“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup, put water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a tea kettle, it becomes the tea kettle. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.” ~Bruce Lee #BeDynamic
What do people think of you…and who are you?
“Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly be possessed of – for credit is like fire; when once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but if you once extinguish it, you will find it an arduous task to rekindle it again. The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” ~Socrates
I’m always sad to say that I heard and internalize this quote AFTER my reputation and name were ruined at my own hands. I have done quite a few things that I am not proud of but the gifts of opportunity and time allows me to correct those wrongs that I have done. But it’s a constant process that also takes character.
Through my rekindling of a positive reputation I realized the importance of “character”. There is a big difference between reputation and character. Your reputation is what others think of you; your character is what you really are. I found that I didn’t like who I was and I also didn’t like what others thought of me. The way I dealt with that is to ask the question “Who am I?” Everyday during my mediation, while I am working throughout the day, and in each moment I try to I ask that question. This constantly allows me to re-evaluate what I do which is a reflection of who I am.
It’s a tough, tedious process but in the end I pray that I can be better than my best reputation. Be blessed, #BeDynamic
#ApeMode
“I was not delivered unto this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shepherd. I am a lion and I refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny…” ~Og Mandino
On Perspective…
During my period of “selective ignorance”, I have attempted to refocus on some of problem solving abilities, working on maintaining perspective of how I address challenges in my life. I have purposely limited my time on social networking while looking inward to answers some serious questions about myself. Allow me to express what I have learned…
I have definitely learned how to find a little bit of joy in the midst of these issues, especially when I recognize their purpose & results. I am always prepared and open to the lesson of the challenge that is before me. That not only assists me to get through but it makes me a living, walking example to those who are watching me. In most cases, I am truly blessed with what is needed to get me to the next level…learning through the challenge, becoming stronger for my next challenge in life. My faith is a major factor in this perspective. I am a firm believer that God blesses me with these trials to conquer and draw closer to Him strengthening my relationship.
I always talk about the elements of my prayer. Supplication, asking for the blessings of wisdom & discernment to make good decisions. Thanks, appreciating the opportunity to exercise the wisdom granted through the challenges in my life. So when you are going through YOUR challenges, embrace the struggle of this “Beautiful Struggle” we call life because you will be stronger. Be blessed, #BeDynamic
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor…Keep Moving!
As I sit here on the eve of the year 2012, I’m thinking about the happenings of the 2011, my triumphs and pitfalls. I am extremely blessed and I thank God for all of my blessings but there was one consistent feeling of emptiness that I felt throughout the year 2011. It wasn’t until this morning, Friday, December 31st 2011, that I really came to grips with this feeling in regards to my relationship with God.
In case you don’t know, I am totally starting my life over, with NOTHING in hand. I felt empty, but that feeling of emptiness can be a wonderful gift from God. There is something about “nothing” that moves God’s hand. I was distracted from His will, depending on myself and I wasn’t empty enough. God basically led me to a place of nothingness where I can lean on nothing but His provision. And that is where I currently am.
The story of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings Chapter 4) really taught me that:
- Emptiness is a gift from the Lord
- Emptiness tells us we have a need
- We must admit our emptiness
- Only God can truly fill us.
Although I learned from the prophet Elisha, I may have learned even more from the destitute woman. I realized that regardless of the situation or where I am, I must GET UP and keep moving toward my purpose. While moving toward my purpose, I have to move past other people’s perception of me, whether good or bad. And most important, I have to remember that my purpose is from God.
Happy New Year…Be blessed, #BeDynamic
Test Of A Man
The test of man is the fight that he makes.
The grit that he daily shows.
The way that he stands upon his feet.
And takes life’s numerous bumps and blows.
A coward can smile,
When there’s not to fear.
And nothing, his progress bars.
But it takes a man to stand and cheer.
While the other fellow stars.
It isn’t the victory after all,
But, the fight that a brother makes.
A man when driven against the wall,
takes the blows of fate.
With his head held high.
Bleeding, bruised, and pale!!
