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It Was All A Dream

December 16, 2010 – 2:21 pm
Posted in The Park
Tagged Dallas Cowboys, Dreams, Philadelphia Eagles, Surprise
Comments (1)

It Was All A Dream

It was all a dream

I used to read Word Up Magazine

Salt & Pepper and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hanging pictures on my wall…

(Biggie Smalls “Juicy” 1994)

Saturday, December 11, 2010 6:45am

On this day I woke up earlier than I normally would on a Saturday. I was up to take my mother to the airport for her flight to Philly. This was very common because my mother travels back to Philly at least once a month. My wife Jennifer had left about 20 minutes earlier because she had to go in to work, which is rare on a Saturday but it does happen about once or twice a year.

So I got up and just threw on some sweat pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. I brushed my teeth but I didn’t do any grooming past that because I was just going to take her to the airport and come right back home. I got my daughter up, put her coat on, and put her into the car. Normally, I would just get in the car without a coat or shoes on and just roll out of the garage and be on my way. My mother told me that it was really cold out and that I should dress warm so I grabbed my coat and hat as well.

Saturday, December 11, 2010 7:25am

We arrived at the airport and my mother was on the phone. I was getting aggravated because the police were moving us along and I was trying to figure out where she wanted to be dropped off. Then out of nowhere I see my wife Jennifer and brother in-law Jarrett come over to the car as I pulled into an empty space. At that point I was just stoically wondering “what’s going on.” I was still a little foggy because I hadn’t fully woken up yet. Then Jennifer gives me a small bag and says “Merry Christmas!” I look in the bag to see a printout of tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys football game being played in Dallas on Sunday Night Football.

So…I just sat there and attempted to process what was going on. I’m still a little foggy and confused at this point and I can’t believe this is real. I look over to see my brother in-law with the video camera taping the whole thing and I feel like I’m being “Punk’d.” All I could say and think at this point was “Wow!”

I eventually gathered myself only to realize that I wasn’t dressed for travel, didn’t take a shower, and was totally not mentally prepared to be going on an airplane which I hadn’t done in about 4 years. Well I got over all that, got out of the car and proceeded to get on with it. My wife was super excited screaming “I got you, I did It!”

I grew up in Philly a die-hard Eagles fan. Till this day I eagerly anticipate Sunday afternoons during football season so that I can root for my team. I don’t care who the coach is or who the players are I have always supported and followed the Eagles.

So when the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones built this new billion-dollar stadium I set the goal to one day attend an Eagles game there. I was excited about seeing this new technologically advanced stadium and I went online several times to see its progress while being built. I figured that one day many years from now I’d be able to make the trip. It would be a sports fans dream.

You see…we have been so focused on getting out of debt that every extra dollar for the last 2 years has gone towards that effort. I had mentally deferred any type of personal indulgence such as this and only held it as a dream. But my wife had other plans.

She had been planning this trip since September when she realized that she’d have some extra money coming to her this month. My wife believes in the here and now and she doesn’t believe in deferring dreams. We usually find a way to compromise and we balance each other really well in that way. This time she decided that aggressively paying off the car can wait and instead of putting the extra money towards that goal she would make one of her husbands dreams come true…Right Now!

And I’m glad she did! It was such a refreshing interruption of the daily grind and I really needed it. And it went even deeper than that for me. My wife and my experience in Texas showed me that if you have your priorities in order and you are doing the right things financially that it’s ok to do some things for yourself.

She also showed me that dreams can come true… Right NOW!

Follow this link to see our pictures on Facebook. You don’t need a Facebook account.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067131&id=1288795076&l=e6c354a27d

Chillin in The Park,

Scott Speed

It Was All A Dream

June 25, 2009 – 4:06 pm
Posted in The Stoop
Tagged Barack Obama, Biggie Smalls, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dreams, Failure, Inspiration, Michael Jordan, Success
Comments (4)

It Was All A Dream…

It was all a dream

I used to read word up magazine

Salt –N-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine

Hanging pictures on my wall

Every Saturday rap attack, Mr. Magic, Marly Marl

I let my tape rock till my tape popped…

(Biggie Smalls “Juicy” 1994)

I recently read a comment in a blog which stated that Dreams Are For Fools. The individual who wrote this comment supported this statement with a strong argument and it really made me think. He said that dreams are like the lottery… most people never win and only end up broken hearted and disillusioned chasing them. He went on to say that if you work hard and make wise conservative decisions you will be better off in life.

