Doddsism #132

Treat the things that are important like they are important!

It seems like a really simple concept but so many times we spend so much time worrying about things that really don't matter that we neglect the things that do. It can be really easy to do because today's world is fast paced and everything wants to be your priority. When everything is "important" you can lose track of the things that really are important. You hear the stories too often about people so focused on their careers that they miss out on the beautiful family that they have. If you really want to figure out what is important in your life just make a list of all the things that are important to you. Next take that list and prioritize it down to the top ten most important things in your life. Take that shortened list and cut it down to five, then to three and finally to one. That last item standing is the thing that is most important in your life. I'm guessing  for most people it is not their career or money. Maybe those two are in the top five but usually not number one. For me it would have to be family which includes blood relatives and close friends. So by that list the thing I should treat like it is important is my family. Sometimes in the pursuit of other things we lose track of the importance of that number one thing. What is number one on your list?

Doddsism #131

You can either be changed by your environment, change environments, or change your environment!

Just because you are in a bad environment does not mean that environment has to change you into something you do not want to be. A mistake that some people make is that they think because a person is born or lives in a bad area that they are a certain way because of it. We all know those people who can walk into a room or party and change the whole environment. Certain people can walk into your life and brighten everything up. On the other hand we all know people who come around and make everything worst. It is almost like enjoying a sunny picnic and having a dark rain cloud poor rain all over your head. When you are in any environment you can do three things 1. You can let your environment dictate  your behavior. 2. You can leave your current environment and find a place that is more fitted for you. 3. The final and possibly the hardest choice you have is to change the environment around you. Be that sunshine that brightens up and transforms whatever environment you enter. Are you the sun that brightens your environment or the rain cloud that ruins everyone else's day? 

Doddsism #130

Sometimes your reflection can be the hardest thing to see!

Why is it when we look at other peoples situations their problems seem so obvious? If you have a really good friend or are a really good friend you know exactly what I mean. When a friend is in trouble a lot of times it is easy to see what the problem is and try to diagnose a solution. You can go through that same problem and have no idea what the issue is and it may seem like there is no solution in sight. It seems that it is always easier to look at someone else than it is to look at ourselves. We seem to have a tendency of getting in our own way. It is almost as if the problem disables our ability to analyze and adjust. That is why it is so important to have good friends around you to help figure out your situation. How is your friends list looking?

Doddsism #129

Negative words only have the power that you give them!

Words are powerful. They have the power to dissuade and persuade, they can make you happy or they can make you sad. But really words are only truly powerful when there is something behind them. Meaning, anyone can tell you that your fired from your job but unless that person is in a position of authority those words have no power. There is a huge difference between fact and opinion. We can get in big trouble when we take someones opinion as fact, especially if that opinion is negative. When someone is speaking negativity to you either you can accept it as truth (give it power) or you can take it for what it is (meaningless, powerless words). Just because someone says something does not mean it is true, even if that person is in a position of authority or esteem. That is why it is so important to know who you are on the inside so that when people try to speak negativity into your life you will be able to know that the words they speak are false. You also have to be careful with the people that you allow in your inner circle. People can become jealous of you and slowly try to sabotage your self-esteem. Whose in your circle?     

Doddsism #124 Part 3

Don't go to battle unless you are ready for war!

Just because you lose a battle doesn't mean the war is over!

The third and final part of Doddsism 124, just because you lose a battle doesn't mean the war is over. So many times we want to give up at the first sign of failure. We get rejected once and assume the battle is over. We can learn some of the best lessons in failure. There are two things that I think about after something has happened or I have been rejected. The first thing I ask myself is "did I do something wrong, or is there a way I could have done something better". Sometimes we fail or are reject even when we do everything correctly. It could be something as simple as timing. The second thing I try to figure out is "what can learn from this event." When everything is going well we tend not to look for ways to improve. Sometimes it takes something bad to happen for us to make the adjustment that could eventually lead us to greater success. Like I have said in previous post, even the most powerful and successful people have failed or come up short. The thing about those people is that even though they lost a couple battles they never stopped fighting the war. Have you given up after a battle? Maybe it is time to go back to war!

Doddsism #128

Sometimes the best and what's best for you isn't the same thing!

