Collaboration makes money, collaborating makes sense

Collaboration(n.) - The act of working together or cooperating to achieve a common interest or goal.

ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY

A friend mentioned that phrase to me recently, and she's dead on. This is the thing that people live for, die for, and some even plot and connive for. Just for the chance to have an opportunity. I mention this now because I have learned through ups and downs that the access to the opportunity that we seek is 10,000 times easier when we work together.

First and foremost, for any sports fan, name one championship team(NFL, NBA, MLB or otherwise). Now name one championship team that won by only having one player on the field or on the court. No matter how long you think about it, you can't name one because every winning team has reached the top because individuals were willing to collaborate for the sake of becoming a championship team.

Secondly, in 2009, Bill Gates held a super moguls secret summit in New York. Oprah was there, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner and many other billionaires came together to discuss common interests and work towards common goals. In 2010, Bill Gates hosted a CEO summit in Seattle which included guests like Dana White and U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner. So my question to you is if these wealthy athletes and high powered moguls know enough about the power of teamwork to collaborate, why don't you do the same?

Don't let anyone fool you, but the days of the "self-made" individual are done! The people who get ahead get there because a group or army of individuals are behind them pushing them forward. Some people would rather work on their own, others feel that working in a group is a waste of time and then there are those that would rather cut down, discriminate, or simply hate other individuals instead of working with them. Some of these people can be helped while others are doomed to keep the attitudes that will do nothing but hold them back as the rest of the world progresses.

The bottom line is that with collaboration...we all get ahead faster.

The Beautiful Face of Evil

What do you want? What do you want that you believe in your heart of hearts that you will get if you work hard enough for it? Think about it...now that you have a mental image of what you believe in, keep reading.

Have you heard of a movie called “The Beautiful Face of Evil” yet? It's this movie that takes place in New York and it centers around 5 main characters. One of them is named William Richardson III and he's a charismatic, drug abusing, and adulterous alcoholic who's also the mayor of New York City. His wife, Allison is a loving, docile, and enabling doormat. William's mistress is named Desdemona Gutierrez and Desdemona is a shrewd, manipulative, and conniving madam. Charles Staton is William's best friend and he's a marijuana smoking news personality who loves saying things to his guests and others just to get under their skin. Evonda Troutman is Charles's girlfriend and she's also a former Playboy Playmate who's now a music video “actress”. One of the best things about this movie is that instead of preaching about how “doing bad is the wrong thing to do, so don't do it”, the main characters show just how much fun you can have while you're doing the wrong thing. On top of that, it shows just what happens when you get a chance to be bad.

If you haven't seen or heard of “The Beautiful Face of Evil” yet, don't worry...that's just because I haven't shot it yet. The reason you're still reading right now is because my belief is that this movie will be made. I also believe that you can help me make this movie. The way I see it is that at the end of every movie, a long list of names of the cast and crew scroll across the screen in the credits. I want you and everyone you know to see your name in the credits. How? For $5-$10, you can buy your own spot on the big screen. Not only can you show off your name in lights, but you can also tell everyone you know that “The Beautiful Face of Evil” was made because of you.

You can buy your credit space by going through Paypal and sending the money to TBFOE@yahoo.com. Remember that regardless of whether you pay $5 or $10, you still buy a spot for your name in the credits, but keep in mind that the more who buy a $10 space, the sooner the movie will be made. If you don't want to buy a space for any reason, I understand, and I ask one small favor of you instead. Tell everyone you know about “The Beautiful Face of Evil” and be sure to tell them that if they want it, they can buy their spot in the credits too. Think about what you believe in, and then remember that this is what I believe in. I thank you in advance for anything you do to help.

Get Out of Your Cage(Thank You Katt Williams)

I find inspiration in all places, and as funny as Katt Williams is to me(and a lot of others), he said an analogy which really hit home with me. When you watch this clip, be prepared for explicit language, but if you listen to everything he's saying, hopefully you'll truly understand the joke/analogy.

Just like you have at least one big, bold, beautiful dream that you want to accomplish, so do I. Personally, I want to produce and direct my own movies and television shows. Just like you have planned for your dream, so have I. I have scripts and screenplays, and I'm mailing letters and sending e-mails to any production company I can find. Now, just like you, I run into negatives, and people who say, "Thanks, but no thanks."

This is where the cage comes into play. We've all heard that we are destined for greatness, and the truth is that we are, but sometimes we start doubting and even denying that truth when we get bombarded by the negatives. I say we because I know that I've been guilty of that as well. I can also say that just like the people who pass by the tiger's cage at the zoo and take pictures of a captive tiger, there are people in our lives who look at us like captured tigers, except instead of throwing peanuts at us, they throw insults just to try to make us feel low.

Keep this analogy in mind when it comes to realizing your dream, because just like Katt said, all it takes is one opportunity and your dream will become reality. I also want you to keep in mind that if your dream was easy to obtain, then it wouldn't be a dream, it would just be an errand. You are a tiger, you were born free, and I just swiped the zookeeper's key so let's go!

The difference between God and my words

I write a LOT of words. You can see them here, on Twitter, and on sites like Brotherspeak and Hubpages. No matter where you find my words, you can see and read them as much as you like, but we can't see God. He could be standing next to me or sitting next to you right now and we wouldn't know it.

