What is a GRUB?

Ever been called a "grub" before, and not known how to react? Well, hopefully not. But if so, it is a word that is definitely not a compliment. Made famous by the legendary Geoffrey Leonard in his Australia TV YouTube interview, many Americans were left scratching their heads as to what it actually meant.

After doing research through numerous dictionaries, my favorite definitions for grub were:

1) A thick bodied, sluggish larvae of several insect
2) A dull, unkempt plodding person; drudge
3) A person that tries to get things by freeloading

Though none of these describe Geoffrey Leonard very well, (what ONE word can??) definition number two is the one that is most commonly used in Europe, and is the one I have recently been using to describe a surprisingly high number of people.

There are many GRUBS out there, so be on the look out! And feel free to post a picture of your favorite grub in the comment section!

Lastly, NEVER find yourself being a GRUB!

Playing Your Part (Role) In Life

After deep thought and careful consideration, I have realized that there are roles for everyone in the game that we call "Life." The truth is, it all boils down to ROLES or PARTS of the whole (Act, or Play). I realized this when I decided I would get my brother, who is an accomplished actor, to act differently in the mall. I encouraged him to speak with a foreign accent.

It was interesting in that he was able to free himself from his normal role, and act totally different. I have found that this is especially great when you are caught in a pattern of behavior that is not serving you and you want to change. When you play a character who you do not associate with yourself, you in essence give yourself permission to do what you want to do freely.

Now, in playing your part or role in life, you must decide who you want to be. The more specific you are about props, mannerisms, and surroundings the better. You must take these all in consideration as you are the director & actor, and must set the scene for your play. Once you have decided these, you must then write down specific statements that remind you of the specific details about your character and surroundings, as well as interactions with other characters, etc. Once you have done this, you must visualize how the play will look when you are performing it flawlessly. You must continue to do this until your visualization becomes reality.

Play your part in life. Simple as that.

Escaping Scarcity Mentality

I have noticed in my college years especially, and somewhat after wards, that at times it is easy to slip into a scarcity mentality. A scarcity mentality is basically a mentality in which you believe there is not enough, and you cannot have whatever it is that you want because of this. It also, as a negative side effect, causes you to become a selfish person and hold on to everything you have. The reason behind this is that you believe there is not enough for everyone, so you must keep yours, and as an effect not help anyone else.

For a large part of my life, I held a scarcity mentality in my beliefs for many aspects and areas in my life. It was only in watching the movie, "The Secret", that I realized how ignorant and non-serving this belief was to me.

Since then, I have compared scarcity and abundance to the RAIN. When it rains, it rains on everyone (in a specific geographical area, of course). However, though it rains more in some climates than others, it always takes care of EVERYONE. There is always enough rain to keep everyone and everything healthy in most climates. If you were really thirsty, and the rain was pure enough to drink, you could leave your empty cup out, wait till it was filled up, then drink it when it is hot and sunny, and then pray for more rain. This helped me understand that the talk of the doomed economy and the lack of money out there were ridiculous.

So the question is: How can you put yourself in a climate to get rained on, to fill your cup? The best way is to bless the lives of others by pouring out of yourself your abilities and talents. This is the fastest and most effective way. What are you good at? What is it that you enjoy doing, that you would do for FREE anyway? These are the things you should focus on.

This will help you escape from the desert of scarcity mentality, and into the rainforest jungle of Wealth Attraction.

Is the United States headed from Capitalistic to Socialism?

I have been keeping up with the news lately regarding United States health care reform, that, in my opinion, must happen in some way.

However, the way that Barack Obama is looking to reform it, is not the correct way. From my understanding, he is lobbying to pass the bill that will allow many people that cannot afford health insurance and health care assistance from the government. He is also lobbying to not allow insurance companies to deny anyone insurance that applies.

Both of these ideas are ridiculous. From my viewpoint, and it has been this way before Obama was even elected, I believe he is looking to turn the United States of America from a Capitalistic society to a Socialist society and government. This is a HUGE mistake that will, if successful, mark the end of the United States as the world's leading power.