A lot of times we as humans get caught up trying to get the best things available. We see the newest gadget out, the most technologically advance piece of equipment available and say "it is the best gadget out, I have to have it." Sometime the best available is not  the best for you. It is the old apples to oranges saying with a slight twist. Instead of constantly trying to figure what is the best item, gadget, or person available we should instead figure out what would be best suited for our individual needs. If the newest hottest phone available is a tiny little touch screen phone the size of a business card and you have trouble reading small fonts or constantly lose small objects, that phone might not be the best for you. Americans are taught to compete practically from birth. We are always trying to one up one another and sometimes it causes us to end up with something that we really don't want. We need to stop looking so much at what is better in general and start looking more at what is better for us as individuals.

Doddsism #127

It is not always about what you say but sometimes more about how you say it!

It's funny how two people can say the same thing to the same people and get two entirely different answers. The old quote goes "you can catch more flies with honey than you can with fly paper." I have a degree in marketing communications and one thing that I learned is that you can take information and present it in multiple ways in order to get a desired response. If you think about all the movies that came out this summer, how could more than one of them be the number one movie in America at the same time. You have to pay attention to the simple words that are added to completely change the statement. The number one live action, animated, adult comedy etc. Adding or changing one word in a sentence can change that statement from true to false and vice versa. In the same way an added word can change a sentence, tone can change perception. Different situations can call for different deliveries even though the information is the same.

Doddsism #124 Part 2

Don't go to battle unless you are ready for war!

When you start something always be prepared for what could possibly happen because of that action. One of the most basic principle that we are taught in school is cause and effect. Everything we do will have some kind of effect on the rest of our life. We can get ourselves in a lot of trouble by doing something without taking into account the possible consequences of our actions. Sometimes the things we do can cause great things to happen, other times they can cause not so great things to happen. Either way you should always be ready for the possibilities. Two quotes pop into mind when I think about planning for the future. The first is "always be prepared." You never know what can, and will happen but prepare as best you can. The second is "plan for the worst but hope for the best." That one I am not as fond of as the first because I never want to expect the worst. I would rather plan for the best and be prepared for any and everything.

Doddsism #126

Balance is a vital key to quality living!

We have all heard that too much of a good thing can be bad, but what about not enough of something that you don't care for being bad also. Life is all about balance. We can take a cue from the the world around us. We have season that change, day and night, land and sea. The whole world is balanced to perfection. It is easy to do the things that we like to do, but it is also important to do the things that we don't like to do. Most people are not fans of going to work but without it we might not be able to do the things we enjoy outside of work. A great example of balance is the food pyramid. As much as we love some of our favorite foods, depending on what that food is chances are if you ate it everyday you would have a potently serious health problem. On the other side the foods we don't like to eat are the ones we need to on an occasional basis in order to stay healthy. One of my favorite foods is pizza. I'm sure if I ate that everyday eventually I would be too big to go in and order one.

Doddsism #125

Sometimes simply knowing is enough!

It seems one of the biggest fears there are in life is the fear of the unknown. So many times we deal with issues that we don't understand. People change or leave without explanation, leaving you to wonder what happened. Things change, stuff happens and we are left with only memories. One of the most basic questions we ask as children is "WHY?" As kids even when it is explained to us we still may not understand but it was enough to make us feel better. I believe as adults that same thing still holds true. Knowing even without completely understanding gives us something to help us move past the given situation in our lives. Is there someone in your life that deserves to ask you why?

Doddsism #124 Part 1

Don't go to battle unless you are ready for war!

It is better to do something than nothing at all, but if your going to do something why not give it your all. Some may be thinking what is the difference between a battle and a war. The difference in my definition is that a battle is a singular event while a war is made up of multiple battles. There are three things that I take from this Doddsism, 1) if your going to do something why not give it your all, 2) when you start something always be prepared for what could possibly happen because of that action, and 3) just because you lose a battle doesn't mean the war is over. In this post I am only going to focus on the first one. Most people don't realize that no action is action. Meaning that by not making a decision you are actually making a decision. I believe that in most cases it is better to act than to do nothing, but if you are going to act why not give it your all.

Doddsism #123

Sometimes the hardest choices are the choices we have to make. 

One of the hardest parts of being an adult is that sometimes you have to make choices that no matter what you choose the outcome will not be a fond one. Sometimes there is no avoiding an unfavorable outcome. I have heard people refer to these choices as picking your poison. These moments don't happen all the time but when they do most of the time they end up becoming defining moments. These moments can be turning points in your life. Sometimes these decisions effect more than just yourself, and it may end up being a life changing moment for someone else too. That is why when we are faced with these decisions we must choose carefully.  The important thing to remember when facing difficult decisions like that is not to dwell on the present. Sometimes looking to the future makes a hard decision slightly less painful.