Is the man who will win, fate defied,
For he isn’t afraid to fail.
~Author Unknown~
#BeDynamic
Where The Battle’s Lost & Won!
“To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill. ” ~Sun Tzu (Art of War)
The end of the year always bring about deep reflection of what has happened this past year and how I would like to grow the next year. This year I am attempting to go to the very beginning of where good decisions are made and the battle is won or lost.
I enjoy reading about strategies and tactics. One of the most notable strategists of all time is Sun Tzu. One of his most famous strategies is to prepare to win before battle is even engaged. I used to ask myself “Where do I start?” and over time I have realized that “The battle is lost or won in the secret places before God, never in the external world”. I have spent a lot of time trying to “figure” things out on my own. I am a praying man but when I look back the best decisions I have made in my life have been when I have wrestled ideas out before God in prayer before making my next move. You cannot fail. The battle may take one day or may take a year but decisions should be wrestled alone before God.
Most times, I wait until circumstances then put God to the test, and more times than not, I have failed. I am learning to get things settled between myself and God deep in my soul where no one else can mettle and then I can move forth with certainty that the battle is won. When we try to fight out the battles externally first, we lose. When I have wrestled with God, I may lose (in a sense) but I have always come out with clarity and resolve to do what is right.
So as I prepare for the New Year, I am going to get alone with God, fight it out before Him, and settle the matters there FIRST. Have a safe and happy new year. Be blessed, #BeDynamic.
Happiness…where can you find it?
I know I haven’t posted in a while but there have been some life events, drama and “moments of clarity” that have brought me to this topic. I finally feel like I am getting comfortable in my own skin, doing what I do best but more important, loving ME! Enjoy…
Through human interaction I find that we as people unfairly look for our happiness in others that will satisfy us. Allow me to explain, most times when you think of the root reason that you hang with friends and/or family it is because they make you happy and satisfy that happiness with action and maybe even personality. But once in a while, we are disappointed by people’s action when they are just being themselves, nothing personal against you. We are then unhappy. I am definitely guilty of this! I have unfairly placed my wishes on someone who maybe is incapable of doing what I’d like for them to do…this made me unhappy.
But here is the kicker…in order to convince, I lost myself. I acted in a different manner, did things I normally would NOT do, even changed my mentality. I did all of those various things to “convince” that someone that they should do things that I wanted to do. Once again, I lost myself but I also lost my happiness. I got away from the things that made me smile and at peace with myself. I am usually one of those people who accept people for who they are and where they are but in this case I wanted someone to do things that were not important to them.
So where do I go for my happiness? After going through that disappointment for a long time, I went “back to the essence”. I started to do things again as I would do before I relied on another for happiness. The things that would put a smile on my face, I got back to. The happiness that I was looking for was deep inside of me. We place too much responsibility for our happiness on other people but if we just stop for a second and attempt to create happiness for someone else, it’s a satisfying experience. If you just be yourself, love yourself and give a little happiness to others, I guarantee you that the happiness that you think of will come out of you and not come at you.
Bottom line, I am always willing to attempt to make others happy around me but I, we cannot compromise our character and/or personality to appease to get what we want from others. I am happy that I have corrected my error, because by being happy with myself, I can make others happier.
Be blessed, #BeDynamic
“MAN”ifesto!
**WARNING: Today’s entry is an excerpt from a long email that I received almost 3 years ago. It’s a good piece that is very empowering for men (which we don’t see very often). Please enjoy. Be blessed, #BeDynamic.
Okay, I’ve been noticing an influx of new members asking certain questions, like “What should I do about my girlfriend?”, “How do I attract women?”, and even “Is my d*ck long enough to satisfy a woman?” In the end, I wonder… W-T-F?!?! Seriously, bros, I’m not going to go out and take away your man-points. Instead, I’ll go off on a tangent on how to increase your personal manliness and self respect. It all starts here:
(A) Learn to respect yourself as a man. Self-confidence cannot be over-emphasized. If you are wondering if you have enough self-confidence, then you don’t. Granted, it’s not an easy thing to learn how to increase; there’s no one way to go about it. The only thing I can tell you is to go achieve something for yourself. Do something that you feel is worthwhile and respectable. If you have a lack of confidence in yourself, it’s because you haven’t given yourself a reason to have any. It all starts there.
