Resolve to Be Destined in 2010

Today marks the end of 2009. Therefore, I just want to take the time to talk about something that a lot of people are doing during this time of the year... which is making New Years resolutions.

I have strong feelings about making New Years Resolutions. But before I talk about them, let me talk about how some people feel about making these resolutions. Some people make them, but give up on them by the end of February (in many cases, by the end of January). Some people don't make them simply because they simply see no point because they'll end up like the people in the previous reason. Some people don't make them because they say that New Years resolutions shouldn't be made because of the fact that we shouldn't only look to change ourselves for the better only once a year, but we should do it constantly during our whole lives. Let me address my thoughts on these two topics now...

First, I want to say that I do firmly believe in making New Years Resolutions. Since I do, let me go ahead and address the first two reasons in the previous paragraph. As somebody who studies motivation (and pretty much lives and breathes it), people give up on their resolutions, because they look at them as tasks, but more importantly, they don't look at them as goals which will eventually help them grow to be better. Most people give them up early, usually because they expect results right away, and sometimes get discouraged when they don't materialize right away. Not to mention, it is hard to break a routine of not doing something you haven't been doing for a long time, and when you finally decide you want to do it, it's kind of hard of getting into the habit of doing it. So, just a few simple tips to get around this... make a record of your resolutions (aka goals) and have them close to you. Have them in a notebook/journal, put it on a log in your computer, or whatever! But, try to review them as much as you can to constantly remind you of them, and what you want to become. Another tip... a good way to make a habit of doing something that Jack Canfield recommended in his book "The Success Principles" is to make a commitment to do it 2 weeks straight, no excuses. If you do that, no matter what the habit is (good or bad) more often than not, it's going to stay with you for life. (For example, I can't start a day without brushing my teeth or doing pushups after getting up from bed, nor can I eat a meal without saying grace, simply because I have made a habit of it.)

As far as the other reason is concerned, about not making them simply because we should constantly reflect and change ourselves for the better everyday, and not just during the turn of the calendar... Yes, that is true, and I will absolutely agree with that. But, do most people who say this actually do it? I am willing to bet you that those who say this, don't constantly take the time to reflect upon themselves nor constantly think about how they could be better, each and every single day. Therefore, a lot of people who say this, are just making an excuse and usually just using these words as a "cop out" to not look at their situation and try to be better.

I believe New Years Resolutions exist because I feel, that as a society, we all have to make them. And though I agree that we shouldn't only reflect upon ourselves during the New Year, it is a great time to do it, because it gives us a chance to really look back on what we have previously accomplished (whether it be in the previous year, or in life), and what we can do moving forward and evolve as human beings, since the calendar directly tells us (while our mind subconsciously tells us) that we are beginning another era of our lives.

So, I really do believe that we all should make "New Years Resolutions", because it will ultimately make us better. But once we make it, we should make a commitment of sticking by it (and a good tip is to keep a record and stick with it every single day for at least 2 weeks straight, NO EXCUSES!). Even if it's a small resolution, go ahead and make it, because if you accomplish it, it will give you the confidence to make it bigger as the year goes on. (Like I said, New Year's Resolutions shouldn't only last during the first two months, but for the whole year).

With that, I just want to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR. May your 2010 be the year of "DC", the year of the "Destiny Chooser". May you continue to evolve and take huge steps in becoming the best person that you are destined to be! :-)

D4P...PD!!! (in 2010 and beyond)

-John

Happy Thanksgiving

Just want to take the time to wish everyone here in America a "Happy Thanksgiving".

For those who celebrate this holiday, just take the time to focus on what's important and give thanks for all the blessings that came to your life. Although, there will be some who will some how turn this holiday into a negative (by commemorating the fact that the Piligrims killed the Native Americans after the First Thanksgiving dinner), I just want to just focus on your own blessings and not focus on the negative things in your life, and the negative things around the world. It would be hard to give thanks if that is your mindset.

As far as what I'm personally thankful for... I am most thankful for my family, most especially my mom the fact that she is still alive and survived all her battles with stress and health (plus, her patience is extremely admirable considering she has to put up with me, lol). She is one of the most loving people I know, and for those of you who are thankful can really see that. I'm also thankful for my progress. Although it is hard to see through some standards, I have done so much more during the past 11 months in getting where I want to be, than I have during the previous 2 years, and if I am able to keep going at it, there is no doubt that I can be where I want to be in a year from now. I am also thankful for all my friends. People that I have met during the past year, and people I have known beforehand... you all have had a profound impact in my life.

For all that I've mentioned above... I am truly thankful. Although we're all supposed to take time everyday to reflect on what you're thankful for, it is a known fact that we don't do it simply because we have other "priorities" to worry about. So now that we are officially designated a particular day when we are supposed to, make sure you get your priorities straight.

So to all who are reading... Happy Thanksgiving!!! And let this be the start of a great Holiday!!! :-)

D4P...PD!!!
-John

DC has lost an Icon... RIP Abe Pollin

During the past day and a half, there have been many local columnists, bloggers, reporters, celebrities, and media personalities doing tributes to the recently deceased owner of the Washington Wizards Abe Pollin. But you know, all the great things that has been said about Abe Pollin is well-deserved. In my opinion, he was probably one of the most important non-political figures here in DC, as he was very integral and single-handedly had a lot to do with the revitalization of what the city of DC has become today.

For those who just vaguely know the name of "Abe Pollin" he was known as the passionate sports owner. He owned the professional basketball team here in DC, that he brought from Chicago, then to Baltimore, then to DC. This team eventually became known as the Washington Bullets, then (due to political incorrectness) later became known as the Washington Wizards. He also brought professional hockey to Washington when the Expansion Capitals came to the NHL in '74. Overall, during his career in sports, he has owned 3 teams in the NBA's Bullets/Wizards, WNBA's Mystics, and NHL's Capitals.

But what I think what people would really remember him for is building the MCI Center (now Verizon Center) right smackdab in the middle of Washington, DC. An outstanding thing about that is that he pretty much built this arena with his own money, because at the time, the city was broke, and didn't have the money to issue bonds to pay to build the arena. If you lived in DC back then, you would remember that this part of the area was a pretty scary area to go to (almost as bad as the Anacostia/Southeast DC area was). But even more outstanding than that was that Abe Pollin building that arena pretty led to getting that area, and eventually the whole city becoming revitalized. Before that arena, there was nothing but run down buildings and apartment complexes, filled with lots of shady characters walking down the street. Nobody would think of getting off the Gallery-Place Metro Station. Now, that particular Metro Stop is pretty much the place to get off. There are tons of businesses around that arena, like office buildings, all sorts of restaurants, clubs, etc. Roughly 12 years after that arena opened that particular area of DC has become the spot where everything is happening.

