As a kid my Mom used to always say, “Give me my flowers while I’m living because when I’m dead and gone I can’t smell them or see the beauty they bring.”  What she was really telling us is that she wanted us to use spoken and written words and actions to express to her how valuable she was to us and how we appreciated her. 

As an adult I now understand that one of our inner-most basic needs is the need for recognition and to feel like we matter and are valued by somebody.

Last night I had the privilege to receive this card from one of my five teenage group-home boys.  It wasn’t for my birthday or any other special event or occasion.  It was for my favorite reason of all, “just because”.  Just because what, you may ask.  Well, it was “just because” I’ve taken the time to be there with him and for him 17 hours a week over the last year.

You see, his real Dad has been in prison for many years and his Mom has been removed from his life too and other relatives and next-of-kin are “too busy” to care.  So, I’ve been given the special opportunity to model positivity for him during the good, the bad, the ugly and the sad times.

The unfortunate reality is that there are millions of other kids just like him in desperate need of a hand up and a little T-I-M-E.  It doesn’t take much of it (time) to leave a positive footprint in their life, but you do have to make the time.  They’re all around us, in our neighborhoods, churches and other corners of life, so you don’t have to look very far. 

They need us now more than ever before to pick up the slack and help them to make it GREAT!  There’s no better feeling than knowing that you’re making a positive impact and difference in the life of not just your own family, but also in the life of someone who doesn’t share your last name. 

Give it some thought of how you can contribute and take ACTION, however big or not-so-big it may be.   Let’s all collect our flowers while we live and continue in our efforts to make it GREAT

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D id you know Circus Elephants are trained as babies by setting a “Limiting Belief” in their mind that change is painful. The trainer ties a tourniquet to the elephant’s leg and the harder it pulls away from its position, the tighter the tourniquet gets.  This action securely lodges a limiting belief in the elephants mind that trying to escape his chains can cause severe pain.  So, ultimately the elephant gives up all hope of breaking free from his captors.  The only way to break this belief is if you induce a state of panic in the elephant by threat of death.  Unfortunately, the elephant was not given the ability to reason on a level that would allow it to endure the short period of pain in order to free itself from the bonds of its chains.

The great thing about us human beings is that our creator may not have given us the size and strength of an elephant or the speed of a cheetah, but he did give us a large brain and the ability to process complex thoughts and reason with it.  Thank God that we understand that we have to be willing to endure temporary pain to achieve our desired gain and aim.  There’s no need for us to wait for imminent danger or a death threat if change is necessary for us.  Just make the decision to start the process today and strive to make it GREAT!

My new book (Make it GREAT) is loaded with content that’s specifically created to make you better today than you were yesterday in every way, so pre-order today.  Your best investment is the one you make in your own knowledge, guaranteed.  Let’s Make it GREAT!

www.CedricCrawford.com/The-BOOK/

A s we approach yet another welcomed week I would like to give you unbridled permission to have an “Unrealistic Dream“.  If our goal is noble and of great significance we have to be comfortable with it being “unrealistic” in the eyes of most of those around us.  

The thought that we could light up a room by the flip of a switch was definitely unrealistic for it’s time, but thank God Thomas Edison dreamed it was possible.  The idea that a human could achieve flight in a vehicle made of metal was inconceivable to many, but the Wright brothers not only conceived and believed it, they ACHIEVED it.  The very notion that a person could communicate voice-to-voice with another person hundreds of miles away was nothing short of ludicrous, but Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant Watkins weren’t laughing.  They worked to make it happen.

So, I say to you today, don’t be discouraged if others don’t believe in your dream or can’t see your vision.  Don’t let their lack of vision cause a lack in your vision. 

Be sure to stay focused on your goals and dreams and keep your vision clear because cloudy vision will result in a rain on your parade.  Believe it’s possible and it then becomes possible for you. Got Goals?  Got Dreams?  Got Milk?  Make it GREAT.

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www.CedricCrawford.com/The-Book/

T here is nothing more exciting and powerful than a dream whose time for fulfillment has come.  This feeling of overwhelming accomplishment is reserved only for those who after several weeks, months or even years have maintained their daily disciplines day-in and day-out not wavering from their belief that one day their applause would come.   They’ve had patience and perseverance in hopes that one day they would eventually have that déjà vu moment in the sun that they’ve dreamed about over and over again.  The joy of just knowing that their sleepless nights were not in vain.  The gratification of knowing that their countless hours and commitment paid off and the satisfaction of realizing the many sacrifices made in their life both big and small were worth it all in the end. 

            Yes, any and all noble and just, worthwhile goals and dreams acted upon with this type of ferocity and undying commitment shifts the question in terms of success from “if” to “when”.  So I say to you today, stay the course my friends, indeed all that you do in plain sight of others and behind the scenes is not in vain.  The time for the fulfillment of your goal’s and dream’s will come soon enough if you resolve today to hang-in-there with your diligent actions until success shows up and you WIN!  Carpe minutam, diem and vitam (Seize the minute, day and life) and make it GREAT! 

GREAT WEEKEND !!!

Pre-Order available for the Book “Make it GREAT”:

www.CedricCrawford.com/The-BOOK/

I ’ve observed over the years that the poorly educated are often easily manipulated and violated and victimized due to the lack of the knowledge that would afford them the ability to make better choices and decisions. 

It appears to me “most people” believe that education stops with graduation, but I believe this couldn’t be further from the truth.  For years this belief has been the show-stopper for advancement in the lives of many across the globe.  And many, many more will continue to subject themselves to manipulation and victimization by those who have made it their business to prey on the poorly educated.  There is no doubt that to continue down this slippery slope will ultimately lead to the undoing of once-stable communities all around the world.  So what is the antidote?  Well, it’s quite simple.  Continued, Never-Ceasing, Self-Inflicted Education.

In many cases it may not be entirely our fault that we’ve received inadequate education in the past but I believe it is solely our fault if we don’t intentionally seek out more education for our future.  I believe that we Know-not because we Read-not and we Hear-not because we Listen-not.  Knowledge and education doesn’t have any feet so it can’t walk to us or meet us half-way, we have to go to it and seek it out.

So I invite you today to make the act of seeking out more knowledge, wisdom and education part of your ever-so-important daily disciplines, for the best and most lucrative investment you can ever make is an investment in yourself.  Ignore this universal truth at your own peril.

We only get one time through this “Life” thing so let’s keep seeking the knowledge to make it GREAT!

Better Education = Better Choices = Better Results = Better You = Better LIFE.

Pre-Order the Book Today:  “Make it GREAT”

www.CedricCrawford.com/The-BOOK/