Category: Blog

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Blind Sighted Vision

Sight is a beautiful and amazing thing to have.  I remember when I had 20/20 vision and could thread a needle often on the first attempt.  As I got older my vision became blurred and I needed glasses to be able to read.  Now I wear contact lens or eyeglasses.  Yet, I realized that sight, even though somewhat dulled, is a beautiful thing to have. 

Some things you cannot see without sight, but even with the best sight, there are some things you will never understand without insight.  Having both is great, but sight without insight still leaves you blind.  It is the blind spots in our lives that prevent us from seeing things that can make the difference between life and death or living while dead.  You may have heard the idiom, “you can’t see the forest for the trees,” or “you cannot see the wood for the tree.”  Sometimes we miss the big picture and the more critical things in life, by focusing so much on the small things that we lose our vision and our mission or vice versa.

To check my vision, I take two exams.  For my sight, I open my eyes, but for my insight, I close my eyes. For my sight I consult my optometrist, but for insight I consult God, wise counselors, and sages, past and present.  Sight can be one, two, or three dimensional, but insight is multidimensional.  Being disciplined for success, means being able to see and progress across dimensions.  This means that we must have vision.  Solomon, the great sage, said, “Where there is no vision, people perish.”  Helen Keller, who lived her life in physical blindness, yet contributed so much to the sighted world, said, “The only thing worse that being blind is having sight but no vision.”  

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A Team Effort

So often we hear about the negative and disastrous things that go on in our world which makes much of the world seem like a dangerous place to live.  I was amazed when I began to think of how much cooperation it takes to keep a planet of almost 7 billion people functioning without major chaos and catastrophes every day.  Thousands of airplanes, boats, train, buses, and cars travel the airways, waterways, and roads every day on seven continents.  There are stockpiles of military arsenal around the world and people training for war every day, yet more people die because of health-related conditions and accidents that from military actions.  Even among criminals, organized and vagabond, there is a level of cooperation that is somewhat opposed to anarchy. 

It takes a lot of coordination and cooperation to keep our planet as safe as it is today.  So maybe more than we realize it, we are players on the same team.  We all need the cooperation, input, and efforts of others to co-exist on this planet, even from people we do not know, or like.  A dozen or so nations have worked together on the international space station for two decades.   Scientists, pathologists, medical workers, and engineers, even from rival nations, share research and information for the good of us all.  In these areas someone realizes that our survival depends on our cooperation, and who knows what would happen if we realized that our mental, emotional, spiritual, and overall health as individuals, families, and nations could also benefit from greater levels of cooperation. 

One of the greatest levels of discipline is the movement ‘me’ to ‘we’ and from ‘them’ to ‘us.’  I call this a general attitude of cooperation and teamwork.  As the songwriter penned years ago, “No man is an island, no man stands alone.”  Every man, woman, boy, and girl are part of this great human family on earth, and when we are each disciplined to play our part on the team, our team effort will bring about a great win for all of us and future generations.

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No Options

Too many options make decision making difficult and sometimes impossible.  Clarity comes with focus and it is only when our options are narrowed to two that we can make a choice.  The genius of our computer programming is that billions of binary decisions are made in milliseconds that allow us to access information almost instantaneously.  In binary decisions it is either yes or no, true or false, this way or that way.  Decisions are made from options but when a decision has been made options have been ruled out. 

The next time you have a difficult decision to make that involves too many options, instead of trying to choose between them, try making a binary decision on each one or between two at a time.  The power of choice is the power of focus.  The power of focus is the power of one thing at a time.  We must choose what to include and what to occlude.  If failure is not an option, you have made a binary decision between success and failure and you will never give up until you succeed. 

