Boundless energy is yours.

     'I'm tired.' 'I'm not up to it.' 'Maybe later when I feel better.' Any of these sound familiar?
     I'm not doubting that you believe those statements are true when you say them, but that does not make them true.
     Our psyches become so burdened with so much baggage as we grow up that, quite honestly, who we think we are and who we really are can become two completely different people. The key is to starve the former and feed the latter. Question and challenge the former and embrace and celebrate the latter.

What you see is what you are.

     It's simple really. Who you are on the inside is what you will see on the outside. Consider:

Any idea, person or object can be a Medicine Wheel, a mirror for man.
—Hyemeyohsts Storm

100% guaranteed love in your life.

     Mystics can be pretty funky people. Pretty hard to understand. And pretty darn insightful.
     Bernard de Clairvaux was a Christian mystic living in 12th century France. He was writing of the marriage possible between God and the soul, but the principal involved is universally applicable. He wrote:

"There is no unreturned love."

     That's from a poem by Walt Whitman. So just what does it mean? I don't pretend to know, but I can tell you what it means to me. It means if I put love out into the world I will get it back. Guaranteed.

Are you waiting to live?

     Be honest. Are you going to really start living when you graduate from school, retire from your job, get social security, get your driver's licence, lose that weight, make that money, get the guy, feel better, feel stronger, have more support, get your health back, your family straightens out (fill-in-the-blank here)?

You better believe it!

     We've all heard the saying. So what's to it? Just a catchy saying? Some religious fanaticism? Why do people at baseball games hold up signs that say it? Is there anything at all to it?

The sickening feeling of having to start all over again.

     What happens when you thought you were further along only to be rocked by the fact that you are at ground zero, the starting line, the absolute beginning. It can be a real eye opener, can't it?

Is goodness rewarded or do nice guys finish last?

     Come on. Be real. Goodness is for saps. It's for that big stupid puppet Barney on TV. Nice guys finish last. Look out for number one. Right?

It ain't over yet.

     Gloom. Doom. Psychologist Nathaniel Branden said why do we have to equate growing up with giving up? I agree. But giving up is a complex problem. What causes a person to give up? That too is complex. 
     This from Scientology: A New Slant on Life by L. Ron Hubbard:

The most dangerous time of all.

     Think you've got your life all figured out? Know how it's going to play out from here? More ho hum boredom? You've seen it all?
     I just finished reading a book called Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It was all about how we can't possibly know what's coming, and if we think we know, we put ourselves in the most vulnerable position of all.

When you get burned for doing the right thing.

     If you do something wrong and something bad happens, it's expected. No, you're not happy about it, but you're not surprised either. The trouble comes when you do the right thing and something bad happens. Or how about when you really do the right thing, you do things perfectly, and still something bad happens. That, my friends, is a very tough one.
     When it happens your first reaction is, 'That's not fair!' Or if you're like me, 'There is no God. There is no justice in this world.'

How to fight back when you're down.

     It's one of the great ironies of life. Think of when people come into Alcoholics Anonymous. Their life is a wreck. Often with work, relationship, legal problems galore. Plus they're an emotional, mental and physical wreck. And that's the critical point at which they need to make their greatest effort to stay sober and turn their lives around.

What to do when things go against you.

     Ever feel like you're the only one who hasn't figured it all out? I'm feeling that way right now. The key for me though is not giving up at times like this.
     Check this out from Chin-Ning Chu's Thick Face, Black Heart.

Toughing out the pain.

     Going through a hard time? Don't blank out on it. It has something to show you. And even if you can't figure out the lesson it brings you, you can rest assured that if you stay conscious throughout it, it will bring you growth. And the more dreadful the experience (again, if you stay conscious through it), the more massive the growth.
     The natural instinct when pain hits is the opposite. Run away from it.

Lightning can strike your soul too.

     All this talk about growth and change being 'little by little.' Well, for the most part it's true. But then again it's also true that growth can be explosive, instantaneous.

If you were God who would you help?

     I remember sitting by my apartment window on a late autumn day, the wind pleasantly sighing, leaves swirling outside. I was day-trading commodities at a computer terminal— and not doing very well at all. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a lady bug crawling up the window pane. But the market was crazy and I had to keep a close eye on it, but even so, I did notice that after the lady bug made its long, slow climb up the window to the wooden divider that it fell all the way back down to where it started from.
     The market was ripping the wrong way

What happened to your fire?

     Wasn't there a day in your past when you were just burning with life? The world was yours to conquer, to enjoy, to improve. You were confident, perceptive, alive to life's endless beauty and potentialities.
     What happened to that person?

Change from the inside out.

     That's the key. Changing from the inside out.
     The trap is to think the opposite. Oh, I better do this or I better do that. Look how long I've been procrastinating on this or that. I really should...

Character is destiny.

     You know, I believe it. All this scampering around to make money. 'Look at me! Look at me! Please buy my product!' I'd rather be poor than live that way. I'm just interested in getting all I can out of myself.

What matters most.

     I just gotta say something. All these blogs. All these forums. All these websites. That are all just about making money, getting readers. Now I'm not saying it's not important to have a livelihood, but you can't neglect the rest of your life either. People hustle around at their jobs, in their businesses or their writing careers— and sometimes it's great fun. And there's nothing wrong with that— as long as you don't lose an eye toward what's really important.

First they ignore you--but not for long.

     The focus is: how are we going to win? A saying:

"First they ignore, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." —Gandhi

In the beginning...

     Well, it's been a while since I've actually done any writing since I've been so busy formatting my e-book and then getting settled in on the social network sites, but here goes. First of all, thanks for stopping by. I don't take your visit for granted. And, as the title of my blog suggests, this blog is dedicated to underdogs everywhere. Underdogs, down and outers, people lost or just plain down on their luck.

     I look forward to getting to know you, and I look forward to you getting to know me. Because, see, I've been foremost amongst the underdogs of the world.