We've all heard the phrase, but do we really know how to go about getting ahead? First of all, it isn't as hard as it might sound. All it takes is a little discipline and some proper planning. But before we get too far, what do they mean when they say getting ahead? Well, when I talk about getting ahead, I'm talking about getting ahead financially. Let's face it, most people don't really have a huge amount in their savings accounts. Oh sure they have retirements set up through 401Ks or any other number of tax deferred accounts that they have set aside for their golden years, but I'm telling you that this doesn't count. That money is set aside and should never be touched for ANYTHING except your retirement. Some people have savings accounts, but then they carry balances on their credit cards that equal or dwarf their savings. I'd like to help you get started on your way to getting ahead regardless of where you're starting from.
The first rule is to pay yourself first. This quite simply means that you should be putting money away before anyone gets their money grubbing hands on it, including the IRS. So if you don't have an IRA or some other type of tax deferred savings vehicle, set one up before the end of the month. This is the first step in getting ahead. I don't recommend moving on to the second step until you've taken care of number one. Pay Yourself First!
The second rule is to get out of debt. I realize that times are tough and there are a lot of folks out there who are living paycheck to paycheck, but you've got to start paying down those balances on those credit cards. If you're only making minimum payments, you'll never be out of debt, the payment schedules are specifically designed to keep you paying quite literally, FOREVER! If you have one or more credit cards and/or other loans (besides your mortgage), start paying the ones with the highest interest off first. Transfer as many balances to your lower interest accounts as you possibly can. By getting out from under your credit card debt, you can finally begin to see the light of day and start getting ahead financially. But if you still carry debt, you're not ahead, you're behind.
Third, once you're credit cards are all paid off, you can start putting extra money aside. I know that most savings account interest rates are a joke right now, but you know what? They're a heck of a lot better than not saving at all. I recommend getting yourself set up with a financial plan that involves a wide variety of savings vehicles. You never want to put all of your eggs in one basket. So please, DIVERSIFY. In addition to setting money aside (in addition to your retirement), you can start thinking about paying down your mortgage faster that you're currently doing.
This step only applies to homeowners who are carrying mortgages. More specifically, 30 year mortgages. If you're already in a 15 year mortgage, you're probably doing the right things, but you too could start making extra payments to get your mortgage paid off even sooner. If you're in a 30 year mortgage, there are a couple of different strategies you might take advantage of. You can either get yourself into a fixed-rate 15 year program, or if that's a stretch, just start paying half of your monthly mortgage payment every other week instead of sending the full amount once a month. Over the course of the year, you'll have made an extra month's payment on your principal. The difference you'll feel in your wallet is miniscule, but the chore to getting that mortgage down will start feeling easier and easier.
So to wrap, I'd just like to let you set some "get ahead" savings goals. The first goal is the easiest, and many of you are probably already here. Get $1,000 in the bank. After that your next goal should be having 3 months worth of mortgage/rent payments in the bank. After that, take it to six months housing costs in the bank. After you have six months worth of rent/mortgage in the bank, expand your savings goals to have 6 months of all of your living expenses (including all other expenses in addition to housing) safely tucked away (not counting your nest egg). And finally, once you've reached the point where you have a full year's worth of your total expenditures socked away, now you can go out and splurge a little bit. Go on a nice vacation, buy that boat, or whatever it is that makes you feel good. You've earned it. After you get to that point, you can support your family on savings even if all income is cut to nothing for an entire year. Not good enough you say, savings stud? OK tuck away 3 years, 5 years, heck go for 10 years (do that and you can almost retire). Let's all do what we can to start getting ahead this year.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Journaling for Success
I'm going to talk about starting a success journal as a tool to achieving the life of your dreams. With so many demands on your time, who honestly wants to add yet another task to their already hectic schedule? But I'd like to point out that keeping a journal can actually be more of a time saver than you probably realize. I've been an avid believer in the power of keeping a journal for most of my adult life. But the truth of the matter is that I haven't always been as dedicated to the process as I'd like to be. I've probably started journals over a dozen times in the past 30 years only to stop and tuck them away until the next time I get the encouragement to start up again.
