Ranting and raving lol

I sit back annoyed at some people thinking if they will ever change their ways. Then I realize that its not their ways that have to change, it’s their mind. See people do things the way they do because that’s all they know. To learn a new way of doing things is to humble ones self and be a student once again. But how many people actually fall back to a lower position that society places us in and actually learns a more efficient way of doing things? Usually people think that other ways of doing what they are used to doing is inferior to the way they were taught. So what do we do? We take that new thing that someone tried to teach us and tweak it with our way of doing it and when it doesn’t work we revert back to the same old mess we’ve been doing. Only because we thought we can make it a better way of doing it. When proved wrong we don’t say anything because remember OUR way of doing it was way more efficient.

When people change the way they think, they change the way they live. I think very freely and open-minded. I live very freely and open-minded. I have a very positive outlook on life and I’m always a student to new things.

My point is that I see people or hear about people everyday and it’s always the same story about them. Nothing has changed from years ago or months ago and you can’t change your LIFE until you change your MIND. Your brain is a very powerful tool and weapon.

I feel bad for some people that used to be in my life that were really great friends at one point and now are just living for themselves instead of back then it was all about helping people out. I hate to see current friends experience hardships from the same friends that I used to have. That’s why they are no longer friends. It’s sad to see how people view the word SUPPORT. People think that supporting means saying good luck or “get it in” is a new phrase. But it’s NOT. IT’s being able to SHOW UP!!!!!

Support your child when they do a dance performance. Support your friend when they are going through some issues. Support your family when it’s going through a crisis. Support your crew when they have an event going on. I understand that some people can’t support all the time. BUT if you want to be supported in your project or endeavor, you have got to give it back!

Positive influence overtakes negative influence any day! Hard work pays off in both ways but at the end of the day you lose no one if they leave a class or a conversation knowing that they feel successful! Continue to push in a negative way and see how many people stick with you. Like I said, change your MIND and your LIFE changes! Stay Humble!

H.U.M.B.L.E

Helping. Uplifting. Motivating. Believing. Loving. EVERY-TIME

Are you humble?

Where did it go?

Discipline instead of cockiness!

Where did the discipline go? It’s been replaced with impatience and immaturity. I see it everywhere I go now. On TV I heard Souljah Boy is now dissing Kanye for taking “his” grammy that he should have won. Really?!?! So what did he do? He made a song titled “Grammy” about it.

I see the same immaturity on Facebook with people constantly talking negative stuff and giving up on what seems to be hard to them when in reality it’s not that it’s hard; they just lack discipline and structure to overcome the obstacle.

During my day I encounter at least one person who lacks discipline and I know this by how much they complain about life. Patience is a virtue that can also be a tool for the weak. But the reason they’re weak is because of lack of discipline.

See, todays generation is the here and now type. They want it here and NOW! They don’t want to wait. Keyword- NOW.

Why fight so hard for something that to get to it takes time when the most convenient next best thing is almost at your disposal? Why try so hard to reach that goal the long way when there is a short cut to a much more easier goal the short way? What happened to hard work? Im not talking about the hard work that one puts to better just THEMSELVES. I’m talking about the hard work that others see that makes them want to inspire to be just like that person. Lets face it, NO ONE wants to be a labeled a B**** or an a**hole! But when your discipline starts to turn into a selfish discipleship and everything starts to become about you and how people view YOU then you need help. When did it ever become just about you?

I see a lot of people talk the talk about relationships and what not but still get sucked into the same bad habits as before. Discipline yourself! Why go for convenience when you can hold out for long lasting? Why settle for mediocre when you can wait for greatness? Why bother with the here and now when you can search for the one who is worth it all? Stop wasting your time playing childish games. If you want to be with the eagles you must soar among the eagles. You keep doing as children do, you’ll never grow up! Get rid of the childlike mentality and grow up. One day it will all make sense but why do we have such a big capacity to hate and such a small part that loves?

