Life Angles: LIFE - Living Intentionally For Excellence!

Those four words engender so much meaning! They instill within me a recognition of an innate passion that has been a part of me since before I came to this sojourn. I am going to attempt to articulate what they mean to me in this blog post.

But first, let me tell you where I got them. Over the weekend, I was privileged to meet the #7 Leadership Guru in the WORLD. Credit for those four words must go to him. As far as I know, he came up with the acronym (perhaps with help from others).

Hearing this acronym, and seeing him speak several times, has inspired me to go back to my dusty blog for some more inter-mind interactions, which will be portrayed here in this outer-mind communication medium called a "Blog".

I am trying to write faster than I have in the past, because a friend of mine suggested that I post every day for 100 days, and I rather liked the idea.

Considering that my blog was already named "Life Angles" long before I heard this LIFE acronym, it seemed fitting. So I've decided to come up with a new acronym for LIFE every day, and write a post about it. :)

This brilliant idea would have normally been immediately shot down by me, owing to the busy nature of my life of late, combined with my tendency to be a perfectionist when composing a blog post.

As a result of the intersection of those two things with my new goal to write a post every day, I have of necessity decided to curtail my perfectionistic nature, and just pump these blogs out of my brain as fast as they can flow.

But, I hope and pray that I will still be able to inspire you, my loyal readers (whoever and wherever you are) with my words. Inspiring others is the secondary purpose for which I created this blog in the first place (the first purpose is that I enjoy writing).

And, rest assured, when I speak, I am speaking with passion. These things really do come from within my heart. I do not simply compile a string of words that are likely to inspire people. I write from my heart, about what inspires ME.

I write about the multifarious subjects that have ever caused, or will cause a stir, big or small, within myself.

When I first created this blog, I had planned to comment on anything political or humorous as well, and I may still throw some of those anecdotes into my blog here and there.

But for the next 100 days, I want to focus primarily on whatever inspires me, and hopefully may inspire you as well.

L.I.F.E.! "Living Intentionally For Excellence!!!" These four words enshroud my spirit in a conscious power! They define so much of what I am all about! Let's dissect them:



1. LIVING

Living! We are all living, breathing, original, creative, powerful beings who were created by a loving God, and placed here on Earth upon our own consent and ardent desire to experience, learn, grow, and progress!

Think deeply for a moment about what the word "life" itself signifies. Life boggles my mind at times, just as time and space do. And "life" is what you and I are. We are intelligent life!

We have the agency, and the powerful faculties of our minds and bodies, to enable us to do anything that we want, and make anything of this LIFE that we want and decide to. And we can help and lift other living, intelligent beings (people) along the way as well.

We can even bless the lives of animals. Animals have a lower intelligence than humans do, but they are our chums here on Earth, and are still "LIFE", just as we are. As such, they deserve our respect. But I suppose that that is a subject for another post. On with the subject at hand...



2. LIVING INTENTIONALLY

"Living Intentionally"! INTENTIONALLY! Will Smith in one of his movies said, "Begin each day as if it were on purpose". Think of the many people out there who seem to be living life "on accident". They need to be reminded why they are here! That task can fall upon you and I, if we will let it. But first, let us make sure that WE are living our OWN lives on PURPOSE!

Those two words, "Living Intentionally", carry so much meaning for me. They send vivid pictures into my mind of the way that I have always dreamed of living, and have been working hard to live.

I have not found my sweet, strong, virtuous, beloved angel wife yet, but I know that she's out there. I often imagine and visualize the type of husband and father that I want to be. And I work constantly to learn, grow, and prepare myself more and more to be worthy of such a woman.

Here and there in life, I see and hear of people who are hurting inside, and don't know where to find relief to their emptiness.

Picture the struggling teenagers, the at-risk youth, or the college drunkards and partyers who obviously have no meaningful purpose driving their actions. Picture the rock stars and the celebrities that use drugs, have many other glaring problems, and are not happy.

Picture the struggling marriages. Picture the fights. Picture the divorces and the torn families. Picture the miscommunication, and the absence of a conscious plan and effort to grow closer, and understand one another.

Picture a husband who comes home from work, plops down on the couch in front of the TV and demands dinner. Then, he gets upset when his wife asks him to do something for her to help out around the house, saying that he's been working hard all day to put food on the table, and a roof over HER head.

Next, picture that one of his beautiful children (we'll say a 3-year-old) comes up to him and says "Daddy, let's go play with toys!", but is met with "not now honey, I'm busy". His wife then decides to harp on him because she can't take it anymore, and the children see their parents raising voices with anger and malice toward one another. Eventually, the children may have to cope with the caustic experience of seeing their parents split apart.

Don't get me wrong. I know that SOMETIMES, divorce is the correct remedy. But, that is only true because we are all on different levels in our own personal growth and progression. Divorce and many other difficult experiences may be a part of our learning process here on Earth.

