My Monday Map to Success

The Survival Race of Life

The My Monday Map to Success Team just finished The Survival Race for Dallas, Texas. It was a great day, and an awesome event. We enjoyed the opportunity to challenge ourselves with this awesome adventure. We recommend this race to anyone that is looking for a challenge.

We decided to start running 5K races last year, but did not sign up for a race until January of this year. We signed up for a February race, because it forced us to train prior to the event. We knew that it would be crazy to run a race with training first. We signed up for a timed event and started training by running the distance of a 5K. We determined that we could run the 3.1 miles in the maximum allotted time for the race. Then we worked on completing the distance faster each time we ran it. The training allowed us to complete our regular 5K races under the maximum allotted time. We used those races and additional training to prepare for The Survival Race. We had to train for the race to be successful.

One of the first things we noticed about this race was that there were no maps that explained what obstacles we would encounter during the race. We started the race aware that obstacles would be in our path but did not know what type to expect. The rough terrain was marked with flags and arrows. There were also signs that said "Danger Obstacle ahead", but we had no idea what type of danger was ahead. We had to take the course as it came to us and had to expect the unexpected.

We also were surrounded by other competitors throughout the race. They were very nice people but they were there to test their abilities. When we approached a hazard with others following us, we have to determine our approach and tackle the obstacle in a very short period of time. We did not have much time to study the problem. We had to jump in or we would be passed by others. We had to make a decision and act on it quickly.

Sometimes when we approached an obstacle, we made a decision, acted on it and completed the challenge. Other times, we made a decision based on our prior knowledge that did not work. Like the time when we approached the mud pit, went into deeper water, and found deeper mud. This decision caused us to use a lot of energy, and we had to change our strategy for completing this challenge. We also fell down in the mud pit and lost one of our shoes. We have to make real time adjustment to our plan of attack. When our decisions weren't productive, we had to change them and continue to adjust them until we achieved our goal.

As we progressed through the course, we started to get tired. The run and the mud pits had taken their toll. At this point, we found out what we were made of. We had to determine if our will to finish was stronger than our will to quit. As we neared the end, I asked Tina if she wanted to leave the track because our car was close by. She stated," I am not stopping until I cross the finish line." We have to push ourselves to finish the race well.

Lessons we learned from The Survival Race:

We have learned that we had to train for the race to be successful. We had to take the course as it came to us and had to expect the unexpected. We had to make a decision and act on it quickly. When our decisions weren't productive, we had to change them and continue to adjust them until we achieved our goal. We had to push ourselves to finish the race well.

This Week's Challenge:

We have determined that life is like a survival race. If you approach it the way we approached our race this weekend we will be successful. You have to train for life to be successful. You have to take life as it comes to you and you have to expect the unexpected. You have to make a decision and act on it quickly. When your decisions are not productive, you have to change them and continue to adjust them until you achieved your goal. You have to push yourself to finish life well.

We would like to challenge you to live life and approach it like a race.

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The life of Cicily Nichole Standing

This week, I was honored to attend the funeral of a twenty –three year old young lady named Cicily Standing. She was born two months premature with Cerebral Palsy and the doctors did not give her much of a chance to live. Even though she was born with many complications, she continued to defy all odds and lived past all doctors' predictions. She faced many challenges as she grew up but she never let them defeat her.

Cicily learned to set goals and work until she reached them. She never quit, no matter how hard the challenge, she would continue to work on it until it was completed. At her school, she decided to join the color guard. She never let her physical disabilities stop her. She participated and placed in color guard competitions both as part of a team and as a soloists. She always achieved her goals and never quit.

Cicily also had no fear. She never backed down from a challenge. She would take on any goal with no fear no matter how hard the challenge. She never let anything stop her. When obstacles got in her way, she would go around, go over, and go through them. We must remember that fear may be the only thing that stops us of achieving of goals.

Cicily believed in herself no matter what. This is a great characteristic that is not seen too much these days. She knew what she was made of and believed that she could accomplish anything. If we believe in ourselves, then we can achieve anything that we set out to achieve. Cicily believed in herself and reaped the benefits of her actions.

Cicily laughed and smiled all the time. She laughed and smiled when her life was good and also when her life was not so good. She believed that the best approach to life was a positive approach. In all things, she used humor to get the best out of her life.

Cicily Standing was a world changer and she touched the lives of everyone she met. Her smile would light up a room. Because she touched so many, we thought that her personal steps to success should be shared with others

This week's challenge:    

We should try to follow the five steps to success that Cicily showed us. We need to set goals and work until we achieve them. We should have no fear and let nothing stop us. We should believe in ourselves no matter what. We should laugh at all things and in all times. If we apply these five steps to our lives, we can live a life that honors the memory of this wonderful young lady.