Dreams are for fools…

Man, that statement hit me right where it hurts because I’ve been a dreamer all my life. I don’t think a week has gone by in my life when I have not envisioned an even better future. It really hurt bad when I thought of all my dreams that did not materialize into what I had hoped they would. I thought to myself, how might my life be different if I had played it close to the vest all these years and had not taken any risk? Would I be better off?

Dreams are for fools…yeah right!

What if Christopher Wallace, aka. Biggie Smalls, didn’t dream? Hip-hop would have missed out on one of the greatest. What if Martin Luther King didn’t have a dream? Would we be as compassionate toward those who are different than us? What if Michael Jordan didn’t dream? Would he have ever mentally recovered from getting cut from his high school basketball team to become the greatest of all time? What if Barack Obama didn’t dream…enough said.

Dreams are fools…please!

What I’ve learned is that the journey towards ones dreams will be filled with many obstacles, setbacks, and failures. However, it is in these experiences that you will be enriched the most. Life is funny that way. You have to pay a price for success. If you want to get in shape and have muscles you must first endure pain and soreness. If a husband and wife want to experience the joy of parenthood they must first endure 9 months of the wife going through physical and emotional changes as well as a painful labor and delivery. If you are MJ and you want to win an NBA title you must first endure losing to the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics for several years before you figure out what it takes to get it done.

That is why some people are out of shape, some women never want children, so many players never win titles, and some people think that dreams are for fools. They just don’t want to pay that price.

In the great tale “The Alchemist “ it is said that, “People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them.”

Well, I refuse to sit on the sidelines with the timid in this game called life while others are out there playing the game, paying their dues, and learning life’s greatest lessons from their experiences. All while their dreams get closer each day.

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor” – Truman Capote

Kickin it on The Stoop,

Scott Speed

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Life’s Home Court Advantage

June 15, 2009 – 12:19 pm
Posted in The Corner Store
Tagged Dreams, Motivation, Positive Thinking, Self Help
Comments (3)

Life’s Home Court Advantage

If life is a game…

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers earned home court advantage in this years NBA finals vs. Dwight Howard and the Magic. Under the current format the team with the home court advantage in the NBA finals has won 75% of the time. The Lakers added to that percentage by winning the series 3-1 last night with Kobe taking home the MVP.

Year after year our favorite teams scratch and claw for wins throughout the season so that they can be in that coveted position of having home court advantage in the playoffs. But why is it such a determining factor, the court is still 90 feet long and the rims are still 10 feet high. What’s the big deal?

The reality is that gaining home court advantage means everything for basketball teams and its players. It means they don’t have to travel across the country before a game. It means they have the comfort and familiarity of sleeping at home. Most importantly it means they gain the psychological and emotional boost from the home fans cheering them on. The positive energy and enthusiasm of the crowd with out question has an effect on the psyche of the players. It motivates them to perform at a higher level, gives them the energy to push through mistakes, and it increases their will to win. The proof is in the percentages.

If life is a game…wouldn’t it make sense to work at creating your own personal “Home court advantage”? Wouldn’t that increase your chances of winning in all that you wish to achieve in life?

Look, whether you know it or not everyday is like playing game 7 on the road in a hostile environment. The news media pushes negativity daily. Your favorite radio shows report the latest beefs and break ups. People on the job complain all day and your boss is never satisfied. Negativity is everywhere and that’s not even mentioning all the daily challenges life naturally throws at you and your family.

With all the negativity that surrounds us on the daily basis I think that it’s very important that we make a conscious decision to input positive things into our minds daily. It is critically important that you create your own personal “Home Court Advantage.”

Here are a few tips on how to make that happen.

Read self-help books about positive thinking, success, leadership, winning relationships, and managing money. You may think “What can a book tell me about living my life that I don’t already know?” The answer is a lot.
Read books about the lives of successful people. This will inspire you to take your game to a whole new level.
Get out the house and socialize with positive people. You can accomplish this by joining social groups, plugging in at your place of worship, or through your kids activities.
Attend motivational speeches and seminars. I hear people say all the time, “I don’t need to be motivated” or “I don’t want to hear any rah rah speeches.” That’s like your favorite team saying they don’t need home court advantage or that they don’t need fans cheering them on.
Create a dream board. Get a large poster board and hang it where you will see it daily. Place words and quotes that motivate you and of the things that you want to keep in the forefront of your mind like, Family First, or Trust in God. Place pictures of the things you desire to own someday, of the people that motivate you, and of the places you’d like to go.
Encourage others. Be that person who creates that positive “Home Court Advantage” in the lives of the people around you. Be your co-workers, friends, and families’ biggest cheerleader by saying positive things and encouraging them daily. There is no better feeling than being a ray of sunshine in someone else’s life.