Change is the constant....

"Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure."

~Albert Einstein

 

"Do not innovate to compete, innovate to change the rules of the game."

~David O. Adeife

 

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

~Winston Churchill

 

"Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless."

~Thomas Edison

 

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."

~Thomas Edison

 

"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

 

Ahhhhh.....another painter/sculptor......a genius who was criticized for his innovation and style. I remember the first time I saw one of his paintings. I was 12 years old and I was standing in the back of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, complaining, like any good preadolescent, about having to see ONE MORE "old church" ....and how much my feet hurt! Yes..my feet hurt, hey it was 1966 and we were ALL dressed up and walking all over Rome on tour after tour....cramming every possible site imaginable into TWO days! I was looking at all the painting and distracted by the travel guide who was telling us the story about how Michelangelo painted the GIGANTIC fresco at the front of the chapel depicting Heaven and Hell.....and the constant badgering he received from critics inside and out of the church. He pointed out to us how Michelangelo let his painting speak for him.....he painted his worst critic on the far right hand bottom corner of Hell. Hmmmm.....innovative! I had some people in my life at the time that I wanted to paint in the far right hand bottom corner of Hell!!!!!!

 

It is easy to aim low.....and reach it. Critics are those who's aim is to keep themselves and all around them aiming low....it was the perfect poetic spot for the critic! Change, innovation, growth, imagination.....these are the birth places of creation. And God....being who He is.....is ALWAYS creating.....He has not changed who He is and never will. SO change is a constant....and yet we resist it with every fiber of our being. It scares us.....it hurts....it is dangerous....it is out of our control.

 

Change is happening in and around my life.....my oldest daughter, Amy is now married, her sisters, Sara and Sydney are graduating from High School....and tomorrow they sign their letters of intent to accept athletic scholarships to Brevard College in North Carolina. This August they move far away from home.....and it will be back to just Jack and I.....and a huge change will occur. A very QUIET HOUSE!!!!

 

Extreme Dreams is changing daily.....and the excitement and innovation that is coming to the forefront in the office and in the lives of our team and our artists is almost overwhelming!!!!! Genius is showing up all over the place and I am quite aware that it is not from this corner of the office....it is the creativity and powerful innovation of God working within the confines of our humanness to love each other and those He has placed in our lives to care for. I have been here before.....and it is an exciting journey to watch God put on His show!

 

"I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world."

~Jesus in John 16:33

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

 

Walking in circles.....

 "Nothing is easy to the unwilling."
 ~Thomas Fuller

 

 "The shape of our lives is defined by our insertion into institutions and systems whose interlocking power generates the "virtual reality" we experience. Such 'knowledge' is so thoroughly a part of our worldview that it simply would not occur to most people to question it. Yet underneath this reality is another, subinstitutional reality in which very different responses are simply acted out. This is the reality in which everyone, until very recently, lived."

 ~David Schwartz

 

"Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth- that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too."

~ W.H. Murray, The Story of Everest

 

"We want the facts to fit the preconceptions. When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts than to change the preconceptions."

~ Jessay West

 

 "If you are still being hurt by an event that happened to you at twelve, it is the thought that is hurting you now."

~ James Hillman

 

There is a simple profoundness in this last quote....stuff happens.....and we can accept that reality, hate what happened, recognize that it hurt, and let go of the thought that KEEPS HURTING US! And yet....we hang on to it for some strange reason....thinking that thinking about it is going to somehow change what happened! I have found in my life that all this process has done is water the root of bitterness until I have a healthy growing anger and a strong stalk of entitlement spreading throughout the garden of my heart. The root killer that must be applied to this weed in my heart is the herbicide of forgiveness.....complete and full forgiveness.....the kind that gives up the "thinking" and "analyzing" of the situation.....so that it can live only in the past and no longer keep hurting me here in the present.

 

The biggest hurdle I usually have to get over in these situations is myself....and getting OVER MYSELF is a pretty big hurdle!!!! Until I do that I find that though I feel like I am moving forward.....I have found I am usually just walking in circles. It is just an appearance of moving forward.....that seems to get me right back to where I started....with no resolution to the issues that got me there! It is not until I recognize that I am on this circular track that I can choose to jump the fence and head out in a new direction...the direction of my dreams...and truly change, truly surrender myself to God's dream for me......a dream that is bigger than what I want....a dream that He has had for me from the foundations of the earth.....a dream of walking with Him into all of the excitement and thrill of knowing and loving Him. Now THAT's what I am DREAMING OF and learning to enjoy on every leg of this journey.

 

"So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace--a new life in a new land! That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection."

~Paul in a letter to the Romans 6:1-8

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

It is all in the timing......

"Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable... attainable. Have the patience; wait it out. It's all about timing."

~ Stacey Charter

 

"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits."

"Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something."

"I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun."

