We spend so much of our time looking for things that will make us happy, make life easier, and just help us live life to the fullest. The question is can you ever really be happy? What exactly is the controversial emotion we try so hard to obtain? Is it realistic? Is it reachable? Is it even possible? In order to answer these question I think we should dive into what causes us to want these things in the first place.

We look at the world to determine what we should look like, how we should dress, how we should live, what type of car we should drive, and even what food we should eat. I am all about advertising, but we should not allow others nor the media to dictate what we do, who we are, and most importantly who we as well as who our children are to become. In life, our first responsibility is to serve God, raise our families, and assist others in doing the same; everything else is just minor details.

In life, we can all agree we may have been through some difficult situations, but we can also look back on some glorious times where we felt we were doing exactly what we were made to do. When we get to the root of it; while looking for your purpose in life no matter whether you are where you want to be or you are still trying to find your place we must master contentment. This is the best way to relax in God. When you completely submit to contentment you realize you are truly not in charge of your life; there is nothing you can do to open a door God closes nor is there any way for you to close a door that He has opened for you; God will send a brocade for you in your deepest time of trouble without you ever having to lift a finger. Believe me, I know!!! Email me so we can exchange testimonies. :)

One of my favorite sayings is: “I don’t know what tomorrow holds; but I know who holds tomorrow.” The reason I love this is because it reminds me God is always in control and any and everything we do He allows. Sometimes He will allow certain things to happen to teach us; my can the classes be long, the homework go on for weeks, and lessons last for years; but in the end the ulitmate purpose is to draw us unto Himself. So, while you are looking for life in this world, remember who created you. If you are unsure of why you were created, what you are to be doing, or exactly what your purpose is… ask God. He will show you.

Signing off,

Coach T

gocoacht@ymail.com

Wow! When I say a long time… I mean it! Where do I start? Well I guess with the fact that I have lost over 80 lbs  and counting!!! I have so much going on in my life right now, BUT my positions are the same; I still say we must make time for everything that is important in our lives. I have been doing just that. We taped the show in October. I will tell you more when I know if the pilot is approved and the air date. Not many people are even strong enough to tell their life story in church less known on national tv, but I figure if it can help someone I am all for it!

So many things have changes since the last time I wrote!!! Many have changed the way I view things, but not my beliefs. I believe that your gifts will make room for you and bring you before great men and women so in order for you to be ready you must practice them. Moses practiced his gifts when he was in the desert. Joseph practiced his gifts when he was in prison. Ruth was practicing her gifts when Boaz saw her. All throughout the bible their are mentions of people who were extra-ordinary in ordinary situations, careers, and odd places. Regardless of where you are in life you do not have to stay there. You can make a change today that will shape your tomorrow.

Change isn’t change until you make some changes! GET M.A.D. Because when you get M.A.D.; you are now ready to M.ake A. D.ecision!!!

Whew! Thanks for the Welcome Back!!!

Coach T

When I started this site almost two years ago I had no idea it would take on a life of its own. I have just been doing whatever my hands found to do as God tells us to, and look at you reading my blog right now! How did you get here? The same way I did. You saw something that peaked your interest. Thank you so much for visiting and embracing!

There are many great things here on I IISPIRE. This site is devoted to self-help because I believe we are to encourage one another to live our best lives, be all we can be, and go for our dreams.

I Inspire Specific People In Reaching Each Dream, Vision, Goal… the possibilities are Endless.

Before you can think outside the box, you must realize there is no box… the sky is not the limit… there are no limits we can do whatever we put our minds to… so why are you here? What is it God has placed on your heart to do?

Whatever IT is… I am here to help in any way I can!

I was reading my bible and came across this:

WEAKNESS = inability to produce results

So I pose the question. Are you weak? Do you have the ability to produce results or not? We SAY we are strong until the strength is needed then we cave in and want to quit. We SAY we can handle anything thrown our way until we are put in a situation beyond our control. We SAY we trust God until we really have to prove it then we question Him instead. I pose the question. Are you weak?

How do you know? What evidence do you have to support your answer. Oh I know I’m not weak… because…. yea we all have an answer until you get laid off after you spent $5,000 to move. You know you are strong until you find out your boyfriend of seven years has another woman pregnant. You know you are strong until you are diagnosed with breast cancer. Then what?

This is NOT the time to cave in and quit; this is the time to pull on all the prayers, all the strength, all the words of encouragement, this is the time to call a fast, lock in, and shut in for prayer. This is NOT the time to invite yourself and the people that love  you to your pity party they may be busy RSVPing to their own parties. No this is the time to place your roots in the ground and stand firm on what you know. TO THEM THAT KNOW THEIR GOD… do you know HIM? Then are you weak? The answer is NO! In your greatest time of weakness… in the times that you are unable to be productive, in the times where you do not know where you next meal is coming from…. this is the time to NOT be weak, but to be strong. Stronger than ever!

