"It's never too late to be who you might have been."

 --George Elliot

This quote hits a little personal for me. 

On October 12, 1993 I started working as a Corrections Officer inside the Warren County Jail in Lebanon Ohio.  I was quite successful at the career, achieving the rank of Corporal within 5 years, then the rank of Sergeant less than a year later, and ultimately the rank of Lieutenant 3 years after that.  I was planning on further promotions, eventually becoming the Jail Administrator (Warden) and planned on retiring after 30 years at the young age of 53 years old.  Well, the Lord had different plans for me; in June 2013, while working at my desk, I had what the doctors termed a "sudden onset stroke".  That was my last day of work in the Warren County Jail.

I went on sick leave and was employed with Warren County for a few more months while I recuperated.  However, in January 2014 I ran out of sick hours and had to make a decision.  I could have asked fellow employees to donate sick leave to me, and I am sure many would have as I always donated to others when they needed it.  However, morally, I could not do so as I knew the chances of me returning to the job were slim; I was still (and do to this day) get dizzy very easy.  So, I made the decision to leave the job I loved on January 30, 2014.

Now at this point I am a 43-year old man with an MBA in a career I can no longer do, I still have a mortgage, a car payment, 2 pre-teen girls, and other bills; what do I do?  I thought for sure it was "too late" to do anything productive.

Today, after a couple of years of trying some careers, I am finding success in the funeral industry.  I get to help people plan a funeral that they want, and make a decent living doing so.  In fact, this year, my first full year in this profession, I should make more than my highest year at the Sheriff's Office.

It is never too late!

"Most 'impossible' goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine".

- Don Lancaster

I remember an old saying, How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  That is the essence of this quote; don't focus on the huge ending, focus on the little steps that get you to the end.

I like to take my family to Disneyworld annually.  We make the long trip from just north of Cincinnati Ohio to Orlando Florida usually in the middle of the night (so my girls sleep through the trip).  Inevitably, I am the only one awake while driving.  If I focus on "600 miles to Orlando", I feel defeated.  Instead, I focus on "50 more miles to Tennessee", then maybe "100 miles to Atlanta", and so on.

It makes the long trip so much more manageable.

That is how we should be with any goal in our life.  I have an amount I want to make this year; it is a fairly large figure but I don't think of it that way.  I think of how many families I must help THIS MONTH to be on pace for the goal.  I have that amount written down, I believe I can achieve it, and I go about realizing the smaller tasks that will ultimately lead me to the higher goal.

Oh, and by the way, if you know me or have ever seen my size, you would know I have eaten an elephant or two in my life.

"This above all, to thine own self be true"

- William Shakespeare

As many of you know, I worked 20 years in a jail.  Often times I would see inmates who could not tell the truth, or would not tell the truth, if their life depended on it.  That was always disturbing.  But what was even more disturbing was the victims.

Often times, we would get a male inmate in for domestic violence, the female being the victim.  Before we could even get the inmate booked in, the female victim was their wanting to get him out of jail.  They would say things like "He didn't mean it", "I love him", or even "I deserved it".  Thankfully, most of the time, the domestic violence charge meant they were unable to bond out of jail until seen by the judge.

This saying says to be true to yourself.  Don't mislead yourself.  In the cases I described above, those victims were operating on pure emotion and often times were telling themselves a story that was not true; they were misleading themselves.

"A Journey of a Thousand Miles Must Begin With a Single Step"

- Lao Tzu

There is an old saying that says the first step is the hardest; how true that is.  Let me give you a biblical reference.

I have never taken a thousand mile journey, I don't even believe I have personally taken a thousand one mile journeys.  But I have taken journeys.  On our honeymoon, my wife and I climbed a mountain just outside of Gatlinburg Tennessee... that was a difficult journey but we did it and we were proud when we reached the top that we had completed that journey; and boy the view by the way.  But way back down that mountain, in that parking lot at the base, where we pulled that little Pontiac T1000 (glorified Chevrolet Chevette for those who don't remember this late 1980's car), we had to take a step and get out of the car - that first step.  It all hinged on us taking that first step.

I have been to many mountains in my life.  I have been to the Smoky Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, as well as mountains in Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and the Philippines.  But the only mountain I can honestly say I climbed was that mountain on August 23, 1990 outside of Gatlinburg Tennessee with my new bride.  What is the difference between all those mountain trips?  Simple, on August 23, 1990, I got out of the car and took a step, then another, then another, and then a whole bunch more - I took that first step.  All those other mountains, I didn't take that first step.

