Ironman in Real Life

By Shaun Lockhart (shaun@shaunlockhart.com)

Yesterday I had the pleasure of witnessing hundreds of people conquer a challenge they had practiced months and months for. I was among spectators, fans, friends and family who watched the 2013 Ironman Race. This year, the race began with a 2.4 mile swim through the Ohio River, followed by a two-loop, 112 mile bike which took athletes through pasture land and hills of Oldham County. The race completed with a two-loop, 26.2 mile marathon that led athletes past the University of Louisville and around Churchill Downs before finishing at Fourth Street Live! in downtown Louisville.

I was in awe of a couple of friends who competed this year because watching someone set that kind of goal, stick with it and then complete, deserves to be commended. As I watched athletes cross the finish line, I felt good inside for them because I could relate. Not because I have ever competed in the Ironman Competition (but I plan to in a few years) but because I know what it’s like to believe in oneself, set goals, fulfill them and be rewarded.

The crowd outside of Fourth Street Live! shared a bond yesterday. We all came together in support of the athletes. We cheered as each one crossed the finish line. We turned to one another and gave hi-fives, especially to the ones who yelled, “that’s my son, daughter, wife or husband!” The excitement was incomparable and it led me to think about the pure passion it takes to start and finish something you know in your heart that you can accomplish.

But passion alone is not enough to carry someone across the finish line – in a race or in life. It takes a certain amount of drive, determination, support, love and most importantly, having a great support system behind you. Without the right people in your support group, it becomes hard to achieve dreams, which is why I no longer allow negative people around me. What if these athletes had naysayers surrounding them – bringing them down – giving them poor, unsolicited advice - wishing bad thoughts – trying to sabotage their efforts?

I want to be an Ironman in real life. I want to set goals, compete in life and cross the finish line in my own success. I thank God for having the drive to do so. And you should too! Become an Ironman and only surround yourself with true fans who will always cheer you on, and if you can’t make it across the finish line, they will gladly lift you up and carry you across.

shaun@shaunlockhart.com
www.shaunlockhart.com

Thanksgiving Me 33 Years

Today is my 33rd birthday. Today is also a day of Thanksgiving so I feel particularly blessed to share a birthday and holiday surrounded by my family who mean everything to me. I have received so much from so many that I wanted to dedicate this blog to giving back. I have lived for 33 years and so many life lessons have helped to guide my path - show me the light so that I became the person I am today. So now I want to share with you my top 10 lessons and hope you will somehow benefit from the blessings I have been awarded. Thank goodness I know:

1.When we operate from the paradigm of service, our lives will have more value.

2.I surrender all problems to God who is over my life.

3. My life journey is 100% up to me. No excuses, no blaming others for my circumstances.

4. Every single friend in my life is there because he or she adds some value to my spirit.

5. I stand at the center of my life. When I become off-balance I ask, “Where do I fit in? What matters most to me?”

6. When someone pushes me away, and all I want to do is befriend them, I quickly back off.

7. Similarly, when someone shows me who they are, I believe them the first time.

8. Before I can attract friends and partners who love and respect me, I must first accept that I am worthy to be loved and respected.

9. Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in my mind, and opportunity waits for no one.

10. When I am in the midst of the biggest crises of my life. I say “thank you” because I know that my faith in God is so strong that whatever the problem is, it’s only there to teach me more about myself. And on the other side of every storm is a greater sense of joy and understanding of who I am.

So those are my top 10 lessons. I am thankful that you read my blog and listen to my words. And as we pause to give thanks for everything that has been given to us, we should not forget the lessons we have learned. Whether they are positive or negative, they are always there to teach us more about ourselves. I hope you will enjoy this day just as much as I will enjoy my 33rd birthday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Shaun’s Top 10 Thoughts

1. I thank God each morning for allowing me to see another day.

2. When I wake up each morning, I am entering a new day, a new life and a new chance to start over, to make it right this time. Each day is a like a rebirth and any mistake I made on yesterday has been forgiven and I am free to start anew, seize new opportunities and finally decide that today is the day to make a change in my life.

3. When I feel like dancing, I dance. When I feel like singing, I sing. When I feel like moving, I move. Whether it’s a stroll around the block, a walk through the park or a full workout at the gym, I remember to just do something.

4. I surrender all of my problems to God because He is over my life and promises to guide me.

5. I have friends and family who love me unconditionally. Unconditional love is that kind of love that is followed by “no matter what” – meaning no matter what happens, what circumstances, what life occurrences, what accidents, they are with me.

6. My journey is up to me. My decisions, my actions, my mindset, my opportunities are all up to me and only me. I cannot blame anybody for my circumstances but myself.

7. Friends should add value to my life. If they don’t, I cut them off completely. I have no time for mediocrity.

8. I am human and always entitled to change my mind – period.

9. I must never stop dreaming and imagining. When we were kids, we drove imaginary cars and made car noises with our mouths, and we made our stuffed animals talk and walk and move – even sat them in a row like students and we were the teachers. As I am older, I must continue to have fun and imagine. Imagine this world with no more imagination.