Our GPS navigation systems will only show our present location until we give it a destination, and it will only give directions to one specific destination at a time.  Since we can process information more efficiently that computers and faster than most, it appears that we need to learn and exercise the power of disciplined binary decision making in order to maximize our potential.  Whatever we focus on will draw our power, energy, and resources.  Choices release power and decisions have consequences.  If our focus is selfish, we will implode, because all that power was never meant for us alone.  If our focus is vengeance and fairness, we will explode, because we can never correct or right all the wrongs done in the world.  If our focus is for the good of all, we will make the best contribution of our gifts, talents, and resources to deplode, which helps to limit the number of implosions and explosions in the world.

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Highchairs & Booster Seats

Babies move from highchairs to booster seats when they can sit up on their own consistently.  Theoretically, children progress from one grade level to the next when they have mastered the subject matter on that level.  There always seems to be a new level to reach in some area of our lives.  We go from crawling to walking, from walking to running, from training wheels to bike riding, from bike riding to driving, or from horseback riding to flying planes.  Even our technology is constantly progressing so that what we use to do physically, our machines, computers, robots, and phones can do for us now at the command of our voices.  While we have made amazing progress in the physical world, it seems that we are still in highchairs and booster seats in the emotional and spiritual areas of our lives.

When archeologists dig up the remains of past civilizations, they can see the evidence of their technological and physical progress. However, historians surmise that the fall of great civilizations had more to do with their inability to evolve spiritually, emotionally, and socially.  I have looked at the world through sociological, philosophical, and religious eyes, and it seems clear to me that we have ignored knowledge and evidence from some of the greatest minds in history that would be of great value in bringing peace to our world and our lives. 

In the highchair a baby starts by being fed by a parent and while there the baby learns to feed him or herself.  In the booster seat the baby learns how to sit and eat independently with others until they can physically reach the table without assistance.  Nurture, education, and religion are the highchairs and booster seats that should bring us to a place where we can live independently and interdependently with others.  I believe it is time for us to progress beyond our highchairs and booster seats.  This, however, may take discipline for which we are not accustomed or prepared.

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Daily Recommended Allowance

Manufacturers that package foods in the United States are required by the Food & Drug Administration to label most packages with a recommended dietary allowance that will meet the nutritional needs of about 50% of the American population.  These labels list the percentage of each recommended nutrient in a serving of that product for adults and children over four years old, based on a recommended daily intake of 2000 calories.  Of course, very few of us limit ourselves to eating only 2000 calories a day.  However, the labels give us guidelines for monitoring and maintaining our nutritional health. 

Perhaps we also need recommended daily values for our mental, emotional, and spiritual health which often suffer from malnutrition resulting in physical illness, social chaos, and even death.  I would like to suggest a label that may serve as a model for our daily intake and outgo.  Percentages are only listed in highs or lows and should be based on individual temperaments and tendencies.  These percentages should also be based on the individual’s understanding of the Manufacturer’s requirements.

Gratefulness

Very High

Because we have more than we earned or deserve

Humility

Very High

It allows room for others & room for growth

Pride

High

In a job well done

Low

In self-promotion

Arrogance

0%

It leads to ugliness

Mercy and Grace

Very High

We all need them

Self-evaluation

Very High

But not judgmental

Evaluation of others

Low

only after self-evaluation

Forgiveness

Very High

Because we all need it

Anger

Low

Because it can destroy

Love

Very High

Give and receive

Calmness

Very High

It gives us time to think

Fear

Low

It causes selfishness

Judgement

Moderate

Use only after all the above

Understanding

Very High

It comes after all the above

Wisdom

Very High

It secures all the above

 

If we eat the good and leave the bad, and increase the highs and reduce the lows, I believe we will find this daily regimen to the discipline needed for great success.

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Boss or Victim?

When disappointments occur in our lives it is easy to become discouraged.  When our feelings our hurt by someone it is a natural response to defend ourselves or even want to hurt them back.  When someone attacks us or someone we love, we often feel justified in retaliating.  When we see something we believe to be wrong or someone unfairly treated our tendency is to judge those we believe to be in the wrong. 

