29Apr 2014 by CJ

Opportunities are everywhere if you know where to look

Information & Education, Life & Living, Youth
Life is a never-ending battleground of problems it seems. Day to day our lives are plagued with challenges we’re forced to navigate through – oftentimes with little or no knowledge of how to escape unscathed. But Joseph Sugarman once said something that definitely rings true for me. "Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity." Joseph Sugarman Problems will never cease to exist in our lives. But that doesn’t mean they can’t lead us to a better place – force us to grow and break free of our comfort zone in ways we never imagined. Life is all about change; and change often brings…
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28Apr 2014 by CJ

Being someone’s caregiver is one of the greatest honors

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living, Love & Relationships
Being a caregiver is not easy. But it’s truly amazing what you’re capable of when you have no other choice – when reality is staring you in the face and you’re the one people turn to for guidance, support and attention. Tia Walker, author of The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love writes: “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.” And while it’s not necessarily an ideal supported by American culture, many understand what a gift it is to give back to those who’ve given so much to us over the years. To accept the “role reversal” that often comes along with being a caregiver not with bitterness, but with tenderness. And while the relationship will certainly change,…
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23Apr 2014 by CJ

People who abuse their power are not true “leaders” at all

Life & Living
“Power lacks moral or principles. It only has interests.” - Horacio Castellanos Moya I hold great contempt for those who regularly abuse their power – unforutnatley it seems that anyone powerful often does. Case in point. A friend recently told me that her boss (and partner in the company) told her to push aside all her client-related projects to format his son’s internship resume. Knowing how often he negatively “brands” employees who don’t follow his orders, she reluctantly carried out his demand – spending a cumulative total of two days formatting and continually revising the young teen’s resume. I was outraged by her story. First of all, why isn’t his son formatting his own resume? And what lesson are you teaching him besides mommy and daddy will take care of…
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22Apr 2014 by CJ

In today’s society everyone is so easily offended

Life & Living
When I was in Mrs. Mason’s third grade class, I remember every morning, without fail, we’d say “The Pledge of Allegiance” followed by the singing of our National Anthem. Commonly referred to as being from the “old school”, Mrs. Mason already had several decades of teaching under her belt before I ever stepped foot inside her classroom. I recall a small, round harmonica she kept in her top desk draw. She’d play a “C” sharp each and every morning to ensure we all started singing in the same key. Could you imagine this being done in the classrooms of today? Beyond the reading, writing and arithmetic, Mrs. Mason taught us about respect for life, respect for each other and respect for our country. A dedicated and prolific historian in our…
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16Apr 2014 by CJ

We want to know everything – especially if it’s NOT newsworthy

Life & Living
Thomas Jefferson once said, “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” And while newspapers have completely lost their relevance in modern day society, replacing the word “newspapers” with “the internet” would not be a huge stretch at times. I try to educate myself about what’s going on in the world whenever I can, but I’m not sure many of the popular online news outlets are doing a very good job. Take today for instance. With everything going on in the world, CNN.com chose to place the following headline at the top of the day’s news. “Rapper Andre Johnson severs penis, jumps off building” Hmm…I’m not sure what to make of that one. CNN.com, like so many other online news…
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