And the Oscar goes to....huh?

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Have you ever had one of those days when you have finally begun to soar above everything, only to come falling back to Terra Firma? I, like so many others, was watching the Academy Awards last night.  For the most part it was a pretty uneventful evening, almost boring to tell you the truth.  That is, until the final award.  I'm not sure even Steve Harvey could have written a better ending.  How would you like to be the winner one minute and then have it pulled away?  On the other hand think of the absolute joy of having been passed over only to discover that you are in fact the Top Dog?  Yes, all this and more in last night's awards, but believe you me, it happens to others daily and my question to you is how do you cope with it?

No one ever said life was fair.  However, just because no one ever said it, doesn't mean it isn't.  I happen to believe that the Universe is always fair, and those things that need to transpire will happen with or without our own assistance in the matter.  Certainly having something you've always wanted ripped from your hands can be tough, but have you ever given thought to the reasons something may have been taken, or kept from you?  There are plenty of times while waiting for something to come to fruition that situations change and once it's all said and done you can see how perfectly things worked out.  Had they gone according to your own plan then the outcome could have, and probably would have been catastrophic.   Lucky for you the Universe is perfection.

Here's where the rubber hits the road, and this is the moment you are going to have to decide what side of the equation you are going to fall on.  You can go through your entire life always wondering about the supposedly "Good" and "Bad".  Why is something good and what do you have to do to get it, or why is bad so absolutely bad?  First off, bad is not always wrong, and wrong is not always going to go against your best interest.  Once again things happen for a reason and the sooner you can accept that you are a part of a much bigger picture, the sooner you are going to be a whole lot happier and stress free.  Trust me, there have been many times in my life where I have cried out that I've had enough and just want this merry-go-round to come to a complete stop so I can get off of it.  I've had to take my eyes off of certain prizes because the prize I was going after was not the thing that I needed most.  If you are ever going to move forward then you are going to have to let go of what you think, and go with what you know.  The problems arise when you realize that you don't know what you don't know.

So why am I saying all this today?  There will come a time in each of our lives when we are going to have to make a decision.  Are you going to go after what is best for you, or are you going to settle for second best, and just accept what others deem appropriate for you?  I've always been the one who tends to stir the pot.  I don't do this because I want to be a dink.  I do this because I see things differently then most.  I see a world of endless possibilities because I see myself as a creation with endless possibilities.  Certainly there have been times in my life when I have fallen prey to the conditioning of man and I have accepted certain limitations.  Sadly most limiting beliefs are taught, and there comes a time when you are going to have to re-teach yourself and only hold on to those things that are going to promote you to the place you were always intended to be.

Most people have experienced the thrill of victory, and also the agony of defeat.  How one handles each situation is a testament to who they are.  We've all been around sore winners and sore losers.  If you're like me you want to vomit when you come in contact with them, hey it's a human emotion.  What I desire for each of you is to latch on to the premise that all things are going to happen as they need to happen, and there is no amount of wishing or praying that is going to change it.  I'm quite sure that the producers of LaLa Land were disappointed in not winning Best Picture last night.  However, if you look on the bright side, this is one story that is going to be told for a long time, and in Hollywood any story is a story, and along with the press comes ticket sales, and let's face it, that's the true bottom line.

If you've been to the top only to be pushed back down, you're in good company.  Many a successful person has had to face adversity, and the ones that do, live to fight another day, and the ones that don't, well they are no longer a part of things.  One disappointment, one set-back, one defeat, does not sentence you to a life of failure.  Edison quite profoundly said once that he didn't fail when certain experiments or inventions failed, he simply was given an opportunity to try it again, and try it again he did.  There is success in failure, just as there can be failure in success, I guess it all depends on which vantage point you are willing to look at it from.

It's time for "your" close-up Mr. Demille.  If you want to walk the Red Carpet then you are going to have to stick your neck out, and if you stick your neck out, then you just might experience something you never expected.  But let me say that any experience is better then no experience, and if you can learn from every experience then you are well on your way to your own Golden Statue.

