I want to give thanks on this special day to Nathan, Jim, Trisha, Lynn, Scott and every member of Team Inspiration Texas for the amazing life that you have given me. And to each of you that read these posts and encourage me to keep writing and keep fighting. I am very thankful for the love and support of our super jocks who made a point to come see me as soon as they got home from their respective schools. These kids continue to amaze me. I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season and that it is filled with positivity, hope and joy. I give thanks everyday for these things, but want to shout it loud and clear today.
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD
Okay. First, get your minds out of the gutter. (You know who you are.) Don't make me pull this blog over. Now. May we continue?
We talk a lot about warm fuzzy things here. Positivity. Validation. Things that make us feel good. The real challenge is getting there. As Trisha tells her clients when they start to complain during a workout, "It is supposed to be hard." Nothing about creating a life that is positive is easy. It is just like training for an athletic event or obtaining a degree or raising a child. To live that kind of life is a decision that we must make and it frequently creates painful situations. For example, it is not easy distancing ourselves from people that may not be healthy for us physically or emotionally. But as we must do in everything, we must look at how our decision will ultimately benefit us and those around us. We must make the hard choices to create this kind of life. We must do things that are hard. Painful.
Why does it all have to be so hard you ask? It's simple. If it were easy, we would not appreciate the good we ultimately get. If it were easy, we would take too much for granted. If it were easy, we would develop a sense of entitlement. If it were easy, we might miss the good altogether. Then, we would not know how good we really have it.
So suffer through the hard things. Enjoy the pain because you know that after you endure it, you will come out on the other side a stronger person who will enjoy and appreciate the positives that you have earned. It's no different than training for a triathlon, huh? Life is really just a race. You can win it. It's your choice. And yes, it is supposed to be hard. It just makes the victory so much sweeter.
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
We talk a lot about warm fuzzy things here. Positivity. Validation. Things that make us feel good. The real challenge is getting there. As Trisha tells her clients when they start to complain during a workout, "It is supposed to be hard." Nothing about creating a life that is positive is easy. It is just like training for an athletic event or obtaining a degree or raising a child. To live that kind of life is a decision that we must make and it frequently creates painful situations. For example, it is not easy distancing ourselves from people that may not be healthy for us physically or emotionally. But as we must do in everything, we must look at how our decision will ultimately benefit us and those around us. We must make the hard choices to create this kind of life. We must do things that are hard. Painful.
Why does it all have to be so hard you ask? It's simple. If it were easy, we would not appreciate the good we ultimately get. If it were easy, we would take too much for granted. If it were easy, we would develop a sense of entitlement. If it were easy, we might miss the good altogether. Then, we would not know how good we really have it.
So suffer through the hard things. Enjoy the pain because you know that after you endure it, you will come out on the other side a stronger person who will enjoy and appreciate the positives that you have earned. It's no different than training for a triathlon, huh? Life is really just a race. You can win it. It's your choice. And yes, it is supposed to be hard. It just makes the victory so much sweeter.
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
Friday, November 18, 2011
VALIDATION
I am realizing more and more how important validation is to our success, whether it be personal or professional. After putting up my last post, my amazing son Preston "liked" it on Facebook. I never even knew he read my ramblings. Likewise, after most posts, I frequently get an "attaboy" email from Jim, Kimi, Mush and others. What does that do for us? The simple act of telling someone job well done. Follow me. This could be huge.
What happens is it makes our self confidence and self worth soar. Especially when it comes from someone, like my son, whose acceptance we crave, even require. It encourages us to keep working whether it be for training for a triathlon or giving it our all at work or making a relationship work. With validation, we want to work harder. To try harder.
And it is a two way street. We are more likely to encourage those who encourage us. We support those that support us. This goes back to what I keep saying about Team Inspiration Texas and all those who supported me in the triathlon. Two way validation creates a giant cloud of positive energy. It supports us when we start to get down. In turn, our energy that they have created supports others when they start to get down. Amazing isn't it?
This all requires the simple act of deciding that you WILL live that way. It applies to friends. It applies to employment situations. It applies to relationships. Perhaps the hardest thing that we will ever have to do is remove those people in our lives that don't validate us. But we must do that, as hard as that may be. If we allow a failure of validation to constantly bombard us, it only makes that cloud of positivity around us weak. Sometimes so weak that we can fall out of it. We must know that the positivity of those that support us will sustain us and keep lifting us up. We must trust that. We must know that the positivity we have created for others will support us when we need it to.
I know. I know. Easier said than done. As my dear Trisha says, life is supposed to be hard, isn't it?! Count on those around you to support you, lift you up, and VALIDATE you! And validate them. That is how life should be lived.
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
What happens is it makes our self confidence and self worth soar. Especially when it comes from someone, like my son, whose acceptance we crave, even require. It encourages us to keep working whether it be for training for a triathlon or giving it our all at work or making a relationship work. With validation, we want to work harder. To try harder.
And it is a two way street. We are more likely to encourage those who encourage us. We support those that support us. This goes back to what I keep saying about Team Inspiration Texas and all those who supported me in the triathlon. Two way validation creates a giant cloud of positive energy. It supports us when we start to get down. In turn, our energy that they have created supports others when they start to get down. Amazing isn't it?
