In the past 2 weeks, new lessons emerged which show me that I am the sum of my effort, and the outcome of my own inward passion.

In the short space of 2 weeks I have learned a great deal from others, as many good folks reach out to make this young upstart a better man.

Service to others, my family, coworkers, friends, associates, and others is so vital.

How can I lift up others if I find myself worried about circumstances I cannot control? The lesson of these 2 weeks was, Michael the fire you have within is more important than any external factor. Period.

Also, in order to achieve the potential one has within, they must constantly be working on self-improvement and self betterment.

Amen.

One cannot expect to arrive at the pinnacle of success without sustained, constant, and vibrant efforts. How many times have I found myself in the midst of what seemed an insurmountable challenge only to emerge on the other side having become stronger, better, and more powerful than ever before?

The sum of the effort we put in.

Amen.

Here we are striving day after day, week after week, to achieve incredible results. All around people are saying these dire economic circumstances will wipe the floor with you.

In one moment of incredible wisdom, my Dale Carnegie instructor summed up my outlook and said: "Remember that the mind is a powerful thing, if you beleive a certain way, you will wind up the sum of that beleif."

At the end of class the moment presented itself to me to stand and deliver the inspirational close. I quoted Kenny Loggin's words "We have one chance at one life."

I only had 1 minute to sum up everything we had learned that night. My Dale Carnegie instructor was right.

Where we go from here is up to us, no one else. You must always have a backup game plan should your original intended course fall through. No one can know that course but yourself, and one must know or have a sense of "Who they are."

Today in listening to a colleague it was recommended that I "find myself." I thought about this this afternoon. How does one "find themselves."

Where do "you" go from here?

The economic questions of our time yield important discussion and hot buttons that need to be dealt with. How will you go about your day if all you hear on the news is negative, negative, negative.

I can't say it with more passion, that to be positive, is not a matter of externals, it is internal.

We must crowd out the noise of negativity consuming our daily bandwidth.

I can't speak for others but for myself I will say, that postive mental outlook-PMA, is so so key.

Vital even now is the view inwardly to uplift or try to uplift everyone you work with.

Struggles in these days require a greater commitment of strength then ever before.

How can you manage to rise up and go in the direction you need to go, when there are points of struggle pushing you in multitudes of directions.

It is very important now more than ever to emerge to find your innermost happiness and pursue greatness as if your life depended on it. And it usually does-at least your livelihood that is.

I can't express the vital commitment that now must be made, to see each new day as a different "day tight compartment".

That phrase comes from Dale Carnegie and means in essence, you live for today only because to worry about tomorrow or the day before all you achieve is agony of mind.

Stress is a figment of the mind. It can be overcome by sheer commitment to alleviate worry by keeping an eye on the goal, writing down what one wishes to achieve and achieving goals with passion and tenacity.

Some day the economy will rise from its current state. Can we rise above ourselves before that day comes? You can be poised to do what is necessary today, and if focused can achieve a much better depth of inward peace.

This is an important time in our US history. Who will rise and who will fall has a lot to do with internal poise and tenacity. It may require a career change. It may require a redefinition of your total purpose.

What matters now is what you bring. Bring it. Show the money. Reach the limitless potential only waiting to be unlocked. Faith is completely necessary now to be better than the past. Faith is more about action then it is waiting for a miracle. That is the test of our time. Where do you go from here.....Forward.