This poem SEEKIN’ THE CAUSE indeed knows how to provoke!

Seekin’ The Cause

he was Dead
he never Lived
died
died
he died seekin’ a Cause
seekin’ the Cause
because
he said
he never saw the cause
but he heard
the cause
heard the cryin’ of hungry ghetto children
heard the warnin’ from Malcolm
heard the tractors pave new routes to new prisons
died seekin’ the Cause
seekin’ a Cause
he was dead on arrival
he never really Lived
uptown . . . downtown . . . crosstown
body was round all over town
seekin’ the Cause
thinkin’ the Cause was 75 dollars & gator shoes
thinkin’ the Cause was sellin’ the white lady to black
children
thinkin’ the cause is to be found in gypsy rose or j. b.
or dealin’ wacky weed
and singin’ du-wops in the park after some chi-chiba
he died seekin’ the Cause
died seekin’ a Cause
and the Cause was dyin’ seekin’ him
and the Cause was dyin’ seekin’ him
and the Cause was dyin’ seekin’ him
he wanted a color t. v.
wanted a silk on silk suit
he wanted the Cause to come up like the mets & take the
world series
he wanted . . . he wanted . . . he wanted . . . he wanted
to want more wants
but
he never gave
he never gave

he never gave his love to children
he never gave his heart to old people
&
never did he ever give his soul to his people
he never gave his soul to his people
because he was busy seekin’ a cause
busy
busy perfectin’ his voice to harmonize the national anthem
with spiro t agnew
busy perfectin’ his jive talk so that his flunkiness
wouldn’t show
busy perfectin’ his viva-la-policia speech
downtown . . . uptown . . . midtown . . . crosstown
his body was found all over town
seekin’ a Cause
seekin’ the Cause
found
in the potter fields of an o. d.
found
in the bowery with the d. d. t.’s
his legs were left in viet-nam
his arms were found in sing-sing
his scalp was on Nixon’s belt
his blood painted the streets of the ghetto
his eyes were still lookin’ for jesus to come down
on some cloud & make everything ok
when jesus died in attica
his brains plastered all around the frames of the pentagon
his voice still yellin’ stars & stripes 4 ever
riddled with the police bullets his taxes bought
he died seekin’ a Cause
seekin’ the Cause
while the Cause was dyin’ seekin’ him
he died yesterday
he’s dyin’ today
he’s dead tomorrow
died seekin’ a Cause
died seekin’ the Cause
& the Cause was in front of him
& the Cause was in his skin
& the Cause was in his speech
& the Cause was in his blood
but
he died seekin’ the Cause
he died seekin’ a Cause
he died
deaf
dumb
&
blind
he died
& never found his Cause
because
you see he never never
knew that he was the
Cause.

The sooner you try that idea out, the sooner you’ll know whether or notit will work out.   The longer you delay putting that idea into action, the bigger the hype you’ll build in your mind and if it doesn’t go as expected, the bigger thenegative impact it can have on you because of it. Just keep implementing the ideas you have and you’ll see what works and what doesn’t.  You’ll soon know the general areas where it does workand you can start to methodically build off of there, getting the results you want at a much quicker pace.  Fr0m Brian Kim

Top 10 Things You Can Learn About Life From College Football

It’s that time of the year again. College football has started.

College football, in my opinion, is the greatest sport in the world. I was a fan of it even before going to college. I think the fans are better, the rivalries are better, there are so many teams with so many different philosophies, so many great coaches and players, and let’s not forget one of the greatest things about college football – the big upsets.

I know the fact that you can learn things about life from college football seems like a bit of a stretch and kind of corny too, but it’s true. And it’s not just from college football. It’s from any sport. They all share the same foundation and principles of success that can easily be applied to your life.

So here are the top 10 things you can learn about life from college football.

