Thankful For The Harvest

Are you thankful for the harvest of your year? In many cultures, this is what "Thanksgiving" or a similar holiday represents. It's a time of reflection with a grateful heart for the preceding year, for all that was accomplished, for all the favor we've received. 

In fact, our first President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God".

Not sure when this started, but now we even publicly pardon a turkey, which spares the bird's life and ensures that it will spend the duration of its life roaming freely on farmland.

So, we've gone from being thankful for our harvest to ensuring a turkey's life on national television. Hmmmm...and we wonder about the evolution in society?

I don't know about you, but this is the time of year I am shocked by another year coming to a close. I'm in awe of the many events that have unfolded both nationally and personally. It gives me great pause to consider, did I do anything to influence the outcomes of what I'm reflecting upon?

If I'm thinking about my health, was I intentional about taking care of it? If I'm considering my family relations, did I do everything I could to impact them in a positive way? Do they know I would do anything for them and love them to the moon and back?

In my job, did I do everything I could to influence the outcome of our year? In my spirit, did I take time to rest and be present in the hurriedness of life? Daily, did I look for the gifts of the sunrises and sunsets? Did I remember to thank those in my path for just being there? 

When I contemplate these questions, the answers tell me what my harvest looks like. My hope is that yours is abundant and your cup is overflowing with gratitude. My heart is to see an evolution that moves forward from one year to the next.

So, from my table of harvest to all of yours, may your prayers be filled with thanks and your hearts be filled with love. 

Breathe Life Into Someone!

I’ve had a great response from you all about telling your story! Some of you I’ve had the pleasure of meeting personally. I know the impact you have on others, you will be getting an invitation via email to share your story with me. My goal is to highlight different people pursuing their passion each week to inspire us all!

Some of you have asked why I care so much. I grew up in a very challenging environment. I watched people around me become so overwhelmed by life, they either settled or gave up altogether. I remember even as a little girl standing there watching people (much as I do now) thinking “no, don’t give up, there’s more!” I’d silently cheer as I watched these souls day in and day out worn, weary and without hope. 

So, as far back as I can remember, I’ve been trying to encourage others. My passion is to inspire others to their greatness. Recently, I was in a craft store and stumbled upon a wooden plaque that has the word “inspire” and it’s definition. This is how it read, “Inspire- verb (1) to encourage somebody to greater effort, enthusiasm, or creativity (2) to awaken a particular feeling in somebody “ as I read further, there was the etymology of the word—it’s Latin from inspirare “to breathe”. 

When we take time to inspire someone, we are breathing life into them. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had many times in my life when at just the right time, someone shared something, encouraged me, a song on the radio or words in a book lifted my spirit…they breathed life into me. 

It’s my humble opinion, that anyone with a pulse and a mind that is capable of making decisions can alter the course of their life. We have to decide we want it. We must be willing to go through the journey for it. Most of all, we have to believe it is a possibility for our lives. Our great Creator gave us all unique gifts and talents, are you using yours? If life doesn’t look like what you hoped it would be at this point, write down the behaviors you want to cease, write down the ones you want to adopt and believe this is for you! Finally, when you get the chance, inspire someone else. You never know when you might be giving them one more breath to believe. 

I Want To Hear From You!

If we ever have the opportunity to meet, you will find I ask many questions. I am fascinated by people and their stories. We all have different perspectives, different paths, different passions. People who live from their heart, who know who they are, who use their gifts and talents to impact communities—moves me! I am challenged to ask more questions. I want to know why certain people plot a map of reaching their destinations and goals and get there. I want to know what triggered your passion. I want to know how you take what you know and use it to inspire others.

So, I want to hear from you! I am in the process of compiling these pursuits of passion. If you have a great story to tell or know someone who does, please email or call me! Nora@garrisongc.com or 210-517-3286.

Know Thyself

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

-Steve Jobs

Most of my life, I’ve felt different. I was the kid at 5 on her first day of kindergarten walked into the classroom and upon meeting the teacher, advised her I was sick and was on antibiotics. I explained to her she needed to remember to give it to me twice during the day and that it needed to be refrigerated. Always an odd child. I also remember at the age of 8 writing a letter to my brother away at college that all I wanted was for us to have a closer relationship. I was concerned over these things at as a young child. I remember gathering children on the playground (when I was a child myself) and trying to inspire them to not follow the bullies! They could play whatever they wanted for crying out loud and did not have to succumb to the strong personalities that lingered on the monkey bars. 

As a young adult in the workplace, I remember finding myself in the office of the vice president or higher discussing the inefficiencies I saw on the workflow and how things could be much improved. I always enjoyed problem solving. I wasn’t the most popular or go to fun person but I was very efficient and created visions and goals expecting others to follow behind me as we charged toward success. 

I’ve always had a passion for pushing others beyond their comfort zones. When I look at others, I see more. Sometimes more than they’ve ever dreamed of seeing in themselves. When I’m placed in situations, I search for the efficient way, the best way, yielding the best results—how we get there makes no difference to me as long as it happens. 

I’ve been in a reflective mode lately. I realized that my personality is hard. My personality is not for the faint of heart and my personality struggles to get out of go mode. Go mode is fun for me. So, naturally, I wanted to learn more. I love learning and being challenged intellectually. As I dug further into my reading, I came across one of those personality tests. Very thorough, very lengthy and very pricey! But, I wanted to know. Out of the Meyers Briggs 16 personality types, I am an ENTJ. ENTJ’s only make up 3% of the entire population and women less than 1.5% of the population. I am a rare bird! 

As I read the description, I let out a huge sigh. It was spot on. My ENTJ counterparts and I are the commanders of the personality world. We want to reach our goals, cast the vision and bring others along to reach our pinnacle. We tend to forget that not everyone wants to come along and certainly not at our pace. ENTJ’s love debate, intellectual stimulation and will size you up based on how well you engage in this arena with us. 

