“Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom cries aloud in the streets, she raises her voice in the markets; :21 She cries at the head of the noisy intersections [in the chief gathering places]; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

:22 How long , O simple one [open to evil], will you love being simple? And the scoffers delight in scoffing and [self-confident] fools hate knowledge?

:23 If you will turn (repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit upon you, I will make my words known to you.[Isa. 11:2; Eph. 1:17-20.]

:24 Because I have called and you have refused [to answer], have stretched out my hand and no man has heeded it, [Isa. 65:11-12; 66:4; Jer. 7:13-14; Zech. 7:11-13.]

:25 And you treated as nothing all my counsel and would accept none of my reproof,

:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when the thing comes that shall cause you terror and panic –

:27 When your panic comes as a storm and desolation and your calamity comes on as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.

:28 Then will they call upon me [Wisdom] but I will not answer; they will seek me early and diligently but they will not find me. [Job 27:9; 35:12-13; Isa. 1:15-16; Jer. 11:11; Micah 3:4; James 4:3.]

:29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord, [Prov. 8:13.]

:30 Would accept none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof,

:31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices.

:32 For the backsliding of the simple [open to evil] shall slay them and the careless ease of the [self-confident] fools shall destroy them. [Isa. 32:6.]

:33 But whoso hearkens me [Wisdom] shall dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil.”

The Amplified Bible

In an earlier post, I posed the thought-provoking question, “When Does Knowledge Become Powerful?” Here’s one reason why I suggested that knowledge is not power.

“Theory Without Practice Is Powerless.”

May this brief quote continue to challenge each of us to shift our paradigm about a popular phrase that we’ve heard systematically propagated and charismatically articulated by powerful, persuasive people in prominent positions of influence until we honestly believed it. Click on the word, paradigm, to view various definitions and explanations about this term. Our generational, traditional beliefs may or may not be totally true. The truth that makes people free when mixed with the lie that enslaves free people becomes a “true lie.” What is the true lie that’s still hindering our God-given ability to overcome the persuasive power of our slave mentality? Think about it.

A true lie contains just enough truth for it to appear to become believable. Nevertheless, upon first glance, looks can be deceiving. A true lie became the persuasive tool the “original down low brother” employed to deceive Adam’s most valuable resource, Eve, until both began to doubt the veracity of God’s infallible word. The father of lies also used the power of persuasion to set the perpetual force of yet another true lie in motion that separated generations of women and men who hated to love each other for more than one night. Think about it.

It’s my honest belief that the “deceitful prince of darkness” still appears to all God’s children as a “beautiful angel of light.” What do you believe? According to the great fall of the first family as recorded in Chapter 3 of Genesis, it was Adam’s responsibility, not Eve’s, to obey God’s word. Click on the highlighted word “Genesis” for another insightful person’s perspective that amply illustrates the eternal consequences of our “choices.” As evidenced by the first family’s defiant act of disobedience, Adam’s lack of leadership skills and Eve’s unwise choice made both vulnerable to the persuasive power of a true lie that fed their slave mentality. After your great fall, what true lie did you hear that birthed your deepest fear during all those “dark days and lonely nights when all appears lost?” As you now know, looks can be deceiving.

Quick question before we close this meeting of our critically thinking minds today. What’s the difference, if any, between a “first impression” and a “prejudicial presumption” based upon a false belief? I suggest that there is no discernible difference. Why? Minus the persuasive empirical evidence needed to verify the veracity of our hasty judgments, neither can accurately determine the content or the strength of one’s character. Do you agree or disagree? Think about it.

In the meantime, challenge yourself to take a closer look at the truth that can make great people like us with great weaknesses like ours free from the persuasive power of our self-defeating slave mentalities. Can it be that yet another true lie is responsible for driving the wedge that emotionally divided the blended, extended family members of humanity’s culturally diverse global village from within instead of from without? Think about it. Test your faith in what you believe is the truth by practicing the theory that God’s perfect love will empower your insightful soul to overcome your deepest fears long enough to conquer the persuasive power of hate.

Oh! Before you leave, make sure you know what your deepest fears are so no persuasive person can deceive you today. If time permits, let me know if you agree, or disagree, with the content of today’s post. May the peace of God be with each of you today as you reach out and teach someone how to fish for a lifetime instead of just giving away a fresh fish everyday.

