The Path to Perfection

I don't know if anyone still follows this blog seeing as how I haven't posted in over 15 months, but my wife and I had some interesting thoughts and insights into the topic of New Year's Resolutions and I wanted to share them with any that may stumble back this way.

I don’t know if you are into setting resolutions or not. I know many people have given up on the practice due to past frustrations. Personally, I believe they are an important practice due to the commandment the Savior gave us when he said: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). The thought of even attempting to be perfect can be an overwhelming one, but the translation of the Greek word for perfect means “complete, finished, fully developed.” To me, that means we should do our best to become the best person we can be; our version of perfect. How then can we become perfect, or more like our Heavenly Father except by continually setting and working towards resolutions or goals that can help us become so?

As I was thinking about making resolutions, I realized it is very much like the conversion process of faith, repentance, baptism and enduring to the end.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said "Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the 'high priest of good things to come' (Hebrews 9:11)." (The best Is Yet to Be, Ensign, January 2010) So to me, faith is the forward-looking principle that we can be and do better than we have been or done in the past.

Repentance is the change of heart we must experience to let go of our poor habits in order to replace them with better, more Christ-like habits that will serve and strengthen us.

Baptism is making a commitment to a new life. As you are buried in the water, you bury the old you and all the sins you have committed. When you rise up out of the water, you come up a new person committed to living the commandments and following the Savior. Like baptism, setting a resolution is burying the old you of yester-year and committing to arise a new and better person in the New Year.

Enduring to the end is pretty self-explanatory. Just like living the gospel is full of challenges and temptations, so is living your new resolution. It will take daily discipline, and, more than likely, frequent repentance at first as you work to continually improve until your resolution has become a habit; a new way of life. Jim Rohn taught that there are two kinds of pain: discipline and regret. The difference between the two is that discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons. Don’t get discouraged and hang in there when times get tough and you will overcome in the end.

Each week we take the sacrament to renew our baptismal covenants. By doing so we are reminded of the commitment that we have made to follow the Savior and to keep his commandments. I recommend that you read your resolutions on a weekly, if not daily, basis and renew your commitment to them. This will help you to always remember them and stay true to them when you face the daily decisions of life.

Gordon B. Hinckley issued the challenge when he said: "This is a time to make resolutions that will be binding upon you." I hope everyone who reads this will take up the challenge to make 2012 their best year yet by setting resolutions that they are committed to that will help them be better and do better than they have ever done before. I wish you the best in this New Year!

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For more tips on how to make and keep your New Year's Resolutions, I invite you to visit The Millionaire Marathon blog and read the Celebrate 2008 blog series.

A Little Weirdness...

I was feeling a little weird this morning so I decided to do a search for weird quotes. This is what came back. Enjoy!



“It’s a secret, religious, weird, ceremonial rite of passage for girls that women know. Hopscotch, it was bizarre for boys, ‘cause they never played it, and as a boy, I was behind walls, going, “What- what happened? What did they do? What do they do here?” And they had a track laid out with numbers, mystic numbers- 1, 5… 7, 8, you know… A bit of a broken doll there, some girl keeping lookout with a skipping rope…”
~ Eddie Izzard




“I'm feeling so good. I feel like a million bucks. I'm focused, I'm alert, I'm zippy and top of my game.. I've never felt better! I'm sharp as a tack right now. And what's weird is that I didn't get a good nights sleep last night. And they say that's the most important thing..Or is it breakfast they said?..That's the most important meal of the day, breakfast...yes. And then it's 'i' before 'e' I know that..Um.. diamonds are a girl's best friend. Dog is a man's best friend.. What was I talking about?..Oh that's right, that I feel great and I'm at the top of my game. And it's odd because I didn't get hardly any sleep last night. And, they say that's the most important thing.”
~ Ellen DeGeneres




“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box.”
~ Anonymous




“We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”
~ Anonymous




“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”
~ Anthony Robbins

Old Dogs!

