Introducing my online magazine…

I’ve been busy over the past couple of weeks working to consolidate all of my business ventures. As a result of this endeavor, I am integrating my blog into my online magazine. From now on, you will be able to read my daily editorial in my new online magazine. The magazine also features other news and information as well as free entrepreneurship training.

My goal in life is to help others achieve their dreams and accomplish their goals. For these reasons, I created leadmedianetwork.com, a one stop resource site. The focus of this magazine is entrepreneurship, technology and politics. Entrepreneurs must be informed in these areas to be successful. It is my hope that you will make reading the magazine a part of your daily routine. It is also my hope that you will find the information useful and helpful.

I am not ending my blog, I am simply moving it. Visit the new site (www.leadmedianetwork.com), create your free account and you can begin to enjoy all the good things it has to offer!

Old fashion views on sex are unpopular among Christians?

When did the moral fiber of American change? When did Christians become cowards and back down from defending their beliefs? I look around and see a country that is constantly deteriorating because it has some how lost its moral character. In a country where Lucy and Ricky used to sleep in two separate beds on TV, we now have shows like Desperate House wives where cheating on spouses and multiple sexual partners is glorified. Marriage is viewed as simply another level of dating that people can exit at will if they are “unhappy.” Many people even get married now for “convenience” or to “try it out.” No wonder the divorce rate is over 50%. Other couples are living together, having children and creating lives together, while refusing to get married. If you really want to spend your life together, why not prove it by making the ultimate commitment? Some people look to marry an “experienced” sexual partner and shun the people that wait for their spouses as if they are the ones that have it wrong. Why aren’t Christians providing alternative viewpoints or at least speaking out more against the views that are contrary to Biblical teachings?

Christians used to be respected for the integrity of thier lifestyle, now they are ridiculed for the same reasons. How can you tell them from others when they are living the same way? Pre-marital sex is just as rampant in the church among Christians as it is among secular cultures. What is really going on? We live in a society where over 80% of teenagers are sexually active. Pre marital sex in the church is statistically just as high as in secualur cultures. Children and teenagers are told to wait by hypocrites that are engaging in the same activity at older ages. Our children are falling by the wayside and in the middle of all of it, TV, music and society is teaching them by example that it is OK. Few people are taking a stand against the liberal views on sex in American society. We live in a society where people are comfortable enough to have sex with someone, but afraid to ask about their sexual history because they do not want to “offend” them. We live in a society where people engage in sexual intercourse before even being in a committed relationship. Did I mention this is the age of HIV?

Sex is taken lightly like it is no big deal, and it is no longer viewed as a bond between couples in love. It has merely become a tool of lust. Christians that have traditional views on sex are often ridiculed. Why isn’t any one speaking out about it? Why are churches scared to take a more aggressive approach to encourage traditional views on sex? Why aren’t TV shows displaying the real consequences and circumstances that come along with sex? A “hook up” is not OK. A one-night stand is not OK. Sex before marriage is not OK. Living together before marriage is not OK. Lack luster views on sex are not OK, not just for moral reasons. We live in the world of HIV. Why are old fashion views on sex unpopular even among Christians…that is not OK!

Questions…

Everyone knows that a new year brings about several questions. A new years resolution is really an unanswered question. When you decide to lose weight for the year, you are really asking if you will lose weight for the year. When you set goals for the year, you are really asking if you will reach them. Resolutions are questions and the answers you can find on the inside.

Resolutions can open doors of determination and opportunity, but they have to be more than just statements. I have a lot of unanswered questions for the new year. I also realize that the answers are within me. Will your business be successful in the new year? It depends on how hard you work on it. Will you find love in the new year? It depends on if its in God’s plan for you. Will you get a new job this year? Will you buy a house this year? There are many questions we can answer through are work ethic. Will you lose weight in the new year? It depends on how serious you are to lose weight.

There are some questions that are out of our hands, and there are others we can answer. In life, we must answer the questions we can, and wait for the answers to the ones we can’t. Build on what you can, work towards what you can, and complete the things that are in your control. Be patient and wait for the answers to the questions you cannot control.

Decisions…

Often times we struggle in life with decisions. We battle with our choices, fight against change and somewhere in the middle look at people that have no investment in our future for validation and support. We are exclusively responsible for our decisions in life however, and we must decide if we are willing to stand behind them. It is also our responsibility to be comfortable enough with our tough decisions to hold our heads up high with pride. There are four questions I believe everyone should ask when dealing with tough decisions.

1. Is it in my best interest?

2. Will it alter my life in a positive or negative way?

3. What are going to be the long term effects of the decision?

4. Is it in line with my purpose in life?

For every decision we make, we must understand if it is in our best interest. Will the decision make you happy and add fulfillment to your life? Is the decision going to move your life forward in a positive direction? A lot of decisions that will seemingly make you “happy” will not necessarily progress your life in the right direction. Every decision we make also has a direct effect later in our lives. Sometimes we have to spend our lives recovering from negative decisions, or spend our lives benefiting from a good decision. Our final, most important evaluation must be based on the connection of a particular decision to our purpose in life. If these four questions can be answered and you are comfortable with the answers, you will stand behind every decision. The choice is literally yours to make and yours to stand behind. People are not in charge of our decisions, they are merely critics.

Would you marry again?

I was watching Fox News as I often do, and I was intrigued by a story they were reporting today. In America, marriage is on the decline. I reported months ago on marriage officially no longer being the majority choice for Americans. Divorce is on the rise, 53% of first marriages end in divorce and 60% of second marriages end in divorce. These numbers alone are startling, but a statistic I heard on the news is more startling to me.

Today, Fox News reported that 44% of married women said they would not remarry their husbands! What does this mean? If they had it to do all over again, they would not marry the spouse they have. In addition, the study discovered 75% of women keep secrets from their husbands and over half of them suspect their spouse is cheating. The large portion of the women in the study also admitted to repeated flirting. What is the root of this belief?

I think this type of logic steams from many things…

1. False Expectations-Realistic expectations of spouses can often reduce disappointments in a relationship. Many women and men enter into marriages thinking their spouse is “larger than life.”

2. Lack of Pre-Marital Counseling-Pre-marital counseling can help couples determine if they are marrying the right person. A good session of marriage counseling can bring everything “out in the open.”

3. Lack of commitment-Many people love the idea of marriage, but they do not want the commitment of it…this leads to divorce and a lot of broken hearts.

In a society where marriage is on the decline and divorce is on the rise, it is discouraging the women that are married do not value their spouses enough to marry them again if they could “do it all over again.” Although the men were not polled in this study, I do not think their responses would have been any better. Although a focus group of women were polled, I wonder how many women share the same beliefs that were not polled. I personally believe you should never marry a person unless you believe they are the best person for you that you would marry over and over again because you love them.

The reason I refuse to quit in 2007…

I refuse to quit in ‘07 because it makes you become everything but what you are worth,

I will not quit in ‘07, because my value is greater on the Earth,

Walking away from destiny only denies what is inside of me,

sent down from Heaven, there is strength and blessings in ‘07,

The struggle produces the tension like an orange must change its form to produce juice that can be consumed and provide better nourishment in its squeezed state,

The trial produces the triumph by way of the path that was laid before the foundations of your existence,

Where is your persistence?

To quit is to live in a life walking dead,

you could have climbed higher, achieved greater, produced more,

but you chose to quit instead…

I will not quit in ‘07 because its easier,

I am going to look forward, march like a soldier that knows the battle is won,

act like an instrument and produce the music I was designed for,

In my life I want more!

Happy New Year…

I want to wish every one a Happy New Year. I wish you the best, peace and blessings in 2007! You can take this year and use it as a stepping stone to your destiny. Here is a poem that I wrote during one of my toughest moments in 2006. I want to share it with my readers because I feel it can serve as a motivator to achieve everything that you are destined to achieve this year. No matter how hard it gets, don’t quit, no matter how far the dream seems from you, keep walking towards it, no matter what you see in the physical, work towards what you envision for your self in this new year. Anytime it seems like you are being knocked down this year, get back up and keep moving forward!

The Weeble Wobble

Can you have visions without sight?
Can you plan for your success if you don’t write
what is in your mind and find yourself left
behind and stuck in the daily grind of mediocrity?

Can you dream if you don’t believe?
–work hard when your lazy and fight hard
when others think your crazy?

Can you stand up when your knees are sore,
Get back up when life throws you on the floor.

Fight against Hell to prevail,
Run through the fire with disire,
Over the coals to reach that goal,

Will you quit when others don’t see it?
Will you run when it seems it won’t get done,
Give up just before you were about to come up,
act like a lion that thinks he’s a turkey,
And becomes his own worst enemy trying to
devour all the great things that could be…

Can you have visions without sight,
Can you fight in the dark when there seems to be no light,
Reach for the great things that you know can be…
what do you see?
Death or Opportunity?