Bille Baty's Blog

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While vacationing in Hawaii, my wife came out of a gift shop and handed me a little bag as she said, “Here, now you can listen to it anytime you want.”

I opened the bag and there was Iz Kamakawiwo’ole’s CD containing one of my favorite songs of all time, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” done by one of my favorite artists. We were driving to the other side of Oahu so I hurriedly tore off the plastic wrapping and fought with the stupid tape across the end of the jewel case (don’t get me started on what I think of opening CD’s; DVD’s; Blu Ray Discs; etc.) and put it into the CD player as we lowered the top on our convertible.

We began driving up Highway 61 heading to Lanikai Beach on the other side of the island as we listened to Iz’s songs. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the views were simply stunning as we drove steadily upward to Nuuanu Pali Lookout where the highway crested the Ko’olau Mountains. A few miles from the summit I decided to replay “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and just as Iz began strumming the ukulele a rainbow came into view, appearing to be just above the summit.

Let me just tell you, I almost believe I heard angels singing at that exact moment. It was so saturatingly beautiful. All my senses were sent into mega-overload. There was the music from the song and the wind from having the convertible top down. By having the top down on the car, we had an almost 360 degree view of all the beauty surrounding us. The mountains, the sky, the clouds, the rainbow, the trees and everything else seemed to be enveloping us in a cocoon of exquisite artistry unlike anything we had ever experienced before. I had my lovely wife and love of my life in the seat next to me holding my hand so tightly my fingers were turning pink. We had gotten high enough in elevation that it was really cold, and both of us were now shivering from the temperature and from the emotional impact that all of this was having on us.

We pulled into the parking lot and climbed up to Nuuanu Pali Lookout putting on our jackets as we walked. With each step we realized what we each knew in our heart as we approached the railing of the lookout.

The rainbow wasn’t here.

The rainbow was far up in the sky and far out over the ocean in Kailua Bay. We stood with dozens of strangers on the windswept peak, leaning far out over the railing, staring at the beautiful but illusive rainbow which was present for a few brief moments as it hovered above the dazzlingly, brilliant sparkles of a million ocean waves, before disappearing from everywhere but our memories.

And so it is with life. Many of us have dreams that have disappeared from everywhere but our memories. We have suffered disappointments and given up believing that our dreams will ever come true. Whatever dreams we had, we had in the past, before life happened. Our dreams have disappeared and we are ready to give up.

Never give up!

Start living your dream right now. Start living your dream today, this very moment. Never give up!

If you’ve forgotten your dream. Get out a piece of paper and start writing down, in great detail, exactly what your dream is. Read it. Write more. Read it out loud. Think about it. Pray about it. Meditate on it. Write even more.

Get the spark started, again. Believe again. Dream again.

Start towards your dream just like my wife and I started towards that rainbow. You have to see it, first. Once you see it, start moving towards it, one step at a time.

Never give up! Never stop dreaming.

Now give me 3 minutes and 26 seconds. That’s how long the video up there on top of this page is. I want you to listen to it again, or listen to it for the first time. I want you to imagine you’re in a beautiful convertible with a beautiful someone you love going someplace you’ve always dreamed of. Feel the wind blowing on your face and the sun warming your skin. Experience the exhilaration as you feel that special someone holding your hand, tightly, as you make your way to your dream.

Keep Believing…

 

Dream Big Baby! pic.twitter.com/6sv7e8fzUE

— Bille Baty (@BilleBaty) April 17, 2015

Have you seen the Adam Sandler movie “Happy Gilmore”? It’s an hilarious movie with all types of lessons to be learned if we look for them. One of the best is when Happy’s coach/mentor is trying to help him with his putting game and tells Happy, “Just tap it in.”

You see, Happy is phenomenal at getting the ball to the green but knows nothing about putting. Happy is an old Hockey player and can drive the ball as far or farther than anyone else, so he has no problem getting to the green. But he knows nothing about what to do once he gets there. Now, Happy has other issues but today I’m going to focus on “Just tap it in.”

Some people believe that the game of golf has two main parts or components. The “long game” and the “short game”. The “long game” requires power and distance so that a player can get the ball to the green in as few strokes as possible. Some say this part of golf doesn’t require as much expertise  or control as the “short game”. Now, I am only making generalizations. I am not saying this is necessarily true. I am going to make an analogy and I’m over-simplifying the whole game of golf – so relax and read on.

