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This is Where It All Began (Sort of)
Let me tell you where it all began. Over 20 years ago I read the book What Makes the Great Great by Dr. Dennis Kimbro. It changed my life by allowing me to see my future differently in the stories of exceptional people. In 1998, I attended the National Black MBA Association’s 20th Annual Conference in Detroit, MI. I was honored to meet Dr. Kimbro and attend his seminar. […]
No Doubt
I have a friend who, after someone made a comment, would almost always reply, “No doubt, no doubt.” At the time it was annoying. I thought, ‘Don’t you have anything else to say?’ One day, I really listened to those two words. No Doubt. They began to take a different meaning. How many time have […]
Sometimes It’s What You Can’t See That Matters
“You may never walk the same again.” I let the doctor’s words skim across my brain. I was 19. My femur snapped in half in a recent car accident. After surgery, I now needed a cane. Using a cane was not part of the vision I had for myself. I literally could not see it. […]
Procrastination is Not Your Friend (though it hangs around like it is)
It’s inevitable. There’s something we know we’re supposed to do. Something that will help us, make us better, move the needle forward. What do we do? Nothing. Stall. Ignore it. Procrastinate. But why? It doesn’t make sense…especially when it’s always something that will make us or our situation better. We make a commitment to exercise. […]
Laura Pajestka, Entrepreneur
Know all the Pros & Cons I was born into the trucking industry because my Dad was a union driver for many years. Before my father passed away 13 years ago, our son had followed in his grandfather’s footsteps by working in the trucking industry. We talked about starting a trucking company of our own. […]
Make Time for Your Dream
One evening after work while doing chores, the phone rang. Normally, I don’t like to answer when I’m in the middle of something. But this evening, something told me to pick up. The call was from someone who rarely called me. My 90-year-old uncle. It’s unusual for me to receive a “just-thinking-about-you” call from one […]
Christopher Wiehl – Actor
Have a Discipline of Daily Action I was born and raised in a small town, in eastern Washington state, called Yakima. My Mom and Dad met while in college at the University of Washington where my Mom was a foreign exchange student from Denmark. My Dad went to law school and joined the FBI. He […]
Stanton Barrett – Extreme Sports/Stunt Man/Director
Be Willing to Take Risks I was born and raised in Bishop, CA. When my parents separated, we moved a lot when I was growing up. I lived in several states; North Carolina, Colorado, California, and Florida. I went to six different high schools. Sometimes it was hard to make friends, but that’s what made it […]
Kelly Chapman, Entrepreneur
Be Aligned with Purpose I was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio. I attended Case Western Reserve University and received a general MBA from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A self-proclaimed “hustler”, I have always worked three jobs since I was in high school. One of them happens to be […]
Brandon Russell – Model/Actor
Dream So BIG Only God Can Do It I was born in Georgia and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina after moving there at age four. My mom stopped working once my brother and I were born to raise us while my dad was a regional salesman for Clarke Industries. I was fortunate to grow up […]
A Life With Purpose Is On Purpose
The world needs you and the purpose for which you were born. Everything in life and everyone created by God has a purpose – from the smallest grain of sand, to the largest mammal in the sea. When man creates a product, the purpose precedes production. Purpose is the original intent for creation. It is […]
Cliff Simon – Actor
Success Does Not Happen Overnight I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1977, when I was 15, my parents emigrated to London. We were a family of six and my parents wanted to get away from South Africa’s Apartheid regime. At that time, I was a swimmer with a dream to swim in the […]
No Doubt
I have a friend who, after someone made a comment, would almost always reply, ‘No doubt. No doubt.’ That eventually began to irritate me. I thought, ‘Don’t you have anything else to say?’ One day, I listened to those two words. No Doubt. They began to take a different meaning. How many times have we […]
Have You Been Robbed?
I came home one day and found the front door wide open. Uh oh. . . I thought. Someone must have been in here. Since we have two children, who are mostly forgetful and sometimes irresponsible (I love them dearly), I figured they may have rushed out of the house forgetting to close the door. […]
Captain Laura – Pilot
Keep Your Goals in Front of You I have the best job as a commercial airline pilot. I’ve been flying for more than 30 years. My job has taken me around the world flying various aircrafts including the Boeing 767, 757, 737, Airbus 320, Lockheed L-188 (civilian P-3) and Convair 580. My book, Remove Before Flight is […]
Nancy Redd – Musician
Surround Yourself With Positive People Nancy Redd has been a social worker for more than 20 years, but knew at the age of three that she wanted to be a musician. My family has always encouraged my music, but told me I couldn’t major in it at college because I needed to have stability and […]
Press On!
For a Christmas gift, my sister gave me adult coloring books. I’d run across them a few months earlier and thought coloring again would be relaxing and fun. I loved coloring with my children. Now they are older and rather play video games. Instead of crayons, colored pencils are used. Children’s coloring books have big, […]
Be Brave
“Wow, you’re so brave,” is what friends told me after I led a group of ninth-graders to launch French fries toward the chalk board in math class (the teacher just happened to be standing there). I don’t know if it was being brave, or having an adolescent brain that hadn’t fully developed. We definitely paid […]
Changed by Chance
There are times when you come across someone’s life story and all you can say is, “Wow. How were they able to get through that?!” As you move from one unnerving life situation to the next, you can’t help but wonder what is within them that allowed them to eventually claim the victory. Changed by […]
