Are You a Game-maker?

There are those who are in the game, those who just watch the game, and those that don’t even know that the game is being played. And then, there are those who wish that they could get in the game but need some help. It is up to those who are already “making it”, to turn around and help make something happen for someone else. Then you will become known as the game-maker! -ELS  2017

Leave the Box and Go For It!

For many years leaders have been recognized as thinking outside the box but this is your year to soar, to Leave the Box and Go for It! It is time to stop talking about going to the next level and a…

Source: Leave the Box and Go For It!

Who told you Preparation for Transition would be easy?

We are faced with transitions all the time in our lives. Some transitions are voluntary while others catch us completely off guard and it almost takes the wind out of our sails. When this occurs it is difficult to think that there are people who care about what you are facing. Some transitions can make you feel like you are on cloud nine because you are anxiously anticipating what is coming next in your life, while there are other transitions that can leave you breathless, powerless and hopeless. So what do you do when faced with transitions? What do you do when you thought you would be on the job for years and they come in and tell you that your services are no longer needed? What do you do when he comes home from work and tells you that he is going out and never coming back? What do you do when you spent all of your hard-earned money paying for a home for five years only to see them come and take it over the course of five days? What ever you do, don’t let your next decision be to stay where you are or go back!

Most people don’t prepare for transitions but preparation is never wasted time.  Besides, who told you that it would be easy to transition from what was to what shall be? People are experiencing some of the most intense times of transitions in their lives; where to move, which job to take, who to marry, what to do after the divorce, they said I’m sick now what, do I open my own  business or do I finish the degree . With so many decisions to make and with so many thoughts weighing on our minds, times of transitions can be seen as the best of times and the worst of times. Transitions are seldom instantaneous in nature. They usually occur over a period of time and it is the in-between times that can be the mean times. Not knowing what to do or which way to turn or even who to trust. Some transitions that you go through can be easier than others. Some transitions you can easily recover from while others will take some time to navigate through. But no matter the length of time of the transition, or no matter the magnitude of the decision that you have to make, there are several things that you can keep in mind as you prepare you for times of transition:

Preparation can be a two-way street: When you are about to transition into the next phase of your life remember that not only do you need preparation for where you are going but also the place you are going to needs to prepare to receive you. You are going to make a difference on those you come in contact with and they are going to make a big impact on you as well. If you want to be effective where you are going, you cannot go forward always looking backwards. The baggage, hurts and pains from yesterday are going to act as anchors in your life if you don’t learn to let them go. You have to purpose in your life that whatever happened to you in the past will be the catalyst that propels you into your destiny. It may not have been good to you  but purpose that it was good for you.  Yes it hurt but the glory that is set before you will be the reward for enduring what you came through. Let the set back be the set up for your come back!

Preparation allows you to explore new opportunities, re-position your priorities and pursue your real greatness: Transitions are not always easy but it can give you a fresh start if you approach it correctly. Whether it is recovering from a life-wrenching event or opening up your own business after a long period of unemployment, approach your transition in the light of a diamond, which has gone through an agonizing time of pressure only to emerge stronger, brighter and more valuable. The preparation was not an easy process but the results are amazing. Whatever you have faced in your life, look forward and  look up because your best days and your blessed days are ahead of you. The light afflictions that may have driven you to this time of transition have worked in your favor to prepare you for what lies ahead. Go out and create your greatness and let others see you shine as you transition from what was into what is!

Create Your Passion and Live Your Dream Today

There are 169 days or 24 weeks and 1 day left in this year. So what are you waiting for? Go get started making your passion your new reality, get to making your dreams come to pass now! Whoever you are waiting for ain’t coming so go get your dream back. Whatever you are waiting for isn’t manifesting so go out there and make something happen. Whenever is Now so don’t you dare waste another day! The time is now and there is no better person to do it but you. You are the one who has it within your power to make this year all that you want it to be. Don’t start this second part of the year paralyzed by what you didn’t accomplish earlier in the year. Don’t let another day go by wishing upon a star and thinking about ‘wish I would have, I wish I could have or I wish I should have’. There is nothing that you can do to change what you did yesterday. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised so live today, give today and love today. Give it all you got and hold nothing back. The past is done, over and never to come back again. Put the past behind you and pursue your passions ahead of you. If you keep dwelling in the past and your failures and missed opportunities, you will miss out on your chance to watch what used to be a dream come to pass. Create your passion and live your dream.

Building a Regional Food System

See on Scoop.it – Vertical Farm – Food Factory

See on www.facebook.com

SOLEfood Farm changes landscapes and lives

See on Scoop.it – Urban Aquaponics Farm

Michael Abelman farms atop Vancouver brownfields to give meaningful employment to the people of the Downtown Eastside (Farming has gone vertical and urban!

See on www.theglobeandmail.com

Obesity solution: Better junk food or food justice and urban farming?

See on Scoop.it – Urban Aquaponics Farm

Junk food can end obesity insists David Freedman in the current edition of The Atlantic. He also maintains that poor people are more obese and that they can’t/won’t eat fruits, vegetables and other wh (“Better junk food” to cure obesity?

