Posts filed under 'Self-Esteem'
This post contains the chapter titles to Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness, “When Good People Become Great.” As time permits, I will begin inserting brief excerpts from each chapter of this introspective, inspirational story about “personal leadership” to inspire you to take the next step necessary to make your “Big Dream” come true.
In the meantime, please feel free to peruse “The Archives” to see how far this humbled beginner has come by faith since January 1, 2007. I didn’t “choose to write this book.” Over 10 years ago, this thought-provoking, 272 page book chose me. If I can beat the odds with God’s help and choose to “keep risin’ to my feet after every fall I survived,” you can do the same. The choice to do so will always be yours alone to make. So choose wisely.
“But by grace still go I.”
The Prologue — “Always Expect The Unexpected”
Chapter 1– “Working Together For Good”
Chapter 2 — “Back To Square One”
Chapter 3 — “How The Story Begins”
Chapter 4 — “The Importance Of Struggle”
Chapter 5 — “Joy, Peace, And Good Feelings”
Chapter 6 — “Distractions, Distractions, Distractions”
Chapter 7 — “Detoured, Detained, But Not Denied”
Chapter 8 — “After The Fall”
Chapter 9 — “The Greatest Lie Ever Told”
Chapter 10 — “The Seeds Of Self-Hatred”
Chapter 11 — “Crossing Jordan’s River”
Chapter 12 — “To Whom Little Appears Given”
Chapter 13 — “Heart-Breaking, Heart-Broken, But Hopeful”
Chapter 14 — “Dry Bones, Abandoned Visions, And Forgotten Dreams”
Chapter 15 — “Pain And Pleasure”
Chapter 16 — “Without Respect And Confidence”
Chapter 17 — “A Three Word Revelation”
Chapter 18 — “The Gift Of Greatness”
Chapter 19 — “One Root, One Tree, One Fruit”
Chapter 20 — “Lessons Lived And Learned”
Chapter 21 — “A Preview Of Coming Attractions”
Chapter 22 — “Despise Not Humbled Beginners”
Epilogue — “Talent Alone Is Not Enough™”
Quick question. Which one of the aforementioned chapter titles inspired you to sit up in your seat and say “Hmmmm” when you first saw it? When time permits, please post a comment to let me know which one has peaked your curiosity the most.
Copyright © 2007-2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 38% [?]
June 1st, 2008
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This post contains a challenge to die hard basketball fans to see how many of you with a “Basketball Jones” can watch this creative basketball commercial just once. For those of you who have never seen this Nike commercial, it’s extremely addictive.
Unless you’re immune to “March Madness,” click on the highlighted word “Nike” at your own risk. Be forewarned! My wife, KWiz, and my 3-year old daughter couldn’t watch this classic commercial just once. Let me know whether or not you enjoyed something I decided to post just for the fun of it.
Popularity: 29% [?]
March 11th, 2008
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Besides, it didn’t pass the common sense test that great people would perpetuate the same fear-based cycle of self-destructive behavior the last self-defeating generation kept repeating. By grace, the voice of reason inspired wise women and men to pray for the gifted souls Crumb Snatcher “marked for destruction.” But the abused kids adults hurt refused to believe God had predestined them to “achieve greatness.” Cooler heads failed to prevail due to the dysfunctional behavior of “Generation X’ed™.” Alas, humanity’s generational curse only exacerbated their inability to believe they could beat impossible odds and complete impossible tasks with God’s help. But one person did.
Manchild objectively observed how opposing inferiority complexes clashed with the self-perceived superiority that gave self-deceived, co-dependent cliques a false sense of security. His compulsive analysis of their self-hatred induced the paralysis that crippled his clout. The side effects of his own self-hatred stunted his personal growth and prematurely arrested the development of his leadership skills. But the optimistic one kept laying aside the stinkin’ load of unduly burdensome dirty laundry unresolved personal conflicts and misunderstandings dumped in his way. Undeterred by Unpopularity, Manchild’s castigated soul managed to remain hopeful, peaceful, and non-violent.
