“I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.” – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button‚ movie

Good feelings:

The last few months have been full of feelings for me, both good and bad. Just in the last 6 months alone, I’ve observed the Big 5 in Kenya’s wild savannah grasslands, I’ve taught youth in grass thatched schools, I’ve been served fresh yak milk from Tibetan nomads in their yak fur-knitted tents, I’ve dug latrines, I’ve danced with Masai warriors in Masai Mara, I’ve planted community gardens, I’ve trekked through floating villages and ancient ruins in Cambodia, I’ve handed school supplies out to children only to see some of the world’s brightest smiles, I’ve meditated amidst Tibetan Buddhist monks high up in hidden monasteries, and I’ve sat down with community leaders to strategize and implement solutions to solve local problems.

Not so good feelings:

I have also seen and felt things that continue to weigh heavy on my heart and mind. Meeting women in the Negev who fight to eliminate “honor killings” in their community (how can that still exist?), seeing the aftermath of genocide and atrocities left by the Khmer Rouge,  meeting many individuals who cannot afford shoes as they work and toil in the fields, meeting people who are literally starving to death as they cannot afford enough good, clean food, or getting to know a man who had both his arms blown off by land mines in rural Cambodia.

All feelings:

Humbling? Yes! Life changing? Absolutely! Grateful? Beyond words. These were all feelings I never felt before. I am extremely thankful for these feelings and their corresponding experiences that contribute to my growth and perspective–the beautiful sites and organic cultural experiences have enriched my soul, and the unfortunate news and meetings with those who suffer have sparked a movement for change deep within my heart.

What if I had opted to stay home and postpone these explorations? How would my life be different? I like to think that I would be a different person with different priorities altogether.

Or rather, how could YOUR life be enhanced if only you made the choice to serve in a greater capacity and break out of your societal comfort zone to see and feel something new. How could the lives of others be altered for good, even in just a small way, if you were there to aid?

What if you were to “feel things you’ve never felt before?”

GOmentoring today!

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

Ok, here’s your chance to pause and reflect on your life. How fast are you running through life and why? Where is it that you’re trying to go so fast? It’s no wonder why the old aphorism to “stop and smell the roses” is truly applicable to our every day lives.

Here’s the bottom line: tomorrow may just never come. So do the things you wish and need to do today and enjoy every moment of it. Quality of life outlasts speed any day.

Leo Buscaglia, renowned for his teachings and sermons on humanness, love and mindfulness, taught a course at USC where he had his students answer the following question in a well thought out essay: “If I had five days to live, what would I do?” Each of his students took their time and meticulously wrote their dreams for the final hours of their living, breathing lives. The icing on the cake was Buscaglia’s comments on each of his students papers, he simply wrote: “Why don’t you do these things now?”

The common complaint heard daily all around us is “too many things to do, and too little time.” We truly get caught up in the thick and thin of things. We are all running at high speeds like we’re in a race to get somewhere. What’s the big rush? Why are we all pushing so hard? The mind-blowing problem with this is that there is no finish line. What are we trying to win here, anyway?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Ambition, plans, drive, goals…these are all good things. However, choose now to never let busyness and turmoil get in the way of making the moment you’re in last and expand. Again, choose quality over speed.

Enjoy now. Slow down a bit and enjoy this life of yours.

(Ideas for this blog post stemmed from studying Leo Buscaglia’s Living, Loving & Learning.)

“Progress depends upon what we are, rather than upon what we may encounter. One man is stopped by a sapling lying across the road; another, passing that way, picks up the hindrance and converts it into a help in crossing the brook just ahead. We are too apt to think that our progress in a given case will depend solely upon the obstacles we may run against. It is more likely to depend upon what runs against the obstacles.” -Henry Clay Trumbull

Progress depends on WHO WE ARE and what we’re made of deep down inside. What runs into obstacles is what matters most (who we are), and not the obstacle itself. Regardless of the size of the obstacle, if we have a determined will and mindset to progress, we will. Period! We must remember that positive progress depends on having the resolve fixed on positive progress. Moreover, influential change occurs when we ourselves are examples of influential change. It’s a tad cliche, but Gandhi said it best: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Progress starts with you.

Let’s now open this idea up to discussion. Think about this:

1. ) How can we use our individual hindrances and social obstacles to overcome and progress?

2.) How can we teach and empower others to look at their obstacles as opportunities for growth and positive progression?

3.) Have you any personal experiences or applicable accounts turning a crummy situation into the a chance of a lifetime?

Looking forward to learning from you on this one…

What kind of thoughts do you maintain?

Long before “The Secret” came out, even before James Allen’s “As a Man Thinketh”, the Old Testament taught the world that “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

Our thoughts directly influence our individual happiness as well as define us as human beings. Ultimately, thoughts usher in the level of personal fulfillment that we allow to enter in to our lives. This is to say that we are in the driver’s seat! We are literally what we think—our character is the sum of all of our thoughts.

