Tag Archives: motivation

SOAPBOX of the week: LIFE takes LOVE

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“If you just blow a little love into it, it’ll fly right up into the stratosphere.”     – Steven Tyler, musical artist and performer

So, you’ve mixed up a recipe …but it tastes like something’s missing.  So you fuss ‘til you ruin it, lure someone else to fix, pitch it and try something else entirely, or just give up.  Overkill it or abandon it, right?  Now, what if I told you that recipe ain’t just for Mom’s meatloaf…but for all of your life’s nourishing concoctions and confections, like your friendships, family, business, health, home…heck even your wardrobe!  And what if I told you that the special ingredient missing in your flailing formula might just be, simply, LOVE.  Your enthusiasm to create, cultivate, and confetti is truly irreplaceable.  And adding a tablespoon or truckload might just breathe life into an unfulfilling relationship, boring event, unappealing exercise routine or unstimulating job.    Point is, folks, whether it’s marriage or Mom’s prized meatloaf, remember why you put on the chef’s hat in the first place and pour your heart into the mix.   

 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.

SOAPBOX of the week: back-handed band-aid therapy

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“If you give a man a fish, he will have a single meal.  If you teach him how to fish, he will eat all his life.”     – Kwan-Tzu, philosopher

Almost seems like a catch 22 …choose to swiftly take care of a situation for immediate relief or take the time to invest more energy, effort and resources to stave off the same darn predicament from resurfacing again and again.  Quick fixes always appear more attractive –because they’re easier and deliver the instant gratification we all presumably seek.  Ah, but that which you “nip in the bud” with band-aid therapy usually comes back to bite you in the end, with a bigger challenge.  The project of creating a teacher out of a student is wisdom in the making.  And whether you’re the giver or the receiver, the benefits of the experience will linger to sustain you indefinitely.

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.

SOAPBOX of the week: carpe diem, folks!

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 “There is a difference between the waiting of the prophet and the standing still of the fool.”     – Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher

 

SO, you say you’re waiting for the perfect time to do …something.  No doubt you sound like a broken record…even to yourself… because fear has paralyzed and reduced you to excuse-filled victim of circumstance.  What are you waiting for?  The cows to come home?  Hell to freeze over?  The stars to align?  Well, for all you don’t know, existing outside your self-protective bubble of naive expectations, there’s a herd of cud-chewers standing, on frozen ground, under a sparkling constellation…waiting on you!  No alarm will sound.  No telegram will proclaim: “The perfect time has arrived.  Go for it!”  Tell yourself it’s here!  Right now!  Passionately dive into creating the experience you’ve been keeping from yourself and embrace the freedom that comes from ignoring the ticking clock.

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.

SOAPBOX of the week: the learning curves of life

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 “All things are difficult before they are easy.”     – Dr. Thomas Fuller, physician & preacher

Very few things in life come with an instruction manual, estimation of time to completion, or list of things you’ll have to weather to succeed.  Reminisce closing your first deal, raising a kiddo, heck, even learning how to tie your shoes.  But even if directions were available to us for the things we choose to undertake, a peculiar variable called “the learning curve” shows up.  It’s a mystery how our genetic makeup sets our level of intellect and how quickly we simply “get it”.  But the ultimate deciding factors of how swiftly you triumph over a challenge are your determination and your discipline.   Nothing is impossible, folks.  And when you don’t stand in your own way, everything can become a beautiful walk in the park.

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.

SOAPBOX of the week: the dessert of life

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“Having a dream that you don’t pursue, is like buying an ice cream cone
and watching it melt all over your hand!”     – Anon

So, what’ll be, folks?  Chocolate or vanilla?  Or a stack of napkins?

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.

SOAPBOX of the week: new year, old wisdom

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“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”     – John Quincy Adams, US President

Gooooooood morning, race fans! How’s the ride so far? Let me guess. As soon as the second hand strikes and Dick Clark alarmclocks the world onto a clean slate, you set to full throttle and take off like a mid-life-crisis man in a new Corvette.

With heart pounding and champagne in your eyes, you decide that you will take the wheel and make things go your way this year, come hell or high water. Righting the wrongs. Shaking the systems. Cutting the fat. Testing the waters. Revolutionizing the resolutions. Painting a free-wheeling, forward thinking phantasmagoric mural of all that is, was, and ever will be the real future perfect you deserve. All in the name of an unyielding loyalty to the natural selection of self, at least until about mid-February.

I must confess, I too burn a rouge of rubber just as eagerly each year. Even ponder the thought that the heavens will magically open up and confetti my little field of dreams with all the blessing and adornments that I’ve kept cooped up for the past twelve months. Sound familiar? Well, I have both good and bad news for you.

Bad news first: A supercharged vehicle won’t get you through the roadblocks any faster. No matter how much shifting and strategizing you perform, the course will dictate your life’s journey. Not the other way around. And if you’re thinking you can brainstorm your agenda-ed TripTik into an immediate reality, think again. Enough with the red line, race fans, you’re libel to blow the whole engine again.

Now for the good news: You’ve already done the work. You’ve got the ride, the route, and reason for success in all pillars of your future. So, recline with the resonating truth that patience remains the worthwhile virtue that will never fail to fuel your expedition. Coast over your holographic horizon to discover another bountifully balanced year ahead, in body, mind, and spirit. And embrace the magical open road.

Copyright 2000-2008 by Kimberlie Dykeman. 
This vignette is an excerpt from Pure Soapbox… a cleansing jolt of perspective, motivation, and humor  (July 2008)
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.