A Stop-and-Go Race

Have you ever started doing something that you love to do and then stopped? Maybe for you, it was an idea that came to mind, one of which you felt very strongly and passionate about, yet you never got started.
NASCAR's first race of the season lasted nearly six-and-a-half hours. It was the Daytona 500 also referred to as "The Great American Race", the race features 43 of the best stock car drivers in the Country. During the 2010 race it started as planned, but it came to an abrupt halt when the weather became adverse. As a result they stopped the race. Eventually they restarted and finished the race.
For me it was this very Blog and the Business idea that correlates with it. So if it was my passion, why did I stop? To be honest I stopped because of discouragement. When I started the Blog based off of my business idea, I was hoping for an overwhelming response, especially from my family. I was yearning for their approval and praise however, I did not get that. As a result I began to ask myself, "What's the use?"
The use is that it is your idea, and I for one think it is brilliant. See for me discouragement came by thinking about what everyone else thought about my idea. Where does your discouragement come from?
What can we do to overcome this discouragement? Well just like the race mentioned above, we need to be able to overcome the storms of our lives, and race full speed ahead for that brilliant finish.

Recommended Reading:  See You at the Finish Line

You’re Not Good Enough

    Have you ever been the victim of this statement before? Sadly enough, chances are that in today's society you have been. Doesn't it hurt? I believe that it does. Yet I never did anything about it, instead I began rationalizing and finally agreed with statement saying, "You know what? You are probably right."

    Whatever happened to dreams anyway? No, I am not talking about the dreams you had while you were sleeping I am talking about the dreams you had as a kid. The dreams you got excited about and felt passion for. For many the dreams faded away as we began accepting the fact that we just were not good enough, for others they were forced to forget about their dream and were instead told to "Grow Up". When did having a dream become kid stuff? And, when did adults began saying that they were too "old" to have dreams?    This occurs because as a society we have accepted the myth that we were not good enough, and as a result we gave up on our dream. We gave up on our dream and we are teaching future generations to do the same thing. So how do we fix it? We can start by realizing that we are good enough and finish by soing something about it.

     Let me share a story with you about a teenage boy who never gave up on his dreams, when he was told he was not good enough. The setting of the story takes place at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was the boy's sophomore year in High School and he was trying out for the basketball team. He had worked so hard at his game only to find out that he was "not good enough" to be on the team. However this did not stop him. Not only did he make the team next year, he went onto make the game winning shot in the NCAA Finals in 1982, and was drafted into the NBA in 1985. He went on to win 10 scoring titles, 5 MVP awards, and also lead his team to 6 NBA Championships. In 2009, he received the call that he would be inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame. Did anybody guess who this teenage boy was? If you guessed Michael Jordan, you were right. Not bad for someone who was told he wasn't good enough, right?

    You too can enjoy success but you first must realize that you are good enough. You are not junk nor, does God make junk! Now before you right me off as "too religious" because I said that God does not make junk, please hear me out. In Jeremiah 29:11 of the Bible it says "For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God had a plan and a purpose for us before we were even thought of by anyone else. His plan for us is that we prosper, and he wants to give all of us hope and a future. Not a future of mediocrity (limited ability, achievement, or performance), but rather a future of prosperity.

    You are good enough! You don't have to settle for mediocrity, and you do not have to give up on your dreams. It does not matter if your 5 or 110, you have a purpose and I want to encourage you to find that purpose. Dig deep and try to rediscover what your dreams were and what you felt passionate about and then go after it.

   In closing I would like to share a quote with you that came from Michael Jordan he said, "Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen; others make it happen." I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence Which person will you be? Will you be the one who wishes it will happen? Or the one who makes it happen?