The “short game” on the other hand is more demanding of control and expertise on the players’ part. Things like “chipping”, “pitching”, and “putting” come into play in this portion of the game. I am going to talk about the “putting” part of the game today. The part which Happy had a problem with in the video above.

You see, he was able to get to the green. He was able to get onto the green. He was unable to send the ball home, putting the ball into the cup or hole. This is when his coach/mentor told him to “Just tap it in. Just tap it in. Just tap it in.”

This scene from the movie reminds me of life, a lot. It doesn’t matter if we are on our first hole or our twenty-nine thousandth hole, we all have to start at the tee. The tee is the beginning. The beginning of this job. The beginning of college. The beginning of this relationship. The beginning of our career. The beginning of our business. The beginning of life.

We can put a lot of muscle and power and sweat and tears and effort and time and sacrifice and life into getting to the green where the cup is. The cup is the finish line. At every hole the cup is the finish line. If you play nine holes, there are nine cups. If you play eighteen holes, there are eighteen cups. If you play twenty-nine thousand holes, there are twenty-nine thousand cups. And every cup is a finish line. And to win one hole, or eighteen holes or twenty-nine thousand holes you have to do more than get to the green.

You have to be able to putt the ball into the cup. You have to be able to send the ball home. You have to be able to finish. You have to be able to finish what you start.

This is what Happy Gilmore had a problem with. He couldn’t send the ball home. He couldn’t putt the ball into the cup. He couldn’t finish.

That is exactly what so many of us have a problem with. We do everything we need to do to get onto the green. We do everything we need to do to get to the finish line. We’re ready to finish and then…

We don’t know how to finish.

We don’t know how to putt.

We don’t know how to send the ball home.

Everything goes wrong. We make mistakes. People turn on us. Bad things happen. Relationships fall apart. We personally live through every part of Murphy’s Law:

If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.
If anything can go wrong – it will.
Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse.
It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.
Everything goes wrong all at once.
Tomorrow will be worse.

I’m here to tell you that Murphy’s Law is wrong! Just tap it in.

All of the people who told you that you’re a loser are wrong! Just tap it in.

The person who broke your heart and said you were worthless is wrong! Just tap it in.

The experts who said it’s impossible are wrong! Just tap it in.

The voices crying just quit are wrong! Just tap it in.

All of the circumstances which seem insurmountable are wrong! Just tap it in.

The coaches who said you can’t do it are wrong! Just tap it in.

Every negative word; every negative thought; every negative action against you is wrong! Just tap it in.

Occasionally we may need to regroup. We may need advice. We may need to seek direction. The Bible says in Proverbs 4 that getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do. So make sure you get wisdom for your situation. We may need to rest, take a vacation, get a new perspective. All of these things are good, as long as we don’t quit. Never quit. Never give up. Just tap it in. Learn how to putt and just tap it in.

You see, in life, unlike golf, it doesn’t matter how many strokes you take; how many times you swing; how many mistakes you make. What matters is that you don’t quit. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t think you can’t do it. Don’t believe it’s impossible. Something is only impossible until you do it.

Never give up! Just tap it in.

Never quit! Just tap it in.

Never believe the lies that you are a loser! Just tap it in.

Never accept the ridicule! Just tap it in.

Never own the discouragement! Just tap it in.

Never keep the abuse! Just tap it in.

Never hear the taunts! Just tap it in.

Never take the insult! Just tap it in.

I’m here to tell you that, with God’s help we can do anything. Just keep trying. You are a winner. You have a winner inside of you no matter what you’ve experienced in life. Never give up. Just tap it in. Just tap it in. Give it a little tappy.

Keep Believing…

There I was lying in bed, really tired, ready to go to sleep.

Now I’m not one of those LUCKY people who can just lay their head on the pillow and snoring begins immediately. No…Not me! Sleep is a precious commodity to me because I am able to get so little of it. Most nights I toss and turn. Watch some TV. Read a book. The list could go on and on. And ON. Sleep is like an adversary of mine, never willing to give in. Always fighting my desires and ignoring my gestures of peace. That’s just the way it is for me.

But back to my story. I was lying in bed, really tired, ready to go to sleep. Just a few hours earlier I could barely stay awake and found myself nodding off as I worked.

