Inspired to Look For GOD

I read this disturbing post on a blog yesterday. This woman was shocked to learn that her young child had announced that she did not believe in God. The mother was concerned that somehow she was responsible for this belief and wondered how on earth that could have happened. The mother was a devout Catholic. In the end the mother felt proud that her daughter felt strong enough to stand by her beliefs. What is wrong with this?

Too often people confuse religion with relationship. They think that if they dutifully go to church, and go through the motions, that they will go to heaven and all will be right in their world. They can’t understand why their children aren’t buying into this idea. Children are allowed to express themselves more freely than ever before. They are intelligent and have access to all kinds of information on the Internet. Unfortunately parents are less and less present in their children’s lives. Children are left to figure things out on their own. If parents do nothing but go to church, of course children aren’t going to believe. You have to bring God into your everyday life. You have to talk about Him, lean on Him in crisis and turn to Him for advice. Show how He exists in your life and He will exist in theirs. I have decided to look for God every day. If you have an inspiring story to share, please do. If not, continue to read and see if you don’t become inspired yourself.

Inspired by A Quote

This morning I happened across this quote and I smiled.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
  - Douglas Adams

I was reminded about the other day when my phone rang. It was someone I used to know. He was sharing with me a big new business venture he was getting into and it was set to go GLOBAL! He wanted to know if I wanted to get involved. No thank you. I wished him well and hung up the phone. I was surprised to find I wasn’t even tempted. I really didn’t care to get involved. I was perfectly happy being a stay-at-home mom with a baby, two cats and a husband. My worth no longer revolved around how much money I made or how many hours of work I put in today. The stress is gone to succeed, succeed, succeed!

Not I mean to put down anyone who does have that kind of life, but I realized I was no longer that person. Ian and I are on a schedule and life is very predictable. I was not always like this. My life used to revolve around 16 hour days, using or 3,000 minutes on my cell phone each month and wondering when the next deal was going to close. I never considered myself successful and I was constantly depressed. Then I got married.

My husband was very clear about me not pursuing any business deals while we were married. He hated the person I became when a deal went south. He couldn’t bear to see me so low and not be able to do anything about it. I agreed. I was tired. Although there was a small part of me that still wanted to make MILLIONS, I knew it was not to be, at least not right now.

After I hung up the phone I grabbed Ian and gave him a huge kiss. He laughed and drooled all over me (got to love teething). While I don’t hold business meetings or spend my day researching anymore, I am happier than I could ever imagine. I used to think I would hate being at home, but I couldn’t imagine life any other way.

Inspired by Economics

I live in a town of about 50,000 people. I moved here about 2 years ago from Phoenix Arizona and I have to say life is pretty different here. Besides the culture shock of being in a smaller town, there was a lack of selection in regards to shopping. What you see is what you get unless you want to drive an hour and a half to the next major city. I constantly cringed at having to shop in the only two grocery stores in town. They were horribly over-crowded and filled with exhausted and overwhelmed employees. I heard they were the highest grossing stores for those chains in the entire state. Well no wonder. When you have to buy groceries, what other options to you have?

Rumors circled and council members did everything they could to prevent Super Walmart from opening. But economics prevailed and consumer demand won out over politics. I suspected the prices at both stores were inflated. It was always so crowded, there was hardly room to maneuver your cart. They were making bank.

Super Walmart opened up less than a week ago and I already see the impact. I went into one of the grocery stores today and found something amazing had happened. The store was cleaner, the carts were all put away and the prices were lower. I smiled. One has got to appreciate how economics keeps the playing field level.

Anytime economics is tampered with, the consumer loses. Government entities trying to protect small businesses, only end up hurting them more. They become ill prepared for when the large corporations move into town. They close up shop and good people lose out. It doesn’t have to be this way. There is a place in the market for every company. If not, then that company is no longer servicing the needs of the consumer and needs to dissolve anyway. Focus on the customer and they will come back, time and time again. Have outstanding customer service, sell brands the other stores don’t, and pay attention to the bottom line and the little man can survive.

