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Do You Keep A Journal? – Day 1

Day 1 of 100 Days of 100 Ways To Rule Your World

DO YOU KEEP A JOURNAL?

If you know me, then you know that I am a History buff. Having played a role in Cold War History, I know the importance of the keeping a journal (a diary). There are numerous reasons people have for keeping a journal maybe just as many reasons that people have for reading other people’s journals/diaries. One reason, I firmly believe is to experience the past the way others lived it. Personally, I cherish the notes, letters, and writings that I created when I was living in Berlin during the mid-1980s. While the notes themselves are NOT great literary works of art they are priceless nonetheless. Priceless to me, at least.

I bet that most people that know me do not know that I have kept some form of a journal since 1985. I have never been 100% faithful to the entry part of keeping a journal but I have been faithful to having a place to write down names, events, exchanges, notes, and what not. For the most part, when I did write I wrote about what struck me as noteworthy on that day. I know some people would be surprised at the level of detail that some of those entries contain. Then again, there are some entries that are quick and to the point such as “September 18, 1986: walked to Andrews with Farrell and picked up two doner kebabs” (it was a Thursday by the way).

So why keep a journal?

There is an old quote from Spanish Philosopher, Essayist, Poet and Novelist: George Santayana in his book “Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense” answers this question: “Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Besides in a hundred days from now you can reflect on what you have learned about me or better still what you learned about yourself over the course of these 100 Days, 100 Ways series of blog posts.

Is it difficult to keep a journal?

At first, it appears to be a daunting task but once you get into it you can you can have a good time capturing moments. 2012 compared to 1985 there are more tools available to you than I had then. Now all of us have almost instant (24/7) access to blogs, video, audio recording options on our smart phones and of course, we still have pen and paper (my journal weapons of choice).

The only difficult part is getting started. Thus the challenge has been made, find your weapons of choice and get started journal-ling! Start recording your place in history. Start now!

Thank you,
David Guerra
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blog Change Entrepreneurship Followership Inspiration Leadership Mentor Motivation Walking Leader

Overcome Fear. Become Fearless. Become Limitless. by David Guerra

14141600_1115135628566862_8264494036368684327_nIf I may take a moment of your time. Today, I want to talk about FEAR.

Fear stops so many people in their tracks. Life is not about being afraid. Life is not about stopping. Life is about living, exploring and finding the next great thing that excites and inspires you. That which makes you grow! Life is about adventure. Unfortunately, there is no adventure when you live a fearful life.

How can you grow if you live in fear? How can you take chances if all you do is worry about the unknown? What can make you thrive is also the same thing that makes approach with caution but NEVER fear (survival). To survive you also have to take that step out of your cave.

The ONLY thing fear does is that it makes you less than your potential. Fear stifles your growth. Fear increases your comfort zone. Fear makes you look at others with jealousy, bitterness, and most of all it makes you look at others with contempt.

Fear lowers your standards to a level that anyone that dares to step above that level is not worth your time except for that moment when you desperately hope they come crashing down to below your level. It makes those fearful people cynical.

Cynical? You had better believe they are cynics. Some wallow in it, others feel that the only way to feel comfortable is to be cynical about those that have no fear when it comes to stepping out of their comfort zone.

If you are one of those that would rather curl up under the covers rather than step out and do something positive about your existence but are afraid. Why are you afraid?

Are you afraid that just like the cynicism you have cast on plenty of others, others will be cynical towards you? Is the fear of cynical people stopping you?

Ask yourself, what have the cynics done for you that they are not already doing to you? If they are already talking about and criticizing others in front of you then please sleep well at night knowing they are talking about, criticizing, and being cynical about you to others.

It is who they are. Maybe you like the noise they were making but once you fell into their trap you found yourself a little too deep to get yourself out.

You probably see no way out. There is a way out. You can make it out on your own.

People make ladders, to get themselves on top of or out of something. Build your own ladder and get yourself out from the pit of cynicism and fear.

If you really truly want to get out of the tiger trap known as FEAR (cynicism included) then please know there is one true secret to building a ladder and using that ladder: Take it one step at a time.

You can get yourself up and out. You can overcome your lowered standards. You can overcome cynicism, criticizing others. You can get away from others that live in creating drama by criticizing others (especially the absent) in front of you.

Overcome Fear. Become Fearless. Become Limitless.

—–
David G. Guerra is a US Army Veteran, Small Business Entrepreneur, and Author (Fiction & Non-Fiction). David served with the US Army Berlin Brigade 110 miles behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. David later spent 17 years working for the State of Texas in the Information Technology field while successfully earning his Bachelor and Master degree in Business Administration. Currently working in the private sector has given David the opportunity to write and publish his first two of three books on leadership; “The Walking Leader” and “Great To Follow” and four historical fiction books set in Occupied West Berlin (“Doughboy City”, “Air Bridge Berlin”, “Spandau Guard”, & “Parade Season”) with more of both genres to come.

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About Me Change Her & Him short story Writing

Her & Him: The Backseat – a very short story by David Guerra

I have been tinkering with the idea of writing in a different genre. While I am not abandoning Historical Fiction, I am considering something else.

