Filed under: Questions on life, The Grass is always greener... | Tags: Adjoa Skinner, cdbaby.com, derek sivers, entrepreneurship, freedom, independant musician, small business, the four hour work week
New article I think you might like:
Is there such a thing as too much freedom?
http://sivers.org/freedom
I replied:
Derek
This sounds like the book “the 4 hr work week”
So was your question “what would we do if we didn’t HAVE to do anything?”
Because that implies that life is full of things we HAVE to do and they are nothing but a chore.
When I believe Life is doing what makes us come alive while challenging others to come alive as well.
Even doing “chores” we can find joy in the tasks, the people we do them with & the lessons they teach us.
Who would u rather be at the end of the day… The spoiled fat kid, or the lean mean adventure filled diligent, gracious and grateful worker?
For even though the fat kid seems like he’s got it made, he’s lonely in his little world. Our lives are not meant to be our own. If we had all the say… Then we wouldn’t enjoy it or appreciate it as much as we could. Circumstances would only be “what I had made them to be” leaving little to fate, and therefore leaving little room for faith.
I believe that something greater than me is at work when I work for the greater good with the good people around.
So was the question really “what do u do If u don’t HAVE to do anything?”
Or was the question,
Why do you do what You do?
What other reason have we to live for, then to love & be loved?
Money comes and goes, work begets work. Conversations get forgotten and memories go with age. But hope does not disappoint and faith working through love supplies a peace that money can’t buy and systems can’t put into place.
You asked the question… I just gave my thoughts. It’s past midnight here in Cali. I’m tired, so I’m goin to bed. Hope u read this, and tell me what you think.
Thanks!
God bless and God speed,
-Adjoa
Adjoa Skinner
“Not your average diva”
Www.adjoaskinner.com
Www.myspace.com/adjoaskinner
Derek replied:
Great thoughts. Thanks! I love the way you think. You are ahead of most! :-)
Many people feel they don’t have the freedom to choose. That was the intent of my question.
Get them to think from that place.
You’re already there. I love it.
Thanks again!
Filed under: Questions on life | Tags: Adjoa Skinner, dave wilson, frienships, new day, transitions
Today, yesterday, tomorrow
what is here for me?
And why am I this person
standing on this street?
What has been my lifeline
Who have been my friends?
Where is my true family
that I hold hand in hand?
Striving in the present
not by fear or might.
Living for eternity
and stepping in the light.
With grace that will protect like shoes,
that will not wear with time.
Finding my new wineskins
to pour out this new wine.
- Adjoa Skinner
Based on a talk with Dave Wilson 9-14-09
Filed under: Off Day Poetry.... | Tags: Adjoa Skinner, christ, new life, One Worship, Oneonta, Rev. Douglas Brandt, transformation
Written during a talk by Rev. Douglas Brandt @ ONE Worship Sunday morning.
>
The old is gone, the new has come
I am what I’m today
And all that there is deep within
is valuable property.
That God will work and move through me
to be a vessel strong
An instrument of peace and love
when in Him I belong.
The goal and mark my eye’s upon
is to be more like Christ.
Experiencing daily
a new and transformed life.
To know that I’m complete the way
He made and broke and built me.
Majoring in strengths and not
the weaknesses that plague me.
Stressing the importance of
every part unique
Building up each other
to be strong, though we feel weak.
- Adjoa Skinner
9-6-09
Filed under: Off Day Poetry.... | Tags: Adjoa Skinner poetry, Dr Marcus Goodloe, Goodie, Mosaic SouthBay
Written during a talk done by “Goodie” Marcus Goodloe @ Mosaic SouthBay
>
So maybe I have not known battle physical in form
But I have known in spirit, what has left me worn.
Enormous opposition like a funeral had passed,
While all the weight upon my chest kept me sinking fast.
Into a deep dilemma that I quickly learned to own,
And turn to face the greater good and not make hurt my home.
To never cease in crying out for God to intervene,
To live by faith and not by things, that frighten me when seeing.
But represent a people who will stand within the gap,
To hold up weary arms even if those arms don’t ask.
Knowing its beyond me and it rests within His hands,
Trusting in the moment as I stand in foreign lands.
That He will be my shelter, and my ever present help.
That He will be my steadfast hope, my blessing and my health.
In times when what I eat my taste like simple humble pie
I must trust my Ebenezer is my alibi.
- Adjoa Skinner
9-6-09
Filed under: Uncategorized
How I love thee
Let me count the ways
How quickly goes the hours
How long may seem the days
O sweet procrastination
how you keep me from my task
How you deny the question
“Been up to what? you ask?
Beautiful and lazy
you distract me from my work
Comforted by others
who say this with a smirk
O sweet procrastination
we salute you and your friends
I’m busy with so much it seems
and nothing shows @ end
but boy do I feel better
and man do I feel bad
But chalk it up to knowing
you’re the best I ever had.
