“Courage does not always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying – I’ll try again tomorrow”
-Unknown
The “Survivor”
Most leaders can share stories of overcoming personal challenges to explain the influences in their lives that helped shape their character.  We hear recurring themes of how facing life’s challenges prepared them to become  strong, confident leaders who are able to guide modern organizations through difficult times.  Stories about leaders who came from humble beginnings and eventually achieved great success can be very inspirational.  However, we don’t often hear the story about the rare person who, despite being raised in the midst of a violent and drug-infested urban environment, decides that he will no longer settle for living in these conditions and takes action to change his circumstances.  He might not have a seat in the boardroom, but in his own special way the “survivor” is  every bit a role model and a leader.  This is the story of Justin – an individual, an artist, and a “survivor”.

A not-so-charming part of “Charm City”
One of seven children born into a struggling family, Justin spent most of his early childhood surviving life in one of the most neglected and dangerous urban environments in Baltimore City.  As a young boy, Justin was well aware of the reality that life in his part of “Charm City” involved a great deal of physical and mental pain.  He also knew that his friends and other people in his neighborhood would likely never know true happiness.   “Is this how everyone lives”, he would frequently wonder.  From his street in West Baltimore, Justin would look at the nearby skyline of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and imagine what life in that part of the City must be like.
“As I grew, so did my experiences with pain and dark times”, recalls Justin who was partying and experimenting with drugs by the time he was a teenager.   As he and his friends became young adults, Justin watched helplessly as a lack of hope began to overtake the people closest to him.  With barely a high school education there were few options for work in his area of Baltimore.  Drugs were everywhere and Justin drifted through days at a time high on whatever was available.  Then, in 2006 he met Denyse, another urban survivor.  But Denyse had survived more than the urban despair that Justin was familiar with.  Denyse came from a home full of abuse and neglect.  Justin realized that despite all he had experienced growing up, he hadn’t known what real pain was until hearing her story.  Shortly after they met, Justin’s protective instinct took over, his drug use slowed down and he made a commitment that no matter what happened he would always be by Denyse’s side.
It wasn’t long until Justin and Denyse, along with her two babies, began living together.  With a basic high school education, a police record and little chance of employment, Justin and his young family continued the cycle that was started generations earlier of entire families living in poverty in and around Baltimore City.  Like many urban environments, Baltimore contains areas of sharp contrast where the most dangerous and blighted neighborhoods exist just a few blocks from well-maintained communities of wealth and affluence.  Justin was becoming aware of the divide that existed in his city and he wanted more than anything to be able to provide a better life for his family.   “Often times we had no food to eat…we slept on a pile of clothes for a while before we had a mattress.  There were nights when the children had no diapers, and nights when I contemplated suicide to end the pain I was feeling” recalls Justin.
Depressed and feeling a deep sense of hopelessness, Justin began to retreat back into his familiar world of drugs and alcohol.  He spent most days either drunk or high and became overwhelmed by the intense mental pain he was feeling. Like his friends, Justin was falling into the trap of believing that this harsh urban environment was where he was destined to live out his life, however short it might end up being. “I was unemployed for two years”, says Justin.  “Most days I would just sleep until two or three in the afternoon, I was in bad shape”.  Miserable and unhappy, he knew he was slowly killing his body and his mind.  Justin felt a very strong need to take care of his family.  However with no job, no money, and his relationship with Denyse quickly going downhill, the drugs and alcohol were always there to help him forget about his inability to meet these growing responsibilities.  He was out of control and was facing the possibility of losing the only good thing that he had in his life.  Something had to change.  Justin knew he was on a ride that would most definitely end with his early death.

