Archive for the ‘focus’ Category

Best quotes of the week

Posted: December 22, 2012 in advice/how to, change, focus, life hack, overcoming obstacles, personal development, quotes
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I love quotes. Quotes are a treasure to be mined and the nectar of a well thought life. Quotes can change your perspective, turn the lights on, and affirm what you already knew but couldn’t quite put into words. In other words quotes can change your life.
As a discipline I file away quotes and illustrations that I find add value to my life and the goals that I am reaching. Here are five that made the cut for this week:

“The thing is, that everything was impossible until somebody did it.” – Scott Dinsmore

“It is no easy thing to rest while millions still bear the burden of poverty & insecurity”-Nelson Mandela

“You already know more about good than you currently practice…don’t try to gain more knowledge before you practice what you already see”-Fenelon

“We dishonor the image of God in diverse people when we require them to assimilate to the dominant culture in our church.”-Christena Cleveland

“We do know that no person can be saved except through Christ. We do not know that only those who know him can be saved by him”-C.S. Lewis

So those are my top 5 for the week. What are your favorite quotes?

Five lessons I learned writing the first draft of His Story, Our Story

Posted: November 29, 2012 in art, focus, goals, inspiration, life hack, overcoming obstacles, personal
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It has been a very exciting journey to go from a random thought in my mind to actually pursuing writing an ebook called His Story, Our Story I am on a very steep learning curve and still am learning about marketing and all the business/technical aspects of writing. In the process of going from idea to reality and writing my first draft I have learned many lessons here are five of them:

All it takes is a page a day

Writing a book of any size can be daunting. I have always put it off because I was afraid I wouldn’t finish or I would end up writing until I was an AARP member. I intentionally started with a small ebook because of this challenge but I learned a secret. You can do a lot if you just write a page a day. If you write a page a day you can at least have 30 pages in a month, 90 pages in 3 months, and 180 pages in six months. On and on it goes until…Voila you have something to publish. Just start with one page a day and usually you actually write more than that. There’s something about that bare minimum that leave no room for failure and unlimited potential to write your heart out.

Write and then revise

Not only is one page a day doable but one crappy page a day is doable. I think these words should be posted on every author’s walls: Write and then revise. I got so much momentum going by just sitting in front of the computer and typing away. Some of it was horrible. Well guess what? Now in the editing stages what was considered horrible has now been revised into something readable.

Make this your life

You have to focus. This is where the rubber hits the road and separates the men from the boys and the dreamers from the doers. Throughout the time writing my first draft I was distracted by numerous things. Some of them good. Some of them not so good. All of them keeping me from my best. So here’s how I eliminated the distractions. I woke up not to go to work or to take care of all the other things that I had to do. I woke up to do what I wanted to do: write. I had my laptop set up so before I left the house I wrote. I made it my life.

Involve others in the early stages

The one thing that changed the game for me was letting people know what I was doing. Good old fashioned pride took care of the rest. It started with my wife. Then a couple of close friends. Then I let social media do its thing and then I had an obligation. Not only to myself but to the people who wanted to see me succeed. That’s some powerful motivation

Save your work

Here is the big lesson that I am learning now as I am putting the finishing touches on everything. While revising chapters I realized that some pages and paragraphs were missing. I was sure that I wrote them. What happened? I forgot to press save. Save your work is my next most important mantra. If I would have saved my work I wouldn’t have to go and remember what I actually wrote or come up with something new. Wasted time.

So those are my five lessons. What are some lessons you have learned in the writing process? Do you have any mantras or guidelines that keep you focused and creatively pursuing your art?

No resolutions for 2012

Posted: December 28, 2011 in advice/how to, focus, goals, life hack, overcoming obstacles, personal development
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It’s funny how comments from strangers can make you think. You know the random comments. The comments that stick with you even days later because underneath what is so random is a kernel of truth. The other day just before leaving the gym one of the regulars asked me if I was “puttin in work.” I immediately answered that I just did. I felt good about my workout and the fact that I was following through with my goal of getting in better shape (soon I will post on what that looks like). What really stood out to me was his reply: Make sure it lasts after Christmas. When he said it I was struck with the fact that this goal of getting in shape was not made for the New Year. It was made in October during our time at the Vineyard Pastor’s Sabbatical Retreat. It was made not just for the New Year but for a new life.

I think sometimes talk of new year’s resolutions gets old because it is based on the year and not based on our lives. It is a resolution that ultimately fails because it is time bound and not life bound. Think about it. We resolve to lose weight and eat healthier every year. We buy bran muffins and asparagus. We get gym memberships and new workout clothes but by February and sometimes the second week of January we are back to supersizin it on a regular basis. Why? It is because our desired change is based on New Year’s resolutions and not New Life decisions.

I do not have any resolutions for 2012. I am already full speed ahead with my goals for life:

  • I have started my workout plan
  • I have already begun to write my book and am about to finish the first chapter in a few days.

I am making progress because these things come from a place deep inside of me and not from an external clock or ritualized calendar. They are simply what I want and I have decided to go after them. So no resolutions for me in 2012. Just a continuing of putting my hand to the plow and not looking back.

Instead of focusing on resolutions this year Here’s a better way to see change happen in your life:

  • Sit down with a paper and pen
  • Take some space and time to let some of your deepest desires surface.
  • Write down the one that is most important right now
  • Whatever that thing is pursue it with all your might.

That’s what is driving me and motivating me to go to the gym in rain and snow. I love this method because it makes the change about you and what you really want and not some moralistic guilt ridden promise that you made to yourself simply because the earth moved around the sun one more time! So no resolutions in 2012 for me. Just some awesome life decisions.

Start Here!

Posted: November 19, 2011 in about, focus, life hack, personal, sabbath, Uncategorized
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Some things are pretty obvious. If u see a blog titled “Writer’s Block” you would probably guess it’s about writing or a writer trying to get over her writer’s block. If u see a blog entitled “Hip Hop News” you expect to see news about Hip Hop. And if u see a blog entitled “Mama’s Musings” you expect to hear about a mother’s thoughts on motherhood and life. Well my blog is named after me but it is about more than just me. It is about my journey. See for the past eight to ten years I have taken a hiatus. A hiatus from living authentically as me.

See I have been an impostor for a long time. Not the kind of impostor with sinister motives to topple down governments but pure motives. I was an impostor for others. An impostor who had sincere motives of serving others; of serving God. The past two years have been very revealing and have helped to shed that false mask. I have seen a church that I love become a church that I don’t love and eventually go from declining to death. All the while I have noticed that not only was it the church that I didn’t love but I also didn’t love the person I had become.

So now I am back from hiatus and undertaking a  journey into becoming a better person. It is the journey of a pastor who has preached about living an abundant life-a better quality of life-but has not fully experienced that. See I believe true authentic spirituality is supposed to encompass more than just religious observances but it is supposed to show you how to live 24/7. It is designed point the way to a better quality of life in all areas that you touch-work, relationships, recreation etc. So this blog will chronicle my journey in becoming a better person; a better me; as I seek a better quality of life.