Mr. Reed. I read your blog in response to Debora's challenge about people who have lost hope, become depressed, become negative, lost trust in their own abilities, and seem to have become their worst enemy.
You wrote: "There is nothing I can say to a person to build them up and shine if they are not willing to flip the switch to the “on” position within themselves."
You used the word INSPIRATION backwards to show the phrase “Acting Spirit Within.”
"ATION" - The result of an action or process.
"SPIR" - The root of the word "SPIRIT".
"IN" - as in "WITH-IN."
I’m not a motivational speaker but I want to motivate you not to become “Hopeless” in motivating those who have become hopeless. It is easy to “motivate” those who are already motivated. Are you really motivating them or are they really motivating themselves?
So my challenge to you is how can you help flip the switch in the “on” position within others so that they can utilize the “Acting Spirit Within” In other words, how can you help bring the spirit alive in people who are spiritually dying?
Mr. Owens,
I understand your response, but let me ask you this ... at what point do people begin taking responsibility for themselves? When all of the "pep-talks" are said and done; when all of the belly-rubbing and head patting are done, at what point does a person take it upon themselves to take the steps necessary to improve their conditions?
Contrary to popular belief, there is no cookie-cutter recipe for self-improvement. At some point people must do for themselves. There are all kinds of agencies out there to help people find work, but what good are they to the person who will not go to them? People, myself included, have written all kinds of self-help/motivational books full of encouragement and assurances that there are ways to improve our lives, but what good are they to those who won't pick them up and read them?
In fact, MY book will also be available in audio format on CD & available for download from i-Tunes. All a person has to do is pop in the CD or upload it into their i-Pod, and all they have to do is sit there and listen, but what good is that option to a person who would rather listen to Lil' Wayne or Mary J. Blige? I enjoy Mary & Wayne as much as the next person, but Mary and Wayne got theirs. We've got to return to our personal realities and get ours.
As I stated, I understand times are hard. Everyone has their own cross to bear; remember, I acknowleged these things. However, my point is this, you can only do so much for people before they have to pick up and carry their fair share of the load. The people who are just getting by are at least doing THAT much. Those who are successful are those who carry their weight and then some.
Let me share a quick story with you. By vocation, I am a police officer. In my capacity as such, I have a front row seat to what hopelessness really is. One day I had to transport a prisoner from one county jail to the workhouse in my county. When we picked him up and began doing his paperwork, I learned that he and I have the same birth date. Not the samy birth-DAY. The same birth-DATE. We were even born in the same hospital. So, INITIALLY, the only thing separating me from him was a few hours. Granted, we had different families and perhaps different upbringings, but every day he had on this planet, I have had. At some point we became of age to know right from wrong and make our own choices accordingly. In the end, what put me in the front seat of that squad car and him in the back seat of that car was the choices we made in our lives.
Ultimately, the choices we make are what separates ALL of us from one another.
Personally my friend, I believe that there is greatness in everyone, but I also believe that most people are either too afraid or too lazy to tap into the greatness that exists within themselves, and want someone else to do it for them.
With that, I will close with two age-old addages that I am certain you have heard, agree with, and perhaps have even said ...
"God helps those who help themselves."
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
Just like an addict cannot overcome his or her addiction until they hit rock-bottom and, within themselves, acknowledge that they have a problem, any person who is sick & tired of being sick & tired must see their condition for what it is, and if it's someplace they don't want to be, they must first believe they have the ability to improve themselves, find the power that exists within them, and then TAKE ACTION.
You can see all the potential in the world that a person may have, but if he or she doesn't see it for themselves and utilize it, that potential will only go to waste.
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