At some point in your life, you will find yourself at the crossroad between desperation and compromise. While others may say that the latter is a direct result of the former, and that may hold true in most cases, I still believe that such a crossroad exists.
At this crossroad is where you are most weak… vulnerable and at times irrational. It is at this crossroad where regrets are birthed and consequences are severe. It is at the crossroad of despair and compromise that one feels emotionally violated, which ever road is taken.
Why?
It’s because that at this road, we rely on our principles. At the crossroad between desperation and compromise, it is our principle that we wager. We justify everything with reason on why need to take this road or that. In this case, there is no high road.
In this situation, it is better to just walk away. And there will be neither regrets nor consequences. And I will guarantee you that you will gain in strength in character and confidence in yourself. And people will respect you for that.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Happy Birthday to My Son, Heaven
Here is a poem for my son, Heaven, who is turning thirteen on March 17, 2009
Thirteen
by Paco Arespacochaga
No longer a boy
Not yet a man
A heart of a lion
Showing everyone you can
You’ve had your share of ups
Of doubts
And fun was a word
You can define and understand
No longer a boy
Not yet a man
Full of hopes and dreams
Showing everyone you can
And slowly you’re claiming
Silently we’re giving
Soon the boy will cease
Giving way to the man arriving
Thirteen is the gate
To a whole new world
For the boy will soon be a man
Another voice to be heard
On your special day
I beam with pride on the things you’ve done
Happy Birthday my Heaven…
My boy… my son!
I love you!
Thirteen
by Paco Arespacochaga
No longer a boy
Not yet a man
A heart of a lion
Showing everyone you can
You’ve had your share of ups
Of doubts
And fun was a word
You can define and understand
No longer a boy
Not yet a man
Full of hopes and dreams
Showing everyone you can
And slowly you’re claiming
Silently we’re giving
Soon the boy will cease
Giving way to the man arriving
Thirteen is the gate
To a whole new world
For the boy will soon be a man
Another voice to be heard
On your special day
I beam with pride on the things you’ve done
Happy Birthday my Heaven…
My boy… my son!
I love you!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Stop Right Now!
Benjamin Franklin said that "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
Embrace this quote and life will be better! Maybe out of complacency or habit, we tend to do things the way do things and get frustrated in the end if we don’t like the end result. Guess what? Do it again the same way you did it earlier and you still get the same result!
However simple, most of us don’t get. We blame our partners, co-workers, family and friends for our failures and frustrations but the reality is WE ARE TO BLAME!
Think about it for a minute. Instead of putting the blame on someone else, own up to the situation and change what needs to be and see if you still get the same result. In a relationship, instead of the typical “me first”, tweak it to the “you first”, see what will happen. You might just be surprised with the result.
At work, it’s the same thing. Your desk is a mess. You’re behind the eight ball on deadlines and you’ve got an unfinished presentation that’s due “yesterday”. Try changing your work habits! Maybe coming early or leaving late may bring in a different result.
Are you over weight? Yeah, keep eating that 50,000 calorie steak and see if it helps you lose the excess. However if you change your eating habits… yeah you get it!
The quote written on top was something I was fortunate enough to embrace. I was on a self proclaimed downward spiral when I chanced upon this quote.
After making it a commitment to better myself, beginning with humbling myself before God, I started on a journey to find small ways and means to avoid doing the same thing that caused me to be in a downward spiral to begin with.
It doesn’t take 24 hours to experience minute or tremendous results. And it doesn’t take a lot of encouragement either to get that momentum going.
Here’s the challenge. We know that we cannot be better people with using the same mindset that made us who we are right now. This being said, what then can we do to make ourselves better people?
Have a nice day!
Embrace this quote and life will be better! Maybe out of complacency or habit, we tend to do things the way do things and get frustrated in the end if we don’t like the end result. Guess what? Do it again the same way you did it earlier and you still get the same result!
However simple, most of us don’t get. We blame our partners, co-workers, family and friends for our failures and frustrations but the reality is WE ARE TO BLAME!
Think about it for a minute. Instead of putting the blame on someone else, own up to the situation and change what needs to be and see if you still get the same result. In a relationship, instead of the typical “me first”, tweak it to the “you first”, see what will happen. You might just be surprised with the result.
At work, it’s the same thing. Your desk is a mess. You’re behind the eight ball on deadlines and you’ve got an unfinished presentation that’s due “yesterday”. Try changing your work habits! Maybe coming early or leaving late may bring in a different result.
Are you over weight? Yeah, keep eating that 50,000 calorie steak and see if it helps you lose the excess. However if you change your eating habits… yeah you get it!
The quote written on top was something I was fortunate enough to embrace. I was on a self proclaimed downward spiral when I chanced upon this quote.
After making it a commitment to better myself, beginning with humbling myself before God, I started on a journey to find small ways and means to avoid doing the same thing that caused me to be in a downward spiral to begin with.
It doesn’t take 24 hours to experience minute or tremendous results. And it doesn’t take a lot of encouragement either to get that momentum going.
Here’s the challenge. We know that we cannot be better people with using the same mindset that made us who we are right now. This being said, what then can we do to make ourselves better people?
Have a nice day!
Monday, March 9, 2009
What If You Only Had Today?
