Month: October 2003

The Power of Choice (And why you must choose….)

In each person there lies a powerful gift that is arguably the most powerful of all to be bestowed upon us. That is the Power of Choice. Said another way, each of us has been given the luxury to make decisions in all that we do. Where we stand today is merely nothing more than the summation of all of the decisions that we have made prior to that moment.

It’s pretty easy to identify those who have made a majority of poor decisions and good decisions but many people fall right in the middle of the spectrum. We’ve all made decisions that we could be proud of and others we’d soon enough forget the moment we get done dealing with the consequences….

Although we all inherit this wonderful blessing, many people are inept to handle it and the responisibity that comes with it. They misunderstand its utmost authority over our lives by touting things they HAVE to do rather than respecting they are only required to choose. In that choice lies the power to everything or nothing at all. Those who believe in God say “he has a plan” for each and everyone of us. I believe one must think about this carefully as it relates to your ability to choose. I would say that God has an infinite number of plans for each of us. When plan we end up implementing is again, based on the decisions we make each moment – including the decision to spend time reading these thoughts….

Decisions form the foundation of some of the simpliest aspects of our life. Take time for example. Most people speak of having or not having time to do things throughout the course of a day. Time however is not something that anyone has more or less of. Time is only a perspective rooted in our decisions. What time allows for one to accomplish throughout a day rests in decisions, not a container of an intangible concept.

I simply lay out all of this as a prelude to guiding thought when it comes to the realisation of what happens when we FAIL to make decisions. I’m sure everyone at some point has gotten stuck at the fork in the road faced with multiple roads and a singular decision to make. It is at this point we run the risk of entering into a non-productive state of being. When one fails to make decision he fails to move forward to the next decision. This indecisiveness often stems from a fear of not what lies beyond not the fork in the road, but rather the decison itself. “Is it the best decision?” If you minimize your power of choice you fail to realize that your perfectly entitled to make another decision after the previous one. And so we sit idle, torturing ourselves losing valuable time with each passing moment to reap the reward, or consequences, of our decisions. And so an undecisive man is a non-productive one. Those who master the art of evaluating decisions for a reasonable amount of time and then moving swiftly transform into the movers and shakers of the world. While those undecided stand on the sidelines of life still debating on whether to come out and play.

Utilizing one’s power of choice can take you down an undesired path, but that same power will allow you create a new fork in the road on demand upon which you may make another choice. Our gift is the Power of Choice, and our sole requirement is to use it while respecting the consequences of doing so or NOT doing so. When at an undesired point in life, we all must remind ourselves that we can start deciding to be somewhere else right that very moment. We can choose to believe in ourselves – RIGHT NOW. We can choose to be loving and humane – RIGHT NOW. We can choose to be the best of the best – RIGHT NOW. WE CAN CHOOSE ANYTHING WE WANT RIGHT NOW, NOT TOMORROW, NOT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE, NOT NEXT WEEK – RIGHT NOW! You wield the Power of Choice and so you must decide…… Be swift, Be Productive, and Be Decisive…..

The Power of Choice (And why you must choose….)

In each person there lies a powerful gift that is arguably the most powerful of all to be bestowed upon us. That is the Power of Choice. Said another way, each of us has been given the luxury to make decisions in all that we do. Where we stand today is merely nothing more than the summation of all of the decisions that we have made prior to that moment.

It’s pretty easy to identify those who have made a majority of poor decisions and good decisions but many people fall right in the middle of the spectrum. We’ve all made decisions that we could be proud of and others we’d soon enough forget the moment we get done dealing with the consequences….

Although we all inherit this wonderful blessing, many people are inept to handle it and the responisibity that comes with it. They misunderstand its utmost authority over our lives by touting things they HAVE to do rather than respecting they are only required to choose. In that choice lies the power to everything or nothing at all. Those who believe in God say “he has a plan” for each and everyone of us. I believe one must think about this carefully as it relates to your ability to choose. I would say that God has an infinite number of plans for each of us. When plan we end up implementing is again, based on the decisions we make each moment – including the decision to spend time reading these thoughts….

Decisions form the foundation of some of the simpliest aspects of our life. Take time for example. Most people speak of having or not having time to do things throughout the course of a day. Time however is not something that anyone has more or less of. Time is only a perspective rooted in our decisions. What time allows for one to accomplish throughout a day rests in decisions, not a container of an intangible concept.

I simply lay out all of this as a prelude to guiding thought when it comes to the realisation of what happens when we FAIL to make decisions. I’m sure everyone at some point has gotten stuck at the fork in the road faced with multiple roads and a singular decision to make. It is at this point we run the risk of entering into a non-productive state of being. When one fails to make decision he fails to move forward to the next decision. This indecisiveness often stems from a fear of not what lies beyond not the fork in the road, but rather the decison itself. “Is it the best decision?” If you minimize your power of choice you fail to realize that your perfectly entitled to make another decision after the previous one. And so we sit idle, torturing ourselves losing valuable time with each passing moment to reap the reward, or consequences, of our decisions. And so an undecisive man is a non-productive one. Those who master the art of evaluating decisions for a reasonable amount of time and then moving swiftly transform into the movers and shakers of the world. While those undecided stand on the sidelines of life still debating on whether to come out and play.