If you already keep a journal, then I'd like to commend you. It's not an easy thing to keep up. I used to try to coax myself into keeping up my journal by purchasing really nice journals that felt luxurious in my hands. My thinking was that I had to feel good about going to the journal to capture my thoughts and ideas. But truth be told, I probably wrote less in the fine leather bound volumes than I have in the more reasonably priced composition books that you can pick up for $1.00 at your local drug store during their Back To School sales. I must have over a dozen leather bound volumes with maybe a month or two of entries before abandoning the project.
I've tried buying expensive pens and multi-colored pens to give myself the ability of writing topic specific thoughts in respective colored ink, but that was extremely impractical. It wasn't until I started keeping morning pages (a method of simply writing just to write) that I discovered in the book entitled The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, that I really stuck to my daily updates. I must have over a dozen of those black and white composition notebooks completely filled on both sides of the pages because the writing was simply just flowing from my thoughts to the page.
The most rewarding part of having the journals is that you can go back and rediscover things that you've been through in your busy life. You can capture those fleeting thoughts on paper so that there is a record available to you for future reference. Journals can help you organize your life and even become a time management tool to keep you on task. The uses of a journal as a tool to achieving succes in life are unlimited. I can now go back and relive various periods of my life, whether they be good times or bad, and see what was going on. I can draw conclusions from all of the data and maybe even get some insights as to the root causes of some of the things that seemed to escape me at the time. They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Do you have a good record of your own personal history? I do, and it's taught me a lot, not only about myself, but about those I surround myself with.
The key to successful journaling is that it doesn't become a chore. If you feel restricted or confined by the process you won't keep at it. Trust me on this, I've started and stopped so many times that I can't even begin to count. If you make it as much a part of your daily routine as your morning cup of coffee or brushing your teeth, it will someday just become automatic. But it has to be embraced with comfort before you get to that point.
I like to write, and I suppose that this blog was born out of my love for writing. I've started and stopped other blogs too, but this blog has given me the purpose of helping others. I am truly interested in this as a process, and also as a learning experience and to a lesser extent, a therapy of sorts. I am capturing thoughts and ideas with a common theme all designed to help others to reach their goals and to start living the American Dream. I do this for myself as much as I do it for others. I just hope that somebody else will benefit from these posts. Even if I can reach only a handful of people, I've succeeded in what I set out to do; inspiring others to reach for the stars and realize their own best life today.
If you already keep a journal, then I'd like to commend you. It's not an easy thing to keep up. I used to try to coax myself into keeping up my journal by purchasing really nice journals that felt luxurious in my hands. My thinking was that I had to feel good about going to the journal to capture my thoughts and ideas. But truth be told, I probably wrote less in the fine leather bound volumes than I have in the more reasonably priced composition books that you can pick up for $1.00 at your local drug store during their Back To School sales. I must have over a dozen leather bound volumes with maybe a month or two of entries before abandoning the project.
I've tried buying expensive pens and multi-colored pens to give myself the ability of writing topic specific thoughts in respective colored ink, but that was extremely impractical. It wasn't until I started keeping morning pages (a method of simply writing just to write) that I discovered in the book entitled The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, that I really stuck to my daily updates. I must have over a dozen of those black and white composition notebooks completely filled on both sides of the pages because the writing was simply just flowing from my thoughts to the page.
The most rewarding part of having the journals is that you can go back and rediscover things that you've been through in your busy life. You can capture those fleeting thoughts on paper so that there is a record available to you for future reference. Journals can help you organize your life and even become a time management tool to keep you on task. The uses of a journal as a tool to achieving succes in life are unlimited. I can now go back and relive various periods of my life, whether they be good times or bad, and see what was going on. I can draw conclusions from all of the data and maybe even get some insights as to the root causes of some of the things that seemed to escape me at the time. They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Do you have a good record of your own personal history? I do, and it's taught me a lot, not only about myself, but about those I surround myself with.
The key to successful journaling is that it doesn't become a chore. If you feel restricted or confined by the process you won't keep at it. Trust me on this, I've started and stopped so many times that I can't even begin to count. If you make it as much a part of your daily routine as your morning cup of coffee or brushing your teeth, it will someday just become automatic. But it has to be embraced with comfort before you get to that point.
