Walk Into the Future

Category: Lifestyle

Articles discussing lifestyle and walking into the future.

  • Cross Seminole Trail run

    Seminole Cross Trail

    “Running:  my sport is your sport’s punishment”.

    (Funny running quotes)

    Took me a little time to fully understand what being a runner truly means.  I started getting serious about running when I moved to Oviedo, Florida from Bonaire, Georgia. 

    I ran in Georgia because I was still in the Air Force and needed to maintain my cardio fitness to ensure I completed our annual fitness test.  I was always in shape but focused on football, basketball and weightlifting while in the Air Force.  I signed up for an occasional 5k but never really trained for them—just showed up and ran.  I also had NO idea how important the correct shoes can be in this sport.

    Now, back to the quote above.  I played football, basketball, and baseball back in the high school days.  I transitioned to flag football, basketball, softball and weightlifting during my time in the Air Force.  Coaches in both worlds routinely assigned RUNNING as a motivational tactic or punishment depending on how they felt.  A missed assignment in football was punished by running a lap or two around the track.  A missed free throw in basketball was punished by unlimited ‘down and backs’ on the basketball court.  An error in baseball or softball got a lap around the field to regain your focus.  So, as you can see, the quote above rings true in more ways than one. 😊

    Fast forward to today and punishment from my younger days is something I routinely leave my house to accomplish, for fun! The therapeutic benefits have been amazing also.

    Running has taken on a large part of my Walk into the Future, and I do not see it diminishing anytime soon.  I got into running later in life, so I am blessed to not have run related injuries that limit my ability to get my miles in.  I also know the importance of nutrition and stretching so make sure I take care of my body before, during and after my runs.

    Another fun fact about my running program is I bring my running gear whenever I travel in case I can sneak a run in. Sometimes I never get a chance to break out my gear but want to be ready.

    My work with the Central Florida Employment Council (CFEC) back in May brought me back to the Orlando area and the large trail systems available there.  My event with CFEC was on a Friday afternoon so I decided to hang out in Oviedo after the event so I could get up on Saturday morning and run the Seminole Cross Trail while in the area.  Yes, you read that right—Inspiration Man made a point to get a run in while in town making a difference. 

    I love the Seminole Cross Trail because it has visible mile markers and most of the trail is shaded.  I made sure I got out early because I wanted to beat the Central Florida heat and still have time to enjoy time in Oviedo.

    There was a lot of activity on the trail with bikers, walkers and runners sharing the trail.  I made a point to wave and say hello to everyone I saw on the trail.  My Fort Pierce runs do not provide many opportunities to see many folks during my runs, so it was great seeing others out enjoying the morning on the trail. 

    A first for me was seeing someone riding a unicycle on the trail.  Guess I only thought people rode unicycles as part of a circus act but this guy rode by me at a good pace.  I was impressed with the ability to balance and ride a unicycle while avoiding people on a busy trail.  Started to wonder if I could ride one of those things.  Running provides time to think about stuff. 😊

    I was able to complete a quick 6 mile run on the trail before it got too hot—not bad considering I was there for an event.

    I look forward to leveraging the Seminole Cross Trail more as I ramp up my half marathon training.  I plan to get back into racing later in the year and need to start getting long runs in again. 

    My run gear bag remains packed, and I am ready to keep logging miles.  Each run brings me closer to 1,000 training miles for the year.

    How many miles have you logged this year?  Let’s get busy!

    “Running helps me maintain my ‘never killed anyone’ streak”.

    (Pinterest)

  • Mastering College to Career—the mentor returns

    Inspire

    (Image by Bryan Stewart from Pixabay)

    “A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself”.

    (Oprah Winfrey)

    My Walk into the Future allows me to explore activities that I enjoy.  This concept provides me unlimited access to find new ways to make a difference in the world.

    I understand most of my blog articles center on my adventures, travel and things that cross my mind (social justice, current events, etc.)  I continue to seek opportunities where I am making a difference and then decide how to highlight those efforts on the Walk into the Future blog.  Please note, I do not take notes when I am engaged in an activity—I try to sit down after the fact and then document my thoughts to share with my readers.