We are doers and love the challenge of an obstacle in our way. We are problem solvers and can communicate solutions quite effectively. Though we have a number of wonderful qualities, we also have a down side. We are not the most thoughtful people. In fact, it’s quite easy for us to detach emotionally especially when we’re trying to get things done. Where other types might be hurt in debate or confrontation, ENTJ’s thrive in it. Personally, I feel it’s how progress is made. It’s dialogue. You must be courageously vulnerable to wage a discussion because we love to ask deep meaningful questions. Often times we are introspective, but not everyone appreciates having a mirror held up in front of them. 

As I considered all I had learned about myself through this research. It gave me great pause. It helped me to understand the hows and whys of who I am but also gave me an awareness of others that didn’t exist before. I don’t want to make others uncomfortable with my curiosity and goal seeking. I want others to be just as comfortable in their skin as I am in mine. I suppose the most comforting thing is knowing this is who I am. So often, people would tell me to “lighten up” and “don’t take things so seriously”. Turns out this is me. The good, the bad and the ugly. I am a leader. I am goal oriented. I seek to make things better. I seek to make others better. I believe in being the best version of ourselves that we can be. So, while it might serve me well to take a course in patience, while I might learn to not count on being the most popular in the office, while I may be considered least loving, I will sacrifice all I can for my team to succeed. I will strive everyday for us to be successful. I will see the best in you and tell you what I see. I will know myself. 

I Walk The Line

Would you walk across a tight rope about the width of a penny strung 630 ft. above the ground in Downtown Chicago, the “windy city”? How about blind folded? Nik Wallenda accomplished this very feat just a few days ago. Were any of my Chicago friends there? If you were in Chicago and had the chance would you have gone to watch? In an age and culture where the only things we watch live anymore are sporting events or concerts and plays, what an opportunity! 

Then I got to thinking, what an incredible event to witness! There are no nets, no safety measures, nothing like that. Only his passion and countless hours of practicing along with a family legacy passed down through 7 generations. In fact, Nik’s great-grandfather died trying to cross a wire between two towers in Puerto Rico on a windy day thirty six years ago. I love that they kept following their craft. Despite even experiencing loss at the hand of the very thing they love, they still chose to cross the wire. 

At least 65,000 people came out to watch. When he began to cross, everyone was cheering like Rome in the coliseum. Nik is very open about his faith. He prays the entire time he is walking the line. When asked if his faith is what gets him across the line, I love his response. Nik said, “The only thing faith assures me is where I’m going if I were to fall off that wire,” he continued “I don’t believe in any way that my faith holds me on that wire, or gets me across that wire.” Nik told the reporters, “I believe that God provides a peace that passes all understanding. And that’s why I can stay calm and cool leading up to these walks. But my faith plays a role in all aspects of my life, not just on the wire.”

You see, Nik still has to believe in himself. He still has to muster up the courage it takes anytime we decide to live from our hearts and follow our passion. It takes fight to be able to look others in the eye that question why we don’t just deal with what’s right in front of us instead of pursuing our big picture goals. It takes self motivation to keep pounding the rock even when we can’t see a dent in it yet. It takes will to continue moving forward even when things seem out of reach.

For me, this is a very personal platform. It is so important. 65,000 people didn’t come out to see if Nik would make it or not. They came out to witness something incredible, something audacious, something only a small percentage of people would do. But, they came because his extreme story inspires them somehow. It encourages them to take the next step on their “wire”. For most of us, it isn’t a matter of life or death…physically anyway. It is a matter of life or death as to whether we truly “live” or not. What will your legacy be? The reality is we all have an expiration date, what is it that you’ve spent your time here doing? Will your story live on long after you have passed? 

There are so many cultures that pass down stories and legacies from generation to generation. There’s an old Native American belief that a person isn’t considered truly dead until the last person who knew a story about them dies as well. Does your life speak to others? Do you pursue your heart with a reckless abandon like Nik? Will your story live on long after you do?

Adversity Is The Greatest Teacher

There was a time in my life, I was in between jobs. I was young. I was a single mother and I was doing the best I could. Things were challenging to say the least. Sometimes we ate cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For a time, we went without running water. We counted change for gas and food. Often times it was a good day if I had enough change left over to get a happy meal for my sweet boy.

In my opinion, it was one of the best times in our life. Yes, you read that correctly, it was one of the best times in our life. 

There’s an old proverb that says, “When fate throws a dagger at you, there’s two ways to catch it by the blade or by the handle.” Enduring hard paths in our life prepares you in a way that is priceless. Better than any seminar, more productively than any book, you become a survivor. You learn to thrive no matter the situation presented. Adversity trains you like a special ops soldier for the battles of life. 

As you begin your training, adversity will tell you you’re defeated. You got nothing. Best you can do is learn to survive. This is where your will, your mind and your faith must show up. This is where you choose to make something out of nothing. This is where you absolutely see what you’re made of. You choose to catch the dagger of fate by the blade or by the handle. 

My son and I made it through that rough period. We learned a lot about ourselves and each other. I learned whatever would be thrown my way, I would do my very best to rise to the occasion. I realized I possessed another gear. I came to understand we can fully be present in every circumstance, whether good or bad. I learned that no one is in charge of making life happen for me, but I must be the one to go out and make life. 

One of the most valuable lessons adversity taught me is to focus. It’s easy to focus when things are going well. Clarity and perseverance is achieved when you learn to keep your focus even when things are not going well. You can only focus on what will happen next. Don’t look back. Don’t complain. Keep your eyes on where you’re headed not on where you’ve been.