1. It Takes Time.

When a college football team wins a national championship, it’s easy to forget that it was a result of A LOT of time and effort on the team’s part that was most likely in the range of building for 3-4 YEARS. The teams that win the national championship are usually those who comprise of a lot of seniors, players who have played the game for years, accrued experience and have mastered the offensive and defensive system set by their coaches. It’s only AFTER the team has played well together, has bonded as a team, worked on their strengths, fixed their weaknesses, in other words, honed themselves to the point where they are as sharp as can be, can they contend for, play and win the national championship game.

You’ll find that most teams in the nation go in cycles. They “build” for a couple of years, then become the best they can be and maybe win the national championship, and then go back into the “rebuilding phase”, recruiting high school graduates and training them all over again.

Very few teams can “reload” every year, meaning they have enough talent and experience and leadership to contend for the national title year after consecutive year.

Similarly, anything of worthy achievement will take time as it should. It’s needed to iron out all the kinks and to get you to where you want to be. Don’t be frustrated if things aren’t happening immediately. Look at the behind the scenes. Read the stories. Read the autobiographies. They all take time as they rightfully should.

2. Generate Momentum

Momentum is one of those things that only through sports can you easily “see”. In any college football game, you can sense which side the momentum is on, if any. It usually starts off in one of two ways.

One, a spectacular play. The defense stops the offense on 4th down. The offense runs a play that results in 40+ yardage. The special teams get a great starting position. There’s always a catalyst that seems to inspire the whole team.

Two, a series of steady plays. This is most evident when a team is backed up against their own goal line, but they slowly march up the field, play by play, little by little, and score a touchdown. This is one of the best ways teams generate great momentum because it establishes an offensive rhythm, confidence in the offense, gives the defense time to rest, and inspires the whole team in general.

On an broader scale, if a college football team starts winning championships, every high school football player in the nation will want to play for that team, so that college gets the best recruits so instead of rebuilding, they “reload” and then the momentum builds and you get a football dynasty.

The hardest part about generating momentum is just that. Generating it. But once you have it, everything else comes together. Just keep plugging away and you’ll find that spark or those steady plays that will generate the starting momentum and everything else will take care of itself afterwards.

3. Balance Is Important

There’s a common saying in football that says defense wins championships. That’s true, but that’s not the entire story. Every team needs to be well balanced. A great defense coupled with a poor offense can’t go very far. Neither can the opposite scenario. And let’s not forget about the special teams, the offensive coordinator, the play calling, the defensive coordinator, the head coach. It’s all synergistic. College football is the ultimate team sport. You can’t have any deficiencies. You need balance.

Similarly, you can’t just focus on one area of your life and ignore the rest. Balance is important to get that synergistic effect in your life.

4. Practice Is All

If you’ve ever been to a football practice, you’ll see two things. One, that it’s pretty grueling and taxing. And two, it’s very repetitive. They run a lot of the same plays over and over again, making sure they can master it. They also practice for a lot of certain scenarios – playing in the red zone (within the 20 yard line of the goal), going for it on fourth down and inches, goal defense, etc.

When game day comes, all the viewers around the world will be thinking it’s a big risk when the team goes for it on fourth down, but the players and coaches know otherwise. Why? They’ve practiced for this exact scenario many, many times. It’s not a risk for them at all.

Practice makes perfect.

5. Preparation Is Key

In addition to practice, there’s a lot of behind the door preparation that goes on, mainly in the film room. Coaches watch past game film of their upcoming opponents, seeing the kind of offense and defense they play, and they adjust their own offense and defense accordingly, trying to exploit any weaknesses they see.

They also go over their own previous game film to see what they did wrong and correct it.

Those who prepare have the advantage. This is exactly what Appalachian State did that helped them score the big upset over Michigan this past weekend.

6. Don’t Listen To The Critics

There’s a saying that opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth because everyone has one.

Critics can make all the predictions and assumptions they want, but it should always be taken with a grain of salt. In fact, it’s better to not even listen to them. They are often dead wrong.

For example, everybody counted out UCLA to beat USC last year in the rivalry game. It was a foregone conclusion. The Trojans would go on to play in the national championship that year. The score?

