Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009; A year to Reflect

Dear Reader

One of my favorite movies is "Its a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart. I assume my readers are familiar with the film, the tale of a man who thinks the world would be better off without him, not realizing how much good he has done for others. As we enter 2010, I like to reflect on 2009; did I make a positive mark on someones life, did I make the world, even on a limited level a better place? Is the world better off without me?

I like to think in some small way, I made a worthwhile mark on the world. I like to think my presence made a difference in someones life. I also like to think there were angels in my life that helped me, that were there when I needed them. I believe in karma, one does good for others, good will come to them, do bad and bad things will happen.

This was a challenging year, just like George Bailey, when his world was falling apart, he doubted himself, he tried to commit suicide, but an angel saved him. An angel proved to George Bailey that he did make a difference in his world, and his presence aided others, in a sense we are all capable of being angels.

So as 2009 transcends into 2010, lets reflect on the good that we have done, and the desire we have to be better individuals. Lets not put ourselves down for our flaws, our sins, our pains, but lets focus on the positive. Two-thousand and ten is going to be a great year, lets place an emphasis on the positive.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A challenging Year

Dear Reader

The end of the year is the perfect time to reflect the past and the future. The time to envision ones position in the world and how that can perpetuate one to the next level. One should not gravitate to ones failures in the course of the year, but the positive accolades, even if such accolades were personal in nature. Small positive steps are an honor; small steps lead to larger steps in the future.

One cannot argue 2009 was a challenging year; challenges are what give people the opportunity to explore new horizons. For instance on a personal level, I witness a downturn in my business, I increased my advertising budget the previous year (for 2009) when I had extra resources, the benefit was in 2009 I was able to get into new markets and obtain new Clients to offset my declining revenues in my Los Angeles market. More importantly I established a networking base with vendors in my same field and developed relationships with such people that ultimately turned into friendships. Like most businesses, I took financial hit on my bank account, but I also learned to live without certain luxuries that I took as necessities.

I also established a criterion for what was most important to me, and my sanity. I developed a personal business plan, detailing my goals and aspirations. Forth most was my relationship with God, I believe in faith, faith is the catalyst that propels me to wake up and look forward to life. Without my relationship with God, I would just be another wondering soul, walking aimlessly, with no plan and no direction. God is my rock, my foundation. Next I wanted to look at my other talents like writing, photography and filmmaking. I was able in a small way to explore such talents; I started writing several blogs, an article for a magazine, had some of my photographs published on some web sites and pre-production on a documentary film.

In times like these it is so easy to give up, and walk away. Don’t give up, look for new opportunities, new relationships and let God into your heart and you don’t need a phone to talk to God.