Obama Does it - and so Can You!

Incredulous? Surprised? Elated? Whatever you are feeling at this moment, this is a defining point in history.

Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the United States.

‘I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.’ Dr Martin Luther King from his Rhetoric, I have a Dream

And in another great demonstration which represents a shift in dynamics within the spiritual realm which is working for the greater good. In the greater scheme of things, an indication of the sign of the times, this will certainly go down in History as being one if not the most life-changing and powerful statements to the world. In another act of defiance against the mindsets of those who said and believed it would never happen – WELL IT HAS, Barack Obama is the first African-American President of the United States of America. So where do you stand in the persistence and insistence of following your own dreams? Esther Austin

Barack Obama is now a man whose name can join the plethora of greats from the history books of time. Barack Obama now represents that iconic something which many feel is lacking within our community, A Black Role Model and how significant this event has been as this man stands upon such a platform. Can someone get greater than this, other than standing in the shoes of Almighty God?

"Someone was hurt before you; wronged before you; beaten before you; humiliated before you; raped before you; yet, someone SURVIVED." - Maya Angelou

Yet more importantly, apart from our own agenda, this man represents something symbolically profound. He has walked the talk and turned his dream and vision into reality by the conviction of his faith in believing he could make it to the mountaintop. This so called epic scenario is not about where he is now but the journey he has trod which hope, determination, tenacity, perseverance, courage, ambition and faith of character, which has placed him on the platform he now stands.

Certainly, Barack Obama is aware of the consequences that could rear their ugly heads to negatively feed off his success and thwart his future role as President. This man knows the huge responsibility he now carries upon his shoulders. Yet more poignantly he knows that he is about the American People, he is their voice of hope. His purpose is to define change and instigate transformation, to bring the new into existence and give hope to the people of America. He took the teachings of Dr Martin Luther King and turned his dream into reality, representing HOPE to the masses, and surely identifying with “A Change must Come.”

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” Napleon Hill

The great Marcus Garvey once said ‘Up You Mighty Race, You Can Accomplish What You Will’ and this is something which each and every one of us should use as a mantra. This victory for Obama represents the dreams and visions of many, from as far back as the history books of time define the struggle for power and the right to stand where others have stood.

He stands on the shoulders of great men and women who have gone before, whose lives represented the fight for democracy and freedom, who chose to make a stand, even at the expense of loosing their lives. He stands on the great words of prolific leaders like Marcs Garvey, Malcolm X, Dr Martin Luther King and many more. Therefore, for many who are blinded by those opportunities which surround us every day, because of our own limitations and beliefs and by not having the courage to step outside of our own corridors of fear I encourage you with the words ‘At least try.’

"Don't wish it was easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge; wish for more wisdom." - Jim Rohn

This lesson in its simplicity is – that you can achieve and be anything you want, you just have to find the power of conviction and belief in the message that is in your heart.

75% of people’s thoughts are negative, a well known fact. Conspiracy theories have been floating around the issues of his race, agenda, color etc. Yet for me quite simply this man looked past all this because ‘he had a dream.’ Regardless to what stood before him, he knew that with a strong team around him, a supportive framework, understanding the dynamics of what it truly means to make a sacrifice in order to gain, he now stands victorious in a place where no man of colour has stood before. I dare any of you, therefore, not to let the defeatist in you say ‘I can’t do it’ – and be inspired by the events of this week.

‘Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." Dr Martin Luther King

Challenged in the Highland of Scotland, October 2008

My last entry touched on challenges and the journey of where they take you in life and the learning experienced from them. How we all deal with such circumstances is different, yet ultimately, they serve a unified purpose in terms of lessons learned. Without God pushing us against the very boundaries of life at times, it would be so easy to become complacent. With complacency there leads a lack of motivation and personal growth. So all in all, whatever we face serve us in some way. This may not be clear at the time, but it will certainly prove true at some point in the future, when we look back on what was and when we can face the truth of what we needed to learn from that experience.

