Merry Go Rounds (or Carousels) are fun!  Merry Go Rounds that have the plastic rings that you can grab and throw onto the stick or into a hole are even more fun.  Then there are the Merry Go Rounds with the very unique and special "Brass Ring".  If you can reach out far enough and risk getting uncomfortable, you can grab a hold of that special brass ring and then turn it in for a big prize (often a free ride).  When Merry Go Rounds first came into existence over 100 years ago, the animals in the center of the ride moved up and down and everyone wanted to ride those. The animals on the outer edge of the ride were static and didn't move so in order to persuade riders to get on those animals, the operator of the Merry Go Round added the rings, including the brass rings.  Some kids still chose the "jumpers" in the center because the risk and challenge of reaching out to get the rings was too scary and the immediate reward was automatic.  No risk involved.  That is fine, if you don't like free stuff.  That is fine if you are only interested in being normal.  That is fine if your goal in life is to participate but not to achieve more.  Reaching for the brass ring has always been synonymous with striving for more or being our best or living life to the fullest.  There are few times in life when we actually have a choice to play it safe or to take risks to achieve more.  A day is coming soon for us all to make that choice.

There are a lot of great reasons to help others.  Unfortunately, helping others is often seen as in opposition to helping ourselves.  "If I help others, then I am taking away from my own prosperity.  I need to focus on "me" so I can maximize my efforts".  And when it comes to a choice, we usually choose "me" over "we" and definitely over "you".  Obviously, having the mentality and the heart to put others first is a desirable characteristic.  However, if that is too much to ask, then look at the research.  Motivation is one of the keys to personal success.  When we are more motivated, we are more likely to repeat desirable behaviors (like working hard, putting in time and effort, giving our best). Research shows that the greatest untapped source of motivation is a sense of service to others; focusing on the contribution of our work to other people’s lives has the potential to make us more productive than thinking about helping ourselves (Give and Take by Adam Grant).  It makes sense.  Most people struggle with confidence, doubt, fear, anxiety and depression because they are focusing too much on themselves and not looking more at others.  The more we are "inward focused", the more we get caught up in our failures and weaknesses and have a hard time seeing our strengths.  In contrast, when we help others, we see that life is more than our own selfish desires and that life is more than just about us.  So when you find yourself falling short of your own goals and hopes and dreams, then take your eyes off yourself and spend some time to help others so that they can reach their goals and hopes and dreams, and you may find that you both end up winning in the end.  

​"Glass half full or glass half empty".  The question refers to whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.  Do you see life in a positive way: "glass is half full", or in a negative way: "the glass is half empty"?  An important distinction.  But another question to ask is this: "What is your glass filled with"?  The content of the glass is important because when the glass is tipped over and the contents spilled out, they end up all over the place.  A glass filled with water can be easily cleaned up with a dry towel.  A glass filled with motor oil causes a bigger mess and a mess that may last for a while.  A person filled with love and respect and a positive attitude toward others is not exempt from being spilled over.  But when they are tipped or knocked over, the love and respect and positiveness spills out all over other people.  When a person is full of bitterness and anger and resentment and negativity is spilled out, then that is spilled on to others, as well.  And if the glass is full to the brim of these things, when the glass is merely jostled a little bit, the contents get out and impact others.  We may not be able to control the volume in our glass but we can control the content. 

"Give and Earn"!  Not a real thing.  "Give and Take" is actually a saying.  It refers to a mutual agreement.  You give something and you get something in return.  Pretty fair system.  LIFE DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK THAT WAY!  You may give and never get.  You may give and give and others may be the only one's who do the taking.  We may give our time and effort and talents to achieve a specific goal and then "expect" that in the end, we will be allowed to "take".  Unfortunately, some people need to give more than others.  Some of us may have to give more and do more and sacrifice more in order to achieve the goals that someone else may achieve in a less painful manner.  If our goal is worth pursuing, the amount of sacrifice shouldn't matter and measuring that sacrifice with others is a fruitless endeavor.  As the season winds down, goals will be achieved and others won't.  As we look back on the time and effort and sacrifice, could we have spent more time, put in more effort and sacrificed more in order to achieve our goals.  Could you have given more in order to earn your goal.

​Control what you can control, and Pray about the rest!

​... cut off your head and COMPETE!

​If success were easy, everyone would do it and then it wouldn’t be so special.​

Grit defined ...

Noun: ​ Courage and resolve; strength of character.

Verb:  Clench (the teeth), especially in order to keep one's resolve when faced with an unpleasant or painful duty.

Resolve defined ...

Noun:   Firm determination to do something. 

Courage defined ...

Noun:   Strength in the face of pain or grief.

Quitting defined ...

Noun:  To give up or resign; stop, cease and discontinue; to stop trying, struggling, or the like;  accept or acknowledge defeat.  

Courage defined again in case you missed it and in regards to quitting ...

Noun:   Strength in the face of pain or grief.

Resolve defined again in case you missed it and in regards to quitting ...

Noun:   Firm determination to do something. 

Grit defined again to drive the point that quitting does not produce grit ...

Noun: ​ Courage and resolve; strength of character.

Verb:  Clench (the teeth), especially in order to keep one's resolve when faced with an unpleasant or painful duty.

​We can't stop the rain!  No matter how hard we may try, no matter how hard we may look at the sky, no matter how angry or bitter or frustrated we may get, we can't stop the rain!  We can look at forecasts and refresh every five minutes but the rain will either come or not, regardless of our attention to it.  There are things in life that we have control over and there are things we don't.  We can't stop the rain but we can wear a rain jacket.  We can hold an umbrella.  We can wear rain boots and two pairs of socks.  We can avoid going outside or even close the blinds.  We can also see the rain as a necessity to water the grass that makes it green or fill the aquifers so we have water to drink.  We may not be able to change the weather forecast but we can change our attitude.  We need to understand what areas of life we can control (our attitude is a primary one) and control those things.  We then need to identify the things that we have no control over (like the weather) and choose to pray about it to someone who has control.   

​"Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail" is attributed to Alan Lakein who may have taken his quote from Benjamin Franklin who said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail".  The idea behind both are true.  Many people do not have the skill or ability to think ahead of today and are not able to envision what the future may look like.  They are often overwhelmed and consumed with the present.  There are others who fail to see the benefit and therefore lack the motivation to sacrifice a little time now to plan ahead in order to save a lot of time later.  The benefit of planning does not offset the cost of time to plan for these people.  And then there are those who lack the drive and perseverance to achieve anything worth their time to create a plan.  This group of people is growing in our society.  More and more people fail to have retirement plans or child college funds or career paths or other goals that require long term plans to achieve.  All three people will suffer more and struggle often and achieve less success than those who learn to plan, take time to plan and set worthy goals that require a plan to be successful.  Planning to compete is a great opportunity to practice planning to succeed.