Doddsism #122

Inner beauty always shines through!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In my life I have seen beautiful ugly people and not so pretty beautiful people. Sometimes the outside does not match up with whats in your heart. Outer beauty, for the most part we have no control over. We are born and we have to work with what we have. Inner beauty on the other hand is something totally different. It is something that we can work at. Sometimes the things in our lives effect the image that our heart transmits. If you don't like your outer appearance and can't afford plastic surgery, why not give your heart a try. Well give your heart a try even if you can afford plastic surgery and or you are happy with the way you look. No matter how beautiful or not you or society feel you are there is always room to work on your heart. Its like Jello, there is always room for more.

Doddsism #121

It is easier to believe in yourself when you know that someone believes in you!

How does it feel to be your hero's hero? To have someone you believe in whole heartily believe in you the same way. It is not always easy to have confidence in yourself. Sometimes you need to have someone in your corner who has your back. Someone who believes in you more than you do yourself. You may not know it but that same person that you believe in probably feels the same way about you. You may not always know it but that person is rooting for you like your own personal cheerleader. I have had situations where I did not feel like I could do the things I had to do. At those times the people that believed in my supported me  and made me realize that I could. The more they showed they believed the more I began to believe in myself.

Doddsism #120

Knowing who you are makes life so much easier!

Life is hard, pretending to be someone that you are not is even harder. With all of obstacles that we face everyday, it is easy to second guess ourselves. Sometimes we do things that we don't want to do just to fit into who we think society expects us to be. If you don't know who you truly are, you will second guess yourself on thing that you are more than capable of doing. It may even make you worry or give up when you could have easily achieved the goal you had for yourself. I have someone that is very special in my life. If she truly knew herself the way I do then she would know that she is a very gifted and special person. Sometimes we live below our potential because we are looking at ourselves through a skewed mirror. Once we realize that the true mirror rest inside of our heart we can then step into the people we are meant to be.

Doddsism #119

Don't be so concerned with the packaging that you miss out on the content!

We as humans can be very superficial creatures. The easiest way to judge something is by the way it looks, but it is so easy to get it wrong. You don't have to talk to someone to think they are pretty. Beauty is something you can see. It is very easy to get caught up on external beauty to the point where we ignore the content. Just because something looks good doesn't mean that it is good for you. The opposite is true too, just because something does not look good does not mean that it is good for you. If we judge solely on the packaging of something we can end up with a pretty box that is completely empty. I for one would hate to end up in a situation like that. Parents know first hand about ugly packages, and no I am not talking about their kids. Have you ever seen a present that has been wrapped by a child? It can get pretty rough. The thing is that even though the package is ugly, the meaning and the content of that package far exceeds the rawness of the outside.

Doddsism #118

Get the best out of life, don't let life take the best out of you!

One of the first lessons you learn as a young adult or even as a kid is that life isn't fair. Sometimes we work hard and do all the right things but we still get passed over. When I graduated from collage I thought it would be easy to find a good job. My plan was to go to school and get my degree and by doing that, open a door to a good job. It did not work out like that at all. I went on interview after interview with no luck. The jobs I wanted I didn't have enough experience to get. The jobs I didn't want I had to much education to be hired. While I was unemployed I worked on projects that I felt could make me more valuable in the workforce. Long story short I ended up back in school. It was not what I planned but I made the best of my situation. Shortly after I graduated the second time I was able to find a nice job. When I look back at the original plan I had I am happy it didn't work. Now I am getting paid for doing something that I love, but I never would have made it to that point if I didn't make the best of a bad situation.

Doddsism #117

The perspective that you see something in is just as important as the thing you are looking at!

Perspective is something that is a lot of times forgotten, but it is something that is very important.  We can look through history and find people who have been able to change peoples perspectives to the point that the people who followed them believed that they were doing something good when it was really just the opposite. You can take a painting and put it in a room full of people and have each person give a description of that painting. Each person has a different perspective of what they are seeing therefore every person will have a different interpretation of the very same painting. If you have ever seen the movie "Men in Black," there is a scene where Will Smith's character is trying out for the agency. His character along with others go to a shooting range where they shot each thing they perceive to be a threat. Long story short Will Smith's character ends up shooting at something different from the rest of the group because his perspective was different. How is your perspective?

