matteveland.net

This is something that I would many years back. It was one of the first I had did.

as she stands and waits. the cars of the night drive by, carrying people to their homes, work or places of satisfaction. she wonders if they have every stopped to see how fast life truly moves? her walk sign become lit and she pauses to wait to see if traffic will stop. to many times has she seen traffic blow right through the red light as they move. as she steps out she makes sure to walk only on the white lines that create the cross walk, enjoying the challenge of not stepping on the street. as she makes it to the turn lane the green hand is replaced with a flashing red one. so she moves a little faster picking up her pace, still ensuring only the white lines are stepped on.  she reaches the other side of the road in time to watch the busy traffic start up again, as they move to where ever they are headed. as she walks past the store fronts. she notices several new stores that have replaced the old ones that have recently moved from the area. wondering what they might be. she reaches the next street. this street is less hectic then the last, as no one really drives down it. it has just a small intersection with a 4-way stop. she crosses the street. and heads north up the road to her home. as she walks she wonders what the night will hold for her? and if her dog got in the trash while she was out. as she walks closer to her home a neighbor greets her with formal pleasantries. she returns the greeting and moves closer to her home. arriving at her her home she stops and stands on the sidewalk for a brief second. thinking of how lucky she is to live here and so grateful for all the things she has been blessed with. her home is a white, single story family home. she enjoys flowers and loves a nice looking lawn, she has spent may hours working in the lawn planting several of her favorite flowers in the front yard. as she walks up the sidewalk to her front door, she gently touches the hibiscus flowers that line her walkway leading up to her home. she planted this flowers there, because, for her, her home is here little piece of paradise, second only to the ocean, that seems so far way. as she stops at the front door she takes a deep breath as she prepares to enter her home. she reaches out to take the handle in her hand and slowly turns the knob as if trying to sneak into her own home. she slowly opens the door. looking for any sign of life that could be inside. she looks left through the opening created in the door when she opened it, seeing nothing. she then opens it a little more looking the other way down her hallway inside. as she looks back she sees a blur move across the doorway that separates the kitchen from the family room. she quickly shuts the door. only to repeat the process again. this time not seeing the blur. she moves quickly trying not to make any noise. she shuts the door gently, holding the knob until the lock sits in the hole, releasing the knob. she moves right down the hallway away from where she last saw the blur. she reaches the threshold that divides the hallway from the living room. she slowly leans to look around the corner. there she see her husband playing with their children. she looks upon them and thanks god for the family that he has given her and the time she has enjoyed with them. she leans back into the hallway. she hears a noise coming from behind her. she asks herself what it could be. she slowly turns around preparing herself for any possibility. just as she gets turned around. roof! here comes her dog, red. red is their chocolate lab. he begins to run toward her as is he has not seen her for days. his paws trying to grip the wood floors as he runs towards her. one paws slides out from under him. thud. his heads hits the floor. mom! she hears behind her. doo, doo, doo, the sounds the children feet make as they run towards her as she stands in the hallway. just as the children make it to her to greet her with open arms, ouch! there is red trying to partake in the excitement by jumping onto her. red off! she says sternly. and down he goes to sit by patiently. hi honey. her husband says as he turns the corner to see his family all together. he extends his arms to embrace all of his family. 

People long for a clear set of standards and expectations. That the task they undertake in life needs to be clearly defined. There can be no gray area. 

You are only as strong as you are willing to push yourself. The moment that you stop believing in yourself is the moment you fail yourself. You can become your greatest advocate or your worst enemy, the choice is yours.

Who will you affect today, whether that is positive or negative? And what impact will they have on others? If we are to strive for greatness why are we willing to quit as soon as it gets tough?

Awaken from my slumber.

The morning filled with night.

Gathering my things, I go about my way.

My time filled with emptiness.

The struggle begins; I will not be defeated.

I progress; wondering what the day will bring forth.

Rush, rush, rush; everything done today because it must.

The day is filled, never really accomplishing much.

The tone set by those around, much is to be desired.

Focusing forward, the day is what I make of it.

I choose to make a difference; not in their life, but mine.

The day is complete.

To the emptiness I return.

Soon loneliness turns to joy.

I am greeted with open arms by those I love.

A pleasant reminder, that there are those that still care. 

Our time is filled with company.

All too soon our time together must end.

Memories will frequent my mind with a fondness.

Tomorrow is not promised, but I wait with bated breath; that those I love will be there to join me.

I return to my slumber.

ok so some time ago I outlined the goals that I had and wanted to accomplish. None of these had a specific timeline, rather they just needed to be completed. So here is an update…

Graduate from college (B.S. Government). – Three credits closer and currently taking one class. 

Become debt free. – Only have a few loans left. (Funny thing is they aren’t even mine.)

Retire with $1,000,000 in savings. – A fraction of a percentage there, but added everyday. 

Write a book. (Fiction/Non-Fiction, it doesn’t matter). – Starting the concepts.