Copyright © by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

While studying THE 8TH HABIT, I discovered today’s quote from the best-selling business book, EXECUTION: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Mr. Ram Charan and Mr. Larry Bossidy.  How many of the leaders in our galvanized group still lack what it takes to make our big dreams comes true as we aspire to achieve great things? I’m not ashamed to admit that I do.

It’s my heart’s desire that discovering the “missing link” that helps to bridge the gap between Failure and Success will inspire the great people — who honestly believe we’re destined to achieve greatness — to join our 8TH HABIT study group.

“Leadership without the discipline of execution is incomplete and ineffective.  Without the ability to execute, all other attributes of leadership become hollow. 

No company can deliver on its commitments or adapt well to change unless all leaders practice the discipline of execution at all levels.  Execution has to be part of a company strategy in its goals. It is the missing link between aspirations and results.”

If you’ve already analyzed and synthesized the contents of Mr. Stephen Covey’s book, you’ll notice that our group discussions don’t follow the insightful material in the same order as it’s presented in the book.  Both THE 7 HABITS and THE 8TH HABIT can be ordered through the Book Store link by clicking on the highlighted titles.  As we proceed, the reasons why will become evident.  Please feel to jump in and comment at any time.  I’m just the facilitator who’s always willing to listen and learn all I can while I can.  Your “G-rated” comments will always be respected and deeply appreciated.

If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, I’ll be creating and updating a category for the 8TH HABIT.  God willing, by December 31, 2007, each of our insightful souls will have what we need to complete our thought-provoking, paradigm shifting journey “From Effectiveness To Greatness.”  It makes me smile to know you care enough about our eclectic group to share some link love with the rest of the blended, extended family members of humanity’s culturally diverse global village.

I thank each of you for the gift of your time.

© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

“Working Together For Good” is the title of Chapter One of my first reality-based novel bearing the same title as this site. Clicking on the highlighted words, Chapter One, will take you to page 1 of Chapter 1. Choosing that particular title was done to set the tone for the rest of the story. Here are two lines from, “The Belly Of An Ant,” that were written during my extended season of sunny-side-down days before I honestly believed that all things will work together for good if I didn’t give up too soon and quit.

Have you ever felt so low that you could “reach up” and tickle the belly of an ant? I have. How do you respond when all your ears hear are words like “no,” “never,” “impossible,” and “can’t”?

After meeting the greatness of God’s faithfulness, I revised that poem and changed the name from “The Belly Of An Ant” to “It’s Time To Fly.” One of the many reasons I write is to empower, encourage, and inspire unity between those of us — who publicly profess to love God and claim that we are called according to His eternal purpose — to respond by faith when Adversity strikes. Since God is not a respecter of people, Time and Chance happens to us all. Have you ever noticed that Trouble always moves faster than bad news in a hurry to happen during tough times?

Remember what happened to Humpty Dumpty after his great fall. Nobody could put that egghead back together again. As a kid, I recall wondering if Humpty asked God to do what nobody else could. How many of you have ever experienced a great fall? I have. After my great fall, my spiritually-blinded eyes couldn’t see the light coming from the truth that still makes people free. So I believed the same lie that still persuading one too many of God’s children to comtemplate give up, quit, or commit suicide. Been There. Done That. Suicide is not an option. Here’s why?

By killing the pain that’s afflicting you, you will also end up killing yourself. So, don’t you go there and try to die like that before you cry out for help by asking God to save you from yourself. I did. But by grace still go I. After my great fall, Ridicule and Rejection stalked me daily until I lost confidence in myself. Without confidence, I lost respect for myself. I also became insecure and stopped believing that I still had the God-given ability to achieve Greatness. But God still loved me enough to find a way to re-assure me and remind me that Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One, will win in the end after all’s been read, said, and done.

How many times have we quoted Romans 8:28 but fail to do so in the context of the verses preceding and following verse 28 of Chapter 8. Imagine how many great things our generation can achieve once all God’s children begin to honestly believe we can work together for the greater good. Imagine the eternal implications that this verse will have on our generation’s God-given ability to achieve greatness? I was also one of those Bible thumpin’ church folk who made the same mistake many times before I knew better. But when we know better, we do better. If nobody else does so, love yourself enough to begin meditating on Romans 8:28-39.

