El Fuego Que Quema Por Dentro De Mi Alma

"Y Ese Fuego Que Quema Por Dentro Y Lento"

Mientras más crezco como persona y como adulto descubro más cosas que siempre me asombran de una manera o otra. Si, se que muchas de mis experiencias han ayudado a hacerme el hombre que soy hoy. Claro que familia siempre viene a mi mente también. Pero pasión, como muchas cosas, a beses parece que una persona a nacido con este fuego por dentro o no, ha sido mi suerte que yo nací con ese fuego dentro de mi persona. 

Es algo inexplicable, como un pasado que uno se olvido de hace mucho tiempo atrás vuelve y te recuerda realmente quien eres y de dónde vienes. Puede ser algo simple como una comida, una memoria o una canción que despierta un lado de ti que siempre estaba ahí, pero dormido. Es una experiencia totalmente diferente de cualquier otra cuando uno puede sentir la música con más de solo los oídos. Lo sientes en tu persona, dentro de tu cuerpo. Puedes cerrar tus ojos y sentir la música como si tú estuvieras en lugar muy muy distante, y alrededor tuyo, solo la música, tomando el transcurso del cuerpo y la mente. 

Siempre aceptar nuestra cultura con brazos abiertos es una buena lección de recordarse, uno puede aprender mucho sobre si mismo solo poniendo atención a las reacciones que uno tiene a su alrededor. Yo doy Gracias a Dios que yo e nacido con este fuego....esta pasión dentro de mi corazón. Me a ayudado a poder conocer y ayudar mucha gente que normalmente no hubiera podido ayudar si no hubiera tenido tan gran pasión por la vida y la gente que conozco. 

Yo se que cualquier cosa que pase en mi futuro va a ser relacionado directamente a esta pasión que quema por dentro. Y mientras yo siempre me acuerde de usarla de buena manera, todo va a estar muy bien, y yo llegare muy lejos. Espero que NUNCA me olvide de esta pasión que llevo por adentro!!

"Balança que é uma loucura
Morena vem a meu lado
Ninguém vai ficar parado
Quero ver mexe kuduro"

This Game called LIFE...

"I am not very good 
At this game called Life
For I've not learned to see children crying
Without feeling pain
For I've not learned to watch animals destroyed 
Without wondering why
For I've not yet met a king or celebrity
That I would bow down to
Or a man so insignificant
That I would use for a stepping-stone
For I've not learned to be a "yes man"
To narrow minded bosses
Who quote rules without reason
And I've not learned to manipulate
The feelings of others
To be used for my own advantages
Then cast aside as I see fit


No, I am not very good
At this Game called Life
And if everything goes well
Maybe I never will be"

~Javan

A very Happy Mother's Day to all!

Being a mother, what does it mean? it means many things to many people, but to the children who are lucky enough to have a good mother in their life, it means the world to them to say the words " I love you" to the person who's given you life, and most of all loves you with a love that can only be compared as that of God, loving its children.

Throughout the years, I have become a man far beyond any of my wildest expectations because of the woman I am so lucky to call my mother. As each year goes by, I not only mature just a bit more, but seem to be getting wiser about what truly transpired between the time I was born and where I am today. All of the different sacrifices that have been made to get me to where I am today.

While serving in the Marine Corps, they always told us that as NCO's (Non Commissioned Officers) we were always the backbone of the Marine Corps. Yes, all the orders were given by our superiors, but it was up to us, to mold and shape the troops below us and get the job done in an orderly and timely fashion. Today, I had an epiphany, and I realized that it is our Mothers, who are the backbone of HUMANITY. Without their constant supervision, care and love to watch over us as we grow into responsible adults, who knows where we as a whole would be.

Yes, this post acknowledges my mother as the person whom has shaped my character and helped me become a better man, but, this is also dedicated to all mothers out there who do the same for their children. Lest we not forget all the sacrifices that you make, remain strong and always positive, your children depend on YOU!

