I’ll be in Chicago tonight doing an appearance/book signing at the Superfun event…J Bar, 610 Rush Street @ 9pm.

Come thru if you have time and partake!!!

This is when the greater good should prevail…”should” that is…LOL!!!

This collection by photographer Zhu Yunwei is entitled “black and white/dark and light”.  Each portrait consists of two portrait shots of each person – one with opened eyes, the other with closed eyes.  He then integrated the two pictures into one portrait, resulting in the calm but unnatural expressions.

In the beginning, he planned to do some very basic experiments to convey some common emotions.  Being a young chinese student who’d just arrived in a completely different country, he experienced some strong, deep cultural conflicts.  Living overseas resulted in the different way of THINKING for him while working on this project…a common theme expressed in artworks by other chinese artists such as Xu Bing or Miao Xiaochun. (more…)

“People get caught up in wonderful, eye-catching pitches, but they don’t do enough to close the deal. It’s no good if you don’t make the sale.  Even if your foot is in the door or you bring someone into a conference room, you don’t win the deal unless you actually get them to sign on the dotted line.”

- fellow thinker
Donald Trump

The process of becoming better begins with an open mind to change…simply because it’s impossible for anything to become better while remaining the same.

And although your mind is open to something new, it’s important that you never lose your sense of self in the process.

It is your sole responsibility to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people’s feelings and standing up for what you believe.

An inspired life will bring clarity to your thinking and thought process!  A disciplined thought will lead to disciplined action which delivers disciplined results.  I’ve been on this journey as a life long learner scrapping every piece of knowledge to explain the happenings of life.  How do we overcome hardship, adversity and challenging obstacles, what is the best and most resilient method? I wonder is it our attitude, skills or knowledge that builds effectiveness in the way we lead.  I strongly believe it is the seed we plant, the investments we make in nurturing, cultivating and plowing the dirt to ensure a healthy harvest of fruits that we can reap.  The road less traveled is uncommon, but worth it since it allows you to maximize your potential. (more…)

I plan on doing this at random bookstores over the next month…and who knows, Kanye might even join in on a few.

A special thanks to all those who continue to support!!!

Let me know your thoughts!!!

David   10:22am
hey man,
just wanted to say that ive got ur book
think think think

and show some support from australia

Sakiya   10:29am
thanks…what did you think of it?

David   10:31am
well to be honest, i think that ever person has different problems and there is never one stock standard response for all, yet think think think provided a new way of thinking, and it wasnt about the problems yet how they could be handled   (more…)

This thought came to me while in the city last Friday.  I had a meeting at a hotel in Soho that normally has a doorman.  For whatever reason there wasn’t one when I arrived. Not that opening a door for myself is a big deal, it’s just when my expectations aren’t met, my mind tends to wonder.

I began thinking about all of the doors of opportunity that have been opened for me in the past and how I’m doing the same for others now.  The thought that stood out to me the most was regardless of who opens a door for you, it will mean nothing if you don’t choose to walk through it yourself.

Unfortunately I’ve seen too many people on my journey who haven’t understood that it is their sole responsibility to make that choice.  Often they looked for someone else to carry them over the threshold like the husband is to do for his new bride…and I’m not sure if that still really happens except for in the movies…LOL!!!

I know this might sounds really simple, but like most things in life…it is!  So I urge you…don’t become a master of  making the simple complicated.

Pop artist James Cauty’s work “Splatter” repurposes classic Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barbera cartoons and gives them a Sin City-style blood spatter makeover, “presenting the viewer with unrelenting acts of bloody, cartoon violence, which, in cartoon law, ultimately cannot cause fatal injury.”

Uhmm…I’m not sure what to think about this one…but at least he got me to think!!!

“Before success in any man’s life he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.”

- fellow thinker
Napoleon Hill

“Whatever qualities the rich may have, they can be acquired by anyone with the tenacity to become rich.  The key, I think, is confidence.  Confidence and an unshakable belief it can be done and that you are the one to do it.”

- fellow thinker
Felix Dennis

Sidebar: I really like the way this guy thinks!!!

I’ve learned that most people who have achieved success solved problems as they came to them.  They either figured them out for themselves, or was helped along the way through powers that were known and unknown to them. Regardless of the obstacles they met, they kept going.

You don’t need to know all your answers in advance to solve a problem or to reach your goal.  But you must have a clear idea of the problem or the goal you want to reach in advance.

Don’t procrastinate when faced with a difficult problem. Break the problem into parts, and handle one part at a time.  A key factor is to know where you’re going.  You will be amazed how the answers will seem to magically appear!!!

BISMARCK, N.D. – Police responding to a domestic disturbance arrived at Stacey Anvarinia’s home to find the mother breast-feeding her 6-week-old baby in front of them.  And she was drunk, they said.  (more…)

I’m always amazed with the thoughts and questions that come to me when I spend time alone…and yesterday was no exception.

It’s ironic that my dominant thought was asking myself what is my most dominant thought, how does it define me and why?

It’s perfectly clear to me that I defined myself mostly by the role of father first, career second, and friend/relative third.  I still haven’t figured out the why yet…but I’m sure the answers will come.

How about yourself???

 

TONIGHT’S TOPICS: The price of fame…is it worth the cost?  Tune in and join the discussion!

