Greetings Happy People,
Ever since my barrier broke two years ago, I found many ways to rediscover my own personal renaissance. Whether it is by Toastmasters, reuniting with fellow Gaels, creating wonderful relationships, taking advantages of new opportunities, or just having fun, my life has taken an amazing turn!! It is an awesome feeling and I am looking forward to more good fortunes in the future!!
To ensure a deeper exploration of my renaissance, I read motivational and inspirational books. When it comes to these types of books, they leave the reader thinking that anything is possible with faith, hope, and positive thinking!! Some stories involved major turnarounds while others offer power messages. No matter how you slice it, you can never go negative by reading something positive!!
When it comes to powerful and motivational messages, there are three books that I strongly recommend to you happy people!! All three are written by amazing, dynamic women.
The first book I recommend is titled “The Power of the Platform – Speakers on Success.” This book, created by Robin Jay, is a culmination of amazing stories given by amazing speakers. In this book, you have the likes of Jack Canfield, Les Brown, Stormie Andrews, Angelique Daniels, and Charli Douglass giving words of wisdom through their own personal experiences. Each message is powerful, uplifting, and just downright amazing!! For more information on this book, please go to the Las Vegas Convention Speakers Bureau website (http://www.LVCSB.com).
The second book I recommend is “Heart of a Military Woman.” This book, created by Sheryl Roush & Eldonna Lewis Fernandez, is a culmination of stories about women and their experiences in the U.S. Military. The stories from these women are amazing. By the time you finish reading the stories in this book, you will be able to find your power and appreciation for those that serve our nation proudly!! For more information on this book, please go to The Heart Book Series website (http://www.heartbookseries.com).
The third book I recommend is “Life Choices – Navigating Difficult Paths.” This book, created by Judi Moreo, is about the stories of people overcoming different obstacles in life. You have some stories that involve people at their lowest point. You also have others that offer simple messages from powerful stories. From this book, you will hear inspirational stories from dynamic presenters like Judi Moreo, Aimmee Koudachian, Elle Swan, Jesse Ferrell, Deborah Clark, and many more!! You will laugh, you will cry, you will be amazed!! Heck!! You may hear something about Toastmasters!! For more information on this book, please go to the following website (http://www.lifechoicesbook.com).
These are the three motivational books that I recommend for you happy people. Please feel free to check them out!! If it is good for me, it will also be good for you too!! Just take the time out and ready the stories from these authors. It is simply amazing!!
That is all I have for you right now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention!!
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
Monday, March 15, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Behind the Front
Greetings Happy People,
One Saturday evening, I was with a few friends at a Dueling Piano bar in the Paris Hotel and Casino. We were having a great time, singing songs that took us back to when music was good. With the laughter, frivolity, and good times we were having, I saw something that made me say “DAMN!!” And it is not in a good way.
A woman was walking in front of the window, which was located right behind the piano players. This girl thought she was hot and “all that.” She was wearing a nice purple size 2 dress. The only problem with this picture was the fact that she had a size 12 body!! YIKES!! I may not be a fashion designer, but what she was wearing was wrong on so many levels. That dress rode up her body the same way Teddy Roosevelt rode up San Juan Hill. It took many hours to erase that hot mess vision from my mind.
That story reminded me of my older sister and ex-brother in law Andre. No she does not wear any mess like that - THANK GOODNESS. However, you can guess where I am going with the logic. When they were moving from Virginia to Las Vegas, my sister and her husband were bragging to my mom about the new car they bought. “Yes Mom!!” my sister shouted, “Andre and I just bought a brand new Mercedes-Benz!!” As my mom was getting excited about the car, my dad and I knew something was up. Call me crazy, but I think the Oakley men have something in their minds known as a “B.S. detector.” Whenever something smells funny, the detectors in our minds go off like an alarm.