People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. This is the time to take all that knowledge you would give others, and apply it to your situation. What would you tell someone else to do in this situation? I think Felicia Rashad said it best in For Colored Girls, “Child, you gotta get up from here.” It is okay. No matter what you are going through it is okay!!!! You are NOT weak you are strong! You are the strongest person you know! Yes you may cry, its okay to cry it is the body’s natural way of cleansing itself. You may need to take a walk, its okay its good for you and an excellent stress reliever. You definitely need to pray, its okay we should pray without ceasing anyway… now you just have something to pray for then thank God for. Now listen, you pray for this thing ONCE then you thank God for His will being done, then you thank Him for the victory!!!

No matter what, I am positive, I am assured, I am confident… this too shall pass. You ARE Strong!!!

We sometimes allow people who do not have a right to judge us to do just that. We all make mistakes yes this is true, but the lesson is to learn what you did wrong and learn to never do it again; not allow yourself to be beat down by someone else that feels they have power over you because they know about your screw ups. Not so!!! Only God can judge you means just that. People do not have a heaven nor hell to put you in. You repent to God!!! He is the only one that can judge you… all people can do is send you on a slope down hill escorted by them!!! Don’t let them! Shake them off and move forward. No matter what you did; you repent and move on. That is all you can do.

Wow! I must be really busy if I haven’t posted in over a month.  So, how goes it? I’m doing great!!! If I were any better I’d be twins, but I don’t think the world will ever be ready for two of me though.

I am in such a good place right now. I entitled this blog I can help because I can. I never give myself credit for being as good as I am because I never look at it like that. I only focus on the areas in my life that need to be better, but celebrating myself has never been a pass time for me. I know we should not have a false estimation of ourselves; thinking we are more than what we are, but I do think it is okay to have a good self-image. I would never consider myself conceited because I am not full of pride. I know everything I am, have, as well as my accomplishments are only given to me because God has richly blessed me. To much is given much is required. I require so much of myself. I do not have many close friends because I know I am at heart a loner. I could spend every waking moment alone but never feel lonely. I would rather curl up in bed (when my husband is at work mind you…) with a book & my journal rather than going out to a loud club with people I barely know or as many call them “friends”.

Having a humble spirit has taken me so much further while allowing me to appreciate each and every opportunity God has afforded me. I can see how you can help change your life for the better without losing yourself…. By simply keeping a humble spirit, celebrating yourself, and encouraging others around you. 

It is always important that you bring people up to your level not let them bring you down to theirs. Every person in your life (or inner circle) should add to you or they should not be that close. Sometimes people that you are ministering to or people God has assigned you to begin to incorporate themselves with our personal lives. It is easy to misconstrue a relationship where you are pouring out, but you must keep each person in your life in their specific places. Husband, wife, children, church, family, friends, co-workers, and everyone else. You pick your order, but the first three should be a “given”.

Mastering this practice will help you master your life.

What is holding you down or holding you back? Why haven’t you lost the weight you want to lose? Why haven’t you turned that hobby into a business? Why haven’t you filed for divorce? Why haven’t you told them to stop treating you like that? There are many reasons to answer, but none of them will really matter at your funeral. No one will care that you were too busy to workout. No one will care that you made it to work on time everyday and never missed a day even if you were sick. No one will recall how many teams you were the team mom on or how many cupcakes you made for the PTA. No one really cares about all this crap; it is just stuff we find to do to not think about ourselves or our problems, it is just stuff to keep us busy. We need something on our plates so we don’t have to think about all the things plaguing us in our lives. We need something to fill the void our spouses do not. We need something to make us feel good about since we are so seared by life. We need these things to survive… yet we do nothing to cure the problem… we just keep treating the symptoms… all the while burying the roots.

So what is the solution? How do we break the vicious cycle? The first thing you need to do is realize why are you so miserable? How did this start? Are you unhappy in your relationship? Is your job boring you to tears? Are you overqualified and feel underutilized? Do your friends take advantage of you? Are you grieving the loss of something?  Only you can answer this question, but I tell you this… if you are reading this and the light bulb just want off… you need to do something quick, fast, and in a hurry because no one will tell you what I am about to tell you, and I am only telling you because I want you to live your best life you can… if you have weights… you need to be free!!!! I’m sure I speak for everyone around you when I say we miss the real you… I missed the real me… I had not gotten the pleasure of meeting myself for years. I completely lost contact with me. I was at church whenever the doors opened, at my office if I wasn’t at church, at the gym if I wasn’t at my office, and at home buried under the covers if I wasn’t at the gym. There was no time for anything else because I was hiding from myself. Are you?

