Let's Go Surfing Now, Everybody's Learning How.....

Surfing...you watch others do it and it looks so easy!  The guys ride out on a board, then sit there and wait for the right wave to come along.  Once they see the right wave, they paddle the board, and as the wave begins to break, it carries them along until there is nothing left to ride. 

So, thinking that it was an easy task, we decided to take on the challenge of surfing.  Since we are new at the sport, body surfing seemed to be the best technique for us.  We bought our cheap $12 boards and headed into the surf.  We rode out far enough that the surf wasn't breaking and waited for the perfect wave. 

We were there only a moment and suddenly a wave began to form.  As the wave began to build and pull water from beneath us, I yelled at Connor to get ready!   We both began to kick and paddle our boards as the wave grew stronger.  As the wave began to break and the water began to roll, the force took us to the gulf floor!  Not the ride I was expecting or the experience I wanted.

We continued to try our luck at riding the surf, but to no avail.  We just couldn't get our boards to stay on top of the wave.  We would either get thrown under the water or miss the wave's break.  So we did what any normal, red-blooded, tired and worn-out person would do....we went to the shore and sat under the umbrella for a while.  We drank a few bottles of water, chatted for a bit and went back out for round two.  However, round two was a repeat of round one; as well as round three and four, but I was not going home without the experience of surfing.

I spotted a guy who was being very successful with his surfing.  I asked him what his secret was to riding the waves.  His advice was very elementary and easy to follow.  He said, "All you have to do is be patient and as you see the wave forming, paddle the board with your feet.  As the wave begins to break, push the board down to your stomach and let the wave do the work." 

So that's exactly what I did.  The next wave that appeared to be strong enough to carry my 200 and none-of-your-business pound body, I began to put his advice into action.  I started kicking my feet and just as the wave began to break, I lowered the board just below my chest and began to ride the wave.  I rode that wave all the way in...it was a great feeling of accomplishment!

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't going home without surfing.  I was determined to ride the waves, but in order to accomplish the goal I set for myself, I had to follow a few simple rules. 

1.  Be patient:  Sometimes waiting for the timing to be right is part of the process.  If we're not patient we can end up rolling around in something we didn't expect.

2.  Choose wisely:  Making the right choice on waves is vital to surfing success.  If you choose one that's too small you won't go very far.  Same applies to life.  You have to ask yourself two questions: How far do I want to go, and is this process going to get me there?

3.  Ask for help:  I would have been out there for days trying to ride the waves.  Even though determination is a good thing, sometimes you have to stop and ask questions.  Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness.  Not asking can be a sign of stupidity.  Remember, there are others around you who have "been there, done that".  All you have to do is ask what the secret is to their success.

Once I learned the lessons involved in surfing, I was able to enjoy riding the waves. 

Just my thoughts on a page.

Blue Skies, Clear Water and Good Times

Vacations are a time when you're supposed to chill out, relax and spend quality time with family, right?  At least that's the way I think when it comes to vacations.  Chilling out with no worries or time limits, hanging out with the family and getting to know them a little better.  Finding out what been going on the last few months and helping them understand the whys and why nots of the situations they've faced. 

That's what I wanted to do during this vacation.  I wanted to hang out with the family and just chill.  I didn't want to do anything or go any where spectacular, I just wanted to hang.  So, this year I chose to go to Navarre Beach, Florida.  So far it's been great.  We've surfed, we've hung out on the beach and we've talked with each other and not at each other.  No yelling, no back talking about being hot or ready to leave....just chilling.  I've already heard one of the boys say, "This is the best vacation ever".  To me, that says a lot. 

As I sit hear on our balcony and write this, I'm surrounded by the sounds of waves crashing on the shore and as I look out over the gulf I can see the water as it turns from an emerald green into a dark, midnight blue and I think, God....You're amazing!   He made this by just speaking it into existence.  By saying one small sentence He was able to put this beautiful place into existence...and I wonder or doubt Him when it comes to my small matters. 

It's funny, I said I wanted this vacation to draw my family closer together, and it is, but it's also drawing me closer to my Creator.  When you stop and look at the world and the beauty that it holds you can't help but realize that God can do some amazing things.  We worry about our problems and our issues, but we never stop to think about letting the one who created the world take a shot a creating a way out for us.  Sometimes it takes getting to a place where the skies are blue and the water is clear for us to realize that we have a pretty amazing God and given a chance, He can do some pretty amazing things in our lives...we just have to let him. 

My thoughts on a page...during vacation...LOL!

Education = Future

Over the last few months I’ve developed an understanding for success in any area of life.  That success is through the development of others.  In order for any business, organization, school, church or even country to be better, it must first learn that the development of its people is crucial to its success.  An individual isn’t put into a job or position without first having been trained, instructed or educated on what’s involved.  As a parent, I didn’t expect my children to grow up and know everything there is to know…I had to train them.  I had to put into them what was acceptable and what wasn’t.  If I wanted my boys to know how to ride a bike, I had to put them on one and teach them how to operate the pedals and steer.  If I want my oldest to know how to drive a car, I’ve got to allow him to have time driving a car so he’ll know what’s involved.  If we want our children to be successful in life, we’ve got to provide them an education. 