Filed under: Off Day Poetry.... | Tags: Adjoa Skinner, Adrian Koehler, freedom, mosaic, perspective
Written during a talk by Adrian Koehler for Mosaic @ the Mayan
Yes I saw examples great and mighty strong to serve.
But now I look in old age and wonder what I learned.
What may work in one way, may fail me in the end
Even if it is a good word from family and friends.
There are times our close of kin are quick to play the judge
and we in turn will eat it, biting down to hold our tongues
Do I expect that God will act like family I knew
Thinking that He’ll love me based on all the good I do.
Who then have I made this God, if He’s the distant hand
that only points the finger on the good and wrong of man?
Have I made Him human? With an ego that is frail
Have I made Him fallible, expecting Him to fail?
When truly if I see & know Him for the God He is
trusting that He made creation with nothing amiss?
Then I’ll see myself in full, all while the fire burns
& find myself with open hands, not waiting for returns.
I’ll find my life will be a burning ember strong and bright
Revealing all impurities and making day of night.
I won’t ask what I should do, but first breathe in God’s pure flame
And then approach the questions as I stand upon His name.
My righteous Judge, Forgiving, Graceful, Loving Good Shepherd
Compassionate and merciful, the real and Living Word.
And if that holy fire that is all Him, is in me?
Then any place I go, I will always live as free.
To love without condition all the people across my path
And know the burning answer long before the question asked.
- Adjoa Skinner
Sunday August 23rd, 2009
Filed under: building from whats broken | Tags: Adjoa Skinner, life lessons, love, people relationships growing wisdom, perspective, risk
Relationships, they are the glue that holds us all together
and all of us are searching for a glue that lasts forever.
When even sometimes super glue may rip and tear so fast
we wonder why something called super, still refused to last.
You might think you don’t need glue, that you are self-sufficient
For you have learned to love within a place where there’s condition.
And if you keep things to yourself, you’ll never break or tear
and glue wont have its hold on you, because you never cared.
You never cared to meet the need, until the need met you
And then your open beating heart, was crying out for glue.
the wound you felt and saw within spoke out, I need, I know..
and then the glue came out to seal the wounds that now had showed.
And every kind of glue you needed, wood glue, school glue, paste
showed you that the feelings you have shouldn’t go to waste.
That maybe what is super, needs a super-natural touch
To show you more than ever, that you need that glue so much.
So don’t forget to check your drawer to see that you have glue
And please don’t fail to give it out, when others need of you.
- Adjoa
Filed under: Song Lyrics, The Grass is always greener..., building from whats broken
V1
You were beautiful, we were young
and the time we spent together was so fun
When I looked in your eyes, it was like
As if heaven revealed its open skies
Where love rained down and never left
But I see now, what hurt me then, was for the best.
CHORUS
It’s okay, there’s no regret
and I’m thankful that we met
That I felt, the way I felt
even if my heart did melt
When our time came and went
And the days as “us” were spent
Petty cash, can’t buy back
what I gained and now don’t lack
That when learning love….it takes time to grow.
V1
Two years later, far away
Thought I’d save my love, for a rainy day
Then lightning struck from him to me
and re-sparked the energy
Open heart for you, but not to hold
see, its broken now, though it looks whole.
Its an old heart, not brand new
He said, better that I not take all of you…
CHORUS:
It’s okay, there’s no regret
and I’m thankful that we met
That I felt, the way I felt
even if my heart did melt
When our time came and went
And the days as “us” were spent
Petty cash, can’t buy back
what I gained and now don’t lack
That when learning love….it takes time to grow.
BRIDGE:
For once you’ve stood in coldest rain
somehow clouds don’t feel the same
But do not run, and do not hide
Remembering your loss, like rain you cried
CHORUS:
It’s okay, there’s no regret
and I’m thankful that we met
That I felt, the way I felt
even if my heart did melt
When our time came and went
And the days as “us” were spent
Petty cash, can’t buy back
what I gained and now don’t lack
That when learning love….it takes time to grow.
Yes, It takes time.
(c) 2009 Adjoa Skinner
Filed under: building from whats broken | Tags: Adjoa Skinner, love, vulnerability
I want you to know I’m open
This heart it has its hurts
But I want you to know that I’m open
despite all my past words.
They sometimes speak too bluntly
and they sometimes speak too fast
But those sometimes lead me
down a path that doesn’t really last
Right now my hands are empty
Yes, they’re open for the new
You see, my hands are empty now
to be filled up with you.
So come on now I’m open
But only if you’re brave
I’m not someone who’s open
just to be another’s slave.
If what I am may scare you
then please don’t stick around
Demanding that you have a taste
of the good thing that you’ve found
My hands are only empty
while I wait for what is best
So come with empty hands
and be ready for the test.
I’ll know if you are ready,
when the season comes with time
Til then I’m open to be yours
if you’re open to be mine…
- Adjoa
Filed under: Uncategorized
Ryszard Kapuscinski Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat.