I Do Solemnly Swear....

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I remember vividly the first time I ever raised my right hand and repeated the Oath of Office. I was a young nineteen year old heading off to what what would be a fantastic career in the United States Air Force.  There's something almost magical as you stand there and repeat this simple oath.  Even today I still get goose bumps when I hear it, or witness someone else taking the Oath of Office.

Whether one has served in the Military, or any other occupation that requires an oath, there will come a time in each life when you will have to make a solemn pledge.  This pledge, this commitment to something, is what should drive you, encourage you, and quite frankly should be the one thing that pushes your butt out of bed each morning.

I was having a conversation with two remarkable ladies from California the other day.  They were traveling with one of the ladies daughters who was here in Maine looking at colleges.  As is pretty normal when I get into any discussion I was talking about destiny and making a decision to commit to your destiny.  The one question that almost always comes up is how do I know if I have discovered my destiny?  My answer is always the same:  it's your passion.  It's that one thing that is a burning ember inside of you and no matter what life has thrown at you, that ember will never fade.  Your destiny is why you are here, and your destiny is the one thing, the only thing really, that will bring you fulfillment.

So let me ask you, have you made a solemn pledge to go after that one thing that simply won't go away?  Have you decided that come hell or high water you are going to go after those things that bring you joy, bring you peace, and that brings you unlimited happiness?  I've spent so many years going after things that were simply fillers.  If I could accomplish something great, then I would have all that I wanted.  Well let me tell you that accomplishing something great simply to ease the emptiness that is inside is not discovering and walking in your destiny.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with doing something great.  But doing something great, and knowing you are doing what you were born to do, is something completely different most of the time.  If you had told me back in 1978 that I was going to be a published author and public speaker I would have thought you mad.  And yet him I am today doing the one thing that brings me absolute joy.  Everyone on this planet should experience the same thing.  Sadly not everyone will get to this point, and to me that is a the travesty.

I Scott Edward Kauffman do solemnly swear that I will pursue my destiny with everything inside of me.  I Scott Edward Kauffman do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend everyone's right to choose to walk in their destiny.  If you haven't swore this oath, or something similar, then you will ultimately fall short of those things you truly desire to do.  As I stated earlier there is nothing wrong with wanting to do something great.  What is wrong is when what you are doing is something that doesn't represent what you were placed here to do.  There comes a time in each life when you are going to come face to face with your own decision of destiny.  You can either hide from it, in which case you will simply be delaying the inevitable, or you can tackle it head on, in which case you will be putting your feet on a path that will lead you to the promised land.

In making any decision one often has two options:  the first is doing what is comfortable, the second is doing what is right.  Doing what is right may not always be the easiest way, but I will tell you from experience it is the better way.  Making a decision to follow your dreams is not always going to fall in line with what others feel is best for you.  Making a decision to accept your destiny is not something that everyone is going to see as sane or even rational.  That being said, following your dreams and destiny is the only thing that is going to bring peace, joy, and happiness to you.

I am getting ready to embark on a different phase of my destiny and this phase is going to require me relocating.  As much as I love change, I would be a liar if I said there was not a bit of trepidation or even fear.  However, with what I want to accomplish I don't have a choice in the matter, I must move forward, and I must be open to what is about to be presented to me.  I get how fear can grip some people, but it's time to put fear away in a lock box, throw away the key to said lock box, and move forward in those things that you know you need to be doing.  I have made a commitment to walking in my destiny, and the oath that I have taken will not allow me to do anything that does not compliment my calling.

It's time that you say to yourself, I do solemnly swear.  I will tell you that the moment you take this oath things will change.   Doors will be open, ideas that you once thought dead and gone will be revived, and all those things that you have dreamt about will all of a sudden be popping up all around you.  There is something divine when you take any oath of office.  You have the opportunity to turn things around for you if you will stand tall, raise you hand, and swear to preserve, protect, and defend your own destiny.  I encourage you to take this oath freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.  If you will do this, then and only then will you see things as they were intended to be.  It is time to raise you hand and step into the office that was always yours to occupy.

