Listening Beyond Sound

Listen to "Listening Beyond Sound" on Spreaker. What's difficult to digest is the number of people that ignore their truer talent. We set things aside to serve what's best for the moment. Only to sit in classes in our middle years trying to figure out where the dream went. Each of us could write books about the doubters and judgers in our chapters. I believe it's time to let that go. You are great at what you do because you were chosen to bring something forward. I call it listening beyond sound. There is a dull roar in the center of our soul that knows exactly where you are supposed to be. When was the last time you put focus on it? Yes you are going to change. Yes you might have to wave goodbye to friends and family. Then why change right? Because you aren't happy. Lift your path up and take a good look at why you were truly designed. Listen beyond sound and bring to the world the art of you.

Writing Page

Listen to "Writing Page" on Spreaker. I wish life was like daily writing. What you put down on page one normally has nothing to do with what will spill out on pages two thru whatever. We switch personalities quicker then the weather changes in the south. Part of the reason why is because of the circle invasion. We all take up space. Some want more then they should get. Our circles of energy are not up for the taking yet we allow the intruder to grab hold of what little you have left. We're guilty in this process. How often are you nice to someone because its better to lift them then tell the truth? Only to realize you've now become their free can of pick me up. Know where you spread your source of flow and how you deliver it to others. When someone steps into your circle make sure they don't take over. Sure you're going to look like a jerk. And what do they look like to you when they've trashed your energy supply? God only gives you so much power everyday. How much of it is wasted on the passerby? Regain the supply by being upfront and honest with your circle.

The Lyrics From Billy's Forest Chapter 77

Listen to "The Lyrics From Billys Forest Chapter 77" on Spreaker. Like a great movie or favorite song the most recent total solar eclipse is still very much alive in my everyday walk. I can't help but wonder if its because my focus during those three minutes of transformation were off the physical bright light becoming dim and more on the reaction of everything around me. Sitting inside the forest to fall witness to how the other living things reacted to something that has been taught to us by way of science, education and social media endlessly discussing that golden moment. The birds disappearing from the scene was a unique experience only to hear a single owl hoot four times in the center of the eclipse. But that wasn't the only exchange of natural expression. The temperature changed in ways that invited a breeze which gave the leaves on the trees a reason to move rather than look down. It was within that moment that I realized something so simple... this must be a visual of what loneliness looks like. No light to warm and no sound to soothe. Only an owl that kept his guarantee to protect those walking in distance.

Blank Spots

Listen to "Facing Blankness" on Spreaker. We all face those moments where we can't figure out why we just went blank. Learning how to study the moment takes a lot of concentration. Knowing where you are while having the courage to be truthful to the moment. But most of us don't find faith in that. We choose instead to quickly label it a moment of becoming old. I believe it's a battle between a self that can't keep it's fingers out of a past you can't change or it's your eyes set too far into the future and the present can't keep up. Learning how to separate the energy is an ongoing change and challenge. Understanding it is the greater victory.

Believing In Your Beginning

Listen to "Believing In Your Beginning" on Spreaker. Why do we get up so early? Only to have bosses, friends and family members expecting us to bring the performance, project and energy to the moment of arrival. I get it! Farmers rose with the sun to get the job done. But that's not how we're programmed in 2017. Most places of business have your skills going in fifteen different directions. When the job is finished you switch hats and take on a new task. Putting in an eight hour day feels more like 20. And for some... Just to make ends meet they're pulling off a full and a part time position. Only to wake up early the next day and begin the process again. Regaining control is an extremely difficult journey. Saying you're going to do it is completely different from the physical evidence of you protecting yourself. What then becomes the release? An argument? Too much energy wasted. Give everything you've got away? Not good the recovery from emptiness is painful. Believe in your daily new beginning by grasping onto the real you and not the business person. Bosses will never change. Expectation is what keeps their jobs. Your daily new beginning has to be a place of love, peace, trust and faith. Being there for yourself as the sun is rising helps strengthen the reasons why you're leaning.

Say Yes

Listen to "Say Yes" on Spreaker. I am convinced that we allow others to shape our journey and path. Only to find ourselves worried with wonder about what we brought to the surface of the planet. So many want to say yes to their creative selves but that would mean putting yourself out there for judgement. Bosses aren't interested in new ideas. They've been designed to do as they're told by the people above them. I believe the saddest people in business are managers. They know what they're capable of but they put that bank account in front of their ambition to move forward. We're running out of quality leaders and inspiration builders. Brilliant ideas sit on posted notes stuffed into a briefcase or desk drawer. Guess you could say the new American legacy is that we grew up to be followers. Teach yourself to say yes. Give yourself permission to believe in you. Oh it's not easy. You'll probably lose your working buddies. Yeah OK... It's a choice that's quickly running out of time.