    I received an email from Daniel Botero who is one of my tree branches.  Daniel’s name should be familiar with readers since he hosts the Mastering College to Career podcast, and I have been a featured guest 4 times so far.  Daniel has added an interactive mentoring component to his program and invites national guests to speak with his mentees. 

    Mastering College to Career has grown quite a bit since I last sat down with Daniel in March 2020.  He continues to add value to college students across the country by helping them understand how to make themselves attractive to recruiters. 

    The program helps colleges students LEARN how to build their online presence, resume, and mock interview skills.  Surprisingly, COVID-19 allowed Daniel to extend his program since he uses Zoom meetings to check-in with his students.

    The email Daniel sent me was a request to join him via Zoom to speak with his students.  He did not provide a specific topic but wanted this to be a free form conversation so his students could ask me questions. My roles within Career Services at multiple schools was a targeted aspect of the conversation.  Daniel wanted me to share my knowledge on the correct way for colleges students to network with employers to ensure they are visible and viable in the recruiting process. 

    I made sure to express being visible and viable is the key to transitioning from a college student to the world of employment.  This was a bit of a revelation for some of the students because they assume a degree means the transition will be easy.  This is a common thought of students everywhere I have been, but it is not true.  There are a lot of talented graduates at every college and university, the key to going to work is being visible and viable to recruiters.  Sounds simple but students without these key components are not on the radar of recruiters.  Daniel’s students were amazed by this statement and quickly wanted to know how they can gain an advantage.

    I shared a quick story of a student I worked with at UCF.  This student had a GPA that was not high.  This student was not a U.S. citizen, so this eliminated them from certain organizations that refused to sponsor students for the hiring process.  This student was a native Spanish speaker so English was the second language.  These are three huge strikes within the on-campus recruiting process and the student in this example was not feeling good about the chances of gaining employment after graduation.  I met with this student, and he explained the things he PERCEIVED to hold him back from getting a job after graduation.  I developed the visible and viable concept while working with this student.

    I told him he needed to identify organizations he wanted to work for and identify when they were on-campus.  He was advised to ensure that each time one of these organizations was on-campus, he would meet with them and expressed his interest working for them.  He was schooled on how to ensure the recruiters saw him as someone with potential and not worry about a low GPA.  Fast forward a bit and several organizations saw him as visible and viable and offered him interviews.  Not only interviews but this same student received 6 job offers prior to graduation—not bad for someone who supposedly had the deck stacked against him.

    Can you guess the name of this student?  If you guess Daniel Botero, you would be right.  The person who learned how to be visible and viable is teaching his students the same skills he learned sitting in my office a decade ago—small world! 😊

    The reaction of the students on the Zoom session was a renewed energy.  They needed to hear others have struggled with this process and overcame similar doubts.  Sharing my knowledge with the students provided a reminder they control their destiny—no one can stop a determined person.

    I received about 20 LinkedIn requests from students in this session to connect for future advice on their journey.  I gladly accepted the requests and actively help these students anyway I can.  I found a higher level of satisfaction by volunteering my time to help these students. 

    Inspiration Man continues to seek ways to make a difference in the world!

    How do you reach back to help others?  Irie!

    “We all need someone who inspires us to do better than we know how”.

    (Anonymous)

  • Always remember Rosewood, Florida (Repost)

    Justice

    (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

    “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.

    (Nelson Mandela)

    Happy to see the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement continue to draw attention to racial injustices.  The momentum gained after the George Floyd murder continues to lead people worldwide to protest injustices.  It feels real this time, but I thought that after Rodney King, Trayvon Martin, Eric Gardner, and Michael Brown.  Too many instances where black people are killed, and the justice system does not provide justice.  Not trying to be cute with words here but most of these examples were seen on video just like George Floyd but no justice for black victims could be found.

    Would like to say these are just isolated examples and America really treats black people well.  Yep, we all know that would be a huge lie and I could not say that with a straight face anyway.  America’s majority has treated people of color horribly and then try to convince us everything is okay.  It is not and has not been okay for a long time.

    Decided to go back in history and introduce Walk into the Future readers to Rosewood, Florida.  Most people have never heard about Rosewood or the horror the black families endured there.  It does not get the same press as the Black Wall Street massacre but is closer to home for me.

