Meet the Challenge: I will succeed.

Doubt my abilities and I'll show you my drive to succeed. Tell me I can't and I will, because I know I can. 
This seems to be the story of my life the last 21 days. In another way, it will be my life for the next 46 days or so. 
I have completed Day 21 in the "29 Miles in 29 Days" Challenge. I have 8 miles in 8 days remaining. To those who doubted my ability to hold strong to this challenge, I have nothing but demonstrated my determination to meet the challenge the last three weeks. Some days were a struggle, but I have managed to run one mile per day and I will continue to run one mile per day through the month's end. Just to spice things up, I also gave up soda for the month. So far, a success! 
After racking my brain to determine what would challenge me during Lent, I think I've finally come up with the perfect combination. I had to take into account my travel and personal plans during the Lenten season and what would be most feasible and reasonable. No sense in setting a goal you know will be doomed for failure. And, of course, someone outright laughed in my face and told I could not and would not succeed. That was all the motivation I needed... I will succeed. My personal challenge is three part. First, I will not have Lee's lunch for the duration of Lent. I eat the same Lee's meal for lunch 3 to 5 days per week... time to go cold turkey. Second, I will not have fast food/restaurant french fries for the next 46 days. For a majority of the meals I don't have Lee's, I eat a meal with fresh cut fries, potato wedges or the ever-so-amazing waffle fries. So, parts one and two of three are a commitment to challenge myself to change the convenience of my diet. Finally, I will visit the gym for a combination of cardio, core and/or lifting at least three times per week (Sunday thru Saturday)... that is after the completion of the 29 Day Challenge. No breaks for the first 8 days of Lent. I have been telling myself for all but one day of the last three weeks that as soon as February is over, I can be done with the gym. Time to push the mental limits I have placed on my fitness. No taking a forever rest... the dedication to personal fitness will continue over the next 6.5 weeks. 
I'm up for the challenge... now it's time to hit the ground running tomorrow morning... literally as I have a mile to get in. 

"Everyone has a success mechanism and a failure mechanism. The failure mechanism goes off by itself. The success mechanism only goes off with a goal. Every time we write down and talk about a goal we push the button to start the success mechanism." ~ Charles Jones

Be confident. Accept your ability to succeed.

Imagine. Believe. Achieve.

WATCH ME succeed!

If you can dream it, you can achieve it. 

Moments of Impact

Every day my appreciation of living a dynamic life grows. No two days are the same. The day I anticipated will not be the end result. The moments of my day impact the lives of others. Likewise, the moments of other's day impact my life. 

In one moment I may be rolling on the floor laughing at something a student said, a story that was told, or something a co-worker did. Five minutes later I may be behind closed doors having a difficult, honest conversation that lasts 10 minutes or even an hour. These moments are all equally impactful in my life. The impact is defined by the power of relationships. Each moment I am building or maintaining a relationship. Each moment I become more invested in the lives of others. I become devoted to providing support to help others achieve their dreams and goals. To help them along their search for happiness that goes beyond the moment. As I build and maintain relationships present in my life, I am developing and progressing my own dreams, goals and happiness. 

When the stress is high, conversations are tense, tiredness sets in and a lack of happiness is present, passion must prevail. The passion is for life path chosen. The passion is for accepting all of life's lessons that will enrich my life experience. Life's lessons are presented as my interactions with other's impact their lives (whether by their choice or not!). My conversations with others often lead me to self-realization, help me to better understand others, and remind me of the importance of laughter or happiness. 

As days pass, I am reminded that our lives are not private. If I make my life "private," I chose to limit the lessons learned, limit the moments of impact, limit the boundaries of my passion. Each day I am making the choice to live a dynamic life, to make an impact and to be impacted. Each day I am making the choise to live the good life. 

"Life's all about moments of impact, and how they change our lives forever." ~ Channing Tatum as Leo, The Vow

"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." ~ Jackie Robinson

"Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect on your life long they have departed." ~ Jim Rohn 

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes." ~ Charles Swindoll