I’ve got a quick question for you.

Have you ever dry-cleaned a rented outfit before returning it to the store? Have you ever washed a rental-car before returning it back to the car lot? Or even better still, have you ever cleaned up a hotel room before checking out? The honest answer to these questions is probably an emphatic “NO” or even an “Absolutely NOT”!

Why? Well, I would hazard to guess that it’s because you don’t really own it. That’s right folks, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to you if I told you that people don’t usually put a lot of time and effort into taking care of the things that they don’t own.

Ever lend out something to your neighbor or a good friend only to receive it back in an abused, neglected, lackluster condition? Well, the answer is probably “Yes”. Why did this happen? Well, quite simply it’s because they don’t own it.

As this is true, I invite you to consider that the same is also true for those of us who don’t take ownership of our own goals and dreams for the future. If we don’t take ownership of our own dreams and possibilities for a better life for us in the future, then who else should be responsible today for where we end up tomorrow? Hmmm…

Simply put, we should never treat our most precious goals and valuable dreams like a rental tuxedo or a rental-car or a Hilton Hotel room. I encourage you to take complete ownership of your goals and dreams in the days ahead and start giving them some time and effort and perform a little routine maintenance regularly on them. And, don’t be surprised when you start to see them coming true for you.

Yes, this action could quite possibly lead you to separating yourself from those who just settle and becoming one of those who succeed.

So, let’s take some ownership today and make this new day soooooo incredibly awesome that yesterday gets insanely jealous. Let’s Make it GREAT!!! 😉

www.MrBreadCrumb.com
www.CedricCrawford.com
www.MakeItGreatNOW.com

One of the most difficult recurring challenges we may face in life is managing to genuinely be happy for others who appear to be experiencing success when we are still in the midst of struggle. How do I know this? Well, it’s because I’ve struggled with this over and over for many years until I finally managed to figure it out and turn it around.

Over the years I allowed myself to interpret others success as a twisted sign of me failing and I found myself looking for unfair reasons for why others were experiencing success. Reason’s like, they came from a wealthy family or they had the right contacts or complexion of connection or maybe because they were good-looking or they found some way to cheat or just got “lucky”. All of these reasons were just ways I could make myself feel a little bit better about not succeeding or accomplishing the things that I thought I should have accomplished at that point in my life.

But, at the end of the day, I finally learned that my way of what the late, great speaker Zig Zigler calls “stinking-thinking” was blocking my blessings and beliefs that I too could accomplish great things. Then it happened. I started to intentionally find a way to celebrate the victories of others and give genuine accolades and praise where it was due and then slowly but surely I too started to eventually see more wins in my own life. That’s right friends, once I started to find a way to high-five and encourage others for their success, I started to realize more-and-more successes myself.

So, if this proverbial shoe fits you today, I encourage you to consider turning-it-around and finding a way to smile and be genuinely happy for others who are experiencing success with their dreams and teams and don’t be surprised when the same eventually starts to happen for you and your crew too. 🙂

Keep Making it GREAT!

www.MrBreadCrumb.com
www.CedricCrawford.com
www.MakeItGreatNOW.com

I must admit that I’ve noticed a lot of things on Sunday mornings but one thing I have yet to see on a Sunday morning is freeway traffic jams. Hmmm…

The greatest of all debaters could debate whether or not churches, cathedrals and synagogues are necessary in our society, but at the end of the day, many find common ground in the belief that relationships and a sense of community is a feeling that’s craved and desired by all. As this is true, then what better place to build relationships and community than in a place full of a bunch of flawed individuals that are seeking to be a little bit better today than they were yesterday and looking to spread goodwill and God’s will.

A slogan of “No Perfect People Allowed” seems to be the common theme that reverberates throughout the sanctuaries these days and rightfully so. That’s right folks, those who’ve got it all figured out need not apply, these places are built and specifically designed for those who have challenging habits, stressful hang-ups, a hurting heart and are looking for a little bit of hope and help. So be sure to find you a spot that feeds your “inner-me” so you can fight against your “enemy”.