Here is a little something to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.


The Backseat by David Guerra

“Where is it?” an adult woman’s voice asks.

“It’s right there,” the accompanying adult male responds.

“It’s too small,” with a little frustration in her voice she replies.

“It is not too small. It’s right there. You are not working it right,” he says with a little frustration in his voice, as well.

“I am working it right. It is just too small,” she sarcastically or matter-of-factly replies.

He can’t tell.

“Do I have to do it, again?” as the level of frustration in his voice slightly increases he asks.

“No! I can do it. If you let me do it.”

“What does that mean?” slight discomfort replaces the frustration.

“I mean, you do it all the time and I hardly do it, so I want to do it.”

“What do you mean I do it all the time?” now the discomfort comes out.

“I’ve seen you doing it,” she replies with a slight knowing smile on her face as she looks at him.

“Oh,” is his humble response.

“Oh? This is not the time to become shy. Now scoot over, let me get my fingers on it and let me try,” she says with a tone of deliberate intent.

“OK,” he says as he shifts his body over give her room to work.

Soon the SUV is rocking and swaying back and forth. Luckily, where the SUV is parked there is little to no chance of anyone walking by. If there were from the outside, passersby would not see what is happening on the other side of the vehicle’s dark tinted windows. Then again, why would anyone want to see the activity inside a parked swaying vehicle?

It’s a little bit later now. Maybe three minutes later.

After numerous near misses, a lot of shifting of bodies and fumbling fingers the female voice from inside the SUV calls out, “Yes, Yes!”

“Yes! I think you’re getting it,” he says with some excitement in his voice. His increased breathing gives his excitement away.

“Oh gawd yes, finally,” she joins in with her exhilaration knowing the end is near.

“What does that mean?” he asks as all the excitement has left his voice.

“Damn it! Don’t start, you’ll ruin it,” vainly holding on to what is left of her excite.

“Ok, Ok, come on hurry up so we can go back inside. The windows are all fogged up,” he says as he tries to regain his composure.

“I know right. We’ve been out here too long but I didn’t think it would take this long. Usually you are done in a minute or two.”

“Yeah, but I am usually alone or without an audience,” with the wind out of his sails he replies.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you were sensitive about this.”

“Hey, sometimes the male ego can only take so much of a beating,” stating his case.

“You can say that again,” she says with a slight knowing smile and a slight gleam in her eye.

“Huh? Oh never mind, look what happened,” they both look at it and he continues, “We started talking and now you don’t have it.”

“My you do distract easy,” now she is full on with a small wicked smile.

“OK, now what does that mean?” he asks.

“It means when you lose concentration, I lose concentration and now we have to start all over again,” she says as she plays all her cards.

“Me, lose concentration?” he asks, “You are the one hell bent on doing it. So let’s do it!”

“Fine. Let’s do it. Wait a second look at it,” they both look at it and she continues, “It looks smaller.”

“It’s not smaller. It the same size it has always been. You are just looking at it wrong.”

“I know,” she says with a smile and a wink, “Let’s get situated again, so we can finish.”

“Yes, let’s.”

The man and the woman adjust themselves in the backseat of the SUV. She moves just enough to get her hand back in the right position and he moves ever so slightly to not crowd her but to give her enough room to work with comfort and to get the job done.

A minute or two later and after more moving, fumbling around, near misses and some frustrating moments.

“Yes!” she calls out sensing the end is now really truly seconds away.

“Yes?” with a slight sense of doubt that it is finally happening.

“YESSSS!!!” a great sense of accomplishment overcomes her.

“I knew you could do it,” he says as he looks down to see her handy work, “See, it’s not too small you just had to get your fingers around it to work it and the rest was easy.”

“Yes but it wasn’t too easy getting to that point,” she adds, “Next time, let me do it from the start or do it by yourself.”

“Next time?”

“You know there will be a next time. There is always a next time,” she says.

“True. Come on let’s go inside. It is really humid in here. Beside we got to clean it before someone wants to use it, again,” he says as he becomes aware of his surroundings, “Look at windows they are not only fogged up but already running with condensation.”

“How long were we out here?” she asks.

“A couple of minutes at most.”

“Felt like hours to me,” she quickly adds.

“Now what is that supposed to mean?” he says as he wonders how does she do it to be so quick witted.

“Nothing, just that I was the one doing all the work.”

“You wanted to do it,” he retorts.

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” she states, “I just wanted to make the best of the time we had alone. Besides how often do you and I get to spend some alone time in the back of the SUV doing anything even this?

“Not enough,” he says as he leans over to kiss her as he opens the back passenger door.

“Next time, we do this promise me we turn the AC on.”

“It’s a deal,” he says as he help her out of the SUV.

She hugs and kisses him.

He returns the kiss as he wraps his arms around her, she lets his hands roam down and grabs two handfuls of her ample bottom.

“Settle down you. There is no time for that, I have to go clean this pacifier before you know who wakes up.”

He agrees and turns around to go back to the SUV.

“Where are you going?”

“Going back to figure out how that pacifier keeps falling in between the floor board and the side panel.”

The End…