As soon as my sister and Andre moved back from Virginia, they were sporting their brand new car. When I looked at the car, it looked like a Mercedes-Benz alright…a Mercedes HAS-Benz. The car was leaking buckets of oil, the fender and bumpers were messed up, rusty spots were easily seen on the car, and it had so many miles on it that one would swear that this jalopy went to the moon and back!! My mother had an indescribable look on her face while my dad and I had an “I told you so” smirk.
What do these two stories have in common? Well, the girl in the short dress, my sister, and her husband can be considered “fronters.” What does that word mean? Well, a fronter means that one would put on a front to make themselves look good…only to hide the bad from within. No matter where we go, we see these fronters in action. They can be found on rap videos, the news, at church, the mall, talk shows, and many other places. The only people these fronters are fooling are themselves. If people are smart, they can read behind the ruse of a fronter to know what they really are.
Instead of being a fronter, why doesn’t one become real with themselves? It is always better to be something you are than something you are not!! When a person is real, they do not have to put up any kind of front. Instead, people can see them for who they are front the beginning. People can respect that!!
The next time you come upon someone that like to front, don’t listen to the words they would like to sell you. Instead, take the time to see the person in action. Are they really backing the words that come from their mouths? Are they really true to what they are? One can only know.
That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
One Saturday evening, I was with a few friends at a Dueling Piano bar in the Paris Hotel and Casino. We were having a great time, singing songs that took us back to when music was good. With the laughter, frivolity, and good times we were having, I saw something that made me say “DAMN!!” And it is not in a good way.
A woman was walking in front of the window, which was located right behind the piano players. This girl thought she was hot and “all that.” She was wearing a nice purple size 2 dress. The only problem with this picture was the fact that she had a size 12 body!! YIKES!! I may not be a fashion designer, but what she was wearing was wrong on so many levels. That dress rode up her body the same way Teddy Roosevelt rode up San Juan Hill. It took many hours to erase that hot mess vision from my mind.
That story reminded me of my older sister and ex-brother in law Andre. No she does not wear any mess like that - THANK GOODNESS. However, you can guess where I am going with the logic. When they were moving from Virginia to Las Vegas, my sister and her husband were bragging to my mom about the new car they bought. “Yes Mom!!” my sister shouted, “Andre and I just bought a brand new Mercedes-Benz!!” As my mom was getting excited about the car, my dad and I knew something was up. Call me crazy, but I think the Oakley men have something in their minds known as a “B.S. detector.” Whenever something smells funny, the detectors in our minds go off like an alarm.
As soon as my sister and Andre moved back from Virginia, they were sporting their brand new car. When I looked at the car, it looked like a Mercedes-Benz alright…a Mercedes HAS-Benz. The car was leaking buckets of oil, the fender and bumpers were messed up, rusty spots were easily seen on the car, and it had so many miles on it that one would swear that this jalopy went to the moon and back!! My mother had an indescribable look on her face while my dad and I had an “I told you so” smirk.
What do these two stories have in common? Well, the girl in the short dress, my sister, and her husband can be considered “fronters.” What does that word mean? Well, a fronter means that one would put on a front to make themselves look good…only to hide the bad from within. No matter where we go, we see these fronters in action. They can be found on rap videos, the news, at church, the mall, talk shows, and many other places. The only people these fronters are fooling are themselves. If people are smart, they can read behind the ruse of a fronter to know what they really are.
Instead of being a fronter, why doesn’t one become real with themselves? It is always better to be something you are than something you are not!! When a person is real, they do not have to put up any kind of front. Instead, people can see them for who they are front the beginning. People can respect that!!
The next time you come upon someone that like to front, don’t listen to the words they would like to sell you. Instead, take the time to see the person in action. Are they really backing the words that come from their mouths? Are they really true to what they are? One can only know.
That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Casting Stones
Greetings Happy People,
I just received an interesting phone call today. It was from a person who loves to gossip. In the middle of my work, she called me to talk about another person’s sexuality. Throughout this phone call, I asked myself “Why am I listening to this?” Within a few seconds of the call I did this best thing I can do, hang up!!