    Sadly, I did not learn about Rosewood until the 1997 movie directed by John Singleton was released.  I grew up in Florida and never heard a word about the massacre in a history or civics class.  Rosewood is less than a two-hour drive from my hometown Jasper, Florida so it is equally shocking how close this type of mob/Klan activity was to my family.

    I watched the movie and remember thinking this happened right down the street from my hometown.  How is it possible I did not know about this?  How could an entire town get wiped off the face of the earth and nobody said a word?  This appears to be the American way.  We condemn other countries and regimes for their atrocities and then hide ours from the public.

    The movie stirred me to visit Rosewood in 1997 so I could see the place for myself.  Sadly, the only substantial thing to identify Rosewood is a placard to let you know you are in the place where the town of Rosewood use to be.  There are a few buildings there now but most of the things in the area are incorporated to Cedar Key, Florida.  Felt weird being at the site of a massacre of black people but believe this was an important lesson to never forget the past so these things do not repeat.  Like what is happening now; we cannot just let these injustices occur without responding in kind.

    The BLM movement is here to stay, and we will need to remain vigilant to ensure human rights are respected for all.  Keep learning and growing tree branches—we need you to make this a better world!

    Learn more about Rosewood, Florida here:  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/03/rosewood-florida-massacre-racial-violence-reparations

    “The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society”.

    (John Lewis)

    Repost from August 20, 2020.

  • Running into the Future—goal within reach

    Run article

    “Set goals and crush them”.

    (www.tresfleeck.com)

    Goals continue to be a big part of my Walk into the Future.  I sit down in January and write out my goals for the year.  I break these goals up into categories so I can track my completion progress.

    My weekly physical fitness goals include weight training (2 days), run (3 days) and speed work on Wednesdays.  My overarching physical fitness goal is 1,000 training miles in 2021—this includes running and biking miles.

    I set 1,000 training miles as a goal to push my training to a new level.  This mile marker also helps my motivation since there are not as many races to run in this COVID-19 world.  I am always looking for ways to maintain my running edge and adding more miles to my training program appears to be a good thing for me.

    Happy to report I logged 615 miles so far in 2021.  I have not been consistent with my long runs but routinely get in three quality sessions each week. 

    Tuesdays:  3 – 4 miles (after work)

    Thursdays:  4 – 6 miles (after work)

    Saturdays:  6 – 8 miles (morning runs)

    My Tuesday and Thursday runs are done when I get off work, so I am not concerned about my run times during these sessions.  Working 9, 10, 11-hour days creates a mental drain, but I still make time to hit the road since this helps to recharge me physically and mentally.  Some days are a lot slower than others, but I smile because I am out doing something I love.  Never thought I would say that, but I would be lost without my running program—it just took me awhile to come to this conclusion.

    My Saturday runs are not like my long training sessions when I had half marathons to train for.  I routinely crushed 10+ mile runs on Saturdays before my move to Fort Pierce but 8 is the longest distance I hit when running locally.  I have not found a route that allows me to enjoy the run while getting in longer distances.  I have searched multiple locations, but nothing is available like the St. Mark’s Trail or John Brown Park in Tallahassee:

    The trail system in Tallahassee allowed me to push my mileage and extend my long runs up to 16 miles on multiple training sessions.  I plan to get back to the longer versions of my runs since I am looking forward to getting back to being a running tourist. 

    I am scheduled to run the 2021 Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon in September.  I have never run this race or visited the city so looking forward to getting back to a starting line to test my conditioning against some world class athletes.  My goal for this race is to run another Personal Record (PR) and get under 2 hours for the distance.  I was on track to go under 2 hours before COVID-19 hit the world, but I am confident I am going to hit my goal.

    My training for Virginia Beach will increase my speed towards the Orlando OUC Half Marathon in December.  This course is completely flat so it should provide a fast track to help me hit my goals.  This will truly springboard my runs into 2022 as I gear up for a full running season—8 or more half marathons.

    A full marathon (26.2 miles) will make it on my goals list for 2022—there I said it so now it is out in the open.  Let’s see who is going to run it with me! Come on Laurens! 😊

    What goals did you set for 2021?  How is your progress so far?