When disappointments occur in our lives it is easy to become discouraged.  When our feelings our hurt by someone it is a natural response to defend ourselves or even want to hurt them back.  When someone attacks us, or someone we love, we often feel justified in retaliating.  When we are unfairly treated or see some taken advantage of, our tendency is to judge those we believe to be in the wrong.  In any of the scenarios mentioned above, we are generally driven by our emotions. 

Justice, fairness, and balance are difficult to achieve when the emotions are in control.  Although we often seek justice and fairness through an emotional appeal, and rightfully so, there is always the danger that strong emotions can also lead to irrational behavior.  Much of the political and religious zeal that we see and hear of today is driven by emotion.  Lynch mobs, cultic religious ideologies, and political propaganda are fueled by emotions.  While it is good to have, and be able to express our emotions, it is dangerous to have our lives governed by them. It is possible to have a rational passionate plea for something or an irrational passionate plea for something.

In order to be successful in anything in our lives, we must discipline ourselves for the successful management of our emotions and feelings, as well as our intellect, reason, and skill.  We know that there are some things that should cause us to have righteous indignation, and in those cases, reason prevails as the judge.  However, being governed by our feelings can keep us, or others, stuck in victim mode, and victims are usually helpless.  Being disciplined for success means being the boss of your emotions, feelings, and thoughts.  Reason dictates that we must do somethings whether we feel like it or not.  Successful self-management is having the ability ride and override our feelings. 

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Divine Encounter

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I have to be missing something, there has to be more to life than what I am experiencing?”  Well, there is more to life than what we see and consciously experience each day.  There are parts of our world that we can only see under a microscope.  There are worlds and parts of our universe that we can only see through telescopes or detect through radioscopes and other tools of science.  There are parts of our bodies that can only be seen through endoscopes, x-rays, and other tools of medicine.  In the past century we have gone from wired communication to wireless communication.  What a world we live in! 

The next time you get the humdrums and feel that there must be more to life, just know that there is.  Not only is there more to the natural world than we often think about, but there is also a spiritual world that we are often afraid to encounter.  Many scientists have concluded that there must be life in other places throughout the universe.  Maybe the TV series Star Trek and other sci-fi shows haven’t been so far off, but even those would be natural encounters.  Some scientists are still looking for the doorway from the natural to the spiritual and some who work in surgery have yet to see the human spirit leave the body at death.  Yet, we all know that there can be no life without that spirit.

Perhaps a great key to our success lies in a spiritual discipline which allows us to “boldly go” into places we have not ventured.  Perhaps we need to have a divine encounter.

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Above The Clouds

On several flights I can remember hearing the pilot says over the loudspeaker, “please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened as we are experiencing some turbulence due to strong winds and stormy conditions.  When we climb to an altitude above the storm and level off, I will turn off the ‘fasten your seatbelt sign’ and you will be free to move about the cabin.”  I can remember looking out of the window as we climbed above the storm looking down on the cloud and watching the lighting flashing in the clouds.  What an amazing view being above the clouds where the sun is shining and being able to see the storm beneath us. 

More than likely you have experienced some cloudy and stormy days in your life.  You may even be going through a turbulent place in your life now.  If you can allow your imagination to travel above the clouds, you will find that even on the stormiest days the sun is still shining.  The beautiful thing about soaring above the clouds is that you do not have to imagine the sun is shining above the storm, you can see it for yourself.  Our imagination is like the plane in flight but when we discipline ourselves to find the reality above and beyond the storm, we can release our seatbelts and move around with the assurance that the storm is beneath us. 

Sometimes we get so bogged down in the minutia of our day-to-day struggles that we fail to rise above them.  Real or imagined, it is time to fly.  It is time to get rid of excess or needless baggage, pass through the storm, and soar to an altitude above the clouds where the sun shines even on the darkest days. 

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The Winds of Change

Birds can adjust to the winds in flight. Most trees can sway under strong winds and bend without breaking. In nature whenever something changes, adjustments must be made in order to maintain or restore balance. Any shift or change always requires adjustments. In other words, change always causes change. Skyscrapers and bridges must be built to be flexible. In like manner, we too are built to be resilient, as evidenced in how easily children can adapt.