Oh, and for those of you who’re already engaged, for God’s sake please don’t stay in your seats, get out on the streets. Your mission is not in your chairs, it’s showing others that you care. So get off the benches and get into the trenches and help make this “good” world, GREAT!

www.MrBreadCrumb.com
www.CedricCrawford.com
www.MakeItGreatNOW.com

The strangest thing happened to me today in a doctor’s office and the events were indeed stranger than fiction and I must share.

I was tagging along with my 16-year-old son, Cedric Jr (Little “C”), to his first-ever chiropractor visit with Dr. Graham. Unlike most, I actually don’t mind hanging out in waiting rooms and such during doctor visits because I always manage to bring a good personal development book to read or my journal so I can do some writing.

Today while sitting in the doctor’s office with my journal I suddenly realized that this time last year I was newly introduced to the highly intense sport of Crossfit. After only two short weeks my old football injuries and a knee surgery eventually knocked me out of the sport but I took with me some valuable lessons that also are transferrable and applicable to life. So to commemorate my one year, Crossfit anniversary I thought it would be a good idea to write a little something about the topic for my blog. Then it happened.

Moments into my writing I was suddenly interrupted by Dr. Graham’s entry. I quickly looked up and we made eye contact and the first words out of his mouth were, “Hey, I know you.” I then smiled back at him and jokingly said, “You must watch a lot of episodes of COPS then”. We then shared a quick LOL then he said, “No, I recognize you from Crossfit last year.” “Ahhh… Of course, now I remember your face.” I said with a smile.

A casual conversation followed and I advised him that coincidentally I was just in the process of writing an article for my blog on the subject and then he suddenly walked in. He thought that was pretty interesting too. He then begin doing his evaluation on my son while we continued to pepper the conversation with Crossfit and other niceties and before you knew it, we were all done. He then asked was there anything else he could do for us and I requested a selfie. “Wow! I’ve been in this business for over 18 years and you’re the first client to ever ask me for a doctor’s-office-selfie.” He said. And I replied, “Well, I guess we can be the first to start the Doctor’s-office-selfie trend.” We LOL’d and snapped a few shots and then went on about our merry way wishing each other a great day.

You know in Crossfit many athletes will agree with the notion that no matter how many different ways you carry a 45 pound plate, it’s still heavy. I invite you to consider that so too are the burdens in our life. No matter how you choose to carry them, they still will negatively affect you and slow you down if you don’t eventually put them down. Carrying heavy burdens can even prevent you from having a cheerful interaction with those you come into contact with every day.

After leaving the doctor’s office, I asked Little “C” what he thought about our interaction with the doctor and we both agreed that it was light, upbeat, engaging and encouraging. I think it’s fair to assume that he didn’t bring any of his burdens to the office with him today and we will all definitely feel a little bit better as we go about the rest of our day.

Simply put, no burdens opens us up to seizing opportunities to make other peoples day GREAT. So my unsolicited advice for you today is to let those negative burdens go so those positive vibes can flow.

Dr. Randall T. Graham at Optimal Wellness in Bakersfield, CA is DA MAN!!!

Lay those burdens down and let’s keep Making it GREAT!

www.MrBreadCrumb.com
www.CedricCrawford.com
www.MakeItGreatNOW.com

I believe that the greatest yet most overlooked and unrecognized power an individual can ever possess is the power of one person’s actions to negatively dictate the actions and feelings of another. Yes my friends, this type of power carries more weight than you’d ever know and many all over the world can be found guilty on many occasions of unknowingly giving this power over to many individuals in their lives every day.

I too at times have fallen victim to this same phenomenon repeatedly over the years. That was until one day I read somewhere how important it is for us to maintain control of our feelings and responsive-actions at all times. So, I encourage you today to never let someone’s actions or inactions toward you elicit a negative response or reaction from you. If so, this could quite possibly lead to ruining your day, your week or even your whole life if you’re not careful and that’s just too much power to give to another individual.

So, again I encourage you to never let the actions or inactions of another dictate our personal feelings and mood. Make every effort to stay in control in the days ahead so we can all Make it GREAT!

www.MrBreadCrumb.com
www.CedricCrawford.com
www.MakeItGreatNOW.com