Now here's the kicker...no matter how hard I try or how hard you try, you can't feel my words, but every day God's presence can be felt. I feel God's presence every morning I wake up because I know there was no other way I was able to open my eyes but because of Him. When I hear about someone miraculously surviving a car wreck or going through some ordeal that others haven't or wouldn't survive, I feel God's presence. And every time a baby is born, God's presence is felt. Science does its best to explain birth, life and genetics because science can not and never should deal with anything that's unseen.

Yet as wonderful and beneficial as science is, nobody can fully explain who we are and where we came from because it took God to make us. I'm a writer and through my words, I have created alternate realities and I've used my words to give my commentary on the world and how I see it. God is a creator and he created the world we live on, us, and everyone around us.

The bottom line is that my words express who I was and who I am, so they serve as my own personal testimony. I know that God's presence can be felt by anyone, but it's up to you to feel it for yourself. I can only tell you what he's done for me.

Second life

My name is Garrett Rogers, and I've already died once. I have lied, cheated, and misused people. I've burned almost as many bridges as I've made, and some of those bridges will never be under construction again. I was told by my doctor that I have a big heart, and in this case, I'm not talking about the giving kind of heart. My doctor told me I had an enlarged heart, but it wasn't because of genetics; it was because I ate cake, burgers, pizza, and drank Dr. Pepper like the government was going to ban junk food the next day. Yet, in spite of giving in to my vices, my fears, and my prejudices...I still live.

I don't live because of my sin or bad habits, but I live in spite of them for two reasons...grace and choices. I'm saying that God has been graceful to give me a chance to see the sun rise for 33 years, and even if you don't share my belief, you have to know that your alarm clock isn't the only reason you wake up. My choices also keep me alive because rather than live the same life I have lived, I've chosen to change all that was negative and wrong with me. So that meant cutting out the Dr. Pepper, and eating a salad every now and then, but I didn't give up all of my junk food though. I also had to walk away from the people or things from my past life of wrong. It's not that they were wrong and everything I used to do wasn't bad, but I make the choices I make to make sure that I don't go back to a life that would entice me to do wrong or is wrong for me.

I don't write these words for condemnation, sympathy or even understanding, but I write these words to be an example and a voice. I want others to see the life that I used to live and then see the consequences I faced for living that life, and once you see the before, pay attention to the after. I'll tell you what I did and then you can see what I'm doing. Every day I strive to find a way to improve my life and to improve the lives of others because I am given a second life and I want to live this life for good.

The bottom line is that if you are alive to read this right now, do right by your self and do right by others. Trust me when I say that the rewards will be 1,000 times better than if you chose to do wrong.

Your self-image is all you have

OTHERS CAN ONLY SEE YOU AS YOU SEE YOURSELF

That's the main point of this blog and I want you to think about it for a minute. Our "self-image" is how we see ourselves and it's this idea of ourselves that other people base their opinions of us on. Some of you may say that other people will base their opinions of us based on their friend's opinion or from gossip. Even then, their friends are judging us by our self-image above anything else. Plus, no matter what rumors are spread about us, if we aren't doing the things or acting in the way that we're rumored to, then the rumors cease to exist as the truth comes out.

I'd like to explain this in the simplest terms possible. If you see yourself as a smart person then you will act the way smart people do, you will do the things smart people do, and you will say the things smart people would say. When other people see you, observe you, and listen to what you say, they will feel you are a smart person. It's not about just "thinking" you're a certain type of person, but once you think on it, you will say you're this type, you will act like this type and you will live like the type of person you think you are. If I sound like I'm repeating myself, I am. I'm repeating myself because we have to keep repeating the same behavior, first to ourselves, and then to others and that's the only way we are who we think we are.

I remember my mom saying, "You are what you answer to." and mom couldn't be any more right. So think carefully about who you want to be and then be that person no matter who says otherwise because the proof of who you really are is in your self-image and your actions.

Faith in a faithless world

It's easy for anyone to lose their faith or even their hope for a better tomorrow considering that we live in a faithless world. From earthquakes to tornadoes and all other natural disasters, many lives have been lost. We also have to worry about con artists, thieves, rapists, murderers, and the sad part is that everything I've just mentioned is only half of the negativity that we watch on the news every day.

In spite of the truth of what I've just mentioned, I can honestly say there is a strong reason for all of us to stay strong in our faith...the strength of our fellow man or woman. There are many things that I plan to do that I know will help many people, and there are also many times that things don't go the way that I've planned them. Honestly, a lot of times that my plans have been shot down, I've felt defeated and sometimes I've even lost faith in the possibility of my actions. The good news that I can say is that God has put people in my life to give me the strength to have faith again.

Even though I'm a God fearing man, I don't expect every one to feel the way that I do because not everyone has walked in my shoes. I do know that we see the power of faith and belief in a higher power or even one's self every day. Many of us watched the Hope for Haiti telethon and heard stories about men and women who had nothing but their faith giving them strength and keeping them alive while they were rescuing loved ones or while they were being rescued. So far, that telethon has raised $57 million for relief efforts.

The main point that I want to stress to everyone is that even when you think there's no reason to hold on anymore, hold on just a little bit longer. Sometimes the plans you make aren't working the way you want them to so maybe you need to alter your vision a little bit or maybe you just need to keep working because you will hit your mark soon. Either way, you need to hold on just a little bit longer. If you're in doubt or hanging onto your faith by a string, then find someone to give you strength because I guarantee you that someone is waiting to give you a reason to hold on a little bit longer.

Isaiah 40:31 - "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.