Never give up, not even when it looks impossible.

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How many of you have unfulfilled dreams?  Of those who have unfulfilled dreams, do you still think about them?  Of those who still think about unfulfilled dreams, do they still move you when you think about them?  To those who still filled moved by your dreams, guess what, it's time to bring life back to them and not give up.

We each have dreams because we are supposed to do something with those dreams.  Our dreams stick around simply because our destiny sticks around, and no matter what you do, your destiny is never going to leave you, nor will you ever be able to shake it simply because you may have failed a time or two in the past.

I was watching the Super Bowl last night, and  boy was it a wake up call to me in so many ways.  I have a routine on game day where I put on my jersey, my game hat (which is always turned around), and I never shave on game day.  Yes I know some will think it superstitious, but it works so I'm sticking to it.  If my team is loosing at halftime then I always take the jersey and hat off to change the "Mojo".  At one point last night I had to turn the TV to a different station if only to save my TV from a remote being thrown into it.  Not proud that I act this way, but when you love a team you seem to live and die by that team.  I was in the kitchen and I was reminded that the Pats won the game on the last play of the Seahawks/Patriot Super Bowl.  With that I went back and put the game back on and proceeded to see what some have classified as the greatest comeback of all time.  I say all that to say this:  never give up, not even when it looks impossible.

Most everyone I know has been challenged in the past.  Most people have suffered loss, or at least suffered defeat in some shape, fashion, or form.  The key to any set-back, loss, or defeat, is your ability to work through it, pick yourself up off the ground, and move forward.  The key to any success is based solely on how much do you really believe in what you are doing.  Don't misunderstand, there are things that will get in your way and there will be times when things simply don't go your way.  That being said, if the dream is still alive in you, then there will come a time when you will have to tackle it again.  Now if you really don't believe in your dreams, then it's pretty much a mute point and there really isn't any reason to be crying over a loss.  On the other hand if that dream is still burning inside of you, then no loss is ever going to stop you from taking another swing at it.

I've been guilty of tossing off a dream or two in the past after failing or experiencing a set-back.  I would justify the loss by saying something like it wasn't really what I wanted so no big loss.  Granted there have been a few things that really weren't what I wanted so tossing them off was easy.  There have been however some things that were not so easy to toss on the garbage pile, and I had to really dig deep to try again.  It's nearly impossible to walk away from a dream, especially when that dream is what is ultimately going to lead you to your destiny.  You can try to let go, you can change things up, you can even justify inaction by claiming its for the greater good, but it's never going to change the fact that you will still be drawn to your dreams until the day you die.

Is there a difference between a winner and a loser?  Some say yes, some say no, and some have never really given it much thought.  I would think that no matter what side of the win or loss you may fall on, you still had a dream, and you still wanted to achieve that dream.  The winner will find a way to tackle it again, the loser will simply pack up, go home, and will try to design an excuse as to why they really didn't want, what they really wanted.

It's easy to give up or give in, especially when things aren't going your way.  It's easy to play the "what if" game after things have settled down.  The things that aren't so easy are the things that often require the most attention, and the things that we may not want to revisit. It all comes down to how bad do you want something, and do you truly believe that these things are what you want.  Are they?  Do you really want those things you dream about?  Let's be real, we tell people we want things, we talk to others about our dreams, but do you really want them?  If you really do desire to have the things in your heart, then giving up is never going to be an option you settle for.

I've won, I've lost, and even though winning is much more fun, loosing can sometimes be a blessing in disguise.  Granted loosing is hardly ever fun, but loosing can be the launching pad for something very, very good in your life.  Never give up, never give in, and never ever doubt that dreams are stepping stones to your destiny.  Had I not turned the TV back to the game I would have never witnessed the come back, and that would have been two games in a row that I missed out.  Don't miss out simply because you gave up, even when things looked impossible.