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motivation

Bloom Where You are Planted But Don’t be a Vegetable

The other day, I met an old friend. He is a steady, dependable guy if there ever was one. He epitomizes the phrase, Bloom where you are planted. He’s done so and has been quite successful at his work and life.

He was shocked when my wife and I moved from Indiana. And I suppose he is still shocked because he said, “It appears you’re no longer concerned with becoming rooted.” Of course, he forgets we have roots in Ohio as well as Indiana.

My wife and I felt led to move five years ago. I am glad we did. Yet I still agree you are to bloom where you are planted. While goals are important, those goals can be where you are or in a new place. The important thing is you keep growing no matter if you never intend to move, or if you have a case of wanderlust.

We are not vegetables. Yes, we are to make a difference where we are right now. At the same time, You can grow where you were born, or you can grow if you are transplanted in a new place. Just keep growing!

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motivation

The Average Success

Is success only reserved for the rich and geniuses? If success has alluded you, is there any hope? 

The average man who wins what we call success is not a genius. He is a man who has merely the ordinary qualities… who has developed those ordinary qualities to a more than ordinary degree.

Theodore Roosevelt

It is true some people are naturally gifted and can do things the rest of us only dream of. But there are naturally gifted people that will remain in obscurity. All of us have heard the story of a gifted athlete that couldn’t control himself and lost the contract. Each hometown has the story of their talented hero that could never get their act together.

Don’t worry about some who have talents you can only dream of. Develop what you have and use it to your fullest.

  • Be a lifelong learner
  • Learn something new every day
  • Develop goals and work towards them
    • This allows you to define what success looks like to you
  • Do something uncomfortable that makes you grow

Keep plugging away. If success has alluded you until now, you have today to develop your ordinary qualities.

Categories
motivation

Costumes and Goals in the Making

Some people go to great lengths in order to find the perfect Halloween costume. They may spend weeks perfecting the look, the character, the effect of their fear-producing ensemble tonight.

Others are more like me. When I was little, it didn’t occur to me to think of a trick-or-treat costume until October 30. I knew I was going to get candy no matter what I looked like. I blame Charlie Brown. Everyone in the Halloween special seemed to gravitate towards cutting holes in a bedsheet and going as a ghost. That seemed a perfectly reasonable costume to me.

Drifting into Halloween seems perfectly acceptable to me. Drifting through life is not. It is far better to plan your life than to drift through it. There may be a nice costume awaiting you in the linen closet, or your Grandpa’s attic. But if you want a fulfilling life, it is far better to plan what that looks like and reach for it.

Cartoon of a boy and an older man
Categories
motivation

How to Succeed by Disappointing Someone

Over the years, I have owned cats and dogs. Dogs can be easier to handle because all they want to do is please their owner. However, I have admired cats over the years because of their determination. If they want to climb the drapes, they are going to do it, by golly! If you don’t want a cat on the table, just watch them try to get up there. They’ll find a creative way to sneak up there. Dogs are people pleasers. But cats are goal-setters.

There are times when we need to do both. However, if you have a goal that is going to ruffle some feathers, you will disappoint someone. Some people don’t like change no matter how beneficial it could be. Others are simply not going to see things your way.

In order to make effective change, you are going to disappoint someone. There is no need to be perfidious, but there will be a need to hold your ground when you have a goal or initiative that will bring great results in the long run.

Be like a dog when you need to be friendly and social. Be like a cat when you have a goal that you know must be attained.

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motivation

Teach us to Number Our Dog Days.

I had to put my dog to sleep last week. We found out she had a mass on her spleen and it was about to rupture. She was thirteen. That’s 91 in dog years. So she had a pretty good life. Today’s featured cartoon was based on our little, sassy dog. I miss that pooch!

Last Tuesday morning, things appeared fine. We took our walk and she got her treat just like any other day. When I came home that evening, I could tell something was wrong. She acted like she couldn’t move. She appeared alarmed and in discomfort. Within twenty-four hours, she was gone.

We like to make our plans. Many times, we procrastinate with those plans and put things off to another day. But we aren’t guaranteed any days. I think of that whenever I hear of the passing of someone my age, or even younger than me.

Make the most of today, my friends. Because we just don’t know how many dog days we have left. After all, the dog days of summer are gone and it is already autumn.