Mentors no longer teach how to be disciplined in life but rather the importance of being disciplined. SHOW the way. Just don’t direct and tell them what to do. LEAD by EXAMPLE! Where did that teaching go? Where did the passion for the people go? Is it all about just building your name? Or is it about building up peoples character? So many cocky people in the industry no wonder it is the way it is.

All I’m saying is that, it’s not all about YOU! We all need to wake up and stop being selfish and look at the big picture. Discipline ourselves to walk the straight and narrow. Let’s not take the shortcuts to get there quicker losing sight of our goal to begin with. Pave the way for other people taking the same route that they may see how we got there and take after us and the hard work to get there. Where did the discipline go? It disappeared the same time that we decided to get cocky and forget what being a humble person stood for!

Questions!?!?!

I sit from a distance sometimes and watch people in their daily routine. Eat. Converse with one another. Shop. Work. I wonder what is going through their mind at that exact moment. When I do those things my mind is bombarded by so many thoughts past,present, and future. I look at people of wealth and wonder how hard they had to work to get there or, did they have to work at all? What kind of choices did they make to get that far ahead or, what made them choose that path? I sometimes over-analyze a situation and it causes me to think “What if?” What if life were different for me at this point? What if I lived back home in California? Would life be better or more stressful? Would I be married or even a dancer? What would my life look like if it were different?

I’ve been through so much since my move from California to Washington. I was forced to grow up way too fast. Some people think I won’t understand a lot of what they’re going through. Others think that I’m well beyond my years. See, what I don’t get is that people tend to let their arrogance take hold of their situation. Most people who let this happen don’t see it as arrogance. They blame the other party by calling them “haters.” To me, a hater in modern day is basically someone who doesn’t quite understand the opposition. Therefore resulting in being “labeled” a hater. Everyone has a little bit of arrogance in them. It’s the humbleness after the fact that proves humility wins over arrogance. Arrogant people don’t always justify themselves as right but always find fault in something else. Like the old saying, “The end doesn’t justify the means.” To gain something unfairly will diminish the end result. We want to be proud of ourselves by accomplishing and gaining things fairly; then we can ‘completely’ enjoy and embrace! But is that the case anymore? Do people nowadays think that by getting to the end result of a thing is to completely ignore every bit of good judgement and to act more on feelings of insecurity and irrational behavior? Do people even think these days? We get so bombarded with feelings that we forget that maybe, just maybe, WE’RE WRONG! Can we just accept the fact that we make mistakes? What ever happened to RESPECT? It seems as if most people don’t know the meaning of that word anymore. It’s not that they can’t respect people. It’s that they just respect the thoughts and considerations of the people who haven’t been labeled “hater” yet. Why are people so quick to judge other people these days? Usually if a thing happens more than once it’s a positive shot that it’s true. If you mess up, fix it the next time. But don’t be like a dog and go back to your own vomit. Why make the same mistake twice?

I’m no perfect person and I’ve done my share of reflection on my past. I can admit when Im wrong. Sure i sometimes have the male ego everyone talks about, you know the “macho…i know what I’m talking about” mindset. Who doesn’t? But being able to admit and commit to being wrong is where truth lies. Where did that mindset go in people these days? When will people realize that it’s not about the life we live, it’s how we live it! One day everything will be all gone….EVERYTHING! We can’t take anything when we die. The only thing we’ll be able to leave behind are memories. People come and go but the memory will last forever! I’ve had different sets of friends throughout my life. Some stick around and some move on. I’d much rather have 1 person who is dedicated to wanting to better ourselves through our friendship then 10 people who only care about bettering themselves individually.

So I pose the question, what type of life do you live?

Is what you live worth it to you? Do you feel numb because life has you stuck in the same routine? Question yourself the next time you decide to act on something that requires an attention to detail. So many things get past the naked eye that you have to dig deeper in order to understand. But like most people today, nobody likes to dig that deep, too much work! Instead we live on the surface of every facet of life because it’s easier for us to comprehend everything. Why work hard for something? We live in a world where everything is a little bit easier for us now. Why walk into fast food places when we can go through drive-thru? Why mail a letter when we can email it instead? Or how about something deeper like why fix a marriage, relationship, or friendship when we can just get a new one? Divorce can happen between anything.