But, what if you knew that there was a way to better yourself faster, climb higher in your goodness and strength, and leave many of those harsh experiences in the box labeled "what may have happened if I had not grown myself to who I am today"?

There is a way, and it's called "LIVING INTENTIONALLY"!!! To me, "Living Intentionally" means that you are constantly measuring yourself, constantly looking into your soul and spirit to find out why you do the things that you do.

It means that you SEEK to learn how to change yourself, so that you do more of the things that you want to be doing, and less of the things that you don't want to be doing. It means that you do not "go with the flow". It means that you are not COMPLACENT!

LIVING INTENTIONALLY means that you MEAN to be the way that you are, and that the way that you are is not a result of the sundry experiences that have shaped you over the years, but rather is a result of the MULTITUDINOUS exertions that you and God have INTENTIONALLY applied upon your life over the years, to shape and mold you into a better, more intentional, more prudent, more loving, more powerful, more serving, more influential, more sacrificing, and more SCRUPULOUS, ethical, and principle-centered person than you would have been absent such catalysts!

That was a very long sentence on purpose. I didn't want to deliver that message in a slow, methodical way like a college professor would. I wanted you to hear me saying those words with power and passion, as a motivational speaker would, with a growing speed and intensity as the idea progressed! So go read it once more real quick.



3. LIVING INTENTIONALLY FOR...

What are you living FOR? What word would you put at the end of those three words, if it were required that that fourth word be a word that accurately describes what your most prevalent, and you most powerful desires and purposes for living are?

Do not just put the word that describes what you feel is most important. That would be the answer if you were asked what you SHOULD be living for; what SHOULD be your purpose.

To find the right word to describe what you live for, you must close your eyes and think of the things that have consumed the majority of your thoughts, actions, passions, and desires over the years. To find what you really live for, look at the most up-front, obvious outward things that have at times driven you to stay up late, write journal entries about, or make sacrifices for.

If you are really passionate about something, the majority of your closest friends and family will recite that very thing, if asked what they think you are passionate about.

It's not the things that you consider are the most important that you are really passionate about, it's the things that consume you the most. THAT is the true measure of a man's passion. THAT alone betrays what you really live for.

So, what do YOU live for? God gave the Israelites 10 commandments. Just 10! 10 things that were most important to Him; 10 things that He hoped they would follow before worrying about any of the smaller things.

One of those 10 is translated thus: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Gospel scholars hold that this primarily refers to the idol worship that was so prevalent during that particular time in Earth's history.

But, applying it to today, I would wager that there are millions of people who would feel comfortable defining the word "idol" as it applies to religious things thus:

Idol:
"Anything that consumes so much of a person's thoughts, desires, and actions that thoughts of God, His will, and His Kingdom take a secondary or lower place in that person's mind, actions, and most powerful desires".

That said, think of your thoughts. Replay your last week, your last month, your last year, your last decade. What has consumed you? Did it take precedence over your daily communion with Deity?

Did it slip into a higher slot of priority than you think it deserved? Remember those days when you couldn't sleep because you were so excited? Did you talk to God and share with Him your thoughts about the matter? Did you talk to Him about your number one, most high priority, which was to serve Him and His children here in Earth; to do His will and live for Him, and build His Kingdom? Did you talk about how that subject that you were so excited about was related to and could be applied to those number one priorities?

Think of the people who make unwise financial decisions, so that they can get that next fancy car, boat, or anything like that. When something causes someone to be foolish because of their brash determination to have that thing, it is an idol. It just slipped into the number one spot in their priorities, and proved to everyone what that person is living for at that moment.

Picture the men who wash and wax their fancy cars and boats so often, and will scarcely share those things with others or let other people use or even touch them. Those men are like CHILDREN!

Picture how they get angry and yell at people if someone accidentally touches, smudges, dents, or scrapes that idol of theirs.

When someone yells at a person for something so trivial, it shows that they value that thing more than they do the person.

A man or woman should never value things more than people, and when they act so rashly, it is an outward sign that they do just that. That thing is more important to them than the person.

There are other ways to handle such situations. He could have been gracious about the accident and told the person not to worry about it, but kindly asked them to please try to be more careful in the future. Such actions would betray that he values that person more than he does that object (idol).

"Living Intentionally For..." Tell me, what is it that YOU live for? Is it what you would prefer to be living for? Is it the thing that you feel you SHOULD be living for? If not, make a conscious decision and a goal to push the things that you know you SHOULD be living for into first priority as much as you can in your life.