Last week, I went to Scotland as part of a training initiative to tackle gun and knife crime.It was a Youth Leadership Programme, designed to take us outside our comfort zones, which it certainly did. Leadership skills were challenged from many different angles from the emotional, spiritual, physical to the psychological. Many who went, I am sure, felt themselves pushed against the wall of no return, yet at the end of the week, realised that yes they had survived. All body pieces still nicely intact. Thereby identifying that the human spirit is certainly one of tremendous strength and courage and when the tough gets going, the going gets tough.

Part of my experience up in the Scottish Highlands was a survival phase. This involved being kitted out in water-proof gear and being driven across wind swept seas to a secluded island. In gale force winds, we had to carry heavy rucksacks, fish for food which predominantly consisted of mussels and limpets (shell fish). Our teams then had to strategise to build tents and fires. Digging the “pooh” pit was one of my chores and it was at that point realisation hit. It was intriguing trying to decipher the best spot to dig this pit, whether to do this so that one leant against a tree or did I position the hole so that one held onto a tree as one positioned oneself to do “the job.”
It was certainly an amazing how everything around us can be used in some way to form part of a survival strategy.

We were then taken on a range of hair-raising exercises in the cold, hungry as hail and winds lashed us from side to side. We took it in turns to abseil down a cliff, jump off a hill (obviously whilst harnessed to a rope and hoping fervently that team members responded as taught to haul us safely back up, without scratching our faces off on the hillside). We had numerous psychological exercises to perform.

We then had to trudge back for approximately 45 minutes to camp through calf high mud, slipping and sliding in near darkness. Working as a team to keep up morale was great. Everyone helped and supported each other and boosted each other’s spirits and as it steadily grew darker and colder, the realisation that when we got back to camp, we still had to cook and there were only a few rations of mussels and limpets certainly did not make many happy bunnies. Our last activity was sold to us as being given a treat. I am glad that at that point we did not turn around and try to head home because we would never had eaten that night. Upon going on a bit of a treasure hunt to find this “gift” we then had to crack a code to get into the boxes which housed our rations. A few potatoes, some rice, a few carrots, porridge oats, raisins, a few tea bags and oxo cubes. No-one dared to complain, hunger was already making many miserable.

Back at camp the cooking proceeded with only a few small pans to use. Each team member had a role to play. We used a flat rock to cook the limpets on. Limpets look like snails with little antennaes. At first I refused to look at these little, fat creatures with two horns protruding from their being, but we were told they were nutritious and I had not eaten all day, therefore closing my eyes and thinking of a nice leg of lamb, I put one in my mouth and then donned many more after that. Tasted like chicken. The rice was well as good as it got. Hard and grainy, soft and lush. The potatoes and carrots were good, until the pan tipped onto the fire and like scavengers we had to pick them up and yes…..eat them.

After cooking, we then played a few mind games and then went to sort of sleeping arrangements. It was certainly fun getting into our sleeping bags and trying not to slide out of our tent, as we had built our base on a bit of a hill. Not that we had much choice in the matter.

The whole experience was a wonderful wake-up call in the realisation of how privileged we really are and how complacent we have all become. Being pushed outside our comfort zones was certainly uncomfortable for many. Not having a routine, not knowing what was around the corner or what to expect in terms of how our day went. The weather pretty much dictated all this. Especially when the next morning we were up early to rise and told that a storm was brewing, gale force 8 and 9’s and that we had to try to leave the island asap, otherwise we’d be stuffed.

For me, the whole week solidified the notion that when pushed outside our zones, we can do anything. Survival instincts kick in and you do what you have to do without moaning, without fear. Complacency keeps up rooted in the box of fear and many never leave that box, always playing it safe and sound. Yet the learning from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is so invaluable.

This blog entry is not about you going off and doing something totally crazy. The above tale is just to make you think of where you are at in your life and why you are there. Is fear keeping you staked to a place you no longer want or need to be? Have you lost motivation for life and all the wonderful experiences you can access if you really want?