My dad e-mailed this to me and I just had to share it...

One day the old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.






The old German Shepherd thinks, 'Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!' Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, 'Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder, if there are any more around here?'






Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. 'Whew!' says the leopard, 'That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!'






Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard.. So, off he goes, but the old German Shepherd sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.






The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.






The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, 'Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!






Now, the old German Shepherd sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, 'What am I going to do now?', but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says...


'Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!






Moral of this story....






Don't mess with the old dogs... age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.






If you don't send this to five 'old' friends right away, there will be five fewer people laughing in the world.










Of course, I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, some are just more 'youthfully challenged.'






You did notice the size of the print, didn't you?

Stress-Free Living

Hey, everyone! Long time, no blog, eh? I know it has been a while since I have posted anything and I hope that not everyone has given me up for dead. I have missed blogging and sharing all the things that are happening in my life. Not that there is a whole lot happening now, but I am planning to become more consistent on here and I hope you will join me.

I know you are expecting an update on my life, but that will have to wait. I had to get on here today and share one thing with you really quick that I read on Darren Hardy's blog. Darren is the publisher of Success magazine and is an individual who has really impressed me over the past year and a half. He did an hour of training at the International Training Event for my company in San Jose, CA last month that was simply amazing. Even though he makes his living in the personal development industry, he is one of those few people out there that seem to care more about helping people than helping themselves by convincing you to buy their latest product that is guaranteed to solve all your problems in 30 days or less.

In his blog post yesterday, he shared an experience of a social event he attended where he had to listen to constant complaining by a group of people about the economy, Obama's performance, the healthcare plan, etc., etc. I hope you'll follow the links in this message to see how he handled the situation when he got fed up with it because his response is awesome for dealing with complainers who are bugging you ... and for dealing with yourself if you fall into that category, too.

I'll blog again soon. I promise!

Holiday Humor

I saw this in today's newspaper and thought it was hilarious:





When I found the picture online, I also came across the following funny:



Christmas Carols for the Mentally Infirm:


Schizophrenia – Do You Hear What I Hear?

Multiple Personality Disorder — We Three Kings Disoriented Are

Dementia — I Think I’ll be Home for Christmas

Narcissistic — Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

Manic – Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and…..

Paranoid — Santa Claus is Coming to Town (He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake!)

Borderline Personality Disorder — Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire

Attention Deficit Disorder — Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder — Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,

Agoraphobia — I Heard the Bells of Christmas Day But Wouldn’t Leave My House

Senile Dementia — Walking in a Winter Wonderland Miles From My House in My Slippers and Robe

Tourettes – Dashing through the {bleep} snow. On a one {bleep} horse open {bleep} sleigh. Over the {bleep} {bleep} {bleep} {bleep} … {bleep}

Alzheimers – On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me… ummm….

Narcolepsy - Jingle bellssssssss {whistle} {snore} {whistle}

Which Story Do You Want to Read?

A little over a year ago, I had a two-part post about how I was Living the Dream. In the second part, I explained about a month of craziness call National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short) where people consume enormous amounts of caffeinated beverages and induce huge amounts of stress by accepting the challenge to try and write 50,000 words or more in 30 days. Why do they do it? For the same reason people climb Mt. Everest - just to be able to say proudly that they did it ... that's all. There are some who have gone on to become published authors, but most don't.

I made my first attempt and generate a whole whopping 1,836 words. That's right! I lasted one whole day.

Well, November 1 is fast approaching and I am gearing up to give it another go. I think I can break last year's record. It shouldn't be too hard. All I have to do is last two days instead of one. But, really, my goal is to reach the 50,000 word mark. There is no better time to do this than right now. Okay, if you really knew my schedule you would think I am totally insane for even considering doing this, but I have procrastinated this goal for way too long as it is.