4. LIVING INTENTIONALLY FOR EXCELLENCE!!!

ex·cel·lence
[ek-suh-luh ns]
- noun

1. the fact or state of excelling; superiority; eminence
2. having excellent qualities or features
3. superior, wonderful


SYNONYMS:
accomplished, admirable, attractive, capital, champion, choice, choicest, desirable, distinctive, distinguished, estimable, exceptional, exemplary, exquisite, fine, finest, first-rate, good, great, high, incomparable, invaluable, magnificent, meritorious, notable, outstanding, peerless, priceless, prime, select, skillful, sterling, striking, superb, superlative, supreme, top-notch, transcendent, world-class


ANTONYMS:
bad, failing, imperfect, indistinguished, inferior, poor, second-class, second-rate, unnoteworthy, unworthy


ex·cel·lent
[ek-suh-luh nt]
- adjective

1. possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good.
2. extraordinary; superior.


su·pe·ri·or
[suh-peer-ee-er, soo-]
- adjective

1. above the average in excellence, merit, intelligence, etc.



To sum it up, the word "Excellence" basically means:

"having excellent qualities or features, possessing outstanding quality or superior merit; remarkably good."

This is the type of thing that I shoot for. This is why the words "Living Intentionally For Excellence" mean so much to me!

I see so many "lemmings" in this world, who are happy to just float along through life, and live, act, and be like society in general says that they should be.

They wake up, go to a job that they are not passionate about or interested in, come home, and entertain themselves with TV, movies, video games, or going out to dinner. They sit around and chat about menial subjects (nothing of real significance), they do a BBQ, or some home improvement projects. Then, they go to sleep, and do it all over again the next day. On the weekends, they go to the lake with the boat that they financed with debt, or they go ride financed recreational vehicles in the mountains.

This is America.

Don't get me wrong. I believe strongly in the importance of a work ethic, and I applaud those people who can do that so well, and provide for their families, even though they hate or are bored of their jobs. But, I submit that there is a step above that.

Our society has turned work into something that you do because you have to, and once you're done with that, your focuses can be spent on relaxing, having fun, entertaining yourselves, refilling your tank, etc.

HERE is what I envision as the step above. I recommend that people find something that they're truly passionate about or enjoy doing, and creatively find a way to meet their temporal needs with THAT thing, rather than just working for some big corporate conglomerate, and being just another number on someone's list; just another investment that a corporate manager buys at wholesale and sells at retail.

As a contrast to my earlier visualization, picture this:

Imagine a man who spends the majority of his daily time and efforts on something that truly MATTERS; something that has real SIGNIFICANCE, and something that he is PASSIONATE about. He's making a real difference in someone's life, and perhaps many people, or the whole world (it's said that once you affect 17% of the people, that's the point where it breaks loose and spreads to most of the rest).

THEN, after his daily expenditures of energy towards a worthwhile cause, imagine that he refills his tank by wrapping his arms around his sweet wife and telling her how much he loves her, and how much she means to him.

Then, he refills his energy tank by spending some time playing with his kids. Next, he does some household chores to help out his wife. He offers to cook dinner, and the family sits down together and eats.

Maybe the family goes to town for some fun, or goes in the back yard and plays games and makes family videos of the kids.

Maybe they watch a clean movie together, that's inspiring and/or fun. Finally, Mom and Dad put the kids to bed, after family scripture study and prayers.

The kids being asleep, this man sits down on the bed with this wonderful woman that is his wife, and talks about her day. They talk about his day as well, and the thoughts and concerns that prevail in their minds at the time.

They talk about their relationship, and as often happens, they learn another little tidbit of wisdom that will help them to better communicate with each other, and respect each other, and love each other.

They have gone though some difficult times, but those times have drawn them closer together, because of the obvious pure love and acceptation that they have for each other.

The man is truly happy, incandescently so, because of this life that he, with God's help, has created by working on HIMSELF over the years, and constantly striving to be the absolute best person that he could be.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, people, is PARAMOUNT. It is not something just for those motivation-hyped people who read self-help books. It is for EVERYONE, and that includes YOU!

There are thousands of wise people out there, who have learned many valuable lessons of their own accord, and are willing to teach US those lessons, if we will just open up the books that they've written!

There are thousands of people that are ready and willing to share with us their wealth of knowledge and PURE TRUTH (which must be discerned by us, with God's help).

But we have to listen to them! We have to take some time to say, "Yes, so-and-so author or speaker, I believe that you do indeed have something valuable that I can learn or REMIND myself of, and I am willing to prove it by actually TAKING SOME TIME OUT OF MY LIFE TO LISTEN TO YOU!".

If we will just PUT IN A CD that these servers and inspirers have authored, rather than listening to songs that numb our brains and discourage us from using the faculties of our minds for thinking, we will begin to open our world to a whole new level of happiness, knowledge, wisdom, fulfillment, growth, and joy.

GROWTH AND PROGRESSION, my blog-reading friends, is not meant to be an esoteric art. It should be UBIQUITOUS! But I am sorry to say that it is not as prevalent as I believe that it should be.

Once you delve into personal progression, self-help, personal growth, introspection and character shaping, you will wish as I do, that more people would do just that. And you will desire to SPREAD IT. And you WILL spread it.

Once you have helped to spread it, you will have the inner satisfaction of the knowledge that several people are today better, more effective, and happier people because of the influence that one person has had on them. That person is YOU!