Abe Pollin building that arena was the catalyst to the growth of the whole city of Washington, DC during the past 10 years. He inspired more real-estate moguls from around the country to take notice in this area and invest in this area by building properties, which eventually led to having this city more attractive overall, and raised the per capita income in the city and stimulated the local economy. If Abe didn't build the MCI Center, we wouldn't have building such as the Spy Museum, we wouldn't have most of the restaurants that we'd have (like Legal Sea Foods, the ESPN Zone, etc), and we wouldn't have Nationals Park, and arguably, the Washington Nationals. (The Expos were brought here because through it's well-improved economy during the past decade, partly thanks to the MCI Center, it was thought that this city can support a baseball team, and build a beautiful new stadium that people hoped could do for SE DC what the MCI Center did to Chinatown).

But as far as the Arena itself, it was one of the most revolutionary arenas of it's time, with a Jumbotron that was the first of it's kind (which later became an HD screen of it's kind), with several luxury suites, and cosy seats on the concourse. I remembered seeing the arena when it debuted on December '97 when the Wizards played the Sonics, and was just impressed with what I saw in TV. Then, when I got to go to my first event in MCI Center (which was a WCW Starrcade Wrestling Pay-Per-View), I was simply awestruck by the arena, as there was not a bad seat in the house. I have since then been to many other events in this arena, and has sat in many different sections, and I'm still awestruck with everything I've seen (as the last event I've been through, coincidentally, was another wrestling pay-per-view, in WWE Survivor Series this past Sunday).

People will truly remember Mr. Pollin for what all that he's done in this city... through building this arena, and through his other charity and philantrophic work. He'd donated millions to charity, give houses and money to the less fortunate, and along with Gilbert Arenas, help build schools around the area (through the Gilbert scores for schools program). He has singlehandedly done more for this particular city, than probably most owners in any city has done for theirs. I've previously blogged about current Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, and most of Mr. Leonsis principles were modeled from what Mr. Pollin believed in.

Unless you've lived in this area, you can't really understand how important Abe Pollin has been to this city. But even then, even if you lived in the area, you wouldn't really know the full extent of how he really was a human being and how he worked. (Even I doubted him at times, and was clueless with some of the decisions he's made in certain times, such as his firing of Michael Jordan as an executive. At the time, I didn't know it, but it turned out to be a great move).

But, I would say, that I do know, that through everything he has accomplished in the past 5 decades, it would be hard to top his legacy, not only as an NBA Owner, but as a person in general.

So RIP Mr. Pollin. The D.M.V. is surely going to miss you. Your love and accomplishments to this area is something that I personally want to get to someday, and without it, this city wouldn't be where it is. Washington Sports and Entertainment, and Washington, DC in general will never be the same about you!

D4P...PD!!!
-John

No DC... the President is Not Dead!!!...

I haven't done a blog in a while... but I figured this would be a great time for me to start again.

I've avoided a lot of topics over the past few weeks (such as Obama's take on health care, Kanye being a jerk, Serena being a jerk, etc), but I figured I'd talk about the Detroit Lions getting their first win in almost 2 years, against my team, the Washington Redskins.

The reason why I'm talking about this, is because it really has had an impact around this area, and the topics I usually hold dear to my heart (such as motivation, sports, heart, passion, etc). But, if you walk around the Washington area right now, you would have thought that President Obama died (as what I've said in a Facebook update earlier today, and hence the title of this blog).

As a very loyal Redskins fan who has loyally followed this team for about 2 decades, don't get me wrong, I was very upset by the loss. But, I think many people in this town are just overreacting over something they can not control. I understand the frustration with the current management, lackluster play, and 18 years without a Superbowl. But the unfavorable outcome of one football game that we have no hand in deciding is NOT gonna ruin your life.

Many people know that I love sports as much as the next guy and I probably follow it as obsessively, if not moreso, as my brother Angelico loves video games. And, those who know me would know that I love the teams that I follow. However, I wouldn't compare the Redskins losing as if I have lost a family member, or as if the president died. There are more things in life to be sad about than the Redskins losing a game to a team that hasn't won in almost 2 years. Believe me when I say, if the Redskins losing to the Lions is the worst thing that can happen to me this week... then consider me a lucky guy. The best thing I can do, is just say my opinions, make my peace, and move on with life, as well as hope the team will correct their mistakes and do better in the upcoming weeks... If not, so be it! Why lose my head over something I can't control???

As far as the Dallas Cowboy fans, bandwagon fans, the closet fans, and other anti-Redskins fans who will give fans of this team a hard time... you can't control them (and some of the idiotic things they may sometimes say), but you can control how you feel (and react) towards all of that. Remember... "It All Starts With You!" ;-)

I will say though, I have heard once, that pain is usually an ultimate motivator. Now that my favorite team has experienced a significant part of it this week by losing to a team like the Lions (and literally had their pride taken away from them), I just have to hope that it hurts enough for them to make something out of this and to hopefully turn this season around. And to bring back the quote by Napoleon hill...

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit." -Napoleon Hill

So yeah DC, the President didn't die. Believe it or not, something good can come out of this, and all doesn't have to be bad in this town week. (Not to mention, the Washington Capitals season starts on Thursday).

D4P...PD!!!
-John

8 years ago

I can't believe that it has been about 8 years since the horrible events of 9-11-01.

The events that day was one of those generation-defining periods, where everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news that the planes crashed in the World Trade Center twin towers. I can specifically remember where I was...

I was a sophomore in college, just coming back from my early 8:00 class which ended pretty early at a little over 8:30, and on my way to get some breakfast in the North Campus Dining Hall in the University of Maryland, before trying to either get some work done, or going back to sleep. I sat down, reading the Diamondback, eating my waffles, then all of a sudden, the TV switched to CNN coverage saying that a plane crashed on the World Trade Center. Then, a few minutes later, the second plane crashed, LIVE on the newsfeed. I was horrendously shocked!

Throughout the day, people around campus were shocked. Then, after hearing that the Pentagon was attacked (and wrongly hearing that the Capitol was attacked, which the United 93 flight that crashed in PA was intended for), I was tranced. I was worried about my brother (who was at Catholic University at the time, only a few miles from the Pentagon attack). Later that afternoon, when I went to my 2:30 PSYC 100 lecture, the professor had a lot of trouble teaching, and said that we must unite as a country.