"Success comes in cans, failure in can'ts".

- Author unknown

I remember as a kid my grandpa reading me bedtime stories when I stayed at their house.  One I remember as a small kid was about the train engine trying to make it up the hill; you remember, where the train engine kept saying:

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can"

and then as he topped the hill, he started saying:

"I knew I could, I knew I could, I knew I could"

That is the essence of this quote, think you can and you will!  Think you can't, and you wont!

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right".

- Henry Ford

I quoted this to a friend just last week.  It has to do with your thinking, your thought process. 

Yesterday in church, my pastor was talking about living a good life and having the blessings of God on your life.  He stated that oftentimes we don't think we can do anything and therefore we don't do it, and God can't bless our inactions.  He made the statement that we must change our "stinking thinking", a term coined by the late Zig Zigler.

That is what this quote is about.  If we think we can do it, we will try and oftentimes achieve the goal we set out to do.  However, if we think we can't, we will not even try and no goal will be achieved.  There is actually a spiritual law at play here, the law of Reaping and Sowing.  If you sow good things, good things will happen; but if you sow bad things, bad things will happen.

You see, we are right either way.  Let's be right and do something; set a goal, believe you can achieve it, and go out and achieve it!

or not - the choice is yours.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

— Proverbs 29:18

My most favorite book in the world is God's book, the Bible.  Contained within the Bible are 66 separate books preserved by God for us.  One of the books, the book of Proverbs, contains 31 chapters of proverbs to help us in every aspect of life.

This proverb deals with goals - vision.  If you do not have a vision, a place you are going, a way to get there, and a means to get there; you will never get there.

Set a goal, a realistic goal; outline a plan; write it down; and achieve it.  Without the vision, you are doomed for failure.

The Mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.

The Mediocre teacher tells.  The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates.  The great teacher inspires.
- William Arthur Ward

We all should be teachers in everything we do.  Whether it be to our kids, to the new guy or girl at the office, to the next door neighbor, or even the stranger on the street; we all should try to teach something to others. 

But teaching is more than just "telling", or even more than "explaining", and even more than "demonstrating"; true teaching is inspiring someone to learn.  True teaching can change behavior in wayward individuals; it can make someone's day a little brighter; it can even make someone's life better.

Imagine seeing the cranky person today (we all know who they are).  Instead of avoiding that person because they bring you down, imagine when you meet them, giving them a smile and a true compliment.  Maybe, just maybe, it will brighten their day and they in turn will not be so cranky - that is true teaching - inspiring!

Three Simple Rules in Life

Today's saying caught my eye as it is so simplistic.  Due to its simplistic nature, I am not going to comment any further but, instead, let you think about it.  BUT, after you read it and think about it - GO DO IT!

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
-  Winston S. Churchill

Oh what a quote we have today!  Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England during World War II.  Credited with saving the United Kingdom from occupation by the Nazi's.  A man of great wisdom and even greater leadership.  When you think about the quote, it should resonate within you that you must keep on, keeping on!

Success is not final.  I think of one of the greatest (and dumbest) movies I ever saw, Napoleon Dynamite.  I remember the guy, I think it was his uncle, who was a high school football quarterback star.  There is a scene where he is reminiscing about throwing a game winning touchdown and he is explaining how the crowd was going wild and how he threw the ball to the receiver; you remember the scene, he acts out the throw and hits the kid in the side of the head while riding his bike.  Anyway, if you remember, this football star lives in a van down by the river and spends all day reminiscing about his success as a quarterback, achieving nothing in his present life.  Success is not final!  Each of us have achieved some success in our life, business, and family.  That success is temporary and we must start working toward the next success. 

Failure is not fatal.  This is the part of the quote that is most interesting.  Failure in Winston Churchill's day, against the Nazi's, very well could have been fatal.  Anyway, in our life, failure is rarely final.  Failure may hurt, it may cost you money, it may even knock you down for a bit, but it is not fatal.  You can recover and oftentimes arise to even greater success.  In this area I am reminded of a three minute video titled "Finish Strong" available to watch for free at the link provided below.  This video goes into the lives of some extraordinary people who failed and arose to success out of the failure.  I will not divulge the names of the individuals as I encourage you to take three minutes and watch the video (the last one I remember watching on television as it happened)!