So, what does "Living Intentionally For Excellence" mean to me?

It means that I dream big, because if other people have accomplished great feats, so can I!

It means that I consciously remind myself that human potential is vastly more great and far-reaching than I realize!

It means that I seek constantly to discover and develop higher levels of my own potential!

It means that I do not blindly "accept as truth" everything that society and the "majority" teaches to me, but instead I use the power in my own mind and heart, as well as my spiritual discernment, to determine what I believe and hold to be true.

It means that I am not content to just go with the flow, if I do not believe that the flow is the most productive and purposeful way for ME to be.

It means that I PURPOSELY, INTENTIONALLY spend almost daily efforts on learning how to grow myself into a more competent, confident, prudent, powerful, purposeful, loving, serving, sacrificing, accepting, encouraging, leading, influential, world-changing person!

It means that I constantly develop faith in Jesus Christ, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, obedience, and many other similar character traits.

It means that I am not content to be complacent with my current state of goodness, nor will I ever be until I reach the pinnacle of perfection, which will not occur in this life.

It means that I choose to CAST OFF my garment of mediocrity in favor of a much brighter, resplendently gleaming, ornately decorated, finely crafted, more powerful, mightily radiating set of raiment called "EXCELLENCE"!!!

Life Angles: Business Vs. Science, Finding Your Passion

Very interesting. Somewhat intriguing. More or less thought-provoking...

I just received an email from one of the newsletters I'm subscribed to, which apprised me of the existence of an online tool that analyzes your writing style, and subsequently enlightens you as to what famous author your prose resembles.

Naturally, I couldn't resist. Within seconds, had there been any onlookers, they would have seen me copying and pasting my last three blog entries into the analyzing tool...

But now is the time for a tangent, as I interject some thoughts about myself. You see, my mom always told me that I should have been a scientist (by the way, I'd better not catch you laughing at that cliche allusion to my mother).

Apparently, during the last century or so, less and less Americans have been going into the field of science (being lulled by the flashy promises of business).

As a result, our country has slipped down from its previously lofty status. That is, the status of being the country that produces the most scientists.

I am one of the culpable ones in this case, owing to the fact that I possess various propensities and aptitudes that would normally qualify one as ideal for the field of science, yet I, too, am among the ranks of those who have been seduced by business, and left science behind in the back corridors of un-developed talents.

Don't misunderstand; I'm by no means trying to propagate the idea that business is not a necessary ingredient to preserve freedom, or that entrepreneurship is bad in any way.

On the contrary, I am a very strong believer in honest capitalism. I love business. It's primarily to business (or to be more specific, entrepreneurship) that I have dedicated the last 6 years or so of study.

Business allows me to freely exercise my creativity. And for the purpose of explaining how much I cherish the ability to exercise creativity, let me just say that I love creativity like the child loves to run around, and make loud noises with his windpipe.

What child have you ever seen that lives a sedentary life? For me not to have an outlet for my creativity would be like a child who has no space to run; no playground to ever play on, no cars or trucks to crash into each other.

Okay, now that I've spewed out that sub-tangent within a tangent, let me get back on the subject: the results of the writing style analyzer.

Those results are what drove me to the blog to once again lay my thoughts before any interested eyes.

According to the all-knowing power of the algorithms that were programmed into that writing style analyzer, here are the three famous authors who my writing style resembles:


#1 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE

Pen Names: Charles Willis, E.G. O'Brien

Occupation: Author, Inventor

Genres: Hard Science Fiction, Popular Science

Subjects: Science


#2 - Isaac Asimov

Occupation: Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist, Historian, Biochemist, Textbook Writer, Humorist

Genres: Science Fiction (Hard SF), Popular Science, Mystery Fiction, Essays, Literary Criticism

Literary Movement: Golden Age of Science Fiction


#3 - Cory Doctorow

Occupation: Author, Blogger

Genres: Science Fiction, Postcyberpunk


I was quite surprised to see that ALL THREE of the gentlemen that the analyzer compared me to were science fiction writers.

On top of that, one was an inventor (I am especially enamored with inventing), and two belonged to the more specific sub-genre of "Hard Science Fiction", which is characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, and on scientific accuracy.

In other words, for those men to be dedicated to the genre of Hard Science Fiction in their writings, they have to have a working knowledge of many different aspects of science. They are in a way, scientists.

Two of them (Clarke and Asimov) are members of the "Big Three" science fiction writers.

Now, this doesn't by any means signify that my writing talent is on a level with these masters; I would never be naive enough to think that.

But the point here is that it did make me think.

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I am very sentimental. Small details of average everyday life sometimes have a way of coming out and speaking to me. I am often thrown into a pensive state by seemingly insignificant tidbits, and that pensive state usually has a direction toward introspection.

In this case, the obvious common thread of science, that can be seen throughout the results of the analysis of my writing style, sparked a pang of remorse within my soul for having forsaken science as I have.

