Dream Big! Live Bigger! Be the Biggest!

This morning my daughter who is in 6th grade said: “Mom I like telling my friends you are a teacher, and now I can tell them you are a college professor. Maybe when I get to college you will be my professor. I said unless you want to be a teacher I won’t be, she said oh well nevermind because I’m gonna be a surgeon. But I can still see you at school.”

It feels good knowing that the one’s I work so hard for are proud of me and what I do. I had my daughter when I was 18 with nothing but a 1 bedroom apartment, a raggedy Grand Am, and a job at the airport. I never let how I grew up, what I didn’t have, or what I did not know stop me from pursuing a better future for me and my kids.

My hard work provided more than degrees and a paycheck. My sacrifice to be successful can be seen as an example. For my family I set a high standard. My kids are not afraid to dream big. My kids do not limit themselves or who they can become in life. To them mom is a superhero and because of me they know they have superpowers too! That is what parenthood and life are about; maintaining values that give us the ability to live freely, without worry, fear, or bondage. Limitless in our strive to achieve and knowing that no one or nothing can stop us from being whoever we want!

Myself or my children are not products or our environment, we are the divisor.  Take us away and the quotient you get will lead you to form a whole new equation. Dream Big! Live Bigger! Be the Biggest! That is the real answer.

Do You Know How to Live?

As I finished reading the classic novel, Black Boy by Richard Wright something he said intrigued me more than anything else in the book.  While speaking about one of his political comrades, Wright summarized that Green, “knew how to die better than he knew how to live”. He went on to say, in regards to his Communist party affiliates, “They were more fearful of my ideas  than they would have been had I held a gun to them; they could have taken a gun away from me and shot me with it, but they did not know what to do with ideas”. Take a second and think about the heaviness of those statements.  These words were written nearly 70 years ago, yet the depth of his observations still resignates profoundly today. He captured the essence of a crippling condition we witness in people walking among us today. The inability to live, dream, and succeed as a result of our fears plagues generations of people.

As a teacher, I saw the impact of this grave mentality everyday. Many would say it is our youth who are hopeless.  Sadly, segments of our populations could be characterized by these words.  Our youth, middle-aged, professionals, and elders alike are all weighted down by hopelessness.  Seems that we live each day only looking forward to the next; in some cases the last.  We feel blindsided by change which often sends us into a downward spiral of poor decision-making, depression, and recovery.  All these lead to setbacks and stagnation; ultimately hindering our ability to live a happy fulfilling life. Granted, it is difficult to plan ahead when we cannot account for tomorrow. But what stops us from enjoying today?

Given the facts of our situation it does not make up for our lack of living properly.  Why are we afraid to think? Why do we fail to try? The only thing we seem to embrace is money, power, and fame.  When these factors are absent we become saddened. The popularity of social networks only offer us two forms of living. We are either up living the life; everything is good.  The pictures on Facebook and Instagram reflect nothing but smiles.  Or, we are down, depressed, and all is silent. The statuses are pessimistic, angry, and deem all to be doomed by the hellish victimization of capitalistic greed. This may be an exaggeration (not from my friend list though) but the point is this. This is not what life is about. I say all this from experience because I have been each of the two people I described. Riding the rollercoaster of life, getting off only to change rides leaves you drained and unsatisfied.

I challenge anyone who reads this to force themselves to live. Let’s not be afraid to live up to our full potential.  Let us not cower at change and promotion. We should seek all this and more.  Let fun and thrills be our reward for a life well lived.

 If you are already satisfied, happy, and enjoying each moment and every day; then good for you.  For those of us who live on autopilot hoping to get through one day only to take on the challenges of the next, lets stop right now.  Think about what we can do to improve the quality of our life.  (Note: quantity does NOT equal quality).  What ideas can we formulate to help us get more out of each day we are blessed to live.  Thrill seekers, opportunists, and now rappers often say, “you only live once” or YOLO. This is true but, you only die once too so let’s make sure we live before we die, because then it’s too late.

2 Steps Forward or A Giant Step Back?

Prior to the current economic condition one could “step out on faith”, and encounter an array of opportunities.  Is that concept still alive in today’s market? How productive will a leap of faith prove for those seeking a change? I know for certain that the state of Michigan is not the land of opportunity and hope, but we have 49 other states to choose from.

If I pick a state which appears to be full of bounty and plentiful jobs, to sink or swim are the odds.  Remaining in the place of comfort produces the same win or lose scenario.  So how does one advance in today’s current climate? In real estate the number one concern is location, location, location. With the real estate market in a slump I wonder how important location is now.

We currently live in a period of true Darwinism.  The survival of the fittest is the only way to determine one’s success or failure.  Education is no longer the key to the future, yet it is the only key that fits the lock.  What do we say to the educated masses who continue to search, dream, and pursue in the midst of uncertainty?

As a teacher I am naturally an encourager.  I try to remain optimistic even when all hope is gone.  I question what positive words I have for myself as the shift from real classroom education has taken place.  The achievement gap, standardized testing revolution, and accountability has turned an entire field upside down!  We are the champions of positive reinforcement and motivation.  Do I tell young adults and adolescents who are unprepared to step out on faith?

What is the next big step? What if those positive steps forward end up a giant leap backwards?  How do you keep your balance?  That is the uncertainty of our current situation.  We cannot sit idle and hope that opportunity falls into our lap.  We have to balance faith and prosperity to ensure comfort and stability.  The two conditions should not be a trade-off, but in an ideal world interact with each other.  This is the world we have inherited, and that which we will live in going forward (hopefully not backwards).