So I turn off all the lights. I turn on the howling wind sound on my phone. I set the timer for 90 minutes. I adjust my pillow. I slide expectantly into bed knowing that within mere moments I will be in my wonderful dreamland and sweet wonderful rest will be doing it’s restorative miracles with my dozing body.

And a negative thought comes. NO! I’m not going to tell you which negative thought…or what kind of negative thought. You have them, too. Just imagine that mine was one of yours.

Unless you’re a psychopath or something, then I don’t know what to tell you because my negative thoughts are NOTHING like yours. Mine are just normal, everyday, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH negative thoughts.

I thought to myself, “Now where is that coming from?”

Seriously, I was tired. I wanted to go to sleep. I expected to go to sleep. I was about to go to sleep and BAM! Some arbitrary negative thought comes from nowhere and then I start thinking about it and what I’m going to do about it and what could happen if I don’t.

Again, I thought to myself, “Whoa, whoa, what is going on here?”

And then I actually thought these exact words, “I am not a domicile for negative thoughts!”

I was tired, okay. I don’t usually talk that way. But domicile is a cool word. After I said that to myself, I also said “I am thinking positive thoughts and I am going to sleep.”

Wow! It was like magic. I started thinking my positive thoughts that I think on a regular basis, and within moments I was asleep.

When I remembered this later and started thinking about it I went online and found this thing called “Negativity Bias”.

According to Wikipedia, “The negativity bias[1] (also known as the negativity effect) refers to the notion that, even when of equal intensity, things of a more negative nature (e.g. unpleasant thoughts, emotions, or social interactions; harmful/traumatic events) have a greater effect on one’s psychological state and processes than do neutral or positive things.[2][3][4] In other words, something very positive will generally have less of an impact on a person’s behavior and cognition than something equally emotional but negative.”

Oh…so now I get it. My brain has this bias. It wants to be negative. In fact, you could say my brain is “positively negative”. Or it wants to be. But my brain is not the boss of me!

I AM THE BOSS OF MY BRAIN!

I remembered back to that night when I was attempting to go to sleep and my brain started trying to think negative thoughts. I forced myself to think positive thoughts and my brain went along with it and stopped the negative thinking. The negative thinking stopped, the positive thinking started, the peace came and sleep followed.

So Bille why are you writing this kind of post?

Because people often ask why I tweet positive quotes a lot of the time. This is why. I am constantly tweeting positive quotes to my brain because it wants to be positively negative. I want it to be positively positive. So, I keep working on it. Quote by positive quote…I’m working on it.

Now I’m going to bed…I’m tired.

Keep Believing…

Bille

 

I have a new book out entitled “The Golden Fork”. It’s part of my new series, “Love’s Stories” and I’m really excited to be getting some positive feedback from this project. The ebook just became available on Amazon the 1st of May and the paperback should be available in a week or so. I am having a “FREE Weekend” May 10th & 11th. “The Golden Fork” will be FREE both days and I would appreciate some of you picking it up for FREE and writing a review on Amazon. I wrote from the heart, as I always do, and your feedback is absolutely appreciated. There are 2 more series coming out right behind this one, so if you’re not into Romance/Paranormal Romance, I still may have a series that interests you. Click The Golden Fork: Love’s Stories Series

for the Info page and remember to get your FREE copy May 10th & 11th.

The only way to live life is to start living. Here’s what I mean.

If you Google the exact phrase “live life”, there are over 8,650,000resultsavailable. This is a subject on a lot of people’s minds. How do I live life?

Here is the answer. Are you ready?

Start living!

That’s it, start living. Today! Right now!

So many of us have a few favorite sayings, like:

“As soon as I _________ I’m going to get started.”

“One of these days, I’m going to travel.”

“Some day I’m going to __________.”

“When I get the bills paid off I’ll be able to do what I want.”

“When the kids grow up we can _________.”

“When my ship comes in I’ll be able to __________.”

“When I win the lottery I’m going to give __________ to charity.”

“As soon as I get the promotion I can __________.”

Let me go ahead and tell you:

You ARE NOT going to win the lottery!

Your ship IS HERE and has been here a long time; you’ve been looking in the wrong direction.

One of these days NEVER comes.

We will ALWAYS have bills.

The kids are your kids FOREVER.