Ah yes, science. My old friend; the bosom buddy of my childhood...

It was to science that I was devoted during my growing years. It was science that made my eyes sparkle, and my face become animated. It was science that filled my innocent youthful mind with an adventurous sense of wonder; with a desire to take this entire universe and dissect it, until I fully understood it, and could manipulate it at will.

But this blog post is not meant to be simply a melancholy declaration of my regret for not having studied more science.

No, these words are organized here as a medium of my admittance of a folly, and also as a catalyst for thought in your mind, and my mind, and a provocation for action in your life, and my life.

Business is the chum of my grown years, but let me not forsake the loyal comrade of my youth: Science.

Think about your life and what you are dedicated to at the moment. Have you forsaken anything of value for what you have now?

Is there any way to make room for some more of that which enlightens the mind, excites the senses, and fills life with wonder?

I am hereby motivated to study more science, to catch some of the time that I've missed, and perhaps mold a happy medium between business and science for my future.

Yet I will never forget the true order of things.

I am here in this blog post dedicating my thoughts to those things (like business and science) which take third place in my life, after God and my family.

But enough about me. What about you?

What is your mission in life?

What is your secondary mission?

What is your contribution?

What are the several dedications with which you can make a difference in this world; make somebody else's life happier, somebody else's comfort level higher, or somebody else's mind more enlightened?

What are you passionate about? Don't forsake it.

Life Angles: A Striking Discovery About The Goal-Making Procedure

Hello again and sorry for the drought. I have been thinking for a while about what to do my next blog entry about, and this morning I had an experience that drove me to the blog. I just had to write about it.

As a bit of foreshadowing, make sure that you read to the end, even if you at any point begin to think that I'm just sounding like a superstitious, sentimental kid who's making a big deal out of a random coincidence.

You'll see that there's a point to it all. There's a moral to the story. I learned something very valuable from this experience, and you just may relate to it as well.

Begin story:

-iPhone note entry, June 9th, 2010:

"...Oh. My. Goodness. This can't be a coincidence.

I think that God is trying to teach me something. Usually when I set a goal, I wait until the optimum time as far as day of week, day of month, date, etc.

I tend to wait until the next week to start my goal. Or the next month. Or the next even number. I'm always putting goals off for no good reason other than to coddle that part of my nature that is wired with OCD tendencies; unnecessarily wasting time, and detrimentally postponing good things..."

I wrote that just this morning.

By the way, I'm not saying that I have OCD or anything; I'm just saying that I think I have some OCD characteristics, like being a perfectionist, etc. I think that most of us have some ADD or OCD tendencies, and they're a part of what makes us who we are. I believe that those tendencies in minor concentrations are normal.

Anyway, I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of creating charts to track your goals and keep you on track.

Well, I had written out one such chart in May. I wanted to devour a certain religious book. I had set out to read 40 pages per day, so that I could finish it in a month (the book is 1,140 pages long, and the pages are BIG).

Turns out that the goal was impractical for my schedule and current distractions, so I failed miserably, and haven't even read the book again since that first day I made the goal.

Today is Wednesday, June 9th, 2010. A random day of the week, a random date. And an odd number.

Just now, I decided to start my goal over again. But instead of waiting till the start of the week, or even tomorrow which would be not only an even number, but my FAVORITE number (10), I decided to buckle up and just start the goal today!

It was just a random urge that popped into my head. I didn't want to waste any more time. I preferred to put the priceless value of the present time that I had at my disposal ahead of my OCD-esque urges to wait until the perfect day to start my goal.

So I grabbed my iPhone so I could change my May goal chart into a current, more realistic chart that started with today's date...

[Yes, that's right, this is me putting in a shameless plug for iPhones, even though Apple isn't paying me a dime for it...

Every blog I've done so far I've done entirely on my iPhone, from all the writing, to the posting. I have a good app for posting. With the tap of a finger, my blog is posted. No using web browsers, no logging in required.

iPhones are just so wonderful. Everyone needs one, except maybe elderly people whose hands shake a bit, and aren't as steady as they used to be...

But if you don't fit into that category, go pick yourself up an iPhone. And check out http://www.Apple.com if you haven't seen the new iPhone 4 yet! They just announced it two days ago. It's incredible. I'm speechless.

WWWOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apple rules the world. You need an iPhone. End of story.

...Or, in the very worst case scenario, you should at least get one of the wannabe iPhone copies that copycat companies with no vision of their own have begun to create.

But don't get me started on that... You know what, I should probably just do a blog about Apple. I think I'll do that.

Later.

For now, back to the subject...]

So with a simple light touch, I summoned my trusty note-taking App, and with a flick, I watched my notes scroll until I got to the one I was looking for (I could have done a search instead of scrolling, but I didn't need to in this case). It was a note called "My Gospel Study Tracking Chart".

I decided to cut this specific goal down to more manageable pieces this time. I decided on 10 pages per day instead of 40. So I did some quick calculations in my head, and figured it'd take between 3 and 4 months to read 1,140 pages at 10 pages per day.