    “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible”.

    (Tony Robbins)

  • Reading into the Future

    Books

    “Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and nooks”.

    (Dr. Seuss)

    Who knew Dr. Seuss was so wise?

    My love of reading started when I was young.  This may have come about because my hometown is so small and reading provided unlimited adventures for me.  I cannot remember a time when I did not have a book in my hand reading about things that enlightened my world.

    My love for reading kept me in my junior high school library daily looking for new books.  Books about the old west were some of my favorites back then.  Learning about warriors Sitting Bull, Geronimo and Cochise was my go-to section within the library—I read other stuff, but the wide west was an era that fascinated me.  Mrs. Wiggins, the librarian, gave me unlimited access to books and allowed me to check out as many as I wanted.  I left school on Friday afternoons with a new stack of books and read them over the weekend so I could return on Monday and get more books.  Did I mentioned I love reading! 😊

    High school saw me gravitate to a larger library with even more adventures waiting for me to discover.  I spent so much time in the library, Mrs. Chandler let me check out books to my fellow students.  I did not work there but she made me useful and took breaks while I ran the library for her.  I still see Mrs. Wiggins and Mrs. Chandler when I am back in Jasper—they still bust my chops for always being in their way.

    Fast forward to 2021 and I still have a thing for reading—guess I am a lifelong learner. 

    I write out my yearly goals each January and make sure I list a reading goal for the year.  My 2021 reading goal is to read 2 books each month.  That does not sound daunting, but my reading progress can be impacted by life (work, travel, etc.).  Work has proven to be the biggest obstacle to my reading program since we have so many new things going on at the same time.  Yes, that is an excuse so had to work my way out of my reading funk and get back on-track.

    My saving grace is one of my coworkers.  He is an avid reader, and his yearly goal was a bit more aggressive than mine.  He would come into work on Mondays and tell me about the book(s) he read over the weekend.  I am a bit competitive so knew I had to get myself in gear or he was going to leave me in his dust (reading wise).  Life inspiration is funny—positive peer pressure got me back to reading.

    Proud to say I have been in a groove and have started to crush my reading goals.  I joined Amazon Prime so I could get free shipping and 2-day delivery for my book purchases.  Sounds like a small thing but getting books delivered faster actually keeps me focused.  I routinely have two or three books on standby as I complete my current title.  Amazon provides book recommendations based on previous purchases, so I am always on the lookout for my next buy. 

    I read four books in April and three in May—this put me back on pace to meet my yearly reading goal.  My increased reading volume puts me on pace to read 40+ books this year which would be the most ever for me in a year.  Funny thing is I am still super busy at work but made reading a priority and the pages are turning now. 

    I am not limited to a single topic when selecting my books.  I do not read much fiction but try to find subjects I can learn from and apply in my daily interactions.  Some of my books are just entertainment and enjoy turning pages while sitting on the beach in between naps.

    Here are a few of my latest reads:

    • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK / Mark Manson
    • Ocean Prey / John Sanford
    • The Hero Code / Admiral William H. McRaven
    • Make Your Bed / Admiral William H. McRaven
    • Outliers / Malcolm Gladwell
    • Start with Why / Simon Sinek
    • Think Again / Adam Grant

    Looking to get The Bomber’s Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell soon—the reviews are great and love his writing style.  I am sure there will be other titles added to my reading journey—just need to figure out what I want to read about and put my Amazon Prime membership to work.

    What are your reading goals?  Who is your favorite author and why?

    “There is more treasure in books than all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island”.

    (Walt Disney)

  • Poetic Flow

    Poetry

    GLORY

    Nothing ventured

    Nothing gained

    The glory we need

    Must be maintained

    Seeking the knowledge

    Becomes a daily challenge

    To continue to learn and grow

    To make today better than yesterday

    Seeking the future glory

    The goal remains the same

    Make the world a better place

    And remember to say the names

    (George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery)

  • One year in Fort Pierce

    Fort Pierce

    “Your life is a story of transition.  You are always leaving one chapter behind while moving to the next”.

