😃Hello friends, community & family.
Here is the subtitle to the upcoming book, it will be based on some of the quotes & I will be posting videos to introduce each chapter.

👉Twelve Steps to Take Charge of Your Life by Taking Charge of Your Time👈

Let me know what you think, your comments are very much appreciated.

“The ability to define yourself allows you to awaken to your true identity, embracing strengths and weaknesses.  When you learn to identify yourself as you are, you will understand differences in others and your true identity and self-worth will remain intact.”

LetyM

What defines or motivates you as a person?? Who are YOU??

I am not talking about our role as a parent, spouse, friend, business owner, artist, male, female, teacher, student or any other hat or role we might embrace as our identity.  The above forms of personal description are labels and roles that way play at different levels.  When we go to a party, we socialize in a different form as compared to when we would be at a dinner table with family, at our jobs, a meeting, work or vacation. Our true identity surfaces in the mist of silence and solitude.

Why is it important to identify who we are???

When we understand ourselves, who we are, what triggers our fears, our courage, the things we believe in, we are better able to stand.

The ability to understand yourself will create balance and peace within you.  When we understand our life is 100% our responsibility, decide that emotions and reactions are a personal choice, and take charge of our life, we will be on our way to defining our true self-identity as we will no longer be defined by comparison, opinion nor circumstance.

I once tried out for basketball, I did not make it.  Not only did I not make it into the team, I was bullied by some in the classroom for not making into the team.  I went home, cried about it, thought about it, and questioned my self-worth several times.  I realized in that moment that my self-worth was not attached to my failure or inability to make it into a team, my self-worth and strength came from within.

I chose to practice, took the time to learn one skill at a time, and just when I thought I was ready, my parents decided to move to the US.  I was devastated, I had practiced and mentally prepared for a specific team and a month prior to moving, I had to shift my thoughts into not only a different home, but different culture, region and area.My family had limited funding, the school was new to me, my parents did not support my decision to play sports, and most of my friends at the time did not involve themselves in sports either.

I learned that I had to stay positive about practicing, focus on the goals, persist on the things I wanted to achieve and put more emphasis on the fact that I had a coach that believed in me, friends that supported me, but most important, I learned to believe in myself.  When you understand who you are, define your identity and believe in yourself, the rest of your life will fall into place.  Your focus is now on the aspects of your life that bring forward movement and improvement.

When I focused on progress, I had no more excuses.

We each have an internal voice and pivotal moments in our lives that can either make or break the course of our futures, the moment when we decide this is how my story will continue.  This is when we take charge of our life, in the present we create our futures. I had to come to terms with these three concepts within myself.

I had to work with the present.

When I understood the power of the present, I was able to accept and work within those walls, find my identity and self-confidence, and furthermore transform my future.

I almost did not walk into the gym, I almost did not take a step to move forward, I almost decided to settle for a life that was less than what I thought I could accomplish at that specific moment in my life.

I was nervous, anxious, excited and almost did not walk past the double doors that were the entrance to the gym.

Had I not made that choice, I would have not learned all the things that became part of my life.  I wouldn’t have met the coach that taught me more than basketball.  I learned to believe in myself, life skills, and how to keep pushing toward achieving goals.  I would have never met the friends I still keep in touch with from those early days, and I would have never stumbled upon my strength.

If you know your self, nobody can break you, stop you, accuse you.  If you know yourself you have no need for hate. If you know yourself you only have room for love and respect.  If you know yourself not only do you love yourself, you lift others. If you know yourself you say no to anything that does not serve you, grow you, nourish you or lift you.  If you know yourself you know your self-worth comes from within.  If you know yourself you are confident from within. If you know yourself your inner peace is not disturbed by external stimuli. If you know yourself you stand.

 

I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that’s how I operate my life.

Oprah Winfrey

To Honor a Soldier

In battle they soared
Wear scars marred scorn
They walk in foreign lands
Give each other helping hands
Their families weep
Waiting home, loosing sleep
As their loved one battles on
From morning dusk until dawn
Family gathered at the table
Prayer thought, home stable
On this day we celebrate
In unison collaborate
For life is best told
The book of life a soldier’s soul
On this day we celebrate
Not a life lost or gone
But a story of how they lived

Happy Veteran’s Day
Honoring those who serve.

 

“Our Lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Martin Luther King Jr.

“Some see a weed, some see a wish, some see a seed.  At the end of the day it does not matter what anybody else sees, it matter what you believe, see and think.  It is your life and not one person will live or care for your own life more than you will.  Live your life with some passion, some compassion, love and understanding of everyone else’s differences in life. Your heart and mind will thank you for it. “

 LetyM

What is your story?? What inspires, drives or persuades your life?? Do you own your life and story or do you allow others to define what is “appropriate” within a predisposed scope of life’s definition?

We grow up in different environments, cultures, backgrounds, religions, financial hierarchies.  Our lives at times are exposed and open wether we agree or disagree.  We grow up in cities, towns and communites and our lives will be exposed in some form or another.  Do you stand back and watch as life passes you by, or will you take a stand, take 100% for anything that happens in your life and direct the course of your story??

