Looking in the Mirror

It is an extremely human response to not look inward after a mistake or crime, but rather to look outward and to affix blame and guilt on a convenient object. -Robert Greene The 48 Laws of Power

Criticism is one of the most difficult things for many people to deal with especially when it come from others. But more importantly, self criticism is even more difficult to face.Whether we are affected by the guilt of shame or by the shame of guilt, confronting the realities of our imperfections and inadequacies  is an arduous task. To rid ourselves of the guilt and shame, we choose to paint a pretty picture of ourselves for the outside world to see. We placard ourselves with a facade of false strength and confidence. We portray an exaggerated image of who we really are by embellishing our appearances, qualifications, and personalities. For example, when we interview for a job, we doctor up our resumes to highlight our qualities, dress up professionally to send a good visual impression, and alter our personalities to make ourselves fit for the job. 

A good friend of mine once told me that to make an incision is to cut into and to make a decision is to cut out. We must first make the incision (cut into) by looking into the mirror to discover and/or confront our insecurities. Then we must make the decision (cut out) to remove such insecurities by holding ourselves accountable for our actions and coming to terms with our imperfections. The power of the mirror is that we see a direct reflection of ourselves. Eye to eye; face to face. Instead, we are more comfortable presenting to the world (and ourselves) our shadows which is a distorted representation of us, hiding all of our features and changing size and shape when the light shines and angle shifts. The same happens when we are under scrutiny.  As the light is being shun on us and we are being evaluated from different angles, we change who we are, hiding our true features.We remove ourselves from any wrong doings.With many of our shortcomings, we easily pass along the blame elsewhere . We eliminate all sense of accountability. But for all the insecurities that we have and for the many pitfalls we blame others for, we must first look inward. The mirror shows us our imperfections, it displays our blemishes, and believe it or not, it reveals the expression of shame and guilt that we are otherwise attempting to hide from the world. 

So before the decision to hide, make excuses and blame others for our imperfections, insecurities, and inadequacies, lets first make the incision by looking into the mirror and peering inside ourselves to discover and come to grip with such factions. Change begins inwardly and impacts outwardly.
God Bless

Rich or Wealthy

Win a million dollars: you're RICH.
Build and multiply a million dollars: you're WEALTHY.

Many people see the words rich and wealthy as having similar meanings. Rightly so, they both signify an abundance of some sort, particularly in possessions of value. However, I associate the two words to different states: physical and mental. I personally associate being rich as a physical state and being wealthy as a mind state. To me, being rich doesn't entail that one is wealthy. The reason for such a distinction is that to have wealth is to have a certain mentality. Many people have come into large sums of money or possessions of value only to lose it all in the blink of an eye. Some may point to such events as the economic downfall that is sweeping throughout the world, but aside from that, many of such loses can be attributed to people's lack of knowledge and discipline which contributes to the carelessness that is displayed.

On the other hand, wealthy people have those two very important traits, knowledge and discipline, to allow their money to work for them. Wealthy people can lose all their riches and find their way back to the top because they developed the process of wealth building. They turn their fears into their greatest assets and they capitalize on what others are afraid to take a chance on.

If you turn on the tv, the radio, or the internet, pay close attention to people that you consistently see in the media. Rich people talk about spending money. Wealthy people talk about building money. The difference is the mentality.

God Bless.

THE VISION

Often times, when people think of vision, it is defined as such as being a dream. So when we hear people say follow your dreams, we do just that- up until the time it is to "awaken". The problem that arises is that, for many, dreams are closely associated with fantasies, so in many instances we are encouraged to wake up and get back in tune with the "real world". Therefore, our 'dreamcloud' dissipates and along goes our aspiration, inspiration, and determination. In order to shift from fantasy to reality, we must be encouraged to work, to be diligent, and to be persevering towards our dreams. In the "real world," we are taught to work but we remain stagnant because we are unsure of what we are working towards. We lose sight of our own vision and become overly consumed with other people's visions that we are too willing to adopt.

I view vision as peering through a looking glass where the fortunes of the future are revealed. I see it as a seed that is ready to be planted and fertilized enabling it grow into an entity of endless possibilities. 

Personally, I envision a world where the masses are able to break free from the mental grip that are clamped around such minds. However, I do understand that it is a grand task to have such a vision for the world, so I start in my own communities. I start with encouraging the young boy or girl who aspires to be great. I start with patronizing the local small business owner that becomes the link to business expansion in downtrodden neighborhoods. I start with ways to reach schools that will allow them to operate on level playing fields. I believe you can promote vision by giving people hope to envision. Only then will I feel my vision will be achieved. It will be achieved exponentially. Not just one hand doing all the work but many doing there own work in their own way to achieve a common goal. I choose to use the Law of Exponents.

I encourage you to carry out your vision and make it reality! Link yourself with those in line with your vision because there is strength in numbers. God Bless.