New Baby New Life

Tomorrow morning at 7am we will enter the hospital and my wife will give birth to our fourth child...a baby boy. As I sit here I feel completely calm and blessed. If you are a parent then you know how incredible it is to bring a new child into your world. Although it has been perhaps the most stressful time of my life, I also realize it is the best time of my life. I believe God blesses us with more as we take on more responsibility.

I have had many new opportunities come my way in recent months and some are completely overwhelming. I chose to not let anything get in my way of accomplishing my big dreams and goals. Instead of running away from things bigger than me....I am running straight at them. Each person has their own goals in life...but greatness comes when we pursue them with complete faith that we can accomplish them.

Can't wait to meet my little guy tomorrow morning. I'm sure he will come out yelling "bring on the world!"

If we don't hit the moon....we are sure to land on the stars. That is the purpose of our journey on earth...and don't try to convince me otherwise.

Daydreams or not...they become reality

I have been thinking recently about how unique we all are and how much we all have to offer the world. It doesn’t matter our background or past accomplishments, we all have huge potential. I think the thing the world fails to teach us is that there is always a way to accomplish dreams and goals. It doesn't happen overnight and it may come in the form of a non traditional vehicle...BUT there is always a way.

I remember many days even as a young child where I would dream of doing incredible things instead of being confined to a classroom. One day in particular sticks out in my mind. I was in 6^th grade and I was staring outside through the windows while the lesson was going on. I felt the playground calling me and I felt like I was there as I stared intently out the window. Some people call it daydreaming but I felt alive while in those dreams. I do admit I became a professional daydreamer throughout Junior High and High School and reached my peak in College. This was until that kid inside of me, the one that was staring through the window at the playground, decided that enough was enough. I will never forget the day I decided that I was going to make something happen in my life, one way or another. I was 22 years old and pulled out of the driveway and headed west.

This leap of faith led me to Los Angeles where I met my amazing wife. Her belief in me made me realize I could do anything I set out to accomplish. So many times in my life I have felt scared that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything or provide for a family. I realize now that we need to draw on hope, courage and belief from any place we can. For me it is from my faith, my wife and kids and yes…even from my dreams. Whatever it is for you, find it and use it.

I don’t write this to make myself sound like a success, because I believe success is a never ending process. Success to me is simply the consistent pursuit of a worthy goal. I write this because I have met many people recently that have experienced some things that I couldn’t imagine experiencing and I see them gain strength from many places… and that makes them a success.

There is a story I love about when Disneyworld was completed and they had the opening celebration to celebrate the great accomplishment. Walt Disney had already past away at this point but Disneyworld was a dream of his so it was a significant occasion. Someone turned to Walt Disney’s wife and said “It’s too bad Walt wasn’t here to see this.” Walt’s wife responded with “Oh Walt saw this long before any of us ever did.”

Dreams become reality. If you want something enough….go and get it! Even if it means taking the road less traveled.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim
because it was grassy and wanted wear;
though as for that, the passing there
had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no feet had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference

Sacrifice for futures and success

On this Memorial Day, I sit here and think about those that have sacrificed much for people like me and you. Not only the incredible men and women in war that have sacrificed their lives in order for us to enjoy our freedoms, but also the easier to forget and often overlooked ancestors that sacrificed more than we can imagine to give us what we now have.

What is your background and where do you really come from? My ancestors come from Scotland and Ireland. As peasants and farmers they made their way to the United States many many years ago in hopes of a better future, not only for them but for future generations. They came here and made their way out west and always kept their faith in their beliefs. I can't imagine what they must have gone through in order to leave their homes and come to a new world just to face opposition and trials. I often think about how they must have had rock solid belief in what they had chosen to do, in order to see it through.

How often do we second guess ourselves and our decisions? It is easy to hear and let the "noise" in which we allow to distract us. I know my ancestors had a lot of opposition and distractions come their way...but they kept moving in the direction where they knew they would find happiness.

Now hundreds of years later the sacrifices of my peasant ancestors have led to generations of doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, committed mothers, fathers and children that recognize that sacrifice and work hard on a daily basis to give back and influence others for good.

How does this story relate to me and my life? I wake up each day with the knowledge of my responsibility to do good and influence people's lives for good. My opinion is that success can only be achieved through sacrifice. The more one sacrifices in the pursuit of a worthy goal, the higher the reward. There will be obstacles and some may feel too big to overcome, but the law of sacrifice does not change. Work towards your goal and you will achieve it in the end.

Sometime you may feel like the people headed out west in pursuit of the happiness they dreamt of, but just know that no matter how hard the road is, your sacrifice will provide generations of future successes and freedoms.

So on this Memorial Day I say thank you to those ancestors, men and women that have died and sacrificed for me and you.

This is just one blessing and success story that is because of sacrifices made by pathfinders (leaders) long ago. This is my family!

Allow me to introduce myself...

It is great to finally have a blog of my own. I feel like Julie from Julie & Julia, wondering if anyone will end up reading my words. I am excited for this opportunity to express myself and to share my knowledge and experiences about my life and my profession.

I am an international entrepreneur, but what does that mean? My goal over the next days, weeks, months and years will be to share my thoughts on what that means and how it became a reality for me. My goal will also be to help you make that a reality in your life...only if you really want it of course.

Stay tuned for more and thanks for reading.

Oh yeah and... I love meeting people so please feel free to contact me.