After my great fall, the lie I heard made me forget the reasons why all things were divinely destined to work together for good. How many times have you heard the lie that nobody loves a loser? We’ve probably have heard this true lie frequently enough to honestly believe it’s the truth. But it’s not. Grab your Bible and look at Chapter 8 of Romans again. But this time, pay particularly close attention to the thought-provoking, paradigm shifting question found in verse 35,

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

Surprised? But wait before you run and tell your friends what you saw for the first time this year. Exam the weapons of mass distraction our antagonistic spiritual enemies will try to employ to destroy the eternal gift God placed deep inside the cluttered seat of your soul. Since I honestly believe all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose, then why do

“religions divide what only our relationships with God can unite?”

If you’re an emerging etymologist, you probably already know that the word, “destroy,” means to be “rendered utterly useless.” If you forgot to bring your dictionary today, feel free to click on the highlighted word destroy” to review the source employed to verify the veracity of my definition. As always, study to show yourself “approved” so that you let no man, or woman, easily deceive you during such a divisive season as this. Maybe then, you’ll also learn to respect the power of God’s love like I did.

Matters not what happens next, please don’t give up, quit, or try to commit suicide. God isn’t the only one who loves you and needs you to survive. Besides, what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger the longer you live. Believe that!

© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

It’s crunch time for me as I prepare to meet a rapidly approaching deadline.  Since Time waits for no one, I just want to ask each of you a quick question for now.  How many of you have heard the following quote that infers something to the effect that,

“He who controls the image of God shall control the world?”

© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon.  All Rights Reserved.

On day 54 of this unpredictable “year of firsts,” please give any person you consider to be a loyal, trustworthy friend a big hug and kiss if appropriate.  If they don’t live close by, take the time to pick up your phone, or Blackberry, to personally thank your compassionate champion for loving you enough to speak the truth to you in the spirit of God’s love openly and honestly. 

While living in Los Angeles, God gifted my soul with the honor of experiencing Ms. Sheila Walsh, speaker, singer, and former co-host of the 700 Club and author of the book HONESTLY.  All I can say to describe the experience of personally meeting such a great woman who courageously stood “naked and unashamed” while honestly sharing her great weaknesses is unforgettable! 

Only God knows all the reasons why “Time and Chance” happens to all who dwell under the sun. It’s only by the grace and mercy of the Almighty that I’m still alive today.  Only God knows all of the eternal reasons why I’m still living to see another day when so many of the great people I knew in high school are dead now. For reasons now known, my heart’s desire today is to breathe life into somebody’s emaciated soul today because you never know who needs to hear the truth that God isn’t the only one who still loves you and still needs you to live instead of choosing to die high for nothing.  Before Time and Chance happens to any of you, ask yourself the following question,

“Who loves you and needs you to live to see another day?”

I’ll be the first to admit that the media’s insensitive coverage of both Ms. Britney Spear’s and Ms. Anna Nicole Smith’s tragic dark night of the soul appears disingenuous, self-serving, and motivated by a need for ratings.  Yet and still, is God using their cries for help to speak to us and give a second chance to get it right after our country’s leadership failed to respond to the cries for help after the levy’s protecting New Orleans broke?  As evidenced by the deplorable conditions still in existence along America’s storm ravaged Gulf coast, our nation’s leadership is still failing its Ethics and Political Science classes.  Only God knows how long it wil take before the bad wind that’s blowing in America will change directions. 

Nevertheless, can it be that the God is still speaking to us and attempting to get America’s undivided attention by using the ”apparent” emotional, spiritual, and mental meltdown of Ms. Britney Spears for the good of us all?  How many of America’s political leaders act like they honestly love all the hurting mothers whose children also need them to keep living long enough to see another day?  If subjected to a slightly altered doll test than the one Ms. Kiri Davis chronicled in her insightful documentary film, A Girl Like Me, how many of our country leaders will choose to save the “white dolls” by sacrificing the “black dolls” if only given the choice to save one?  Who would you choose to save?