To impede Change, the president of Ain’t Fairusee, Inc. hired an assassin to keep Manchild from crossing Jordan’s River and steppin’ out of the darkness. Profit predators believed the desired end always justified the brutal means their barbaric Babylonian investors chose to conserve their indulgent lifestyles. Although detoured and detained against his free will, something deep within Manchild’s soul refused to remain shackled and chained to the insanity of a win-at-all-costs slave mentality. When least expected, the “gift of Greatness” inspired him to do what hadn’t been done. But nobody had ever loved Generation X’ed™ unconditionally. So, they despised, ridiculed and rejected him.
Copyright © 2007-2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 44% [?]
January 22nd, 2008
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Precocious children fell through unforeseen cracks in crumbling foundations of turnkey school systems that failed to meet their inquisitive students’ expectations. The sleep walking status quo seldom fired talented, tenured teachers who tolerated mediocrity and treated students like bricks in a wall. At the expense of their personal convictions, college graduates, shackled to hefty student loans, felt forced to work for the unethical, white-collar profit predators of “Ain’t Fairusee, Inc.” By grace, the less fortunate ones, who had no college degrees, cultivated financially rewarding careers as entrepreneurs doing what they loved to do.
All who publicly criticized the pernicious president of Ain’t Fairusee, Inc. kept washing blood off swollen faces eaten beyond recognition by radioactive government guard dogs. Massive bones of contention with razor sharp edges chiseled away the ridge patterns of fingerprints belonging to the adults who involuntarily surrendered their personal identity and integrity. Anger and Bitterness stalked the gifted souls who got lost on the darkside of “Satan’s Paradise” after bad things kept happening to them. Rage spiritually blinded the cynical children of “Can’t Dew Nobetter” who refused to believe in God, themselves, or the heart-broken, heart-breaking patriarchs and matriarchs who hated to love one another. But somebody was still watchin’.
Dollar Bill forced heavily indebted, politically corrected employees to conform to bureaucratic systems of capitalism birthed by Ain’t Fairusee’s predatory profiteers. Their wealthy Babylonian financiers based the success of their business plan on artificially inflated economic indicators that fluctuated daily. Co-dependent co-conspirators condoned socially acceptable practices of profiting at the expense of monetized masses of credit card carrying consumers. Target marketeers identified new flocks for the mighty “master of smartcards” to fleece with the aid of sophisticated demographic profiles. But the relentless, called out, chosen ones to whom little appears given refused to fear or revere the giants from the valley of Circumstance.
Copyright © 2007-2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 40% [?]
January 20th, 2008
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By opening this book, your hands will unleash the catalyst that produces the paradigm shift responsible for setting a force in motion that can move mountains. Upon first glance, what may appear to be nothing but “creative chaos” will give you a reason to hope. Reading the text will challenge you to raise your level of thinking. Your heightened awareness will unearth the “forgotten dreams” buried beneath the “abandoned visions” still cluttering the “valley of sun-dried bones.” Your new perspective will bless your gifted soul with meaningful access to what can enable you to decode the source of your deepest fears – the truth.
“No greater love know I” will inspire you to keep risin’ to your feet until your eyes meet the “greatness of God’s faithfulness.” Before taking the next step, wait until ground zero stops shaking beneath humanity’s ever evolving “merry-go-round of make-believe.” Once the dust settles, step through the cracks your spiritual awakening created between diametrically opposed ideologies. Only then will the wrinkles in the big screen of your eidetic imagination unfold. The mental word pictures you see will bridge the gaps between “what was,” “what is,” and “what will be” just the beginning of something new. Change is inevitable.
