SOAPBOX of the week: varicose values

“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”    – Malcolm Forbes, publisher

So, you’re not a millionaire, not married, not famous, not a Harvard grad, not the neighborhood Martha Stewart or Ward Cleaver, not sporting a 6-pak and an Olympic Medal.  Hmm.  DO you even remember when these “line items” became the ultimate brass rings to pursue?  And what if they never do become your reality?  Would you be less valuable or treated better by those folks who really matter?  At some point, you chose to pedestal these iconic titles, characteristics and achievements, and in doing so unknowingly backhanded yourself, diminishing the quality of you!  Now, what if you are a dedicated worker bee or entrepreneur?  Are patient for just the right person to come along?  Are investing daily in your health and wellness?  Have earned the respect of your community and coworkers?  Stand wise beyond your years from the school of life?  Perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your portfolio and acknowledge the tremendous gains you have made.  Folks, set-in-stone, lofty goals can only overshadow your maturing greatness –indeed keep striving, but always celebrate the currency of your current reality.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman.   

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SOAPBOX of the week: be the ball, Danny

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”    – Henry Ford, inventor and innovator

It’s hard not to miss, isn’t it?  The God-awful wallpaper of challenges, failures and plain ole negativity “decorating” the path towards your prized pinnacle of being a successful little entrepreneur with the next great idea!  The naysayers projecting their own fears.  The intimidating competition.  The economic climate and trends.  The first job you got fired from.  Sexism, racism, and double standards.  Your unsupportive family.  The time, energy, connections and money…you don’t seem to have enough of.  The degree you don’t have.    The kids you’re trying to raise….alone.  The fact that you’re petrified to speak in public and wouldn’t know a proper business plan if smacked you in the face.  Your age, weight, looks, and last name.  Yup, it’s hard not to notice the oodles of obstacles.  That is, of course, if you let them divert you from your purpose.  So, don’t!  Stay the path, friends, and obligate yourself to continuing with clarity and fastidious focus and the distracting walls of worries will fade from sight. 

 

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman.        SUBSCRIBE HERE!
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.   A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to
LIVESTRONG. 

COMING in late ‘09: Network TV talk show  and SOAPBOX® video subscriptions  for mobile (Click for sneak peek!)

SOAPBOX of the week: ode to happiness

“Being happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect. It means you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections.”     – Anonymous

Relax and open your mind to embrace and absorb this overtly fundamental, yet life-saving concept of candor. Grab hold of its depth and pour a pitcher of happiness in acceptance of your current reality. Then wade into the flood of prompting prose and choose tidal change over drowning correction.

Create bolder. Rescue braver. Shine brighter.
Explore broader. Relax calmer. Fight cleaner.
Speak clearer. Follow closer. Lounge cooler.

Breathe deeper. Save earlier. Travel farther.
Run faster. Dream fiercer. Commit firmer.
Pray forever. Trust freer. Retreat fresher.

Laugh fuller. Befriend gentler. Celebrate grander.
Think greener. Cook healthier. Practice harder.
Fly higher. Treat kinder. Donate larger.

Stay up later. Eat leaner. Pack lighter.
Sleep longer. Hang looser. Sing louder.
Write neater. Play nicer. Walk prouder.

Forgive quicker. Preach quieter. Share richer.
Drive safer. Dress sharper. Plan simpler.
Chew slower. Owe smaller. Discipline softer.

Reply sooner. Aim straighter. Sweat stricter.
Kiss sweeter. Serve swifter. Stand taller.
Hug tighter. Lavish thicker. Build tougher.

Perform truer. Touch warmer. Smile wider.
Dance wilder. Spend wiser. Act younger.
Work smarter. Feel stronger. Look better. Live longer.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman.  This vignette is an excerpt from “Pure Soapbox… a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor” .   Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to
LIVESTRONG.

COMING in late ‘09: Network TV talk show  and SOAPBOX® video subscriptions  for mobile (Click for sneak peek!)

 

SOAPBOX of the week: life’s tapestry of teachers

“For every person who wants to teach there are approximately thirty who don’t want to learn – much.”     – WC Sellers, author and humorist

Ain’t that the truth!  And I wouldn’t doubt for a second that every one of you could rightfully confess a time when you indeed were that aggravating, non-receptive student.  But at some point, I hope, you’ve dropped the rebellious, disinterested, lazy attitude to embrace not only the teachings…but also the teacher.  Who, by the way, aren’t all huddled up in crowded middle school classrooms.  Folks who are driven to “teach” are everywhere.  They’re in boardrooms, churches, libraries and at conferences… just as they’re at the flea market, performing on stage, or cooking at a local restaurant.  That said, if you seek to learn, those who bless you with their experiences and worldly knowledge, will in turn watch their very own horizons expand.  Give them a chance to share and you’ll both profit for life.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to
LIVESTRONG.

COMING in late ‘09: SOAPBOX® video subscriptions  for mobile & a network TV talk show

SOAPBOX of the week: the fallacious fame game

“Blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.”     – Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali polymath and poet

Like history’s icons, today’s rising starlets rush the limelight, shoving, sacrificing and scratching to bask in the pedasteled, gilded glow.  If only for the clichéd 15 minutes, they still choose golden-calf glitterati over admired greatness in anonymity.  And like starving plants, unyieldingly bent towards the sparkle, they contort themselves into heinous weeds.  Drinking themselves drunk, they kill their flowering inner beauty and poison their roots with vanity, greed and conceit.  Ironically, the hotel heiress and reality show wannabe might not be so different from the new executive, neighborhood hotshot, self-crowned gym Adonis or mid-lifer avec arm-candy!  For behind the inflated ego and pompous presence lurks the withering truth of who they really are and who they wish they were.  When fame facades one’s genuine identity, failure and fear-filled days aren’t far behind.   Folks, regardless of the stage or summoning, lies beget banishment, but truth begets blessings.  So choose wisely, when you take a bow.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to
LIVESTRONG.

COMING in late ‘09: SOAPBOX® video subscriptions  for mobile & a network TV talk show

SOAPBOX of the week: fears take flight

“There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror.”     – Orson Welles, actor-director-producer

Puddle-jumper and jumbo jet alike, you’re packed in like sardines encased by fake air, fake food and fake hospitality.  Seated cheek-to-cheek, you resume the practiced process of popping gum and punching last minute texts.  Amidst a motley crew of complete stranger, you can’t help but wonder why each is traveling on the same skycap cruise and what they’re thinking as you taxi toward takeoff.  So what are YOU thinking?  Will the turbulence reek tremors in your tightly-wound mind?  Will you sit idle and unfazed?  As your own “shift” sets in, be it anxiety or apathy, you look for comfort in numbers.  But, whether you white-knuckle it or wade through it like a boring movie, the only common denominator in the used-to-be friendly skies is collectively surrendering your “control card” for a fake sense of security.  And that, my friends, puts us ALL on the same planet.  Whether you leave Earth or not, feeling a loss of control or not caring about having it all -is in every moment of this thing called life.  The flight ain’t the deciding factor at hand here; your choosing how to face the journey is.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to
LIVESTRONG.

COMING in late ‘09: SOAPBOX® video subscriptions  for mobile & a network TV talk show