You may get the promotion BUT then you’ll want to wait until the next one.

Some day IS today!

This is all we have, TODAY. We don’t have tomorrow. It’s not guaranteed. All we have is today and you have to start living today.

I have this friend whose Dad started an electric company. He worked hard his whole life building the company into one of the largest and most well respected in the market. My friend and his brother both worked for the company and their Dad had trained them their whole lives to know everything about the business.

One day the two sons would take over the business so their Dad and Mom could travel. The parents had always wanted to travel and see all the different parts of America. The parents bought a big, beautiful motor home. They turned the business over to the sons. They paid all the bills they had. They were leaving in two weeks. The Dad had finally done all he needed to do so he could finally live life. He was 62 and going to live life.

One morning the Dad had a sore throat and didn’t know why. The sore throat got worse and he went to the doctor. He had throat cancer so advanced there was nothing the doctors could do. My friend’s Dad died six weeks later.

After the funeral, we went to the parent’s home to spend time with the family. There, in the front of the home, was the new motor home. It sat there never used, never enjoyed, never driven across America, never experiencing life.

My friend’s Mom looked out at the motor home as we left the house that day and said, “I wish we could have lived life like we had planned.”

The only way to live life is to start living.

Right now!

Yeah, I know what you’ve been told but I’m here to tell you size matters, it really does. Let me give you an example.

Years ago, I was walking an average of 20 miles per day for my job. No, I couldn’t do that today! No, I wouldn’t do that today! I said it was years ago…and I was stupid. Back to the story. Any way, my feet were killing me every day. I mean really hurting with blisters and everything. It was getting pretty bad and I just thought it’s because I’m walking 20 miles per day.

One day I was talking to my mom on the phone (don’t you just love moms) and I asked her what I could buy for the blisters on my feet. She told me some stuff to buy which would help to bare them but as she was saying good-bye she asked a profound question. “Bille, are you wearing the right size shoes?”

Am I wearing the right size shoes? Do I look like an idiot? What’s wrong with you Mom? Of course I’m wearing the right size shoes. I’m wearing the same size shoes I’ve always worn. Where’s the maternal wisdom I’ve come to expect…and need? Am I wearing the right size shoes! Come on! What else do you have in your bag of omniescience? This is the size of shoes I’ve worn since I was 16 years old. Please!

“All I’m saying, Bille, is go have your size checked. See if you’re wearing the right size shoes.”

Yeah, okay Mom. Right away. I’ll do that. Thanks. Goodbye.

Boy was that a stupid question!

So I went right on working and walking 20 miles per day and having blisters and having hurting feet. The size of my pride was beating the size of the blisters on my feet in the war for common sense. Mom was wrong. I wasn’t going to admit anything else.

Finally, one day I was really tired, so my pride didn’t have the strength to fight the blisters anymore. I hobbled into a shoe store to find some better shoes for walking. That was the problem, inferior shoes. I could feel my pride starting to grow again.

I sent the sales person into the back to find a pair of those in 10 1/2 regular, “My size”. As soon as they went through the door into the stockroom, I limped as quickly as my now nearly, useless feet would carry me, to the little shoe-size measuring thingy on the floor. I sat down and slid my foot into the guide and was just about to read it when the sales person returned with the shoes I had asked for.

He leaned over and looked at my foot in the size thing and said “You can’t wear these shoes, they’re the wrong size. You need a 12 wide.”

But, I’ve been wearing a 10 1/2 regular for years and years. I’m not a 12 wide. I’m a 10 1/2 regular. I’ve been wering that size forever!

He then said something I’ll never forget, “Well, you can probably get your feet into these 10 1/2 regulars, but you’re gonna get blisters. Son, don’t you know that size matters?”

That was it! Size matters. It really does. It matters in a lot of things, not just shoes. Things bigger than shoes.

Things like pride. Things like compassion. Things like love. Things like life.

The size of your life matters. How big is your life? How many people are affected by your life? How big have you lived? Not how rich are you? What all have you done? How big have you lived? How many lives have you touched?

What size lifeprint will you leave on this world? If you’re gone tomorrow, will anyone miss you? In a day…a week…a month…a year? Will we know you were here?

Size matters. It really does. How big you live. How big you help others live. Start living life wearing the right size shoes. It feels much better.