Become physically fit/healthy. – Made tremendous strides recently. I’m above my one rep max from just a few months ago. 

Own my own business. – Planning stages for a wallet/clothing design. 

Pursue the arts (Painting/Photography) – I have been painting more and have been taking photos every few days for an upcoming project. 

Learn to code. – Nothing yet. But would like to look into this after I graduate, maybe a second degree. 

 

 

When the time comes don’t assume that I achieved what I have overnight. Understand that I have spent hours dedicated to what I do. Those hours took place over months and years. When I wanted to quit I fought through. My goals will not be dreams of a grand future. A utopian mirage of grander. Along the road, others will discourage. Others will find fault. But the difference between others and me, I am acting. My goals will become a reality. If I must make this trek alone I will. I will not allow others to hold me back. If you want to wallow in your misfortune and spread your misery to others, don’t include me. My success will be because I dedicated my time, I learned my trade, and I ignored the haters. 

-matt

 

 

 

 

With it being the new year I thought I would contribute something. And that something is what I am calling the “4 stops.” 

Stop waiting to act. 
Stop feeling sorry for yourself. 
Stop making excuses as to why you have not achieved what you want too.
Stop blaming others for your failures. 

I have a friend that consistently says “don’t talk about it, be about it! And he is absolutely right. Action speaks louder than words. I can sit here saying I am going to do something, but if I fail to act I am just like everybody else, a talker. This is not to imply that I have failed, but in the sense that I have failed to start what it was I set out to do. 

There are numerous quotes of successful people saying not to wait to do. And even more real people how at the end of their lives look backs wondering what could have been. Robert Frost explores this in his poem, The Road Not Traveled. Here he ponders what his life would be like if he went down the path. I looks and examines the possibility and ultimately selects his path because it was “grassy and wanted wear.” But there is an interesting development within and that is the “sigh”:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by…” It is this regret that causes us to become dissatisfied with our lives. There is nothing worse, I feel, than knowing that you have given up on yourself. Knowing that you have given up on your dreams or goals. And this is a result of you choosing to live though fear. The fear of stepping out from your security blanket and to experience what it is you desire. 

I consistently hear people complain about their work, family, or (fill-in the blank) and yet they never make the effort to change it. Sure there are some things that you can’t change, like the laws of nature. But everything else, I believe, is our choice.

My wife often tells me that being an introvert is my choice and often I argue against that. But let’s just think about that for a second. Is she right? Maybe. I often remain selective on the things I do and those I interact with, but is it choice? If I am able to change my attitude could these fears be changed into something used for my benefit? Possibly, but it all starts with me making a choice. It all depends on me, making a choice. Recently, I had to attend a 6 week long class. Upon reviving this news I was upset and had a negative outlook. Even to the point that the instructed picked up on my non-verbal cues on the first day. (I had my arms crossed and sat leaning back in my chair, as if I was rejecting all attempts to receive the information.) But I made a choice at the end of that day. A choice that I would have a better attitude towards being there. That I would accept my present situation and be willing to work on being positive and active. This did work, but it took effort on my part, effort that was certainly not easy. 

What you need and I both need to figure out is, what our limit of failure is. Are we going to quit when one person tells us no? Or when that bank loan doesn’t get approved, do our dreams end there? Who are we going to talk to in order to achieve what we desire. How many times will we be ignored and continue to move towards your goal. It all depends on how bad we want what it is we seek. And by allowing others to control our outcome we remove all of our say in the process.

I get it, no one like to be told no. And no one likes to have others diminish their contributions to something. But we all have things we enjoy. And some things we are great at, but we must not allow others to control what we do or how we respond. It is our goals that we are pursuing not theirs. If they chose to have a negative attitude toward their our lives, goals and desires, then let them fail.

You and I need to move beyond their narrow mindedness and allow those that want to continue to fail to do so, alone. We can not allow them to bring us down in the process. We have to make a conscience choice to be better. If you want success chose to find success. But do not allow others to control you, for it is your happiness that you will be working towards. 

Ultimately, my  success depends solely upon the willingness to complete what it is that I set out to do. I will fail because I have chosen too. And when I look back upon my life, I want to see all the things that I set out to do, accomplished. There shall be no regret.

-Matt

Do  we fail to seek our true potential because of our perceptions of the world around us? Do we fall short because we allow ourselves to accept the excuse? We can only go as far as we are willing to fight. We will never achieve anything wondering what could have been. Wondering if the choices we made were appropriate.

We must own our choices and all that comes with it. We are responsible for our actions and their outcomes. If we want to point blame for our failures, we must blame ourselves for not meeting the expectation that we set forth within our minds. We can sulk in our angst or we can choose to fight for our desires. We control our path we take and establish the rules along the way.  

Continue to press on, continue to fight.

-Matt

Never settle for mediocrity.

Always strive for perfection.

Never allow others to trample your dreams.

Always focus on the goal.

Never give up.

Always push through the pain.

Never become your own enemy.

Always fight, because there is always something to fight for.

-Matt