I like to write, and I suppose that this blog was born out of my love for writing. I've started and stopped other blogs too, but this blog has given me the purpose of helping others. I am truly interested in this as a process, and also as a learning experience and to a lesser extent, a therapy of sorts. I am capturing thoughts and ideas with a common theme all designed to help others to reach their goals and to start living the American Dream. I do this for myself as much as I do it for others. I just hope that somebody else will benefit from these posts. Even if I can reach only a handful of people, I've succeeded in what I set out to do; inspiring others to reach for the stars and realize their own best life today.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Common Sense
Is it just me, or does it seem that common sense is becoming more and more uncommon with each passing decade? The dumbing down of America has become epidemic, it's no wonder that the rest of the world looks upon us with contempt. They see our decadence, arrogance and apparent lack of intellect being broadcast from satellites in orbit around the globe and wonder how it is that America ever became a super power.
We've allowed ourselves to get to a place where we simply aren't required to think for ourselves anymore. They have to put labels on MacDonalds coffee cups that tell us that coffee is hot and that we may get burned if we spill it in our laps. We have to be warned that cigarette smoking has been linked to certain types of cancer. We have to be told not to eat the contents of those little silica gel packets that come inside the box of almost every electronic device sold now. Are we really that stupid? Do we have to be reminded that polished marble floors are slippery when wet? I believe that the government honestly believes that we can no longer think for ourselves and therefore must pass legislation to protect us from our own folly. But has the general public really given them reason to suspect otherwise?
As Cass Sunstein said, “Once we know that people are human and have some Homer Simpson in them, then there’s a lot that can be done to manipulate that.” Have we become a nation vulnerable to manipulation because we simply don't think for ourselves anymore? Sometimes it really irks me, while other times I simply pity the people who make fools of themselves on reality television shows. These shows are being aired around the world around the clock and this is the perception that the rest of the world keeps in the back of their minds when they think about Americans. They see Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan being idolized by entire masses of America's youth. And the media continues to promote these figures as role models to our children. There are literally hundreds of other examples of celebrities gone wild that I could cite here, but I like to keep my posts brief. The point I am making is that our society has lost touch with true heroes. Gone are the days when citizens looked up to policemen and firefighters. Now our heroes actually fear for their lives when making routine traffic stops. I'm sorry, but there's something very very wrong going on here. I only fear that it may be too late for us to wake up and regain our reason and morality.
I believe we're at a turning point, but it's up to each and every one of us to determine which direction that turn is going to take. Are we going to continue coasting as if everything is just fine, or will we stand up and say, "Wait just a minute... I'm not going down that road." I'm going to do whatever I can to try to make people think about the things that we often take for granted. Take a step back and examine the way things are going in your life and determine if the current course is headed where you want to go. Is a course correction required? I cannot answer for you. I know that my life wasn't going where I wanted it to go, so I made the decision to make the necessary changes to get my life back on track. I can honestly say that since that point in time, things have been getting better and better. All I have to do is continue evaluating my current course, my self-determined destination and then deciding which actions to take that keep me moving in the right direction.
I want to once again thank Glenn Beck for his E4 Solution to restore American exceptionalism and The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life. Not only has he provided me with two weeks worth of blog posting topics, but I think he has successfully underscored the importance of holding these kinds of values near and dear to our hearts and minds as we go forth into a new decade in America.
We've allowed ourselves to get to a place where we simply aren't required to think for ourselves anymore. They have to put labels on MacDonalds coffee cups that tell us that coffee is hot and that we may get burned if we spill it in our laps. We have to be warned that cigarette smoking has been linked to certain types of cancer. We have to be told not to eat the contents of those little silica gel packets that come inside the box of almost every electronic device sold now. Are we really that stupid? Do we have to be reminded that polished marble floors are slippery when wet? I believe that the government honestly believes that we can no longer think for ourselves and therefore must pass legislation to protect us from our own folly. But has the general public really given them reason to suspect otherwise?