Keep Believing…

Bille

I thought it was time to share 37 MORE Success Quotes…

Quite a few folks commented on the last 37, so I think that’s a good number. I’ve tried to attribute these to the correct Author/Source but if there are any which I got wrong, please let me know.

If you have any personal favorites, please share them. I would love to read them. Here we go…


1. “If you are going through hell, keep going.”Winston Churchill

2. “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”Henry Ford

3. “Action is the foundational key to all success.”Pablo Picasso

4. “Success is not a destination. It’s a journey.”Zig Ziglar

5. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”Eleanor Roosevelt

6. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”Theodore Roosevelt

7. “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”Demosthenes

8. “To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing.”Elbert Hubbard

9. “Running from your fear can be more painful than facing it, for better or worse.”Chuck Norris

10. “Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”Lao Tzu

11. “If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you.”Louise L. Hay

12. “If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.”Brendan Francis

13. “Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also.”Marcus Aurelius

14. “Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny.”Carl Schurz

15. “One of the main strategies of the successful is that they constantly seek guidance from experts in their field.”Jack Canfield

16. “The most successful men in the end are those whose success is the result of steady accretion.”Alexander Graham Bell

17. “The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration.”Confucius

18. “I am not the smartest or most talented person in the world, but I succeeded because I keep going, and going, and going.”

Sylvester Stallone

19. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.”

William Feather

20. “One hundred percent of the shots you don’t take don’t go in.”

Wayne Gretzky

21. “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

Michelangelo

22. “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.”Proverbs 4:23, The Bible

23. “Control your own destiny or someone else will.”Jack Welch

24. “A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”David Brinkley

25. “People are anxious to improve their circumstances but unwilling to improve themselves, they therefore remain bound.”James Allen

26. “Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.”Jon Bon Jovi

27. “Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”

Brian Tracy
28. “Success will never be a big step in the future, success is a small step taken just now.”Jonatan Mårtensson
29. “There’ll be two dates on your tombstoneAnd all your friends will read ‘em

But all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ‘em…”

Kevin Welch

30. “To be successful, one must take chances.”Willie Stargell

31. “The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.”John Foster Dulles

32. “To follow, without halt, one aim: There’s the secret of success.”Anna Pavlova

33. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful men keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”

Conrad Hilton

34. “The only limits in our life are those we impose on ourselves.”Bob Proctor

35. “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”Sun Tzu

36. “We may get knocked down on the outside, but the key to living in victory is to learn how to get up on the inside.”Joel Osteen

37. “That man is successful who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much, who has gained the respect of the intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.”Robert Louis Stevenson
 
Keep Believing…

I’m an Ex-Hummus Bigot It’s true! I was. I really was.

Okay now, part of my “12 Step Program” is promptly admitting I was wrong! I’m not trying to make light of anything, especially something as successful as the “12 Step Program”.

Anyway here’s my story. All my life I hated Hummus. I don’t mean I didn’t like Hummus. I mean I HATED Hummus. I didn’t want it near me. Not on my plate. Not on my table. Not even at the same salad bar. Keep that stinking, horrible Hummus away from me. It’s not even American! How can it be any good? It’s foreign. Nothing foreign can be any good!

I know, how stupid.

I said this is part of my “admitting I was wrong” step.

People would offer me Hummus. No thank you, I don’t EEEATTT Hummus.

“But it’s so good.” I said I don’t EEEATTT Hummus!

“Just smell it. It’s so good. Here taste it.” I would fend them off with the expertise of a Hummus martial arts expert. Counter-blocking every Hummus assault. Head-bobbing to miss the Hummus jabs. Dancing around the table to tire-out the Hummus attacks. Bruce Lee would have been proud of how I ducked to miss the flying, Hummus-laced pita chips hurled my way by a Hummus-loving mob. Try as they may, they could not get that awful Hummus near my mouth.

My whole life I had successfully avoided the horrific stuff and I was not about to give in, no matter the amount of pressure from the Hummus Lobby.

Now, Garbanzo Beans, that’s another story. I can’t get enough of them. I just love Garbanzo Beans. I love them in every way. They’re the right size, just right to get several in a bite. They’re the right color. They smell right. They even sound right…GAR BAN ZO BEENZ. How could they be any better?