The “Rebirth of Crazy”
“Just before Christmas of 2008 I was walking through the mall with no money in my pocket.  Other families were buying bags full of presents.  But Denyse and I couldn’t afford a tree that year and all we could get for the kids was a single shirt for each one”.  On Christmas Day, Justin sat alone on his front steps feeling ashamed that he was unable to buy any gifts for his family.  With only a few dollars in his pocket, he just wanted to disappear, to no longer exist.  At 21 years of age, he realized that he had already hit bottom.  He needed to get himself clean if he wanted to live to see his thirties.  Justin tells the story that a feeling just came over him as he sat there and he suddenly had the realization that life was a gift, and he had been throwing his away.  He made a silent vow to stop using drugs and to find some way to make a better life for himself and his family.
The day after Christmas, Justin walked to a store and with his last few dollars bought a sketchbook and some pencils.  He had loved to draw as a child and had taken art classes in school, but he had not drawn anything for years.  When he returned home he sat alone in his kitchen and thought of everything he had experienced in his two decades of life in West Baltimore.  All around him, life had been difficult.  As images of suffering, pain and despair flooded his mind, he began to draw, letting the images escape through his pencil and onto the paper of his sketchbook.  Dark and confusing characters filled the page.  Justin began to realize that he had something meaningful to say about his life and the urban environment that had taken its toll on so many others.
His first piece was a drawing he titled “The Rebirth of Crazy” and was a metaphor for his own transformation and determination to make a permanent change for the better.  “When I was a kid, people used to tell me I had a crazy imagination” Justin remembers.  “I guess that first drawing was the rebirth of the wild imagination I had”.  Life in the neighborhoods in and around West Baltimore is a common theme in Justin’s work.  For inspiration, he simply recalls his personal experiences and observes what is happening around him.  Justin doesn’t begin with an idea for a drawing, but rather uses a stream-of-consciousness process where he lets his emotions dictate what he draws.  Whatever comes into his mind goes into his sketchbook.  The result is a graphic collage of Justin’s thoughts, drawn as words and images in a style that might be considered similar to that of a comic book illustration.
At first glance, the works appear almost “child-like”.  However, as you explore the details of the drawings in more depth, you begin to see Justin’s message being revealed.  The images that are created overlap and transform from recognizable and familiar to distorted forms that then morph once again back into other familiar images.  The themes of his work are understandably “dark” and it is obvious that they were drawn by someone who has experienced a great deal of pain in his short life.  “For me, drawing became a way to escape from the neighborhood” says Justin about his artwork.  “With some pencils and a piece of paper I could express all of the things that I felt about the urban condition”.

“Urban Art”
When speaking about the urban environment that he is desperately trying to get out of, Justin is very aware of the negativity that exists in his community.  “Talking with my neighbors makes me realize how much people have just given up hope.  No one has dreams, ambitions, or goals. They all just settle for the life they have…like they aren’t able to change it.  It’s really sad.”  Justin says he is concerned about the affect his community’s negativity will have on his children.
“I told myself I had to do something for my family and for this community.  One day I was sitting outside looking around at my neighborhood.  I realized that the urban environment is like a collage”,  Justin’s says to describe the brainstorm he had.  “Different characters and images merged into one scene to create a complex picture that on the surface looks like chaos, but then you realize that there are a lot of little individual drawings within the scene.” He calls his work “Urban Art”.

“Each of the drawings conveys multiple feelings with several layers to discover, some good and some bad, just like the urban environment”, Justin observes.  “Rather than sit around and complain, I want to help make a difference in my own way” he says referring to his recent emergence as an Urban Artist.  Justin says that some people will appreciate the complexity of the message in his work while others will dislike it.  He accepts that.  He says he creates his art as a form of self-expression, it is not necessarily meant for other people.
Justin tells me that he hopes someone will see his work and take an interest in his story and be curious about the meaning behind his drawings.  He would be thrilled to be able to sell his creations to help earn money to move his family and to help the people in his community.  He has decided to donate a portion of whatever he sells to a local charity that will help the people of West Baltimore.  Eventually, he hopes to sell enough of his art to be able to provide a better life for himself, Denyse, and their two young children.
When asked to summarize how he views his work, Justin offered this final thought, “At first glance it all looks like chaos, but when you look closer you can see that each image is unique.  They all have their own meanings but have been thrown in together so it is hard to see one individual image.  This is what my neighborhood is like.  Urban Art is just me drawing pictures of my life.”
Now 23 years old, Justin and his family still live in the West Baltimore community.  He continues to draw images of his neighborhood and the memories that fill his mind.  “I know I still have a lot of demons to get over”, he says “but I know I can’t change the past so I just try to think about making things better in the future“.   Once he was clean of drugs, Justin took some training classes and became a Patient Care Technician.  Today he works at an outpatient clinic taking care of dialysis patients.
Justin is still determined to find people who are interested in his art and appreciate the intense emotions that give each piece its special meaning.  He believes that his is a true art form because it comes directly from his heart.  It is an expression of his real life experiences surviving for more than two decades in parts of Baltimore City that are so dangerous the police will rarely go there after dark.  With his children now 2 and 4 years old, Justin has gotten his life back under control and has taken personal responsibility for getting his young family out of their current situation.
After overcoming incredible odds and changing a path that would have likely ended with Justin in jail or dead by now, the 23 year old artist says he is optimistic and hopeful that Urban Art will be the vehicle to help move his family to a safe neighborhood.  “I want my kids to be able to go to the playground and not have to watch out for needles“, Justin tells me “and I never want them to wonder what happiness feels like.“