Apparently this gossiper loves to cast stones. Unfortunately, the house she lives in is made of glass. So you can guess the windows from the glass house are busted frequently. While she is casting stones, the glass house she lives in is far from being clean. Before she even attempts to cast any more stones, she should look at her own house and take care of her own things. As you can tell, I really don’t spend much time with this person.
It does not matter if you are at work, home, or school, there are people that love to cast stones. Why do they like to do it? I don’t know. My best guess is to keep the attention off of them and on to someone else. Either way, I find it to be childish, foolish, and selfish. Little to these people know, the more stones they throw, the worse off they will be. Why is that? Well, it takes lots of time and energy to cast stones at someone. Once all those stones are thrown, it renders the caster to feel weak, tired, stressed, and lots of pain. They are doing more damage to themselves than to the other person!!
What if somebody cast stones at you? Well, you can take the castings in two different ways: either allow yourself to be the victim, or walk off and find something else to do with your life. If I were you, I would prefer the latter. This is a big world happy people!! And your time is worth more than worrying about who said what about you. You are better off making your own path than to deal with another’s. The following appropriate quote I have for you says it very well…
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are that you will fall into someone else’s plan.” – Jim Rohn
Like the “Perpetual Victim,” the stone casters are another group of people you want to walk away from. It is not worth your time at all. Instead, go forth with your life and use your own stones to create something positive!! Trust me!! Build something amazing with your stones, instead of throwing it all away!! You will be amazed with the masterpiece you can create!!
That is all I have for you today!! Take care and thank you for your time and attention!!
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
I just received an interesting phone call today. It was from a person who loves to gossip. In the middle of my work, she called me to talk about another person’s sexuality. Throughout this phone call, I asked myself “Why am I listening to this?” Within a few seconds of the call I did this best thing I can do, hang up!!
Apparently this gossiper loves to cast stones. Unfortunately, the house she lives in is made of glass. So you can guess the windows from the glass house are busted frequently. While she is casting stones, the glass house she lives in is far from being clean. Before she even attempts to cast any more stones, she should look at her own house and take care of her own things. As you can tell, I really don’t spend much time with this person.
It does not matter if you are at work, home, or school, there are people that love to cast stones. Why do they like to do it? I don’t know. My best guess is to keep the attention off of them and on to someone else. Either way, I find it to be childish, foolish, and selfish. Little to these people know, the more stones they throw, the worse off they will be. Why is that? Well, it takes lots of time and energy to cast stones at someone. Once all those stones are thrown, it renders the caster to feel weak, tired, stressed, and lots of pain. They are doing more damage to themselves than to the other person!!
What if somebody cast stones at you? Well, you can take the castings in two different ways: either allow yourself to be the victim, or walk off and find something else to do with your life. If I were you, I would prefer the latter. This is a big world happy people!! And your time is worth more than worrying about who said what about you. You are better off making your own path than to deal with another’s. The following appropriate quote I have for you says it very well…
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are that you will fall into someone else’s plan.” – Jim Rohn
Like the “Perpetual Victim,” the stone casters are another group of people you want to walk away from. It is not worth your time at all. Instead, go forth with your life and use your own stones to create something positive!! Trust me!! Build something amazing with your stones, instead of throwing it all away!! You will be amazed with the masterpiece you can create!!
That is all I have for you today!! Take care and thank you for your time and attention!!
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Stand Up.....Move Forward!!
Greetings Happy People,
For the following story, let me take you back to two years ago. I was sitting in a meeting room with my fellow co-workers. The Chief boss named “Dan” was ready to give his report to us. He was talking about a vacant position that was at our workplace. There were two people that were going for that position, myself and “Jim.” It was a shot a promotion for the both of us.