But, if there's one great thing that came out of 9-11, is that this country united stronger than ever from the days of those events. I couldn't forget how many people wanted to immediately enlist in the army due to anger, pain, and pride after hearing the tragic events of that day (to kick some terrorist butt).

I actually wrote a "knee jerk" entry on the events of that day in my old website, on that same day. Feel free to check it out by clicking here. You can really see the feelings I was feeling that day (like pain, anger, confusion, etc). Keep in mind I was also 8 years younger, and I didn't quite know how to really express myself at that time.

To close things out, yes, the events of 9-11-01 was unfortunate. But, it has truly made us stronger as a country, and we have gone a long way since then. But, as a country (as well as individuals), we should never forget that day, but at the same time, we must continue to progress and move forward.

D4P...PD!!!
-John

Oh yeah... America still rocks...

Are You Ready for Some Football???

I sure am!!!

The NFL season officially kicks off tomorrow, and I am pretty excited about it. I just want to take a little time to offer some thoughts, and just make a few simple and non-serious predictions (for entertainment purposes of course)...

Thoughts...

• The top teams looking the most solid going into the season would be the Patriots, Ravens, and the Eagles. The Chargers should also be even better since they'll get "Light's Out" back.
  
• The Bears, 49ers, and Jaguars could probably be the surprise teams this season.
• The Cowboys and Giants aren't gonna be as great as some people are saying they will be.
• Brett Favre will either make or break the Vikings

Predictions...

• The Lions will NOT go 0-16.
• Brett Favre will either be injured or not starting if the Vikings don't have a winning record by the bye week and/or if they don't beat the Packers. (They'd already have played the Packers twice and have a favorable first half schedule, with the exception of the Steelers).
• Vick will be a valuable weapon in the Philly offense.
• Regular Season... Best: Chargers, Worst: Buccaneers, Sleeper: 49ers (picking them to challenge for the NFC West)
  
• Fantasy... Stud: Phillip Rivers, Dud: Tony Romo, Sleeper: Ray Rice
  
• Superbowl matchup: Eagles vs. Ravens

As far as my Redskins are concerned, they are not as bad as most people are saying they are gonna be. They have a decent chance to go over 10 wins (but also a decent chance to lose 10, if not careful). Regardless, I don't think they will lose that much, considering the talent level. I am also predicting that their 5th-string WR Marko Mitchell could potentially be their version of Marques Colston, and could make it to the #2 WR spot by the end of the season. And, since I said the Cowboys and Giants may not be as good as people say they will be, I believe they have a decent chance to challenge in the division.

One reason why I really love football season, is that it provides the best drama out of all the sports, and provides great story telling, with several plot lines, characters, and coverage. And as a speaker, I can appreciate that kind of "art".

But, those are just a few thoughts. I am so pumped for this season. I love this time of the year!

D4P...PD!!!
-John

Back from Spain...

I am writing this blog as I am in the air on the way back from Spain (but obviously, this entry isn't published on the blog until a little bit later). Anyway, I should take a little bit of time to let all you awesome readers know about my trip.

Spain is a very beautiful country. It is definitely a country that you have to experience with your own eyes. Let me just say it's definitely as great as any of the pictures I have seen in books. There are a lot of beautiful landscapes as you drive on the mountains and countryside, that you can just do absolutely nothing but appreciate. In fact, I probably must have gotten camera happy by taking tons of pictures just while riding in the car (a bunch of which I plan on posting on my Facebook page, eventually). You wouldn't be able to tell how beautiful Spain it by flying over it (unlike my local home city of Washington, DC), but driving around it is an experience within itself (as I heard is true with the most of Europe, which hopefully I hope to explore sometime).

The reason I was in Spain though was to visit my uncle and his wife, whom I haven't seen since 2002 when he visited DC. He is the only one out of the 4 other siblings that grew up with my mom back when my grandmother died way back in their childhood, so he was really close to my mom. I went with my mother, my two brothers, my sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew. Of course, it was the first time he saw my brother's kids, so that was a treat for him. But, it was also such a treat for us, as we haven't seen him in more than 7 years, and he showed us around Spain.

We landed in Barcelona, but we stayed at a town called Vinaros (which is a few miles off Valencia, aka "Orange Country"). The hotel my brothers, sister-and-law, and I stayed in was more of a Hostel (Hostal Tereuel) and it was very nice, because it was family owned with a very nice family atmosphere. They treated us really well.

We were pretty much around the Eastern part of Spain during our whole trip, so we were pretty much right beside the Mediterranean the whole time. We spent a lot of time in the beach, where believe it or not, the water is actually blue (as opposed to brownish green here in most of Northeast/Mid-Atlantic US). We visited towns like Peñiscola (there is a tild on top of the n if you didn't notice), Morella, and my favorite, Granada, where we visited the Alhambra and the Generalife garden (which was very beautiful). I also somewhat re-learned the Spanish language while there too.

It was also great spending time with my family. It's not often that my mom gets a vacation, and she definitely deserves this one, considering how hard she works. And my other relatives and the kids are definitely characters upon themselves. And though I kind of have sort of a "love-hate" relationship with all of my family (as you may know from reading "It All Starts With You"), I still love 'em and definitely cherish the time with them, even when they figuratively drive me nuts (at one point of the trip, I got pretty annoyed with one of my brothers that I kinda told him off for being proud of being a jerk, but cooler heads prevailed and everything was good).

Of course, I had trouble with using my computer. Though I did have free wi-fi, I couldn't charge my computer because I didn't have a grounded converter (which I didn't get until today when we got back to Barcelona to fly back), but it was all for the better. I was on vacation on pretty much anything (I didn't bring my pushup bars, and didn't do more than 600 pushups/day while there). I will have a lot of e-mail to attend to, and a lot of stuff to do to get back. Since I had a good amount of Euro to left spend before flying back, I did spend a lot of it on Toblerone, and stuff from the airport. It's all good though.

Also, I do want to say, that I had done some productive reading, getting to read two books. "Guerilla Negotiation" by Conrad Levinson et.al and "Covert Persuasion" by Kevin Hogan. Both recommended reads, and both taught me a lot of stuff (as well as reminded me of some old ones). Both books also had a unique way of telling you some of the same things about knowing and reading the behavior of others. (May do a review for one or both books if I'm up to it).