The first major obstacle that I am facing is deciding what to write about. I have a number of ideas in various stages of development and I am having a hard time choosing between them. This is where you can help. Read through the various descriptions below and let me know what your top three favorites are by taking the polls at the right of this blog. I would really like to know what interests you the most.

• What if Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had become friends that first day at Hogwarts instead of enemies? (Potter)



• What if the unwilling human host of a cyborg woke up mid-way through his assasination mission? This one has political intrigue, a love interest, and more! (Cyborg)



• What if a retired marine tries to protect an old college buddy that is on the run from a black ops assassination team and his college buddy turned out to be a terrorist at the end of the story? Can he undo the damage he has unknowingly done before hundreds, if not thousands, of people die? Major plot twist potential! (Terrorist)



• What if Santa Claus, depressed because of the over-commercialization of Christmas and the dwindling of the true spirit of Christmas throughout the world, loses faith in himself and, with it, his Christmas magic and decides to hang it all up? Will he find his way again before Christmas comes and goes? (Santa)



• What if a vampire worked the night shift of the police force in an effort to atone for what he has become? Can he protect his secret and maintain his control enough to only prey on those who would prey on others? (Vampire)



• What if a warrior travels back in time to kill the boy who would one day become a blood-thirsty warlord and fails? Do his actions give the child the knowledge he needs to change his future or do the warrior's actions set in action the chain of events that will bring that future to pass? (Warlord)



• What if a man fears he is losing his mind when a stranger that convinces him to not follow through with a suicide attempt keeps popping up in his life at random moments and he is the only one who can see him? Are these the delusions of a mind pushed to the breaking point or is he a guardian angel sent to put him back on the right path in life? (Guardian)



• What if the lost female heir to the throne is returned to the palace 10 years after the murder of her parents but the mastermind of their assassination is still at large and very, very close? Will she uncover the plot that made her an orphan before those who carried it out determine her usefulness is at an end? (Heir)



• What if a man is hired by a high-tech research and development company uncovers a plot to replace high ranking government officials and high-level executives of major companies with clones that will progressively transfer power and financial assets to a very small group of people that want nothing less than world domination? (Clone)



• What if a military genetic-enhancement program goes horribly wrong and ultimately leads to the near-elimination of the "normal" American population and their last chance of survival may rest in the hands of the man who was the prototype of the blood-thirsty ultra-humans that want to destroy them? Can the humans trust him not to betray them and can he trust the humans not to try and kill him at the first opportunity once he helps them? (Ultra-Human)



• What if, in a world of increasing terrorist attacks and atrocities, the U.S. education system is taken over by the military and converted to a system of realistic medieval living and warfare to train the youth to be tomorrow's warriors? But what if the televised footage of the devestating attacks that persuaded the nations to convert to the new system was nothing more than fabricated media? What if the battle training had no other purpose than to determine the best candidates for gladiator-like games that are televised to a society that has an endless thirst for violent entertainment? (War Games)



• What if three "gifted" women who have the respective abilities to stimulate adrenalin production, to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain and to read strong feelings of emotion in others pool their abilities to solve the murder of a mutual friend while the murderer they seek is actually looking for them and getting closer? Will they be able to find the murderer before the murderer finds them? (Gifted)



• What if an NYC police man gets caught in a centuries-old battle being waged by the children of the Norse gods? Can one man make a difference in preventing the end of the world? (Ragnarok)

As you can see, I tend to lean towards action and adventure stories with some suspense and intrigue. If you have a good idea for a story that you would like to see written, put it in a comment and I will add it to the list ... or join me for NaNoWriMo and write the story yourself. I could always use more writing buddies!

To follow my progress after November 1st, keep tuning in to this blog or check out the word count for NiceGuy at http://www.nanowrimo.org/!

What Do You Give Your Life To?

"I know this now. Every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes people believe in little or nothing yet they give their lives to that little or nothing. One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. And then it is gone. But to sacrifice what you are and live without belief, that's more terrible than dying."

~ Joan of Arc