The Maximizing Blog
The maximizing blog to support you with motivating words that encourage you to be the best that you can be!
Loving in America
We must love one another! We cannot incite the great divide across color lines. The incidents I reference in this blog deal with murder across all ethnic spectrums. However, I fear the violence is meant to terrorize all who may have more melanin in their DNA to feel as if this is not our home or land. This land is my home! I am an American!
Love Never Fails
Greetings to my followers. I am back on target with my blogs. I am thrilled to get settled into my new role as Senior Pastor of Highland Christian Center in Portland, Oregon. You can stream the services weekly at 11:00 PST, at www.hcclive.com. The church life is...
Stand Up America–Keep the Faith
I apologize to my readers for the delay in publishing the monthly blog. I have been quite busy as I am transitioning out of the Air Force after 35 years of service. I am very excited about the next chapter in our lives. I am writing this month’s blog...
Do Something Amazing
Dr. Shon Neyland “Darkness cannot Drive out Darkness, only Light can do that. Hate cannot Drive out Hate, only Love can do that!” --Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we celebrate another Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday I remind us...
Reach Out and Touch a Veteran
I extend a Happy Veterans Day to all of those who have served our nation in the Armed Forces. Thank you for your sacrifices in defense of freedom for our great nation. Freedom is not free! According to the latest statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs,...
Stand Up: End the Hatred in America
Here I am again writing another blog dealing with the tragedies that have struck our nation over the last week and a half. I will not be silent! I begin with a confession. Try as I may, I have failed to get my latest book, “The Courage to Stand: A New America,” off...
Extend the Playing Field of Life
There will be trouble and tough times in our lives! No matter who we are, we all will face difficulties in the journey of life. No one is immune from calamity. The key is learning how to deal with the challenges we face. As I speak to audiences around the globe, I...
Unleashing Unconditional Love in America
Where do I begin? First let me apologize to my readers for my slothfulness in writing the monthly blog—I have been a bit overwhelmed with a new job, traveling, and settling down in Hawaii. Yet with all that is going one, I am saddened by what I have seen of late across our great nation. I am a bit dismayed, knocked down, but not knocked out! Our nation has been ravaged by violence and a lack of love for one another in the last 4 weeks with murders, shooting of innocent children on the highways and in homes, serial murderers, kidnappings, child abuse, hostage situations, human trafficking, mass shootings/murders, and racial skirmishes to name a few. We have a problem when the news reports calls it “good news” because the shootings in Chicago were down 50% one weekend to less than 35! Come on we are better than this!
America: Land of the Free
A celebration of freedom on the Fourth of July in America means we are standing on the “shoulders of giants” who have paved the way for us. We cannot forget why we celebrate. America is the land of opportunity, where patriotism, justice, dignity, and honor rise to the forefront. It is indeed the “land of the free and home of the brave” where those who have gone before us fought for freedom and gave their lives to defend this great nation. President John F. Kennedy said it best, “We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.”
The Drive to Success
I believe those four elements are what drove me to have a vision and goals in life. I did not know what I would become, but I knew I was destined to find my passion in life. What about you? Are you ready to succeed and reach the highest heights in your life? No matter where you are now, make up your mind that you will drive to success and begin fresh and anew. Get a vision, set goals, chart a roadmap to where you want to be. Find your passion and go for it!
It is Time to Unite as Americans
I love America and I know we can continue to expand to be a greater and stronger nation through diversity and love. What caught my attention these last few weeks? I saw the headlines read this morning across the news ticker: “White student calls police on Black student for sleeping in Common Area at Yale University.” Additionally, we all could not ignore the fact that two men of African descent were arrested for hanging out at a Starbucks location in Philadelphia when an employee of European descent called the police because they looked out of place.
Building a United America: Eliminate Black and White Terminology
A quick review of world history reveals that that the terms black and white were devised in history, essentially in the mid to late 1600s, to cause the divide we still experience today. In truth, all humans have the same skin colors in their genes, from dark to light. The genetic material is called melanin, and it is why we have brown colored skin and hair, but in varying degrees.
A Divided Nation Cannot Stand
A divided nation cannot stand, and one individual or group of people is not enough to repair its cracks. It will take a nation coming together to stand. We must put party lines behind us and do what it is right for the nation. As a military veteran of more than thirty-three years, I understand what it means to sacrifice in service to others. I know about giving oneself to great causes, such as participating in the defense of our nation, serving in wars away from family, and putting the needs of the nation before personal gain.
