Today we celebrate the life of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. I'd like to encourage you to watch the video of his "I Have a Dream" speech given on August 28th, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; especially if you are taking a paid holiday today. Spend 20 minutes to remember the man who's life was sacrificed in pursuit of racial equality. Listen to his words, let them reverberate in your mind, and then spend a moment of silence to reflect on the courage and faith he demonstrated to the world during his short lifetime.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence." So it was poignant that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would deliver his Swan Song on the steps of Lincoln's memorial on the west side of the National Mall in Washington D.C.. His courage, shown in the face of great discrimination, has earned him a place in eternity as one of the greatest men in U.S. history. Time Magazine named him the 1963 "Man of the Year" for his continued efforts in the Civil Rights Movement.
Martin Luther King was a man of deep faith and was pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. His dedication to God and to the unalienable rights of all men shone brightly as a beacon of hope for African Americans and countless others all over the world. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated. I salute Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his faith, his courage and for furthering the civil rights movement during an extremely turbulent time in this nation's history.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Faith, Hope and Charity
This week, I've been writing about Glenn Beck's E4 Solution to Restore American Exceptionalism. My hope is that my readers will be able to glean a little wisdom from these posts and apply it to their own lives. Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship are the keys to rebuilding our nation from the inside out. It all starts with the individual. We as human beings don't possess the power to change others, but we can change ourselves and in turn, have an affect on those around us.
Glenn also talks a lot about Faith, Hope and Charity. Three core attributes that I apply in my own life to be a better person. Have faith in your own convictions. Faith isn't reserved only for God or religion. Have faith in yourself, have faith in those around you and have faith in all that you do such that you become unstoppable. Faith truly can move mountains.
Hope springs eternal isn't just a catchy phrase, it's from Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" written in 1734. If you haven't read it, I suggest you try and get through it. It is truly a beautifully constructed piece of poetry concerned with the natural order God has decreed for man. Because man cannot know God's purposes, he cannot complain about his position in the Great Chain of Being and must accept that "Whatever IS, is RIGHT."
And finally, Charity; or what I like to call "giving back." Reflect on all that you possess and realize that whatever your current situation, there are still others that are worse off. Be charitible and give to those less fortunate, or give to those who help the less fortunate because without charity mankind cannot hope to rise above. I'll leave you with this from Psalms 41:1-2...
”Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth.”
Glenn also talks a lot about Faith, Hope and Charity. Three core attributes that I apply in my own life to be a better person. Have faith in your own convictions. Faith isn't reserved only for God or religion. Have faith in yourself, have faith in those around you and have faith in all that you do such that you become unstoppable. Faith truly can move mountains.
Hope springs eternal isn't just a catchy phrase, it's from Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" written in 1734. If you haven't read it, I suggest you try and get through it. It is truly a beautifully constructed piece of poetry concerned with the natural order God has decreed for man. Because man cannot know God's purposes, he cannot complain about his position in the Great Chain of Being and must accept that "Whatever IS, is RIGHT."
And finally, Charity; or what I like to call "giving back." Reflect on all that you possess and realize that whatever your current situation, there are still others that are worse off. Be charitible and give to those less fortunate, or give to those who help the less fortunate because without charity mankind cannot hope to rise above. I'll leave you with this from Psalms 41:1-2...
”Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth.”
Friday, January 14, 2011
Entrepreneurship
They say that some people have it and some people don't when it comes to being an entrepreneur, and I guess that's true to a certain extent. However, that doesn't mean that people cannot learn to become entrepreneurs. To me, being an entrepreneur is more of a mindset than anything else. Therefore, you don't need to be born with it, you can become an entrepreneur, but only if you really want to. I actually took a course in entrepreneurship at Hawaii Pacific University back in 2004 or 2005 (the exact dates escape me). While I wasn't technically enrolled at HPU, I auditted the class that was being taught by one of my many mentors. A man I still admire to this day. The course taught me that beyond being a mindset, entrepreneurship was also a process.