Letting Go

  “The Tao Te Ching says, When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need. Have you ever struggled to find work or love, only to find them after you have given up? This is the paradox of letting go. Let go, in order to achieve. Letting go is God’s law.” 
– Mary Manin Morrissey


Truer words could not have been spoken, thank you Mary, for your great insights. 

High Speed, Low Drag

In life, like in many other aspects, one has to be reminded that not everything is as seems. The things that seem the best for you may actually be the things that hold you back the most, the things that seem to make you happy may in fact be only things that will bring about sadness and despair. Take alcohol for example, when taken in the right amounts, and with careful moderation, it can bring a sense of "joy" and "happiness", pass the threshold though, and you have stepped into an entirely different dimension, one that can only bring about pain, sorrow, sickness and in some cases death.
The same could be said for something that is also meant for daily intake and for nutritional value such as food. When one eats the right amounts of food, it can be extremely beneficial for one's own body, providing the nutrition that the body needs. On the other hand, if too much food is consumed, this could eventually lead to many different forms of obesity and high blood pressure. This state can quickly lead to depression and unhappiness, and as one can clearly see, too much of a good thing can sometimes actually be bad for you.

I always thank God for my military training and I am constantly reminded of it, sometimes it comes to me as a surprise, but other times, it comes to me when I needed most. To "carefully analyze situations, assess the danger, and then move in when it is the right time". Being part of the military has served me a higher purpose than I could ever imagine, as I mature, I realize just how much it actually all meant to me, all the lessons that were carefully and dutifully taught to me by those with much more experience, flow back as reminder that although I may be out of the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps will never be out of me.

As I assess my life today, one VERY important lesson came to mind, one that we would jokingly talk about, make fun of and use it when it was inappropriate. What I am talking about is of course the "High Speed, Low Drag" lesson we were taught. I cannot fully remember when it was the first time I had heard this phrase, or what it really meant to me at the time, all I knew was that it was Marine Jargon and that we all used it. Yes, we all had different meanings and times to use this phrase, but in the end, I believe we all meant it to be all the same.

High Speed, Low Drag, so what does it mean? It means that something is very efficient, running smoothly, very "Lean and Mean" as we like to say it. But how does this relate to life today? Well, imagine your life as an engine, when the engine is running at a very "High Speed, Low Drag" state, it is running smoothly, no problems whatsoever and best of all you as the driver, have no worries that you will get to your ultimate destination. On the other hand, if lets say the Check Engine light was on, the engine stalls once in a while or you are putting more fuel to make the car run than it actually should, well then, we have a problem.

I believe it is time to go back to running a very "High Speed, Low Drag" Lifestyle, optimize your life as you would your engine, fix all the problems at hand and figure out how to best run this engine you call life, as smoothly as possible. In life, one should trim out the unnecessary things that may be hindering you from moving at an optimized speed and capacity. Let go of the things that will only slow you down, but most importantly of all, have checkpoints that allow you to check not only how smoothly your life is running, but make adjustments once again when things start to slow down.

Although it is not new years, and it is late in the year to make a resolution, I have always believed that resolutions were meant to be broken, why else would people make the same resolution each and every year without seeing any significant results? No, I will not be making a resolution, but a REVOLUTION. What is the difference one may ask? By definition, a resolution is "a formal expression of opinion or intent made", while a Revolution "comes from the Latin word Revolutio (a turn around) means a fundamental change in power or change in structure that takes place in a relatively short period of time"... I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Today, I start a revolution, High Speed, Low Drag is and will always remain my motto, it is good to be reminded of these lessons which I learned years ago, and I thank The Marine Corps for teaching me such important lessons that I would be allowed to carry with me through my life. May I never forget this lesson, and be reminded of just how much I love to have this engine optimized.

Creative Thinking

Great ideas are not always something that come along on a daily basis, but when they do come, well, they hit you like a brick wall!. I can honestly say that coming across a fresh new idea is always accompanied by two different feelings. Excitement and Concern. For one, you feel excited because it sounds like a great idea, something that could essentially be life changing for you and for many others whom this idea may reach. Concern is the counterbalance of excitement, it allows us to consider all of the underlying factors, and figure out if the idea we just had was as exciting as it really seemed, or another one of many silly thoughts that enter our head on a daily basis. But after all this, what or who is to decide what a silly idea really is. After all, many of today's successful ideas were based on a "silly" idea. Some examples include:

The Pet Rock: The idea was to throw a rock into a box with some Hay and sell it for 4.99... originally. Who would have thought this idea would become as popular as it did making the person who thought of this a Millionaire.