Can it be that God still speaks in a diversity of unexpected ways out of the mouths of the little children birthed by imperfect, culturally diverse people?  As evidenced by our government’s repeated failure to love all God’s children, only a few, if any, of our national leaders are choosing to effectively respond in a meaningful manner at a meaningful time to our desperate cries for help.  What if God answers our prayers with somebody else’s desperate cry for help?  How many of us will recognize God’s voice and respond by letting the person who’s crying out for help know somebody still loves them and still needs them to live? 

Imagine how many of us are still too busy dealing with the daily distractions of life to hear God’s speaking through another person’s cry for help until after too soon becomes too late?  How many great people besides the celebrities make a fear-based decision to “give up, give out, give in to the pain, quit, and commit suicide?”  How many of us have survived a spiritual darkness so thick that our spiritually illuminated eyes have the God-given ability to recognize the early warning signs of Despair before hopelessness manifest can manifest itself as Depression? 

Are you one who honestly believes that listening to God is such a critical and crucial part of the prayer process that extends long after we end our quiet talks with God on bended knee?  Yet another celebrity mother appears too sick to care whether she will live for her children or die for nothing?  Is anybody except God listening to the elderly and the poor whenever they cry out for for help?  Can it be that God is still trying to get our attention by using the same frenzied celebrities and wealthy public figures the paparazzi stalk for the love of the money they’ll make for capturing the stolen photograph they’ll take without first asking for permission to do so? 

As evidenced by the personal testimonies of award winning singers, Ms. Mary J. Blige and Ms. Whitney Houston, and all God’s children have share many of the same great weaknesses.  No wonder so many of us can also share each other’s painful moments until Wisdom and Understanding enable each of us to transform our life experiences meaningful moments.  Can it be that God is using the widely publicized lives of heart-broken, heart-breaking celebrities — who suffer a great fall — for the greater good of us all and not for the lesser evils of the few who appear to control the entertainment industry?  It saddens me that we still have to wonder if the non-stop, national media coverage afforded to two wealthy person with blonde hair and blue eyes would be as extensive for a poor person with dark hair, brown eyes, and skin that’s darker than a brown paper bag. 

Have many of you have experienced the joy of listening to the Gospel song, “I Need You To Survive,” by Pastor Hezekiah Walker?  There are dark days and lonely nights when all God’s children need to be reminded that God loves us just because, despite our great weaknesses.  Matters not what happens next, please know that God needs you to survive and thrive.  To ensure that you will survive, I’ll pray for you.  Please pray for me.  Why?  Because I love you, too.  All God’s children need you to survive.  We love you. We also need you to survive.  Matters not the colour of your beautiful skin. 

As a writer and image-maker, I’ve learned to respect the power of the ”two most powerful forms of communication we know — the written word and visual images.  In the song “I Need You To Survive,” Mr. Hezekiah Walker says, “I won’t harm you with words from my mouth.”  Neither will I.  Why?  I love you.  I need you to survive.”  I’ve loosely paraphrased Pastor Walker’s wise words to inspire those of you who may just need some encouragement on what started out as a “sunny-side-down” day.  God isn’t the only one who loves you and needs you to survive.  Matters not the color of the doll your child is hugging. 

If any of you honestly believe I’ve harmed you with words from my mouth, please don’t hesitate challenge me to see if I need to check myself before I wreck an opportunity for us to reconcile.  I can’t fix what I don’t know is broken.  Can you?  But if I meant to harm you with my words today, maybe it’s because the truth still hurts.  Better the wounds of a friend who loves you and needs you to live than the kisses from an enemy who hates you and needs to see you die.  For reasons now known, you know at least one person who still loves you enough to tell you the truth because I’m not the only person who still needs you to help us all live to see another “sunny-side-up” day.

© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon.  All Rights Reserved.

As promised, I’m challenging our critically thinking team members to ponder the possibility that scarcity, abundance, and slave mentalities have nothing to do with the colour of a person’s skin.  But, can it be that the dominant culture in which a person is birthed and raised influence the type of mentality that will govern a person’s response and behavior when Adversity strikes?  Hmmm.