Author’s Note
While Justin is an acquaintance who I am honored to have recently gotten to know through this article, I would never have guessed that he came from the background that he described.  He is a polite, well-mannered, articulate young man who always has something positive to say and is quick to help anyone who needs assistance.
Justin has seen and done things that I can’t even imagine.  Yet through it all he managed to keep his spirit in tact while those around him simply resigned themselves to the life they were “destined” to live.  It has been said that “the most difficult leap we’ll ever make is the six inches from our right ear to our left ear.”  What makes one person so determined not to become a statistic?  I wish I had the answer.
I hope the readers of this story will appreciate Urban Art for what it represents and will try to understand the true meaning behind these drawings.  Justin’s story reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by an unknown author: “Roadblocks are not placed in our path to prevent us from reaching our goals, they are placed there to see how determined we are to get to the other side.”   Leaders never let the roadblocks stop their progress.

The Soloist reminds me of a moment in my own life, in which 20 minutes made all the difference to someone.  While living in Atlanta, GA during my twenties, I found myself riding the MARTA public transportation system on a daily basis.  Daily there were homeless and out-of-work individuals looking for someone to provide them monetary relief in their times of struggle.  I often gave what little pocket change I had, but I was never too sure where the money was going to be spent.  One day, during my standard travel to and from work, a younger out-of-work gentleman (most likely the same age as I), began asking patrons of the MARTA transportation system for money; describing his need to purchase an evening meal and some groceries.  As the gentleman came to me on the train, he hesitated a moment, uncertain whether he would ask me to help contribute to his cause.  A short pause, a stare at my belongings, and the gentleman asked if I could spare some change for his evening meal.  On this occasion, I was unable to provide any pocket change, as I had no cash or change on my person.  I told the gentleman that I did not have any change and that I was sorry.  He then continued along to the end of the train car, where he pondered which station to exit.  That is when I remember I had my debit card.

I walked over to the gentleman and I said, “I don’t have any cash or change to give you, but you said that you were trying to get money to eat, is that true?”  The gentleman looked at me as though I was the first person to talk to him in complete sentence form without yelling, and said that he was indeed quite hungry and needed money for food.  I then said, “My name is Dana, and how about you and I go and get a bite to eat somewhere, no strings attached; if you are hungry and you want to use the money to buy food, I will simply buy you a meal and you don’t have do anything but eat it.”  The gentleman was absolutely stunned at this offer.  At first, he probably thought I was absolutely crazy; or perhaps he thought I was going to harm him in some way.  But, I assured him that I would do no harm and that all he had to do was sit down and eat the meal with me.

So he and I set-off to eat dinner at a local dining establishment in Midtown Atlanta.  I found out all sorts of information about the gentleman’s past; a story of a drug addiction that forced his parents to kick him out of their home, a girlfriend that left him, school grades that deteriorated, and a life off-track.  As I listened to the story, I couldn’t help but think that I or anyone of us could be in the same position; that all it takes is an economic downturn, a bad break-up, death of a loved-one, or a moment when we used illegal drugs that turned into addiction. 

After our dinner ended, I told the gentleman that I enjoyed our dinner together, thanked him for discussing his life with me, and that I hoped he would find an avenue to find success in his life again.  I used my debit card to pay for the meal and we proceeded to the exit.  As we left the restaurant, the gentleman turned to me and said (I’ll never forget this) “No one has ever believed me that I was going to use the money for food, nor has anyone ever taken me for dinner.”  I looked at the gentleman and said, “Life is all about the people you meet and the time you spend with them.  Everyone has a moment in their life when things aren’t the best; but we can, with a little help, rise above it.”  The gentleman looked at me and gave a small smile, and gentle tears filled his eyes.  I then said, “I’ll be here next week at the same time, so if you’re free why don’t you meet me here.” 

