Book Number Three is in the Works!

I decided to go ahead and take the plunge.  After almost two years away from the characters of Scott and Savannah, I will complete the trilogy.  Oh did I mention that the other two novels have been picked up by another book publisher?  Did I also mention that there are very early talks of turning the books into movies?  Very excited.  To see my characters on the big screen, that would be amazing.  *running to vision board now*

Happy Easter

I have been away for sometime on a few special projects that I will annouce soon, but wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Easter!

Why? 11 year old girl, gang raped.

The big story floating through cyber world today is the arrest of a 19 year old for his participation in a gang rape of an 11 year old little girl.  This young man along with six other gang members sexually assaulted the young girl in a park bathroom.  This is the second sexual assault in a month in the California neighborhood park.

My question....what are we going to do?  Yes, what are WE going to do.  The state of our young people is really a reflection on what the generation prior has done.  We can no longer place blame and say the streets, drugs, gangs, negativity, if you ask me, they are all crutches that we use to keep the blame from ourselves.  To be quite honest for a second, it is our fault.  Come off the high horse for a moment.  Believe me, I am talking to myself as well.  We can do more.  I know that I could do more.  Our children are seriously loosing while we watch on the sidelines shaking our head.  Seriously, we should be the ones shaking our head at ourselves.

How many times have we been in the presence of youth who just didnt know any better and offered to mentor?  How many times have we saw a young girl cursing like crazy to cover her low self-estteem and just turned our head in disgust?  Really, just think about it.  How many times have we past judgement on these children and have had no clue as to what they face in their personal lives everyday. Many of our young people are raising themselves or raising other siblings or a parent. 

It is evidenced in the bullying, the disrespect, the murders, the rapes, and the pain that they are calling out for help.  Here is a question that we should all ask ourselves....have we let our children down?

Game Changer

I have been going through a little process in my head for a full week now.  My thoughts have been circulating around the idea of having multiple jobs.  I already have three and was offered another position last night.  I am doing the same thing with each company, but it had me thinking if I was being greedy or expected to have all that I dreamed of in one setting.  Is it possible to be too greedy in life?

A friend of mine told me that she believes that you can have it all, just not at one time.  Is this true?  What if we you have right now is exactly what you are supposed to have at that time.  We all know that as we grow, our wants and our needs change.  I am not the same person at 32 as I was at 30.  My needs, my desires, my life has changed drastically since then.  I certainly do not live the same life.

When I really thought about it, it became very clear to me. What I am doing along with a lot of my peers is trying to really live my life to the fullest.  I know we say that a lot, but if you really look around you will see many individuals sincerely going after their dreams despite the costs and the sacrifices.  There is a genuine determination to change the path of life that they have seen family members before them travel.  I know for myself, if I don't get this ambition out of of me and manifest everything inside of me, I will bust.

People who don't understand will probably say that I am taking on too much.  I often hear the statement of, "you are doing that too?"  Yup, that too!  You would agree that it would be better to say that I tried and had the opportunity to experience than to not have had the opportunity?  I know my limits and I haven't reached it yet, so be prepared in the next upcoming weeks to see what else has been added (the pot is stirring).  I have realized that the rules of the game have not changed but I have decided to not only change the rules but change how it is played.  A natural Game Changer!

Part Two: There is another angle to the receive part. (Ask, Believe, Receive)

About a week ago, I posted on my new spiritual exercise of Asking, Believing, and Receiving.  Three simple words that I found were not so simple to execute.  Early last week, I thought that I would really put this concept into action.  I asked for three specific things by a certain day.  I asked and believed.  I believed with great intent.  The day came and none of the three things that I asked for had manifested.  I was a little upset and offended because I had done the two parts that was required of me.