But, now that vacation is over, definitely have to focus on the next few months to end the year, and the next months after to begin the year. These next 5-10 months are so crucial to my speaking career, that it will definitely tell me where I will be in the next 5-10 years, both in my career, and as a person. Hell, these next few months are so crucial, that I'm not doing my annual fantasy football tradition this year. I have a few conferences to expose myself, a lot of opportunities to network, and start booking several talks and close on product, all before the end of the year. And what comes after that, is even more crucial. Time to prove my doubters wrong, and continue do something that I always whole heartedly believe in... choose and shape your own destiny!

If being in Spain has continued to remind me of something, is to never take anything for granted, whether it be your family, time, time with family, and time with yourself to enjoy the world. Not to mention, it's good once in a while to clear your head and re-charge, from whatever you're doing. That way, you can get back to focus on what you need and have to do.

So, if you have a chance, I definitely recommend visiting Spain. It's very beautiful. Time to make focus, and make life even more beautiful!

D4P...PD!!!
-John

(After getting back, the airline lost some of our luggage. But, at least we got home okay. BTW, this is the only sentence I didn't write in the plane).

Off to Spain...

In a few hours, I'm going to be leaving for Spain. I'm going with my family to visit my uncle there who I haven't seen in about 7 years. It should be a fun time!

Although I'm really looking forward to this trip, I'm gonna be missing a few things here while I'm gone. Since it's the beginning of fall, and school is about to start, I will probably be missing a few windows of opportunities to get myself, as well as my stuff out there. But, it's gonna be a long school year, so I'm confident some more windows will open. I am also starting a new tradition called "Thank You Card Tuesday", which is an idea I got from a friend of mine (I will discuss this in a future post). As far as the sports side is concerned, I will be missing the kickoff to the college football season. I am especially disappointed that I'll be missing my school's big opener when my Maryland Terrapins play Cal. But, I should be back in time for the NFL football season, as I will be getting back on Tuesday September 8th.

But, while I'm gone, definitely take some time to check out, and even possibly get my work. Check out my websites at ULTIMATECRASHCOURSE.COM and OBEDOZA.COM. My books and CDs are also available in Amazon. Since school is starting, need I say they make a great gift for students!!!

Don't think I'll be on Facebook that much, but I may have access to occasional e-mail, so if you feel you have to, feel free to write to me a john@johnobedoza.com. I doubt I'll have be blogging while I'm there, but I'll be sure to blog about my adventures when I get back.

Lastly, I want to wish my brother Anthony a happy birthday. He's 29 today. (We're only 10 months and 9 days apart, you know).

Until then... ¡Adios!

D4P...PD!!!
John

RIP Ted Kennedy

When I woke up this morning, the first thing I heard was that Ted Kennedy passed away.

I don't have to write a big long blog to honor Ted Kennedy, since his legacy doesn't need explaining, and everything he's done for this world can explain itself. But, he was truly one of those people who truly changed the world for the better. He worked as a US Senator for almost 57 years. I truly doubt many people can stay at any job for 6 decades, much more a job that has to do with helping to legislate a top world power.

Even without the the last name, this man was a legacy upon his own. RIP Ted Kennedy.

A Friend of Mine is a Champ

On August 8th, my good friend Adrian won his first ever mixed martial arts match via a 12 second KO, and a day later, I blogged about it. Two short weeks later, on August 22, he won again, in the first round, but only it's a title match. This time in 2 minutes, with a TKO on strikes. It's not a 12 second knockout, but now he's a light heavyweight champion in the VFL (Valley Fight League) MMA Promotion! How cool is that??

Didn't I say this guy was going places? Two months in the game, and two short fights, and the guy is already a champion! WOW! That's amazing if you ask me. If all goes right, he's the next big MMA star here in the DC area... and from there, who knows?

Definitely proud of the guy. (And even prouder of the fact that he's a friend of mine, and I can say that I've been there since the beginning.) That in itself is a big story of inspiration. He's looking for sponsors people, so if you know anyone who would like to support the next big thing... don't miss out on a good opportunity!

D4P...PD!!!
John

Your Starting Point

I just want to take some time to recommend a good book...

That book is called "Your Starting Point For Student Success", written by a good friend of mine, Arel Moodie. I first met him at a conference in Los Angeles last December, and he's one really impressive guy. He and his buddy started an off-campus housing locator business in college, he's been featured in a few publications and best selling books as a young entrepreneur, and he's one of the top college speakers in the county. In fact, he's known as "America's Top Young Speaker".

Now he's written his own book. And believe me, it's worth your time! His book "Your Starting Point..." is a book written for high school and college students. He discusses his "Five Pillars of Success" that you need to be successful in school and in life. In fact, I recommend this book to not only students in high school and college, but students of life (which is everyone).

Feel free to read the review I left for his book in Amazon. You can really see how much I really believe in it.

But to make things short, a lot of the stuff Arel discusses in this book are actual no-BS content that you can apply. From reading, learning, and being immersed as a student of self-improvement, I consider myself an expert on that field. And, even I came out extremely fulfilled after reading the book. Plus, he managed to infuse his own fun personality in this book, which made it really fun and very easy to read. I'm as dyslexic as it gets, and I finished this book in a little over a couple of hours.

But, don't take my word for it. I'll let Arel himself tell you about his book...



School is starting soon, so go ahead and get his book by searching for it at Amazon.com or at his website at yourstartingpointonline.com. While you're at it, as a complimentary supplement, don't forget to get "It All Starts With You" and "You Are Awesome" as well (feel free to also click the books to the left).

D4P...PD!!!
John


Me with Arel in at the APCA Student Leadership Conference in NYC in July 2009 (not sure why my mouth was open)

Ladies... BE CAREFUL!!!

I believe it was this past Wednesday evening when I was flipping through the channels on the TV. I stopped on CNN's Headline News channel, and the Nancy Grace Show was on. The show was headlined with the murder of professional model Jasmine Fiore. I don't know much about her as a model, nor as a person so I can't elaborate too much on that (but just from simply seeing a few of the pictures, just want to let you know that she probably wasn't my "type", lookswise). Feel free to Google her to see her sites and to pick up some general information.

But to make a long story short, her body was found last Saturday, naked, mutilated, and folded in a suitcase, and thrown into a dumpster in California. It was found that she was strangled to death. To top it off, the prime suspect of this case is a successful real estate agent, who is currently a reality show contestant in VH1.