I mention the course here because I want to share a little quiz that comes straight out of the text book (so I don't have any problems with copyright infringement, I'll credit the books authors). The book, entitled Entrepreneurship: A Process Perspective, was written by Robert A.Baron and Scott A. Shane. See how well you fair on these eight questions:
1. Can You Handle Uncertainty?
Is security (e.g., a regular paycheck) important to you, or are you willing to live with uncertainty -- economic and otherwise?
2. Are You Energetic?
Do you have the vigor and good health required to work very long hours for long periods of time in order to reach goals that are important to you?
3. Do You Believe in Yourself and Your Abilities?
Do you believe that you can accomplish whatever you set out to accomplish, learning what you need along the way?
4. Can You Handle Reversals and Failures Well?
How do you react to negative outcomes -- with discouragement or with renewed commitment to succeeding the next time around and learning from your mistakes?
5. Are You Passionate About Your Goals or Vision?
Once you establish a goal or a vision of where you want to be, are you willing to sacrifice almost everything else to get there, because you are truly passionate about doing so?
6. Are You Good with Other People?
Can you persuade them to see the world the way you do? Can you get along with them well (e.g., handle conflicts, build trust)?
7. Are You Adaptable?
Can you make "mid-course corrections" easily? For instance, can you admit that you made a mistake and reverse course to correct it?
8. Are You Willing to Take Risks or Leaps of Faith?
Once you establish a goal, are you willing to take reasonable risks to reach it? In other words, are you willing to do what you can to minimize the risks, but then, once you have done so, proceed?
Current evidence suggests that successful entrepreneurs are high on all of these dimensions -- higher than other persons. They handle uncertainty, are energetic, believe in themselves, react well and flexibly to reversals, are passionate about their beliefs, are good with other people, are highly adaptable, and are willing to accept reasonable levels of risk. To the extent you possess these characteristics -- or at least most or them -- you may be well-suited for the role of entrepreneur. If you find that you are relatively low on several of these characteristics, however, you might want to reconsider, perhaps becoming an entrepreneur is not really "your particular cup of tea."
Having said that, it is still possible to overcome any entrepreneurial shortcomings that you may possess, as long as you have a burning desire to improve yourself in these areas. Thus, it is possible to change your personality profile to fit the entrepreneurial model. I have a neat little book on marketing and advertising called It's Not How Good You Are, But How Good You Want To Be, by Paul Arden. It's a super fast read that can be read in under an hour. This book shows you that your current state of affairs isn't as important as the direction you are going and the goals that you've set. Think from the end, and if you really want to, you too can become an entrepreneur.
During the 1990's, large U.S. corporations downsized more than 6 million jobs out of existence, yet unemployment fell to record-low levels, mainly as a result of new companies started by entrepreneurs and the dot.com bubble. At the turn of the century, there were more than 10 million self-employed individuals in the United States of America (which was about 1 in every 8 adults). Now, however, we're facing almost record-high unemployment figures (I believe the figure peaked at 9.8% at the end of last year). This means that there are a staggering number of people in the U.S. that are looking for work of some kind. I want to pose this question to the millions who are out of work at this time, "Do you really want to take a job and exchange your time for money, or would you rather create a life and have the freedom to pursue your happiness while making an honest living?" Become an entrepreneur and free yourself from the chains that bind you to a job. Is it easy? Definitely not. But the rewards far outway the sacrifices, once you realize your dream and start living again.
Even if you have a job and a career, are you truly satisfied with all that it provides for you and your family? Take control of your financial future and start a small business on the side. You may be surprised to see your newfound part-time income exceed your full-time income by leaps and bounds. It all boils down to desire, belief and work ethic. So I close with this question, Do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur?
I mention the course here because I want to share a little quiz that comes straight out of the text book (so I don't have any problems with copyright infringement, I'll credit the books authors). The book, entitled Entrepreneurship: A Process Perspective, was written by Robert A.Baron and Scott A. Shane. See how well you fair on these eight questions:
1. Can You Handle Uncertainty?
Is security (e.g., a regular paycheck) important to you, or are you willing to live with uncertainty -- economic and otherwise?