We have proud moments in our lives and we have those moments we wish we could erase.  I have found for myself the more I tried to erase my story, the more I found it in the walls, the ceiling, the dirt the air.  The moment I decided to own my story, regardless of my circumstances is the day I was able to begin to live in the moment, create a present and take charge of my future.

I don’t introduce myself as my past, nor do I correct people who feel they know my story.

 We have to make the decision to own our story and be responsible for every moment we live. You are the only person that can decide to stop inviting your past thoughts and behaviors. The ability to reach your desired potential in business and life requires only two things, thought and action.

 

 

You decide if you become part of the noise or focus and create your life.

 

The minute you decide to embrace your flaws to learn, improve and teach, is the minute you decide to free yourself from apologies and from giving the power to someone else to define who you are.

The statistics are always on television, news, radio, if you want to develop anxiety about the future turn on the television.  I am not stating television is a negative thing, I watch television and I read the paper and I lessen to the radio. I am referring to the section about statistics and backgrounds. The chances of you succeeding are determined by your background? I don’t buy that.

When you choose to focus on progress and achievement, you will be successful and when you learn that other’s people’s opinions are of others for a reason, not only will you be successful, you will have true happiness as well. Your focus will shift from maybe, I can’t, perhaps, someday, to I can and I will.

I grew up in an area defined by statistical standards. If I believed the standards, I would not have the courage, right, nor ability to write poetry, become a speaker, write books and motivate.

Wishing for better things in life is a wonderful way to think, acting on the things you want from life, taking action towards progress and not complaining about what you don’t have is wonderful way to live. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel as if a lens is upon you, what has worked for me to empower me is to own my story.

When you learn to see the negative attributes of your life as a story line vrs part of who you are, you give yourself permission to hold the pen, take accountability and write the next chapter of your life with a clean page.You are not your past, you are who you believe you are in the present.

Every day you wake up is a day you can decide how you will live your life, what will it be for you today and for the rest of your life?

I will be a speaker, author, poet, nurse, mother, daughter, sister, friend, companion and a voice for my life and pillar for those around me.  I am forgiving, human, kind and I stand up for what I believe in.

With outmost respect, may owning my story inspire you to beauthentic, fearless, caring and human.

 

“Live, Laugh, Love, three words and only you can define, determine, create and turn them into reality, for those three words will always present themselves in different forms, it is the meaning each individual provides that determines their vitality.”
LetyM

Chapter 10

What is your monthly, weekly, daily to keep list?? Do you have a list of the things that are important to your life? We sometimes tend to direct our focus on our to do list.  We forget a to keep list is just as important.  I have at times become a servant of my to do list and neglected to nourish my to keep list.  Life, Laughter, Love and Relaxation are imperative parts of living, they are my to keep list, in order to have a full mind, the energy and drive to accomplish my to do list, I must balance my work with my to keep list.

I tried out for basketball, not only did I make it to the team, my second year in High School, I was already playing Varsity. I would get up in the mornings to shoot baskets, stay after school and practice to continue the same pattern. I remember nights of staying up until 1-2 o’clock in the morning to make sure I studied for school in order to keep up with my grades. It takes sacrifice, determination, stamina, commitment to accomplish and achieve.

It was a weekday sunny afternoon, when my coach approached me and asked, “are you enjoying life, you only live once, are you taking the time to rest?” I stood still and paused for a moment, the thought had never crossed my mind until my coach proposed that question. I felt I was working, achieving, practicing, but I was so involved in my to do list, I had neglected to nourish, work on, and enjoy my to keep list. I was setting myself for a pattern of existence that followed me into my adult years.

Life can become a series of films and scenes that we watch on a screen. Life pulls us in different directions and without realizing we sit back and watch the movie from a seat. Instead of living life, we allow life to live us. Media, the neighbor, external environments create an image of the definition of happiness and what is worse for our success, internal happiness, Innovation, creativity and viability, we buy into those images and turn them into reality. We type and write our to do list and feel we failed if not completed on time. I had filled my days with things to do and forgot how to learn and enjoy my to keep list, called THE PRESENT MOMENT.

I am not saying that BIG goals and to do lists are unnecessary. They are important for accountability, task achievement, progress evaluation and success.

A balance of a to keep list and a to do list is an achievement few have mastered, an understanding and full embrace of the meaning of Live, Laugh, Love and Relax is an expression and state of mind even less have learned to embrace and practice on a daily bases. The secret to living a full life in those three words specifically is within the meaning you decide to give to your own life. When you live 100% accountable for your life, comparison, regrets, hate, criticism and negativity have a moment at best. Focus, direction, internal peace and happiness overtake your day and essentially your life if you decide to give those qualities your time. My to keep list is something that balances and works along my to do list.