I wanted Garbanzo Beans in my salad. I wanted Garbanzo Beans on my plate. I wanted Garbanzo Beans for every meal. Okay, maybe not every meal but it’s hard to express the depth of my love for Garbanzo Beans. I really love Garbanzo Beans.

No one had to force me to buy Garbanzo Beans…I love them.

No one had to force me to eat Garbanzo Beans…I love them.

No one had to force me to want Garbanzo Beans…I love them.

No one tried to shove Garbanzo Beans down my throat…except me.

Fast forward 25 years. I’m in my pantry and my wife asks me to get the can of Chick Peas while I’m in there. I pick-up the Chick Peas on my way out and begin reading the can as I walk to the island counter.

My eyes scanned the label. Blah, blah, blah, Chick Peas. Blah, blah, blah, recipe. Blah, blah, blah, Garbanzo Beans. Blah, blah, blah, Hummus. Blah, blah, blah, HUH?

Chick Peas? Garbanzo Beans? Recipe? Hummus?

What the…

My pulse began escalating. My breathing became more difficult. My vision began narrowing down to a small strip of focus the size of the label on the can.

“Concentrate!” “You must concentrate!” “What does that say?”

Blah, blah, blah, Chick Peas. Blah, blah, blah, recipe. Blah, blah, blah, Garbanzo Beans. Blah, blah, blah, Hummus.

Oh crap!

My wife asked what was wrong.

I began fumbling and stuttering and muttering some incoherent words about wasting my whole life and why didn’t I know and how could this be.

She said, “What are you talking about?”

As I collapsed into the barstool I said, “This…this…this can says Chick Peas are Garbanzo Beans.”

“Yes”.

“…And it has a recipe for…” I swallowed hard, “Hummus”.

“Yes”.

“What…what…what does it mean?”

“Well Idiot”, that’s her cute little term of endearment for me, “it means Chick Peas and Garbanzo Beans are the same thing! AND” she paused for great dramatic effect,

“THAT’S WHAT HUMMUS IS MADE OF!”

I sat on that barstool in stunned silence, contemplating the meaning of life relative to this new revelation for what must have been months… or at least ten minutes.

I didn’t know what to do. I was confused. I went to the nearest store and began tearing through the Hummus section, reading every label, scanning the ingredients and there it was.

Hummus is made from Garbanzo Beans!

I went and got a basket and quickly filled it with unneeded groceries just to hide the one container of Hummus I was going to buy.

Outside now, I ran to the car as fast as the filled basket would go. I quickly threw the groceries in the back and sat down in the front seat with the Hummus and a pita chip.

“Here goes” I thought as I lifted the Hummus to my mouth, apprehensive but strangely anxious.

The moment it hit the tiny taste buds covering my tongue, my car became filled with a warm, glowing light and I knew my life would never be the same.

The warm, glowing light faded as the car parked in front of me pulled away, but I still knew my life would never be the same. I was no longer a Hummus bigot. I had experienced an epiphany. You can’t be sure if you hate a food…if you haven’t tried it!

If I didn’t really hate Hummus, but only thought I did, maybe there were other foods I was falsely prejudiced against. Maybe Cranberry Sauce isn’t nasty after all. Maybe Sushi won’t kill you. Maybe Caviar is worth the money.

I soon fell in love with Artichoke Hearts. I had a weekend encounter with Oysters Rockefeller. I am head-over-heels for Lamb with mint jelly. Now, turkey without Cranberry Sauce is like…peanut butter without fried bananas…yeah I tried that too.

I found out just because I always “thought something” didn’t necessarily make it true. Life is like that. So many times we have preconceived notions about this or that, but if we would take the time to experience life, we would find out sometimes we’re wrong about the way we think.

This isn’t just true about food. It’s the same with jobs, and things, and people, and relationships. We need to set our preconceived notions aside and look for the truth. Sometimes we have the wrong information. It doesn’t matter how we got the wrong information. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve believed it. It doesn’t matter why we started believing it. What matters is the truth. That’s all, the truth.

So now I have a list. “Things I Thought I Hate.” I’m going through the list one-by-one trying to find out what other great things I’ve been missing. I’m determined to live life to the fullest, and smell all the Hummus along the way.

Life is great…experience it!

On a recent trip to Mexico City I did confirm I was right about Pancitas.

YUK!

Keep Believing…

Bille