2. Are You Energetic?
Do you have the vigor and good health required to work very long hours for long periods of time in order to reach goals that are important to you?
3. Do You Believe in Yourself and Your Abilities?
Do you believe that you can accomplish whatever you set out to accomplish, learning what you need along the way?
4. Can You Handle Reversals and Failures Well?
How do you react to negative outcomes -- with discouragement or with renewed commitment to succeeding the next time around and learning from your mistakes?
5. Are You Passionate About Your Goals or Vision?
Once you establish a goal or a vision of where you want to be, are you willing to sacrifice almost everything else to get there, because you are truly passionate about doing so?
6. Are You Good with Other People?
Can you persuade them to see the world the way you do? Can you get along with them well (e.g., handle conflicts, build trust)?
7. Are You Adaptable?
Can you make "mid-course corrections" easily? For instance, can you admit that you made a mistake and reverse course to correct it?
8. Are You Willing to Take Risks or Leaps of Faith?
Once you establish a goal, are you willing to take reasonable risks to reach it? In other words, are you willing to do what you can to minimize the risks, but then, once you have done so, proceed?
Current evidence suggests that successful entrepreneurs are high on all of these dimensions -- higher than other persons. They handle uncertainty, are energetic, believe in themselves, react well and flexibly to reversals, are passionate about their beliefs, are good with other people, are highly adaptable, and are willing to accept reasonable levels of risk. To the extent you possess these characteristics -- or at least most or them -- you may be well-suited for the role of entrepreneur. If you find that you are relatively low on several of these characteristics, however, you might want to reconsider, perhaps becoming an entrepreneur is not really "your particular cup of tea."
Having said that, it is still possible to overcome any entrepreneurial shortcomings that you may possess, as long as you have a burning desire to improve yourself in these areas. Thus, it is possible to change your personality profile to fit the entrepreneurial model. I have a neat little book on marketing and advertising called It's Not How Good You Are, But How Good You Want To Be, by Paul Arden. It's a super fast read that can be read in under an hour. This book shows you that your current state of affairs isn't as important as the direction you are going and the goals that you've set. Think from the end, and if you really want to, you too can become an entrepreneur.
During the 1990's, large U.S. corporations downsized more than 6 million jobs out of existence, yet unemployment fell to record-low levels, mainly as a result of new companies started by entrepreneurs and the dot.com bubble. At the turn of the century, there were more than 10 million self-employed individuals in the United States of America (which was about 1 in every 8 adults). Now, however, we're facing almost record-high unemployment figures (I believe the figure peaked at 9.8% at the end of last year). This means that there are a staggering number of people in the U.S. that are looking for work of some kind. I want to pose this question to the millions who are out of work at this time, "Do you really want to take a job and exchange your time for money, or would you rather create a life and have the freedom to pursue your happiness while making an honest living?" Become an entrepreneur and free yourself from the chains that bind you to a job. Is it easy? Definitely not. But the rewards far outway the sacrifices, once you realize your dream and start living again.
Even if you have a job and a career, are you truly satisfied with all that it provides for you and your family? Take control of your financial future and start a small business on the side. You may be surprised to see your newfound part-time income exceed your full-time income by leaps and bounds. It all boils down to desire, belief and work ethic. So I close with this question, Do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Empowerment
Dream Outfitters' core concept is based on empowerment. So I've been looking forward to today's post since Monday with great anticipation. The key force behind empowerment is readiness. Look back in your own life and think about a time that you felt truly empowered; maybe it was a feeling you had just before a math quiz, a spelling bee or the big game. You felt this empowerment most likely because you had prepared for it and you were confident that you would be absolutely unstoppable. Life is a continual process of getting ready; and when we're truly ready for something, we feel empowered. So ready or not, here we go.