Live you only have one life, Laugh it will brighten your day, Love is good for the soul and Relax life will pass you by either way, the meaning, purpose and direction will be determined by you.
Only you can write your story.
LetyM

I don’t think I know

Love is an emotion
of infinite proportions
Is it a learned skill?
or a mystic thrill?
Love is in a smile
in the touch of my child
In the neighbor I see
a smile without plea
for love is not binding
not hateful nor blinding
It lacks question and guess
soft spoken loving caress
in the care of a father
a mother beside her
love will encourage
to prosper in courage
it is found in the smile
in the corner the wall the road a long mile
it surrounds and enters the core
pass through your bones down to your soul
Love is not hate nor pain or distress
love understands for is a sweet caress
It is not possession
or nonconforming obsession
It has no age nor spaces
requires no culture nor faces
Place your hand on over your heart
as it beats, beats, beats not part
for as long as you breath
and as long as you beat
love does not stop
Love will nourish
allow you to flourish
it is not binding, destructive nor hazy
it runs through your veins and it is not lazy
hate, shame, guilt, lust, is not love
artificial fixtures that fit as a glove
For love is not binding
it is not hate nor judging
It is an emotion
sweet unwavering devotion

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Laughter is a medicine

Requires no precedence

It has no skin color, creed, religion or language

freedom is found in laughter, as it sheds sorrow’s baggage

True laughter requires no special prescription

It hides no utter affliction

requires no vote, status nor permission

there is no perfection nor special condition

from the curve of my lip

intoxicating leap

the glow of my teeth

down my spine to my feet

through my veins deep rooted cellular levels

morning rose sweet scented petals

go ahead smile back too

there is no better substitute

to transform my world for a while

I decided I would forever smile

It has no color, gender, race, religion or creed

it requires no special class nor specific breed

Laughter is

The Universal

Good Morning

Yesterday is not today
and today is not tomorrow
the future is not someday
shed away your tears & sorrow
When you live in the dark
you reside in the past
that is no place to park
take a step, fear you will cast
plan for the future, don’t forget about today
for tomorrow you will wish, you didn’t wait for someday
As I point my finger to the sky
I know I can prep, sear and fly
notice it is not my middle finger
for bitterness, amazingly, surprise, does not linger
If you leave room in your heart
to continue hating what may part
you will miss out on the moment
to be loved, love,live and write a sonnet
to negativity I always wish well
In hate I don’t tend to dwell
Positive thinking is my wheel
It has allowed my soul to heal
what is life but a chance to walk and live
you don’t agree? that’s okay, I believe
that people will judge you, people will talk about you
people will hate you, people will love you
people will support you, people will be there for you
but to be content
with lack of pretense
you shall learn from the same
life is simple not a game
if people judge you, don’t judge people
open heart, open mind, watch and learn
if people talk about you, try not to talk about people
no need to respond, not because you are better, or bitter, but because you learn better
people will hate you, try not to hate people
at the end of the day, you will poison your soul
people will love you, learn to love people
when you shine from within, you allow others to show authentic, love heals
people will support you, learn to support people
focus on the positive, get rid of the negative and celebrate
people will be there for you, learn to be there for people
but never give more than you are able to give
for you must treasure your heart and be open to receive
Life is one
and it will be what you make it
you simply can’t fake it
Where you put your energy, life is formed

The next chapter on this blog post will be Live, Laugh, Love. I have decided to split it into poetry, it is one of the things I enjoy writing the most. Poetry is the space my heart and soul seeks rest, as any artist or person with passion within would understand.

This chapter is important to me. It speaks of the moment you decide to Live, Laugh and Love, as you realize there is only one life. There are no second chances. I was reminded of this when I saw a fellow nurse at a cancer benefit. The life was drained from her eyes and soul. I could see she just wanted to rest. In that moment, I realized how fortunate I was to live as my heart broke in front of the old version of myself. The main difference between her and I, the fact that I was still here, present on this earth, her life was drained. She has children and a few days of life left if not hours. This brave soul as she takes her final breaths and mourns for her family, made me see the version of myself I had become in life. Numb, tired, ready to give in, a blank slate.

I am thankful for that experience, it made me appreciate life in a different perspective. As I saw her, I realized I am alive, and life is too short for anything else other then to

Live, Laugh, Love

 

 

There are hearts that seek rest
and fumble on a quest
Is it inner contemplation
or superficial observation
perhaps cooping inhalation
or venting exhalation
In the challenge of me
that has turned into we
necessary inner closure
to expose a different version
when attempts are made to keep
the inner mysteries I sleep
This much I have come to know
to be true of loss or hope
The heart will always seek a home
borders, linings, language, verse will roe
True love is not a game
Is a desire that is born from flames
it knows no color, gender, race or sorrow
it seeks shelter in tomorrow
To feel is a language spoken by many
understood by few, played by plenty
Sentiments are binding
love is always climbing
Either way the coin is tossed
there is no gain or loss
there are always hearts that seek
a person they may meet and keep
A soul that finds rest
is home finally at best
for in the end of all this perceived quest
love is what we seek
and you see, I understand

that I know what I know

I know I don’t know