When the winds of change are blowing in our lives, we must be able to adjust to the changes. Indecision and vacillation are sometimes the result of an inability to quickly adjust in flight. Fear of the unknown and the fear of consequences, often keep us paralyzed and unable to adjust to change.

Just as the novice paratrooper, paralyzed by fear, must be pushed out of the helicopter in skydiving, we must sometimes push ourselves beyond our fears to adjust to change. The more we challenge or discipline ourselves to welcome shifts and changes the more successful we will be in soaring through the winds of changes.

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Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, in an act of Congress, the United States declared its independence from Great Britain and declared itself to be a sovereign nation.  In its Declaration of Independence, it spoke of God-given unalienable rights, and delineated how those rights had been repeatedly violated by the King of Great Britain.  The signers of the declaration agreed, “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government….”

After declaring its independence, the United States fought seven more years, ending the Revolutionary War in 1783.  Establishing a new form of government was not an easy task, so the Constitution of the United States was not ratified by all 13 states until 1790 when Rhode Island signed on. 

Even though this nation has grown and survived for 243 years since declaring its independence from Great Britain, it seems that we are again living under tyranny.  The tyrannical government of our thoughts, impulses, and emotions, have left us prey to debt, stress, suicide, illness, social malaise, fear, selfishness, and godlessness.  Perhaps it is our lack of self-control and self-management that has our nation and the world in great peril today. Perhaps we, and our governments, have forgotten that divine rights also come with divine responsibilities and divine privileges.

While Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness may be divine rights as stated in the Declaration of Independence, we lose these rights when we fail to take the divine responsibilities and enjoy the divine privileges that come with them.  It is a privilege to give!  It is a privilege to help others!  It is a privilege to love and be loved!  It is a privilege to be thankful!  It is a privilege to be free of debt!  It is a privilege to be one of almost 7 billion other people on the earth with human blood and the same rights and privilege. 

Maybe we need a new Declaration of Independence with greater emphasis on our divine responsibilities and privileges.

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Runners Take Your Mark

On your mark! 

When a runner positions himself or herself at the starting line they know the distance of the race they are about to run.  If they are running a sprint, their mind must be set to shoot out of the starting block as fast a they can and to maintain the fastest speed possible throughout the race.  A long-distance runner, on the other hand, is not looking for the fastest start or their fastest pace possible, rather they measure their start and their pace based on a speed that they can maintain for the duration of the race.  In either case, the runner’s confidence and poise at the starting line will be based on how well he or she prepared for the race.  As we come to starting lines or starting points in our lives, our confidence and success will largely depend on our preparation.  Training and preparation require discipline.

Get set! 

When a runner in a race hears the announcer say, “Get set,” their body now braces and prepares to engage.  Relaxed and tensed at the same time the runner now listens carefully and awaits his or her opportunity to demonstrate the results of their discipline and training.  Just as the runners in a race, we have an opportunity every day to set ourselves to demonstrate the skills, talents, endurance, and required pace needed to complete a successful run each day.   

Go!

When the starter gun goes off or the announcer says go, the adrenalin begins to flow, emotions must disengage, the mind must be determined, and the body must be summoned to give everything it has been trained to give.  As they say, “it’s on and poppin now.”  When we train and discipline ourselves for anything in life, we will be prepared whenever we take our mark at the starting line.  When we set ourselves to be fully engaged in whatever we do, we will relax and brace ourselves to shine.  If we are disciplined for success, each day we leave the starting line, we will not only take our mark, but we will be able to leave a mark to inspire others in their race.