We met two more times for dinner at the same restaurant.  It took just 20 minutes of my life to show someone that people care about their existence.  I hope that wherever the gentleman is, he has found a path that has led to success in his life.

What are you going to do with your 20 minutes today?

This angle was determined to teach and train this dog to walk by himself, and she named him “Faith,” in hopes he would find some within himself.  She began physical therapy by using a surfboard to create movement sensations.  She began using peanut butter as a lure to help Faith move across rooms, teaching him to jump up and stand on his hind legs.  Even a second dog in the owner’s home would bark and encourage Faith to walk.

After 6 months of training Faith, a miracle did occur.  Faith learned the art of balance, and moved his hind legs forward instead of jumping.  Continued training through the snow, Faith learned to walk similarly to a human being.  Now, Faith has become an international superstar of inspiration to the world; teaching that even without the perfect body, one can still have a perfect soul.

I was recently invited to a fundraising event, the Challenge Party.  This event raises money for my local GLBTQ Community Center.  Being a high ticket item, almost $300 for entry; I felt that my other charitable donations of the year were already pinching my purse.  So, I decided to offer up my service experience instead.  I overheard the organizer discussing the need for cocktail and hors d’oeuvres servers.  Having had restaurant and bartending experience in college, I thought… why not volunteer? I asked the organizer if they would be interested in having me come aboard for the evening as a server; providing my resume of expert serving skills as reference on my behalf.  The organizer seemed pleased by it, but was also hesitant.  They wondered if my serving the charitable function would “look…you know…bad.”

I told the organizer that I would be delighted to do my part for helping the charity, and that if someone had an issue with my service, they should take it up with the managment.  And that is how I am contributing to this years Challenge Party, without forking out the money.

I have always concerned providing charitable work; either monetary contributions or time through community service, as an opportunity to Grow My Life.  I remember the multitude of organizations I belonged to in High School and again in College; and I always found it rewarding.  Often I could only give $5 or $10 as a student, but I at least provide some respite for someone who needed it.  I challenge you, to find ways to be charitable without forking out the money.  There are many organizations looking for sorters, mailers, envelope stuffers, errand runners, cocktail servers, and door greeters.  Take charge of your charitable life and give back for the good of all our fellow Americans.

_ _ _ _

And Joy is Everywhere; It is in the Earth’s green covering of grass; In the blue serenity of the Sky; In the reckless exuberance of Spring; In the severe abstinence of gray Winter; In the Living flesh that animates our bodily frame; In the perfect poise of the Human figure, noble and upright; In Living; In the exercise of all our powers; In the acquisition of Knowledge; In fighting evils…Joy is Everywhere.

-”Joy,” by Rabindranath Tagore – Indian Poet

North Korea Sentences U.S. Journalists to 12 years in Labor Prison.  North Korea found two American journalists guilty of illegal entry and sentenced them to 12 years in a labor prison, its official KCNA news agency said on Monday.  The journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who worked for Current TV, were arrested in March while working on a story near the border between North Korea and China.  – New York Times

It is difficult to find solace when events occur that are often beyond our control.  Events that challenge our personal beliefs, moral judgments, and spirituality.  The world is full of random acts of violence and disappointment that provide no real answers for occurring.  However, it is in these acts, one must come to the understanding that there are solutions to aid us in achieving positive outcomes.  It is in the power of positive thinking.

Similar to the lessons provided by The Secret; the power of positive thinking can have positive effects, if we place our ideas in the hands of the universe.  At first, I was skeptical of the fundamentals of these theories.  But, throughout our lives we are often taught similar morals which provide similar results.  Don’t focus on the bad…hope for the best…don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it at all…what goes around, comes around…karma. These are the fundamentals of positive thinking.

So what is it that we can do for the U.S. Journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee.  First, we can remember that the United States has many resources and that this verdict is not final.  We must remember that you, Laura, Euna, and I; are all connected.  Each of us is a lifeforce on Earth, connected by energy, atoms, and spirit.  What we relay in our thoughts can transfer in action.  If I want a positive outcome, my thought process begins with the phrase, show me the way, whichever way that it may be. Then I begin to send out the message of wants I would like fulfilled, such as; this could make a big difference in my life if it were to happen, or, I would like for this to happen, instead of focusing on what you don’t want to occur.