    (Anonymous)

    2020 brought us a year of uncertainty and change.  Not the most prophetic thing I have ever written for the Walk into the Future blog but felt the need to drop that nugget. 

    I celebrated the one-year mark of my move to Fort Pierce on April 13th and decided to look back.  I am sure I was not the ONLY person to move to a new city during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but have not met anyone in my current circle.  Turns out I was the last employee hired by Indian River State College before a hiring freeze was imposed due to COVID-19 uncertainty and the onset of remote work for all college employees.

    I remember when I was preparing to move from Tallahassee to Fort Pierce the thought kept coming up that maybe my opportunity to work at Indian River State College would be pulled due to the pandemic.  I called a few times to make sure I was still hired, and Human Resources kept saying yes.  Packed up the U-Haul, pointed it south and the rest is history—arrived in Fort Pierce without knowing the pandemic was about to get a whole lot worse than we expected.  It did not help the government kept telling people there was nothing to worry about—that dang U.S. government, they have never lied before, right? 😊

    I never had a remote work schedule when I arrived—being new to the area, going into the office was my only interaction with other people. The limited staff in the buildings all wore masks and practiced physical distancing but going to work was a welcomed part of my day.  I could not imagine moving to a new city and then sitting at home all day without seeing anyone. 

    True story—my entire staff was working remotely so I met my 11-person team on my laptop via a Zoom meeting.  Never thought this would be possible but 2020 made us find creative ways to get things done.  My initial staff meetings were all done via a virtual platform (Zoom, Black Board Collaborate or Microsoft Teams).  I love the functionality of Microsoft Teams and continue to conduct staff meetings with this platform. Most of the staff are fully vaccinated but we still have a few stragglers—hope to be able to get everyone together with physical distancing in the fall—fingers crossed.

    I had to find new running routes over the past year.  Discovered Fort Pierce is not as runner friendly as Tallahassee or Oviedo so finding places to run safely continues to be a challenge.  I have two good running areas but would like more routes for a change of scenery.  I love running but still get bored if I do not have variety on my routes. Will keep searching for new places to run because I need to extend my long runs with my focus on becoming a running tourist again.  I have race entries for the following:

    • 2021 Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon / September 5, 2021
    • 2021 Orlando Utility Commission (OUC) Half Marathon / December 4, 2021
    • 2022 Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon / February 6, 2022

    Would like to add more races but need to build my long runs back up to 12+ miles again. 

    My initial workouts in Fort Pierce were done strictly at home.  Most of the gyms closed due to COVID-19 protocols and I would not have ventured in even if they were open.  I stopped going to the gym before leaving Tallahassee because the gym environment is a prime place for close contact with others.  This close contact led to people spreading the virus so I invested in workout equipment so I could maintain my fitness levels from home.  Surprisingly, I stayed in great physical shape with home workouts.  I have slowly returned to the gym but only go two days a week now when I am in town.  I do body weight workouts (pushups, crunches, squats, etc.) in the mornings before I head to work.  I am happy with my results and will keep this up since it is working and a lot cheaper than having a gym membership. 😊

    The beaches on the Treasure Coast provide me with great places to sit, relax and catch up on my reading.  Funny, I live about 10 minutes from a beach but find I must schedule my beach outings.  I run close to the water and stop to enjoy the views but need to do a better job of just making beach days.  I am heading to Melbourne tomorrow for an air show and will get an early start so I can stake my claim to a prime beach location to relax and enjoy the Blue Angels as they put on their show.  I plan to get to the beach more this year and keep taking beautiful sunset shots.

    Time continues to move forward.  It feels like I just got here yesterday but it has been a year.  Most days seemed to be the same due to COVID-19 protocols but a year it has been.  Looking forward to new adventures in 2021 and you know I am going to highlight a few in the Walk into the Future blog! 😊

    Irie!

    “To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly”.

    (Henri Bergson)

  • Why I continue to blog

    Blog

    (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay) 

    “Blogging is like work, but without coworkers thwarting you at every turn”.

    (Scott Adams)

    I never imagined three years ago I would still be blogging about my life, thoughts, and adventures. 