Change is difficult but unstoppable. Welcome it, embrace it and find a way to prevail. It inspires me to accept the changes in my own life. Accepting what is to be and releasing what has been. Keep looking forward and use the lessons learned from the past to direct your future.

Inspired by Those Who Take the High Road

It was the dirtiest campaign I had ever seen. Almost daily my mailbox was filled with tons of flyers smearing her name. I had people knocking on my door and ringing my phone, telling me what a bad person she was. I had met her and I knew how hard she fought for what she believed in. She became known as the go-to person for anyone trying to fight for their rights against the government. In her campaign I never saw her resort to nasty tactics or attempt to throw mud on her competitor. She kept her head high and her shoulders straight. She took every punch with the grace of a lady and I am proud to see she has won by a close margin.

I became emotionally and physically exhausted from all the campaign propaganda. I can understand why only 44% of the registered voters even bothered to show up on November 2^nd. Who can you believe? How do you decipher fact from fiction? I give it the smell test. If all a candidate can do is trash talk their competitor, it is likely they don’t have a clue. How do they get the money for all that direct mailing? Who is funding their campaign? What do they want in return if their token candidate wins?

I am inspired by the way Gabrielle Giffords acted throughout her campaign. She got my vote based on her hard work, not on how bad her opponent was. I can only imagine the blood, sweat and tears she shed during her campaign. Her margin is slim but unofficially she has won by only 2,349 votes. See, every vote counts! How nice it is to see a candidate win on merit rather than on money. Thanks you Gabrielle for showing class through it all. You inspire me!

MOTIVATIONAL CHALLENGE: How often do you take the high road? What do your actions say about you?

Inspired by Voting Results

I am continually in awe over the power of the Internet. I am still in my 30’s and can remember the “olden” days before Internet came to be. I can remember having to wait days for official election results. Right now I sit at my computer hitting the refresh button and seeing the most current election results. I can only imagine what our founding fathers would think if they even knew the power we have today. I mean, women and blacks are voting! It is still crazy for me to think that just 90 years ago (1920) the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any other state on the account of sex.”

I am inspired to know that as a woman not only can I vote, I can run for office, I can divorce my husband and I can work. All these things were nearly inconceivable over 100 years ago. I am inspired by the possibility of what is to come! Imagine one day 100% registered voter turnout! Imagine a capable government resulting from electing candidates based on qualifications and beliefs rather than party line and their campaign fund!

I am an independent voter. I am hoping the trend catches on!

MOTIVATIONAL CHALLENGE: Get registered to vote and make a difference for our future. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain!

Inspired by a Rough and Tough Old Biker I Met in Line

I was 19 years old and happened to be sitting next to this rough looking biker. He was all decked out in full leather and at first glance seemed like someone to steer away from. I engaged him in conversation. He turned out to be a very interesting person to talk with. I mentioned that I had a lot of friends. He laughed and said “I go through my list of friends each year and get rid of at least one.” This was quite shocking to me and I must have stared at him with my mouth agape. I couldn’t imagine not being friends with any of my friends, let alone consciously kicking them out of my life! A short while later my number was called and I left to continue on with my day. But I never forgot that conversation.

Seventeen years later I still remember his words and laugh. In our world of Facebook, Twitter and Blogging, it seems I know more people than ever! But just because you know someone doesn’t mean they are your friend. Time is our most valuable resource. If you have over 1000 friends, how much time can you possibly spend being friends? You would have no time for anything else, let alone work! What if they were all having a party on the same day? You would have to say no so someone, who would it be and how would they react?

Seems to me the more people we welcome in our life as friends, the more complex the problem becomes. So while I don’t plan on “unfriending” anyone this year, I have become picky on how I spend my time. Since the baby came, I can’t seem to find much time for myself, let alone anyone else!

MOTIVATIONAL CHALLENGE: Take the words of the rough and tough biker to heart; is everyone in your circle of friends a true friend or an acquaintance? Is there any room for new friends?