The Last Year Before the End of the World…Let’s Change!!

For those of you who do believe the world is ending this year…

Every year I see the lists people spend time doing in making “resolutions” for the New Year.  Whether people write their resolutions  on facebook, twitter, their blog, etc…I did the exact same thing year in and year out, only now I don’t believe in resolutions.  Why? For the simple answer, I don’t believe there is such a thing.  Take a moment and try to follow my reasoning.  People make resolutions because they want to change what they didn’t do the past year, ie go to the gym more often, eat healthier, quit smoking, and what have you.  But the thing is, you don’t have to wait until the New Year to start on your goals.  Don’t let some random numbers dictate what you want to change in your life.

No matter how small of a change or goal you want to make in life, the most important is to act on it.  Take initiative, no matter how small that may seem at that moment.  We all set goals, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait for the new year to roll in and do something about it.  Personally, it really is all mental, so just because the calendar starts fresh for 2012 doesn’t mean you can’t set goals and make small changes within your life.  That’s why resolutions never work, it starts to fade after a month or two.  Instead, set weekly or monthly goals for yourself and keep yourself accountable for that.  Till next time!

Be Free

I’m back!  Well…let’s see this time how long of a hiatus I will have between posts.  A brief thought as I slowly count down the minutes until the end of class…  Isaac Slade describes the inspiration for this song as…

That song came out of a period of my life when I was trying hard to be open to whatever came my way. I traveled through South Africa and Rwanda with a buddy, and at first it was really hard to stay open in the face of so much pain and heartache. But then I ended up meeting so many cool and inspiring people, and all these ideas for lyrics and melodies just started rushing in.

Live free, be free, stay free.  Till next time!

Troubling Thoughts

It’s sad to when you think you undoubtedly know someone’s character and their morals, until you don’t.  The recent headlines have focused on Penn State and former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.  The allegations are disturbing (sexual abuse of 8 boys over 15 years), but the findings that that Joe Paterno knew of the allegations (not specifics he claims) and simply brushed it off to protect the university is disturbing.

Grand Jury Report

For those who’s followed this story closely or even read any articles, it’s amazing to me that this has been going on for so many years.  From every opportunity that SOMEONE could have put a stop to this, they chose to protect the University rather than doing what’s right.  It’s really disheartening to see a coach, who has preached doing the right thing and playing the game of football the “right way”, didn’t take any accountability or ownership when he was told of these allegations years ago.  Even more disturbing is that the President of the University looked the other way.  No attempt to contact the university police, no attempt to contact anyone….

Do we really live in a society now that is so power hungry and so egotistic that we disregard the lives of other human beings in order to protect the institution?  Since when does the reputation of a university take precedence over human lives?  If that’s the case, then I agree with ESPN analyst Matt Millen’s statement.  ”We as a society have failed.”

Don’t Judge too Quickly

Haven’t posted recently, but happened to stumble across this video a while back.  Good reminder for all of us not to judge too quickly.

The Loss of A Visionary

As I’m sure the whole world has heard by now, we lost a visionary early last week.  Steve Jobs, by my definition, has sculpted the technology world into what it is today.  Things that we did not think were possible is possible today because of him.  After listening to his commencement speech he gave at Stanford in 2005, it’s a good reminder of how fragile life really is.

Having a few days to really think about what impact he has made not only for myself but for the entire world, the biggest tribute we can give to Jobs is by living through his words.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.

Stay hungry.  Stay foolish.

Rest in piece Mr. Jobs.  You’re with the iClouds now…For the rest of us, it’s time to grab life in its fullest and to strive for the best we can achieve.

Racism in Sports

Recently, there’s been an increase in fan violence.  Most notably, everyone across the country has heard about the 49ers Raiders parking lot brawl.  And a couple months ago, a San Francisco Giants fan was brutally beaten so severely that he’s still in a coma today.  It’s really troubling for me personally (and I’m sure a lot of other people) that there really is no place for beating on fans just because they’re wearing a jersey from the opposite team.  To those who haven’t seen the video of the parking lot brawl, see below.

See, when watching that, it’s just plain stupid to start a fight because someone is wearing a different jersey.  Yes, I understand, as a big sports fan I’m well aware of the rivalry between the 49ers and Raiders.  However, it is a game and it is meant to stay on the field.  That’s it.  One thing I never really understood is why people act the way they do when it doesn’t directly affect them.  So what…your team lost.  That shouldn’t affect you and how you treat others.

So why did I title this “racism in sports”?  Think about it, fans are beating each other up because of the color of the jersey they are wearing.  Is that not racism?  Just how people used to judge others based on their skin color, we now judge other people based on the color of their jersey.  There’s enough suffering in this world today, we don’t need to add fan violence to the list.  Just my two cents…

Eyes

You and I
Could paint the sky together
As the world goes by
We’ll go on forever

Look into my eyes (eyes)
[3x]

Eyes are the windows to the soul
Look into me eyes
Eyes are the window

There is no surprise
Eyes, they cause love, it’s plain to see
Look into my eyes
Eye

Look into my eyes (eyes)
[4x]

Look into my eyes
[3x]

Truth is true
And time can love or leave it
This I know
We always keep it

Look into my eyes (eyes)
Eyes are the windows to the soul
Look into my eyes
Eyes are the window

There is no surprise
Eyes, they cause love, it’s plain to see
Look into my eyes
Eye

Look into my eyes
[6x]