Doddsism #116

It is not fair to compare yourself to other people. It is better to compare your present to your past and your future to your present!

Have you ever heard that saying that you can't compare apple to oranges? It is a very true statement, how can you compare two things that are completely different. Sometimes it can even be difficult to compare apples to apples because they can vary so much. There are many different types of apples, just like there are many different types of people. One of the many things that makes human different from apples is that we are one of ones. I know you may look like your sister, brother, father etc but still at the end of the day your a one of a kind. So how unfair would it be to compare yourself to someone else? The answer is that it is not fair at all. We all have different starting points and different roads that we take to get to our destinations. 

Doddsism #115

Replace a bad habit with a good one. Perform an habit exchange!

It seems like good habits are hard to form, while bad habits are hard to break. Habits can be very powerful. You can get into a routine of doing something that eventually performing this task becomes like breathing, you do it without thinking about it. Unfortunately for most of us we have gotten into some bad habits that we want to fix but have been doing it for so long that it is hard to stop. Procrastination is a good example of this. We procrastinate so much that even when we want to stop it becomes difficult to. I heard somewhere that after you do something four times consistently, it starts to become habitual. The more you continue to repeat this pattern the stronger the habit can become. If we can replace the bad habit with a good one then not only have you eliminated a bad habit but you have also started a good one.

Doddsism #114

You can't always do what you want, but there is always something that you can do!

It is easy to get frustrated when you want to do something but are unable to. This is especially true when your stuck doing something you absolutely do not want to do, like working when you really want to be at the beach. Whether it is time or means that is keeping you from doing what you want, it is easy to feel like you don't want to do anything at all if you can't do what you truly want. Whatever the reason you are unable to do the things you want to do, don't lose hope because there is always something else you can do. If the thing that is keeping you back is time, time management becomes very important. It is important to think ahead to things coming up so that you can plan accordingly. Planning is also important if it is financial reasons holding you back. Saving a little at a time over a long period of time can really add up.

Doddsism #113

Don't spend so much time worrying about "what if" that you miss out on "what is"

"What if" is a game we have all played. It seems the more we dislike our current situation the more we play it. What if I had went to a different school or studied a different major. What if I started playing sports at a younger age or stayed with that person I broke up with. Sometimes we can get so caught up with what we could have done that we don't see the opportunities in front of us. If we could only see the decisions that we made in the past the way we see them now things would be different. The "what if" game doesn't only apply to the past but also the future. What if I win the lottery or get discovered and become a huge celebrity. Dreams are great but if you never take the actions necessary to reach them, a dream may be all they ever are.

Doddsism #112

Be careful that the things you take for granted now don't become the things that you miss later.

You know that feeling when you first get something that is really nice. That excitement that you feel when you open it or use it for the first time. Shortly after, that feeling begins to go away. It doesn't all go away instantly but bit by bit each day until finally we don't think about it at all. Even if we still use this item we become so accustom to having it around that we don't give it much thought. We tend to think that things will always be there. Truth is most things we use on a daily basis don't get much thought unless it is malfunctioning. Sometimes the same thing happens with the people we love. We take for grated the things they do for us until for some reason they are not doing them anymore. Even worse sometimes the things we hate the most become the same things we wish we could have back in the future.

Doddsism #111

There can only be one captain at a time, too many people trying to steer at once will inevitably lead to an accident!

Life is like a long drive. You start out on a path, you may have a few twist and turn along the way but you are driving towards a destination. Along the way you run into obstacles that may divert you from your original goal, some may even change your path altogether. The thing to remember as you are traveling through the highway of life is to not let someone else steer your ship. I am not saying that you should not listen to other people or take input. What I am saying is don't let someone take the wheel out of your hands or worst pull you away from a goal that you have set for yourself. At the end of the day when every one has gone home and your all alone, you are going to have to live with the decision you have made. 

Doddsism #110

Just because you have the title does not mean you are the title.

In honor of fathers day I would like to dedicate this posting to my father. Just because you have a child does not mean you are a parent. Just because a man has a child does not mean that he is a father. My father is a real father. He is not a father simply because he had me, but because of the things he has done and still does. There are qualities that come along with filling a title. You can have the requirements to be something, but not have the actual qualities it takes to really be that title. See being a parent is more than just having a child. You have to provide for that child, protect them, teach them and be an example for them. That is the short list, the complete list of what it takes to be a parent innumerable. Some men have the requirements to be fathers, but have not done the things it takes to be a real father.