To conclude, we live in an easy world. Things are just easier for us. Whatever happened to work ethic? The days that nothing was handed to us because we had to work hard to get it, what happened to those days? Or better yet, What happened to teaching people that hard work pays off, and that consistency is key in everything? Has high school predisposed kids into thinking the workforce is the same way? Are we even teaching kids about work ethic anymore? Does working to get an A matter to students or are we ok with a C because it’s still passing?

These are just some questions I think about on my daily grind. I deal with young adults and teens on a daily basis and for anyone who works a job with that age range knows that it’s the hardest job anyone can have!

Struggling with leadership....

Lately I’ve been feeling this heavy burden on me. I can’t seem to shake it. The heaviness of being this “Great Leader” is becoming a little too much to bare. I have so many amazing people in my life I look up to and people who look up to me. Growing up I looked up to a lot of people I viewed as leaders in my life. Some bad and some good. I’ve seen many leaders succeed and a lot of leaders fail! I’ve had people mentor me in my spiritual life all the way to me just as a person; shaping me to become who I am today. I’ve learned a lot from people along the way. The weight comes from trying to keep it going.

I’m in a business where people of many ages will come through my door. Dancing is what I do and teaching is what I love! Sometimes I feel the people older than me don’t take me as seriously as I would like them to. I feel because I haven’t experienced as much in the game as they have that I have no “new” advice to give them. I see a lot of the younger crowd take notes on what I say but some of the youngin’s act just like some of the older cats! Whatever ever happened to “RESPECT?” I grew up respecting everyone, no matter how old! Maybe it’s just my culture. Nowadays, I see choreographers with a lack of respect to their dancers and dancers a lack of respect to their choreographers! WTF?!? Seriously? “High-Maintenance” dancers and choreographers irritate me! What i mean is that dancers who come to class and TEXT while the instructor is teaching or don’t try hard to fully understand the choreography PISS ME OFF! Choreographers who don’t take the time to fully teach moves to have dancers better understand how they want the piece conveyed PISS ME OFF! Whatever happened to the love of dance and sharing what you love doing rather than doing it for your name to get big? Whatever happened to the passion of teaching and seeing kids grow to love what they do? What happened to those days?

I struggle with leadership because I care too much. I’ve been leading a great group of people for a couple years now. They’ve stuck with me through the bad and have been my armor when stuff gets thrown our way! I see the hard work and dedication they put in to make this family function. We struggle together and their loyalty has proved to stand firm through the storm! Every new person that comes along I take under my wing as if I’m responsible for their success. I want people to be successful and surpass me. But there are some people who come under and don’t try at all to be successful within the group. They rather use the group name to get ahead. Use it as a source of connection then split! Be part of a group they don’t contribute to! This is what I struggle with. People who want to call it their own but don’t put the time and effort into it. It’s not all about performances or shows. It’s the inner workings of how the crew stays afloat. It’s the rehearsal times, it’s the conversations, it’s the hang-outs, it’s the presence! BE INVOLVED!

To sum this all up, leadership is a struggle,especially when the leaders before you did a poor job leading you. You take some of the good and toss out the bad and learn everything else by trial and error. I’m learning. It’s a struggle. But I’m blessed with the people I have. I couldn’t ask for a better CORE group of dancers who are there when I need them. On the other side, It’s hard to lead people who think they’ve arrived and want to LEAD as well. It’s also hard to come under insecure leaders who don’t know how to lead. Leadership is so crucial nowadays because this is an untrusting world. How do we get back to that place where we all learn from each other again? When do we get off our high horse and take correction? I don’t think it will ever get to that place of honesty again but my hope is that dancers and choreographers stay hungry and humble. Leaders become more teachable and approachable. Erik Saradpon said it best, “Continue to teach HUMILITY!”

Where did the HUMILITY go?

Food for thought!