Undaunted
We must never doubt what we bring to the fight every day as we move into the future in uncharted territory. Don’t limit yourself or God. Go back to school, change your profession, rebuild the relationships that are broken, pursue your passion, write that book, start that business, run for office, take the exam again, renew that relationship, pursue God, and in the end, dream again and go for it. We cannot accept the impossible, but find a way to reach our destiny. Look to the Lord and ask for strength, wisdom, and guidance. With God, nothing is impossible to those who believe. I have made up my mind that I am going forward in 2018, undaunted by the obstacles that lie ahead because I am ready to see where the Lord will lead and ultimately discover my destiny.
Stop using the N- Word and other Slangs; they hurt America!
How did these slurs come about? I believe they came about through a misunderstanding of who we are as humans. In other words, if I see people of different complexions or physiological features as inferior, then I am more apt to deem that person who is different on the outside as different on the inside.
Respect and Love for Americans
In my new book, I lay out a strategic road-map to ending the ethnic divide, fighting poverty, improving education, correcting the criminal justice system, and for raising love and respect in America. I know some will say that nothing can be done and we can never change, “just accept it.” We know history has proven that America can change for the better. I say we will not accept that this is “just the way it is!” If we as Americans decide to come together it can and will happen. We have a moral calling to stand up and say no more. We cannot justify the past indiscretions, nor can we live in the past, but we must move on as a people, as Americans with love and respect. Let’s go America. The Courage to Stand! Do you believe?
Respect America, the Flag, and the National Anthem
I am going to admit something to you! Every time the National Anthem plays and I see the flag flying, I get emotional! I get emotional because I have been to two wars and understand what freedom means. I have seen more flag-draped coffins then one would want to experience in a lifetime, but I knew the honor and respect we gave to the fallen as saluted the flags and those coffins means the world to me. I shall never disrespect the National Anthem or the American Flag for I know what they truly represent.
A New America
Today’s events are absurd and disappointing. To see Americans fighting Americans because of the views that one group is superior over the other is ridiculous—it reminds of the egregious hatred that dominated America for 200 years between different ethnic groups. In Charlottesville, VA, White Supremacist Nationalists collided with anti-White Supremacist groups this weekend over the planned/approved removal of a statue of the Confederate leader of the Southern Army, General Robert E. Lee from Lee Park. Violence and hatred broke out with hundreds fighting each other, leaving at least 1 person dead and up to 34 injured.
My Way or No Way
Building healthy relationships requires compromise and collaboration. Pride will stagnate any relationship. The relationship cannot be one-sided or it will eventually fail. Couples must learn to work together to build happy and long lasting relationships.
Choose Love on this Independence Day
It is time for America to go even further in reaching her potential. No we not perfect, nor is our past perfect, but America remains a great nation. We need to stop hating one another and start loving one another. This Independence Day make a commitment to love one another and make America even greater. As Americans we must UNITE in LOVE.
Don’t Be Vain
When we are vain, we are too focused on ourselves rather than the one we love. Unconditional love calls for us to push our spouses to success and celebrate when they reach their goals. Don’t envy your spouse, but encourage them to be the best they can be.
Never Forget
This Memorial Day, Never Forget the sacrifices of the men and women who gave their lives that we might life.
Divorce is Looming!
It is very easy to quit on the marriage and mention the “D” word when trouble looms. But resilience in marriage is learning to fight through the tough times and not quitting in the face of the most difficult moments. Unconditional love is the key to a successful relationship.
The Struggle!
The struggle to forgive and unconditionally love has impacted us all. Because this is a reality for each of us in our marriages or relationships, then I submit that it is unconditional love that will give us the strength and ability to have strong marriages. When we...
Why are We Divided as Americans? (Excerpts from “The Courage to Stand, A New America”)
As Americans, we need to close the divide that is swelling. We cannot deny it. Is it possible to reach a higher ground where all people are accepted for who they are? We are Americans and each of us has the right to pursue happiness, peace, and the American way. Yet...
Ring the Bell Aloud in America (Excerpts from “The Courage to Stand, A New America”)
The inscription on the Liberty Bell housed in Philadelphia reads as follows: "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof." The famed Liberty Bell was commissioned out of Whitechapel Foundry in London, and it is believed to have cracked...