Failures Will Quickly Fade

To put a number on the number of failures I've had in life would be difficult to count. From failing a conversation to a test to personal hopes, I've failed. Once nice thing is that most of the ones that I have failed at, I hardly remember. They tend to become a blur as I deal with the here-and-now and not think about the other failures.

If I were to guess, I'd bet you would have the same types of "memories" as I do. That brings us to this week's quote...

There are no more committed people on the planet than surfers. We fall down a lot. We turn around, paddle back out, and do it over and over again. Unlike anything else in life, the stoke of surfing is so high that the failures quickly fade from memory. - Surfer, Gary Sirota

I would guess that with each outing a surfer goes through, there are going to be about a 5-1 ratio of falls to "rides." That is just a wild guess, since Kansans do not do much surfing. However, to think about how many times they go out and how many times they fall off, there has to be a huge number of times the fall happens. However, I doubt they think about it much, for they just get back on and paddle out.

For you and I, to have times in our lives where we simply fail, we are challenged to get back on the surf board, paddle out and ride the wave again.

I challenge you to not give up, but rather keep getting back on the surf board and looking for the next wave to ride. It may be the biggest one that's ever been ridden, yet!

HANG TEN, DUDE!

Now it's your turn...You may know nothing about surfers, but what do you think about their commitment?

A Dream is Just a Dream

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" is a question probably ninety percent of American children are asked before age ten. I had aspirations to be a football player and a super hero when I was young.

Obviously the second one is totally fictional and the first one is a long shot. However, aside from genetics causing me to be a bit height-challenged for a career in football, I didn't really try to pursue it that heavily. 

I would guess that you have a dream. That brings us to this week's quote...

A dream is just a dream until you go out and fight for it! - "Rev Run", Joseph Simmons

If I would have really wanted to be a football player I should have pursued it much more. Even being short, I could have possibly made it to a community college level, at least. But I didn't. I did not enjoy it like I thought I would. I didn't have the desire to keep going or put in the work outside from practice.
 
Dreams we have while sleeping are generally short-lived in our memories.  As you think about dreams that you have for life, let them live much longer.  Let them get through the brainstorming and "pros-&-cons" stages.  Let them get to the "how can I make this happen" stage.  If you find you cannot make it happen right then, wait. If it is just not going to take you to where you want to go, readjust your sails and continue on a new course.

Don't let it fall...fight for it!  See what happens when you do!

Don't Just Have an Idea

"I have an idea" is sputtered off by someone you know. Time goes on, and nothing happens. Why didn't the idea come into existence? It wasn't pursued because of any given reason. Possibly because the person became busy and forgot or the idea really wasn't that "good" to keep them going after it.

When one has an idea, it is important to get behind it and see what you can do to make it happen. Otherwise, if left only in your head, it may not see daylight. That brings us to this week's quote...

Your vision is only as strong as your commitment to pursue it!! ~ Joseph Simmons, AKA "Rev Run"

I consider those that "know people" to be lucky. They can almost snap their fingers and the possibility of pursuing a dream comes forth. The man given credit for the quote has a family of six, three daughters and three sons. The oldest two daughters were college-aged when they had an idea...creating a line of female sports fashion shoes with the names of food, aka the sneaker. They called it "Pastry". They're not something my wife would ever buy, but the concept was clever.

As a father, he challenged them to come up with a plan and presentation to give to the company who would market these shoes. They did and the line was created. They have had to keep up doing things to make sure their company stays afloat.

The commitment to pursue doesn't end with seeing the "product". There are more things to do to make sure that the dream is continual. So, if you have an idea, don't just present it to someone, pursue it, and give the commitment it takes to make sure it happens.

What are your ideas???

Coasting Through Life?

When I was late into my high school life, I purchased a car that was a stick shift. It was somewhat of a sports car. It was fun to drive - except when I was trying to juggle food and shift gears.

Sometimes when I would drive, especially if I was putting through town or coming up to a stoplight, I would take it out of gear to put it into neutral, letting it coast. It may not have been the best to go in and out of gear, but I enjoyed it.

A very embarrassing thing happened in that car when I was "dragging Main" was I killed it while trying to put it into gear, and I had worn the battery down from all the "dragging" and it died...luckily I had a friend in with me, but it was still embarrassing to push the car in busy, heavy traffic.

A vehicle with manual transmissions allow one to coast pretty easily. Besides the wear and tear on the transmission, one thing about coasting in neutral is you can't gain any speed. That leads us to this week's quote...

If you're coasting, you're either losing momentum or else you're headed downhill. ~ Joan Welsh

Are you coasting in life, or in certain areas of your? If so the quote holds true. How is your family life? How are your work pursuits? How is your church-related pursuit?

I asked a "get to know you" question one time about the favorite place to ride a bike. I got a good laugh out of one response..."downhill". For a lot of us that could be the favorite place to ride a bike. However, we do not receive any benefits from just coasting or going downhill.

If/when you see yourself coasting through life, it will probably be because you are losing momentum or heading downhill. Why not keep going? Putting in the energy will help you as you pursue your goals. Don't coast or wait for the downhill, anticipate the challenge of continuing to pedal. It has many benefits!

Coasted enough...starting to pedal...