One of the benefits of life is that it’s progressive.  It’s always moving forward. As long as you are living it never stops.  For a person with “stinking thinking” this isn’t good news, because it means they are forever living with the results of their bad choices and attitude.  However for the person who is forever growing and seeking to become better this is awesome.  Because it means they are constantly seeing the results of new lessons learned and spiritual resolve.  Life always being progressive and in the now is a gift from God.  I guess that’s why we call it the present.  This is a hard concept to grasp in today’s society. As a whole we either celebrate perpetual youth, tempting adults to constantly look backwards or we celebrate constant preparation for the future as if todays importance is minimal.

Recently, I was reflecting on how life can be terribly simple to live and enjoy if we stick to a few simple rules.  Today I will share three of them.  These rules simplicity provide clarity for life.  And clarity for life helps us to learn from our past, be mindful of our future plans but most importantly it helps us to excel in our present.  

My good friend Marshawn Evans (@marshawnevans) would say it this way; “Clarity is a divine gift. It fuels our hope, expands our vision and rejuvenates our faith. Clarity is the best motivator on the planet”

You already know.  Sometimes complicated life choices will come.  Then the preverbal question will arise: “What should I do?”.  The reality for those of us who consider ourselves people of faith is that most of the time we already know the answer.  The choice typically has only shown up to test our belief in an area of life.  Of course its good to think things through and seek good advice, but in the end you already know.  In fact, in John 10:27 Jesus says: “My sheep KNOW my voice…”  When we pray about the choice…most of the time it shouldn’t be for the “What to do”…it should be for the “How, why, when, strength, resources & where to do it”.  You already know what to do and to violate that puts you in harms way making life more murky and difficult than it needs to be.

The road is always roughest when we get off of it.  I love cars.  My favorite cars are sports cars and I’ve owned a couple in my life so far.  My favorite was my Nissan 350Z One thing i can tell you about that car is that it attracts attention, its dual exhaust sounds amazing and it is fast.  They are great on open roads, but horrid in situations where you make a wrong turn and end up on a dirt path or unpaved parking lot. They don’t perform nearly as well.  Life is the same way.  Like a fine tuned sports car as long as we stay on the road and follow directions to our life path everyone sees us and goes, “Wow! Look at that!”.  But the second we get off path…things get ugly.  Life lesson number two; stay in your lane! As much as you know how, stay on the road…and hit the gas!

Your success is specific to an area.  I believe this is true for all people but especially single men.  We don’t seem to be able to adapt as quickly as women.  It’s not that they are better (arguably they are) :-) its just that we are different.  Success is like a football tossed on the field, if you want to catch it you must be in position.  You gotta be in the right spot at the right time.  You can’t do just anything and expect success.  Success is specific and tailored to what YOU are PURPOSED to do in the geography WHERE you should do it.  God has tossed the ball and told you were to be to make the catch.  It isn’t easy, especially if you’ve mad mistakes or look like me.   Statistics say by far you wont make it.  You will have to fight to get into position.  That may mean more education, watching your resources more carefully, fighting your past, overcoming a poverty mentality, being careful who you align yourself with, getting yourself spiritually fit and making yourself better.  It may mean being single for a bit longer so you can focus and bring more value to the family you will build.  I know it isn’t easy, but you MUST get into position.  I am fighting along side you.  This fight is a test of will and skill and you can improve both.  Be EXACTLY who you were born and created to be.  Be that person in the most vivid way.  Get into position. Life is much more clarion clear that way.  The world needs YOU!

by @waltward3

Walter Ward is a…

God Chaser. Sneaker Lover. Blogger. Banker Guy. Good Friend. Story Teller. Influencer. Urban Professional. Speaker. Voracious Reader. MBA Candidate. Curator of Cool.

and

Mothers love him…

When a person departs the land of the living and enters the hereafter, those of us who remain eulogize them in a ceremony.  We discuss their life; what they accomplished, the love ones they left behind and life lessons they taught us.  At the completion of the ceremony, we bury their body; marking the burial place with a headstone.  The headstone displays their name, the date of their birth, the date of their death and the focus of this post; the dash in between the two.

In the end, the dash is all we have.  The dash is the most important and valuable part of life.  The value is derived from the fact that life itself is brief.  God has given a finite measure of life to each of us. He alone knows how much.  Consequently, the demand for life is very high, but the supply is low.  You can’t buy more of it, you can’t trade for it and taking it from someone else doesn’t add more to yours.  The dash is all we have and individually it is up to us to make it worth something.