Since the release of Beyonce’s song “Ego” (which I liked from the first listen), I’ve noticed that a lot of people are embracing having a big ego.  I take no issue with this because I understand that there are a lot of people who have never had a strong sense of their ego and this gives them justification in doing so.

Although there only might be a thin line of difference, there is a huge difference in having a “big ego” and being “ego driven”.

One difference that I find in the two is a “big ego” starts and ends with itself , while being “ego driven” is when you have a strong sense of self.

Of course I think that I’m the latter and here’s why…as much as I feel like I’m all that, I know that I’m not all there is!

I really think when you’re really ego driven, it allows you to be really open to other people egos.  I’m never threaten by someone else’s strong ego because I will never allow it to take from mine.

Like I wrote in my first book, “Everyday is an opportunity to become better…take advantage!”  My ego demands of me to live by this!  And it’s not because it’s overinflated, but more because it’s never satisfied with what it has done…all due to being super focused on what it can do!

Another difference between a “big ego” and being “ego driven” is this…a “big ego” requires praise…being “ego driven” requires only recognition…THINK ABOUT IT!!!

“If you talk to God, you are praying; if God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.”

- fellow thinker
Thomas Szasz
The Second Sin

BBC Three has dropped a repeat episode of the US cartoon Family Guy because it had jokes about Michael Jackson in it (including a shot of Jackson in bed with Stewie the baby).

The Mock the Week comedian Frankie Boyle has quit his column at a Scottish tabloid newspaper because it refused to publish his jokes about Jackson.

And, as was reported on Friday, a scene with Jackson’s sister LaToya has been cut from Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno film (Bruno made fun of her brother’s voice).

But of course there will come a time, as happened with Princess Diana, when it’s deemed socially acceptable for comedians to make cracks about Jackson. All I’d like to know is: how is it decided when that will be? (more…)

“Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible.  Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking.  It doesn’t have to be like this.  Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future.  With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded.  All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”

- fellow thinker,
Stephen Hawking

Getting what you really want in life is greatly dependent on how often you tell people what you really want in life…so with that said, let’s use this posting to put out in the universe what we really want in life!!!

I’ll go first…I want to…uhmm, correction…I WILL talk to at least 1000 people in person over the course of 10 days in July 09 in efforts of promoting the Thank You And You’re Welcome book!!!

 

TONIGHT’S TOPICS: The fear of social ridicule…how much does it define your behavior?  Are there more pros than cons?  Take a listen and share your thoughts!!!

Wow Fatos…I’m truly honored!  Just know that your words have inspired me to work even harder in helping others become the best them!!!

…this is one cool dude!!!!

Ambitiously Pursuing Your Own Self-Direction
by fellow thinker Jim Rohn

What is the origin of true ambition?  There exists really only one place to find true ambition and that is within you – in every thought, in every movement, in every motivation.  Your ambition is an expression of who you truly are, your own self-expression.

(more…)

Money is neither good or evil.  It’s merly a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it’s greedy or giving…THINK ABOUT IT!!!

How in tune are you with your innate abilities???

“People who grow rich almost always improve their sex life because more people want to have sex with them.  That’s just the way human beings work.  Money is power.  Power is an aphrodisiac.  Money did not make me happy.  But it definitely improved my sex life.”

- fellow thinker
Felix Dennis

Do you agree???

 

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that…but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

- fellow thinker,
Mark Twain

You are constantly in my thoughts and I miss you terribly.  Even as I type this, my heart smiles as I think of our conversations about what I should or shouldn’t being doing…and how you would always get on me for saying “but” after all of your points.  ”Buutttt” you know that I have to question everything before I accept it…LOL!!!

Just know that I’ll be forever thankful that your words will not allow me to be an average man!!!

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.  The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”

-fellow thinker,
Albert Einstein

“Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.”

- fellow thinker
Thomas A. Edison

The right hand of a man that was transplanted onto his left arm, after he lost both hands in a subway accident.  His right arm was so badly damaged that it couldn’t be used, so doctors placed his right hand on his left forearm.  They then removed his thumb and repositioned it on the other side of his hand, so that his old index finger is now his little finger.  This was the fifth inverted hand transplant ever done.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my mom introduced me to Kahlil Gibran very early in my life.  As far back as I can remember, she always had his book, The Prophet, lying around the house and even named one of my brothers after him.

After I read his quote, it was a no brainer for me to post it.  As I was going through my routine of selecting a picture, my thoughts were flooded with childhood memories of my mom trying her best to get me to read his book.  I guess I was a non-reader back then as well because I never did…LOL!

Clearly it had an affect on me looking back on it now.  I really had a good laugh when I realized that I wasn’t being as original as I thought when it came to my idea of how to look in pictures.  I’m not sure what it means that his thoughts and image laid dormant in my sub-conscious for all these years, but I know it means something!!!

This is a great example of how much our past can have an impact on our present and why it’s so important that we always question why we do what we do.  Fortunately in this case it was something positive and endearing, but it could’ve just as easily been something negative that was the foundation of my thoughts and behavior.

Hey mom, although I never read his book, I hope it brings a smile to your heart to know that I’m now actually living it!!!

“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.”

-fellow thinker
Kahlil Gibran

Wow…I can only think of a couple more better things to wake up to…LOL!!!

I am and will always be honored when my thoughts has left a situation better!!!

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”

- fellow thinker,
Carl Jung