Day 29 - Two Little Words - Mirror Mirror

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​Time for an introspective retrospective.

With the current restrictions on previously unrestrained social activities, many of us are left feeling like I have felt when I was on a diet, trying to lose a few extra pounds.

During those times, it seemed like all I wanted to focus on were the things I couldn't have.

In reality, there was a vast universe of things that I could, indeed, enjoy - unrestrained.

Likewise, as we face unprecedented guidance on what we can and can't do, many of us are focusing on what we CAN'T do, instead of realizing and acknowledging the many things we CAN do. 

Accordingly, for Day 29 of this series on Two Little Words, I am sharing a post from my previous life-leadership series titled "I DARE YOU!"

In a post from about a year ago, I discussed the fact that Facebook used to have a neat little hashtag feature called “Throwback Thursday,” or TBT. 
 
For those of you who don’t know, TBT was a photographic journey into what once was - a nifty peek into the past - a sweet snapshot of what life was like for somebody, somewhere, at some point in time, long before today.  Facebook has since upgraded its software to automatically notify you of photos and posts that were placed on your timeline somewhere in the past year or so
 
For those of us with children, it’s great to be able to dip into the past and glean a glance at what once was.
 
For as you and I know… those were the good ol’ days.

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And yet, here we are, just on the other side of what will surely one day be described as the same period of what will never be again: the good ol’ days.

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As I greet myself every morning, I find a maturing gentleman, full of life, yet somewhat less full of life than I once commanded of it.  After shredding my meniscus somewhere in Iraq, blowing out a vertebrate disc somewhere in Hawaii, and gradually learning to shake hands with the wonderful winds of time, I find myself not just aching for the good ol’ days… but just plain ol’ aching!
 
And yet, I feel like the gentleman I see in the mirror has so much more to do… and so little time in which to get it done.
 
But where does most of my time and attention go?
 
Yes: I read many articles on LinkedIn.
 
And yes: I like to keep up with my friends and family via the photos, blips, and blurbs they post on Facebook.
 
And as a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, coach, teacher, mentor, and author, I have my fair share of duties to accomplish each and every day.
 
But… I still feel like I have MORE to give.
 
So today, I want to GIVE you something.
 
Today, I want to give you the most challenging Two Little Word mission thus far.
 
Today, I challenge you to consult your mirror.
 
Literally take a ten-minute expanse of time and consult the person in your mirror. 
 
Do you think you can do it? 
 
I know you can do it. 
 
Do you think this is a crazy idea?  
 
I believe it’s crazier NOT to do it!  
 
Do you think there is anyone more important than you when it comes to having an honest conversation about you?  
 
A-haaa! 
 
I have mentioned that small, operative phrase: honest conversation.
 
In the final analysis, it is only with ourselves that we need to have the most honest conversations. Accordingly, let’s leverage that formidable little fact.  Let’s take ten short minutes and find out what really makes us tick.  
 
Start by acknowledging the fact that you are a reSOURCE… an actual part of the Infinite, the Great I Am, the All-Powerful… and/or whatever else we seem to have created as a stand-in name for the Creator.
 
(You can actually do this even if you believe in the Big Bang Theory, which, by the way, could very well be the way the Creator did it - with a Big BANG!)
 
Then, acknowledge that there are really only two things we need to do: Love and fore-give (…as in GIVE ahead of - or before - the prescribed time.  Hence, fore-GIVE).
 
And when we love, we must do it unconditionally… in the agape sense (ä-gäp’-A).
 
Let’s not confuse “love” with “falling in love” or with some romanticized, Hollywood version of “a very strong like for a pastry, person, or puppy.” 
 
No… love in the agape sense is simply an appreciation for the FACT that we all originate from the same Source.  Thus we are all reSOURCEs that will someday return to the Source.  Accordingly, we will find answers to our greatest questions in our self and our absolute connection to (the) Source.
 
But all too often, we have simply unplugged our self from the one Place where we KNOW we can draw our greatest power. 
 
       Why?
 
Why do we do this to ourselves… our S.E.L.F.?
 
Moreover, why do we often refuse to fore-give the apology when someone has done this, that, and the other? The true meaning and application of fore-giveness is to be sincerely grateful for those events that have caused us some degree of harm. Regardless of how many times we read and re-read the previous sentence, many of us will refuse to believe the simple certainty behind this mysticalTruth. 
 
I characterize this Truth as “mystical” because forgiveness (gratefulness given by us, the offended) has a very real supernatural power behind it.
 
Actually, when you think about it… supernatural is actually not even SUPERnatural…
 
It’s just natural.
 
But we humans have a tendency to sensationalize those things we don’t quite understand.
 
And, to be sure, many of us simply don’t understand the very real and natural super power that is inherent in the act of fore-giveness.
 
And, as with most natural phenomena, we would all do better if we could just accept it, adapt to it, and achieve some degree of life-changing result because of it.  When you forgive someone, you literally create a whole new life by cutting the link that (only) you have been using as a pathway to the hurtful past.
 