During the first 25% of our lives, we find ourselves emmersed in a structured environment with its foundation based on readiness. We spend our infancy getting ready to walk and talk, as a toddler or very young child, our parents get us ready to enter the school system to begin our journey in education (yesterday's topic). In kindergarten, we are getting ready for entering the first grade, and in first grade we're getting ready for 2nd grade and so on. All of our years in elementary school culminate in getting us ready for middle school. Middle school is spent preparing for high school and in high shool we're getting ready to enter the "real world" or maybe, if we're lucky, to go to college. But after that, then what?
Well, if you're really attuned to the world of academia, you may choose to stay in school for some length of time after gradusating, getting advanced degrees, doctorates and the like. But if you're like most of us, after your formal education is completed, you're thrust out into the world with not much more than your diploma or degree and a lot of ambition. You feel empowered, because you've learned so much in school, but the real world can still be a pretty scary place. It doesn't take long for that feeling of empowerment to fade when faced with the prospect of landing a job. Especially in today's economy. The competition for decent living wage situations id fierce. You really have to be a sharp cookie to gain and maintain a full-time job. That's where Dream Outfitters come in.
At Dream Outfitters, we say that having a job is not the way to financial freedom. In fact we say that having a job is simply an acronym; JOB stands for Just Over Broke. The days of going to school and getting good grades to get into a good college and working for a good company until retirement age are but a distant memory of yesteryear. Once upon a time, employees were loyal to the companies they worked for and in return, the companies treated employees with a great deal of respect and that loyalty was rewarded with a great retirement package and a gold watch when you left the work force in your golden years. Now it seems that corporations are more interested in the shareholders than they are in the people that make their business function on a daily basis. Employees are now more like commodities than human beings. The focus is now on the bottom line. But who's looking out for you? The answer is nobody. You need to look after yourself. Dream Outfitters wants you to feel empowered once more. So let me tell you how we are empowering thousands of people, just like you, to take control of their financial futures and arm themselves with their very own golden parachute, God knows, your employer isn't going to provide you with one.
Remember that feeling of empowerment I talked about in the intro? That feeling of readiness? The process of getting ready doesn't need to end after we leave school. In fact, I'm still preparing for new and exciting activities that I want to explore. I prepare by gaining knowledge through education. Dream Outfitters has that. Then I further prepare by putting systems in place and using the right set of tools to make my dream possible, we have those too. Once you've gained the knowledge and implemented the correct systems and tools, you're ready to take on the world of online marketing. I believe that the internet is the last great frontier and the beauty of the internet is that it is truly infinite. The real estate stretches on and on and never ends. There's always room for another great offering. So you never need to feel trapped, or restricted.
We will provide you with continuing education, along with a system and all the tools you need. All you need is desire and the willingness to work toward your own self-determined goals. We'll even welcome you into our community of like minded people that you can network with, discuss ideas, and a variety of business strategies. All of the resources you're going to find are what Jay Kubassek (founder of CarbonCopyPRO) likes to call an incubator for entrepreneurs, which leads nicely into tomorrow's topic: Entrepreneurship.
During the first 25% of our lives, we find ourselves emmersed in a structured environment with its foundation based on readiness. We spend our infancy getting ready to walk and talk, as a toddler or very young child, our parents get us ready to enter the school system to begin our journey in education (yesterday's topic). In kindergarten, we are getting ready for entering the first grade, and in first grade we're getting ready for 2nd grade and so on. All of our years in elementary school culminate in getting us ready for middle school. Middle school is spent preparing for high school and in high shool we're getting ready to enter the "real world" or maybe, if we're lucky, to go to college. But after that, then what?
Well, if you're really attuned to the world of academia, you may choose to stay in school for some length of time after gradusating, getting advanced degrees, doctorates and the like. But if you're like most of us, after your formal education is completed, you're thrust out into the world with not much more than your diploma or degree and a lot of ambition. You feel empowered, because you've learned so much in school, but the real world can still be a pretty scary place. It doesn't take long for that feeling of empowerment to fade when faced with the prospect of landing a job. Especially in today's economy. The competition for decent living wage situations id fierce. You really have to be a sharp cookie to gain and maintain a full-time job. That's where Dream Outfitters come in.
