Merry Christmas! A New Beginning

     A couple of Sundays ago I was sitting in church and Pastor Sam reminded us the reason for the season--Jesus is the reason for the season.  Now that is nothing new but he went on to say, "the birth of Christ brings new beginnings."  That's when it hit me--Christmas is about New Beginnings.
     So let me recap, in October we started where we were--at The Beginning.  Then in November, we paused to remember, reflect and rejoice for the gifts we have to use to achieve our purpose.  So what's left?  That's a good question!  Today, we give praise and worship for a new beginning because when we start where we are and grow our gifts and talents, sometimes we strike; sometimes we foul; and sometimes we hit a home run.  But I have learned each day to just do what you can because that is all you can do.
     Hey New You, do what you can!  You simply cannot do what you can’t do no matter how hard you try.  So what if you foul or strike out.  Ask yourself, "did I do all that I could do?"  Chances are that you did because who wouldn't hit a home run if they could?  Doing what you can must become your drive and determination.  So when you miss the mark at any time, you can rest assured there is a lesson to be learned and tomorrow is a new beginning to try something new and get a new result.
     Amelia Earhart once said, “the most effective way to do it {whatever it is} is to do it.”  When she was nearing her 40th birthday, she was ready to attempt to fly around the world and she is quoted as saying, “I have a feeling that there is just about one more good flight left in my system” and this after her first attempt had severely damaged her plane.  She didn’t fail; she just hit a pothole on her way to her final destination.  If you have the drive and determination, every day is a new beginning, another opportunity to start again anew.   We won’t fly until we are no longer afraid to fall so let your fears and failure fuel your 2017.  In less than a week it will begin a new year.  Resolve to start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can do to make 2017 your best year yet.
     Merry Christmas and a Happy New You!

Thanksgiving Reflect. Remember. Rejoice

     Happy Thanksgiving!  I woke up this morning full of gratitude for grace, growth, and greatness.  I'd like to thank all of you for your prayers and support.  This has been an amazing year and I wouldn't be at this point on my journey if it wasn't for your support.
     Also, as I pause this morning, I reflect on where I am today, remember from where I came, and I rejoice in the possibilities of where I'm going.  After you start where you are, you will realize it's easy to do the next step.  What's the next step Myra?  I'm glad you asked.  It's quite simple!  Just USE what you have and GROW.
     I know you want to know why you should use what you have.  The answer is so simple.  Use what you have because genius or not, you can’t use what you don’t have.

Think about it, have you ever tried to use what you didn’t have?  Go ahead and try and you will find, it’s way too hard.  My nail represents keeping it all together with whatever your gift or talent is despite the lot that’s dealt you.  A young woman by the name of Wilma Rudolph was born 20th of 22 children, born prematurely weighing only 4.5 lbs, born to very poor parents, and born during racial segregation.  While very young, she had every childhood disease imaginable but because of the lot she was born into, she was not permitted to be cared for at a local hospital.  When her left leg and foot were becoming weak and deformed, she had to go to the doctor.  Her mother was told that she had polio, a crippling disease that had no cure and that she’d never walk.  With hard work and determination, when she became twelve years she could walk normally without crutches, brace, or corrective shoes and she decided to become an athlete.  Some of you may know the story.  She became the first American woman to win three gold medals in the Olympics.  How did she do it?  She started where she was and used what she had—one good leg to train the deformed leg and the rest is history.  What do you have?  I encourage you to start using it!  Because if you start using what you have it will grow and so will you.
     So go ahead and start where you are, start engaging with your community, start collarborating with others, even those who don't look like you.  Grow your network, polish your gifts and talents and then you can... Oops, I'll have to save that one for next time.
     Wishing all of you a blessed Thanksgiving Day and always.  Remember to Start Where You Are!

Start Where You Are: The Beginning

Myra, The Storyteller

My partner, Loeka has been pushing me for weeks to write an op’ed, write a newsletter, write a blog, write, write, write…And what do you think I’ve been saying.  “I will one day. I will as soon as I figure out how to start.”  And then I hear my words coming back at me, “start where you are”.  Now some of you may be laughing because you know I recently published my book Start Where You Are:  My Journey from Childhood poverty to Passionate Entrepreneur.   So I’ve decided to address the question, everyone may ask themselves at some point in their life, “Why should I start where I am?”  It is actually quite simple.  Start where you are because you cannot start anywhere else.  In fact, I will go out on a limb and say, you cannot start anywhere else.  Do you know anyone who started where they were not?  Can’t think of anyone can you?  Now unlike my partner, Loeka, I’m no genius but I do know this.  You cannot start where you have never been.  You can read about places you’ve never been.  You can even write about places far, far away.  But just try if you must to start somewhere you are not and you will experience what I experienced, disappointments, disagreements, and depression.  You see we all want something to change.   We want the economy to change.   We want our spouse to change.  We want our children to change.  The list goes on and on.  Heck, we want the candidates to change.  But what about wanting ourselves to change?   Do we ever hunger for change in ourselves?   Do you want a better you?   I learned that if I wanted a better ME, then there were three things I had to do and the first is start where you are?

I will cover more about my start as well as the second and third things I learned in future updates so  stay tuned.  You might just be surprised at what you learn. 

The Storyteller