    The need for me to document things via the Walk into the Future blog continues to grow as my views and voice get stronger daily.  COVID-19 slowed down the adventures, but I still write to share my ideas with my followers and the occasional new reader around the world.  I also write as a form of therapy for me to release energy into the world—sounds poetic, huh?

    It still amazes me when I see a reader from France, India or Spain checking out one of my articles.  Never thought my idea for this blog would travel so well but travel it does. 

    I make a point to write about things that speak directly to me and adventures I have decided to tackle.  Some of my best content comes from friends and family who send me topics they would like to read about.  This process is exciting to me because I get to conduct research to bring the topic to my followers.  It is a bit more complicated than just hearing a topic and then I sit down and write.  There are times when the words just flow for me but other times, I must come back to a potential topics multiple times just to get it production ready.  I do not think I have ever experienced writer’s block but there are days where writing just does not flow for me.  I find I just need to clear my mind and let my fingers do the walking—that is an old telephone book reference! 😊

    I have had a few articles I wrote but never published on the Walk into the Future blog.  Never thought I would have canned articles but not share them on the blog.  This does not happen too often but the articles I hold back do not fit what I want the blog to represent.  Yes, this is my blog, but it is also open access and I owe it to myself and my readers to put my best work forward daily. 

    2020 saw so much turmoil in America and the way black people are treated caused a lot of frustration for me.  My ability to channel these frustrations provided some of my best work (my opinion) but needed to ensure my words match the intended purpose.  I revisit the articles I put on ice to see if I can salvage them, but they remain on ice—I am sure I will share directly with my tree branches but some of these will never be blog worthy (Seinfeld reference).

    I find joy in putting words down to see if I can develop into something others would want to read.  The challenge to keep generating articles is with me daily.  I find inspiration to write in multiple settings but me sitting down on my laptop and just hammering out content is the norm for me now.  COVID-19 took away my coffee shop vibes, so I sit at my dining room table with my laptop, beer, and Bob Marley music as I lay down these tracks.

    Plan to keep writing as long as it is fun to me and people continue to read what I am laying down. 

    My hope is to get back to a certain level of travel again so I can write about my exploits in exotic locales.  Negril, Jamaica is my first stop once it is safe to head back down.

    So, I have listed some reasons why I continue to blog.  Why do YOU continue to read?  I welcome your thoughts! 

    Irie!

    “The currency of blogging is authenticity and trust”.

    (Jason Calacanis)

  • Walking and exploring Lake Okeechobee

    Lake O me

    “Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life was meant to be”.

    (Steve Pavlina)

    My Walk into the Future has allowed me to experience some great adventures. 

    My adventures prior to COVID-19 took me to places that required a bit of planning.  Planes, trains, and automobile (not really the train) got me from place to place so I could enjoy new places.  We are slowly getting back to being able to travel again with more and more people getting vaccinated.  I am excited about the possibilities of becoming a running tourist again.  Please note, I signed up for the early bird special to run the 2022 New Orleans Rock n Roll Running Series Half Marathon next February.  Yes, the Rock n Roll folks changed their name!

    The newest adventure for me only took me 35 miles from Fort Pierce.  I have traveled to the town of Okeechobee multiple times because we have a campus there.  I drive over and take care of my work and then drive back to the main campus in Fort Pierce.  A very routine process but realized I had never taken the time to go to Lake Okeechobee.  Imagine being about 10 miles away from the largest freshwater lake in Florida but never visiting.  Decided to fix this issue and get over to the lake for a little adventure.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee

    My day started with the prospect of severe thunderstorms approaching the area.  Luckily, I did not let this deter me from my adventure. The skies remained sunny and clear, so I took a chance (Walk into the Future) and packed a backpack and headed over to see the big lake.  The drive over was around 40 minutes, so it did not take long to begin the adventure.  There was not much traffic on the road, so the drive was easy.  It is a farming community so not many sights to see on the drive except orange groves, farms, and cows.

    I did not create a travel plan for my visit so just decided to make it up as I went.  Parked at the Welcome Center and took in Lake Okeechobee from the walking bridge.  This was my first view of the lake and it did not disappoint.  The massiveness of Lake Okeechobee is probably the most impressive part of being there.  I knew going over it was going to be a large body of water but being there and not seeing a bank on the other side was amazing.  Finally got a chance to break out my new camera with my 80x zoom lens for this trip—it was needed to zoom in on objects in the distance.