Why? Because, the fact is, this country was started by strong willed men that came from Europe to start their own society that was more free, and that would offer the opportunity to anyone that wanted to be anything. This is commonly labeled "The American Dream." This idea and the constitution and government worked for several years, because everyone DID THEIR PART! Simple enough, right?

Fast forward to today, and you see that virtually all of the problems facing our once great nation are caused by the WEAK, HANGERS-ON of society that don't do their part. That means all of the able bodied men and women out there that do not work by choice and collect welfare and unemployment checks. Also, all of the people out there that irresponsibly have a bunch of kids that they can't take care of, and require government assistance to do so. Also, giving unfair racial treatment by means of Affirmative Action in a so-called "Post-Racial Society."

All of these problems began before Obama was elected, granted. But when he spoke of CHANGE, I'm not sure that Americans knew what he was speaking of. Surely the heralded, well-spoken Illinois senator was speaking of ELIMINATING these types of problems, not coming in and passing the Health Care Reform to further perpetuate them!

The idea of taking from the rich and giving to the poor sounds great in "Robin Hood," where the nobility of England is thriving, while the average peasant and citizen are barely surviving. However, this is a fictional FAIRYTALE, and it is not based in reality, especially when relating to a Capitalistic Government and Society like the United States, where many of the millionaires and billionaires of our society were not born into wealth. Rather, they were SELF-MADE! By taking more from these people to give to people that are not contributing in some way to society is totally backward. These are the people that are making the United States the great nation that it is in the first place! Socialism is the biggest mistake we could ever make, in that we are now punishing success and achievement, versus rewarding those that contribute in a large way to society with "The American Dream."

If our nation continues on this path much longer, I will began looking to other nations to apply for citizenship. Any other smart and hard working individual out there should take this to heart.

Is It Possible For A True Post-Racial Society To Exist?

I was reading an article in the New York Times earlier today regarding Meb Keflezighi's New York City Marathon win Sunday. Here is a link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33603511/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/

Meb is the first American to win the race since 1982. His win has sparked some controversy in that he is a naturalized American citizen, and was actually born in Eritrea, where he lived until he was 12 years old. Many Americans do not consider Meb a "real" American because of this fact, as well as his name (in my opinion).

The article mentions that many people believe we now live in a Post-Racial society now that we have an African-American president in Barack Obama. This statement piqued my interest. My question is: Is it even POSSIBLE for a true post-racial society to even exist?

In my opinion, with the current evolution of human beings' minds, this is not possible. The reason being, people are always judged by appearance. Although the popular saying "Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover" has been embraced by religious groups, the truth is, this is literally impossible, unless you are BLIND.

You can't help but to see the color of someone's skin when you meet them. You can't help but tell things about them like how they dress, how they speak, their body language, etc. It is an evolved trait human beings have learned in order to quickly read other people and assess any and every situation accordingly. Now what you do with this information that you pick up is up to you. But most use it in a judgmental way about the other person, and respond accordingly, even if it is completely inaccurate.

For instance, you could do a social experiment of the same person dressing two different ways, and judging how they are treated. A person that is dressed high class, generally is treated high class, and a person that is dressed low class, is generally treated this way. Unfortunately, stereotypes about races go along these lines as well.

Another reason I believe a post-racial society is not possible at our mind's current evolution is that people generally hire and are friends with people that are like them, and share multiple commonalities with. People also trust people that share commonalities with them as well. The point of this reasoning for people is that they are able to relax and be in their comfort zones more when they have this level of trust based on commonalities and similarities with other people.

In closing, it is my opinion that as long as separate "races" of people exist, as we know them now, it is IMPOSSIBLE for us to live in a post-racial society because each race is thinking in its own self-interest. The first step in changing this thinking is to take away all of the rules that exist that give certain races preferential treatment, such as affirmative action, and put everyone on a equal playing ground.. More on this issue to come.

Why You Should Dress Like It's Halloween All The Time

So today is one of my absolute FAVORITE days of the entire year.. Halloween! With Halloween comes some exciting things, parades, people dressed up in all kinds of weird costumes, cool pumpkins carving, trick or treating, and my own personal favorite, girls dressed in skimpy outfits!

I recently had the realization, after cutting my hair into a mullet last week, that you can dress and do damn near ANYTHING in our society today and it is really NO BIG DEAL to other people.