As Cass Sunstein said, “Once we know that people are human and have some Homer Simpson in them, then there’s a lot that can be done to manipulate that.” Have we become a nation vulnerable to manipulation because we simply don't think for ourselves anymore? Sometimes it really irks me, while other times I simply pity the people who make fools of themselves on reality television shows. These shows are being aired around the world around the clock and this is the perception that the rest of the world keeps in the back of their minds when they think about Americans. They see Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan being idolized by entire masses of America's youth. And the media continues to promote these figures as role models to our children. There are literally hundreds of other examples of celebrities gone wild that I could cite here, but I like to keep my posts brief. The point I am making is that our society has lost touch with true heroes. Gone are the days when citizens looked up to policemen and firefighters. Now our heroes actually fear for their lives when making routine traffic stops. I'm sorry, but there's something very very wrong going on here. I only fear that it may be too late for us to wake up and regain our reason and morality.
I believe we're at a turning point, but it's up to each and every one of us to determine which direction that turn is going to take. Are we going to continue coasting as if everything is just fine, or will we stand up and say, "Wait just a minute... I'm not going down that road." I'm going to do whatever I can to try to make people think about the things that we often take for granted. Take a step back and examine the way things are going in your life and determine if the current course is headed where you want to go. Is a course correction required? I cannot answer for you. I know that my life wasn't going where I wanted it to go, so I made the decision to make the necessary changes to get my life back on track. I can honestly say that since that point in time, things have been getting better and better. All I have to do is continue evaluating my current course, my self-determined destination and then deciding which actions to take that keep me moving in the right direction.
I want to once again thank Glenn Beck for his E4 Solution to restore American exceptionalism and The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life. Not only has he provided me with two weeks worth of blog posting topics, but I think he has successfully underscored the importance of holding these kinds of values near and dear to our hearts and minds as we go forth into a new decade in America.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Family
Being a Rabbit year child of Chinese Horoscope fame, I am curiously detached from family. If the Chinese Horoscope knows this about me, it can't possibly be my fault. I do admit that I am not what you might call very close to my family. My mother and sister (my only remaining immediate family members) both live in Southern California and I, in Hawaii. It's not that I don't love my family, I do. We don't get the chance to visit as much as we should, but I did manage to see my mom twice last year, both in August for her birthday and in November the week before Thanksgiving. I'm going to make an attempt to see my family at least once a year from here on out because since moving to Hawaii, I've only been back to visit them four times.
It was a total coincidence that I received a wonderful portrait of my two beautiful nieces today. I don't think they knew I'd be writing about family today, and if they did, it would have been virtually impossible to time the United States Postal Service delivery to arrive exactly on this day. So I'll chalk up another coincidence to the universe and the Law of Attraction. It's like thinking of and old family member who you haven't seen in quite a long time and out of the blue, the phone rings. It's unexplainable, but it hints to the fact that we're really all connected. I love my nieces to death and I wish I had spent more time with them while they were growing up. They're twins and they both just graduated from college this past summer. I'm very proud of them and so is their Aunty Jojo.
The majority of the rest of my family reside back in Minnesota, where I like to refer to as God's country. They've been experiencing some truly frightful weather this winter, but it seems it's been that way all across the U.S.. I grew up in Edina and I have an aunt, uncle and two cousins living in Minneapolis (at least I think they're all still there). The rest are located further north stretching from St. Cloud to Lake Mille Lacs. I have 6 first cousins, whom are good catholics, so you do the math on how large the clan has expanded up until now. I can't even count all of the second cousins and their offspring, and their offspring; so I couldn't really say. I just really need to reconnect. I haven't spoken with any of them in the past 20 years or so with the exception of my youngest cousin Shawn. He and his lovely wife came out to visit us in 2007 and I think they're planning another trip this year. I myself will probably be taking a trip to Minnesota for my 30th reunion this summer, so no doubt I'll be paying a visit to my extended family while I'm there.
What I'd like to say about family is that they are truly the ones who make us who we are. We spend our formative years among them growing up and sharing memories for all of the holidays, summer vacations, weddings, funerals and all other sorts of family gatherings. Superbowls, picnics, parades and fishing trips make up some of my most cherished childhood memories.
OK... Now I'm really getting homesick for Minnesota.