A second example is our thought process when speeding on the highway.  Often we think to ourselves that we do not want to be caught by police.  It is within this thought, “we do not want to be caught by police,” that we provide the universe the idea that there should be police.  Wouldn’t you know it, three miles down the road there is a police car waiting for us.  But, what if you changed your thought to something more positive, which creates positive outcomes.  For example, “I really need to get to somewhere, and I am going to get there in time.”  This provides a positive and clear message that something will be achieved.

The power of positive thinking is similar to prayer.  During Sunday services, worshipers are asked to pray for the ill of the congregation.  Similarly, if we collectively join in and think positively about Laura Ling and Euna Lee; changes can occur.  You don’t need to be a religious person to harness this energy, you simply need to understand that thinking positively provides you more inner peace and favors others’ outcomes.

So here is our message to send to the universe:

Laura Ling and Euna Lee will be safe and will be in the arms of loved ones soon.

Say and think this to yourself at least once per day.  Collectively if we channel our energy to Laura and Euna, we will be able to make a difference in the lives and growth of others.

American lives are filled with a plethora of choices; choices that discourage our abilities to thank those that we often come across.  What we need to better understand, is that through a thankful heart, comes a thankful mind; resulting in happiness.  Challenge yourself to say “thank-you” at least four times, daily.  It may not seem difficult, but start with saying thank-you with your morning cup of coffee.  Here’s a story that inspired me.

I love my morning or afternoon latte.  I know the local coffeehouse baristas; who without fail begin making my beverage before I reach the counter to order.  By the time that I have completed payment, the “grande Dana” is ready for my enjoyment.  I usually say “please” and “thank-you” when ordering or receiving my latte; and in general when asking or receiving anything in my daily life.  But, what I noticed after a few hours in the coffeehouse is that others do not.  I sat in the coffeehouse for an hour and twenty minutes, and counted the number of patrons who did not say either “please” or “thank-you.”  I was astonished!  Of the 38 customers, only 11 said the two magic words.  Each of the other 27 customers started their order with, “I will have…” or “I would like…” or “Gimme a …” Their beverage was given to them and they walked out the door for their workday.  Some of the patrons did tell the baristas to “Have a nice day,” but I still don’t believe it makes up for not saying “please” or “thank-you.”

You are wondering by now, how does this play into the role happiness has on our lives?  The barista who is not told “please” or “thank-you”, will feel as though they are worthless or non-existent.  Now imagine the patron who was not thankful, went into work and was not thankful of someone who had helped them on a project.  At lunch, the patron was not thankful to the waiter or the person to whom held the door at the entrance.  Then the person wasn’t thankful during the drive home from work, for the person who let them go ahead of them at the intersection.  When the person returned home and the garbage had been taken out or the dishes cleaned; they were not thankful.  The patron, who is not thankful, often spreads the un-thankfulness. Thus, being thankful leads to happiness.  If someone “thanks” you for your time, you feel acknowledged for your work.  You then begin to feel happy about your role in your organization, your role in your family life, and your role in our world.

The seed for today is; don’t wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful.  Utilize every opportunity to spread your thankfulness around you.  Thank your loved ones; before hanging up the telephone, expressing how much you are thankful they are in your life.  Thank the waiter or barista at your restaurant; because their service helped you receive something you enjoy.  Be thankful for the little things that someone does for you; because if you add all of the little things up over time, you have a great big pile of things you could either be thankful for, or just a big pile of nothingness.

I went for a long walk through an urban downtown recently, and noted the number of people that often pass by on the sidewalk, whom never acknowledged my presence.  As I walked along and nodded to the other pedestrians, I received no recognition in return.  Often, the other person was connected to their cellular phone and incapable of recognizing others.  I came to an intersection and saw an older woman, most likely in her 60′s, waiting to cross the street.  I also noticed that none of the cars were stopping for the woman, making it impossible for her to continue on her journey.  I turned to the woman and said, “Hi.  Isn’t the weather absolutely amazing today?”  The woman’s face immediately showed a magnificent smile and she replied, “Its beautiful.”  Her smile was so grand and contagious, I felt as though I could be happy for the entirety of the day, no matter what life might throw at me.  I then said to the woman, “I can’t believe the way people drive.  You would think someone would have noticed that you needed to cross the street.”  The woman smiled and said, “Since the invention of electronics, no one ever looks around them.”  I laughed and returned the smile, as my cellular phone vibrated in my pocket.