When I saw this story, it definitely caught my attention. The reason why, is that people who know me know I have sort of a soft spot for women, specifically, beautiful model-types. In fact, there are a select few whom I've met (and haven't met) that I consider friends. (I actually hung out with a Playboy Centerfold, and I asked another model I always highly admired to endorse me.) I was thinking that if something like this happened to any of the beautiful ladies I knew, it would really make my heart sink.

I will reserve my full personal opinions about this case, since I don't personally know all the facts. But, I just want to say to all the ladies out there (models and non-models alike)... BE CAREFUL! Be careful with your actions, be careful with who you keep company, and be careful with how you carry yourself. Most of the time, people generally have the perception that the more beautiful and "established" you are, the more "desired" you are. Though it can lead to great things, it also can also lead to not so great things (as was the case here).

So to all the ladies out there, love yourself enough to be you and stay sweet, but at the same token do the same to always be wary with your surroundings with a watchful eye. You can seriously never be too careful out there.

My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone who's been affected by this tragedy. RIP JF.

D4P...PD
John

Full Speed Ahead!!!

By now, everyone probably knows who Usain Bolt is. He is the Jamaican sprinter who everyone took notice of in last year's Olympics. That guy is setting world records left and right. Not only that, he is totally destroying his closest competitors. Have you seen his latest 200 time? 19.19! That is SICK!! Here's a video I found of that race in YouTube...


The question whether or not he is on steroids will always come into question. Many people are worshiping him now, but if he ever gets tested positive, watch how soon people will turn on him and say that "it's not surprising". Regardless, whether he is juicing or not, what he has done is still impressive, and out of this world. When Ben Johnson was juicing, he didn't have the 100 time that Bolt had (9.79 compared to 9.58).

But another intriguing story in the world of track has to do with the South African Caster Semenya. She is a lady runner and is also destroying everybody in her field. The controversy with her is, is she really a woman? Here's a picture...



A lot of people probably have their opinions on her, and I personally will reserve mine. But, I will say that it must be pretty embarrassing for her to be hearing that people are publicly questioning your gender. Hell, I'd be embarrassed if that seriously ever happened to me. However, all that shouldn't take away that she's a great athlete though, and she deserves everything that she has gotten.

(As with many other posts in this blog, I'm sure you can get a few subtle motivational messages from reading this post. I'll let you figure them out for yourself.)

D4P... PD!!!
John

What's the Deal???

Four updates in the first 24 hours of the blog, then only 8 in the next couple of weeks? So... "what da dilly yo?!"

Anyway, like I said in the first entry, there is no set pattern or consistency as to when I'll blog. Just been up to a couple things over the past couple of weeks, so I wasn't quite up to it. But, rest assured, I do have a few topics that I wanna hit during the next couple weeks or so. I have a couple books I read that I want to give props to, got some sports to talk about (Bolt is the man), a couple of news topics that I want to hit (RIP Jasmine Fiore), not to mention, football season is in the horizon. Plus, I will be going to Spain in the end of the month (so I'm sure there are a few things I want to talk about). But on top of all that, I still promised my buddies in Facebook that I'll publish my "bucket list" (a la Ted Leonsis). So yeah, there's definitely a few things to look forward to in this blog.

All I can say is stay tuned. As far as this blog is concerned, demand nothing, but expect anything.

D4P...PD!!!
John

Various Quotes on Criticism

Just want to share a few various quotes about giving criticism (as well as taking them). I'm not quite sure where I heard these quotes, or if I made them up myself (if they're not mine, they are paraphrased in some other way). However, these quotes just happened to pop straight out of my head because I had a big argument with someone I cared about over the weekend, and afterwards I did some serious thinking and praying before I went to bed last night. The ones that I know aren't mine, I placed the source in parentheses ( )...

"Examine before you assume."

"Assuming only makes you begin to look how that word starts."

"When you crack a whip, you better be ready for some backlash. If you're not willing to accept any backlash, you have no business having a whip in your hands. Criticism is like a whip."

"Before you criticize anything, imagine yourself in the object, situation, person you are speaking against."

"When you point your finger at something, there's always three pointing right back at you." (Various)

"When people say things out of line about you that you know is absolutely untrue, if you truly know and love yourself, nothing will bother you."

"To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." (Newton)

"When others talk to you, examine how close they are to you or if they have your best interests in mind. That way, you can determine if they are criticizing you 'out of love'."

(On the flipside...) "A person may have the best intentions for you, but that doesn't mean this same person knows what's best for you."

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit." (Napoleon Hill)

Most of these have to do with the situation I was in. These quotes can be about me or about the person I was arguing with (I'll let you find that out for yourself). Regardless, if you ever get into an argument and are dishing and taking your share of criticisms, these are good quotes to remember.

D4P...PD!!!
John

Quick thoughts on NFL Preseaon and Michael Vick

The NFL Preseason kicked off for most of the league tonight. People tend to get overly excited about it, but personally, I think people make too much of it sometimes. It's not really a good measure to see how good your favorite team is going to be, since all the teams are doing is using this time to evaluate their roster. It's hard to get excited, if your team's key players aren't playing, and most of the players who are getting good time will probably not make the team. But, people do get excited for it though, only because people it's really their first taste of a real football game in more than 6 months (which is pretty long of a withdrawal).

My favorite team (the Redskins) played yesterday, and I couldn't say too many opinions due to the reasons I previously mentioned (nor do I want to, since they got punished by the Ravens 23-0). But, like I also said, pre-season is a great way to anticipate and get excited for the upcoming season through excessive marketing and promotion, and it's nothing but a big hype machine until the official start of the season at September 10th officially comes along.

But, the big news today has to do with Michael Vick signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. On paper, the Eagles were already aNFL team that already looks good on paper (barring that they can stay healthy), and them signing Vick would actually be good for them (and as a Skins fan, that would be a little scary).

I didn't like what he's done (smoking pot, killing dogs, etc), but I do believe that he deserves another chance, and I'm glad he got it. It's usually pretty cliche that "people have to be cursed before they can be blessed", and that's potentially the case with Vick here. He had a lot, lost much more, and has a chance to redeem himself. It is unfortunate (for my team) that he would be playing for the Eagles and at the same division. But, there's no doubt that it would be a great and inspiring story if he succeeds though (which is something I would always root for).

Just hoping for the best. Time will only tell...

D4P...PD!!!
John

Michael Jackson was a fan of who???