This all requires the simple act of deciding that you WILL live that way. It applies to friends. It applies to employment situations. It applies to relationships. Perhaps the hardest thing that we will ever have to do is remove those people in our lives that don't validate us. But we must do that, as hard as that may be. If we allow a failure of validation to constantly bombard us, it only makes that cloud of positivity around us weak. Sometimes so weak that we can fall out of it. We must know that the positivity of those that support us will sustain us and keep lifting us up. We must trust that. We must know that the positivity we have created for others will support us when we need it to.
I know. I know. Easier said than done. As my dear Trisha says, life is supposed to be hard, isn't it?! Count on those around you to support you, lift you up, and VALIDATE you! And validate them. That is how life should be lived.
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I’M SUCH A FLAKE. OH. SO ARE YOU
I heard something yesterday that got me thinking. It does actually happen occasionally. It was about snowflakes. I am not sure that I remember what snowflakes are. I am in Houston, it’s November 16th and it is in the 80’s today. But I digress. Snowflakes. They are all, each and every one of them, unique. Different. Dare I say rare. There is no way that any two will be the same.
Each of us is too. There is not one tiny detail about any of us that is the same as another person. Whether talking about character flourishes or flaws, challenges or strengths, we are all very different. One falling snowflake is insignificant. You could miss seeing it as it falls slowly to the ground. Yet, if you have ever stood on the top of a mountain in Colorado and been in the middle of a beautiful, slow, steady falling snow, you would be very hard pressed to experience anything more incredible or amazing.
I thought about the similarities of Team Inspiration Texas and snow. Individually, we are insignificant. Small. If you examined any one of us, you could find our imperfections and weaknesses. And individually, we are indeed weak. But together, we are awesome. Beautiful. Like snow falling, when we are together, our individual imperfections disappear and the beauty of the entire group is striking and powerful. I am made more significant by being a mere flake in this falling snow. I may not be the strongest or most durable flake but I am privileged to be a part of the incredible beauty.
Okay. That was one of my more abstract moments. I hope that you get my point. I guess I am dreaming it was snowing!
Keep dreaming out loud!
-Trace
Each of us is too. There is not one tiny detail about any of us that is the same as another person. Whether talking about character flourishes or flaws, challenges or strengths, we are all very different. One falling snowflake is insignificant. You could miss seeing it as it falls slowly to the ground. Yet, if you have ever stood on the top of a mountain in Colorado and been in the middle of a beautiful, slow, steady falling snow, you would be very hard pressed to experience anything more incredible or amazing.
I thought about the similarities of Team Inspiration Texas and snow. Individually, we are insignificant. Small. If you examined any one of us, you could find our imperfections and weaknesses. And individually, we are indeed weak. But together, we are awesome. Beautiful. Like snow falling, when we are together, our individual imperfections disappear and the beauty of the entire group is striking and powerful. I am made more significant by being a mere flake in this falling snow. I may not be the strongest or most durable flake but I am privileged to be a part of the incredible beauty.
Okay. That was one of my more abstract moments. I hope that you get my point. I guess I am dreaming it was snowing!
Keep dreaming out loud!
-Trace
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
WOW! THIS REALLY WORKS!!!
Mushahid (Mush) Khan, President and COO of O'Rourke Petroleum, liked our idea of dreaming out loud so much that he asked his employees to dream out loud at their team meeting this morning. The results were astounding. One person had a dream for him and his family to get food to needy families for Thanksgiving. On the spot, the decision was made to make it happen. The company will buy the food and several employees volunteered to help with the deliveries. Another person said that his out loud dream was to "always be a positive influence in someone's life, to stay healthy and to retire and really start living on his own terms." And it goes on and on.
If there is any doubt about the positive influence that Team Inspiration Texas is having on others, there can be none now. I have never met Mush, we did not know him at the time of the triathlon, and he just started following our message.
Life is good!
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
If there is any doubt about the positive influence that Team Inspiration Texas is having on others, there can be none now. I have never met Mush, we did not know him at the time of the triathlon, and he just started following our message.
Life is good!
KEEP DREAMING OUT LOUD!
-Trace
Monday, November 7, 2011
WHEN AN EPIDEMIC IS GOOD
Have you ever noticed how when someone smiles at you, you can't help but to feel better? I am talking about a genuine, comes-from-the-soul warm smile. The kind that just wraps you up like a warm blanket on a cold day. It is magical the effect that kind of smile has on you. If you add laughter to the equation, the result is astounding. Conversely, when we are around people that are terminally grumpy or in a bad mood, the pall that is cast has an even greater affect on folks. It brings everyone way, way down. The other day I was having "an issue". Trying to practice what I preach, I was trying to find a way to positively deal with the situation. A friend sent me a text message that made me laugh. My mood immediately brightened. My response to my friend? LOL!!! Then it hit me. I just got a smile and laugh through a text message. A real, heart-warming smile. We have talked about this before. Our attitude has the ability to profoundly affect everyone around us, whether in person or through as basic a form of communication as a text or an email. That, in turn, affects everyone around them and so on and so on.
So, since smiling and laughter are good and because they are contagious, your simple smile today can have the effect of brightening someone’s day half way across the world in a month or more. Wild, isn’t it?
Let's start an epidemic. Don't worry. The flushed face, feeling of giddiness and uncontrollable feelings of joy are a good thing. And it is contagious.
So, since smiling and laughter are good and because they are contagious, your simple smile today can have the effect of brightening someone’s day half way across the world in a month or more. Wild, isn’t it?
Let's start an epidemic. Don't worry. The flushed face, feeling of giddiness and uncontrollable feelings of joy are a good thing. And it is contagious.
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