The Lyrics From Billy's Forest Chapter 76

Listen to "The Lyrics From Billys Forest Chapter 76" on Spreaker. In the movie Beautiful Mind Russell Crowe's character not only dealt with but lived with several mental beasts. Those voices in your head and heart that seem to always win invisible confrontations. Within my daily writing I've often described them as being faceless beasts. When you look in the mirror you can't see them. When you speak with others they can't find any shape they carry anywhere on your frame. A faceless beast isn't always evil. If you look around they're everywhere. People that act one way at work or school but are completely opposite when in different places. The roles we play are the image of the beast within. We become so that we can't be overcome. We rely on the energy of the beast to move us through moments. By giving them a little power it serves as an invitation for them to stay. Eventually taking control of decisions. When the environment changes but the beast stays the same... Now we have the struggle. Winning before the beast arrives is a step in the right direction.

Captain Positive

Listen to "Captain Positive" on Spreaker. I could never do Talk Radio. I'm too positive. That's my weakness. The moment a change or a challenge arrives the process is to take notes and become aware of how living in the moment serves as a lesson to be learned. Maybe this is why talking over a 12 second Michael Bolton song intro drove me insane. I was Twitter speaking before the social network arrived. Each of us carry the right tools to turn any decision, choice or bad moment into a sliver of happier times. If you step back three feet from each situation you'll have no problem seeing how most people deal with their negative. They try to give it away to co-workers or family members. When coffee and sweets can pull you up and out then there needs to be a point of release. Sometimes.... I vividly remember the day when an Operations Manager looked at me and said, "I can't stand your positive attitude. I don't have enough time in my day to deal with you." What people don't know is why the attitude exists. It's a choice. We all have horrid days. People steal from your energy source endlessly. You aren't the fuel that keeps a nation moving. But rather the student of an everyday growing period. What if using positive energy is released to keep people away? That's a choice. Bosses can't get anything done because their bad moods are magnets to everybody else feeling like mud.

Ask Questions

Listen to "Ask Questions" on Spreaker. When it comes down to it most of us can't stand asking questions. Is it because people, places and kids are endlessly delivering their questions? Maybe... But I think it goes deeper than that. Have you ever met a confident coworker or boss that's never asked questions? Standing on the outside of decisions being made only feels like a comfort zone. Truth is it opens doors for you to exchange your questions for complaints. By asking questions you grow not only with experience and knowledge but it raises your game of being respected as well as accepted. How do you teach yourself and others to ask questions? By presenting the opportunity. I'm blessed with the opportunity to share conversations with large groups of students. No lecture or class begins without me shouting out, "Ok I need three questions!" It teaches them to open their imagination and let it have the confidence to grow on the outside of the shell they were born with. The end result has been tremendous by way of taking this child's game to physically giving them the stage with the people of fame that I get to talk with. It's ok to be a people watcher but you'll learn more about the moment if you ask questions.

The Gardener

Listen to "The Gardener" on Spreaker. I am convinced that my father is the gardener at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. A totally insane thought inside an age where when the final page is written it means you've gone up or down. But there are things my father did that became his signature on the plants he grew. To sit in the gardens at the library my eye catches glimpse of that unique touch of his. And every time I fall witness to the presence I can't help but think of the other travelers who are walking about the grounds to keep such a peaceful place so melodic with the spaces we put between gone and continuation.

The Lyrics From Billy's Forest Chapter 75

Listen to "The Lyrics From Billys Forest Chapter 75" on Spreaker. It's funny how people describe their places in the present. Some enjoy questioning it while others float along as if to be part of a passing breeze. The older I get the more I find myself trying to locate the brakes that'll physically slow down the two hands on a clock. My only discovery to date is to find faith in boredom. I love to sit in the center of a mall or a forest and just do nothing. Absolutely it's painful. It would be so comforting to pick up the smart phone and hit social media but that doesn't slow down the ticks of a breathing clock. In those moments of nothingness I hear things that become the fuel to a new step. Never a beginning but rather a continuation.

Monsters

Listen to "Monsters" on Spreaker. Mountains of change don't grow into equal avenues of delivery. Read that line five times without bringing self created judgement against your shapes and sounds. The world of business and the design of our home life and style go through hell due 100% to having to endure change. We're taught to expect it or locate the door. Pretty harsh words from decision makers. Change creates voices in places that so many try to never speak of. We want to locate victory and share the celebration with all in attendance. I love looking at resumes. They brag of the crowned moments of success but I've never seen a page that expresses the endurance of change. There's a better story in how you arrived then what you became. Who is in control of your monster? That beast lays eggs every chance it gets. Are you hiding behind success so you don't have to deal with change?