Not many people know this, but Michael Jackson was actually a fan of iconic personal development author Napoleon Hill.

For those who don't know who Napoleon Hill is, he is arguably the one of the greatest forefathers in the field of personal development. The book that he is best known for, "Think and Grow Rich" (first published around the Great Depression), was easily the inspiration to millions of self-help works that followed generations after. In fact, it is well documented that this book, is the main inspiration of "The Secret", which is probably the highest selling, most popuar work on personal development in this generation.

Recently, I read another book of Napoleon Hill titled "Succeed and Grow Rich Through Persuasion" (1991 update). The introduction was written by the late W. Clement Stone, who was great friends with Hill. Stone also mentioned he was friends with Michael Jackson. And in that book's introduction, Stone discussed his friendship and common interests that he shared with Mike during their phone call conversations. One of Michael's biggest heroes was Thomas Edison, whom Hill actually knew pretty well and wrote about a lot. That, in turn, actually got Michael reading (and admiring while applying) Hill's work.

According to the book, not many of his fans actually knew that Michael had a huge interest in the subject of motivation and human achievement (but specifically, Napoleon Hill), due to what his "public persona" has portrayed. But, thinking back on his tremendous success, and the kind of innovative artist that he was who reached hundreds of millions of people with what he did, it probably shouldn't be a surprise.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share this, because it will probably give you something to think about. Not to mention, I actually found this extremely interesting. (I may do a review of this book in the next couple of days if I'm up to it).

D4P...PD!!!
John

(BTW, I actually give a free e-book copy of Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" to those who actually pick up a copy of either, or all, of my books in some form or another, on my website. It's only appropriate since each of those books were a couple of the millions works that were inspired by this book. CHECK IT!)

Something Great to Start the Week...

To get the week off to a right start, I want to share something. The following was actually read in my church this morning, and it actually caught my attention. It's called "True Poverty" which is from a monologue called "First Person Singular". (Written by Judith I. Keefe)

I was full of hope;
The day shone bright and true-
I saw someone approaching,
And I smiled to share my joy!

I smiled to her;
I smiled at her;
I wanted to smile with her-

But she looked at me
And looked away,
And no part of a smile
Fair touched her face at all...

What wrenching, awful poverty
To be so poor
As to have
Not even a smile
To give away.

Closing thoughts... don't be that "poor" person and be part of this "True Poverty". When you go about your week, have that smile to give away and share, and you'll be adding value to those around you!!! (as well as yourself). :-)

D4P...PD!!!
John

The Hottest Team in Baseball is...

(Dare I say...) The Washington Nationals???

A team, which earlier in the year, was the laughing stock of baseball when they found out new ways to "drop balls" (literally and figuratively) and lose games. Not to mention, also humiliate themselves off the field, with embarrassing signings (of players past their prime, as well as those who will never be), and by not knowing how to spell their own team name as well as that of the 26th president (while further making a joke out of a proud and tough president by not letting him ever win the President's Race).



Who would've thought they would've managed to pull of 8 wins in a row? I'm not sure how long this will last (and it may probably end pretty soon), but I might as well enjoy it while it's here!

Just goes to show... anything is possible, and if you think that even the lowest situations aren't capable of a little greatness... just look at how the Nats have been playing during the past week. (Another example of "Out-of-the-Box Empowerment", ha!). ;-)

D4P...PD!!!
-John

(Just to clear things up, this blog may make me look like a "bandwagon" fan. To the contrary, I have always supported the Nats ever since they came to DC. As if the numerous "DC" caps aren't a dead giveaway, I've also attended a bunch of games. I will admit though, it has been embarrassingly tough being a Nats fan this year, and it's been tough to talk about them.)

Yo Adrian!

I didn't get to see UFC 101 yesterday (as Anderson Silva got a 1st round KO against Forrest Griffin, and BJ Penn defeated Kenny Florian), but for good reason. I got to see a good friend of mine, Adrian Belcarris, win his first Mixed Martial Arts fight. In impressive manner, nonetheless...

Adrian won his match in the first round, in an impressive 12 second knockout with a vicious right hand. This guy was a Maryland wrestling state champion in Oxon Hill High in 2000 (the 2nd in our school's history), but some of us know that as much triumph he's had with his natural abilities (athletic and otherwise), he's also experienced his share of setbacks in his life (which I'm not at liberty to go on record in discussing). But, lets just say that this could be the start of something awesome and very inspiring for Adrian, and I'm very excited for him.

I was definitely proud of my friend yesterday. The value of seeing Adrian win the way he did last night was worth much more than whatever money and time I spent watching him fight instead of watching UFC 101. But, speaking of the UFC, I can definitely look back at this whenever he makes it Vegas and fighting in the Octagon in the next couple of years.

D4P...PD!!!
-John

(Update 8/12: Here's a video of Adrian's fight. You know you did a great job if you were able to fit your ring intro, your fight, and your post match interview, in under 5 1/2 minutes in one take).

John's "Take" (...On a Couple Bloggers He Follows/Followed)

I don't read too many blogs religiously (for the reasons that I mentioned in the first entry). For me to really follow someone's blog, I have to be thoroughly interested in them, captivated by them, and more importantly, have a lot of qualities that I either have, or am striving to have.

One blog that I really loved when it was around was that of Gilbert Arenas (the point guard for the Washington Wizards). From what I remembered of his blog, a lot of his entries were LONG, since he posted once every few days or weeks. But, he was such a captivating and quirky personality, that you can actually see it in his blog, and I usually ended up spending a lot of time reading most of what he wrote down. Some of it was stuff was controversial, and some of his stuff was slightly insightful and gave a nice perspective on how it was like to be one of the top point-guards in the NBA. That's what made his blog great. In fact, if I remembered correctly, Michael Wilbon once said in an episode of "Pardon the Interruption" that Gilbert's blog is the only blog he read. Too bad it's not around anymore though.

Another blog that I enjoy that really comes to mind (that I'll discuss more in detail) is that of Ted Leonsis. He was a former executive of AOL, and is now the owner of the Washington Capitals NHL franchise. If you haven't had a chance to check out his blog "Ted's Take", I encourage you to do so.

