When Hearts Turn

Written by Julie Jordan Scott


We stood onrepparttar bluffs three blocks from our home, our eyes reaching out torepparttar 124048 scenery which expanded for miles across repparttar 124049 Valley.

Katherine inhaled deeply and said, "You have to admit it: Bakersfield really is beautiful."

How many times had I looked at that same view and compared it with other bluffs: ones that I perceived to be far more pleasing to my eyes?

I blockedrepparttar 124050 beauty that Katherine saw.

All I tuned into wasrepparttar 124051 oil fields with their derricks and trucks and criss crossing roadways connecting well to well. From my perspective it most closely resembledrepparttar 124052 barrenness ofrepparttar 124053 moon. I longed forrepparttar 124054 views from my childhood bluffs which opened ontorepparttar 124055 Pacific Ocean.

Inrepparttar 124056 flash of a moment, my perspective changed as I turned my heart towards both my daughter andrepparttar 124057 community I call home. I allowed myself to stretch and see from Katherine's viewpoint. My heart gently turned.

I smiled and responded, "You are right, Katherine. Bakersfield IS beautiful."

Last night I did something that took a lot of courage. I made a phone call to my oldest brother to see if he would be interested in partnering with me on a project. We rarely speak these days, something that leaves a void in my life. I decided to step up torepparttar 124058 plate, allrepparttar 124059 while acknowledging thatrepparttar 124060 outcome ofrepparttar 124061 conversation could be almost anywhere imaginable.

Our conversation started out well, with me being a combination of little goofy sister and professional entrepreneurial woman. Then it happened. I felt a shift.

Something in his words told me he was not seeing or hearing my perspective.

My words stopped flowing,repparttar 124062 little sister andrepparttar 124063 professional entrepreneur flew offrepparttar 124064 phone line and were replaced by a confused, tongue tied stranger.

Inrepparttar 124065 next moment, something very intriguing happened. My brother said, "I hope you prove me wrong. Then you can laugh at me for makingrepparttar 124066 wrong decision."

I became fully myself when I spokerepparttar 124067 words, "Nahhh, I would never laugh at you."

Quicker thanrepparttar 124068 words were spoken, I was overtaken with emotion. It was in that moment I realized how far I had come. I had known that I was taking a risk in makingrepparttar 124069 call. I knew that he might not seerepparttar 124070 vision that I held. And I knew that no matter what happened, everything would be exactly as it was meant to be.

As I spoke those words, "I would never laugh at you," my heart turned towards my brother. And then he turned his heart subtly towards me. He started asking me questions about my project. Specific, direct questions.

I muttered some answers asrepparttar 124071 lump in my throat grew expansively. The call ended and I hung uprepparttar 124072 phone.

Not The Destination But The Journey

Written by Jim henderson


We remember inventors, explorers, and entrepreneurs by their successes instead of by their persistence inrepparttar face of uncertainty. The common elements that unite these groups is their willingness to take calculated risks andrepparttar 124047 perseverance to persist in spite of seeming failure. None of them went into any endeavor withrepparttar 124048 intent to fail but neither was success guaranteed. They knewrepparttar 124049 risks and were not deterred, ultimately they succeeded one more time than they failed. In our haste to obtain success can we afford to overlookrepparttar 124050 process that brought it about.

Today, we attempt to isolate ourselves from risk as much as possible while looking with distrust toward those who are willing to leaverepparttar 124051 refuge of certitude for an uncertain reward. Fromrepparttar 124052 vantage point ofrepparttar 124053 past tense, we conveniently forget that those who altered our history, left their impact on industry, and shaped our culture did not foreknowrepparttar 124054 outcome of their actions.

Would history remember men like Marco Polo, Columbus, or Lewis and Clark if they had not dared to venture intorepparttar 124055 unknown. Whether pilgrim or pioneer, it was unnamed common people who risked everything

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