Daring to Dream (Vision Setting)

It’s been a long time.

It’s been a long time since I cried. I mean a good, no holds barred cry.

It’s been a long time since I felt lost. Families do that for you.

It’s been a long time since I rolled dice hoping for a critical hit.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted to my own blog.

It’s been a long time, too long of a time, since I spent time with my friends. I miss you.

It’s been a long time since I spent time with my brothers, my sister, or my mom. I miss you.

But, with the regrets, I’ve also been happier than ever before. I turned the big Hawaii and it was the best birthday I’ve ever had. I didn’t achieve all of my goals, but I accomplished more than I thought I would. I also completed P90X…which I loved. Now if I can only get back to doing it again.

I’ve been working. Well, I’ve always been working, but now my job has gotten very busy. It’s great to feel needed. To be busy is a blessing. While my work has picked up, I’m still trying to keep in shape (the occasional work out, playing Tennis, and playing B’Ball). I’m writing a book (solo this time) and am about 4/5ths of the way done! I’m thoroughly enjoying our second time around as parents. With two rug rats that every day do something that makes us shake our heads in amazement, and slap our sides in laughter. Kids are great. They have to be. We keep having them.

Another effort I have had in the fire, but not cooking too well is a publishing company for Kids who want to become authors. The idea is to encourage young people to become authors – borne of my attempts to encourage my artist daughter. Check it out when you get a chance, www.k4kbooks.com. I’m looking for someone to help me push it into the light. It’s presently under a bushel basket because I’m focusing on that book I’m writing, and other endeavors, like my non-profit organization for the development of standards for performance measures. Feel free to check that out too if you’re interested in metrics or standards – Consortium for the Establishment of Information Technology Performance Standards. www.ceitps.org.

But that’s not what’s been taking up the majority of my time. Nope. Not even close. My latest endeavor is finding 10 people with visions which will change the world (for the better), and helping them succeed! I’ve dived head first into the murky pool of vision-setting. Murky because I had never tried to help an individual plan their future – although I had helped many organizations. I found out quickly that having a strategic plan is easy, but making it live, making it succeed is much harder. It requires more than an A+ personality. It requires a driving, guiding vision. A big honkin’ scary goal which galvanizes your life.

I’m lovin’ it.

To date, I’m working with non-profits, individuals, and board of directors.

I’m planning on changing my blog into a tool for communicating my ideas, beliefs and tips around Vision Setting. If you liked getting updates on my life, I’m sorry, because I’ll probably do much less of that and change this into a Vision Setting forum.

If you like my rants, thoughts, and ideas – you’ll still get a healthy dose of that – just focused around Vision Setting.

Let's Do The Time Warp Again!

It's been over a month since I posted! I've been hitting the snooze button over and over again on my reminder to post. I just didn't realize for how long! Time just slipped away. Amazing really. So here I am, finally getting to work again. My only excuse is the picture of Julia Roberts was sooo awesome, I didn't really want to replace it!

So, I'm less than three months from my birthday AND my deadline for the fifty things to accomplish. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with a rehash of them all...I'll save that for my birthday.

But since Jan, a lot has happened, all worth noting here.

1. Found a publisher for my book on Metrics (measures for improvement)
2. Have to get first three chapters done by the end of this month, and the rest done by November. Yup, less time to post on the blog (NOW I'll have a good excuse)
3. Started P90X on March 12th. I bought it, planned, got equipment together and then started it! I'm on the 4th week and lovin' what I'm getting out of it. It's basically like any set of exercise DVDs you can buy - but I'm lovin' it because it's my incentive to get in shape. Once I'm done, I'll do 90 days of One-A-Days (see previous post).
4. Found someone to help me finally finish my chess book (well, I have to focus on the Metrics book first...but, hey, I'll need a diversion occasionally).
5. Realized that all of the criticisms about the book I wrote with Alyssa - The Time Warp King, was from adults...not the target audience of young teens. All of the young teens that have read it "loved it." So why in the world was I planning massive changes to it? So, instead, I'm eliciting a few teens to read it and give me feedback. Based on that we'll see what we do next.
   
6. Alyssa and I agreed/thought it would be fun to make drawings for each chapter. An excuse to get back to doing art work.

So, here I am, excited and VERY busy. Work has me busy. The metrics book has my nights taken up, and P90X takes what-ever's left. Fun, fun, fun! Now if I can only get my eldest to have a sensible plan about his near-term future, life would be great. The best I can figure, he's planning on bumming around Europe with a pal, and once they run out of money, come back and be a bum on the west coast. Literally.

Hopefully something will break through and put some sense in his head. I can always pray.
So, since I'm looking for feedback and readership I'm thinking each week I'll post a chapter (give or take) of our book here. Perhaps you can read it and give me your thoughts. And at least tell me any ideas you may have for pictures/drawings for the chapters.

It's 15 chapters - if you count the Prologue and Epilogue as chapters. Hope you enjoy it!

Mind Control

So, a New Year is upon us! Over the holidays I watched Eat, Pray, and Love with my daughter (the 21 year old). Ok, so I watched it because it had Julia Roberts in it. Love her movies.

Well, I find that almost any book I read has at least one (usually at least 3) tidbit which resonates with me. Writers put pearls of personal wisdom, personal beliefs, and personal theory into their writing. I know, because I can’t stop from doing it when I write. It’s one of my major demarcation tools for a work of literature vs. a “piece of trash” when it comes to books. I find that most times this can also be applied to screen writers (those who take books or new ideas and create movies from them). Sometimes not.

Eat, Pray, and Love definitely had some of those tidbits.

One tidbit in particular hit home with me. I’ve been trying for years (I think it’s a natural part of our emotional and spiritual growth) to control my life. Control my emotions (see earlier posts on anger management), control my words (our words have power and can cause harm or joy), control my appetites, my wants, what I do, what I see, what I write, - basically to control myself.

Well, in Eat, Pray, and Love one character tells the central character that if she wants to get her life in order, she has to learn to control her thoughts!
This was not a new concept for me. But for whatever reason, the correct combination of experiences, time, and environment combined to make it “stick” this time.

Control my thoughts.

My biggest pain, comes from unwanted, uncontrolled thoughts.

I always thought that my biggest catalyst for sin was distraction. Distraction from God. Distraction from Good. Was I wrong? Perhaps not. But perhaps the worst distractions aren’t from outside, but born from within? Perhaps the biggest distractions are the thoughts which lead us astray.

Perhaps the Devil need not use video games, television, movies, radio, or books to distract us. For each of these which are “tools of the Devil” I think we can find an equal number (especially in books) which are tools for God. For every porn movie, we can find an Evan Almighty. For every evil we can find good. No, it is in our own impure thoughts that we breed our own sin.

Interesting. Control our thoughts.

I’m trying it. And to be honest, it works.

Now, I wonder if this is a sign of wisdom and growth or insanity. I would imagine those who are clinically delusional also practice strong control over their thoughts. To the point where they can ignore reality. Then again, the distance between insanity and genius is said to be very short.

Very short indeed.