SOAPBOX of the week: The future of our past-tense

Posted on October 6, 2008 by admin

“History gets thicker as it approaches recent times.” – A. J. P. Taylor, historian and journalist

Alas, history invariably repeats itself, proving the scholars and cynics right, time and time again. Pun intended. It’s as if the mirroring years were plucked from the past and layered right over the present; a heavy cloak, bringing with it economic struggles, familial strife, environmental trauma, global conflict, and basic issues of human evolution. Indeed, it doesn’t take a genius to acknowledge the pattern. But…purposefully paying mind to this replication might just prompt you to see its place in your own independent life. Meaning, your own history repeating itself. Meaning, witnessing the funk you’ve caused, experienced, or dodged…show up again! Are there some lessons you would-could-should learned by now? Conversely, have you forgotten all the glorious things that also happened along the way…and how you woulda-coulda-should helped them reproduce? Perhaps, those fearsome forecasters wouldn’t lay on the guilt that we’re unavoidably doomed for burnt toast if we just worked smarter at getting the recipe right the first time around.

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SOAPBOX of the week: Tapping the little trooper within

Posted on September 29, 2008 by admin

“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight -it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower, president & general

I love a good underdog story, yes, pun intended. Who doesn’t? Where the ill-equipped, underdeveloped candidate steals the show with a surprising victory over the giant. Be it in sports, politics, education or the corporate world, we tune in to hear the details with our emotions on our sleeves and pom-poms in hand. Media and moviemakers have a field day delivering these tear-jerkers tales…for down deep we invariably identify with both conflict and hopeful contender. There’s a “scrapper” in all of us, willing to throw down and champion a cause. But regardless of the magnitude of the challenge, always trust that you’re armed with more than enough endurance, ammunition and chutzpah to match wits… and your triumphant stories will shield you beyond the ring.

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SOAPBOX of the week: Present-tense positivity

Posted on September 22, 2008 by admin

“Don’t worry about anything. Worrying never solved anything. All it does is distort your mind.” – Milton Garland, oldest working businessman

We’ve all been there: someone says, “Relax. Don’t worry about it” and you cringe. Easier said than done, right? But take an honest look at the plethora of times you’ve made mountains out of molehills, only to kick yourself for the energy you wasted, the opportunities you missed out on, the people you upset. Worrying creates a false future with a worse case scenario as the premiere outcome …and you as the lead victim. How does that serve you? It doesn’t. So don’t go there! Period. Instead, stay here! Empower yourself by remaining in the present and trusting the proverbial “Law of Attraction”. Positive thoughts in your current reality will attract positive outcomes and squelch that warped image in your noggin.

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SOAPBOX of the week: The cleanse begets clarity

Posted on August 18, 2008 by admin

“The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears or the sea.” – Isak Dinesen, author

The proverbial curve balls in life can knock the breath right out of you. With the good cometh the bad and that effervescent high wears off quicker than cheap champagne and you’re left scrambling for safety and stability. But when the clouds finally part, the connection between mind and body spells out one simple solution… as just that: a solution… of salt-water! Whether you choose to flush it out with a jog …cross-country, sob it out with a great chick flick, or soak yourself in it, a la the Caribbean, the cure is in the cleanse. And so, I say, drench yourself, and towel off a radiant and revitalized new you.

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SOAPBOX of the week: The sabotage of success

Posted on August 11, 2008 by admin

“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” – Anonymous

We all know what fear of failure feels like, right? Trepidations overwhelm our initiatives and we fear falling flat on our faces…perhaps because we believe that WHO WE ARE ain’t up to par for the challenge at hand. Makes sense right? Well, there are also frequent times when we fear success just as strongly, if not moreso. Crazy, huh? Here, we let our self-images run amuck in negative energy and we end up believing that WE’RE NOT that person ready for the next level. We sense the success we’ve created is just within reach …but convince ourselves there’s no way we’re prepared for the changes and greater opportunities that’ll come along with the leap. Folks, release yourself from a doomed image! Imagine a great new one and you’ll become it. Elect to bury the fear and bring blossom to a brighter future.

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SOAPBOX of the week: Pleasure in the pilgrimage

Posted on August 4, 2008 by admin

“To live only for some future goal is shallow. It’s the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.” – Robert M. Pirsig, writer & philosopher

On “the journey of life”, we aspire to reach countless goals, marked by flashy finish lines. Strapped in, we hit cruise-control, determined to follow our self-made map. En route, though, we must stop for fuel, get caught in speed traps, miss street signs, and sometimes end up entirely lost! Our course? Looks more like an Etch-a-Sketch drawing! But, folks, it always will. The beauty is found in the scribble, not the spreadsheet. Finish lines get blurred and even replaced by the surprise successes that pop up. Sometimes we’ll forget where we were heading in the first place! How fabulous is that?! So, go on: pull over for gorgeous sunsets. Chat with the locals. Get distracted by the luscious landscape and pack a camera for a wonderfully unmappable journey!