What weights do you need to be freed from? What can you let go of to pick back up your dreams? What will it take for you to be in a good place again? Only you know the answer to this. Please find it. Your family misses the real you…

“I’m going through some changes… how do I let you know…” This is a famous song lyric playing on the radio right now by a songstress named Ledisi. I tell people this all the time. I am a walking change! Seriously. Everyday I make an effort to change something about myself, my life, or the way I do things. I constantly have to remind people of this because when you are constantly changing people may or may not realize this and will continue to engage with you as they have previously. I am never in a “happy” state. The reason being is for me, happiness is fleeting. IF you have enough… you’ll be happy. What is enough though? I mean if you think about it how do you know when you have “enough”? Can you ever have enough of anything? Then how can you ever know if you’re really happy? Exactly. I am content always, but never “happy” because happiness is not an emotion it is a state of being contingent on others things and sometimes other people. I do not allow my governing emotions to be determined by my surroundings. If I have things and if I don’t, I am still content.

Nothing in life can grow without change.

This leads me to my point of change. Nothing in life can grow without some sort of changes. If you become moved every time you have to make a change, you will be on a roller coaster ride of emotions for the rest of your life. They make pills for this… some call them uppers and downers. I choose to not be moved at this point in my life. I use to be the opposite. Every time something happened I was all over the place. My closest friends will tell you. One minute I am happy-go-lucky, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, the next minute I am under my desk balling crying calling for out for my mother. It was a crazy time for those closest to me. But GOD!!! He knew all of my faults, insecurities, and fears. Just like the awesome God He is, HE saw fit for me to be here for such a time as this, and HE picked me up, dusted me off, and set my feet on a solid ground. Now what does all that mean? I learned how to be content through all the changes in my life because I know every time I make a change I am improving my life thus making me a better person.

So, I urge you today… do not run from change… embrace it for the better… do not simply settle… get up, make a plan, research your plan, inspect what you expect, execute your plan by gathering people around you that are smarter than you, then make the changes to carry it out. If you need help, you know I am always here. Email or facebook me!!!

Make a change today that will make you better tomorrow…

Does it bother you the way I speak? Does it cause you frustration because I really could care less what you think? When was the last time you told me how you really felt? Stop whining over the cards you’ve been dealt…

Have you ever just wanted to tell someone what you really thought, but you know you couldn’t because of where you were, who you are, or fear of what “people” would think? It is time to stop caring what people think about you so much. There is a name for this, it is called people pleasing. I call it bondage. I talk to so many people everyday that really have this phobia. What do you think people can do to you? Put you in jail? Talk about you? Tell your business? Not like you? Do you see how silly this sounds? So why do we constantly allow the thought of other people to govern our lives? My answer? Approval. Everyone wants the approval of others whether we admit it or not. I want you to read this post, comment, and tell me how much sense it makes, but that may not be your opinion. You may be under the presumption that image is everything, and you care a great deal of what people think about you because you have an image to up hold. I applaud you. If the shallow lifestyle is working for you go with that, but when you are ready to understand people cannot make you or break you because they do not have a heaven or a hell to put you in, then you are ready for the truth.

The truth is, God works through people. Whether they want to bless you or not, when it is your time, it is your time. Allow me to explain. Have you ever gotten a job you know you shouldn’t have gotten? Have you ever been approved for something you felt you didn’t qualify for? Have you ever gotten money from someone you know doesn’t care for you? Case and point, even when people didn’t want to do something for you; when it was your time you still received your blessing! We do not have to bow down, lose our faith, and allow people to run over us to call ourselves “Christians”. Meekness is not weakness. Turning the other cheek doesn’t mean so you can let them slap you on the other side.

I am free to be me no matter who tells me I should stop being so forward and direct. You speak the truth in love, and kick the dust from your feet if “they” don’t like it. Oh and speaking of “they” T.he H.indering F.orces E.ach christian Y.ields to.  I serve you formal notice you are no longer requested or required to answer to other people. Please do not take my statements out of context. If you are a child, you must respect your parents. If you work for someone you are to respect your boss. I am not talking about things like that; I am speaking of the people that are more concerned with your business than their own. The people that are waiting for you to fail so they can tell you what you should have done since you didn’t do it anyway. You  know who they are. Everybody has people in their lives that thrive on hateraid like its koolaid. Not anymore sweetheart! You have a new attitude of gratitude!

Hold your head up high, realize who you are and whose you are, and stop answering to people who do not matter. I leave you with this last statement, feel free to use it if you need to….

I have mind over matter. It’s my mind, and what you think doesn’t matter! Amen!!! Build up yourself! Don’t allow people to pull you down, make you feel like you can’t when you know you can!!! You are a winner and if I’m free to be me; you are free to be you as well!!!

Coach T