At Dream Outfitters, we say that having a job is not the way to financial freedom. In fact we say that having a job is simply an acronym; JOB stands for Just Over Broke. The days of going to school and getting good grades to get into a good college and working for a good company until retirement age are but a distant memory of yesteryear. Once upon a time, employees were loyal to the companies they worked for and in return, the companies treated employees with a great deal of respect and that loyalty was rewarded with a great retirement package and a gold watch when you left the work force in your golden years. Now it seems that corporations are more interested in the shareholders than they are in the people that make their business function on a daily basis. Employees are now more like commodities than human beings. The focus is now on the bottom line. But who's looking out for you? The answer is nobody. You need to look after yourself. Dream Outfitters wants you to feel empowered once more. So let me tell you how we are empowering thousands of people, just like you, to take control of their financial futures and arm themselves with their very own golden parachute, God knows, your employer isn't going to provide you with one.
Remember that feeling of empowerment I talked about in the intro? That feeling of readiness? The process of getting ready doesn't need to end after we leave school. In fact, I'm still preparing for new and exciting activities that I want to explore. I prepare by gaining knowledge through education. Dream Outfitters has that. Then I further prepare by putting systems in place and using the right set of tools to make my dream possible, we have those too. Once you've gained the knowledge and implemented the correct systems and tools, you're ready to take on the world of online marketing. I believe that the internet is the last great frontier and the beauty of the internet is that it is truly infinite. The real estate stretches on and on and never ends. There's always room for another great offering. So you never need to feel trapped, or restricted.
We will provide you with continuing education, along with a system and all the tools you need. All you need is desire and the willingness to work toward your own self-determined goals. We'll even welcome you into our community of like minded people that you can network with, discuss ideas, and a variety of business strategies. All of the resources you're going to find are what Jay Kubassek (founder of CarbonCopyPRO) likes to call an incubator for entrepreneurs, which leads nicely into tomorrow's topic: Entrepreneurship.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Education
Now here's a subject I certainly know something about, although I have never really achieved any academic accolades. Heck I didn't even get a college degree after going in and out of 2 different schools over a period of 5 years. All I can tell you is that in order to become truly successful and continue to stay that way, your education should never end. Being an IT professional, I must continue to learn new skills every year just to keep up with the technology. One thing I've discovered along the way is that you need to become self-educated. There are many topics that really should be taught in schools but simply are not, or they get glossed over in a superfluous manner; Personal Finance comes to mind as a specific example.
Thank God for the internet and all of the information that we can get our hands on. The only problem with having so much information at our fingertips is that you have to sift through it with an eye for what's factual and what isn't. For topics that are widely discussed, you can read a ton of information and a core of truth develops and you can tell where the fringe information, that needs to be discarded, lies. The challenging part comes when you are researching areas that don't have a lot of published information. There isn't a wealth of information available to contrast it against, so you'll want to treat these subjects with a little more scrutiny.
We promote educational material and training curriculums at DreamOutfitters.com and I truly believe that the quality of education that we offer is quite honestly superlative. We belong to a community that is made up of the world's best and brightest online entrepreneurs and they have taken the time to build an educational system for continued learning in the field of internet marketing. It is literally impossible to find the wealth of information that you'll find within our community offered in any other single location. There are eBooks, videos, Podcasts, Webinars, along with well organized computer based training curriculums all arranged by topic for easy access. These courses teach the most vital information that you need to promote your own business ideas on the world wide web. There are courses on everything from internet marketing as we've discussed to sales, service and even legal to make sure that your business is run on the up and up.
There are also multiple brand new training opportunities presented live via conference calls and webinars each and every week. Everything from the very basic beginning methods to jump start your business to the super advanced what you might call "graduate level" courses that show time tested methods that have literally cost the trainers thousand of hours of their blood sweat and tears while they fine tuned their campaigns through a series of trials and tribulations. They share what they've learned with the entire community. As Jay Kubassek always says, "the rising tide, raises all boats." It feels really great to belong to such a community and I've learned so much in a short period of time.