Utilizing one’s power of choice can take you down an undesired path, but that same power will allow you create a new fork in the road on demand upon which you may make another choice. Our gift is the Power of Choice, and our sole requirement is to use it while respecting the consequences of doing so or NOT doing so. When at an undesired point in life, we all must remind ourselves that we can start deciding to be somewhere else right that very moment. We can choose to believe in ourselves – RIGHT NOW. We can choose to be loving and humane – RIGHT NOW. We can choose to be the best of the best – RIGHT NOW. WE CAN CHOOSE ANYTHING WE WANT RIGHT NOW, NOT TOMORROW, NOT ON NEW YEAR’S EVE, NOT NEXT WEEK – RIGHT NOW! You wield the Power of Choice and so you must decide…… Be swift, Be Productive, and Be Decisive…..

Reality, Truth, Fact, Fiction….

In recent memory, I’ve had quite a few lengthy conversations regarding realities and truths. Many people believe they know what the “truth” is, what’s “real” and what isn’t. Generally what I humbly submit to these people is that what is true and what is real doesn’t automatically mean its a fact, or it is what it is. It could very well be fiction. I only say this because these things all lie on the foundation of the “belief” of the individual. What is one’s reality and what is true for an individual all depends on what that person “believes”.

Reality can be defined as simply “an agreement” within ourselves about something we believe. What we believe is what each of us considers true. Two or more people can only share the same reality if and only if they can all reach the same agreement – therefore a disagreement is not only a differing in belief about something, but also a unshared reality. Think of all of the things that there isn’t a common reality regarding – the war in Iraq, what happened with Kobe, whether the Rams will win the Superbowl, or if there is a God. Look around you and where you find two people who don’t get along you’ll find two people who disagree, who believe two different things, who differ in reality.

Its really simple. Person A looks at the box that displays HBO in your room and says “this is a tv”. Person B looks at the same thing and says “no – it’s an elephant!”. One believes that the object is a TV while the other believes that it is an elephant. What is the truth/fact/reality? Well – it is only what YOU believe it to be…. If you really believe it to be an elephant (as crazy as it might sound), than an elephant it shall be to you as a fact and as your reality. It will remain such until your belief is modified, not the object. Even to the outsider looking in saying “that’s stupid – it is obviously a tv” – the only thing obvious is what you believe, or should I say, what your reality is.

So my reality is what I agree upon, the truth rests in what I believe and shapes my reality, and fact or fiction is only a byproduct of the prior mentioned. I think this a pretty powerful concept and far-reaching because its a type of understanding that allows us to respect each other as inviduals with unique beliefs. Why do people of different religions often bicker and fight with others of different religions while touting their official book of the word? Because they don’t share a reality. Someone has to be right and and the other wrong…. In each individual’s eyes, the truth is being told and there is only one truth. “How dare you deny the truth?” they might be thinking in their head.

So with all that said, I know that I believe many different things and have my own unique reality. I believe all things are possible through Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe my destiny is great. I believe love conquers all challenges – time, distance, fear, and trust. So these things are a part of my overall reality and responsible for the kind of life I live. When I think of the things i accomplished in my life that were within my control, they were all things I believed I could do. I started an athelete, then a drummer, and became an engineer all through belief that I simply could. We fail the very second our belief does…

If you want to be successful, you’ve got believe that you can be and you must know when you’ve reached the point where you can agree that you are successful.
If you want to be loved, you must be believe that you are worthy of it and agree that you have received that blessing. And so on….. And so on….. A man who changes what he thinks and believes easily changes his reality.

So what is your truth, reality, fact, or fiction?

Music That Will Help Me Make It Through Today:

Ludacris – “Act A Fool” from the 2 Fast 2 Furious Soundtrack
Pastor Troy – “We Ready” (Ain’t no playin GA)
Cristian Castro – “Lo mejor de mi”
Snoop Dogg – “Beautiful”
Murphy Lee – “What the hook gon be”
Justin Timberlake – “Rock Your Body”
Young Guns – “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop”
Kem – “This Place”
Jermaine Dupri – “Welcome to Atlanta” (Remix featuring Snoop Dogg, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee)
DLG – “No Morira” (Remix)
Lords of Acid – “Hey Ho!”
Joe Budden – “Pump It Up”
Avant – “Separated”
Fabolous – “Into You” (featuring Ashanti)
Four Play – “Let’s Make Love”
Four Play – “Wish You Were Here”