By choice, the protagonists became well acquainted with the inherent risks forever embedded deep within the uncertainties of the “what ifs” stalking Change. Their cruel antagonists hated honesty and seldom tolerated honest mistakes. Adversaries abounded. The damage done by every bad choice myopic grown folk made haunted resilient generations of lonely, latchkey kids. Fatalities became realities whenever lapses in judgment clashed with the severity of adverse consequences that left no room in the margins of their scripted lives for error. Hungry, streetwise kids negotiated done deals to secure hot meals as they navigated the narrow paths between possibilities where no safe passages previously existed. But somebody’s watchin’ who loves them.
Copyright © 2007-2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 37% [?]
January 18th, 2008
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Last year, my wife, KWiz, and I watched the movie “Freedom Writers.” This year, we watched “The Great Debaters.” Both are unforgettable films. If you’re an aspiring writer who needs a reason to finish writing your book, please don’t wait to see either of these films. Both are amazing examples of the art of story-telling.
It’s true! Everybody has a story to tell. Some of you are extremely talented, gifted writers who can effortlessly employ the power of the written word to tell your stories. For me, writing is a struggle, which is why I started blogging last year. Have you ever wondered if there’s some secret formula or writing technique that will make one book sell better than another?
Can “talent alone” ensure the success of the books that authors allegedly choose to write? Who or what enables prolific writers to repeat the meticulous process behind the creative chaos that made your book a success? Does the timing of a book’s release play a significant part in its author’s ability to emotionally connect with one generation and not another? Do you believe that book sales, or the lack thereof, are an accurate indication of the perceived success or the failure of a book?
According to prolific author Paulo Coelho’s profile, “Slow initial sales [of The Alchemist] convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best selling Brazilian books of all time.
Have any of you ever pondered the possibility that the part you played did little to determine the success of your book? Did God’s sovereign will and perfect plan have anything to do with the success of your book? If yes, does it really matter whether or not an author chooses to employ “urban street teams” or “main stream” marketeers to promote a book that’s destined to become a national best seller? As writers, what part do we play in the books we author?
Do books choose their writers or do writers choose the books they pen? I had no desire to write a book before I began to pen Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness. I believe the book that I birthed chose me. I can still recall waking up in the middle of the night to write the first page of my big dream. Once I began writing it, I couldn’t stop. Whenever I felt inspired to write, I didn’t sleep much. I didn’t eat. I didn’t talk. Since I didn’t have anything to distract me, I just wrote. I constantly canceled or rescheduled appointments until the words stopped flowing from somewhere deep within the heart of my soul.
Am I crazy or has this ever happened to any of you? What did you do initially? Did you look around the room to see if you were all alone? Did you ignore the words you heard or did you heed the still, small voice that inspired you to believe that you could achieve something bigger than yourself? Did people laugh at you, ridicule you, and reject you when they heard about the genesis of your big dream? My mother and my wife stood by me at a time when I needed their love and support the most.
Writing Steppin’ Out Of The Darkness was an act of faith for me. I wrote on anything and everything I could get my hands on as evidenced by all the cardboard boxes still stuffed with the hastily scribbled notes that I stockpiled over the years. During those difficult days when I had no place to lay my head, I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself. For reasons that still escape me, I refused to give up after the fall I survived.
Nevertheless, trusting God when nothing made sense wasn’t easy. To challenge myself to keep getting up and showing up for my street fight with Adversity, I started writing poetic essays. Writing literally saved my life after my business failed and I was forced to file bankruptcy. Because of the vision that God gifted to me, I had a plan that I could believe in. God’s unchanging love gave me hope during my darkest days. It’s true! Without a vision, people with no reason to hope will perish.
For reasons now known, “But by grace still go I” is not just some empty Christian phrase that I casually toss around to sound spiritual. If you’re a published writer, did your book choose you or did you choose your book? I hope this post has encouraged somebody to rise to your feet and inspired you to honestly believe that you can beat impossible odds with God’s help. If so, please let me know.
Copyright (c) 2008 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 33% [?]
