Do You Have True Inner Beauty?

How many of you had the opportunity and privilege to watch the reality TV show True Beauty? Despite the fact it was a little over the top for me-I have never seen so many conceited and vain people in my life, but at the same time I could always implement a little more confidence like our True Beauty contestants.

I will have to admit Billy Jeffrey was my favorite contestant and for those of you who didn't know, he is from Lewiston, Idaho! How cool is that? I went to college 30 minutes north in Moscow, Idaho. Anyhow, the point of all this...

So the purpose of the show was not to determine who was the most beautiful on the outside but who was the most beautiful on the inside! They determined this with the use of hidden cameras and providing situations where the contestants were tested on their choices. For example, Billy Jeffrey was on his way to the Hall of Beauty to plea his case why he should remain in the competition. So the limo guy drops him off and as he is walking into the building this 'bum' is crossing the street with his grocery cart filled with cans & bottles. Mind you, Billy is all suited up just about to open the door and this 'bum' crashes his grocery cart with cans, bottles flying everywhere!

So the question is did Billy stop to help? Whats weird is through all of these hidden tests, I ask myself "Would I do that?" And to be totally honest half the time I probably wouldn't have. So this shows concept has had a deep impact on me because I'm always looking to improve and become a better person. For example, a few weeks ago I went into Staples to purchase some large white paper and the tripod that would hold it up. There was one tripod made out of wood for $50.00 and the aluminum one was like $75.00. I went with the aluminium because it looked nicer and was easier to assemble. But I should have grabbed the cheaper one.

I was checking out with the cashier and she told me the total. And it seemed way low, but I went ahead and paid it. What I realized was that I was charged the cheaper price of the wood tripod for the aluminium tripod. So I'm assuming the cashier either messed up or whoever tagged the item mistakenly placed it.

So as I walked out of the store I thought to myself, "I failed that inner-beauty challenge."

Is There Purpose Living In Detroit?

I had an incredible conversation the other day with a friend. The dilemma that we both face is that we want to fix the city of Detroit, bad! So bad that we are willing to put our families and livelihood at risk to help the city of Detroit return to all of its glory. We want this region to be prosperous, exciting and successful. We want people to desire to live here and move here. If you are ever having way too good of a day in Detroit and need a little reality check-just turn on the news (this is a joke-by no means, whatever you do-do not turn on the news). We feel the need to remain living here to be a part of something great, a transformation & revitalization of the greatest city that was. So as you may feel right now, this is exciting and anyone with true desire would want to take part.

The challenge is the day-to-day. One day I'm up and pump, others these crazy questions run through my head, "Why in the world did I move here?", "Why am I trying to fix Detroit?", "Why am I living here?", "Is it really worth it?" It is questions like these that can break a mans spirit. You have one little voice on your right talking about the positive things in the preceding paragraph, then you have the other voice on your left talking about the negative things above.

Problem #1:
My friend expressed that he shouldn't even be living here anymore, due to lack of work and income (mind you, this is coming from a very positive, upbeat guy who is on the team of fixing Detroit-I was appalled). He said he should just leave the state and move to New York for work. And I thought to myself, 'That's a valid point'. But I felt he was missing the picture. I feel we all suffer from this and that's identifying our problems and attaching them to a location. For example, the economy has been better, right? My friend, myself and all of us are all going through our own challenges whether they be financial, spiritual, personal relationships-the list goes on. My friend feels that by moving from Detroit to New York that all of a sudden his problems here will disappear and things will be great again. Granted he may get a better paying job in New York but living in New York could just bring a whole another slew of potential challenges. The real question is will he be more happy living in New York AND will he have a divine purpose for living there?

Here's the thing, I moved to Detroit from the west coast seven months ago. My family thought I was crazy and the friends that I have made here think I'm crazy. The deal is I had no purpose for living where I was. The only purpose was selfish. There was no drive, no cause, nothing to join forces with people and go fight. The other problem-I was comfortable, which means I was getting lazy. When I say lazy I mean, I took things for granted, I wouldn't help others, I was selfish, I was a fool.

Here in Detroit that is all there is to do, purpose, cause and fight. We are joining forces, figuring out how to work together and combating the issues at hand. Solutions need to be created and leaders need to emerge and lead. Without this occurring, this city could very well end up similar to the stomping grounds of Will Smiths New York in "I Am Legend", deserted, dismal and deathly quiet.

Problem #2:
Why move to New York for work when we can make money on the internet living from anywhere we want? People, the last time I checked we are living in the most advanced age of technology. There are so many different ways to make money it's silly. The challenges we are facing today are allowing us the opportunity to put down our guard and come together as a region, help your neighbor and give back. We will fail miserably if we don't work together.

Problem #3:
Every inspirational movie I have seen is a story of persistence. What good is an inspirational movie if the main character quits and gives up. Excuse my language, but if that happens I get pissed! The same goes for you, don't you ever, ever give up. Quitting is for losers and you are a winner (especially if you are reading my blog). This is the way I look at it. I burnt my ship, I left my house, packed up and moved my family across the country to Detroit. I can't quit, I can't give up, I can't return home and tell my parents that I didn't have what it takes to be successful. I simply can't quit-its not an option, its not a thought, I can't even fathom the concept of quitting. I've embarked on the craziest and the wildest journey of my life and I will be victorious. But you know what?...all the more exciting the story. The truth is WE all are creating our own story. Don't be the person who quits-no one will watch that movie, those movies suck.

Do you know what we all need a little of? Hope. Lets make this happen, so when the evening news anchor Brian Williams reports, "As unpredictable as it may seem, people are moving to Detroit in droves. A few key leaders have emerged and played a huge role in the city's revitalization efforts. The number of vacant houses of declined significantly and employment has skyrocketed. Even the Lions are winning games."