For the entire weekend, I continued to questioned this entire concept.  If I asked and believed, then what I asked for and believed in, I should receive.  Its as easy as one, two, three. Right?  I learned a very important element of this concept.  I can ask and I can believe, BUT I really have to be open to receive.  Last week, as much as I really believed, I had self-sabotagging thoughts that did not allow those things to happen.  Let me show you what I mean.  At the beginning of the week, when I first made my declaration, I was excited, fully believing.  As it became closer to the day when I was the receive, conflicting thoughts began to run through my mind.  You know those thoughts: "Why should you have that?"  "You really think that you can have that?" "Your not qualified."  All of those stupid little thoughts. 

Sunday morning, in my intimate time with God, I was given a great revelation.  This is what I learned.  The reason why I did not receive what I asked for is simply because I did not believe that I was deserving to have it.  I may have wanted it, but deep inside my thoughts, I disqualified myself from receiving because I did not believe that I could actually have what I asked for.  I closed myself off from receiving.  The moment I caught this, I started crying because it was true.  I had not dealt with my true insecurities regarding myself.  These were insecurities that I had hidden within myself that surfaced when I believed things for myself.  I don't know about you, but it is always easier for me to encourage and believe great things for other people.

I will tell you this much.  Since dealing with ME yesterday morning, I have seen prayers answered and worry and stress have left me.  The ASK, BELIEVE, RECEIVE does work.  The secret to getting the things you ask for is for you to get out of your own way. 

Go ahead, ask, believe God, believe in yourself, believe that you are worthy to have what you are asking for, dispute the negative thoughts, open yourself to receive and you will.

Pure Disgust: Why do we continuously throw each other under the bus.

I tried my very best to stay away from the whole subject, yet there is too much concern in me to remain quiet.  I know that I have mentioned this numerous times, but I truly love people.  I am a huge supporter of women.  I love to see other women accomplish their dreams if that is running a business, receiving the promotion they desire, climb a mountain, write a book, or run their home. If I am able to assist, I give from what I have or point the person in the direction of someone who has what they need. My philosophy is that we have to be supportive of one another.  Women are each other's resources.

When watching the "Celebrity Apprentice" on Sunday, my emotions ranged from shocked to disgust by the time the end credits were rolling.  Listen, I completely understand what competition is and I am well aware of how business works and how the game is played.  However, I think that what moves us ahead without the "burglar" look over our shoulder is how much integrity we utilize when positioning or leveraging ourselves.  There is really something to be said about integrity.  What many of us have to realize is that the prize is not the business deal but the reputation of the person that closes the deal.  You can be a savvy businesswoman yet execute in excellence without causing another person to stumble, feel humiliated or demoralized, or even worse, stupid.  After a deal is closed or a competition is won, what is remembered by onlookers is how the competitors played the game.

In the year of 2011, why have we as women not moved past the crab in the barrel mentality?  God made this world vast.  He made us all with many talents and gifts.  believe it or not, there is enough room for ALL of us to grow.  Will we ever get to a point where we realize that we can get out of the barrel quicker by linking arms together?  Seriously, woman have made great strides in so many areas, yet when I see us throw one another under the bus with no remorse, it makes me question how far we have really come.  Are we imitating power that we have lost or have we just lost, because we are lost?

Japan's Tragedy is Our Tragedy!

I think we all have sat with open mouths as we have seen the complete devastation in Japan.  I know for myself that it was very difficult to see an entire airport wiped away from water.  It was beyond disheartening to know that in an instant, the lives of innocent people had been completely turned upside down.  To know that children were killed and separated from their families, brought tears to my eyes.  To see streets, homes, and buildings wiped away along with people sitting on a piece of undestroyed land with looks of displacement, heartbreak, and confusion on their faces, should hit home for many of us. 

We can't compare one tragedy to another for each situation has its own story.  However, we do understand that pain holds no boundary.  For many of us, Japan rests on the other side of the world, yet what we must understand and realize is that what affects one, affects us all.  We are all divinely connected to one another and share the space of the world together. 

Do not watch in horror, do something!  If your something is a prayer or donation, I am sure that both would be well appreciated.  We have to remember that we are each others keeper.