If we maintain positive thoughts, positivity simply will be a part of us. If we think bad or negative thoughts then guess what…yeah you guessed it…negative, external pressure will bog us down.

“Our life is what our thoughts make it. A man will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.” -James Allen

Growing up, my mother tried to instill in me the concept of positive thinking and its consequential aspect on results—whenever I would say something negative about myself like “I’m so dumb, I can’t figure out this math problem,” she would reply by correcting me and saying that I needed to change my attitude and verbiage. She wouldn’t give up until I gave in to change my approach and say: “I’m smart, and I’m going to figure out this math problem.” Ultimately, by changing my thoughts I was able to change my results. My world view changed! Life changed! I learned that negative thoughts pull us nowhere but “down,” and positive thoughts lift our emotions and inspire us to reach limitless potential.

Begin right now to discipline your mind to think more frequent thoughts of love and confidence, while simultaneously blocking out the filth and rubbish that suffocate capabilities. Life is too short to think about crap…

Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,

And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes

The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,

Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills: —

He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:

Environment is but his looking-glass.

-James Allen

Do we view ourselves as creators?…think about the words below….

“You might say, ‘I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.’

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are children of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fullness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.” ~Dieter Uchtdorf

….I am an optimist. My belief in human beings is rooted in their capacity to create and beautify the planet. I believe in the immense power of creativity and intelligence backed with love; these forces can make our world a much better place. Today, make a conscious effort to extract the creativity from within your mind and heart to bless the human race.

“Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.“ ~Alan Alda

Live creatively.

How will you harness the creativity within you today to bless the lives of others?

I cannot think of anything more honorable than the building up of the human being. Building character. Building knowledge. Building faith. Building hope. Building skills. There are so many ways we can engage in human development…

“Human development is about much more than the rise or fall of national incomes. It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means—if a very important one—of enlarging people’s choices.” - Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Program

Also, do not forget this process is always mutually benefiting. Remember these words by James E. Casey: “While building up others, you will build up yourself.”

Bless you on your journey to build up the human race!

Dear Friends,

Remember that life is a trail dotted with numerous, arduous puddles of tribulation–puddles deep enough to momentarily dampen down and frustrate the weary traveler–yet, puddles never meant to drown a cherished soul.

While on the trail of life, remember to keep walking despite the occasional dampness, insist to enjoy the beauty all around, and love everyone you encounter!

That’s it.

Enjoy the trail!

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or REJOICE because thorn bushes have roses.”-Abe Lincoln

Friends, for crying out loud let’s REJOICE! We’re alive!!!

If you’re struggling with emotional downs or having a hard time realizing desired happiness, then take a moment and internalize the words of the famous Og Mandino:

If I feel depressed I will sing.
If I feel sad I will laugh.
If I feel ill I will double my labor.
If I feel fear I will plunge ahead.
If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice.
If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come.
If I feel incompetent I will think of past success.
If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals.
Today I will be the master of my emotions.

May we master our emotions TODAY. Let’s rejoice more and complain less.  Let’s lift up our chins and be positive.  We need to open our eyes and see the beauty all around us. When we see beauty for beauty we forget what is bad.

God bless you on your journey to be happy and serve!

“One of the tragedies we witness almost daily is the tragedy of men with high aim and low achievements. Their motives are noble, their proclaimed ambition is praiseworthy, their capacity is great. But their discipline is weak, they succumb to indolence, appetite robs them of will.” -Gordon B. Hinckley

Recently, I have implemented a new train of thought. I have tried to think about how I would interact in all of my relationships, together with the people who mean the most to me and the everyday encounters with strangers, if I knew I would never see them again. If at midnight our mortal existence, or that of our loved ones was to come to an end, how would we act differently? How would we love if we knew it would be our last chance to show love? Likewise, how would we serve if it would be our last chance for us to serve? Would we get caught in our haste of our busy schedules and not have the time to truly listen, serve, or love one another? It may sound cliché, but we must truly live as though we or they die at midnight—you’ll find you will hug a little more tightly, listen a little more carefully, touch a little more softly, and love a little more passionately.

There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self. –Aldous Huxley

May we look deep inside ourselves to discover the true desire for positive change. Thoreau wrote that “there came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” We must take the leap outside of our confined limits and restraints we place upon ourselves, and blossom into the man or woman we know we must be–our best self!  While embarked on our mortal journey, we cannot afford to decline, procrastinate, or demur giving the world our BEST SELF! It’s time to be the man or woman we know we must be.  Forget New Year’s day. Start now. We must remember that the day for change is today, it’s right now—each and everyday we must be our best self. Our families, friends, society, and the entire human race deserve our best efforts for positive change. They deserve the best YOU!