Tuesday, September 13, 2011

That Which is Good

That which is Good. 

Recently I was asked, "what have you learned about yourself this summer?" I read that and said hmph... What have I learned? Granted I had experienced some things this summer that I never thought I would in a million years. But I wasn't sure if I had learned anything worthwhile from those experiences. Then I looked back an realized exactly what I always say. Everything happens for a reason and that reason will cause you to learn about yourself.  So I continued to think and as I began to write I came up with a number of things that I learned about myself. Here are a few. 

-I have learned that I cannot control everything and everybody. 
-That all things happen in Gods time. 
-That it is ok for me to not be perfect. 
-That I am stronger than I give myself credit for. 
-That I do not know everything and that i have so much more to learn about life as well as myself. 
-That the world is ever changing and thus I cannot become stagnant and complacent by things that I am use to getting. 
-That rejection is not a bad thing. It's Gods way of telling me that that is not his will for me. 
-That God and God alone is the master of my fate and I have all the tools necessary to be successful. 
-I emit the energy that I wish to receive. 
- I cannot wait to be assigned, I have to assign myself. 
- I have to be fully and completely in love with myself despite my situation or circumstance. 
- Life is what I make it and I am determined to be joyous in ever situation. 

Life is a continuous journey in learning and mastering ones self. To be able to grow and learn about myself is very rewarding. I learn things about myself that I fall in Love with and things that I am not so happy about. But that which is Good is not always what we need to hear. So take life as it comes. Live without regret.  Proceed, progress and refine yourself each and everyday and strive to learn. When you are fully open to learning about yourself. You will see your best self come to fruition. So I ask you. What have you learned about yourself? What are you willing to learn about yourself? 

Monday, September 12, 2011

Reality

"There is something to be said about a person who is determined to reach their goals, and puts in work to make them a reality. " -A.Brown

I often find myself reading quotes that have to deal with leadership, wisdom, character and work ethic. And I think to myself; that is a really good quote. I must apply that to my life. Then as quick as I read it I forget it. Why is that? It's like I know that I am capable of any and everything that crosses my path, but yet somehow I just seem to think that things will just fall into my lap. And that I don't have to work hard. That is not the case at all. I know that I am determined to go far and to reach my goals. I know that as a person, I am constantly growing. I know that I want to be this great person but what I do not know is what path to take. It is one thing to tell yourself that you want to be great. It's another thing to make up your mind and to be great. 

I recently read a blog from a fellow Hampton Alum. In her most recent blog, she talked about Jordan;  his  character, his work ethic and passion. She talked about how he was not always the person that we see as Michael Jordan. He was cut from his high school basketball team. He had to grow into his build. But he continued to work hard and was determined to make being a part of the basketball team a reality. 

With that said, I realize that we all need to be able to apply ourselves to what we are passionate about to make it a reality. I am pretty sure that nobody expected Michael Jordan to make it to the NBA, when he first entered high school. But he worked hard even in defeat. He continued to work towards what he wanted his reality to be. I think that we sometimes get caught up in the fact or the stigma that stars where born stars. Hardly; Oprah was not always Oprah, Will Smith, Diane Sawyer, Kanye West, Drake. All of these stars had to begin somewhere. They in my opinion dug deep into their passion and did not stop until it became a reality. 

Of late I have been more reserved and quiet. Gone through things that have truly made me question not only my being but my passion as well. I felt unappreciated, discouraged, defeated, and any other word that let's you know that I felt despair. But it was in my darkest hour when I knelt before the Lord that I had to ask the Lord to draw me nearer and to help me make a reality out of my passion. I can say that after I stepped back and allowed God to show me just what I was here to do that I became more determined than ever. I had to look back at the days and the high moments of the year and not necessarily the bad. Because in turn everything that had/has happened was and is setting me up for a reality that will be out of the world. Nothing comes without a hard work. Even when opportunity knocks, a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door. So work hard to make your passion a reality.