The bottom line for today's post is that you must continue to be a student well after your formal education is completed. Daily reading, listening to audio programs, watching DVDs as well as attending lectures, sermons and seminars. This continual process of filling your mind with the latest and most effective "best practices" can literally save you hundreds and hundreds of hours wasted by stumbling through life by trial and error. Trial and error can be effective if you do not have any examples to follow. But why spend all of that time if someone else has already done it? Success leaves clues. Pick up on those clues and save yourself the trouble of the trial and error that has already been exerted in reaching those proven successful results. Study the people you most admire and you will find the golden nuggets of wisdom that they leave behind much like a trail of breadcrumbs leading the way to where they have already arrived. Don't be a follower, be a student.
Thank God for the internet and all of the information that we can get our hands on. The only problem with having so much information at our fingertips is that you have to sift through it with an eye for what's factual and what isn't. For topics that are widely discussed, you can read a ton of information and a core of truth develops and you can tell where the fringe information, that needs to be discarded, lies. The challenging part comes when you are researching areas that don't have a lot of published information. There isn't a wealth of information available to contrast it against, so you'll want to treat these subjects with a little more scrutiny.
We promote educational material and training curriculums at DreamOutfitters.com and I truly believe that the quality of education that we offer is quite honestly superlative. We belong to a community that is made up of the world's best and brightest online entrepreneurs and they have taken the time to build an educational system for continued learning in the field of internet marketing. It is literally impossible to find the wealth of information that you'll find within our community offered in any other single location. There are eBooks, videos, Podcasts, Webinars, along with well organized computer based training curriculums all arranged by topic for easy access. These courses teach the most vital information that you need to promote your own business ideas on the world wide web. There are courses on everything from internet marketing as we've discussed to sales, service and even legal to make sure that your business is run on the up and up.
There are also multiple brand new training opportunities presented live via conference calls and webinars each and every week. Everything from the very basic beginning methods to jump start your business to the super advanced what you might call "graduate level" courses that show time tested methods that have literally cost the trainers thousand of hours of their blood sweat and tears while they fine tuned their campaigns through a series of trials and tribulations. They share what they've learned with the entire community. As Jay Kubassek always says, "the rising tide, raises all boats." It feels really great to belong to such a community and I've learned so much in a short period of time.
The bottom line for today's post is that you must continue to be a student well after your formal education is completed. Daily reading, listening to audio programs, watching DVDs as well as attending lectures, sermons and seminars. This continual process of filling your mind with the latest and most effective "best practices" can literally save you hundreds and hundreds of hours wasted by stumbling through life by trial and error. Trial and error can be effective if you do not have any examples to follow. But why spend all of that time if someone else has already done it? Success leaves clues. Pick up on those clues and save yourself the trouble of the trial and error that has already been exerted in reaching those proven successful results. Study the people you most admire and you will find the golden nuggets of wisdom that they leave behind much like a trail of breadcrumbs leading the way to where they have already arrived. Don't be a follower, be a student.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Enlightenment
Enlightenment to me, used to be a search for something outside of myself. As a youngster I debated the merits of the church and rebelled because the various factions seemed to be at odds with one another. I witnessed hypocrisy, and diametrically opposed views facing off against one another with respect to who would be saved, who the infidels were and who would be chosen to enter the kingdom of God. It occurred to me that it was impossible for all of these religious points of view to be true, so I searched even further.
Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastianism, you name it, I've probably read about it. It was then that I started forming my own hybrid belief systems based on the teachings of everything I had read. I'd pick and choose the best parts of each, or more accurately, the parts that fit the unstructured life that I had chosen for myself. It was only later in life that I realized that handpicking values from a smorgasborg of practices does not a religion make. True enlightenment comes from discipline and introspect.