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Decluttering

Yesterday I decided to ‘check’ myself and concluded that I need to readjust my priorities, sharpen my focus, and change the way I use my time.  Although I pray, meditate, and exercise every morning, this morning I was reminded of some of my own advice that I wasn’t using.  Unconsciously I had been making excuses, and at the end of the day, I would found myself further away, rather than closer to my goals.  I knew that it was time for a self-check when I looked around me and realized that I was becoming overwhelmed with clutter.  Whenever my physical environment becomes cluttered, it is usually a result of mental clutter.  My short list of things to do today involved decluttering my physical and mental environments.

Today I took time to shred, throw away, file, and declutter my environment.  It is amazing how decluttering my surroundings also helps to declutter my mind.  For years I designated 4:30am as my focus time for meditation, prayer, and exercise.  This worked well for me when I had to be at work between 7:30 and 8:00am.  Earlier or later starting hours tended to throw off my rhythm.  Evening obligations, or just staying up late, also tended to make my morning focus time less effective. Whenever I do not meet my goals, I tend to waste a considerable amount of time and energy with the three amigos, would’ve, should’ve, and could’ve.

Well, for today, I changed my course by working on my short list.  Today I refocused and revisited my raison d’être, or reason for being here, and did one small thing to move me closer to reaching that goal.  Tonight I will make another short-list for tomorrow and remind myself that not just discipline, but consistency  is also one of the keys to success.

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Self-Check

Today I give myself an end-of-the-day evaluation.  Did I start my day with plans to accomplish a set number of things?  Were my expectations realistic?   Did I finish everything I set out to accomplish?  Was I interrupted or did I become distracted?  If yes, was I able to recover and refocus in a timely manner?  Do I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment about my journey today?  Did I do anything in line with my life’s goals and purpose today?

Good plans, good dreams, and good wishes do not get things done.  If fact, all three can get buried under menial tasks and unnecessary diversions.  It has been said that the road to a certain unwanted destination is “paved with good intentions.”  Well, getting back to my self-evaluation, I could paint a picture of excuses and reasons, but in this case, paint would only be covering the truth.  Without being unduly hard on myself, today’s evaluation was low enough for me to re-evaluate my priorities, my focus, and how to best use my time. 

Tonight, I will make a short list of things to do with at least one item towards my long-term goals.  I will discipline myself to get up, pray, meditate, exercise, and focus on my short list.  Being disciplined for success involves honest self-assessments with a commitment to yourself to readjust plans, methods, and directions whenever needed.  It has been said that “A wise man will change, but a fool will never change.”  Well, change is not always easy, but I think I have been a fool long enough.  It is time for a change!

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A New Attitude

The idea of doing something new can be exciting and scary at the same time.  Moving to a new city or a new home means that you must pack up and leave some people and some things behind.  The familiar has it benefits because you know pretty much what to expect.  Someone once said, “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.”  Well, that may or may not be the case.  If in fact the devil you know happens to be you, wherever you go you will take the devil with you.  If you take the same attitude into a new job that caused you to dislike your last job, you may be happy or excited about the new surroundings or the new faces for a while, but eventually the devil in you will show up. 

So often we look for new things, new places to go, new places to live, and new jobs, to change something fundamental in us.  Fundamental changes come from within, not from without.  There are conditions of poverty, abuse, illness, etc., that when remedied can fundamentally change our lives and our attitudes.  However, even in those changes there must be a change of perspective and attitude.  If you have been sick and suddenly you become well, you will need to adjust your attitude from one of illness to wellness. 

So, whether you move to a new place, take on a new job, acquire new things, if you don’t want to wind up with the same old problems, you may want to get a new attitude first.  A new attitude may indeed make an old thing, an old place, and old friends or acquaintances appear new altogether.  Whenever we discipline ourselves to change or improve our attitudes, we may find that our success is already inside of us waiting to shine from the inside out.   

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Back to the Future!

Take a brief journey with me to the year of 2026.  We are seven years older.  Look around!  Are you in the same place you were in 2019?  Are you still doing the same things you were doing in 2019?  Which goals and dreams from 2019 have been achieved?  What things would you have thought would have changed by now?  Looking back, are you pleased with what you have accomplished since 2019?  Are there new people in your life?  Are you in debt? Are you out of debt completely?  Are you a parent or grandparent?  Are you married, divorced, widowed?  Do you live in the same house, or the same city?  Are you dead or alive?

