A friend of mine, Pat Coyle, posted a question today on Smaller Indiana, that made me desire to respond. The question was “Can Easter Eggs really walk on water?” Although asked tongue in cheek, the point of the question was, what is Easter all about? Are we celebrating a miracle that occurred 2,000 years ago? Or is today just about eggs and bunnies?

This whole idea of Jesus, or more so, “God” has made me question a lot through the years. Recently, in an effort to find the truth, I’ve been studying this topic pretty heavily the last few months. I’ve struggled with the idea of how one religion could be right and others wrong. I’ve wondered if we were all praying to the same “God,” but calling him different names.

Then something really stood out to me in my readings, and it was the life of Jesus. Jesus did indeed walk on this earth, as a man. Nearly all religions have testament to this, including, Buddhism. That said, the man, Jesus, made claim to be one and the same with God and his deity.

In looking at that, Jesus’ comments came off as blasphemy, and he was punished, and ultimately crucified for this. However, let’s consider our options here, either Jesus was a) telling the truth, and indeed was our Lord, or b) he was committing blasphemy, and thus, was a liar. Those are our only two choices.

Okay, let’s consider these choices: Lord or Liar?

In Hinduism, they consider Jesus a great guru, and some even say he is an avatar (incarnation of God on earth). Mahatma Gandhi, considered Jesus a teacher and inspiration. In Islam, Jesus is known as Isa and is one of God’s highest-ranked and most-beloved prophets. These are only a few examples, but if these two strong religions have this to say about Jesus… how could he be seen as a liar?

Jesus then said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

I think I’ll continue to celebrate his crucifixion and resurrection, minus the bunnies and eggs.

Isn’t it interesting? Isn’t it ironic? As children, mainly teenagers, we seem to know it all. We’ve ‘been there, and done that.’ What could our parents possibly know, that we do not? We rebel and disagree, sometimes, just for the sake of doing so.

When I first came across this quote, almost a year ago, it made me stop and think. Wow, how true. Growing up, my father and I were nowhere close to being on the same page. My dad was a hard working laborer, who could do anything with power tools. He liked to hunt and fish, but that was about the extent of his sportiness. Myself on the other hand, I was a geek, and still to this day, do not like to get dirty. While mediocre in ability level, I was also an athlete; football, baseball, and basketball were my sports.

Often times my dad would try to teach me things, or get me to tag along with him for the day. I had no interest. I would rather sleep until noon and then bang on the keyboard of my computer for the rest of the day. Thinking back, I sure did miss out on some great life skill experiences.

Today, my dad and I are growing to become best friends. I love, and thus miss, him more and more every day. Our conversations are actually starting to contain a lot of substance, and I thoroughly enjoy the time that I get to spend with him.

These days, I call my dad for almost everything. “How do I…..” Anything from keeping the toilet from constantly running to when to plant grass seed. It has to get on his nerves, and I’m sure he sometimes thinks, “boy, if you would have only listened to me when you were younger…” Oh well, gives me good reasons to call him!

One of the lessons my dad did teach me (although, I thought he was out of his mind for the longest time), was not to borrow, anything. I was not allowed to borrow video games, money, toys, anything. I was told that if I couldn’t afford it, I didn’t need it. Boy, did I think that was unfair. All of my friends got to, why couldn’t I? I wish it would have stuck with me then, but just as the quote insinuates, it took me “seven years” to realize he was right. If only I had listened to him then, I wouldn’t have credit card debt, an expensive car payment, or even two houses, both with mortgages. I would also have a heck of a lot more actual cash in the bank.

Oh well. I wonder how much smarter he’ll be in another “seven years.”

I believe the overarching happiness is better seen on a granular or micro level. For instance, one of the reasons I’m actually writing this blog today, is because I got a little bit of prodding from a new friend in my life that knew I had made a commitment to blogging once a week. After not seeing any words coming from me for well over a month, I got a pleasant email from her basically reaffirming my commitment to myself. Having friends that care enough to hold you accountable is a nice feeling. Thanks Julie.

Another thing that put a huge smile on my face today was a little trip to the mail box. In today’s world of digital communication, email, voicemail, texting, etc, it’s a rarity to get meaning snail mail. Today was different. Being Wednesday, I have grown accustomed to it be “Junk Mai Day.” The day you get all the flyers and coupons to places you never go to – you get these too right? J Well today I pull out what I expect to be junk and low and behold, I found a hand written envelope from a friend I haven’t talked to in quite a while. It was a little heavy, so I ripped it open to find a card, along with a Monopoly Board magnet. Scribbled inside was just a note that said she had been thinking about me. It was perfect. Thanks Ellen.

And I can’t forget my wonderful girlfriend. For the first time ever I feel a sense of true completeness. I don’t mean that in the Jerry McGuire “You had me at hello,” way, no, it is a total feeling of being whole. She has all of the attributes I could ask for. She’s beautiful, intelligent, compassionate, and ambitious. But more importantly, it’s the little things; the way she looks at me, the way she kisses me, and the way she just wants to be with me. Thanks Kathy.

It really is an odd feeling more me. I’m not used to being genuinely happy for an extended period of time, but after a week of carrying a big smile on my face, I’m kind of getting used to it. I’m enjoying the little things.

More to come.

So, why will 2008 be any different? If you have not read Tony Robins – Lessons in Mastery, I highly encourage you to do so. He talks about an idea called CANEI, which stands for Constant and Never Ending Improvement. That concept motivated me to start this blog.

Men’s Health wrote an article this month about how to make goals more effective, and thus, more attainable. Thus, this blog serves two purposes: it lets me put my improvement goals in writing, and by making them public, it allows for others to hold me accountable. To recap their three step approach:

1. Put it in writing
2. Make it specific, realistic, and measurable
3. Put a date on it

That being said, I will outline my goals for 2008, adding as many specifics as possible. My goals, as well as the posting in this blog, will cover several topics all wrapping around the central idea of personal development. If you read this I ask that you help me attain these goals by challenging me, and holding me accountable.

Business:

• Identify and join two organization boards by June 31.
• Acquire and retain 20 clients on set monthly retainer by August 31.
• Speak at a minimum of 12 events by December 31.

Personal:

• Workout 3x/week resulting in desired weight of 190 lbs and 32” waist by March 31.
• Take a ‘real’ vacation to Hawaii, by July 31.
• Increase vocabulary. I’m not exactly sure how to measure this, but the following goal is a step in the right direction.
• Read two books monthly – one business book and one personal development book.

Financial

• Reduce total debt by 25% by December 31.
• Improve credit score by 50 points by June 31.
• Quit using credit cards completely January 1.

There they are. As of December 24, 2007 those are my goals for 2008. I know more will come into play, and I know I have others that aren’t measurable. I will blog about all of them, but these will be my starting points for the new year.

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“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.” – Benjamin E. Hayes