Waiting, waiting, waiting! It seems that no matter where we are in life, we are waiting for something. We wait in lines of traffic, lines at the grocery store, and on hold listening to “and we will be back in a moment”. We wait for birthdays, holidays, raises, promotions and even divorce. Children are waiting to grow up. Singles are waiting to get married. Couples wait to have children and then wish that those children would grow up so mom and dad could get a little break…if we could just bypass the waiting and get to the prize we would.

In a culture that gets microseconds faster daily, many times we can, so we do, bypass the wait. We drive-up, drive through, and instant message. Cutting and copying our way through life, we fast forward through commercials to find that all our time saving devices still leave us short at the end of the day. For although old-fashioned oatmeal only takes 3 minutes in the microwave and will maintain blood sugar levels for hours, we go for the short lived instant version.

Always wanting what’s in front of us, we race through life. Running, then waiting, then running again. Then one day when we wake up, we realize that a good portion of life has passed, and what we waited so long for never actually arrived. We discover that what we wanted was really somewhere along the roadside “back there”. In our “direct route” we missed a turn. No GPS recalculated our life telling us to make a u-turn at the next available intersection.

Old people remembering what it was to be young, married couples forever trying to recapture the thrill and romance of the courtship and parents replaying bittersweet memories of baby drool and cries in the night as they all remember how often they were too busy.

A winner is not made at the end of the race. It is days and weeks and even years of daily routines. The end of the race only reflects the winning. The secret of the winner lies in his daily routine and so does the secret of all success. Crossing the line first does not guarantee a victory.

Life is in the Living! Live it with Intent!

Popularity: 24% [?]

This view is only a few minutes from my door. Yet myself and many, many others often get so caught up in our daily activites that we take for granted what others my save for a lifetime to visit.

Imagine you went on vacation…where would you go and what would you see…in your own backyard?

Popularity: 30% [?]

Crises: figurative a point at which a change must come, either for better or worse; deciding event

In my life I identified a moment, when a change needed to happen. That change would take place in me, however initially I had no idea what this change would look like. I am still walking this process out, but day be day the components of this change become more evident. For many people I work with, this moment, this epiphany of “something has to give” is what they would call a crises.

 Crisis is not generally a conscious choice. However, once there, the very definition of crises indicates the necessity of choice. This “choice” is where the opportunity lies. Will I choose the easiest way, will that be the best choice for me? Or will I choose to do the hard things?

 Mothers Against Drunk Driving…The Amber Alert… The National Kidney Foundation… Easter Seals… Alcoholics Anonymous… Susan G. Komen for the Cure… Organ donors “leave a life that keeps on living.” Only a few of the choices made.

 Each one of us will face points in which change must come. Will our choices be mired in our own pain? Or can one person, one decision at a time make a difference?

Popularity: 24% [?]

Joy Beyond Freedom has been nominated for the following awards:

LLSA Chamber of Commerce
Nominee Small Business Rookie of the Year 2008 & 2009

Venice Chamber of Commerce
Nominee Small Business of the Year 2009

In January 2009 Awarded Appreciation for Outstanding Service
Eager Beaver Award January 2009

Popularity: 26% [?]

Call it a mid-life crises, an identity crises…who cares what you call it…what do you do about it?  You feel like your life is out of control! All you do is work, whether it is at your job or simply trying to keep up with the details of life. Sometimes you just want to escape, but you are too responsible to just bail.

Could there really be a healthy and safe way out?

You were in a terrible relationship. You worked up the nerve to leave, yet why do you still feel so bad?

You have the perfect family, a great job and to everyone looking in from the outside, it couldn’t be better. Why do you still feel something is missing?

Living a life of joy is really possible, and is not confined to perfect circumstances. Plenty of people have plenty of money yet money, an abundance of personal time, or even the perfect life partner doesn’t guarantee happiness.

Popularity: 20% [?]