While we cannot know what our lives will look like seven years from now, we can possibly measure our pace by looking at the past seven years to see how much ground we have covered.  If you are not pleased with the pace of your journey, now is the time to take off the weights and pick up the pace.  Let’s look forward again to 2026, but this time let us stretch our imagination.  Now that our imagination has taken us to a place we had only dreamed of, let us plan backwards to 2025, 2024, 2023…, until we get to next month, next week, and tomorrow. 

Our imagination allows us to dream and think forward, plan backwards from the future to the present, and live our way back to the future with that plan.  When we imagine some of the details of our future, we give ourselves a destination or goal.  In order to be successful, we discipline ourselves to plan our work and work our plan.

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Such A Powerful Word

There is a word in my vocabulary that is gaining greater power in my life.  This word has the power to change my course at any time of the day, and any day of the week.  It is a word that no child wants to hear from his or her parents.  It is a word that has often hurt the feelings of others when spoken from us to them, or from them to us.  Yet it is a word that is like slow time-released medicine having its greatest impact later rather than now.  It is a word that when I spoke it to myself, and meant it, caused me to change my diet, my health, my finances, my relationships, and my life.  You may have figured out that I am speaking about that two-letter word, “No.” 

Whatever changes you desire in your life must first begin with the word “No.”  When I learned that my health was negatively affected by what I was eating I had to exercise the power of my “No.”  When the foods, drinks, and sweets that I loved caused high blood pressure, acid reflux, obesity, and other health problems, I had to speak a resounding “No” to them whenever they called my name, luring me to ‘eat and enjoy.’  As I became more and more successful, I realized the power of such a small word. 

Whatever is eating away at your life can be combated with an unwavering “No.”  Is your marriage in danger because your lust is pulling you away from your spouse?  Does your desire to please and not disappoint others cause you to say “Yes” when “No” would be the wise and loving thing to do?  The more I exercised the power of “No” in my life, the stronger my “Yes” became.  The surprising twist to exercising my “No” was that it wasn’t the discipline to say no to others that strengthened me, but it was the discipline of saying no to myself.  Our ability to control ourselves increases our power in situations and circumstances in greater ways than our ability to control others or external circumstances. 

When I think of my future success, I now look more to the things, feelings, thoughts, etc., that prevent me from achieving my goals and I simple say, “No, not today.”

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From Psychosis to Sanity

Someone asked me, “why Disciplined for Success?”  Here is my answer.

In November 1984 and again in November of 1985, I had a psychotic break or nervous breakdown.  After each episode, I was treated with drugs like Haldol and Cogentin to help me regain control of my mind.  In February of 1986 after a manic episode which peaked on an airplane from Cleveland, Ohio to Newark, New Jersey, I was diagnosed as having manic-depression or a bipolar disorder.  I was placed on lithium and underwent weekly psychotherapy for one year and monthly psychotherapy for another year.  With quarterly check-ins with my psychiatrist for the next few years and annual or semi-annual check-ins for years after that, I remained on Lithium for the next 25 years except for a brief, unsuccessful attempt to transition me to the drug, Abilify.  After 25 years, and no further episodes, I decided to ween myself off the Lithium altogether.  With the cautious approval of my psychiatrist, I stopped taking the medication in 2009 and 10 years free of any medication, I continue to develop the habits and disciplines which I now share through Disciplined For Success, and in ministry.