But I digress…
 
Love and fore-giving (the apology) are the only two Rules.
 
After all, isn't this what we really want for us… individually, collectively, and respectively… for our self …our selves?
 
And remember: our duty is NOT to parse our agape love among those whom we feel are most deserving of it. 
 
Our duty is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  
 
(For if you only love those who love you, what does that love really cost you?) 
 
I have grown weary of the hatred for this race, these politicians, that religion, those people, and so on and so on.  In the truest sense, Love knows no boundary or restriction.  And yet, millions have been killed in the name of one religion or another, all of whom profess to know the way, the light, and the truth.
 
Well, the Truth is in that person in YOUR mirror.
 
And I believe the Truth wants you to focus on you.
 
Start by consulting your mirror.  
 
Ask that person in the mirror a series of questions, beginning with, “Why are you here?”
 
Not just “Why are you here” in the literal, geographical sense – but also “Why are you here in this business of being you?”
 
What makes you… you?
 
What makes you truly happy, passionate, and magically purposeful?
 
               Magically purposeful?
 
Yes… this one word “purposeful” is quite magical.
 
For you see: once YOU focus on YOUR purpose, all that “other stuff” falls by the wayside.  Once you focus on your God-given talents, amazing things begin to happen.
 
Best of all, once you focus on YOUR purpose, other peoples’ purposes do not matter… even when they do “stuff” to you on purpose.
 
But, alas… if we are to truly focus on our respective purpose, there is ultimately only one thing we have to do: We must confront the most powerful person in the world – the person in the mirror.
 
Accordingly, now is the time; today is the day to consult your mirror.
 
Ask yourself if this gift of today will be lived for someone else… or for you and your magical purpose (?)
 
Literally ask your self if all the good ol’ daysare already gone…
 
… if THIS, too, shall pass… (?)
 
… if YOU, too, will pass… (?)
 
… if you have done all you can to live, love, and let all of your talents press through this wall of noise that greets you every day… daring you to rise up, meet the challenge, and transform your ideas and ideals into goals, plans, actions, and dreams that have actually come true.
 
Ask your self: How much time do I have left?  
 
And, given this finite expanse of time, how do I want to spend it?  
 
How should I spend it? 
 
How WILL I spend it?
 
Spend.
 
Yes… that is what we do with this precious gift of time:  We spend it.
 
…on what?
 
I recently re-watched an interesting video from the movie “Network,” famous for a scene that has everyone declaring, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"  The movie was released in 1976.  Yet, it is an accurate rendering of what we, the people, have devolved into.
 
We rage on about current events, all while feeding the media beasts with our attention and very livelihood…
 
…all while neglecting the most important person in the whole wide world.  
 
Instead of getting mad and “refusing to take it anymore,” let’s LEARN and seek solutions in the one place where we know a quiet, viable solution exists.
 
If you can read this, no one else is stopping you from achieving a peaceful and purposeful journey through life… 
 
That is to say, no one else is stopping you… except that All-Powerful person in your mirror.
 
Today, I ask you to consult that magical...

MIRROR MIRROR on the wall.

Aloha,
John

​Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®

John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist.

Principal consultant at The PIE Group, and Executive Director of TeenBuilding USA, [a non-profit 501c(3)], John believes better development of leaders is what we (all) need.  And to be better organizations, we need more good leaders, not followers. To build better leaders, we must start with the individual (you, she, he, and me).
 
Described as “an innovative leader,” John teaches leaders, organizations, and individuals how to inspire each other. With a bold goal to inspire a worldwide community of optimistic realists who continuously accept, adapt to, and achieve the bold and beautiful concept of The Ideal Life, John is leading a movement to inspire people to apply his trademarked mantra {Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®}.
 
An innovative business manager and retired naval officer, John is fascinated by leaders and organizations that make the greatest impact within their organizational culture and within the “real” world — people who “get it.” Over the course of his life as a military leader, corporate mentor, and innovative content creator, John has discovered a wealth of insight about how we think, act and communicate within our respective work/life environments. As a career naval officer, mentor, educator, and optimistic realist, he has devoted his life to sharing insights to assist in our quests to become better at what we all do – live @ work!
 
An optimist with a penchant for writing about realistic solutions to the challenges of everyday life, John is the author of 3 books: a leadership-development insider, The Ideal: Your guide to An Ideal Life, a teen-focused guide, Getting Out: Expert Advice for Today’s Teens, and the Christian-based book, God’s Heartbeat: A Powerful Premise for Leading a Christian Life.
 
He delivers a unique and refreshing point of view to life's seemingly overwhelming situations. 
 
Through books, blogs, and everyday conversation, John's message resonates with an empowering blend of ideals that enrich, uplift, and “authorize” people to set and achieve goals far beyond current mindsets.  His trademarked phrase is a winner: