Go native...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.
-anonymous

Marc Anthony did it in Egypt. Barak Obama is doing it in Pennsylvania. Chris Rock will do it when he opens in Europe. We do it everyday.

It's called "going native." Generally the term refers to someone who adopts a culture other than their own in a way that makes them like one of the locals.

The difference between Anthony, Obama, Rock and most people is that the former go native on an huge scale. Marc Anthony took up with Cleopatra in a way that made history for the Roman Empire. Barak Obama strapped on bowling shoes to connect with Pennsylvanians. Chris Rock, famous for his inability to shake his New Yorker penchant for walking around a city despite his mega star fame, will undoubtly wander around his hotel's neighborhood when he plays his first European tour later this year.

These classic figures from past and present go native in an attempt to connect with people. They adopt a viewpoint of the local population in an effort to see the world through other people's eyes. This in turn allows them to better achieve a goal they have in mind for themselves. Anthony wanted to rule an empire. Obama wants to capture the vote. Rock wants to reach a new international audience.

Their goals are lofty. They impact millions. They dream big -- very big.

They dare. They reach. They cut a path of their own in history.

Meanwhile, most people go native just to get along in their daily lives. They adopt the culture of their work environment -- even if it is contrary to their own value system. They work to blend in with their new neighborhood. They dress for the social event and change their attitude accordingly.

Most people go native to be anonymous.

Better to remember that life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.

Go native, in a way that expands your world.

Start with something small. Experience a new culture by eating dinner at a place where you don't know the language or the menu.

Strike up a conversation with a person from a different culture. Make that person a new friend.

Then kick up going native a notch. Decide to travel someplace cool. The Na Pali Coast State Park (picture above) in Hawaii could do.

Drop anonymity. Do something different.

Start going native in a way that changes the course of history for you.

And by doing so, begin to measure life by the number of moments that take your breath away instead of by the number of breaths you take.

Make your destiny...

What it means to be a person is your creation. The meaning of human existence, our provenance and destiny, the essence and definition of us all -- these are not found or discovered; they are invented. - Peter Koestenbaum, co-author/philosopher, Freedom And Accountability at Work

Providence and destiny are not found. They are created.

What a powerful and liberating thought.

Powerful in the sense that if destiny is not something bestowed, people can take back from the fog of modern life, their ability to choose the things they will do with the rest of their life.

Liberating in the sense that free will and choice gives people the power to determine how each day, each moment will be for them no matter what the current circumstance.

Providence is our creation.

Destiny is what we make it.

What we become from this moment forward is up to each of us.

History is littered with examples from Martin Luther King to Gandhi. Even today the examples of people who fashion their lives much different from their beginnings, their middles and up to their ends surround us. They range from mega stars such as Madonna and Will Smith to titans in business such as Bill Gates to political powerhouses such as Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Providence is our creation. Destiny is what we make it.

We can probably think of examples of people in our personal lives -- mother, father, teacher, neighbor, co-worker -- who kept picking up and moving forward despite the challenges they faced.

Providence is our creation. Destiny is what we make it.

We may even remember a time when the world was new and the "reality" of life's little circumstances had not chipped away at our dreams.

Providence is our creation. Destiny is what we make it.

And even though, many feel as if the die for themselves has already been cast, they find ways to teach their children that they can be anything they want to be in life.

Providence is our creation. Destiny is what we make it.

But the die has not been cast. There is still time.

Whatever the current circumstance may be, it will not be forever. Time moves on. The only constant is change.

Providence is our creation. Destiny is what we make it.

What it means to be a person is our creation.

What will you do with the time you have left?

Build on your success.

Let go of any failure.

And blaze a new trail for yourself.

There is still time.

Shape providence and destiny to your own liking.

Walking with Barack...

That’s the power of hope – to imagine, and then work for, what had seemed impossible before.
- U.S. Senator Barak Obama campaigning in Iowa, 12/27/2007

Welcome to the dessert.

Again.

It's the place between Christmas and New Year's Day. It's the space between what has been and what will be.

Welcome to the dessert.

Does it feel familiar? It should. The place is littered with the landmarks of your life for the last 12 months.

Where did you go? What did you do? How did you live?

Welcome to the dessert.

The journey is unavoidable. The questions are everywhere as media force feed reflection of our pop culture and in doing so, ourselves as well. We read, we listen, we watch endless rehashes of the year's major happenings.

Who won? Who lost? What came into fashion? What fell out of style? We get endless lists of the best and the worst of everything that happened in 2007.

Each story, each list, each song, marks a moment in our personal lives. Where were you when blah, blah happened? What where you doing when this song came out, that commercial played and this game happened?

We hear the winds of this year past on every radio station. We watch the sights on every newscast. We relive the moments in every magazine. And we are exposed to them every, single day -- all day and night -- between Christmas and New Year's.

The stories give shape and form to what has been. We give shape and form to what will be.

Think about where you have been this year. What brought you great joy? What gave you great happiness? What brought you great love?

Hold onto those feelings. Hold onto those times. Make your own list of the best by writing them down. Use them as guides to even better times ahead.

Use them to help you decide what you really want your life to be in the coming year.

Barack Obama, the man from Chicago by way of Hawaii, sent a message from the presidential campaign trail in Iowa recently.

No matter what you are feeling, no matter what you are doing, no matter how "unrealistic" you think your dream may be, Mr. Obama encourages you to believe. Believe you can do more. Believe you can be more. Believe you can achieve more.

"That’s the power of hope – to imagine, and then work for, what had seemed impossible before," he says.

Welcome to the dessert.

Again.

Now go do the impossible.