I figured, with my outrageous hairstyle (in my opinion), that I would have had some type of reactions from people. Not that I did it for attention, but for my own personal amusement. I just figured it was inevitable. Well, the fact is, I have gotten a couple of looks from strangers, but beyond that, the people I already knew and interact with on a daily basis acted like they didn't even notice!

Which brings me to the point: You should dress outrageous yet interesting (in your own way and personal style) all the time! Why? The biggest reason is it will help you stand out from the crowd. Who wants to look like everybody else?? The second reason is, by standing out more and being CONFIDENT and COOL about it, people put you on a pedestal as having high value to be able to do this. Now mind you, this isn't about being over the top and wearing a Superman costume all the time (but that would be kinda cool), it is more wearing interesting, yet unusual things all the time.

Can't think of any good ideas? Look no further than your modern day Rapper. These guys are most of the time poor guys coming from nothing to something that want EVERYBODY to know how rich they are. They drive cool cars with GIGANTIC rims, have enormous chains and bling, even grills! It seems like the more outrageous they are, the better they are at rapping and getting attention.

Now I am not saying you should try to become a rapper, but one thing you could do, that I successfully did myself, is wear interesting yet somewhat unusual pieces of jewelry. It is an easy conversation starter for other people to talk to you. An example of what I did was get a necklace of my favorite animal, the Tiger. On any day, I will usually have about 3-5 people, mostly women, approach me about this! Another thing I would suggest is a large, interesting ring. I have my track and field conference championship ring from college that looks like a superbowl ring. I have had several people ask me about it, especially after I shake hands with them.

The last suggestion here to to add interesting pieces to your wardrobe, especially for your work. Most people will have something cool to wear for a night out on the town, but for work dress generic like everyone else. You can't get promoted and be the boss if you are like everyone else! Wear clothes that help you stand out, but still are professional. Interesting colors or threads are a start.

Have a fun Halloween! And never stop giving yourself permission to dress for success EVERYDAY.

How To Build A Strong "Party"

Do you ever find yourself wondering how you ending up with friends like the ones you have, or girlfriend or wife? Relationships are hard to understand for most people at times.

This morning, as I was doing my usual morning walk at 6 AM, I begin thinking about my current relationships and came to the realization that your relationships are a reflection of your inner qualities that you admire, or those that you want to have and admire. To help this sink in, let's view an example. Say you are a funny guy most of the time that also has a serious side. Chances are, you have a friend that is funnier or equally as funny as you (your personal opinion, of course), and a friend that is more serious than you are. These people in your life reinforce those traits to make your personality stronger. Whenever you need to get in touch with one side of your personality more, you pay more attention to the friend that provides that.

About the traits that you want to have that you admire, say you want to become really muscular. So you go to the gym and meet the most muscular guy in the gym and also hang out with him in order to get in touch with that. You will probably not be as good of a friend with this guy, simply because what he provides to you is not that large or valuable, unless you are wanting to be a pro bodybuilder.

As far as relationships with the opposite sex, there are usually two circumstances. Either A) a person mates with a person that looks like them, and is very similar to them in most ways, and maybe at best has a few qualities they admire and want. This, in my opinion, is the weakest form of a relationship, because the charges between the two are too similar. B) The two are complete opposites in most ways, but they complete each other. Many people seem to think that means that one person is a positive person and the other a negative. That is not at all what this means. A good example would be a person that is a really hard worker, and is serious all the time. This is a positive trait. A good mate for them would be someone that is more laid back, but is able to have a fun, great time at will. These two would be so-called opposite charges, but would make sense because they would enter each other's sphere of influence, and would therefore bring them both more towards the center of polarity. The hard worker would still work hard, but would be able to now have a good time, and therefore get more done when they work. The laid back person would still be able to have a good time, but would now also work harder and be more goal oriented. This is a great balance of energy, magnetism, and polarity.

So in short, it is best to make friends, or a "party" so to speak, of friends, that you can help become the best they can be, and they can return the favor. A video game example would be getting a party on Final Fantasy of Warriors, and Black and White Wizards/Mages. Although all of these guys are very different from one another, together they complete each other and are able to accomplish missions and their ultimate quest.