SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: one man’s perspective

In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do.”      ~ Stephen Covey, author & worldwide motivator

Spoken by a man who indeed was a motivator, mentor and guiding beacon to the masses.  A man who transformed the mystery of life and success of its challenges to layman basics.  A man who empowered us to understand ourselves, change our habits and live with newfound perspective, dynamic purpose and unwavering optimism.  In his living, he stood for that which many of us aspire to be.  Knowing him and of him, may we continue to try more, do more, become more, love more and LIVE more.     ~ KD

 

Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products with purpose & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: are you in the weeds?

“But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else.  In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit.  Weeds are people’s idea, not nature’s.”     ~ Anonymous

WEEDS…  Some folks have quipped they are but unloved flowers, sins of the earth, plants with undiscovered virtues.  Whatever eloquence you elect, they are the bastardly, unforgiving THINGS that get in the way of blooms of our most precious prayers and wishes… flowers and fruits of our labors that bring priceless joy.  Joy from a gorgeous front yard of fragrance, a harvest-filled garden or orchard, a kitchen table of decorations and delicacies.

In brass tacks, weeds are ultimately what get in the way of our JOY.   Weeds are the vicious little evils that crowd, choke out, and suffocate all that our hearts desire… that which we expect from all the seeds we tossed into the ground.  Weeds…be they proverbial, metaphorical or literal… are the relentless, twisted side-effects of both crappy planting and crappy prepping.  Period.

See, so many of us claim to want everlasting blossoms of the ethereal joys of life, like unconditional love, excitement for life, feelings of success, peace, equality, unshakable optimism,    newfound perspective, contentment, dynamic purpose… you know your list.  Yet none of those vines truly burst through the ground with such offerings.  The main reason?  We plant, water and sun our seeds in the topsoil of our old foundations… the wrecked, rocky, perhaps even rancid earth that is full of childhood fears, unmovable judgments, unanswered hopes, decaying values, and old paradigms.   Both man-made and MIND-made, our weeds strive to see the light yet again.  So it only makes sense that when we try to nurture the seeds of our dreams… we are also encouraging the deep-rooted, hidden creepers to sprout and grow yet again.

Folks, if we truly want joy, if we want to LIVE, we’ve got to get on our knees and weed out the weeds.  We’ve got to be willing to do the work, till the soil, prepare for a healthy planting of our dreams and goals.  We’ve got to be willing to get dirty cultivating the crap hidden in our histories to have our gardens of the future be overgrown with love, peace, perspective, optimism and purpose.   I pray for you that you all find the strength, humility and faith to grow your lives with joy, joy, joy.  And there is no time like the present to start weeding, my friends.

Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products with purpose & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: love… breathe it in

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”     ~ Corinthians 13:4-7

 LOVE… I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… the best, most perfect four-letter word in all our language, in any language, even without words.  Love is the pair to Truth.  They live in the same indescribable atmosphere and of the same intangible material.  They hummmm the same omnipresent song and thrive on the same omnipotent mission.  Indeed, they both live …to live IN US ALL.  Yet, Love is the colorful, glorious magic that swirls around us at every moment, asking us to simply breathe in … and in doing so our hearts pulse, our spirits soar, our honor blooms…and we forget about ourselves for the sake of others.  Though we exhale, Love is still there… awaiting our invitation again to tickle our minds and make us each closer to Truth and closer to each other.    ~ KD

 Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products with purpose & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: NEVER!

“Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up.     Never give up.   Never give up.   Never give up.”    

~ Winston Churchill, UK Prime Minister

 

Do you have a dream?  A fantasy vision?  A bucket list? A huge hope?  A seemingly impossible reaching-for-the-stars idea?  A prayer you’ve been waiting on?

Yeah, me too.

 

Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products with purpose & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: what do you desire?

“Few people know so clearly what they want.   Most people can’t even think what to hope for when they throw a penny in a fountain.”    ~ Barbara Kingsolver, novelist and poet

Such a simple question: What do you want?

Hmmmm. What do I want? What do I want? What do I want? What do I want? Any way you slice it, this little puzzler looks deceivingly quaint and harmless, as if it may indeed require little pondering… but it’s all a facade. And as the years fly off our mind-logged calendars, the four-word imp creeps its way into our daily lives…keeping us up at night, zoning us out at meetings, tying our tongues… furrowing our brows and ultimately graying our hair.

All that said, I stand side-by-side with you…without an answer for you, let alone myself. I, too, often want someone to tell me what I should want. But more often, I just seem to tune out the prompt for pondering my true intention and careen past the real source of joy.  I let the malevolent minutia of a worldly existence distract me from facing the question straight-on.  From diving into the deep end of my soul, welcoming the light, and waiting for the answers to reach out to me.  Perhaps being driven isn’t such an enviable quality when the drive is into an abyss full of unanswered questions.

Copyright 2000-2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products with purpose & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: quel âge avez-vous?

“You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.”     ~Douglas MacArthur, US General

 

Funny how birthdays devilishly sneak up on us.  For some they are embraced with delightful dreams of frosted sweets, gifts galore and parties, parties, parties.  For others (and I am in that boat for sure), the adding of another digit towards another decade doesn’t make for a happy camper.  This last year seemed to not only careen past me but brought shackles of doubt, fear and despair… like I wanted to negotiate  for a lower bid, after all, I’ve still got so much left to do!!!    Alas, ’tis but a number, our age, right?  So, those of us trying to swap our deli tickets for hope of turning back the clock… stop the madness!  Embrace the potential in each day you’re given.  Work on your faith, your self-confidence, your hope and understanding and the result might be longer days, longer years, and a longer life.  ~KD

 

Copyright 2012 by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products with purpose & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com