I will make an honest attempt to get back in touch with the family I left behind in the Great White North since we moved to California in 1981. I miss them and God willing they miss me a little bit too. Reach out and touch a member of your family (or more) and try to re-connect now that we have the tools available to us. You're excuses (and mine) for remaining detached are rapidly dimishing. It's way too easy, to pick up the phone, text them, send an email, or "Friend" them on Facebook and send them a message, just to name a few methods available to us today. No longer do we have to sit down and write a letter to send off with the mail man. It's too easy to stay in touch, so join me in my pledge to improve family relationships.
It was a total coincidence that I received a wonderful portrait of my two beautiful nieces today. I don't think they knew I'd be writing about family today, and if they did, it would have been virtually impossible to time the United States Postal Service delivery to arrive exactly on this day. So I'll chalk up another coincidence to the universe and the Law of Attraction. It's like thinking of and old family member who you haven't seen in quite a long time and out of the blue, the phone rings. It's unexplainable, but it hints to the fact that we're really all connected. I love my nieces to death and I wish I had spent more time with them while they were growing up. They're twins and they both just graduated from college this past summer. I'm very proud of them and so is their Aunty Jojo.
The majority of the rest of my family reside back in Minnesota, where I like to refer to as God's country. They've been experiencing some truly frightful weather this winter, but it seems it's been that way all across the U.S.. I grew up in Edina and I have an aunt, uncle and two cousins living in Minneapolis (at least I think they're all still there). The rest are located further north stretching from St. Cloud to Lake Mille Lacs. I have 6 first cousins, whom are good catholics, so you do the math on how large the clan has expanded up until now. I can't even count all of the second cousins and their offspring, and their offspring; so I couldn't really say. I just really need to reconnect. I haven't spoken with any of them in the past 20 years or so with the exception of my youngest cousin Shawn. He and his lovely wife came out to visit us in 2007 and I think they're planning another trip this year. I myself will probably be taking a trip to Minnesota for my 30th reunion this summer, so no doubt I'll be paying a visit to my extended family while I'm there.
What I'd like to say about family is that they are truly the ones who make us who we are. We spend our formative years among them growing up and sharing memories for all of the holidays, summer vacations, weddings, funerals and all other sorts of family gatherings. Superbowls, picnics, parades and fishing trips make up some of my most cherished childhood memories.
OK... Now I'm really getting homesick for Minnesota.
I will make an honest attempt to get back in touch with the family I left behind in the Great White North since we moved to California in 1981. I miss them and God willing they miss me a little bit too. Reach out and touch a member of your family (or more) and try to re-connect now that we have the tools available to us. You're excuses (and mine) for remaining detached are rapidly dimishing. It's way too easy, to pick up the phone, text them, send an email, or "Friend" them on Facebook and send them a message, just to name a few methods available to us today. No longer do we have to sit down and write a letter to send off with the mail man. It's too easy to stay in touch, so join me in my pledge to improve family relationships.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friendship
Friendship is something that everybody enjoys at least during some points in their lives. The ocean of life provides us with sets of friendships that roll in continually. The people we call friends come and go ebbing and flowing like the tides. The passing of time often changes the set of friends we have around during certain periods in our lives. Some people are lucky enough to have life long friendships that seem to withstand the test of time. These are the fortunates that most likely have not relocated as I have multiple times in my life. With every new opportunity, often a new set of friendships are made and, unfortunately, some are lost, simply a casualty of a new phase in life.
It doesn't necessarily need to be this way. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder and I suppose this is true with certain friends. I for one am not especially good at staying in touch. It's the old out of sight out of mind scenario. I know that with today's technology we should be able to stay closer than ever before. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to be so tied up in the day to day routines of business and family life that our friends often take a back seat to spending quality time at our own households. Having said that, I'd like to take this opportunity to become better by being a better friend. So I'm going to try to do a better job of reaching out and just saying "Hi" to friends I haven't seen or heard from in years. I think the summer of 2010 was the first time I got onto Facebook. What a wonderful tool for finding and rekindling old relationships. It doesn't even matter if you're half way around the world, or just up the street. We can all afford the time it takes to log in and "poke" a few folks just to let them know you've been thinking of them.