    I decided to go further down the road and see what other adventures Lake Okeechobee had for me.   Pulled over when I saw a sign for the Lake Okeechobee Historic Trail—seemed like a great place to explore a bit more.  The trail is paved so made my way east and took in the sights.  There were several people at this point fishing, and they were pulling them in.  Guess I will return to this spot IF I ever get into fishing—never been high on my list of hobbies to pick up. Got a 3 mile walk in on this portion of the trip and got more pictures of the lake and surrounding area.  A couple riding their bikes shared they saw bald eagles a little further down the trail so decided to get back in the vehicle and drive down more to where they mentioned seeing eagles.  Would love to get pictures of bald eagles in the wild!  I was also racing time because the skies were getting dark—the rain was coming!

    Drove another 5 miles or so down the road and pulled into another segment of the Lake Okeechobee Historic Trail.  There were more people fishing here so the theme of the day is Lake Okeechobee is great if you like to fish. 😊 Again, walked on the trail heading east looking for perches eagles would populate—funny to read that last sentence—how would I know where eagles hang out???

    Got a good walk in on this portion of the trail.  I saw birds but nothing as interesting as bald eagle so took more pictures of the lake.  I got lucky and spotted an alligator swimming in water close to Lake Okeechobee.  This allowed me to utilize my zoom lens to get a good shot of a 6-foot alligator—my camera on my phone would not have allowed me to get this shot so happy to have the zoom available now.  Cannot wait to take some pictures in Negril, Jamaica with a real zoom lens!

    The skies got extremely dark because of the incoming bad weather so decided to cut my losses and get back on the road to head home.  No need to get caught in a thunderstorm on Lake Okeechobee.  This was a short trip but worth the time to drive over and explore Lake Okeechobee.  May venture back over soon and experience the lake via an airboat ride.  The adventures continue! 😊

    “I thought it was an adventure but actually, it was life”.

    (www.ecogentleman.com)

     

  • Positive people make positive things happen!

    Positive

    “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results”.

    (Willie Nelson)

    Positive people make positive things happen is one of my favorite quotes to live by!  This quote has been with me for years—I do not even remember when or where I started using it but incorporate this quote in life daily.

    The quote is straight forward and simple but has the power to transform.  Think of the negative people you know and their impact within the work environment.  I mention the work environment but negative people impact us whenever they are around.  I would love to say you can avoid negative people but there are times when you will come in contact with them.  Do not let this time linger as these folks can drain you.  Nothing is ever good enough or there is always a reason why something cannot be done.

    Let’s get back to the positives in this article! 😊

    Positive anything is better than the negative counterpart.  Think of the positive people in your life and how they make YOU feel.  These folks are always seeking a way to make things around them better.  It could be how they greet you in the morning or the ever present smile on their face even when things are not going their way.  It would be easy for them to complain but they do not.  They seek the positives in the situation and how to make things better.  They strive to get things done and not worry about the circumstances.

    This ability to seek the positives directly translates to making positive things happen.  This is not a coincidence—focusing on positives allows these folks to generate positive outcomes.  They use their time and energy to find solutions to make a difference on projects they work on. 

    These are the folks I gravitate towards because they are solution focused—not looking for excuses why things cannot get done.  I pride myself as a positive person and wake up daily to make a difference in the world.  This mindset has helped guide me towards successful outcomes in whatever venture I seek to conquer. Please note, there are days when negative thoughts creep in but I quickly shake them off so I can continue to move forward.

    That negative friend, coworker or family member drains energy by identifying why something cannot be done.  These negative folks spend more time taking away from finding a solution—there are times where I see this negative mindset attract like minded folks and they feed off each other.  Do not fall into this trap—avoid these people at all costs.  Better yet, be so positive they want to avoid you or at least want to emulate the positivity you put on display daily.  I find joy frustrating negative people by not allowing their issues to come into my world. 

    My goal is for them to join in on the positive things happening. 

    What do you do to ensure a positive mindset?  How do you avoid the negative noise from others?

    As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another

    (Proverbs 27:17)