I then proceeded to copy and paste my previous chart, stretch it out from today's date to the end of September, and edit the month names.

Once I did that, my plan was to just start at today and add 10 pages each day till I got to 1,140 pages or the end of September (whichever came first), and then add or delete any extra or missing dates so that the chart would go from today till the day I hit page 1,140.

So there I went. Touch the next line. Put a dash, then the next number. It took me a few minutes and some fancy fingerwork, but eventually I was almost done. I watched the numbers reach slowly toward the target number of 1,140.

I wasn't even looking at the dates. I was working with the second-to-last line on the screen, and each time I would touch the bottom line, the App would automatically shift all lines up one notch and bring up the previously invisible line to become the new bottom line.

Am I confusing you? The point is that I couldn't see the end of the dates that I had written out. I just kept touching the next line, putting a dash, then the next number.

All of a sudden, I hit the number 1,140. I looked at the date and was SHOCKED to find that it was the very end of the dates that I had written out. IT WAS THE VERY LAST DAY IN SEPTEMBER!!!

How chance, how improbable that the random day that I got the urge to re-start my goal, and 10 pages per day to the random number of 1,140, landed me on a perfectly OCD-friendly date! That really got my attention.

NOT ONLY THAT, but it was coincidentally the last date I had written out in my quick estimation of approximately how far out I'd need to go on the calendar to reach 1,140 pages at 10 pages per day.

I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't just "coincidental". What do you think?

SEPTEMBER 30th!!! THE LAST DAY OF THE MONTH!!! THE DAY BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEXT MONTH!!!

Okay, I think you get the idea...

But check it out. I decided to post the very chart from my iPhone notes for your visual and comprehensive pleasure:

Jun 9-10
Jun 10-20
Jun 11-30
Jun 12-40
Jun 13-50
Jun 14-60
Jun 15-70
Jun 16-80
Jun 17-90
Jun 18-100
Jun 19-110
Jun 20-120
Jun 21-130
Jun 22-140
Jun 23-150
Jun 24-160
Jun 25-170
Jun 26-180
Jun 27-190
Jun 28-200
Jun 29-210
Jun 30-220
Jul 1-230
Jul 2-240
Jul 3-250
Jul 4-260
Jul 5-270
Jul 6-280
Jul 7-290
Jul 8-300
Jul 9-310
Jul 10-320
Jul 11-330
Jul 12-340
Jul 13-350
Jul 14-360
Jul 15-370
Jul 16-380
Jul 17-390
Jul 18-400
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So now you've seen for yourself the evidence of a divine catalyst for enlightenment. Divine intervention; intervening into the situations in my mind. Intervening into my paradigms, as the extra ingredient needed for a total shift in my goal-making paradigm.

You see, I didn't just brush this coincidence off. I took it as a sign. It was God trying to get my attention; to teach me the lesson for the day, through His infinite Grace and watch-care, like a wise, loving Father who takes His young son aside for a teaching moment.

The moral of the story is NOT to bring me back to incorporating my OCD tendencies into my goal-making processes, simply by having my goals END at the perfect time instead of START at the perfect time.

That would be pointless.

No, God wanted to show me how much time I had been wasting. I was wasting time, one of our most precious commodities, by catering to the OCD-coated parts of my subconscious mind during my goal-making processes.

I have foregone COUNTLESS amounts of productivity in my life by WAITING for the perfect time to start something.

I've even let MONTHS pass, waiting for each Monday, when I was going to start my next goal. Monday would come around, I would get distracted or forget about my goal, then all of a sudden I'd be stuck again waiting for the NEXT Monday. What MADNESS!!! What psychopathy!!! What DELIRIUM!!!

The senselessness of my neurotic practices seems so absurd to me now. I would now much rather start a goal RIGHT AWAY than to put it off until "the perfect time to start", even if it means that my goal starts and ends on random days of the week, or random, uneven dates.

I think that by the Grace of God I've been shown a true principle here, and I think you probably agree.

But it is ironic that He used my OCD tendencies to jolt my mind into an awakening, by having the last day of the goal fall on the last day of the month.

It may seem counterintuitive at first glance that the coincidental appearance of the thing that I loved so much (perfect starting times or in this case ENDING times) is what made me realize that I needed to forsake that very thing.

But we all know that God works in mysterious ways. He knows our minds and He knows how to teach us.

Starting a goal now vs. starting a goal later are sometimes ANTITHETICALLY different in terms of their benefits to us.

The moral of the story is that putting off goals to wait for the perfect time to start them is an utterly foolish practice. It is exponentially more beneficial to start a goal RIGHT NOW, no matter when now is, rather than to wait until "the perfect time" to start it.