In my opinion, despite his success, he really comes out as one of the most genuine owners, and people out there, and in my opinion, he is a gold standard of what people should strive to be. When he was younger, he got into a near fatal accident, and since then, he has compiled a 101-things to do "bucket list", and has done many great things, like start businesses, make millions of dollars, buy the Washington Capitals (and turn them around), while also doing his part to better the world through philantrophy. He has already completed more than 70 items out of 101 in his impressive list, which is pretty impressive. Not only that, he is probably one of the few owners in sports who would take the time to actually interact with his fans, whether it's going to the streets to shake his hand, or allowing fans to send him e-mail. (I actually had a "back-and-forth" with him on Facebook in a few occasions).

In his blog, he covers a lot of stuff, from his day-to-day "involvement" with the Caps, as well as some news and opinions on his many other projects and (like his work in "filmantrophy" in SnagFilms). And, when he gives his opinions, you can tell he really watches how he carries himself, while at the same time, stays absolutely genuine while doing it. When the Caps played the Penguins in the NHL playoffs this past year, I'm sure he may have had opinions on how the series was handled, but he showed class by giving the Penguins nothing but the utmost respect and credit after they won the close series, and later the Stanley Cup. And after reading his blog, you can really sense that winning the Cup is something that he really wants and that he feels that his team is extremely close to getting it done. A lot of owners in sports can actually learn from Ted's humility and class (*cough*Dan Snyder*cough*Mark Cuban*cough*).

As a speaker, and as someone who once worked for a huge media conglomerate at one point, I have been blessed to meet and interact with a good amount of "successful" people (rich, famous, or both). Although I haven't met Ted in the flesh as of yet (which is something that I plan to eventually do at some point), he easily tops that list. Plus, despite how successful and busy he probably is, he still finds a way to connect with everyone, and even finds a way to blog (at times, several times a day).

I said to myself at one point, that if I ever got back into blogging, I'll try to follow the same example of "Ted's Take". I want to connect with my readers as much as I can, go on record with my opinions, while staying humble, genuine, and grounded and not appearing too "important" (that last part, I feel is a quality that I feel a lot of "successful" people lack). Hell, even the title "Obe's Dose" is somewhat of an homage to Ted, since it's two words short, and it's sort of a clever, alliterative title with my name on it.

I never believe in "idolizing" people, but if you can see the great and heroic qualities in them, and simply just strive to have those qualities, in my opinion, you should be in a good spot. In this entry, I'm not idolizing Ted, but just simply recognizing some of the qualities that makes his a great person. Like I said, in my opinion, he is probably the gold standard of the personality that people should strive to be. And if I can do just some of the things he does (blogging like he does would a small example), I can probably go real far.

D4P...PD!!!
John

A Princess Has Her Day

Within the last half-hour or so, my ultra cute niece Cady has officially turned 2. Here is a picture of her...


(she looks like she popped straight out of an anime cartoon)

If you are ever down on yourself, or you are questioning why you are doing what you do, all you have to do, is just look at a face like this. For those of you with children of your own, I'm sure you can relate. (But, it doesn't have to be your kid, as is the case here).

But yeah, it only seems like yesterday when she was being born. Here is a video I made for my old podcast while I was in the hospital the day she was being born. (As awesome as this little girl is, her brother Joey is one hell of a kid as well).



D4P...PD!!!
John

A New Day of Destiny!!! (Sort of)

Just watch...



How's that for cross-promotion? ;-)

D4P...PD!!!
John

300,000

As of this moment (11:58 PM, 8/6/09), I have officially reached 300,000 pushups for 2009. Right now, I am on pace to do 502,294 for the year (goal of 500K), and I average 1,376 pushups/day.

How's that for "out of the box empowerment"? If someone paid me $1 for every pushup I've done this year, I would be pretty well off. :-)

D4P...PD
-John

(3 blog posts in 24 hours, with a lot of content in the first 2. I told you this next post wouldn't be so long. But, definitely not a bad start to my blogging comeback, I'll say.)

"Out of the Box Empowerment"

One of the things that probably stick out in this blog would probably be the new logo. I'm going to spend a little bit of time talking about it now.

As you might know, "ObeCorp" is the name of my company. Believe it or not, the actual inspiration behind the name "ObeCorp" was initially from watching the old Yu-Gi-Oh! cartoon. One of the rivals of the protagonist, who is also the "anti-hero" of that series, Seto Kaiba, is a teenager who is a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. I thought the name of his company (KaibaCorp) sounded kinda cool, and if I ever founded a company one day, I'll probably name it something similar. So, when the time came, I just incorporated my nickname that a lot of people seemed to call me "Obe" in that manner. Thus, ObeCorp Enterprises was born.

But, it wasn't until this past February, that I actually got an idea. After coming from a speakers' conference/bootcamp in Vegas, and after being around and interacting with a lot of successful speakers and business people, my creative juices started flowing. I thought that "OBE" can actually be an acronym of something. I figured that those 3 letters can stand for "Out-of-the-Box Empowerment". That's what my company was about anyway, because a lot of the empowering motivational stuff that I was already doing, and that I had already published (whether it be my books, CD, videos, etc), was different, and was doing stuff that nobody else in the world of self-help was doing. From then on, I've always held that idea of "out-of-the-box empowerment" in my head until I can figure out what I can do with it, and the best way I can run with it.

It was actually a couple of weeks ago in the APCA conference in New York City when I thought of the brilliant logo that you see in this blog. The president and director of APCA, Eric Lambert, suggested that a lot of us create a logo or a "meme" that clearly identifies our company, brand, and message just by simply looking at the logo. A perfect example of a "meme" would be the crucifix as it relates to Christianity (as it is not only a symbol, but for those who believe in the religion, you know that it's also the basis of the whole belief system behind the religion).

I already had a logo, but it seemed very generic, and it didn't really say what I was about...

This was supposed to be an "infinity-like" logo that had an "O" "C" and a (backwards) "E", which stands for "ObeCorp Enterprises. With the "infinity-like" shape, it was supposed to symbolize that you can do anything you set your mind to. Still, I felt it was still lacked a lot of identity and meaning. Besides, the more I looked at it, it didn't look like an "O, C, and E" (especially the E), and it didn't really look like an infinity sign (more like a venn-diagram). Therefore, a re-design was in order.

That's when I came up with the following logo...


Most of it is pretty self-explanatory. The main concept is a strong tan (Filipino) arm breaking out of a box, and then flexing it's muscles to symbolize "out-of-the-box empowerment". As far as the outline of the Capitol dome is concerned, with that building being a well-recognized powerful symbol of where decisions and choices are made, and with me being known as the "DC" (Destiny Choosing) motivator (as well as having roots in the Washington, DC metro area), I felt it was always an appropriate symbol to represent "ObeCorp". I also managed to creatively unite in the letters "O" "B" (both on the Capitol outline) and "E" (on the balled-up fist) strategically in the logo to raise "brand awareness" of my company, and will further separate me from anyone else. I also had the original color scheme of red and black kept in my logo, to stay loyal to my personality (as red is a color to symbolize passion and energy, and black is a color to symbolize mysterious, undiscovered, and "groundbreaking").