10. I stand at the center of my life. It is at the center of our lives where we are most balanced and we know for sure who we are. When I feel myself getting off center, I stop and ask myself, what role do I play in my own life? How do I fit into my own existence? If we don’t know who we are and are not centered, we live for the wrong reasons, the wrong things and the wrong people. And we accept how people treat us; how people want us to live our lives and we follow pursuit, trying to please everyone but ourselves. Always live your life at the center and stand strong in your own conviction.

Credit Card Sprayers - The Life of the Party

A few weeks ago, my company had the opportunity to help plan and execute a client’s birthday party. It was a big deal for us because several prominent business leaders would be in attendance and all eyes were on SLAP to impress guests with decorations, gift bags, giveaway items, food and music. Yikes! What’s more, we didn’t want to let this opportunity pass without promoting ourselves either.

Kenny and I did a lot of brainstorming on unique ways to network without being obvious since we were the party planners. Since we knew everyone would be eating, we decided to implement the power of promotional branding through credit card hand sanitizers. With that, we laid a few sanitizers imprinted with our SLAP logo on each table, and around the food stations.

It’s called a Credit Card Sprayer because of its unique shape (like a credit card) and easily slips into a pocket or purse. We watched as people grabbed the sanitizers to comment on the clever design. Sanitizers are a great way to promote your company name or brand because people will keep and use them in a pinch. The Antibacterial Credit Card Sprayer comes in Aloe, Citrus or unscented.

Our SLAP sanitizers were the conversation piece of the night and resulted in a great promotional campaign without us really trying. This .67 oz frosted bottle includes a 4 color imprint so your name or logo will pop! For your next big event, networking opportunity or a unique way of branding your company, consider this clever device. Also, as we approach the holiday season, these make great additions to corporate gift baskets, stocking stuffers or holiday parties. Contact us today for more information!

Why Can't We Be Friends?

This season – season eight marks the final chapter for ABC’s hit television series Desperate Housewives. Yes, kiss them goodbye. I have been a huge fan, following every insane action and unbelievable plot twist and turn. But for as desperate as the housewives seem, one underlying thread stretches from season one through season eight: friendship. Yes, friendship is a term of endearment but can also have many different meanings based on who you ask. I have said many times that I’m blessed to have true friends in my life.

My friends and family have helped me pull through some trying situations and I believe I am blessed that, just like the desperate housewives, for all of the faults (and secrets) my friends posses, whenever one of us are in trouble, it goes without saying: the rest will always be there. I fully trust my true friends with my life, know they have my back and likewise, I will go out of my way to lend a helping hand. These good friends are a rare breed – they are going out of style.

True friends were prevalent among my mother and grandmother. But back then, they weren’t really called “friends” – they were referred to as “neighbors.” The neighbor down the street would stop over and drop off a piece of her famous pie for my grandmother to sample. And the neighbor who lived behind us would call me over to get some home-grown tomatoes. There was even neighbor who, whenever she was running to the grocery, would call my grandmother and ask, “Hey, do you need me to pick up anything for you?”

Yes, those types of friends are going out of style. Still, I began thinking about this whole thing called friendship. And as on any given day, we may find Desperate Housewives’ Bree Van de Kamp tilling her garden, I believe that every now and then we need to do the same thing with friends. All too often, snakes and weeds creep into the picture and we must recognize them before they take over the entire garden. But some people are more comfortable surrounding themselves with snakes, than they are around people who can contribute to growth in their lives.

I have personally tried to befriend people who push me away because they have dealt with fakes, backstabbers and “frienemies” all of their lives – so when a true friend comes along, they grow suspicious. I’m sure others reading this can relate. And what I have learned is that when someone pushes you away and all you’re trying to do is be a friend to them, back off. There are people in this world who attract no-good friends because they haven’t yet expanded their own self esteem. One thing I know for sure is that you teach people how to treat you.

If you have a friend in your life who you don’t hear from until they either need money, need help, in trouble, need a favor, need a ride, need a job or need sex. You NEED to let them go. And don’t get mad at them for being that kind of friend because you taught them it was okay to use you. If you’re not sure if you have a “needy” friend, call them up.

Ask them to come help you to move a piece of furniture, or ask them to borrow some cash until the end of the week, or ask them to give you a lift someplace because your car is in the shop. See if you get a return phone call. And notice I say “return phone call” because chances are, this type of friend will see your number on the caller ID and will send you straight to voice mail.

Once you realize that you are worthy to be treated with respect, you will attract people in your life who mean the best for you and have your back. You will find friends who when you lose the beat of your song in life, they will sing the words to you. I realized that in order to find a friend worthy of me, I had to first practice being that type of friend to someone else.