So if you, or anyone you know, is involved in the self-sabotaging practice of putting off their goals until the perfect moment, please send them to this blog, and then please call AA (Absurd-aholics Anonymous) today at: 1-800-OCD-GOALS. That's 1-800-623-4625. [Not a real number]

And please... If you don't get help with us, get help somewhere. ;)

Life Angles: The Metaphysical Connection Between Man and Nature

I think we would probably all agree that there is some kind of an edifying metaphysical connection between man and nature.

Nature just seems to refill our tanks, clear our minds and re-align our desires.

I don't know about you, but I'd say that for me, having the ability to relax periodically in a nature ambiance ranks right up there with having a roof over my head.

Having not studied the subject myself to any substantial degree, I'm going to draw upon my own experiences with nature in my attempt to portray this connection.

Close your eyes and imagine the following:

...On second thought, you should probably keep your eyes open so that you can READ the following. But you can PRETEND that you closed your eyes, and that someone else is reading it to you. ;)

[Imaginary eyes closing NOW...]

So here you are, living your life the best that you know how.

You're all caught up in the business of life; all your worries, distractions, to-do lists, and deadlines.

Your responsibilities, and even the random hobbies and interests that you've recently developed are all hanging out in the forefront of your consciousness.

You're probably chronically stressed to some degree, and may not even realize it.

You've got important decisions periodically weighing down on your mind.

And throughout all this, you're totally accustomed to being surrounded by completely lifeless materials.

For the longest time, you've been swimming in a pool of drywall and paint, carpet and vinyl, pavement, asphalt, gravel, metal, glass, plastic, paper, fabric, and bright LCD screens.

This is your environment. It's what you're used to.

Then one day, for one reason or another, you find yourself in what I like to call a "nature spot".

Maybe you went on that yearly camping trip.

Or maybe you're just at the local park, laying on your back on the grass, under a majestic tree that outdates your existence on this earth.

You're looking up at the beams of soft sunlight that are meandering through the lively-green, semi-transparent leaves. It may be your mind playing tricks on you, but the light seems to be actively bouncing around, almost rococheting from leaf to leaf, in vibrant swirly patterns reminiscent of fireworks.

Everything is alive.

You're staring at the cotton candy clouds through the windows in the leaves and branches, and meanwhile your lungs are being graced by a cool, gentle breeze that just smells alive. It carries with it the freshness of the moisture and the plants that surround you.

And all your worries melt away.

You're suddenly basking in a sense of peace.

Your stresses are taking their proper place in your soul; they're relocating down to the safe, manageable place where they belong.

Your mind is clear, and as you're basking in this temporary place of zen, you have a couple flashes if inspiration that prove to be very applicable to some of the issues that you're currently facing in your life.

You feel happy. Content to be living your life in this world. Motivated to be better.

And what spawned all this?

Nature.

Why does this happen? What is responsible for this metaphysical connection between man and nature? Perhaps it's because we're from the same stock.

Humans, animals, fishes, bugs, bushes, trees, flowers, leaves, and blades of grass; we were all created from the dust of our nurturing Mother Earth.

So back to you. Here you are, in your nature spot. This is good for you.

But, unfortunately, sooner or later this enlightening, relaxing experience comes to an end, and you're back to your life swimming in the pool of man-made and man-altered materials.

Now I want to pose you a question:

What if you could bring some of that "nature spot" back with you, to keep you company in your urban pool of abrasiveness? Well, guess what.

You can.

Close your eyes and do a mental scan of all of the places where you spend most of your time throughout the day.

How do your cages and your lairs rate on the scale of lifelessness?

Is your environment 95% inanimate and lifeless or more (not counting the presence of other people)?

If so, you might benefit tremendously by redecorating a bit.

It's as simple as buying a $40 desk fountain to put by your bedside, or a $60 potted plant to put by your swing on your back patio.

And it wouldn't be a bad idea to maybe lighten up that paint on the wall and install some better lighting. Clean up those clutter spots, install some curtains, and open the window! Feel that breeze.

Buy your wife some flowers!

How about a poster or a painting that portrays a beautiful nature scene?

And best choice of all, why not use that tax return to summon some landscaping men and sic them on your back yard?!

Create that peaceful place in YOUR environment. That way, you won't have to drive to a spot where you can meditate and connect with nature.

Don't get me wrong...

By all means, keep going on your yearly camping trip. Continue spending some Saturday afternoons at the park.

But bring some of it back with you.

Life Angles!

Life. Whoever invented it is a genius!

And when I say "life", I'm referring to the human experience, not biological life in general (although whoever invented that is a genius too!!). ;)

Do you ever just sit back and think about the gloriousness of this thing we call life?

Three words for this:

Pondering
Introspection
Meditation

Do those actions sound unproductive to you? I hope not.

I'd wager that somewhere in the annals of behavioral science, we could find clinical proof that the habitual implementation of any one of those three practices is very productive indeed.

And in honor of that assumption, that's what I plan to spend most of my musings on here in this electronic repository called a Blog (short for "Web Log", for any of you whose internal term-bank hasn't quite caught up with the new millenium yet).

