Friday, February 27, 2009

fitting quote for my proposal meeting

"Success is 10% inspiration, 90% last-minute changes."

~From a billboard advertisement

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Circumstances

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.

~G.B. Shaw, Mrs. Warren's Profession, 1893

Very wise words...repeated by Madea, not as eloquently of course, in Madea Goes to Jail. Touched me a bit - take responsibility for your choices, stop blaming others for your circumstances, stop being a victim, etc. Good stuff.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

100%

"If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Its amazing how much impact we can have, even in the "small" things. Even when I was a waitress/bartender, I had the ability to make or break someone's day. When I teach, the amount of care I take to ensure that my students understand the content can affect them in the future. When I sign or sing at church, the effort and preparation and heart I put into it can affect someone's worship.

And whether or not we believe it to be true, people can tell when you are not giving your all, when you are putting forth a half-hearted effort, when you're distracted, etc. I don't want to be described as someone who mostly did my various jobs or callings well, most of the time. I don't want any qualifiers in there at all.

But this is a problem for me, and for others like me - I want to try so many things, want to be good at so many things, want to say yes to everything that anyone asks me so as not to disappoint them, etc. This leads to spreading the self too thin, and I run the risk of only partially giving myself to too many things.

This is where whole-hearted YES and whole-hearted NO answers come in. I am striving to fully say yes, to mean it, to give 100%. And I'm also striving to say no more, to say it whole-heartedly, and to not waver. And I will be great at a few things, instead of mediocre at many.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Relaxing after my proposal...




So, I defended my proposal today before my committee. There are a few modifications to make, but nothing to stop me from going forward. Thanks to all of my mentors and profs, and thanks to all of those that came out to celebrate with me this eve!

This is a pic of a little extra "personality" I added to my ppt presentation...I've discovered during my years of teaching that if I add in some relaxation opportunities during lectures that it helps me out in the nerves department big time. So, I created this "I heart plasticity" t-shirt to slow and calm me down. Enjoy!