Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.

- Oscar Wilde


Have you ever known someone that is always a fun time to be around?  I have and it's great to have them in your life.  But we've all probably known someone whose company to absolutely dread.  That's unfortnate, but hey, there's no  law that says you Have to be around those people, right?!

It's Friday, let's have a great weekend!

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Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit

- Vince Lombardi

I’ve talked about Potential before, but right now I feel there’s merit in discussing it once again.  You see, personally, I feel I’m at a crossroads.  There are times in every person’s life where things must or need to change.  This change could be caused by external forces or internal desires.  For me I think it’s a little of both.  Change can be good, especially if you’re ready for it.  That’s where Potential comes in to play. 

What are you capable of doing?  What can you accomplish or achieve?  Well if you even for one moment believe you can get close to your goals, let alone reaching them, well that’s Potential.  It’s not only what you think you can do, but what you think you can push yourself to do.  And the task or goal can be almost anything, whether it’s changing your mindset and perspective, or learning to play an instrument or earning a higher degree.  And that leads me back to my situation.  I recently finished my Master’s thesis and earned my Master’s Degree.  It was a long time coming, but I did it.  Believe me, when I was finished I felt a mind drain that was palpable.  But you know what, shortly after that I realized that I wasn’t relaxing after a hard fought achievement, I was feeling malaise because I needed a new challenge.  And that’s when it hit me.  I had more to offer, I had more Potential to live up to. 

Now maybe I push myself a bit too hard, maybe I am too critical.  Or maybe I know deep down inside, somewhere in the back of my mind behind the memories of T-ball, learning to ride a bike, Swedish Fish, Yankees baseball games and muscle cars, is the long-ago learned lesson that I CAN achieve great things, so long as I never give up trying.  Because as strange as it may seem, I don't have to succeed to reach my Potential, I just have to ensure I make the Attempt!  Will you give up, or will you Try?

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If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.

- Katharine Hepburn

Now I wouldn't advocate breaking the law, but sometimes, you just have to really let loose and have some fun.

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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!