“Move outside of yourself and your comfort zone every once in a while and experience life from a different viewpoint. Inch by inch, step by step you will gain such a wonderful potpourri of life’s dynamic dimensions that you will wonder why you let fear stop you from embracing life. ” Esther Austin

Taking on Challenges and Keep on Going

Dear All

Yes it has been a while since I had updated this blog. A long time for me, in fact, to not put words to paper, commit words to computer. As many of you know, I love to write and share my experiences or just to write what I feel, so it is certainly unusual for me not to write for such a long period of time.

It certainly has been a very challenging few months, or maybe I have become a little more sensitive to the road I journey upon. Maybe I have become impatient? Whichever one it is, I am still here, vision on the horizon brimming strongly and like a true trooper I have surrendered myself to the continuum of moving forward, onwards and upwards, against the tide of waves, which often tirade against me.

To say the past few months have been challenging would be an understatement. What has kept me going and held me in a place of sanity has been my ability to meditate often, to have the freedom to talk long, peaceful and reflective walks out in the open, to visit the gym where I can stare unseeing at MTV as I walk away my anxieties and challenges on the treadmill or some other equipment.

Yet, as each challenge faced me, I immediately sought to find a solution or reach out to Plan B, then C. Whatever it took, whatever I needed to do to continue in the normality of my daily routine, I undertook this with that single focus and determination in order to attain my end result.

Though challenges were faced on a daily basis, more so it seems that ever before, I have also made incredible achievements in terms of my personal and business journey to realise my dreams and vision.

My new website is now up and running www.estheraustin.com. It may need to be tweaked here and there, but for me this is a long time coming. I love the logo, which to me captures the essence of who I am. That “EA” is a symbol of everything wonderful. Esther Austin, Excellence Achieved, Encouraging Agenda – however you see me in those two letters, I hope you see my spirit captured there. Oprah Winfrey uses her signature “O” so why not the “EA” and a huge thank you goes out to David Bircham and his wonderful wife for capturing and creating my spirit within the logo.

The past few months have been spent knocking on doors of establishments to let them know that I am here, promoting my services. I am now in a position to move forward with my agenda and do what I love and do well. To deliver my personal transformation workshops and to soul coach those who want to move forward with their lives, but not sure how to.

I have the opportunity to run a workshop at a Conference at the Excel shortly, once again a chance for me to do what I love best to an audience which will be new to me, therefore taking me out of my comfort zone. I have knocked on many doors. Perseverance becoming my middle name. I have made numerous phone calls on a regular and daily basis. Always believing in my dream and vision even when the Yes turned to No’s or there was a lack of interest. Yet, always believing that the break-through to success is just around the corner, I have continued undeterred.

Yet, I have had to stop to analyse this last statement where I say success is just around the corner, because I must admit that I am currently experiencing abundance in my life, and the notion that success is just around the corner, therefore is just that a notion. I therefore realise that I am thinking about this success in monetary and financial terms, which I know will materialise very soon.

I have learned to be grateful for all that I have and have experienced. I have learned that the abundance is right here in front of me, with me, inside of me. I have learned to appreciate the richness in my relationships with my children, family and close friends. I have learned to appreciate the singleness of thought in terms of my creativity. The mere fact that I am able to get up every morning and start a new day doing what I love doing best, is indeed a true privilege. I am enjoying more and more being alone in the space of just being, where I am comfortable with who I am and what I represent. I love to walk and think and reflect. I love to walk with music in my head, soothing and caressing my most intimate thoughts, or creating daydreams which float me on the wings of illusion, delusion. I love to spend time with my children, to watch them grow and to enjoy the relationship we have, bonding and merging. I am grateful for all the wonderful opportunities which flood my way constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone, molding me as an individual and a leader.

Yes, I speak of the challenges I have had yet I speak of the achievements and opportunities which are priceless.

Now, I continue on this journey. To self-actualization? Hmm maybe. The beauty of my journey is that through life’s experiences, I continue to grow and learn, continually reflecting and analyzing and learning and learning and learning.

“To take ownership of your life, you must learn to experience life as a whole. The good with the bad, the old with the new, the Ying and the Yang. Yet the learning from your journey cannot truly start, until you realize your responsibility that accountability for your life and experiences starts with you.” Esther Austin