I knew I was going to be writing about friendship today, so I decided to actually go down to my favorite watering hole and visit with a few friends that I haven't seen in awhile. It's hard to take the time to spend with friends when you have a lot of responsibilities, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense if I sat at home in my office and wrote this post about how great friendships are. If one of My friends from Tropics Lounge actually reads this post, do me a favor and hit the "Like" button would ya? At least that way I'll know there's actually someone out there who is taking the time to read this post as I bloviate et nauseum about friendship. I intend to be a better friend in 2011 and if you don't hear from me, let me know about it so I have a little accountability here. If you really want to live a life that's full, surround yourself with good friends and share in the experiences of the world.
It doesn't necessarily need to be this way. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder and I suppose this is true with certain friends. I for one am not especially good at staying in touch. It's the old out of sight out of mind scenario. I know that with today's technology we should be able to stay closer than ever before. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to be so tied up in the day to day routines of business and family life that our friends often take a back seat to spending quality time at our own households. Having said that, I'd like to take this opportunity to become better by being a better friend. So I'm going to try to do a better job of reaching out and just saying "Hi" to friends I haven't seen or heard from in years. I think the summer of 2010 was the first time I got onto Facebook. What a wonderful tool for finding and rekindling old relationships. It doesn't even matter if you're half way around the world, or just up the street. We can all afford the time it takes to log in and "poke" a few folks just to let them know you've been thinking of them.
I knew I was going to be writing about friendship today, so I decided to actually go down to my favorite watering hole and visit with a few friends that I haven't seen in awhile. It's hard to take the time to spend with friends when you have a lot of responsibilities, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense if I sat at home in my office and wrote this post about how great friendships are. If one of My friends from Tropics Lounge actually reads this post, do me a favor and hit the "Like" button would ya? At least that way I'll know there's actually someone out there who is taking the time to read this post as I bloviate et nauseum about friendship. I intend to be a better friend in 2011 and if you don't hear from me, let me know about it so I have a little accountability here. If you really want to live a life that's full, surround yourself with good friends and share in the experiences of the world.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Compassion
Whenever I think of compassion, my thoughts always turn to the greats like Mother Theresa or Father Damien. I ask myself if it's possible to have so much compassion that I could dedicate my whole life to a cause like they did. Their compassion was such that I believe they must have been sent from God. I believe we're all sent by God to fulfill some purpose, but through our own free will, we choose to become lesser men (or women). Trust me, I'm no saint, and I don't know whether I'll find my true purpose in life before I die or not, but at least I'm willing to examine my talents to try to find that which continues to elude me.
Becoming truly compassionate sounds easy, but it certainly is not. Even at Christmas time, arguably the most compassionate season of the year, I find myself getting so caught up in the commercialism that I drop the ball on all of the remarkable things I was planning on doing for others this year. Oh sure, I give my spare change to the guy outside the department store ringing a bell with his red kettle. I might even offer up a five or ten spot for a homeless man to get himself a decent meal. But these few and far between acts of kindness do not represent compassion at the level that Mother Theresa and Father Damien possessed. They gave of themselves 24/7/365 and never with a thought or a care that they were going to be repaid somehow. There's a saying that gets tossed around quite a bit at Dream Outfitters that I'd like to think we all try to live our lives by, and it is simply this, “Do Something For Someone Today, With The KNOWING That There Is No Possible Way For Them To Ever Repay You.”
We all try to be as good as we possibly can (well, most of us), and while we may never reach the level of perfection of a true saint, we can live a better life today than we did yesterday. We can live better lives by becoming more compassionate to the plight of others. Others less fortunate whom we come across during the course of our day. Merriam-Webster defines compassion as the sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. The key here is the last part, the desire to alleviate it. It's great that we feel compassionate, but even greater when we can actually participate, in a small way, to relieve the pain that we witness. Pain and suffering and loneliness is all around us. It doesn't take much to toss someone a smile instead of just hurrying on our way. That costs nothing. Let's all try to be a little more compassionte this year than we have in the past. I know you will become a better person for it.