Brian Wheat from Tesla

Listen to "Brian Wheat From Tesla" on Spreaker. Tesla is back on the road. This comes only a few months before releasing their new album which was produced by Phil Colin of Def Leppard. Brian Wheat talks about the importance of playing the new music as well as the strong hits. The best way to find out what fans are up to is to stay loyally connected to social media. He laughs about being back on the road with Roadies and other stage help. He admits how important each role is. Especially the woman that guarantees the members of the band fresh clean clothes for every performance. It truly is a family experience. Especially when connecting with fans. They've always played a major part in the success of one of America's greatest bands.

Bruce Henderson

Listen to "Bruce Henderson Sons And Soldiers" on Spreaker. Joining the ranks of Unbroken, Band of Brothers, and Boys in the Boat, Sons and Soldiers tells the little-known saga of young German Jews who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, came of age in America, and returned to Europe at enormous personal risk as members of the U.S. Army to play a key role in the Allied victory. In 1942, the U.S. Army unleashed one of its greatest secret weapons in the battle to defeat Adolf Hitler: training nearly 2,000 German-born Jews in special interrogation techniques and making use of their mastery of the German language, history, and customs. Known as the Ritchie Boys, they were sent in small, elite teams to join every major combat unit in Europe, where they interrogated German POWs and gathered crucial intelligence that saved American lives and helped win the war. Though they knew what the Nazis would do to them if they were captured, they eagerly joined the fight to defeat Hitler. As they did, many of them did not know the fates of their own families left behind in occupied Europe. Taking part in every major campaign in Europe, they collected key tactical intelligence on enemy strength, troop and armored movements, and defensive positions. A postwar Army report found that more than sixty percent of the credible intelligence gathered in Europe came from the Ritchie Boys. Bruce Henderson draws on personal interviews with many surviving veterans and extensive archival research to bring this never-before-told chapter of the Second World War to light. Sons and Soldiers traces their stories from childhood and their escapes from Nazi Germany, through their feats and sacrifices during the war, to their desperate attempts to find their missing loved ones in war-torn Europe. Sons and Soldiers is an epic story of heroism, courage, and patriotism that will not soon be forgotten.

The First Scream

Listen to "The First Scream" on Spreaker. The first scream a child shares with the world. Why is it the majority of parents didn't figure out a way to capture it? Some videoed the event. But nearly next to all found no way or reason to make it a part of the child's life as they grew in forward motion. They stamp our feet onto a sheet of paper. The vocal imprint though is still left in the heart of those who were present and not available for the one it truly should count for. The mind body and soul of the one screaming. Is it because we spend the rest of our lives mastering the art of screaming for what we want, miss and or favor? Inside an adults scream is a story. A link to a child that went from a nice warm womb to a world cold with emotion. When was the last time you listened to your adult scream? Not yelling. But the releasing of spirit by way of letting the inner core of your present be placed on the outside of a fast paced existence. Listen to your scream. Document it. Record it for later study. Knowing who you are or growing into deserves to be preserved.

You Can't Predict Storms

Listen to "You Can't Predict Storms" on Spreaker. Being a daily writer I've taken the words dropped on a sheet of paper seriously. In the beginning I didn't realize the depth of the inner soul until what has been written stepped free of the outside shell and began to prepare the steps taken for the potential of a fast moving storm. I can't stand it when people say they feel a bad mood coming on. Just have it. So we can all get over it. Mood swings and mindsets are put into play as reasons to pay closer attention to where you stand. Utilize the presence of the changes and grow into that new pair of success stories. If more creative people spoke openly after the entire process more people would participate with the workload. But that's not what we do. We'd rather brag about the victory believing the legacy of who we are and why will hold up longer than a rock. I don't write to remember. I write to teach. What lessons are you missing? You've been here before. This isn't about reincarnation. This is about those circles you keep creating. Move beyond the moment and make waves that put you in charge of success not a boss that refuses to lend a helping hand.