Doddsism #109

If your don't like your story so far, change the chapter! 

Life is like a book and with everyday we add new pages to our stories. Sometimes in life we get stuck in a rut or complacent.  We become unhappy with the story line. It could be hard times, sadness or just plain boredom. When you become unhappy with your life sometimes a small change can be the start of a whole new chapter. There are time when we need to start over fresh. Other times may need to add something to help enhance the story line or maybe there is something we need to remove from our lives to help rewrite the story.

Doddsism #108

If you never fully commit to your dream, you may never achieve it. Don't let your dream remain a dream!

Ever had a dream that seemed just out of reach? Something that you felt like you could almost accomplish but it was just out of your grasp? Sometimes we have dreams that are achievable but only with the right amount of commitment. We start to go after the thing we want just to let friends or family tell us how impossible it would be to achieve or worst we talk ourselves out of trying. Some of the most successful people in the world are the biggest dreamers. When you dream on a grand level sometimes its hard for others to see your vision. Sometimes we can dream so big that we talk ourselves out of our dream and if you are not fully committed to  your goal you can easily be dissuaded from it. 

Doddsism #107

Every checker has a chance to be kinged and every pawn has a chance to become a queen! Its not how you start the game, its how you finish!

Unfortunately when we are born we do not get to pick the circumstance that we are born into. We don't get a shopping list and decide whether we want to be rich, or tall, or beautiful. We are placed on this earth with no say on where we are born or even asked if we want to be born. But fear not, one of the best things about life is your beginning does not have to be your ending. In chess even a pawn has a shot at being something more. A pawn is considered the weakest piece on the board, but like any other piece it is capable of taking the other pieces down. If in your life you feel the lowest of the low, remember that you can change your situation and just like a pawn you have an opportunity to be more than what you started as.

Doddsism #106

Even late bloomers bloom, there is no time limit on success!

I have heard that saying used a lot "late bloomer." I really never believed in that term because I don't believe you can be late to bloom. A better saying would be "everyone blooms at different times." Just because you have not made it yet doesn't mean that your not going to make it. And just because someone else made it before you, does not make the success your going to have any smaller. Some people are born and instantly know exactly what they want in life. Truth is that most people are not like that. I think about my first year of collage, I thought for sure I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I like most other found myself changing my major. Even when I finished with the degree I wanted I still ended up going back to school and choosing a different route. Sometimes the more you think you have it figured out, the more you realize that you really don't. Its the times when you don' think you have it figured out that you find you really do.

Doddsism #105

If you throw enough darts eventually you will hit a bullseye! Don't give up, keep throwing!

In sales they teach you that every "no" you hear brings you closer to someone saying "yes". In that sense, sales is a lot like life. Sometimes it feels like we keep trying and trying just to miss the  goal that we have set for ourselves. It may not seem like it in the midst of it but every failure you have brings you closer to your success.

Doddsism #104

I would rather take a shot at my dream and fail than to never try and wonder "what if"  for the rest of my life!

I'm sure you have heard that one before. It is so true. So many times we let fear talk us out of doing something that we want to do. We can be so rational that we predict failure before we even make an attempt. How many times has there been something that you wanted to do, try, make, say, etc... that before you even attempted it you said to yourself  "Its not going to work so I'm not even going to try." In sports I have heard analyst sit and talk about what teams didn't have a shot at beating another team.

Doddsism #103

Treat school as if it were work, and work as if it were school.

School is the place were you first get a taste of some of the things you could be doing in the future. When I graduated from college the first time, I treated school as if it was just another chore to get me where I wanted to go. It wasn't until I went back to school that I really understood that school was really a job.

Doddsism #102

I use my past to power my future, and my regrets as fuel for my dreams!

It is so easy to sit back and dwell on the past. To think that if you could do it all over that this time it would be very different. I, like everyone else in this world have regrets. Sometimes I wish that I had it to do all over. I think the thing that a lot of people don't realize is that past that you think about, and those regrets that you have are the very things that made you into the person that you are today.

Doddsism #101

Inevitably we all find ourselves in front of a challenge that seems like it is impossible to overcome, a mental or physical wall. It is these times where we are faced with one of humans most basic dilemmas "fight or flight."