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

~Thomas Edison

 

I have had so much fun this past month!!! And I can look at all of it and see that it has all fallen into place because of TIMING....I am ready to receive ALL of it and it has arrived! I have been preparing and planning and getting READY for it.....and now that it is here....it is soooooooo much fun!

 

I believe that life is too short to be doing something that is NOT FUN! There are SQUILLIONS of things to do with your life.....and to choose one that is not what you LOVE to do....is insanity! My entire life has been about choosing what I love to do and having fun doing it!

 

NOW....do I always love it??? No! There is work involved that is tiresome and difficult and sometimes even painful.....and I do get weary. HOWEVER....I have found that when my attitude is one of choosing to enjoy this journey....I find ways to make the road a fun one! It has made all the difference.....and I have had incredible moments in my life that have been filled with joy unspeakable because of this mindset.

 

Dreams are the children of our hearts desire.....and as we nurture them to maturity, keeping the fun, awe and wonder resident within each new discovery.....we can receive each experience with the full realm of emotions and feeling....knowing that there are no rules.....and there are VERY few TRUE emergencies.....and life is what it is, so we might as well enjoy every itsy, bitsy piece of it.

 

I sat in my seat at the Nashville Star live show last night and I realized that I was surrounded by 2 women who I love dearly....Lisa Schneider and Stephanie Urbina Jones......our lives have been woven together in a beautiful tapestry of work and play. It was a perfect setting....and as I watched the contestants perform....I was reminded that God's purpose for each was to give all that they had and trust Him with the results. I have done this in most of my own career....and it has been a WILD ride.....and yet God's timing is perfect. I come home from the leg of this part of the journey with new perspective and new friends that I have connected with....people who 2 years ago I would have never dreamed of meeting and discussing doing business together. Surrounded by these 2 precious women....loved by them and feeling so honored by their choice to love me.....I realize that the journey has been SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

~Jesus in John 15:10-11

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

 

True Happiness.....

"Authentic happiness is true joy that lives within the soul. It is not a reaction to material possessions or events. It is a deep inner appreciative joy that follows us in spite of circumstances."

~Steve Brunkhorst

 

"Love does not only transform our mental/emotional nature, it also involves the physical system of our body which goes through profound changes as well."
~ David McArthur, The Intelligent Heart

 

"One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter."

~ James Earl Jones

 

"The heart is the first feature of working minds."
~Frank Lloyd Wright

 

It has been a while since I have written....and yet the days have been so full and I find myself unable to set aside enough time to really download ALL that is happening in my life and heart. I am learning so much as what seems the speed of light!!!!

 

Today I sit in my hotel room in Nashville. I have had such a relaxing and yet full weekend.....meeting with people who are and will be important parts of the future of Extreme Dreams. It has been a time to rest, seemingly for the first time in a month.....and yet I realize that my days are quite full. Then I remember that rest is more an attitude of the heart than a physical state. And it brings everything into such beautiful clarity.....that abiding is all there is to do.

 

Last week I sat in a hotel room in Los Angeles....where I had been the Sunday before also! I realized today that I have not been to church in 3 weeks and I miss it! AND yet at the same time I realize that God has me on a journey that requires that I spend my entire time in His Presence......for I can not do any of this myself....Abiding is REQUIRED!

 

At the conference in LA, I learned an amazing thing....that when we are developing as a tiny baby...we have millions of connectors in our developing brain. As they are stimulated and used....the patterns are reinforced.....and those that are not eventually disappear. BUT WAIT....what happens to the brain material??? WELL....come to find out it travels down and settles around our hearts......and are we mature this process continues.

 

So when we "think" from our heart.....we REALLY are using "thinking" to do this!!!!!!! What also became apparent as the studies revealed more insights, was that as we continue to mature we are able to connect our heart and our head.....and our soul directs the thinking. They found that this usually happens later in life....like the 50 - 60 year old range! God calls that WISDOM! What blew me away is that God told us all of this THOUSANDS of years ago.....and now science is confirming all that God has already told us in the Old Testament! I just LOVE that when He does that!!!!

 

So here I am walking in a new understanding of HOW God has worked to give me a NEW HEART....a heart to KNOW Him....through the miracle of His Spirit abiding in me....His Spirit guiding the "thinking" of my head and my heart, rather than the fleshly soul of my own experience. What an incredible journey we are on together....and what a GREAT and AWESOME Companion He is to me!!!!

 

"I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you."

~John 14:16 (The Message)

 

Extreme Dreams, LLC
Kathy Douglas
President
10603 Grant Rd. Ste 110
Houston, TX 77070
Office - 281-890-5034
Fax - 281-890-0300
Cell - 713-398-7304
www.extreme-dreams.net/
kathyd@extreme-dreams.net

"Helping people enjoy the Journey as much as the Destination"

Visit my coaching journal at:

http://extreme-dreams.blogspot.com/

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