SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: under pressure

Posted on April 17, 2013 by admin

“I’d rather not be the lump of coal. I’d rather be the COMPRESSION that turns the coal into a diamond.” ~ Henry Rollins, writer, performer, activist & pressure-cooker

Which one are you? Honestly. Which – one – are – you? If you’re not sure, dear, you’re a nimrod! Trust me, you don’t need to pull out a microscope to dissect daily details for an answer; for it’s evident in every aspect of your lifestyle. The friends you choose, the state of your marriage, your career path, the books you read, the music your listen to, even the clothes on your back unabashedly broadcast to the world whether you are a lump who gets trampled underfoot …or if you’re the driver of the engine, afire with verve, mighty chops and a good dose of piss-n-vinegar, stomping the ground with purpose.

Needless to say, you weren’t born to be a lump, folks. Even if circumstances seemingly relentlessly tell you otherwise. Just because time has ticked a wrinkle in your youthful aspirations or responsibilities rein in your freedom. Just because your wedding band bears stories of tarnished love or your family life a litany of frightful scars. Just because money seems to flow away from you or fate has fumbled your health… DOESN’T MEAN YOUR FUTURE IS DICTATED BY YOUR PAST!

Hell, with all the miracles, magical moments, memories and meaning life has to offer each of us…how could you let your head and heart even consider the idea of surviving your days as a lame lump. With the tick of each second, you are given an opportunity to make choices that matter. Choices that ignite your potential into power that can positively influence countless others’ lives while creating glistening gems within your own. Don’t let your mind’s own Screwtape letters reduce you to a bump-on-a-log. Power up and press on! ~ KD

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: oh, Warren, how I love thee

Posted on March 11, 2013 by admin

“The snowball just happens if you’re the right kind of snow… in terms of understanding the world and what kind of friends you accumulate. You get to select over time, and you’ve got to be the kind of person that the snow wants to attach itself to. You’ve got to be your own wet snow, in effect. You’d better be picking up snow as you go along, because you’re not going to be getting back up to the top of the hill again. That’s the way life works.” * ~ Warren Buffett, business magnate, investor & philanthropist

The man who stands as an eerily omnipresent, often omnipotent shadow over Wall Street is still just a man. Yet the magnificent story of his journey is one you should make an honest effort to learn. I could not have guessed that cracking his biography would tie me to his coattails as a fascinated fan and trusting follower of his irrefutably timeless and (thankfully) timely wisdom. In Buffett I’ve found a brilliant mentor, straight-shooting boss, strict father, unforgettable muse and magical grandpa… overflowing with unwavering optimism yet realistic perspective and dynamic purpose. Folks, I can only hope that you find a few “Buffetts” to confetti your life with such unique power and light . And, in turn, you become the kind of snow others cling to with devotion. ~ KD

*Quote from “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder)

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: how do you LOVE?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by admin

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” ~ Bible, Book of John

What is Valentine’s Day?? Well, I see it as a singular spotlight shone on one day that tries to capture our collective attention to remind us what that 4-letter word really means. So, surprise! It’s not about gifts or apologies. Nor expensive dinners or extravagant gestures. It’s not just for married folks or couples. Valentine’s Day is about L-O-V-E. The profoundly tender affection or attachment that your heart and spirit feel towards another human being. Plain and simple. That said, it’s a day for everyone and about everyone!

Reminisce to your youth when you made cards for all your classmates -all colorful, overloaded with misshapen hearts and gaudy glitter still wet with Elmer’s glue. You gave one to all your friends and school mates. You gave one to your teacher. Your neighbor. Mom and Dad. Heck, even your pet. (huh?) Yup, everyone got a token of your heart telling them that you thought of them. Back then you didn’t feel Hallmarked or bamboozled into making the damn cards. You didn’t dread the self-imposed obligations of celebration. And above all, you didn’t find yourself telling others (and yourself) that you just hate this day!