If you were to look at the qualifications on paper between myself and Jim, you would notice that I have a pretty good resume. I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, I have an Engineer Intern certificate from the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, and I also had a decent knowledge about that workplace. When I filled out my application for this position, I was ranked #1 due to my strong educational and work experience background. It seemed like a slam dunk that I would get that promotion over Jim right? Let’s go back to the meeting room.
As Dan was mentioning about the vacant position, he made a mistake. Before any hiring was done, before any interviews were held, he made a Freudian slip by mentioning that Jim was going to get the position. OUCH!! Realizing his slip up, he tried to take his words back. Unfortunately, it was too late.
After the meeting, people were asking me what I was going to do. First, I had to step back and ask myself what I was going to do. Would I confront Dan about this? Would I withdraw my name from the interview schedule? Or would I just do nothing? At that moment, I remembered the words of a past International Director from Toastmasters. He said “It is better to fail than quit.” When I heard those words in my mind, I knew what I had to do.
I picked out my best clothes, put on my best tie, and printed copies of my resume. Knowing that there was a good chance that I will not get promoted, I went to that interview. During the interview, I was asked plenty of questions. Thankfully, I answered the questions to my best ability. To be more honest, I rocked that interview to the point where Dan and the manager “Jane” were impressed. When the interview was over, I left the room with my head held high. Did I get that promotion? Nope. Jim still got it. What I got in return was my own satisfaction on moving on despite this misfortune. Anyway, it was a blessing that I did not get promoted to that position. I would have faced plenty of difficult situations had I been selected.
What is the overall point to this story? While we may have people that love to throw the monkey wrench into our plans, we as a people must stand on our feet and move forward!! There is nothing better than to get to a goal. Imagine if I were to quit. I would not get as far as I did. If I were to quit, I probably would not get another opportunity to get promoted. If I were to quit, I would let the negative people win!!
Whenever you feel the odds are stacked against you, just stand up, meet it face to face, and move forward. Once you are able to do that, YOU WILL WIN!!
That is all I have for you. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
For the following story, let me take you back to two years ago. I was sitting in a meeting room with my fellow co-workers. The Chief boss named “Dan” was ready to give his report to us. He was talking about a vacant position that was at our workplace. There were two people that were going for that position, myself and “Jim.” It was a shot a promotion for the both of us.
If you were to look at the qualifications on paper between myself and Jim, you would notice that I have a pretty good resume. I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, I have an Engineer Intern certificate from the State Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, and I also had a decent knowledge about that workplace. When I filled out my application for this position, I was ranked #1 due to my strong educational and work experience background. It seemed like a slam dunk that I would get that promotion over Jim right? Let’s go back to the meeting room.
As Dan was mentioning about the vacant position, he made a mistake. Before any hiring was done, before any interviews were held, he made a Freudian slip by mentioning that Jim was going to get the position. OUCH!! Realizing his slip up, he tried to take his words back. Unfortunately, it was too late.
After the meeting, people were asking me what I was going to do. First, I had to step back and ask myself what I was going to do. Would I confront Dan about this? Would I withdraw my name from the interview schedule? Or would I just do nothing? At that moment, I remembered the words of a past International Director from Toastmasters. He said “It is better to fail than quit.” When I heard those words in my mind, I knew what I had to do.
I picked out my best clothes, put on my best tie, and printed copies of my resume. Knowing that there was a good chance that I will not get promoted, I went to that interview. During the interview, I was asked plenty of questions. Thankfully, I answered the questions to my best ability. To be more honest, I rocked that interview to the point where Dan and the manager “Jane” were impressed. When the interview was over, I left the room with my head held high. Did I get that promotion? Nope. Jim still got it. What I got in return was my own satisfaction on moving on despite this misfortune. Anyway, it was a blessing that I did not get promoted to that position. I would have faced plenty of difficult situations had I been selected.
What is the overall point to this story? While we may have people that love to throw the monkey wrench into our plans, we as a people must stand on our feet and move forward!! There is nothing better than to get to a goal. Imagine if I were to quit. I would not get as far as I did. If I were to quit, I probably would not get another opportunity to get promoted. If I were to quit, I would let the negative people win!!