Here in this Blog, I'm going to periodically punch the physical keys on my computer, or the virtual keys on my iPhone, and fill this space with symbolic representations (letters and words) of my thoughts and feelings.

It's my intent to comment on anything interesting, entertaining, or important, with a general focus centered around applying the three afore-mentioned VERBS (ponder, introspect, and meditate) to the NOUN called life.

LIFE!

Isn't it great?! I think so.

If you love life, you love everything that comes with the package.

And you deal with everything that wasn't in the brochure.

You crave the learning and the growing; the adventure.

You experience the ups and downs; the hots and colds. You even appreciate the "luke warms" of life. But the "luke warms" of life are a subject for another post.

I want to talk here a little bit about those "hots and colds".

It seems that many times you actually CAUSE the ups and downs of life, whether you're aware of that fact or not.

I don't usually like to use the verb "experience" to describe what we do here in life. That word seems too "hands-off" for my preference.

I like to think that I am not just "experiencing" life, but rather that I'm "effecting" my life experience. I'm at least in some part CREATING my experience down here on Earth, by the ACTIONS that I CHOOSE.

I often say, "Don't make excuses, make things happen!"

Our latent creative power is perhaps one of the most-often overlooked abilities that each of us possesses.

Whatever you think your potential is, a safe rule of thumb in my opinion is to multiply that by anywhere from ten to 100 and you'll be getting closer to the truth.

Yet, despite our astronomically high potential, too many of us just go with the flow.

Whatever I do, I try my best not to just go with the flow. In most cases, it's far better to MAKE the flow.

How about a philosophical equation:

Life + Going With The Flow = Stagnancy

Do you want your life to be stagnant? I didn't think so.

It's better to rise up to the occasion of any obstacle that you are currently facing, and grab the steering wheel of your own life.

Taking control of the steering wheel of your life seems to go much more smoothly if you have a map in your posession and you know where you want to go.

And that brings us full circle, back to

PONDERING,
INTROSPECTION,
and MEDITATION.

Those three things seem to help out a lot in the effort to determine where it is exactly that you want to go in life.

Angles.

It's all about the angles. When viewing something, the angle from which you are looking can have a substantial effect on your perception of the thing.

This especially applies to that ever-present object of this discussion, LIFE.

A.K.A., "The human experience".

Life means different things to different people.

For instance:

Why am I so content with my life's experience, while there is guaranteeably someone else across the way who is considering ending their life?

Yes, their experiences have undoubtedly played a big part in leading them to that low state of existence, but the important thing is that it doesn't have to stay that way.

One thing that could help get rid of those base feelings would be if they could manage to change the ANGLE
from which they view their life.

Life is a blessing and it's my belief that every single person here on Earth deserves to feel joy, AND has the capability to do so.

Earlier I said that life means different things to different people.

But, more importantly, life can mean completely different things to the SAME person, at different times during their sojourn.

When life means something different to you than it did before, it means that you have just CHANGED THE ANGLE FROM WHICH YOU SEE YOUR LIFE.

The scientific word for this is a "paradigm shift".

PARADIGM SHIFT:

"A complete change in thinking or belief systems that allows the creation of a new condition previously thought impossible."

We all have our angles from which we view life. Those angles create our paradigms, or our perceived realities.

Some of those are inevitably not synonymous with truth.

As a law of nature, when any of our angles on life are in line with pure truth, or the ACTUAL reality (as opposed to our PERCEIVED reality), the natural outcome is a life more fully enjoyed.

For instance:

If through a paradigm shift I discover that one particular aspect of my life is in line with true, good principles, then that knowledge alone gives me a degree of happiness.

If through a paradigm shift I discover that one particular aspect of my life is OUT OF LINE with true, good principles, that knowledge gives me something I can work on changing.

If I hadn't had that paradigm shift, I would never have even known that that particular thing was holding my happiness level below its potential.

So, if changing paradigms, becoming AWARE of your own paradigms (or "angles", as I've coined them), or simply being entertained sounds like something that you would enjoy, then join me here on my "Life Angles" Blog!

I have no other motive than to express myself, hopefully entertain you, and maybe cause you to do some good, old-fashioned introspection.

DISCLAIMER:

This blog post is only this long because it's my first one, and it delves into laying out the intended subjects of discussion for this blog.

There will undoubtedly be future posts that are simply random, just plain entertaining, or merely interesting. And some will contain my political views or my religious views.

I am aware that I as well as every other human being on this planet has life angles that need to be moved.

In my treatises on life in this blog, I will be talking about my current life angles, despite the fact that some of them will assuredly be out of line with correct principles.

I like to believe that a fair percentage of my angles on life are in good standing, though. :)

So if you choose to join me on this discovery of life, you're welcome to come along.

Hopefully some of my blog posts will serve as a catalyst for a little bit of those three words that I keep on mentioning over and over...

Pondering. Introspection. And Meditation.