What If You Only Had Today…
Would you forgive the people who have done you wrong?
Would you ask for forgiveness from those you’ve done wrong to?
Would you appreciate life more?
Would you spend time dwelling on the past or would you embrace what you have left?
What would you do if you only had today?
With friends dying every year since 2005, I am loudly reminded of my mortality. And as such, I have begun to reflect on my life’s current state and where it is headed if I am given the opportunity to live it longer than today.
First out my “character” door is the proverbial trait… the Mañana Habit. If something important needs to get done, it has to be done as soon as possible. And if I don’t think it’s that important, maybe I shouldn’t waste my energy and time stressing about it. But all of these are subjective and relative to ones own lifestyle. In this case, mine.
I’ve come to realize that what matters most to me is my family. With God being a given priority, my wife and two children come before anything else. This is immediately followed by my passion, which are the creative arts (music, film making and goofing around). I will stop here. It’s really irrelevant to add more to this because everything important really falls under God, Family and Passion.
With God being the center of my life, it should be a given for me to make sure I feed my spirit daily with His Word. Doing so equips me with renewed mental and spiritual strength needed to face the world every morning.
Why should I get up every morning? When I was younger and had parents, I could care less of what went on with the world or with anybody. As long as Mom & Dad provided, I was good! You see, back then, it was all about me… Me… ME! Of course that changed over time. Being orphaned and eventually having a family of my own had everything to do with the need of waking up early every morning. A man’s got to hunt to feed his family. In the 21st century, we call it… 9-5!
And because my family comes after God, and the need to be able to find ways and means to provide food and shelter for them are bare necessities. And because my wife and children mean everything to me, I want to give them more than the basics in life. And I want to secure their future in every aspect.
What father in his right mind wouldn’t want to be around to share insights with his kids and to have relaxing conversations with his wife? I want to be available for my kids when they need me and to be around for my wife when she needs me. I also have to find a way to sustain my provision for them financially, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. This means I need to be both aggressive and creative. And while I would rather be doing this my means of my passion, I must be able to be flexible and provide for my family any which way I can.
However, not sharpening my own saw can lead to a “dull” me. In order for me to cut through the ever tangling trials of life and succeed, I need to be sharp! I need to replenish my inner and outer self. I need to rejuvenate my inner soul!
And I do this by immersing my self in songwriting activities, film editing and scoring or simply reading a book or take on a project.
All these things make me who I am and what I can be.
Who knows? I might write the next hit song which will then give me the opportunity to earn good revenue to provide for my family and their family. And when people begin to ask me to whom I give all the credit to, I’ll humbly say “To God Be the Glory!”
Would you forgive the people who have done you wrong?
Would you ask for forgiveness from those you’ve done wrong to?
Would you appreciate life more?
Would you spend time dwelling on the past or would you embrace what you have left?
What would you do if you only had today?
With friends dying every year since 2005, I am loudly reminded of my mortality. And as such, I have begun to reflect on my life’s current state and where it is headed if I am given the opportunity to live it longer than today.
First out my “character” door is the proverbial trait… the Mañana Habit. If something important needs to get done, it has to be done as soon as possible. And if I don’t think it’s that important, maybe I shouldn’t waste my energy and time stressing about it. But all of these are subjective and relative to ones own lifestyle. In this case, mine.
I’ve come to realize that what matters most to me is my family. With God being a given priority, my wife and two children come before anything else. This is immediately followed by my passion, which are the creative arts (music, film making and goofing around). I will stop here. It’s really irrelevant to add more to this because everything important really falls under God, Family and Passion.
With God being the center of my life, it should be a given for me to make sure I feed my spirit daily with His Word. Doing so equips me with renewed mental and spiritual strength needed to face the world every morning.
Why should I get up every morning? When I was younger and had parents, I could care less of what went on with the world or with anybody. As long as Mom & Dad provided, I was good! You see, back then, it was all about me… Me… ME! Of course that changed over time. Being orphaned and eventually having a family of my own had everything to do with the need of waking up early every morning. A man’s got to hunt to feed his family. In the 21st century, we call it… 9-5!
And because my family comes after God, and the need to be able to find ways and means to provide food and shelter for them are bare necessities. And because my wife and children mean everything to me, I want to give them more than the basics in life. And I want to secure their future in every aspect.
What father in his right mind wouldn’t want to be around to share insights with his kids and to have relaxing conversations with his wife? I want to be available for my kids when they need me and to be around for my wife when she needs me. I also have to find a way to sustain my provision for them financially, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. This means I need to be both aggressive and creative. And while I would rather be doing this my means of my passion, I must be able to be flexible and provide for my family any which way I can.
However, not sharpening my own saw can lead to a “dull” me. In order for me to cut through the ever tangling trials of life and succeed, I need to be sharp! I need to replenish my inner and outer self. I need to rejuvenate my inner soul!
And I do this by immersing my self in songwriting activities, film editing and scoring or simply reading a book or take on a project.
All these things make me who I am and what I can be.
Who knows? I might write the next hit song which will then give me the opportunity to earn good revenue to provide for my family and their family. And when people begin to ask me to whom I give all the credit to, I’ll humbly say “To God Be the Glory!”
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