Despite the hatred, bigotry, and hypocrisy of a fatally flawed democracy that legalized slavery, our ancestors managed to excel, succeed, and exceed the expectations of their antagonistic adversaries.  Was it God’s will, or our ancestors’ wise choices, that our generation can still celebrate their history-making achievements and can still enjoy the fruits harvested from their back-breaking labor?  Over the years, I’ve often asked myself,

“How did those to whom little appeared to be given manage to ‘do so much with so little’ while those to whom much appeared to be given ‘do so little with so much’?”

Can it be that our ancestors didn’t have as many ”distractions” to sift through on a daily basis?  Despite oppressive, unduly burdensome circumstances beyond their reasonable control, our generation’s “unsung heroes and sheroes” did more than just survive.  They managed to thrive.  Was it God’s will, or the wise choices of those who paved the way, that enabled our teachers, mentors, and role models to prosper under such adverse conditions?  What do you think?

Can it be that it was a combination of God’s will and wise choices that enabled those who paved the way to help each other to achieve great things while making their big dreams come true?  Can it be that your God-given ability to achieve greatness will depend on whether you have a scarcity, an abundance, or a slave mentality?  So, what’s the difference?

A “scarcity mentality” is derived from the false belief that there is only “one” metaphorical pie for all the families of humanity’s global village to share.  A scarcity mentality gives birth to the competitive mind-set that motivates our blended, extended family members to fight against each other until somebody earns the right to eat the last piece of pie. 

When Adversity strikes, a person with a scarcity mentality will make a “fear-based” decision to die, if necessary, for the last piece of pie.  This pessimistic person tends to have a negative attitude and tends to see a partially filled glass of water as always ”half empty.”

An “abundance mentality” is derived from the healthy belief that there is more than enough raw materials to make enough pies for all the families of humanity’s global village to share.  An abundance mentality gives birth to the co-operative mind-set that inspires our blended, extended family members to work together for the common good of all God’s children. 

When Adversity strikes, a person with an abundance mentality will make a “faith-based” decision to try to find a way to bake another pie rather than to die for nothing.  This optimistic person tends to have a positive attitude and tends to see a partially filled glass of water as always “half full.” 

A “slave mentality” is derived from the undisciplined belief that a person is a slave to his/her natural inclinations, unbridled passions, and bad habits.  Sharing is only a viable option once his/her appetite has been completely satisfied.  A slave mentality gives birth to the self-destructive mind-set that enslaves our blended, extended family members to the impulsive gods of hedonism and self-preservation.  

When Adversity strikes, a person with a slave mentality will make an egocentric myopic decision to sit around eating pies as fast as somebody else can bake them to avoid dealing with his/her lack of discipline.  This over indulgent person tends to have a passive aggressive attitude and tends to see a partially filled glass of water only as a opportunity for somebody else to fill it to the brim.

“In vain do they talk of happiness who never subdue an impulse in obedience.  He who never sacrificed a present for a future good, or a personal to a general one, can speak of happiness only as the blind speak of color.”

Horace Mann, Educator 

© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon.  All Rights Reserved.

Quick question. What vision did you abandon in the valley of sun-dried bones during your dark day and lonely night when all appeared lost and you feared the most? Reading the following Scripture verses will inspire you to finish writing the vision that only God and you know about because an entire generation of great people are still patiently waiting on you. So, don’t procrastinate. It’s later than you think.

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: thought it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:2-4 kjv

Matters not what happens next, just

“keep risin’ to your feet after every fall until your eyes meet the greatness of God’s faithfulness.”

This quote is from Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness, “When Good People Become Great.” Click on the book’s title to read the back cover.

If this cogent message of encouragement was for you, let me know. Delayed, but not denied.

©Copyright 1997-2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.

 ”A wise man will hear, and increase learning and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsel.”

Proverbs 1:5 kjv

Although only 50 days have elapsed thus far, how many great people do you know have already given up on themselves, thrown in the proverbial towel, abandoned their visions, and walked away from their forgotten dreams feeling defeated? Challenging myself to keep getting up and showing up everyday even when I didn’t feel like pushing past the pain gives birth to discipline and strengthens character. Challenging myself to digging deeper inside the cluttered place where secrets hide has helped me in so many other unexplored, untapped, and unchartered areas of my ever evolving life.

