SHOW YOUR TRUE FRIENDS YOU LOVE THEM

Almost everybody is blessed enough to have at least three to four people in their lives that they consider true friends. I’m talking about the kind of friends that you know want to see you safe and well, want to see you succeed in all that you do, and most of all, they sincerely want to see you happy. For the friends you have who are in this category, show them how much they mean to you while you have the opportunity. Don’t put it off. Tell them just how special they are. You don’t need to wait for a special occasion. Let them know, now, how much better your life is because they are a part of it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you call, email, or text your true friends on their birthdays or you send them a Christmas card that they realize the full scope of how much they mean to you. And don’t think that you have to be a writer or a singer to create a message that will touch their hearts. Many times, the most meaningful and memorable gestures are the simplest ones. What makes them so significant is that they come from your heart.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD

If you are a good driver, you must keep your focus on the traffic that’s in front of you. A good driver will also check the rear view mirror and the side mirrors frequently to see what’s going on in those areas. A good driver will take a quick look to the side when changing lanes to ensure that no car is in the blind spot that a side mirror won’t pick up. All of these checks are critically important for good drivers, yet the most important thing to do is to keep your eyes on what is in front of you. Keeping your eyes on what’s in front of you is vital to your personal and professional success. We should all learn from our past experiences, including the mistakes we made. But it does you no good to dwell on what you feel you didn’t do well. It doesn’t help you today to kick yourself for a bad decision you made last week, last month, or last year. It is especially harmful to continue to stay depressed over a bad choice or a foolish action you made years ago. Yes, there are plenty of people that do that. I strongly advise you to focus on what you want and what you need to do to achieve it. Don’t ignore mistakes, learn from them and move on. Don’t put yourself down, pull yourself up. Above all else, keep your mind on what you can control. Put your efforts into what you can do. It’s okay to have some low points and bad days, but you don’t want to stay in those states. Move on and move forward.

THE LAST DEBATE

The third and final debate between the two candidates running for the office of the President of the United States took place, last night, and I thought the debate fairly good and letting the viewing public know where the candidates stand on how the U.S. is seen by foreign countries and what role the U.S. should strive to take in the future. I also feel that the toughest questions on foreign policy were not asked or were not answered directly, and that’s politics. Just remember that when it comes to foreign policy, it comes down to decisions. The president of this country makes a decision on how he or she will interact with foreign leaders. The president of this country makes a decision on whether or not to go to the Congress to declare war on another country. The president makes a decision on whether or not to take military action against another country (normally with the support of Congress). The president makes a decision on whether or not sanctions should be imposed on another country and how severe those sanctions should be. The president makes a decision on whether we see another country as a friend or foe to the United States of America. When you go to vote on November 6, keep what you heard about foreign policy in mind, and just as importantly, if not more so, keep in mind what you heard and know about the candidates’ stand on the economy. Most importantly, cast your vote for the presidential candidate you feel will do the best job of making this country a strong, safe, and prosperous nation, now and for future generations.

FORWARD THINKING IS BACK!

I was gone for too long but I will be posting entries in this blog on a regular basis. I do apologize to those of you who were following my posts and saw them just stop. I make no excuses. I just let other things take priority over my blog and that was wrong. You won’t be disappointed with the activity on Forward Thinking because I am on a mission. It’s time to put my writing to use to inform, educate, and encourage as many people as I can. What you will read in Forward Think is short pieces about people, things, and other topics that should help you think in a way that will help you expand your mind and improve your life. Please note that I am announcing the resurgence of my blog before the final U.S. presidential debate, before Thanksgiving, before Christmas, before New Year’s, before my birthday, and before the Super Bowl. I know many other important things are, and will be, going on between now and the end of February, but I’m just pointing out that there will be a lot to cover and I’m not just waiting for a particular outcome to voice my opinion. Stay blessed, stay well, and stay tuned.