(B) Don’t give a flying f-ck what anyone says about you, unless they’ve somehow earned your respect. Ever. You know why I don’t give a crap about man-points? Because I’d only accept them from very few people in my life, who’ve earned the right to have their opinions matter to me. If anyone criticizes you on anything, (like a complete stranger, some chick, or someone you just met) and they haven’t earned the *right* to do so in your eyes, screw ’em. That’s part of self-respect, in the essence that you only respect the opinions of yourself, and those whom you deem worthy of it or more wise than you are. Never let any random dumb-f-ck drag you down needlessly.
(C) Be of some meaning to this world. A man truly only serves one of two things: either himself, which carries no honor… anyone can please their own whims easily, and it only leads to more and more un-manly greed. Either that, or he can choose to serve something higher, whatever he feels that is. Do not dedicate your life solely to yourself; find something bigger than yourself to serve and work for in life. That also leads back to self-respect; you must recognize yourself as a worthy addition to whatever you choose to serve in that respect.
(D) Understand that women have a completely different role in life, and are really NOT THAT BAD. I know that this one may be hard to swallow – hell, a lot of women don’t even get it themselves, what with the feminist movement and their crazy emotions and all – but understand and know that we really are, and have been, the world’s natural leaders. All men who are truly worthwhile show their alpha tendencies from time to time, some more than others; however, very few women can achieve this same form of mindset. And, what is the key to an alpha mindset? Like I said… self respect. If you have a good amount of respect for yourself, you won’t care what unworthy women think about you… because you know *they* are the ones missing out, not you.
So, for everyone in these forums, especially those who are wondering about themselves, this is the best advice I can give. In closing, a huge d-ck doesn’t make you a man. Somehow getting a woman doesn’t make you a man. NOTHING makes you a man except YOURSELF, and RESPECTING YOURSELF. It’s up to YOU to gather the confidence in yourself necessary to move your own mountains, part your own seas, and truly make the world your bitch. After all, you are all men, and it is your birthright… it is up to you to claim it.
“…I Want to Break Necks”
On March 1, 2009 while visiting my second home of Charlotte, NC, I attended, as I always University Park Baptist Church. I enjoy listening to Bishop Claude Alexander’s sermons. They are usually down to earth and definitely something that you can apply to your life immediately. This particular sermon focused on the definitions of “static vs. dynamic”. All of my Twitter followers & Facebook friends get a healthy dose of #bedynamic everyday and here is why:
The definition of static is “lacking movement, development, or vitality.”
There are a lot of us who are living static, not moving to another level and definitely not developing. It’s so easy to live static, going about your everyday druthers, just chilling. Living static can be just satisfied with sitting on the sideline talking about the dynamic people. Living static also allows outside factors to dictate who are and how we move in our lives. Well I’m here to tell you, take control. There is nothing you cannot achieve
The definition of dynamic is “pertaining to or characterized by energy or effective action; vigorously active or forceful”.
I’m striving to be dynamic. I am NOT waiting for something to happen to me, I am actively pursuing the next level in my career, schooling, physical health and family life. The term #bedynamic means that no matter the challenges, we grow. Never too high and embrace the lows because at the end of the day, the real success is the journey, in this beautiful struggle that we call life. When we achieve the things we set out to acheive, it does not end there because there are five to ten more things that are ahead that we grind to achieve. On a personal note, for me to #bedynamic is to touch and effect lives. This thing called life is so much bigger than just me and my world. I am a blessed individual, but I am striving everyday to be a blessing to someone else. I pray that through this “Tests Of A Man” blog I can bless people by express my positives and negatives to be lessons.
I don’t want to just turn heads, I want to break necks… #bedynamic
: Tests Of A Man : 