The insight and personal growth the truth produces inspires you to explore new things in creative ways never before seen, to risk taking chances we avoided before because we were told to “play it safe.” As a creative person, there’s no such thing as playing it safe if you know yourself intimately enough to risk stepping “outside the box” somebody else drew because that’s all they knew. In the early 90′s my artistic style of photography was rejected by the status quo. I broke all the established rules and intentionally exceeded the limits set by film manufacturers just to see what would happen. Nobody died or cried because I dared to dance to the beat of a different drummer.

Right now, mastering the art of writing is just as much fun as mastering the art of photography. As you know, creating any form of art from scratch is a messy process. Watching my 2 1/2 year old daughter at play inspires me to do the same with this site, play with it, have fun with it, love messing with it. But most of all, just enjoy doing it whatever that it may be for that particular day. As grown folk, it saddens me that we’ve forgotten how to play and how to just have fun while mastering the art of our chosen professions. Making money appears to matter more now than making merry. Do any of the executives who run major corporations ever ponder the possibilities of what could happen if they let their employees have so much fun that they “whistle” while they practice their excellence? I hope so.

Now that I’ve reached that age when grown folk’s eyesight begins to change, the art of writing has challenged me to experiment with the power of the pen by creating attention grabbing, soul stirring mental images with words instead of creating photographic images with film. I birthed this site not knowing where I was going to end up. The first 31 days was about keeping a personal promise to myself to get up and show up everyday until I knew what direction to take while staring at a blank computer screen. But the primary goal of this site had an eternal purpose that will be unveiled as we accomplish our big dreams and achieve great things one step and one day at a time. How many of you remember that half the battle is already won by just “showing up”?

Does anybody know why “New Year’s Resolutions” don’t work for most people? Can it be because old habits, like power, concede nothing without a struggle? What bad habit, or false belief, or ideology, or tradition is impeding your earnest efforts to finish an abandoned manuscript and publishing at least one of you forgotten book projects on your list of New Year’s Resolutions? How many aspiring writers, published authors, award-winning authors, or nationally syndicated journalists do we have on our team? Have any of you ever felt uncomfortable sharing your written material before hearing that “click” in your spirit that indicates when your literary work of art is done?

Most people only see the books authors struggle to write after their intellectual property has undergone extensive liposuction and reconstructive plastic surgery to remove the cellulite from the clichés clinging to the pages of our manuscripts. It’s dangerous to fall in love with the words we choose to use but we do it anyway. For most writers, the editing process can be painful. In the legal profession, the writers of legal documents refer to this editing process as “vetting.” It’s amazing how much material winds up on the cutting room floor like deleted scenes from a movie that still manages to win an award.

As most published writers and award-winning authors already know, editing a book can be a messy, time consuming process. Didn’t Murphy’s Law say something to the effect that it always takes longer than predicted to make big dreams come true and it always gets harder than expected to achieve great things? God willing, this, too, shall pass once I quit making a creative mess by juxtaposing eclectic collections of words in the playground of my imagination. Old habits die hard, especially bad ones. My insightful mentors remind me often that

“only a bad wind stubbornly refuses to change directions.”

Otherwise, those of us who view the writing process as yet another creative art form will do what we love to do for years, write just for the fun of it. No wonder publishers and clients created deadlines to keep grown folk like us who love what we do from playing all day. When mastering the art of writing stops being fun, I’ll stop. After almost twenty years, I still love creating artistic photographic images. But my cheese is getting ready to move so I must get ready for the day when I must face another set of fears and embrace Change. By the way, the book, WHO MOVED MY CHEESE, by Spencer Johnson, M.D. is an extremely insightful book that’s well worth the time it takes to read it.

Until the next time we meet, have some fun and enjoy doing what you spent most of your day doing for pay and play at it. Maybe then, you’ll begin to get in touch with the little boy or girl you also buried deep inside that cluttered place where secrets hide. Only God knows what we’ll unearth and birth this year if we keep pushing past the pain and digging deeper until the light we hid can shine bright again.

May the peace of God be with you and yours even if we don’t ever meet again. But if you choose to do so, the rest of our team will accept you and love you just as you are whenever you come. So please don’t be afraid that our culturally diverse group of great people will reject you because you’re “too valuable to ever throw away.” Besides, looks can be deceiving upon first glance.

©Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.