That is when it hit me.  We often are so busy with our lives, our schedules, our time; that we do not fully recognize the value of others.  So I said to the woman, “You don’t know it, but you have made my day brighter.  Now if you don’t mind, take my arm and I’ll help you cross the street; because today, I am looking around.”  The woman smiled, took my arm, and we both stepped off the curb and stopped traffic.  On the other side of the street the woman thanked me and we went about our own separate journeys.

As I continued my stroll, I began saying hello to everyone that I passed.  Some looked up from their cellular phones, some continued to walk as though I had said nothing.  But, some were like the elderly woman and showed a great big smile and replied.  A simple “hello”, and someone’s day was now better.

A wonderful movie with a similar message, Pay It Forward; is an excellent example of the importance of the lessons we can learn from our everyday occurrences.  I challenge you to make the most out of every situation, learning something new about yourself, or someone else.  When in a long line, practice your patience, so that in time you become less agitated by the long waits.  Savor the moments that you have to yourself, to think and perhaps converse positively with someone behind you in line.  Lastly, remember that a cellular phone is device that you purchased, and it does not need you.  Try to take a walk, drive your car, visit a coffee shop; but do not take your cellular phone.  You never know, you might just learn a lesson or find the answer to something you have been searching for, but were never looking around.

I had worked in a local movie theater in my home town; because it was the newest business in town that hired the “hippest” workers, and I wanted to be part of the “hip” crowd.  I had managed to gain employment as a concession stand worker and part-time projectionist.  After working most of the summer, double shifts, I was well acquainted with most of the “hip” employees.  One night, during a throwing session in a ball-pit of the indoor playground; my fellow employees began challenging aspects of my personality, identity, and general likes and dislikes.  After a barrage of attacks towards me, I left the ball-pit and scurried away to collect my belongings to end the night of work.  One of the closest fellow employees, who I now call a dear friend, told me that no one had meant any harm by the constant nagging and questioning of my identity, but that they had felt I personally needed to know that they were there for me if need arose.  Of course, I continued to stomp my feet as I walked away and collected my belongings.

Most evenings the “hip” crowd would provide me a ride home from our theater.  This night however, I was not interested in associating myself with the “hip” transportation.  As I clocked-out for the evening and began my walk home, 4 miles, after midnight; I soon found myself wondering if my “hip” friends were right.  Then a car pulled up alongside me.  It was the “hip” crowd.  They asked that I get into the car with them, continued to express their sympathies for hurting my feelings, and that they only cared about me.  Of course, I didn’t believe anything that they had to say, so I continued my trek without commenting.  A little further along the road, the expressions from the crowd began to increase in number and volume.  Then the comments began to turn negative, “don’t be so stubborn, don’t be a fool,” etc.  At this time, I had had enough comments from the peanut gallery.  I simply ran behind their car, crossed the median into the other set of lanes and then into a grassy field.  I began walking the roadside in the direction that prevented them from driving next to me.  I showed them…or so I thought.

Up ahead at the nearest intersection, they made a U-turn and drove toward me.  I decided enough was enough, so I ran perpendicular to the road into a parking lot to get away from them.  To my surprise, they parked the car on the side of the road and everyone got out of the car and ran after me.  My dear friend was shouting for me to stop, that the whole ordeal was ridiculous, and that they did not mean anything by the belligerent comments.  And that is when I learned the lesson that sometimes a sign of inspiration may be right in front of you.

As I began thinking about the comments that had been made; as I turned to look back at my dear friend in consideration of joining them for the car ride home; I looked up and saw a SUBARU dealership sign.  Normally, the SUBARU sign would mean nothing to a passerby; except that you may spout a line from a Crocodile Dundee movie and have a good laugh.  But on this particular night the sign had been lit up past its normal hours of operation, and some of the lights had burnt out.  I stopped immediately in my tracks and there was the message, as plain as day, right in front of me…U B U.

It was in that moment I vowed to live my life by being myself.  I would no longer pretend to be anything that I was not, and I would always try to be the best me I could be; utilizing my inner self-awareness and progressive goals, I continue to challenge myself to better know who I am, and where I want to be.

Did you know that the average American is subjected to over 1,000 advertisement messages daily?  Did you further know that on any given US Interstate you will pass 4 billboards between exits?

Next time your looking for the answer to a difficult question, or are in search of something that could change your life; let the world put out its messages and you shall receive it.