Doggles: Goggles for Dogs, sounds irrational already does it not? and yet this company has managed to make millions and open up its doors in many more locations around the world.

I think by now you can begin to see the pattern that is being formed here. What you may think is a ridiculous idea may actually turn to be the next million dollar idea. So the next time you hear someone tell you that your idea is ridiculous, you only have one lifetime to try it out, and after all, you may be laughing all the way to the bank! :)

******** are The New Assets

I was reading an article on Time Magazine not too long ago, and it really sparked my interest when I read that particular line mentioned above in the title. I purposely left the first part out because I wanted to start a little game. Call it a mini-test to see where people stand in today's economy. OK, let us begin.

Which of the following sentences seems correct to you:

A) Savings are the new Assets

B) 401K's (investments) are the new Assets

C) Jobs are the new Assets

D) None of the above

Now, let us find out what the correct answer is, based on recent research. And the answer is??? well. I won't make it that simple to figure out just yet. Let us look to see what each answer determines about our current mental process.

If you answered A) Savings are the new Assets. Sorry, but you are wrong this time. That is not to say that savings are not a wonderful thing to have. But in recent years, the number of people putting away a % of their income into savings has declined dramatically, so much so that in 2005 it finally went negative. That just meant we spent more than we saved thanks to things like credit cards and equity lines of credit.

If you answered B) 401K's (investments) are the new Assets. Sorry once again you are in the % of the population who treated their investment assets as their most valuable asset. While there is no denying that investments are a valuable asset in any portfolio, research shows that the money a typical family had in the stock market jumped from 28% in 1989 to 53% in 2007. And the percentage of families that were in the stock market jumped from 32% to 51%. Sadly as 2008 proved, having an unbalanced portfolio led to many people in this category lose upwards of 40% and higher on their investments.

Finally, if you answered C) Jobs are the new Assets. Well Congratulations! Now, why do you think jobs are the new assets? what have we realized recently that have made us think differently about what we do, how we work and how much we save?. Well let me explain. As of recently, many people started looking at their jobs in a completely different manner because many of us realized that having a JOB became our sole financial lifeline. When stocks were dropping, the housing market crashing and savings were diminishing, our Jobs were the only thing that kept many of us afloat because it continue to bring a steady income. Like Time Magazine elegantly puts it "When you have one chip left, you are much less likely to put it on the table" Many of us truly understand the value of having a job specially now that the unemployment rate has hit so many other less fortunate than yourself.

I hope that many more people understand the value of what it is they do and how important their jobs really are to surviving through this economical crisis. Because more often times than not, we do not realize the true value of what we have, until we lose it.

Free Advice...

Is there ever such a thing as "free advice"? While I am originally inclined to answer this question with a resounding NO, if given more thought and time I would actually have to answer yes. While everyone has their own opinion, and offers their own point of view when it comes to "free advice" I do believe there is a small group of select people that do actually give this type of service. They are called the People Who Care group. The people who truly care for us will always offer "free advice" since they have the best intentions in mind, want to see us succeed, wish us to be safe and are always on the lookout for our overall happiness. So the next time you hear someone say "let me give you some advice" always consider the factors mentioned above before you take into consideration this so called "free advice".

A World of Opportunity

When opportunity knocks at your door, do you answer it? how do you know that opportunity is knocking at your door to begin with? I once heard that luck is "opportunity mixed with preparation" what does this mean to me? There will be a time when opportunity is knocking at my door, so I better make sure I am prepared to answer. I often find myself asking if I will be prepared to answer the door if opportunity knocks on it, and I always come to the same conclusion; I wouldn't have it any other way, you'll never know who is knocking until you open your door, and are ready to give 100% of your spirit, mind and body.