John Paul Jones The general who is able to persuade his forces that there is victory, even where there seems to be defeat, is one who will inspire them to fight against apparently impossible odds. They will, indeed, never suffer defeat, but will fight on until annihilate
Gerard Hargraves Did is a word of achievement Won’t is a word of defeat Might is a word of bereavement Can’t is a word of defeat Ought is a word of duty Try is a word each hour Will is a word of beauty Can is a word of power.
Josephus Daniels Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it.
George Eliot There are many victories worse than a defeat.
Wendell Phillips What is defeat Nothing but education nothing but the first step to something better.
Unknown Nothing can cause turmoil and the defeat of accomplishment as quickly as disorganization.
Ernest Hemingway But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.
Rabindranath Tagore The mountain remains unmoved at seeming defeat by the mist.
Napolean Hill You don’t have to fear defeat if you believe it may reveal powers that you didn’t know you possessed.
George E. Woodberry Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.
Robert South Defeat should never be a source of discouragement, but rather a fresh stimulus.
Sallust A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means.
Mahatma Gandhi Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.
Steven Wright I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, “where’s the self-help section?” She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
John Bay Noble souls, through dust and heat, rise from disaster and defeat the stronger.
Sir Edmund Hillary You defeated me But you won’t defeat me again Because you have grown all you can grow…. but I am still growing (about Mount Everest)
George Lois Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by orginality, overcomes everything.
Douglas MacArthur Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Katherine Anne Porter Defeat in this world is no disgrace if you fought well and fought for the right thing.
Pan Ku If you must choose between two paths, either of which will bring death and defeat, then choose the path wherein you die fighting for honor and justice.
Walter Lippmann Modern men are afraid of the past. It is a record of human achievement, but its other face is human defeat.
Kristen Ashley Roth Hate is not a feeling toward another, but a feeling of defeat by another.
Martin Luther King, Jr. The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense
Ann Landers If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.
Ben Stein It is inevitable that some defeat will enter even the most victorious life. The human spirit is never finished when it is defeated…it is finished when it surrenders.
Ashley Montague The deepest human defeat suffered by human beings is constituted by the difference between what one was capable of becoming and what one has in fact become.
William Orville Douglas Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.
Christy Mathewson You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat.
Martin Luther King, Jr. The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.
Theodore Roosevelt Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
General Douglas MacArthur A Prayer For My Son Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory???Give him humility, s
Denis Watley Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
Edna Ferber Life can’t ever really defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer’s lover until death–fascinating, cruel, lavish, warm, cold, treacherous constant.
Gerald R. Ford A coalition of groups … is waging a massive propaganda campaign against the president of the United States. … an all-out attack. Their aim is total victory for themselves and total defeat for him. (On Watergate crisis)
G. Gordon Liddy They were afraid, never having learned what I taught myself: Defeat the fear of death and welcome the death of fear.
Orson Scott Card In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.
Arab Proverb An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.
Dag Hammarskjold The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned.
Henry Miller Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause who at best, if he wins, knows the thrills of high achievement, and, if he fails, at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt It is not the critic that counts not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the Arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming but he who does actually strive to do the deed who knows the great devotion who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat.
To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself.
When something (an affliction) happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.
I never seek to defeat the man I am fighting, I seek to defeat his confidence. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. Two men are equals – true equals – only when they both have equal confidence.
What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.
He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.
Tyranny cannot defeat the power of ideas.
It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
When defeat is inevitable, it is wisest to yield.
Victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan.
Many things are worse than defeat,and compromise with evil is one of them.
Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
Divorce is defeat…It’s an adult failure. Lucille Ball
The goal of all inanimate objects is to resist man and ultimately defeat him.
Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.
To save a Life in defeat, is to receive Victory and Honor.
There is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to write as well as one can. The best argument is an undeniably good book.
Exile, for no other motive than ease, would be the last defeat, with no seed of future victory in it.
Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
Many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known any great victory.
Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someda
Even against the greatest of odds, there is something in the human spirit- a magic blend of skill, faith, and valor- that can lift men from certain defeat to incredible victory.
When one is trying to do something beyond his known powers it is useless to seek the approval of friends. Friends are at their best in moments of defeat.
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.
“Once again, truth and American technology defeat Satan!”
Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
Far better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Some forms of reality are so horrible we refuse to face them, unless we are trapped into it by comedy. To label any subject unsuitable for comedy is to admit defeat.
“Life is the one enemy we cannot defeat.” — LaCroix
“We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat.” -Victoria
Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate, or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nas
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in eve
Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.
Free men cannot start a war, but once it is started, they can fight on in defeat. Herd men, followers of a leader, cannot do that, and so it is always the herd men who win battles and the free men who win wars.
Like President Reagan, President Bush has not shied from calling evil by its name or declaring his intention to defeat its latest incarnation, terrorism, just as free men and women of all political persuasions, here and abroad, defeated fascism and commun
“Who else will defeat us if not ourselves?” -C. Brunetti
Death is the enemy. I spent 10 years of my life singlemindedly studying, practicing, fighting hand to hand in close quarters to defeat the enemy, to send him back bloodied and humble and I am not going to roll over and surrender.