This Week

A dream is never a waste of time just as chasing yours is worth the effort and energy.As this week ends and a new one begins, commit to doing what you need to do to make your dreams come true. 

Just a Thought

Take the time to figure out what matters most to you and find the time to do it.

What Next?

What do you do now that you've gotten started? Well, you keep going. This is where persistence and effort kicks in as well as lots of tenacity. I would like to say that deciding to do better/be better was all it took, but I can't.  It actually takes  that and so much more. Keep believing, keep pushing and keep going. From baby steps, big steps and leaps and bounds, each are part of the process of  doing / being your best. Each one is necessary and worth it. With that in mind, you got this and so do I! Happy, memorable, enriching and productive travels to all of us.

Destination You

Where you are, doesn't determine where you have to stay,where you can go or where you'll end up. Instead, it serves as your starting point. You just have to be willing to take the necessary steps to get to where you want to be. The challenges you meet along the way, may slow you down but they can only stop you if you let them. Strive to be better / do better. Dream your dreams and commit to making them come true. Work harder, study harder, exercise more, eat better, ask for help...basically, decide that you're worth whatever it is your heart desires. Claim it, envision it and make it happen. The only true barrier you face, is yourself. Don't give up on you. Take a moment, assess where you are, decide where you want to be and get busy getting there. Along the way, listen, learn, observe, grow, share encourage and inspire. Your experiences may be the help one needs to keep going and their experiences may teach you a thing or two all while helping you keep going. Above all have faith and believe that the possibilities and rewards are endless. You just have to have the  resolve to get started and keep going until you get to the destination you envisioned for yourself.

Everyday

Take the time to make a memory.

Along The Way

I'm not necessarily proud of everywhere I've been and everything I've done/gone through but, I'm appreciative of it. I'm grateful that I'm not where I was, blessed to be where I am and encouraged by where I want to be. I'm determined to get there and mindful of what it takes. As I head there, I'm taking the scenic route, praising and praying, remembering what needs to be remembered, and letting go of what doesn't all while enjoying and making the best of my journey. Who knows what I'll face along the way, no one but my Heavenly Father who orders my steps better than I ever could and continues to help/see me through the missteps. So, onward I continue knowing it won't always be easy but it will be worth it.

Do Overs

Someone asked, "Knowing what you know now, if you had the chance would you do it over again?" Simply put; If I did it over again, I wouldn't know what I know now. I wouldn't know what mattered most. So, live, learn, do, be, inspire, encourage, imagine, experience, love, laugh, dance, sing, listen, remember, embrace, reach out, give back, help, take a chance, hold on, endure, smile...because we don't get do overs.

Choose Wisely

Surround yourself with those that encourage you to and want you to do and be your best, that accept you as is and share like minded values. Don't get me wrong, you and your friends can be as different as night and day but if one of you embraces growing and being productive and the other maintains a do what I gotta do street life mentality, that's not a good match.Those that encourage you and hold you up in wrong or entice you to fight and get in trouble are not your friends. Your friends, fight with you and for you in different ways. They help you see what's worth it and what's not. They are there for you through it all. They are smiles, laughter, tears, joy, secret keepers, dream encouraging support systems, reminders that we can do/be better and show us that things could be worse. They are also people we can have a good time and be ourselves with. They sometimes know us better than we know ourselves and the occasional trouble you find yourself in:), leads to laughter, did we do that looks, shaking your head at yourselves, another one for the memory books moments not, trouble that follows you, labels you and is hard or impossible to get out of so, choose wisely. There are friends, acquaintances, people we meet, people we hang out with from time and people we share a smile and kind word with. The thing is, you must know who is who and allow them to be a part of your life and decisions accordingly.

Things

There are things we do and things we don't do. There are things we blame on others and things we hide from. There are things that we make excuses for and things we settle for. There are also things that we allow to control our being. All those things need to be addressed not just tucked away until we need justification for being stuck and/ or failing to do/be or best. Our fears and failures love those "THINGS" because if it wasn't for them,our possibilities would be limitless. We wouldn't constantly be going through. We wouldn't feel as if things weren't ever going to get better.We would be content and everything would be right in our world. However, it doesn't work like that. Things do and will happen. There are times that we are to blame and sometimes it's through no fault of our own. Whatever the case may be. Deal with those things. Don't hide behind them.Don't use them as reasons to justify your lack of determination and will. Don't blame them for all that is wrong. Face them! Learn from them and don't let them limit you. If this seems hard to do on your own, post the serenity prayer. - God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference - Read it daily. Memorize it.Refer to it often. Use it to help you get through the inevitable "THINGS" that come with life. Those very things are as bad or as good as you allow them to be.

Random Thoughts

It's been a while since I've written anything. I've been busy working, growing, learning, living, sometimes surviving but always knowing that this journey of mine is fulfilling to say the least. I am grateful for so much. I have come to realize that the way we process/internalize things effects the way we deal with them.It is my hope that wherever you are in your life, you take the time to realize that life as you know it can and will be as good as you make it. The struggle is real and the let downs are many but there is also memorable moments, unspeakable joy, good times and many things that are hoped for but not seen. Hold on to that hope and believe that with each passing day be it good, bad, so-so or just a day, you have the power to decide how you're going to let it effect you. Take care of yourself and wallow in optimism rather than pity and despair. Make the best of all that you face. Don't allow others to steal your joy or take more than you have to give.