Now that I know what it’s like to have really true friends, I only wish for every single one of you to experience somebody to care for you and to know you in such a way that they only want what’s best for you in life. And when good things happen in your life, their eyes light up with joy, knowing that friendship is precious not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life as well.

It's Never Too Late

What is holding you back from living the kind of life that you really want to live? When I was a teenager, nothing excited me more than the prospect of publishing a magazine. It wasn’t enough to just write for another publication and call myself a published writer. I tried that; some of my work was published while other pieces were not. Plus, I wanted complete control over both the editorial and the business side of a magazine.

So what did I do? I decided to start my own magazine. When I announced my plan, it was met with a lot of resistance. Still, I had the encouragement of my family and close friends to embark on such a large task, especially at 16 years old. I really had no idea what I was doing so it was scary for me. I believe some people allow fear to hold them back from their life dreams. It is so easy to become comfortable in our everyday lives that we forever dim our light to dream, to step out, see what the end will bring.

I was very scared. I was scared of wasting money (and I didn’t have much at all), scared of friends and family seeing me fail and mostly scared of the naysayers’ “didn’t I tell you?” I still trudged on, researching magazine formats, themes, editorial content, layout, pricing, distribution, etc. One of my high school teachers believed in me so much that she allowed the time I should have been concentrating on class work to focus on building my magazine.

Was the magazine a success? It depends on how you define success. I no longer publish the magazine but at the time, it circulated five states and was sold in five local bookstores. But something bigger happened in my life as a result of publishing the magazine. It gave me voice and encouragement. It also led me to a $20,000 college scholarship. It led me to become a Chips Quinn Scholar and to intern at The Tennessean in Nashville. It led me to an interview with Oprah Winfrey’s father who told me that my drive and ambition reminded him of his daughter. “All you have to do is keep up the momentum,” he said. Those were all life-defining moments for me.

I was so worried about failure and my perceived notion of success that it almost made me stop pursuing this dream. There are many of you who are seeking a major career change in life, or who want to start a business, or pursue a hidden and buried talent, but it’s so much easier to say, “well I’m married now, I have kids now, I’m too old to dream, I don’t have the time, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the patience it would take, it’s not realistic, I don’t have the knowledge somebody else has.” So after all of those excuses, what’s left? Two things: first, the comfort of following that same ole day to day schedule, which may or may not ever encourage growth in your life, and second, what Langston Hughes would call a dream deferred.

Today marks the first day of the rest of your life. Today, as you read these words, commit to changing your own outlook. Don’t walk blindly through each day depending on a set routine. There’s comfort in familiarity but remember – even our comforts could be snatched from us at a moment’s notice. Fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind, and opportunity waits for no one. Own it and know it for yourself, that you are destined for great things; you just have to boldly walk over and open the door when it knocks. It’s never too late.

Life Lessons

I look forward to going to church each week because I always leave feeling better about who I am and my place in the world. As we sing and as Pastor Cosby speaks, I am searching for my own personal message: what lesson am I supposed to get from this experience. My spirit is filled and the message prepares me for the week ahead.

Lessons, whether the result of something good or bad, are always there to teach us something about ourselves. I call them life lessons. There is a reason for every single experience that we encounter. If I drive over a nail and get a flat tire, my lesson could simply be a test of patience, especially if I’m in a hurry.

Still, there are bigger lessons and people deal with much larger issues and ask, “why me?” At times, it is so difficult to equate serious situations, serious illness, life or death incidents, with a simple, “it happened for a reason.” I’m reminded many times of what Dr. Maya Angelou says, which is to stop and say “thank you” when you are in the middle of the biggest crises of your life. Whenever you are being hit upside your head and you can’t understand why, she says to say “thank you” because you know that your faith is so strong that whatever you’re going through is only there to teach you more about yourself. On the other side of every storm is a greater sense of joy.

In the meantime, don’t allow that outside experience to define you internally. You are NOT your illness. You are NOT your current state of unemployment. You are NOT the person, the villain, the enemy that others try to characterize you as. You define who you want to be in the world. You define yourself. You were born alone and you will die alone so your life is up to you and how you make it.

I thought about this a couple of weeks ago as I found myself standing face to face with a “larger than life” experience for me. For a second, I wanted to crumble and fold up, but then I heard a voice saying, “how dare you!” It shook me at my core because the voice was right. How dare I focus on this one bad situation when God has given so much to me.

As I think about how situations fell into place for me, and how blessed I really am at this stage in my life, I felt ashamed because I was about to allow one problem to define myself and my character. And to do that would be an insult to the many blessings I have received.

And then I started to think about this even more and I began to relate problems and lessons to my overall purpose in life. When we live our lives with purpose – and we actively participate in each day, we realize we are not defined by any single issue or situation. We realize that we are put on earth for a larger reason and at the core of anything we go through in life, is our method of adapting and moving on. We learn the lesson and then we move on from it. Thank you, God, for this day.