So, what if you decided to clean your grungy, negative or hopeless heart-shaped slate, and you took the day for what it is in its fleeting 24-hours. Valentine’s Day is a timely nudge towards L-O-V-E. So… who do you love? When you think of all the folks who are dearly important in your life in some way or another (small or big), that’s a clear sign that you LOVE them. When you enjoy their company, stand in their honor, offer to help without hesitation, feel peace and joy in your own heart in their presence… you indeed LOVE them. And when you discover that one special person or select few chums for whom you would give your all and your life, well then, you have found the greatest LOVE, my friend. And dare I say, you have also found God. ~ KD

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: come to REAL life

Posted on January 17, 2013 by admin

“This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there is a rumour going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.” ~ C. S. Lewis, Christian apologist, novelist, poet, academic & literary critic

Indeed, who you appear to be, in body of nature is a mere shadow of who you may become in spirit. Many believe that we are always evolving -for our surroundings, circumstances, genetics and choices give us a daily dance that either extends or extinguishes our possibilities. But within the shell of skin and bones is a fertile planting ground for a spirit to grow and ultimately transform each of us. No matter your faith or strength of it, someday you will forget your solid self for the sake of your soul and radiate that which will soon take over. I believe we have all been created in such a way that movement is secondary to meaning; your pulse gives you eternal purpose . ~ KD

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: follow the light

Posted on December 10, 2012 by admin

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” ~ Albert Schweitzer, theologian, philosopher & medical missionary

From a bird’s eye view it often appears that our society is a chaotic smattering of wound-up little armored bodies flurrying about this earth, often filled to the utmost brim with just enough energy each waking day to create, communicate and motivate. Yet, suffice it to say, each of you are still a flawed, fragile soul whose fuel often flickers out as challenges of worldly thoughts and actions crowd in and around your hopes.

And how often, when you look back…if even yesterday…can you recall how someone so very special crossed your path, and the hand of magic waved a small miracle. Your heart and head lit up as if ignited; another’s mere words, laughter, touch or gesture of kindness striking a match to your spirit’s wick. And your eternal light was reignited with more purpose, more peace, more bliss.

Folks, true blessings do not come in papers, packages and promotions. Instead, they have a pulse and the gloriously gorgeous gift of timing to arrive when truly needed. So bask in the glow that only two souls can emit, and for everyone’s sake…BE THANKFUL. ~ KD

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: homeless or hopeless?

Posted on November 11, 2012 by admin

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” ~ Mother Teresa, nun, peaceful missionary & worldwide civil servant

What a day. What a physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting, yet magically fulfilling and hope-inspiring day. As I type before heading to sleep, the glistening spotlight in my mind still shines on the few hours spent sharing infectious laughter, thought-provoking conversation, and heart-wrenching tear-filled stories with some hundred people or so this late morning. Know that I write this not to showcase my meager charitable efforts, but to share a monumental a-ha in my own mind.

If I could have watched from afar I would have witnessed myself as an outsider literally melting into a crowd; the steadfast and stoic force field dissolving to morph complete strangers into a simple crowd of God’s children. Another trip to a shelter…like a myriad others… where the ultimate goals for its countless, seemingly nameless patrons are never met…and perhaps never will be. “End homelessness” is still the proud banner on the building’s marquis, but most who gather show signs of no end in sight. Just as the “haves” toe the precarious line of accepting the homeless situation as a problem that just cannot be solved, the “have-nots” stand in mirror reflection. I know that even if I visited their grounds every single day with food, clothing, and opportunity for shelter …not even a dent would be made. For the real problem isn’t lack of these wish-list items. The real problem is buried deep within the souls of the homeless. No matter what choices they have made to land them in their current collective circumstances, the destruction and rubble lay heavy in their body, minds and spirits. They live under the weight of overpowering feelings of being unwanted, unloved, uncared, insignificant, incapable, unworthy, unequal, and inhuman, and they wear a badge of hopelessness. No obligatory holiday drive or food drop-off will ever remedy their pain, let alone stop the perpetuation of thousands more joining their disheveled, disjointed crowds. Indeed, I believe many who fall into the demise of homelessness and succumb to its evil accompanying activities can choose to change their habits and perhaps become the very light at the end of their tunnels.

But society has a responsibility as well. As individuals we are each specially gifted to help, and perhaps a resolution lies in truly owning up to the impact we can have on future generations. We have the opportunity each and every day to turn strangers into peers through words and actions that spread nothing but love and compassion. After all, you never know, the person who stands inches from you might be just inches from one last choice that would lead to their own homelessness. And what if the right word or action from you were to create a miraculous intervention?

Perhaps we cannot end homelessness in our own lifetimes, folks. But I’m willing to bet that if we all worked on ending hopelessness, the problem might fix itself.

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Motivation for the Modern Man

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