’ Well the same thing applies to the human mind.  There are so many things that bombard us everyday it’s impossible to process all of it, although sometimes we try anyway.  This is usually to our detriment.

If you find yourself in this temporary mind funk, just stop.  Seriously.  Stop what you are doing.  Redirect your thoughts, actions, attention.  Obviously this isn't a good idea of you're operating heavy machinery, but we'd all hope you weren't doing that in the first place if total frustration had overtaken you.  The idea here would be to 'delete' the unnecessary distractions so you can focus.  Short bursts of relaxing meditation can be very helpful.  If you're not one for meditation, staring at the wall for two minutes might work.  Okay that sounds silly, but if you're stuck in a mind funk, paralyzed by frustration, maybe you need a minute or two just to space out and relax.  It can't hurt, right?

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Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

- Dalai Lama

Being kind should be the first thought in people's minds, not the last.

To go with the Dalai Lama's statement, I found this video.  I think it speaks for itself:

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We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.

-Aristotle

Discipline is the personal force that drives you toward making a habit, sticking to it and achieving your goals.  I was asked recently what it is about me that fuels my personal discipline.  For me the answer might be easier to answer than others.  At the very core of my discipline is the desire to change, to improve, be better than I am right now.  Also, the steadfast knowledge that no one, No One, will do it for me, no matter how nicely I ask.  Making the attempt to succeed a success and not allowing myself to accept that failure is a reason to stop are also powerful motivators to solidifying my discipline.

Now I will admit, I was in the military and that helped a lot when it comes to discipline, however, I did have a strong-willed nature before that.  I guess having to work since I was 15 years old to make sure I had my own clothes helps a little too.  But you know anyone can learn discipline.  Whether it’s adding things to your life in baby steps, or jumping in completely with a total shock to the system, introducing discipline can be done, and if you’re serious about structuring your life in a more efficient, positive way, it’s worth a shot.

When you have a sense of discipline, completing a task or achieving a goal has so much more meaning, because you understand what it takes to get there.  What is more, you’ll know how to recreate that type of discipline to achieve that same success again, or achieve something even greater.  And for me, that type of improvement is almost irresistible.  What about you?

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light.

- George Washington

I thought it fitting to supply a quote from our first president on Presidents day.  I think that striving for truth has value, not only in proving you to be an honest person, but also to expose honest people to you.  What do you think?

Majestic Lake

I saw this picture and just had to share it!

The greatest crime in the world is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself, but the world.

- Roger Williams

I've always worried that I'm not living up to my potential.  Sometimes I realize I'm not trying as hard as I should and other times I know I'm pushing too hard.  I guess it's a matter of finding balance without complacency.  What do you think?

Expect the Unexpected

It’s funny how some clichés still have the power to make you think.  Life as we know it has twists and turns that effect the course of our journey.  We all know this, but sometimes, the unexpected hits us when we least expect it.  Now I know that sounds ridiculous, you might be asking yourself, ‘how can we expect something when we are least likely to see it coming?’  Well, that’s a great question and if I had the answer to that I’d probably be a billionaire.  What I do know is how you adapt and overcome those unexpected happenings is really what makes the difference.  Our US Marines use that mantra often; Adapt and Overcome.  I would say that the more you experience, the more you can apply those lessons to new and possibly unexpected scenarios. 

Today I woke up in pain.  Don’t ask me how I did it, but I must have pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in my neck.  It hurt like hell, actually it still bothers me and it’s been about three hours now.  Anyway, I wasn’t really expecting to deal with an injury today.  Hey, I’ve got work, personal responsibilities, chores, etc to deal with, I don’t have time to worry about being hurt.  But guess what?  I don’t have the choice Not to.  Such is life I guess.  Now it’s obvious if I was in excruciating pain I’d go to the doctor.  This minor pain should go away soon, but it was unexpected and I do have to deal with it. 

If you have a life that seems to throw things at you all the time, and those challenges just knock you off your feet, maybe you should take a second out, re-evaluate how you prepare for the daily challenge of living and change your Modus Operandi (that’s Latin for mode of operation).  For me, I think it’s better to be proactive about life instead of reactive.  The more you prepare and learn, the less likely you’ll get blindsided.  You’ll still get surprised from time to time, but that’s to be expected, right?

Nobody says you must laugh, but a sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the day.

-Ann Landers

A sense of humor can get you through a lot.  Sometimes things get very serious and that's when you need a good laugh the most.