Today's post may seem a little random to alot of people, but there is a reason behind it, so let me explain to start. A little over a year ago I volunteered to help run a philanthropy week because honestly, nobody else would step up and I was bored. Well running this philanthropy week ended up changing my life and giving me a whole new prospective on what I enjoy doing. Since then, I have helped out with a few other philanthropy events, and done a fair amount of community service. I also recently applied to be on the executive board of my local Relay For Life group. Just yesterday I received an email saying I got a position. That is a brief overview of my thoughts leading into this post.
Too many people in today's society do not value life. They go about running from place to place and not enjoying the day. My goal is not just to help people by raising money and volunteer efforts for those who need it, but to help people learn to take a few minutes every day and smile. The smile is the greatest gift we have, weather you believe in God or not, somehow you are here on this planet and have the ability to smile and it needs to be taken advantage of.
I was once in an interview for a leadership position and one of the questions was something along the lines of "what is your first thought when you wake up?" My response was "It is morning, time to smile!" No matter rain or shine, everyday we have is a new day, a day to try something different, meet someone new. Today could be the day you fall in love, the day you finally try that one crazy thing you have always wanted to do, or even be your last day on earth. Accidents happen everyday, it is sad but the truth. So why not wake up every morning and smile?
Every time one of my friends comes to me with a problem, weather it be relationship troubles, career troubles, family troubles or something else, my typical response is to ask them what is the worst that can happen. They normally say something about losing their significant other, or losing their job etc. From there I tend to point out that their are plenty of other worse things in the world. For example if you are fortunate enough to be reading this post, then you can afford a computer or have access to a computer. Take a trip to the Ivory Coast, or parts of China, or Brazil, and take a look at the life style their. With the huge advancement in technology that America has made, we have also corrupted ourselves and helped our citizens forget the real meaning in life. My point is that your worse case may be a dream for someone else. Take every day you have, make the best of it, and when something bad happens in your life ask yourself how it could be worse, is this really that bad and what can i learn from it. When you wake up tomorrow, or when you finish reading this try putting on a smile, see what happens.
Keep on Smiling.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
USA Vs. The World
As many of you should know by now, yesterday was a historic day. The United States of America played England in a World Cup game, the first time in over 50 years. The outcome was a 1-1 draw, leaving each team with 1 point in the group stage. As the players left the field, Americans rejoiced while English fans were in agony. What gives Americans the right to rejoice? Why did the New York Post headline read "USA WINS 1-1"? I would hardly call a tie a victory. 1 years ago we advanced to the Finals of the Confederations Cup and lost to Brazil 3-2. We took down arguably the best team in the world, Spain, in the semi-finals. Why is this tie so good for us. People everywhere are saying that it will be huge if we get out of group stage. I am sorry, but we ranked 14th in the World, we are one of the largest countries population wise. Rec league soccer is the 2nd most popular sport behind little league Baseball for young kids, and we most certainly have the facilities to support a top of the line team.
I will gladly accept a 1-1 draw, but not cheer for it. We should expect to draw the top teams in the world. After all, are we not one of the top teams in the world? Our top players play for some of the top club teams in the world. Our younger players are not even in their prime yet and are sure to have large impacts in the future. Everything else America competes in, we expect to win, why not Soccer, "the worlds game"? Better yet, why are English fans disappointed with the result? OK, aside from the fact that our 1 goal was a huge blunder on Robert Green (the England Goalie), he also saved England from defeat a few times. Why can the English not accept the fact that America is good at "futbol." If England shared a group with Brazil, Germany, France or any other international powerhouse, they wouldn't be thrilled with a tie, but they wouldn't be as upset.
Both America and the rest of the World need to wake up and realize that the players who take the field for America are good. We have a real chance at doing well this World Cup. We should not be considering a tie with England a "win", we should consider it a tie. We should expect to beat the rest of our group and advance to the knockout stage. Americans need to realize that the World Cup is as important as elections, in fact the World Cup can influence elections and politics. Americans need to stop and realize that playing in the World Cup is a huge deal. Get off our lazy butts, take 2 hours out of your day, go to a bar or a screen set up in a public place and watch history! And the rest of the World should not be upset when they tie or lose to America. We may not be a powerhouse, but we are not a joke. We know how to play the game, we are not just playing to lose, we believe we have as good a shot to win this thing and the next country. They also need to understand that we are going to call the game Soccer, and call the "pitch" a field. It is a tie to Americans, not a draw. If soccer really is the Worlds sport than the World needs to accept how we play the game and what we call the game. The World needs to understand that we are here to play soccer, and we are here to make a statement.
Stop celebrating over yesterdays tie. Look at the tape and realize we could have won that game, just as easily as we could have lost that game. The next few weeks will be a huge test for Americans. If we lose, people will not care, when in fact they should. If we win we will celebrate, but not as much as we should. It is time to wake up, drink your coffee and realize this is big. This is more than big. This game defines the World, changes countries, starts wars and ends them. Makes economies run and can break them down. This is the World Cup, this is Soccer. GO AMERICA!
Keep on smiling
I will gladly accept a 1-1 draw, but not cheer for it. We should expect to draw the top teams in the world. After all, are we not one of the top teams in the world? Our top players play for some of the top club teams in the world. Our younger players are not even in their prime yet and are sure to have large impacts in the future. Everything else America competes in, we expect to win, why not Soccer, "the worlds game"? Better yet, why are English fans disappointed with the result? OK, aside from the fact that our 1 goal was a huge blunder on Robert Green (the England Goalie), he also saved England from defeat a few times. Why can the English not accept the fact that America is good at "futbol." If England shared a group with Brazil, Germany, France or any other international powerhouse, they wouldn't be thrilled with a tie, but they wouldn't be as upset.
Both America and the rest of the World need to wake up and realize that the players who take the field for America are good. We have a real chance at doing well this World Cup. We should not be considering a tie with England a "win", we should consider it a tie. We should expect to beat the rest of our group and advance to the knockout stage. Americans need to realize that the World Cup is as important as elections, in fact the World Cup can influence elections and politics. Americans need to stop and realize that playing in the World Cup is a huge deal. Get off our lazy butts, take 2 hours out of your day, go to a bar or a screen set up in a public place and watch history! And the rest of the World should not be upset when they tie or lose to America. We may not be a powerhouse, but we are not a joke. We know how to play the game, we are not just playing to lose, we believe we have as good a shot to win this thing and the next country. They also need to understand that we are going to call the game Soccer, and call the "pitch" a field. It is a tie to Americans, not a draw. If soccer really is the Worlds sport than the World needs to accept how we play the game and what we call the game. The World needs to understand that we are here to play soccer, and we are here to make a statement.
Stop celebrating over yesterdays tie. Look at the tape and realize we could have won that game, just as easily as we could have lost that game. The next few weeks will be a huge test for Americans. If we lose, people will not care, when in fact they should. If we win we will celebrate, but not as much as we should. It is time to wake up, drink your coffee and realize this is big. This is more than big. This game defines the World, changes countries, starts wars and ends them. Makes economies run and can break them down. This is the World Cup, this is Soccer. GO AMERICA!
Keep on smiling
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