Eric Smith, MBA Green Business Strategy‘s insight:

Think of how we could change health care if we took better care of our health by eating healthy food! Having access increases opportunity.

See on www.tcdailyplanet.net

Rooftop farms: The future of agriculture?

See on Scoop.it – Urban Aquaponics Farm

Urban farmers are turning to city rooftops to feed demand for fresh, locally sourced food

See on www.cbsnews.com

Urban agriculture blossoms in Ballard – Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (subscription)

See on Scoop.it – Urban Aquaponics Farm

Urban agriculture blossoms in Ballard
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (subscription)
From an engineering perspective, urban agriculture reduces harmful runoff, increases shading, and counters the unpleasant heat-island effect.

See on www.djc.com

Wilderness living Now 2013

Welcome to 2013 my friend! The good news is that you made it and defied all the odds that were stacked against you. In spite of all that 2012 threw at you, you made it through to see yet another year. You may even have surprised yourself because you went through a lot last year and you didn’t think that you would make it, but you did. You may have thought that you were going to lose it all, but you made it. The doctors may have given up on you and the banks may have written you off and friends may have abandoned you but you made it! There were those who did not live to see this day but you made it to this day. You may have lost some loved ones or suffered some major losses but be glad friend, be encouraged and thankful to God that you made it. This is your banner year! This should be the year that you finally accomplish all of your goals, your dreams and aspirations. All the plans and purposes that you have made in years past should be purposed in your heart to come to past now. Let 2013 be a year of increase, refreshing, establishment and growth. Let it be a year of  development, generosity, love and truth. It can be your year of your turn around, your breakthrough moment, your year of advancement, but are you willing to give it up now to have it all later?

Although you made it to see another year, albeit some on a wing and a prayer, the bad news is that you need to prepare for wilderness living now. Now this will run counter-intuitive to popular culture messages and I may start losing some of you as  followers, but I hope that after reading this you will realize that this is a  sobering post. I say sobering because many people this year will seek to intoxicate you into thinking that everything is going to just work itself out and that everything will go back to normal and only happy days are ahead. They will seek to tell you that just put your trust in government, business and systems and everything will be okay because surely they have your best interest at heart.  But if you think soberly, you will begin to realize that many of us have already gone over our own fiscal and emotional cliffs and we must begin to prepare ourselves for the new normal. Yes our hearts are glad but we must realize that if we don’t prepare ourselves now, we will be taken by the storms that will come at us this year. What will you do when the storm comes and you are not prepared? Living like you are in a wilderness will sober you and prepare you for what lies ahead. When I talk about wilderness living, I am not saying selling all you have and moving to some log cabin in woods of Montana. I am not talking about going to the local store and buying up all their goods and storing it in your basement like hoarders. I am talking about living like no other so that you can live like no other!

Most people live by sight but wilderness living is by faith! I am talking about faith in God and not in yourself. The wilderness is where you are not able to supply your own needs but you allow God to supply them. Yes I said God! He is able to supply all of your needs because He is your Shepherd and you shall not want or lack anything; but you have to rely on Him and not rely on yourself. You can go ahead and try to figure it all out if you want to; you can go ahead and rely on your own wisdom to take care of you this year if you want to; you can go ahead and depend on yourself to make it through the troubling days that lie ahead but  when your systems and plans fail you what will you do? Wilderness living says that I don’t know all the answers and I know that I am going to need some help so I will start preparing today. People can voluntarily go into the wilderness and start learning  to live off the word of God; or they can go involuntarily into the wilderness by foreclosure, mounting debt or employment downsizing where they are left out in the cold and defenseless; then what will they do?  Wilderness living now causes you to prepare for living off less with less. Living this way is different than living like others do by what they see, it requires you to live by faith. In our world system, you are not required to live by faith but by your own works but look at what your own works have gained you – stress, anxiety  fear, frustration envy. But in this year, you have to determine to live by  faith, rooted, grounded, settled. Living this way will cause you to have to start keeping company with a much smaller group of people because people will think you are crazy for not doing things the way that they are doing. But if you want to have things that others won’t have, or do things that others can’t do, or see things that others can’t see; you have to be willing to do things that others won’t do.

The wilderness is designed to crucify the way you used to do things because your plans will not work alone. People don’t want to be put in positions where they can’t supply their own needs but this is going to become a reality for many this year.  So are you willing to have wilderness living now so that you can enjoy things tomorrow that others won’t have? If you are willing to give it up now, you can have it all later. There are some ways to survive the wilderness like being aware of  risks and plan how you might survive them or overcome them. Start doing more with less, even if you have more now, companies are doing it why not you? Set goals for both yourself, your family or business, you will be in a better position to last and survive.  Be willing to share with others and others will be willing to share with you. I said this would be sobering and I hope you were able to grasp what I meant. Be sober in your mind and don’t get caught off guard. Know that if you survive the wilderness now you won’t have to later and you will be able to thrive while others are just looking to survive.

Eric Smith