Every so often a person emerges showing us just how valuable that dash can be.  They live their life to the fullest.  And much like a meteor streaking across the sky, their accomplishments become a spectacle of awe for the rest of us to see.  Dr. Martin Luther King was such a person.  

Martin was only 39 years old when he was killed April 4th, 1968.  In that short 39 years he achieved much. Dr. King was the catalyst to the civil rights movement.   However in many ways he also is the father to the modern human rights and social justice movements today.   Echoes of his methodology can be seen in the  Occupy Wall Street protests as well as last year’s Arab Summer.  As a reference point here are a few of Dr. King’s accomplishments:

• wrote an advice column for Ebony Magazine (this was before he was wildly popular & a little known fact)
• graduated from high school at age 15
• served as a co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia 
• served as senior pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
• received an undergraduate degree from Morehouse and a doctorate degree from Boston University
• was an executive committee member of the NAACP
• lived in three different cities in 10 years.
• was a celebrated husband and father
• served as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• started a bus boycott that caused the Supreme Court to recognize his cause
• traveled over six million miles
• spoke publicly twenty five hundred times
• wrote five books and numerous articles
• received five honorary degrees
• at age 35 became the youngest man to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize (he donated the cash that came along with it to the civil rights movement…even though he was not a wealthy man)
• directed a peaceful march of over 250,000 on Washington DC
• Help start a civil rights revolution (which is still revolving and evolving today)

MLK is a shining example of the true value of the dash.  The world needs leaders and heroes who like him will dedicate their life to something more. Martin left a mark on the world that cannot be erased.  Although an imperfect man, he was a perfect example of what a man yielded to God’s plan for his life can do.  Martin’s accomplishments should be a sign post to motivate us to do greater and achieve more.  Here are three lessons his life has taught me.

Be Driven: Even apart from the civil rights movement when you look at MLK’s accomplishments they are impressive.  He was a man that pushed himself to his physical, emotional and intellectual limits to do what was necessary.  His motivation to do so came from an internal engine and not an external situation.  This is why he was able to keep going in the face of adversity.  President Obama embodies this in our generation.  My challenge to myself and you is this; Push.  Be driven to be your best.  Why would you settle for anything less? It’s a slap in God’s face to not rise to your potential.  Go to school. Raise your children well. Get an advance degree. Be aware of what is going on in your community.  Contribute to the world around you and make it a better place.  

Live Urgently: Things typically don’t change unless you change them or influence others to do so.  One lesson that Martin Luther King taught me was to never wait for someone else to do what you ultimately can achieve yourself.  Urgently pursue whats right.  Urgently go after your dreams. The 1955/56 Montgomery bus boycott is a great example.  Inside of one year MLK had the supreme court declare that bus segregation was unconstitutional.  His only weapon was to peacefully organize financial resistance to the bus system.  This Supreme Court declaration later became the precedent for other desegregation laws.  The non-violent method of resistance also became a precedent for Dr. King himself.  My question is this; What is it that needs to be changed in your life or in the community you belong to? What is stopping YOU from changing it? Don’t wait for someone else, live urgently and make the change yourself.

Have a dream:  It’s interesting to me that Dr. King’s most famous speech was the “I have a dream” speech.  That speech was his mantra, and the world could sense it.  It was the power of that dream that pushed him to accomplish the things that he did.  It’s been said if you have a big enough “why” you can go through any “what”.  My question for you is what is your dream?  What is your why? What are you pushing for?  What would you like to see in your own life and in the lives of others?

The best way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King on January 16th is not only to have a day off from work but to engage in service and reflection on what you want your lasting legacy to be.  And legacy is nothing more than purpose fully grown.  How will you change yourself, your family and your community for the better?  What will your dash represent.

by: @waltward3

Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.

Im starting a new series called: “#30by30 30 Lessons to Learn before you turn 30 Something”

Life is an amazing gift.  There are so many things to enjoy, places to go, food to eat, people to meet and lessons to learn.  It’s important to note that life is more than just concerns about things.  However when we keep the proper perspective on them, they can help enhance life’s real purpose of glorifying our creator.

I hope by the time you are “30 something” that you have experienced enough of life to know what you like.  Its the ability to identify what you like and maximize those that makes you interesting to others.  Some call the summation of the last statement as “Swagger”.

How would you describe yourself? Have you learned to enjoy the flavor of life?  Take some time and visit somewhere; New York, Chicago or Atlanta. Visit London, Tokyo or Rome.  Learn the area’s history, the culture of its people take what you like make it your own and leave the rest for someone else.

