Absolutely beautiful!
As I stepped out onto the circular track, ready to begin my morning ritual just before sunrise, the smell of the morning dew greeted my awaiting senses. The grass surrounding the track was freshly cut, and I was motivated to get my day started.
And then I felt it. That small… tiny… miniscule pebble somewhere just in back of the arch in my right foot. It suddenly spoke up. At first, all I heard was the soft whisper of the pebble’s voice as I strode along the graveled path. I was not bothered, per se, by the tiny little whisper. After all, I was wearing a nice pair of sweat socks and a great pair of running shoes. Nonetheless, I heard the little whisper from that tiny pebble. “Never mind me,” the tiny pebble seemed to say...
“I won’t hurt you.
I won’t cause any damage. Focus on your meditative walk. You can do it. Don’t listen to me.”
Despite what it said, I listened to that little pebble for the next 1,722 paces… until I finally moved to the side of the track, removed my right shoe, held it vertically (toe-side-up), and watched that tiny morsel of a rock settle into the heel of the shoe.
And then, ...I let it go. Right there along the path of the track, I let that little sapper of energy drop to the earth. Me? What did I do? I stood there, between heaven and earth, attached to the earth by unseen forces, but closer to heaven by virtue of altitude, attitude and the foundation of my faith. And then, I returned the exact same shoe to my right foot. I subsequently inhaled deeply, and began my newly inspired journey in earnest. Back on the right track and no longer listening to the soft-but-steady words of that annoying pebble, I only heard my beautiful inner thoughts and the teachings of heaven. Wow! What a difference it made! I could actually align my thoughts without the occasional aside from the whispering pebble. The nerve of that little pebble! “I won’t hurt you. I won’t cause any damage," it said. But oh! The pebble’s consistent little conversation with me WAS the damage. Now, ideally, I should have never given that little pebble the opportunity to garner my thoughts. Ideally, I should have dispensed with that little bugger and his persistent whisperings as soon as it spoke up... Instead, I had already begun to listen and converse with something so small but certainly significant as it kept me from enjoying the very foundation upon which I was attempting to form a better me. Indeed, ideally, we should all prepare and facilitate the best possible foundation for our journey in life. After all, life is a beautifully meandering journey with equal parts mystery, might, and seemingly minuscule, if not disparate, moments of madness. In reality, we are all somehow, someway connected. And as much as we attempt to prepare for the perfectly planned path, the road ahead can appear to get a tad bit mockingly and shockingly rocky every now and then. Interestingly, we often view the rockiness as solely an outside influence. In reality, you and I know that we, ourselves, often allow things to pester, fester, and make us the court jester in our very own self-created kingdom. The name of one of my books, The Ideal: Your Guide to An Ideal Life, implies the lofty goal of achieving an “almost perfect” life. However, perfection does not exist for us mere mortals. Moreover, the search for an ideal life is a continuous quest; it is not something we someday complete and subsequently cease all effort towards. It is the literal application of a life-long dream. In fact, The Ideal Life is an existence, a lived life, and an alignment of our resources toward an acceptance and eventual understanding that the path of life is definitely not smooth. It can be meandering, unstable, and sometimes jagged, ragged, if not outright tattered and torn with discontent, disdain, and downright damning downpours of one disappointment after another. Yet, the time we share does not stop. The clock of our lives keeps on ticking. What, then, are we to do? We must rejuvenate, folks. And we must do this often. Mealtime, while feeding the body, is the perfect time to rejuvenate the mind and soul. Why not invest a mere 20 seconds and feed all three at the same time? Start your breakfast, lunch or dinner by thinking about how fortunate you are to have what you already have. Need something for which to be thankful? Try starting with your five senses… as well as the great sense of timing you now have. Want to try something even MORE special? Send yourself an email with the subject line “Two Little Pebbles.” 
In the email to yourself, simply write two straightforward sentences:
1. Beginning today, I will stop ___________. 2. Beginning today, I will start ___________.
Think about the ONE thing you want to stop.
Think a little longer about the ONE thing you definitely want to start. Complete the sentences by filling in the blanks, and then hit SEND. Tomorrow, forward that one little email to yourself... ...and do the same thing again for the next 5 weeks. One small email is all I am asking of you. One... small... email. This may seem simple, stupid, and shallow. But when it comes to creating REAL change... it works. Laugh at me if you must. But, as the saying goes, don't knock it until you try it. Beginning today, remove those two little pebbles that whisper persistently in your ear, and then get started on living The Ideal life! Why start now? Well, it is, indeed, a New Year. But, more importantly, in work and play… in life, love, and the life-long search for happiness, we all employ a day-to-day philosophy. Starting today, let's improve YOUR philosophy about YOUR life.
Make no mistake:
We all have our own philosophy. What's your personal philosophy? My philosophy is simple: Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ® ~ Aloha ~ John H. Clark III 
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 H. Clark III 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. An engaged community advocate and authentic leader, his trademarked phrase is a winner: 
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