Enlightenment doesn't come from the outside. It comes from what's inside of us and is revealed through self-education, contemplation, inspiration and meditation. I've recently been reading quite a bit about quantum physics and the Zero-Point field. Dr. Wayne Dyer refers to it as source energy and Yoda refers to it as the force, while still others refer to it as the Holy Spirit. It is the universal energy that connects us all and everything else in the universe. It's pretty spacey, I agree, but the math works out. And there are a great number of serious phycisists who can support these theoretical axioms through their scientific experimentation.
Whether you find true enlightenment through the Bible, the Koran, the teachings of Ghandi or confucious; You must have faith and believe in it with every ounce of conviction in your heart. It isn't something you can turn on and off at will. It becomes a part of who you are. It shows up in your smile, the way you shake hands and the work that you do day in and day out. I cannot say that I am an enlightened individual by any means, but I continue to grow in my faith and I try to live a life more in tune with the harmonistic vibration of the cosmos, yes all at the same time.
Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastianism, you name it, I've probably read about it. It was then that I started forming my own hybrid belief systems based on the teachings of everything I had read. I'd pick and choose the best parts of each, or more accurately, the parts that fit the unstructured life that I had chosen for myself. It was only later in life that I realized that handpicking values from a smorgasborg of practices does not a religion make. True enlightenment comes from discipline and introspect.
Enlightenment doesn't come from the outside. It comes from what's inside of us and is revealed through self-education, contemplation, inspiration and meditation. I've recently been reading quite a bit about quantum physics and the Zero-Point field. Dr. Wayne Dyer refers to it as source energy and Yoda refers to it as the force, while still others refer to it as the Holy Spirit. It is the universal energy that connects us all and everything else in the universe. It's pretty spacey, I agree, but the math works out. And there are a great number of serious phycisists who can support these theoretical axioms through their scientific experimentation.
Whether you find true enlightenment through the Bible, the Koran, the teachings of Ghandi or confucious; You must have faith and believe in it with every ounce of conviction in your heart. It isn't something you can turn on and off at will. It becomes a part of who you are. It shows up in your smile, the way you shake hands and the work that you do day in and day out. I cannot say that I am an enlightened individual by any means, but I continue to grow in my faith and I try to live a life more in tune with the harmonistic vibration of the cosmos, yes all at the same time.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Glenn Beck's E4 Solution
This week I plan on spending time discussing Glenn Beck's E4 solution for restoring "American Exceptionalism". Before you start rolling your eyes and thinking to yourself, "Oh great... Todd's just another right wing wacko." Let me first tell you that this is not a political discussion. It's not about right and left, or conservative and liberal, or progressive, or any of that. This is simply about stepping up and improving the country we live in by stepping up and making personal improvements in our own lives. This will result in an overall improvement in our surrounding communities and the nation as a whole. I honestly believe that Glenn has actually stumbled upon something very important here (perhaps literally).
I've been listening to Glenn Beck on the radio for at least 7 years, probably longer. I remember when he was just a "Sick Twisted Freak" who harassed 7-11 store owners by calling them on the phone to play "Moron Trivia". But then he started his television program and everything started to shift. While his show was always dubbed "The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment", I definitely noticed that he was moving more towards enlightenment and departing from his more entertaining whacky antics. Over the past year or so, I've watched him metamorphasize into an educator; an historian if you will. He started teaching us about the founders and I learned a lot of stuff about American History that simply wasn't taught in schools. But since I'm a student and not just a follower, I did my own research and I encourage you to do the same. Do not take my word for it. You've got to be self-educated, which means reading the books, and doing your homework. Don't take anything that Glenn Beck says or anything that I say for granted, find out for yourself.
Now that I've got the disclaimer out of the way, let's get down to what's gotten me all worked up with respect to Glenn Beck. Glenn has announced that he will be embarking on what he calls "The E4 Solution." The four E's consist of: Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. Three of which were so closely tied to the vision of Dream Outfitters that I was really quite intrigued. I believe that somehow Dream Outfitters and Glenn Beck are somehow connected and perfectly synchronized in time. So I had to find out why Dream Outfitters was missing a piece of the solution. As it turns out, we had overlooked Enlightenment, so I want to thank Glenn Beck for pointing this out so I can incorporate enlightenment into the Dreamers vision and mission. I guess I may have been afraid to bring spirituality to the table, because it is so personal. But I see now the importance of getting down to a more personal level in order to achieve success in life, in the lives of my fellow Dreamers and for America.
As the old story goes:
A man decided that he would change the world. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change the country. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his community. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his street. But, be wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his family. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change himself. AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY WAS AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET WERE AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, WHICH AFFECTED THE COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY WERE AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, WHICH AFFECTED THE COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY WERE AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, WHICH AFFECTED THE WHOLE WORLD.
The moral of the story is that change always starts with the individual. When setting out on our own E4 Journey, we need to take a good look at what is inside of us. And Glenn launched his campaign by introducing us to The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life:
1. Courage
2. Faith
3. Truth
4. Compassion
5. Friendship
6. Family
7. Common Sense
I'll probably come back to these at a later time. It looks like there might be a week's worth of material here and I don't plan on echoing Glenn's approach verbatim. I want to elaborate on The E4 Solution and give you my take on the four parts before I delve into these 7 wonders. So we'll wrap this post with this story "The 7". The remainder of the week I'll be discussing Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship.
I've been listening to Glenn Beck on the radio for at least 7 years, probably longer. I remember when he was just a "Sick Twisted Freak" who harassed 7-11 store owners by calling them on the phone to play "Moron Trivia". But then he started his television program and everything started to shift. While his show was always dubbed "The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment", I definitely noticed that he was moving more towards enlightenment and departing from his more entertaining whacky antics. Over the past year or so, I've watched him metamorphasize into an educator; an historian if you will. He started teaching us about the founders and I learned a lot of stuff about American History that simply wasn't taught in schools. But since I'm a student and not just a follower, I did my own research and I encourage you to do the same. Do not take my word for it. You've got to be self-educated, which means reading the books, and doing your homework. Don't take anything that Glenn Beck says or anything that I say for granted, find out for yourself.
Now that I've got the disclaimer out of the way, let's get down to what's gotten me all worked up with respect to Glenn Beck. Glenn has announced that he will be embarking on what he calls "The E4 Solution." The four E's consist of: Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship. Three of which were so closely tied to the vision of Dream Outfitters that I was really quite intrigued. I believe that somehow Dream Outfitters and Glenn Beck are somehow connected and perfectly synchronized in time. So I had to find out why Dream Outfitters was missing a piece of the solution. As it turns out, we had overlooked Enlightenment, so I want to thank Glenn Beck for pointing this out so I can incorporate enlightenment into the Dreamers vision and mission. I guess I may have been afraid to bring spirituality to the table, because it is so personal. But I see now the importance of getting down to a more personal level in order to achieve success in life, in the lives of my fellow Dreamers and for America.
As the old story goes:
A man decided that he would change the world. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change the country. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his community. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his street. But, be wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change his family. But, he wasn’t successful.
So he decided to change himself. AND HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.
AND HIS FAMILY WAS AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, AND THEY AFFECTED THEIR STREET.
AND THE PEOPLE ON THE STREET WERE AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, WHICH AFFECTED THE COMMUNITY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY WERE AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, WHICH AFFECTED THE COUNTRY.
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY WERE AFFECTED, AND THEY CHANGED, WHICH AFFECTED THE WHOLE WORLD.
The moral of the story is that change always starts with the individual. When setting out on our own E4 Journey, we need to take a good look at what is inside of us. And Glenn launched his campaign by introducing us to The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life:
1. Courage
2. Faith
3. Truth
4. Compassion
5. Friendship
6. Family
7. Common Sense
I'll probably come back to these at a later time. It looks like there might be a week's worth of material here and I don't plan on echoing Glenn's approach verbatim. I want to elaborate on The E4 Solution and give you my take on the four parts before I delve into these 7 wonders. So we'll wrap this post with this story "The 7". The remainder of the week I'll be discussing Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship.
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