I’m not writing this as a part of any political event, because I don’t like politics or the games involved.  I’m writing this because I’m generally concerned with the direction our country is moving with education. 

Education is vital to the advancement of this country.  The more our children learn, the better our country will be economically and socially.  I’m not sure I follow the reason our politicians have for cutting funds to education.  Personally, I feel that education should have more money poured into it to keep those involved more interested in preparing children for the future.  Our teachers, principals, counselors, and librarians should be among the highest paid people in the United States.  Why, you ask?  They develop our children.  They encourage the broken hearts of children daily to complete tasks that some parents could care less if it’s complete it or not.   A teacher spends countless hours looking over papers and making test to evaluate the skills of the students in the class, and that’s not time spent in a class room.  Those hours are spent in the home, away from their own family, away from their own friends so that someone else’s child could develop into something worthwile. 

Our educators today have to deal with more than trying to get the attention of kids; they have to compete with the issues of the home.  Those issues may include parents who are divorcing, the molestations of the siblings, and the beatings of the mother or verbal abuse of the father.  Let’s be real, most homes today are homes with one parent and it’s usually the mother.  So kids are dealing with the fact that mom has to work two jobs in order to put food on the table.  They can barely keep their heads up at night to pay attention to what the child may have accomplished during the day and the child is discouraged because they think Mom doesn’t care.  Can you teach a child who’s dealing with that kind of home life?  We complain all the time about the children and how misbehaved they can be.  Put yourself in their position and tell me if you can be taught.  But we want to cut funding to education.  Do our politicians really think that cutting funds to education is the right thing to do? 

Americans, it’s time to stand up and be heard.  It’s time our kids are treated better than this.  It’s time that we let our voice be heard.  It’s been said, “The more we allow the unethical behavior and the immoral actions of others to go on, the more it’s accepted as the norm”.  The more we allow our Congressman’s and Senator’s to cut funding to areas that can directly affect the advancement of this country, the more they’ll think it’s acceptable to do. 

It’s not acceptable to send trillions of dollars overseas to help develop foreign countries.  It’s no longer acceptable to spend trillions of dollars on the development of projects and call it “other spending” and our kids are short cut on funding that might provide aide to teachers or funding for projects within the schools.  We’ve got smart, talented kids…provide the funding to education and assign projects to the schools and classroom students to help solve economic problems, social development issues, foreign aid issues or any other problem the Federal Government might have solving.    

We have the best teachers in the world right here in the United States.  Short cutting teachers on pay and other funding is no longer acceptable.  We’ve got to stand up Americans.  We’ve got to make calls, write letters, start talking about it more on our FB pages, tweeting about it on our Twitter pages…there are things we can do other than sit by and allow our politicians to have a free pass on writing off our kids and the future development of the United States of America.

The future success of our country is riding on what you and I do today.  I found this picture called education pays and it shows that the weekly income of a person without a high school education is less than $500 a week.  Can our economy stand on an income of less than $500 a week?  I doubt it.  But the budget is being cut in education....that makes sense, right?  If we want to see the future of the United States brighter than we've ever seen it, we've got to educate our kids.  We've got to ensure that they have an opportunity to achieve more than what they can learn on the streets.  Although street knowledge is good...it can only be used in the streets.  I want my kids using not only what they can learn in the streets, but what they can learn in a classroom, library, science lab, business office and medical facility.

Just my thoughts on a page....and a half.

Reflection of you.

Over the last few weeks I’ve had the privilege to put together a presentation for our train the trainer sessions at work. Putting that together has made me realize that we all, whether we want to be or not, are constantly training someone. The question is what are you training that person to be?

During the course of the presentation, I shocked myself with some comments I made and questions I asked. I hadn’t planned on saying it and it wasn’t in my notes…it just came out. I asked a few questions starting with this, “When you train someone, how do you want them to end up? How much do you want them to know and when they leave you what kind of attitude do you want them to have”? The room was quiet. It was like I hit them with a book or something, but I could see the wheels turning in their minds. Then I made this comment, “You see, as a trainer the person you’re training is going to be an exact reflection of you. Their going to have your concerns, your habits, your attitude…they’ll be what you make them”.

Your actions directly affect those that are around you on a daily basis. So, the question is, how do you want them to turn out? One of the mantras’ I have written and posted on the wall above my desk says this, “Others are watching, how do you want to appear”? Everyday I read that and think I’ve got to watch how I speak to people, how I respond when spoken to, where I walk and with whom I walk everyday. I want to be a positive influence on the life of someone I’m connected with daily and if I’m not careful, I could “train” someone the wrong way.

Proverbs 4:10-13 says this, “Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Training (Instruction), if it’s the right training, will allow you to walk in places without being hindered and when times get busy, run without missing a step. So you've got to make sure that the training you're providing will be the type of training that will allow the person being trained to walk without being hindered and run without stumbling....question is are you providing that type training?

Just my thoughts on a page.