LEBRON'S DECISION

Even if you don't follow sports, it would have been nearly impossible to avoid hearing about LeBron James, last week, and which NBA team he decided to go to. Was he going to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that represented the state he grew up in, a team that he's played for for the entire 7 years he's been in the NBA, or would he take advantage of free agency and go to another pro team where he would likely have a much better chance of winning a world championship title.

Well, LeBron decided to go to the Miami Heat, a team that already has a superstar and in the same week of James' decision, managed to recruit another amazing player.

The decision LeBron James made has created quite an uproar. A number of cities, especially Cleveland, are very upset with James. The owner of the Cavaliers went so far as to publicly call LeBron a cowardly traitor. Some other cities like New York made sacrifices, over the last few years, with the hopes that LeBron James would be a part of their roster for the upcoming season. And while this angst takes place in some cities and among many people, most of the city of Miami and their fans rejoice in what looks to be the makings for a dynasty.

No matter how you feel about LeBron's move to Miami, the bottom line is he made that choice based on what he feels is best for him and his family. I always talk about how vitally important loyalty is to me. It is a necessary quality in all of my closest friends. That said, James is a grown man. He is not a machine or owned property. If he weren't the phenomenal basketball player he is, all this fuss wouldn't be made over him. If he suffered a catastrophic injury, even if he stayed in Cleveland, they wouldn't want to keep him. LeBron is taking full advantage of a great opportunity.

That is the lesson in all of this. If you haven't already, you will come upon a major crossroads, and those roads will lead to two totally different destinations. When you choose a road, make sure it is the right road for you ... because you are the one that will have to live with that choice.

Nothing good ever comes easy and nothing great ever comes without a significant sacrifice. This applies to life-changing decisions that all of us must make, either now or later in our lives.

Get Rid of the Clutter

No matter how organized you think you are and no matter how much you get done each day, you will be much more organized and you will get things done much more efficiently if you get rid of any clutter that surrounds you.

Clutter is so easy to accumulate, but it can be so hard to get rid of. You can always find a reason to keep things that pile up, like old magazines, bills from previous months, shopping bags, old clothes, boxes, and so much more. Here's a basic rule you can work into a routine to keep things filed, clean, and neat. If you haven't used something in three months, you can probably throw it away without a worry. In the case of clothes, whenever you buy something new, give the same amount of clothing away to a worthy charity. They have receptacles all over the place, including some shopping centers.

Take a look around your work area, in your car, and around your room, house or apartment. Do you see a lot of crap strewn about? As an experiment, completely clear the items away from a specific are, say, your computer desk. Now, work or do something in that area. You should immediately feel the difference. You should feel the freedom of movement, which can also heighten your energy, creativity, and desire to get important tasks done. After at least two to three hours of keeping the experimental area clear, put the piled up items back where they were. Now, try to work or do whatever you were doing in the same way you were when it was clear. You're not able to are you? Of course not. You got used to functioning in the clean and clear area.

The biggest challenge you will face won't be getting rid of junk and clutter in an area. The biggest challenge will be not replacing it with new junk and clutter. However, if you make the decision to be clutter-free and stay clutter-free, your life will never be the same.

What a Summer!

I know I previously said I would do a much better job of keeping my blog updated and posting more frequently. I believe I also wrote a post called "No Excuses." I make no excuses, now, for not posting in almost a month, yet I do feel my readers will understand why no new articles have appeared in the last few weeks.

At the end of May, I reconnected with someone who meant the world to me and the last time I talked to her, heard from her, or saw her -- get ready for this -- was 30 years ago! Yes, three decades passed with no communication, no pictures, no messages or anything between us. I won't go into the details of how we reconnected or the circumstances that caused the communication to end, but I will tell you it has been the most mind blowing experience I have ever had. I'll also let you know that my friend is just as happy that she reconnected with me. God has thoroughly blessed me with this event.

Along with my fabulous and stunning news, I'm hearing about so many great things happening to my closest friends, this summer. Good news is always so much more enjoyable to hear when you have good news of your own to share.

I do hope all of you have some sensational news to share with those that mean the most to you.