Go to colourlovers.com and create your own life pallet.  Visit http://bit.ly/Ei6Wl and create a lifestyle design plan.  Do something, but by God’s grace go and enjoy life!!!!

by @waltward3

Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.

2012 is no longer just around the corner but it’s here.  As humans when calendars change we seem to develop an attitude of reflection. Often times this attitude is accompanied by an acknowledgement of lessons that were learned in the past season.  Lessons that become a watery soup of “rules to live by” going into the next.

For me this is true and I wanted to take a few moments to detail six of the lessons that I  learned or was reminded of in 2011.

Fear Not: At first glance, 2012 seems to be a year that has people fearful.  Whether it’s the predictions of the Mayan calendar, the possible return of Jesus or the failure of the Eurozone people are finding reasons to be scared.  What I learned in 2011 is that fear is not fair.  It’s one sided.  It only looks at the possibilities of one outcome, usually the one that seems to cause us the most harm.  Fear is usually a liar too.  The things that fear has been telling us in the past usually never happen.  Most importantly fear is an emotion and as such it can be controlled. Just because you feel fear today doesn’t mean that you have to keep feeling it tomorrow.  For those of us who consider ourselves people of faith, think on these words: “God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of love, power and a sound mind.” - 1 Tim 1:7

Some people cant go: We all know it intuitively and have heard it said many times before: “some relationships are for a season, some are for a reason and others are forever”, yet it still hurts when we realize it personally.  2011 has taught me that the people you started 2011 with are not always the ones that will be with you when it ends.  It’s not a bad thing and it isn’t up to us to classify people, it’s just for us to know this is God’s way.  People in your life typically do one of four things: 1) develop you for what is coming 2) introduce a challenge or opportunity to go to the next level 3) reveal a deficiency in your life that needs to be fixed 4) accompany you on life’s journey and strengthen you when you need it.  In 2012 focus on creating quality relationships with people around you, invest the time necessary to do it.  But also let people play their role in your life.  Remember it was Judas who ultimately revealed Jesus as the savior.

Be legacy minded:  Legacy is purpose all grown up.  2011 has taught me that you have to have the end game in mind.  Never sacrifice your future on the altar of the present.  Choices when at all possible should be made with your long term goals in mind.  This implies a level of planning and foresight; things that take work and discipline. It’s important to be proactive with your own planning because things are always going according to a plan, either your own or someone else’s.  Other’s plans FOR you will be made with their limited knowledge OF you.  And for that reason they can’t be legacy focused.  You are the only one that can effectively plan for your future so do just that.  Most people don’t effectively plan their day, let alone a whole year or more.  Legacies are built and planned, they rarely just happen.

Focus on the details: Details are pesky; they are so small, intricate and seemingly unimportant.  For many of us we think in big graphic pictures.  We see things from a 10,000 foot view and place our value on the overall image.  But 2011 has taught me that the details are important too.  How many times have you seen a great idea lost in poor writing or speaking?  Many times the details that are missed can disqualify you from even pleading your case.  Those pesky details can give people a reason to not hear you.  They are smoky clouds blurring peoples vision of who you are and what you can do. To be successful in 2012 you must concentrate and remind yourself to focus on the details.  It just may be what separates you from the next level.

Do what you can…in excellence: You cant control what others think of you or how they see you.  What you can do however is your best.  Today It’s almost cliche; “do your best”, and unfortunately, “do your best” seems to be translated as “do good enough”.  2011 has taught me that good enough is rarely good enough. In fact good enough is at best average.  Doing good enough is what everyone is looking for.  Good enough keeps you where you are.  But being excellent is purposefully looking to offer more than what is expected. Excellence is a sign that you are ready for the next challenge, the next promotion in life, work and relationships.  In 2012 purposefully decide to be excellent. - Dan 5:12

Prayer works: Guess what? God is real and He answers prayers. God is sovereign and can do whatever He likes, however something seems to happen when we echo a written promise in His word to the world around us. Things tend to line up with that written promise.  2011 has taught me and people around me that when we pray in faith, we should expect things to happen.  If not, then why pray?  Prayer can be one of the most powerful tools we have to affect change in our lives and the lives of others.  When we pray God can heal.  When we pray God can provide.  When we pray God can move. When we pray God opens doors. But remember prayer isn’t a one time thing.  It isn’t a shot in the dark and hope type deal.  In 2012 let’s use prayer in a faith-filled, systematic and consistent way to make our lives look the way God designed them to.

Twitter: @waltward3

NormalisDead.com

Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.