Whenever you feel the odds are stacked against you, just stand up, meet it face to face, and move forward. Once you are able to do that, YOU WILL WIN!!
That is all I have for you. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
Book Cover
Greetings Happy People,
Have you ever been judged by your looks?
Have you ever judged anyone else by their looks?
It does not matter if you are on one side or the other, judging closes doors. When you judge someone based on their looks, you miss an opportunity to see who they really are.
I have a wonderful relationship with my fiancée Dana. It is hard to believe that we have been together for almost two years. She is an amazing person, a fun individual, and someone I am very grateful to be with. No matter how we spend our time on weekends, we always have fun times together.
In the beginning part of our relationship, there were people that were not happy about us going out. One person looked at a picture of Dana and saw a “fat white-trash whore.” As shocking as it was for me to hear this, I brushed it off because the comment was beyond ignorant. That shows me that this person did not want to get to know her by any means. This was a missed opportunity people!!
I often wondered how things would be if the shoe was on the other foot. Would this person think differently if someone called her some derogatory names? There is a good chance that this person would not like it at all. If you choose to dish this type of judging out at someone, you better be prepared to receive the same.
Upon listening to the ignorant comment of this person, I had a choice to make on who to listen to. Did I listen to that person? Or did I listen to myself? Well, judging by the fact that I remained with Dana for nearly two years, you can guess the answer – HELLO??!!
I benefitted from listening to myself because I chose not to miss any more opportunities this relationship can (and will) bring. Thanks to this decision, I feel very fortunate and grateful for spending time with a person as nice as Dana!! As for the person that made the comment about her, let’s just say that this person continues to live in a place where there is nothing but darkness.
When it comes to knowing a person, it is always good to know someone from the inside. Knowing someone from the inside will give you a better understanding on who a person is. It will also give you a better understanding of yourself because you choose to know more about this person. Who knows!! Uncovering a snap judgement of someone will open more doors than you think!! Just give it a try and see where these open doors will take you. You might be amazed!!
That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
Have you ever been judged by your looks?
Have you ever judged anyone else by their looks?
It does not matter if you are on one side or the other, judging closes doors. When you judge someone based on their looks, you miss an opportunity to see who they really are.
I have a wonderful relationship with my fiancée Dana. It is hard to believe that we have been together for almost two years. She is an amazing person, a fun individual, and someone I am very grateful to be with. No matter how we spend our time on weekends, we always have fun times together.
In the beginning part of our relationship, there were people that were not happy about us going out. One person looked at a picture of Dana and saw a “fat white-trash whore.” As shocking as it was for me to hear this, I brushed it off because the comment was beyond ignorant. That shows me that this person did not want to get to know her by any means. This was a missed opportunity people!!
I often wondered how things would be if the shoe was on the other foot. Would this person think differently if someone called her some derogatory names? There is a good chance that this person would not like it at all. If you choose to dish this type of judging out at someone, you better be prepared to receive the same.
Upon listening to the ignorant comment of this person, I had a choice to make on who to listen to. Did I listen to that person? Or did I listen to myself? Well, judging by the fact that I remained with Dana for nearly two years, you can guess the answer – HELLO??!!
I benefitted from listening to myself because I chose not to miss any more opportunities this relationship can (and will) bring. Thanks to this decision, I feel very fortunate and grateful for spending time with a person as nice as Dana!! As for the person that made the comment about her, let’s just say that this person continues to live in a place where there is nothing but darkness.
When it comes to knowing a person, it is always good to know someone from the inside. Knowing someone from the inside will give you a better understanding on who a person is. It will also give you a better understanding of yourself because you choose to know more about this person. Who knows!! Uncovering a snap judgement of someone will open more doors than you think!! Just give it a try and see where these open doors will take you. You might be amazed!!
That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Jesse I-I-I
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