Now we come to the last part of the quote, it is the courage to continue that counts.  This is what the video "Finish Strong" resonates in the lives of each of the individuals portrayed.  When you experience failure, pick yourself up and start again!

http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/finish-strong/

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

  “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

- President Theodore Roosevelt

26th President of the United States of America
Governor of the State of New York
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Rough Rider - San Juan Hill
City of New York Police Commissioner
Assistant United States Navy Secretary


This quote from Theodore Roosevelt is quite amazing when you look at what he accomplished during his life.  I listed several things he is known for; I did not list that he lost both his mother and wife on the same day (February 14, 1884), nor that he lost a son in Germany during World War I, nor that during his second bid for Presidency (which he lost to Woodrow Wilson) there was an assassination attempt on his life in which he was shot in the chest.  Even through all of these horrible life events, he achieved the goals I listed above, as well as many other achievements.

Now that you know a little more about the man who said, "do what you can, with what you have, where you are", I hope it resonates in you that your life does not need to be perfect, or even good, to be successful! 

The first part of this quote says "Do what you can".  That is not hard - don't do any more than you can, but don't do any less either.  Simply do what you can do!

"With what you have"; don't worry about not having abilities others have.  Don't worry about not being born with a "silver spoon in your mouth".  Just simply use what you have.  Every one of us are unique, God gave each and every one of us individual abilities, talents, and skills.  Use what you have!

"Where you are"; every one of us is in a different place (physically, mentally, emotionally, financially).  Bloom where you are!  Even if the grass looks greener in someone else's circumstances and you wish you were in their situation, remember Erma Bombeck wrote a book several years ago titled "The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank".  That other person's life may look better than yours, their situation may appear more desirable, they may even be more successful than you and making far more money than you do; but it may all be (you know what) just under the surface.

Today's spiritual application is to look at some of the men and women of the Bible who accomplished great things doing what they can (with God's help - who, by the way, says that you can do "ALL THINGS" through Christ), with what they had, where they were.

Moses - born into slavery, raised by royalty, fled for his life after murdering a man, lives on the backside of the desert for 40 years, who at the age of 80 confronted the most powerful man on the planet of their time and lead out an entire nation from slavery.

David - a runty shepherd boy who, in the presence of the warriors of his country who were quivering in their boots, took on a giant of a man and slew him with a child's toy and a smooth stone.

How about the Apostles - 11 men who watched as their leader was crucified, hidden away in a room because they knew they would be next, who litterally turned the world upside down before they died.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.
- Zig Ziglar

This quote is probably one of my all time favorites; in fact, it is the quote that got me interested in quotes.

A while back I heard a motivational speaker named Mark Leader speak at a real estate meeting I was at.  In reality, he did not say anything I had not heard before, he just said it a little different.  I thoroughly enjoyed his message and plan on attending a 3-day training seminar he is hosting in the future.

I asked several older agents what they thought; most said something like "He wasn't like all the other 'dog and pony' shows I've seen".  I realize there are a lot of motivational speakers, books, websites, blogs (this one included) and what not that one can have access to.  And it might even be overwhelming at times.  But, like Zig said here, it doesn't last forever.  In my case with Mark Leader, he said a couple things I already knew, but he "reminded" of it; that helped me.  You see, when I went through the previous training and was motivated, it didn't last. I needed it again. 

Zig compares it to bathing.  I worked 20-years in a jail, I dealt with people who did not take regular baths / showers.  Oh they may have taken a bath last week, but, TRUST ME, it didn't last, they needed another one! 

I write this daily quote blog for this exact reason.  To give everyone a little shot in the arm every day!

"Man Cannot Discover New Oceans Unless He Has the Courage to Lose Sight of the Shore."

"Man Cannot Discover New Oceans Unless He Has the Courage to Lose Sight of the Shore."
-Andre Gide

By staying close to the shore, the safety area per se, you will never attain a lofty goal.  Set a goal, a high goal, and go after it!  Don't stay in the "safe area", get out of your "comfort zone" and strive for something worth attaining!  Go discover that "new ocean".

Spiritually speaking, the Word of God tells us in Hebrews 10 that we are to "live by faith".  Most of us live by sight instead.  I am a tithing individual; I give at least 10% of our gross income to my church and missions projects throughout the United States and the world.  Traditionally, I would look at what I made in any given week, figure 10%, round up, and tithe.  On the outside there is nothing wrong with that.  In fact, if you tithe like that, GOOD JOB!  However, recently I was convicted about living by faith and not by sight.  You see, when I tithe on what I made, that is sight - I can see what I made and am tithing on that sight.  Recently I started tithing by faith.  I have an annual income I want to make this year.  I tithe on that number; strictly by faith that God will open doors for me to achieve that number.  That is loosing sight of the shore and discovering new oceans!