UCLA 13
USC 9

It doesn’t matter if people say you can’t do something. It’s human nature. Criticizing is the easiest thing to do. Forge ahead and prove them wrong.

7. Adjustments Make the Difference

This is HUGE. It’s so important. A lot of games are made or broken at halftime because it’s during the 1st and 2nd quarters when coaches get a “feel” for what the opponent is doing so they can take that and adjust accordingly afterwards for the remainder of the game.

There’s always a direct correlation to the changes made at halftime and the outcome of the game.

Play the game. Adjust along the way.

8. Take It One Game At a Time

Every coach, every player, every true college football fan who is worth their salt has drilled this fact into their head. They have to take it one game at a time. That game being the one they’re going to play next.

They cannot afford to look past their current game to seemingly other “important” games such as rivalries or key matchups. They have to take care of business this weekend. That has to be their complete focus because it’s so easy to be trip and fall because they’re looking too far ahead and not at what’s right in front of them. Especially if they’re up there in the polls because everybody will be gunning for them which brings me to the next point:

9. The Underdog ALWAYS Has a Chance

Probably one of the best things about college football is that NOBODY is safe. NOBODY. I don’t care if you lost all your games for the season and you’re playing your rival who is ranked #1 in the nation as your last game. You still have a chance to beat them. Rivalry games are huge. Size, rank, past history, critics, polls, all that doesn’t matter. You CAN be taken down by ANYBODY, especially by the one that nobody expects.

You only need to look at what happened to Michigan last weekend. Ranked #5 in the nation, a consistent contender for the national title each year, they lost to a Division I AA school, the biggest upset in college football history.

And they beat them in their own house. 105,000 Michigan fans were silenced that Saturday afternoon.

The underdog always has a chance.

10. EVERYBODY Counts

Usually the quarterback or the coach is the one who gets all the glory. The mature quarterbacks and coaches deflect any praise thrown at them and they share them with the team. After all, the center is the one that makes sure he gets the snap right. The offensive line protects the quarterback. The entire defense makes sure the quarterback can get the ball back. The offensive coordinator gives the play to run to the quarterback. The quarterback executes the play. The receivers catch the ball. The running back runs the ball. The blockers block to let the running back run the ball.

EVERYBODY counts because it’s a team sport. And it’s tempting to attribute the success to a few key people, but in reality, the team is a success because of everybody on it.

Similarly, it’s so easy to focus in on a few star players in your business or organization, but it’s important to remember that EVERYONE counts. EVERYONE. They all make a difference.

There you have it. The top 10 things you can learn about life from college football.

So I think that this song by John Mayer from his album continuum is a must-listen clip to get young Filipinos to think for themselves and their position within their country in projecting a global opinion of how we wanted our world to change.  This means that we should engage in activities that will heighten our knowledge of global issues (visit globalissues.org) and start an active participation in work that stregthen the consciousness of caring and helping (volunteerism, NGO work, legislative advocacies are a way to go.. We must see  in ourselves the change we wish to see in our world

 Waiting On The World To Change

 
me and all my friends
we’re all misunderstood
they say we stand for nothing and
there’s no way we ever could
now we see everything that’s going wrong
with the world and those who lead it
we just feel like we don’t have the means
to rise above and beat it

so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

it’s hard to beat the system
when we’re standing at a distance
so we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change
now if we had the power
to bring our neighbors home from war
they would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door
and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information, oh
they can bend it all they want

that’s why we’re waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

it’s not that we don’t care,
we just know that the fight ain’t fair
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

and we’re still waiting
waiting on the world to change
we keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
one day our generation
is gonna rule the population
so we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change

   It struck me hard one time that I had to make my own vision board.  Images of all the things, concepts, and objects or ideas that I want to attract into my own life especially those ideas I believe in and PEOPLE I admire

Oprah Winfrey

Indeed an ironic post for the politics of self…I’m over those political comments crap that few people really understood or apply into their own lives though we will have lots of those coming in my later posts. For the meantime politico-savvy-artsy fellas DECIDE TO HAVE A GREAT MORNING!!!!