 

In Loving Memory of Cicily Nichole Standing 1989-2013

What We Can Learn From Tragedy!

The Boston Marathon bombing is a major tragedy. It has taken the lives of three people and changed the lives of countless others. As a graduate of Boston University, I understand the great pride that Bostonians have in their town and the Boston Marathon. We have the families of those killed in the blast in our thoughts and prayers. We are also praying for the people who were injured for their quick recovery. And lastly, we are praying for all those who were affected by the day's events. In this time of tragedy, we stand with Boston.

This week, we have witnessed a great tragedy in Boston. What should we do when faced with a tragedy like this? As Human beings, we always start out with disbelief; this is quickly followed by shock. The world around us seems to stop as we try to make sense of what we are witnessing. After the shock wears off, we are left with a sense of mourning. We are left with sadness, sadness for those families who have lost their love ones. Sadness for those injured, whose lives will be changed forever. And a sadness for the innocence that was lost. These emotions are all part of the healing process. We all need healing, but what can we learn from the event?

We believe that events like this should make us take stock of our lives. We should look at our lives and be thankful that we are alive. If we woke up this morning, we have an opportunity to make a difference in the world. We need to start today to make the changes necessary for success. We should take advantage of the lives we have been given.

We should also be grateful that we still have our family around us. We should appreciate those that are around us and take time to be with our loved ones. During these times, we are reminded how important our family is to our happiness. We need to tell them we love them, and take the time to listen to them. We never know when we will have our last conversation. We should never take our family for granted.

What about our friends, and supporters? We should take time to thank those around us that support us and cheer us on. The Boston Marathon is all about supporting others as they try to do what others have never done. We should appreciate those who are there for us through thick and thin. We need to tell those around us how we feel about them. So now it is our turn, and we would like to thank you for your support and encouragement. We could not do My Monday Map to Success without you. Thank you, we love and appreciate all of you.

Love,

Tina and Brenton White

Living Your Dreams

Where have all the dreams gone? When you ask a child what they are planning to do when they grow up, they will tell you about their great dreams. They can be whatever they want to be, the sky is the limit. Children see the future with great optimism. What happens to this optimism as we grow? Where do all these childhood dreams go?

 

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."
― Langston Hughes

 

As we grow older, what happens to our dreams? We all start out with great dreams when we are in elementary school. We go through Junior High School and some people's dreams die. Then in High School, more dreams disappear. When we graduate from High School, more people lose their dreams. Little by little as people get older, they give up their dreams, and just try to make it from day to day. We just lose our feeling that we can achieve our dreams. Why does this happen?

 

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

 

As we travel through our lives, we see many people around us that are unhappy. They are mad at others and themselves. We see their overreaction to other's happiness. Why they are so upset? I believe that they are irritated at themselves for not following their dreams. Giving up your dreams will cause you to lose hope. Without hope, you become angry, and you take it out on yourself and others.

 

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.

-Walt Disney

 

If you are following your dreams, congratulations, you are among the few! It is awesome to meet people who are happy and content with their life. If you are not living your dreams, there is still hope for you. You can still live your dreams but you will have to make some changes in your life.

 

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
― H. Jackson Brown Jr.

 

There are several steps that you need to take to live your dreams. You need to determine your dreams, you need to develop your dreams, you need to love your dream, and finally you need to live your dream. If you follow the steps we discuss in this blog, than you will increase your ability to reach your dream.

You first need to figure out what your dream is. It is very important that you revisit your youthful memories and see what dreams you had as a small child. These dreams should give you a glimpse into your purpose in life. What makes you come alive, what make you happy? These are all clues into what your dreams.

 

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
― Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Once you have determined what your dream is, it is time to develop that dream. You need to determine what is standing between you and the dream. Is there something that you need to learn? Are there connects that you need to make? Is there a move that you need to make? You need to now eliminate every obstacle you can that is standing between you and you dream.

Loving your dream come next in this process. Are you committed to the process? You now have to determine how far are you willing to go to accomplish your dream. What resources are you willing to comment to the process? You must be willing to comment to the process that it will take to accomplish your dream. If reaching your dreams where easy than most people would achieve their dreams.

 

 

"Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true."
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Now you are ready to live your dream. Are you ready to live in the moment? Once you are doing what you love, you must love what you do. You must live in the moment and enjoy what you are doing. You should never take this for granted.

    

This week's challenge:

This week, we all need to determine if we are living our dreams. If you are no living our dreams then we need to determine your dreams, you need to develop your dreams, you need to love your dream, and you need to live your dream. If you follow the steps we discuss in this blog, than you will increase your ability to reach your dream. This week, we need to determine if we are willing to take these steps to follow our dreams.