My desire to help others to navigate the emotional stresses which often lead to breakdowns, break-ups, and broken people inspired me to go into the field of education in 2010 where I began as a Behavior Support Assistant in a Therapeutic Learning Center in the Durham North Carolina school system.  Disciplined for Success grew out of my experiences working with youth from Kindergarten through 12th grade as a Special Education teacher, an Intervention Specialist, a Guidance Counselor, and a High School Principal.  Some of those experiences, my own struggles to regain control of myself and my life, and helpful tools are detailed in my books, Humpty Dumpty Back on the Wall: From Psychosis to Sanity, (LitFire Publishing 2016), and Thugs in the Kingdom of Heaven: Calling Thugs and Saints (Green Ivy Publishing 2016). 

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Expecting the Unexpected!

When something unexpected occurs in your day does it throw you off for the rest of the day, or do you take it in stride?  Thinking of unexpected losses or gains that have occurred in your life, did you stay on mission or get off course?  You may not know what unforeseen things will occurs in your days or in your life, but if you develop a mindset to expect the unexpected there will be very little that can take you too far off of your mission.  When the unexpected occurs, whether positive or negative, the person who expects the unexpected will adjust and recover much faster than the person who says, “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”

If we accept the fact that things will always occur that we have not planned and may not have wanted, we become adaptable and able to see the benefit of even negative occurrences.  You may have heard it said that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade and sell it.”  Sometimes tragedy is a precursor to triumph.  In his poem entitled “If,” Rudyard Kipling says success is being able to “meet with Triumph and Disaster ~ And treat those two impostors just the same.” It is what we sometimes call being able to ‘roll with the punches’ and ‘go with the flow.’

Discipline leads to success when we learn to expect the unexpected and readjust and recalculate our course in order to stay on mission. 

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A Whole New World!

“Ground Hog Day” and “The Truman Show” are two movies that come to mind today as I think of how easy it is to go through life doing the same thing over again each day with very little variation.  Hamsters can run several miles a night in the wild, and when put in a cage with an exercise wheel they may run for several hours without stopping.  Although we may need a treadmill to stay in shape, and we may need to have rituals that we do every day, when the alarm clock goes off each morning, we can have new experiences each day.

Just imagine, there are new doorways and pathways available for us each day.  It does not matter how old, young, rich, or poor you are, and it doesn’t matter where you live in the world.  Even if you are nervous about doing or trying something new, you can begin to peak through different doorways and see possibilities that you had not seen before.  If you do something different each day, and begin veering off your usual path, you may discover a whole new world. 

To enter new doorways and pathway will require more than just wishing, hoping, and praying, it will require a change in direction.  Do not be afraid, however, even small changes and baby steps over time can move you from east to west, north to south, or to any point on the compass.  Just as it takes discipline to break old habits, it takes discipline to establish new ones.  Each of us has to determine which doorway or pathway we will enter each day, and even if you decide to go with the doorway you are familiar with, you can still discover the unfamiliar in familiar territory when you become disciplined for success. 

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Go The Distance!

Stubbornness, which is often seen as a negative characteristic, can also be a very positive trait.  When you are convinced that something is right, or that a decision you made is the correct one, it would violate your conscience to allow yourself to be persuaded otherwise.  To be stubborn in this regard means first considering other options, reviewing the facts, and being open to the possibility of there being a better way.  When your mind is made up to do something, there may be obstacles in the way but being convinced and having a fixed purpose, you will persevere until your goal has been accomplished. 

Once you are persuaded that you have made a good decision, in order to go the distance and successfully reach a difficult goal, you must be most stubborn with yourself.  It has been said that there is nothing more powerful than a made-up mind.  I made a pact with myself that when I say I am going to do something, come what may, I will stubbornly keep my word to myself.  As you can image, sometimes it takes me a while to decide but going the distance is easier because I decided to finish when I started. 

This discipline of keeping my word to myself has helped me in all areas of my life from health through diet and exercise, to my finances in restricting spending, and to my spiritual life in prayer and commitment to certain principles.  Today is the twenty-second anniversary of my father’s death and when I think of him, I always think of him as a man of his word.  When I realized the power of keeping my word to myself and others, and began disciplining my tongue, I learned that I have the power to do what I say.  Today let’s make up our minds to go the distance!