The Lyrics From Billy's Forest Chapter 74

Listen to "The Lyrics From Billys Forest Chapter 74" on Spreaker. Those voices in your head. Some feel like storms while others leave you in question. I don't mind facing each. What is placed within isn't without. What is heard can be a swift change in the wind. But ultimately how you react is the true message. We all get weird messages from moments and far away places. But do you listen to them? What if a wacky sentence that remains unstructured is the first step in lifting your path to a stronger place of leadership and motivation? I know... not you right? The sentences we are given aren't always meant to steal the air from your lungs and or be shaped into negative cupcakes. If you write them down and come back in a different frame of mind you'll see how important you being you truly is. Be the leader you are by trusting the leader within.

Growing With Christ

Listen to "Growing With Christ" on Spreaker. We've developed into this society where we believe change starts with going back to school. I'd love to see how many trees are wasted with degrees that are never used. I get it... We are the information generation. We are no different than the alien in Short Circuit wandering around spouting, "Input. Need more input." But what are you doing with it? Activating what you know is an important part of the process of success. Just because the beautiful plaque says you accomplished doesn't qualify you as a doer. We've lost the path. We're wanderers instead of discoverers. Guess where that's more visible? Sunday mornings within those walls of worship. We want. We need. We might jot down a few notes. But once away from the music and fast blinking lights. We're back in that old pair of shoes worn out by too much chasing and not enough serving.

Where Are Your Words

Listen to "Where Are Your Words" on Spreaker. My father used to thump me on the head and shout, "You better watch your words." To this day his voice lives in my heart but the command falls flat on decisions made. Being a daily writer I've learned the importance of taking notes about events designed in the present then handing them forward to a future self. Today I read from a February 23, 2016 entry about the importance of preserving the words we carelessly throw away. In every thought there is a vision and or decision you will make in the days or years ahead. What you experience today was laid out long before you arrived. The greatest gift that God gave us was the ability to communicate. Many have forgotten how much of a real person they are even to themselves. We choose to speak to others and not learn from self.

Unblock The Block

Listen to "Unblock The Block" on Spreaker. A student asked me "How do you deal with writer's block?" My response was prepared, "I don't believe it. It's a moment or a chapter in your present where you think everything you do sucks. Give yourself permission to be different than what you were yesterday and learn to bend with the wind like a willow." In the broadcast industry we truly don't have time to let walls stand in front of us. There are too many dots that need to become solid lines. To say "Give yourself permission to suck." feels more like a personal attack rather than an open heart guided toward a peaceful discovery. We can't be our best everyday. If you collect enough of those bad storms eventually you begin to believe in them. Change leads the pack on why so many feel blocked. Accept it for what it is. Without change we wouldn't have the luxury of digital devices and other comforts. I remember when the iPhone began it's processes of change and people wanted the old model back. Look how far we've come. Personal change is no different. Bosses and family can stand in your way of growth. Always remember you are the President and CEO of Me Inc. Only you can prevent yourself from growing forward. Allow yourself the opportunity to trip and stumble without having to label it a block.

Beyond Writing

Listen to "Beyond Writing" on Spreaker. I've always loved reading the stories about how Rock Stars laid out their biggest songs on a restaurant napkin. They knew in that moment how fast a thought will disappear if you set it aside. Outside the world of entertainment the everyday person doesn't play by the same layout of expression. The thoughts we carry are often times infected by a past and or ambition that isn't being met. As much as I promote daily writing you'd think the chore of putting words onto paper would lift the path to better shapes and shades of light. That doesn't happen until you locate the courage to let your doodles and word scribbles become part of the path of decision making. What you layout on paper in the morning, noon and even at night is the inner core of your present talking to what is about to become your tomorrow. Treat it as a game in the beginning. Make it a play toy for a month. That artist inside has more control over you then you think. When it's not being given proper attention you're bloated with mood swings and crazy cravings for food and other things. Hear that voice. Then plant the seed in a sheet of paper.

The Landscape

Listen to "The Landscape" on Spreaker. The landscape. We look at our yards and determine what's required to make it the best it can be. We take vacations to places where the landscape is inviting. There's something about a landscape that puts purpose behind why we hold onto memories. I've never been a fan of that word. To me it's added weight. I learned of this view while staring at a photograph I took of the Grand Teton's in Wyoming. I took the shot by way of pointing the lens at the mirror on the drivers side of the car. I distinctly remember saying to myself, "What purpose does a memory serve if I'm moving in a forward direction?" Choose to live a life positioned in the present is an extremely difficult task and or calling. Knowing where you are now better prepares you for tomorrow. Without having to rely on photos of a past you can't change. Because I'm an artist I've returned several times to my displays on canvas and added new textures only to realize who I was in the moment had nothing in common with the original ambition to express. Memories are no different. Gain the courage to accept the willing way of the present so that you can digest the possibilities waiting for you tomorrow. The Landscape.