I hired a designer from Pakistan (via elance.com) to design the logo, and was extremely impressed with the result. I feel this is the perfect logo to use to represent everything I'm doing.

As of today, you will only find this logo in this blog. The old ObeCorp Enterprises logo is still in most of my other sites, but you should start seeing it in all of the other websites affiliated with me in the next couple of weeks or so.

But yeah, that's the story behind my new logo, and pretty much the gist of what the new acronym concept of OBECorp (Out-of-the-Box Empowerment Inc.) is all about. To further expand though, a big part of "out-of-the-box empowerment" is also empowering yourself through creativity. And I felt the creation and concept of this logo also perfectly illustrates this concept (pun intended). :-)

So don't be afraid to stand out, bust out of your box, and be empowered! That is what "OBECorp" is about. ;-)

D4P...PD!!!
John

(I know I said in the first post, that I wouldn't do a lot of long posts... but to the contrary, my first two entries in this blog are as long as it gets, LOL. I promise that my next entry won't be nearly as long.)

The First "Dose"

Hey everyone!!!! Welcome to the inaugural post of my new blog "Obe's Dose". First of all, I just want to thank you for spending a little bit of time on reading my blog. Personally, I always think it's awesome that people are genuinely interested in what I have going on and/or learning from me. But, I'm probably going to use this first update to let you all know what I have planned for this blog, and some of the things you can expect in the future when you read this blog.

First, I'd like to say that I probably haven't blogged seriously in about 3 1/2 years (more or less). I've blogged a little bit in my personal myspace account, but it wasn't serious, and I was doing it more primarily to promote my old podcast episodes (that I'm not doing anymore) and various stuff randomly going on. The last thing that I did that was closest to a "real blog" was "The Commentary Page" that I've done in my old personal website that I ran as a hobby back when I was in college. I started that back in 2001, so that was way back before RSS feeds and one click posting. I've constructed that blog strictly with HTML (yes, I admit a bit of a nerd when it comes to that stuff), so it was quite time consuming.

But, going back on that old commentary page, much of this new blog is probably NOT gonna be like that. Reading back on my old posts, I seemed like a really naive young person who was negative and bitched about life a lot. Not to mention, I was still trying to "find my way". Don't get me wrong, I am still trying to learn stuff, but I would proudly say, that I have grown a lot since then. What a difference a few years makes! And also, "Obe's Dose" isn't just going to focus on my personal life and issues (like my troubles on getting dates). Yes, it's still going to focus a bit on my life, but also, many topics of interests. A couple things that the commentary page had that I want to continue on this blog, I offered some interesting insight and was entertaining at times (even when I wasn't trying to be).

But, when I say "interests" I don't just mean offering my opinions in the fields I work in, which is motivation, making life choices, attitude, leadership, or anything in the "self-help" field. If there's one thing I learned in the past few years being a student of this field, the more you directly tell people they "need motivation" and try to shove it in their face, the more they will be turned off by it, even though you (or even they) know deep down, that they really need it. And also, when I read a lot of people's blogs, many make the mistake of only focusing on the topic/field they work in. Because of that, I end up getting bored to death and wasting my time when I read them because they don't seem "interesting" enough. So, in this blog, I not only want to talk about motivation/self-help and all the good and happy stuff I work at, but I also plan on covering various things going on in the world that I feel is of great interest, whether it be current events, mainstream culture, or even sports (football season is just a few weeks away you know).

Here are just a few topics I have in mind...

• An explanation of my new logo (The debut of this blog also marks the debut of the new "arm busting a box" logo. A full explanation of the concept behind the logo is in order.)
• the "new" concept behind ObeCorp
• Reviews of a few books I'm currently reading
• The upcoming football season, probably most focusing on my local (and favorite) team, the Washington Redskins)

But, no matter what subject I talk about, will it somehow be directly be tied to the "self-help" field? Maybe. If you think about it though, ANYTHING that happens in our life or (in our surroundings) is somewhat related to helping you get better. You just have to have a certain "mindset". (I'll get into what "Out-of-the-Box Empowerment" is about on a future blog post).

Will I be "selling" stuff in this blog? Admittedly... YES, but not like the hundreds of the "marketers" you see in the Internet. If there's another thing I learned, if you're "networking" on the Internet (whether through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, etc) nothing makes you look more like a bigger asshole than if you are constantly trying to pitch something with a sales letter like web page with multiple PPS postscripts. But, I will occasionally plug my stuff like my books, CDs, and speaking (because yes, I do have to eat too), and I will also plug other people's stuff, whether it be books I've read, movies I've seen, quotes I've heard, etc. As long as I think it's worth the mention, I'll mention it. But regardless of what I "pitch", I'm not gonna shove it down your throat, but would kindly say that it's worth your time.

As far as how often I plan on doing a blog... I can't really say how often I will post. It could be as often as several posts a day, but as slow as one post every few weeks. But, the goal is to at least one post a week. There are ideas coming into my head every single day, and I do want to use this blog to at least get some of those ideas out.

But no matter what, my main goal in doing this blog is to not only to get you guys to know me a little bit better through what I write, but to actually get in my head and actually SEE what I'm thinking while you're reading. I like to proudly say that I literally try to put my heart and soul in everything I do (whether it be in my speaking, books, internet videos, etc), and I want this blog to be no exception. For each post I do, I want to give something back to you for investing a little bit of your time to read the blog. I want you to get to know me, and at the same time feel entertained, enlightened, and maybe even educated. :)

Other than all of that (and the occasional spelling and dyslexic grammatical errors), this is what you can roughly expect from reading "Obe's Dose". Don't worry, I don't plan on having most of my posts be this long. However, I hope that what you've read in this inaugural entry has been good for you, and you'll check out this blog more often. (Bookmark this page or subscribe to the RSS feed now, hehe).

Thanks again for reading! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!

D4P...PD!!!*
John

(*This stands for "Destined for Purpose... Purposefully Destined!!!", the ObeCorp motto, which is also my motto in life that I strongly believe in. I will close many of my posts in this manner.)