What A Wonderful World

        I have to admit I have been having a pretty tough time lately. I've been frustrated with this nagging tendonitis in my biceps femoris tendon, an overuse injury probably from biking. Mentally I am so motivated to keep up my training, but physically I am incapable of doing so. As a result, this has given me much sadness and frustration because I cannot do two of the things I am so passionate about: biking and running.
       I walked into my music class today, which is the one class I have where I don't have to constantly overload my brain with engineering material. I started to feel sorry for myself today, until Professor Corbus played "What A Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong. This is probably the highlight of my day. What this taught me is to find joy in the small things. Even if you feel that everything is going wrong; you are having a bad day or even a bad week. If you find some joy in the small things it can really lift your spirits.

                                                         "What A Wonderful World"
                                                                   Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom,
for me and you.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying,
"I love you".

I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more,
Than I'll ever know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Yes, I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Oh yeah.

Small Tasks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rkEOdnWh-c

Here is a video that Coach Mike Ricci shared with the CU Triathlon Team. This video really struck a chord in me. Success is not based solely off of one drastic event, performance, or win. Success is composed of many small tasks. Success takes consistent effort. That means every day you dedicate yourself to achieving your next goal, but you enjoy the challenge of doing so. Success is taken one step at a time. Success is made of small goals. Success is mental. It's who wants it the most that prevails.It's who is willing to hurt the most. It's who goes out and trains on their own when no one is watching. Success is a quiet process, where you find love in the simple tasks each day. Success is a journey, and you've got to enjoy the process and accept whatever challenges might fall in front of you. For me I don't call "success" the result of winning a race or beating a competitor. Success is personal fulfillment for me. Success is inspiration. I feel inspired, therefore I feel successful. This is what motivates me every day. What is your motivation? 

"If you got a talent and you got a gift and you wanna do respect to that gift by cultivating it. Then you make a decision to cultivate it. And you make a decision to do what you need to do to push that out there. Success is like a quiet daily set of tasks. Real small, real real small. It's like that quiet walk to the gym, like footsteps, some empty ass gym late at night. Success for me is like watching my videos of my speaking and seeing were I can work on it, over and over and over. Or as I sit there studying other great people and then comparing it with what I'm doing and looking at, over and over and over. It's very quiet. You gotta just be consistent. You gotta have that consistent thing. And you gotta cultivate a love for the process. You gotta love the process. And you gotta make a decision to love the process. The question though is about motivation. Motivation is an art. And to get the motivation to play at that level with the big boys, you go deep. Are you getting that sense? You go deep. Now when you're hearing all this stuff I'm saying, did I come up with that over night? No. That's from decades of motivation. And I can talk longer. I can talk all day about where it comes from. I can talk about my belief about the world, where I think the world is going. I can talk about the fact that I have an internal locus of control and believe that I can create the circumstances that I want and I don't believe that I have no affect. And these are all things that have crossed my mind from years and years and years of having to do little, menial tasks, from having to take huge risks, from having to be broke and suffer, from having to be humiliated 'cause no one wants you to succeed. So if you have a dream, if you have a dream, okay, and it's worth it to you, because you're some one who is inspired by that dream, you can choose to go to that level." - Owen Cook 

Our Deepest Fear

I am certain that most people who have seen the movie "Coach Carter" have heard this quote before. I have not seen the movie, however, this quote deeply inspired me the first time I read it. I have it up on my wall and in my bathroom. Whenever I question my purpose in life, I recall this quote and it inspires me to be something great. I think everyone can relate to this feeling of being small or "unworthy" of success. This poem by Marianne Williamson may change your perspective on who you are and what you mean to Planet Earth. We are all worthy of succeeding and finding happiness in whatever we do.

Our Deepest Fear
By Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Rachel's Challenge

This is a short message I display today, however, it is a powerful message from Rachel's Challenge. These are the FIVE challenges from Craig Scott, Rachel's brother, in how you too can accept Rachel's Challenge. They are simple, yet powerful...
You can watch Craig's speech to hear this in his own words. This will change your life...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mOJTELyzrg&feature=player_embedded#!

1. Choose positive influences
2. Dream big
3. Speak with kindness
4. Look for the best in others
5. Start your chain reaction

Dare to Be Different

This is something I read on Dare to Be Different. Make a change. Do something.


We all have the potential to inspire, motivate, change lives, feed the hungry, break down walls, do the impossible… We all have the power to have a huge impact on those around us, whether that be on a local level or worldwide. Never think you are too small, or too insignificant… you aren’t!

Go out today and think about this quote… find opportunities to make a difference… help an elderly person cross the street, deliver flowers to a hospital, just smile at a child…. do something!

I think you will find this most rewarding. Try to do something to make a difference every day. Start with one positive action each day… soon you’ll be addicted and it will be a very worthwhile, lifelong habit.-Dare to be different