You Aren't Dead Yet!

Had a thought today:

I'm tired of running into people who feel like they're at a dead end in their lives. They spend too much time saying things like "I'm a bad person," "I'm not good enough," or "I don't deserve ___." I also can't stand it when they act and talk like they know what they want, and yet never do anything to make it happen. There are people walking around, saying they're positive--but really, they're not, because they lack self-belief and they don't ask God for help. 

As Catholics/entrepreneurs/people who want to be great in what we do AND great at life, we know we aren't perfect. We know we have to keep pushing forward. Always. Always feeding our minds. Always taking risks. Always looking several steps ahead or just plunging forward when we know we have to. We do what we have to do when--or close to when--we have to do it.

I think we should encourage other people to do the same. We should encourage other people to break their own molds. If there are people around whom you usually bite your tongue, now is the time to charitably speak up--or walk away.

If YOU are one of those people who need to break out of feeling stuck financially; who keep making the same huge mistakes; who feel lost in your own mind; who feel discouraged because you think you lack luck or "good karma"; if you aren't where you want to be--if you feel like you aren't good/smart/successful enough--FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO CHANGE, and never stop reaching for where you need to be.

Les Brown memorably said: 

“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry our their dream.”

YOU ARE NOT DEAD YET. You are not what happened to you, and you, through God's grace, control who you are in the present and future. Stop making excuses, and stop settling for mediocrity.

(This is me standing outside of Notre Dame about 24 hours before ISIS attacked Paris. I'll be writing a post about all that soon...I hope.)

I honestly feel like I had a close shave coming out of Paris. I know that God got me out of there right on time for a reason--I also think he let me experience that kind of scare for a reason. He reminded me that he MADE me for a reason, and that I shouldn't spend my life living in a bubble of mediocrity because of my own lack of self-belief.

He made you for a reason, too. Break your mold today! You are meant for more. 

Albany Rose, 7 Years Later

In her latest Youtube release, Albany Rose really gets into the details of the REAl results of the abortion she was forced into 7 years ago. I must have heard about her for the first time a little over a year ago when I was searching videos on abortion on Youtube. I watched the video she made 2 years ago, in which she described her abortion experience. I watched it, then I watched it again.

There is a lot to reflect on in regards to her post-abortion experience...

This Facebook comment by one of Albany's followers pretty much sums up some of the things I wanted to say:

"Every time I listen to you speak, I forget how young you are. I get so caught up in what you're saying, the maturity, confidence, and honesty you say it with. When I hear everything you've been through and everything you had to fight against, it is just incredible what you've come through in such a short time. So I forget that you are only 2 years older than me. 

I hope I get to meet you one day. I'd love to actually talk in person with you.

I'm so grateful for your videos. I know it isn't easy to come out and be honest with the world about the icky parts in your past. I wish I could be that brave. But, like you said, it is so important for people to hear. You're making such a huge difference in the world!"


Please watch her video. Please share it.

Brittany Maynard Chose Life

I am glad to see that this poor woman, Brittany Maynard, has chosen to let her life run its course. 

There's no dignity or relief for anyone in suicide. 

In the article, her mom says she would feed and bathe her daughter until the end. I'm sure that would help someone like her mother to deal with her loss better, because she could care for her daughter, rather than having to just let her kill herself. 

Now her family can prepare better for what is to come, and never think the kind of "what if?" people ask when someone chooses to kill themselves.

By the way, exchanging the word "suicide" for "mercy killing" or "euthanasia" does not change what it is, or how it affects other people.

Please keep her and all people in her position (and their families) in your prayers.http://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/194905-the-woman-who-has-chosen-to-end-her-life-on-nov-1-releases-new-video-addressing-her-fears-and-emotions-as-the-date-arrives/

Why Limit Yourself?

Today, I found myself driving through the afternoon traffic with two complete strangers sitting in my car. This sort of situation actually isn't usual for me. What was unusual was the conversation that took place during the short ride we had together.

They were a couple, backpacking (as made clear by their giant backpacks) across the Pacific on their way to Australia. They'd had a long layover in Guam, so they'd stayed the night at a bed n' breakfast I clean for. The couple had needed a ride to the airport, so I had agreed to take them there before I went to work on cleaning the apartment they'd stayed in.

The man was quite talkative and they were both very grateful for the ride. He was from New York, and she was from Berlin. He asked me if I was from Guam, and I said yes. He asked me if I'd grown up here, and I said yes. Then he asked if I had any siblings, and I said, "Yes. I have ten brothers and sisters."

Typically, when someone gets around to asking me that questions, I'll pause for a moment and think of how to tell them how big my family is. No matter how I answer, however, the usual response is drowned in surprise.

And he was surprised.

But very pleased. They both were.

"That is so awesome!" He said. And she said, "It is! It's beautiful."

It was a pleasant surprise to hear that.

I mentioned how people are usually surprised, and how, sometimes, people wonder, "Why have so many?" 

I think the real question to ask is, "Why limit yourself?"

He responded, "That's how people react when I tell them that I want a big family--like six kids. They freak out. But it's like you said--Why limit yourself, if that's what you want?"

I asked them how many siblings they had. He had one, and she had none. She admitted something that I've heard so many people admit before: "I wish I had siblings."

I'm not married or anything. I'm just one kid out of many. But that's kind of the point. By merely existing, I get to be a witness. I am evidence of something "awesome", "beautiful", and definitely surprising.

So here's my question to you young, married people out there: "Why limit yourself?"