Startstuff Blog
I was thinking about the phrase “Time is Money”. Like money, we can only “spend” it once. And like money, we either budget it, or it budgets us! Make your time work for you by having a plan. If you don’t know what you want to do with your time, you won’t spend it wisely. You can invest it, but you can’t get it back. How do you “invest” your time? Here are a few ways:
- Have coffee with a friend.
- Learn a new skill.
- Work on a project.
- Read a great book.
- Volunteer with a Church or non-profit group.
- Help a neighbor.
- Clean the house.
- Plant something.
- Teach someone else a skill.
Each of these things is an investment because it pays back in some way. Conquering another level of Angry Birds does not. Have an awesome day spending your time wisely!
This article came out the beginning of April 2013. “CNN: Wilcox County Segregated Proms Will Continue“. In summary, the school there still has segregated proms, but four girls are attempting for the first time in the community’s history to have a integrated prom.
First, I want to applaud Stephanie Sinnot, Mareshia Rucker, Quanesha Wallace, and Keela Bloodworth for coming up with the idea of the integrated prom! Mareshia and Quanesha are black and Stephanie and Keela are white, and they have been friends since gradeschool. To the rest of the world, this idea seems like a no-brainer, but in their community, they are facing a lot of opposition. The girls formed a facebook page to support their prom if you want to check out what they are doing. This quote is from their facebook page:
We live in rural south Georgia, where not too many things change.
Well, as a group of adamant high school seniors, we want to make a difference in our community. For the first time in the history of our county, we plan to have an integrated prom.
It takes guts to challenge the traditions of our communities. When we see things that are wrong, even things as simple as a prom dance, I pray that we will stand up for what is right even in the face of persecution. I am encouraged that over 22,000 people have “liked” the page in order to show encouragement to these girls. I hope you will take a second to do the same.
Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream! Dreams are awesome, but if the civil rights movement would have stopped there, Black people would still be sitting at separate restaurants from White people. Bill Gates had a dream too. If all he did was sit out in his garage and dream, we would never have gotten the computer that I am typing this blog from. Making a dream a reality takes action! In my life, in order to make changes in the university, a PhD is a necessary evil or prerequisite. This last year I began working on a PhD program at Clemson University and while it has been a challenge, it is one that fills me with both a sense of accomplishment and frustration at the same time. Each class I finish is progress toward the goal! Each journal article or book read is a step closer to being able to make a difference in higher education. What is your goal and what steps are you taking toward making it a reality? Break your journey down into small steps and accomplish one of those steps. It might not get you all the way to your goal, but it will get you much closer!
This was one of my most commented on posts from last year, so I thought I would pull it out of the archives for my new readers.
People always say, “he thinks outside the box”. I want to encourage you to not just think outside the box but get rid of the box all together! We are so accustomed to following certain paths in life. Get a good education, get a good job, find a great spouse, have kids, buy a nice house, have nice cars, a dog, a cat and a yard to play in…That crazy American dream. It isn’t aweful, and many people live it…but is it what we really want to strive for?
Who are the happiest people you know? People who live lives outside the box! Artists, who don’t make a ton of money, but they love what they do! I have friends who are part of a community of swing/lindy hop dancers. They seem to always have a smile. Their jobs, houses, cars aren’t incredible but they love life! Friends who are missionaries in countries where they have to get water in a bucket from the river to haul back to their mud brick home are incredibly happy! They have fulfilled lives!
One of my former students turned down a six figure job to go teach in a bi-lingual school in Honduras for a year. That year was one of the most incredible experiences in her life!
When we kick that box over the hill and do the unexpected, we find those valuable unforgettable experiences that create the memories of a lifetime!
In today’s world, it seems like one of the biggest crimes a person can commit is to offend someone else. Let me start by saying that there are some people who are just looking to be offended and nothing you do will keep them happy. It isn’t good to try to please everyone. Be who you are and believe what you believe. There is an old saying that goes something like this: If you won’t stand for what you believe in, you will fall for anything.
Recently, I have been hearing more and more reports about people being put on terrorist watch lists, criminal profile lists, no-fly lists etc. by groups like Homeland Security, The FBI or state law enforcement organizations. The reasons these people are on such lists may be surprising. It is for high crimes like being Pro-Life, or being an Evangelical Christian, Mormon or Roman Catholic. I would say to each of these people, “Don’t back down!” As someone who is an Evangelical Christian I would welcome being put on such a list for my faith. In Christian circles there is a saying that could apply to any set of beliefs. “If it were illegal to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It may soon be illegal in the land of the free. Where do you stand?
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