Becoming truly compassionate sounds easy, but it certainly is not. Even at Christmas time, arguably the most compassionate season of the year, I find myself getting so caught up in the commercialism that I drop the ball on all of the remarkable things I was planning on doing for others this year. Oh sure, I give my spare change to the guy outside the department store ringing a bell with his red kettle. I might even offer up a five or ten spot for a homeless man to get himself a decent meal. But these few and far between acts of kindness do not represent compassion at the level that Mother Theresa and Father Damien possessed. They gave of themselves 24/7/365 and never with a thought or a care that they were going to be repaid somehow. There's a saying that gets tossed around quite a bit at Dream Outfitters that I'd like to think we all try to live our lives by, and it is simply this, “Do Something For Someone Today, With The KNOWING That There Is No Possible Way For Them To Ever Repay You.”
We all try to be as good as we possibly can (well, most of us), and while we may never reach the level of perfection of a true saint, we can live a better life today than we did yesterday. We can live better lives by becoming more compassionate to the plight of others. Others less fortunate whom we come across during the course of our day. Merriam-Webster defines compassion as the sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. The key here is the last part, the desire to alleviate it. It's great that we feel compassionate, but even greater when we can actually participate, in a small way, to relieve the pain that we witness. Pain and suffering and loneliness is all around us. It doesn't take much to toss someone a smile instead of just hurrying on our way. That costs nothing. Let's all try to be a little more compassionte this year than we have in the past. I know you will become a better person for it.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Truth
We as internet users are being inundated with information like never before. With this comes the need to be able discern what is true and what leaves a little to be desired in the truth department. If you're well informed, the truth is usually pretty easy to discern. It has a certain feeling associated with it, it sounds better than falsehood. This is why they say that some things "ring true" where as other things don't. In order to become our best, we want to come from a place of truth; through our speech and through our actions.
They say that the truth shall set you free, and I believe this; truly I do. Judge Judy has a great phrase that she tells her courtroom parties when she senses that what they're telling her may not be 100% based in fact. She says, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory." What she's saying is that when we only go on the facts, we don't have to worry about keeping our story straight while trying to manufacture a tale that "sounds good." This is liberating, because all you need to do in life is simply recall what actually took place instead of trying to "spin" or bend the truth to put our side in the best light. If our case isn't strong enough based on the merits, then it probably isn't really going to stand up anyhow.
The best thing about the truth, is that it is what it is. Winston Churchill has a couple of quotes (probably more) about truth. He states, "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is." This alludes to the ultimate resilience of truth. If you make truth the cornerstone of your moral fibre, it makes the rest of life's principles all that much easier to follow through on. Churchill also warns us that, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." This is a warning to not fall into the trap where many people find themselves. Honesty has seemingly become so irrelevant, that people don't even realize that duplicity has become embedded in their moral fibre. They simply gloss over the facts and continue right on living without paying any heed.
There's a good possibility that I've butchered Winston's original meaning here (especially with respect to the latter). But truth be told, that is what the essesnce of the quote is saying to me. Perhaps it's time for us all to take a look around and give the information we're being bombarded with a litmus test. Does it sound right? If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't true.
They say that the truth shall set you free, and I believe this; truly I do. Judge Judy has a great phrase that she tells her courtroom parties when she senses that what they're telling her may not be 100% based in fact. She says, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory." What she's saying is that when we only go on the facts, we don't have to worry about keeping our story straight while trying to manufacture a tale that "sounds good." This is liberating, because all you need to do in life is simply recall what actually took place instead of trying to "spin" or bend the truth to put our side in the best light. If our case isn't strong enough based on the merits, then it probably isn't really going to stand up anyhow.
The best thing about the truth, is that it is what it is. Winston Churchill has a couple of quotes (probably more) about truth. He states, "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is." This alludes to the ultimate resilience of truth. If you make truth the cornerstone of your moral fibre, it makes the rest of life's principles all that much easier to follow through on. Churchill also warns us that, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." This is a warning to not fall into the trap where many people find themselves. Honesty has seemingly become so irrelevant, that people don't even realize that duplicity has become embedded in their moral fibre. They simply gloss over the facts and continue right on living without paying any heed.
There's a good possibility that I've butchered Winston's original meaning here (especially with respect to the latter). But truth be told, that is what the essesnce of the quote is saying to me. Perhaps it's time for us all to take a look around and give the information we're being bombarded with a litmus test. Does it sound right? If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't true.
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