You Are Not Alone!

Tomorrow September 10th is Suicide Awareness Day. You might not know someone personally who have committed suicide, but I am sure you have heard about someone who has. Yellow is the color of suicide prevention. For one-day let's all stop thinking just about ourselves and start thinking about others, too. Wear yellow and/or write "You're not alone" on your arm to show people they are not alone in this world and you are here to help. Suicide is a tragic death. People around you that you do not even know could have tried ending their life at one point, or more then once. All I am asking is for one day please wear yellow and show people they are not alone! Post this on facebook, twitter, everyone... help spread the word around the world! You are never alone, even if you feel like you are. God will always be there to listen, Whether you believe in Him or not, He will always be there!

Dream As Big As You Can

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Today is a very important day in American History. The History Channel and Florida's Natural posted about today on their facebook pages. The new Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial was unveiled this week in Washington, D.C., and today is Dream Day- the day that marks the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Find out more about the civil rights hero here: http://bit.ly/qB46O3

In honor of Dream Day and MLK, Jr., what is your greatest dream? If you could do one thing to change the world, what would it be? What steps can you take to achieve your dream?

Fun w/ Hurricane Irene

It's obviously no fun being in the brunt of a hurricane, but who says we have to be bored? Let's create our own hurricane party mix in honor of Irene..what songs should be included? Let's keep it completely themed. But don't be afraid to be creative and have fun with it. E.g. change the lyrics to a song to make it fit, change the title, etc. Check out my other blogs, my twitter, and Rockin Rita's Blogs for more! Check out the following twitter hashtags: #hurricanemix #huricanemusic, #huricanemusicmix #hurricanepartymix #irenemix #mixforirene #replacesongnamewithirene #replacesongtitlewithirene #hurricaneirene

Let's start w/ Kentucky Rain.

Oprah Talks About Life Lessons

The day has finally come. Today marks the ending of an era and the turning of a page. The Oprah Winfrey Show is ending. She talks to us about about life lessons and "Callings" and "Worthiness." In my personal opinion, today's episode is the most poignant and prominent, special and inspiring episode of all. I am proud to say I am truly a fan of Oprah and I recognize that while I may not have seen many episodes she has somehow still managed to reach through my tv screen over the years and touch me and change me for the better. Thank you Oprah. This blog entry is dedicated to you and the lessons you have taught us all and will continue to teach us. Here are some of the words of wisdom the great Oprah Winfrey shared with us today as she called it a "love letter" to us, her fans. Enjoy everyone and feel free to comment even if you are not a member of this blogging platform. This will also get posted to networkedblogs, my facebook homepage and fan page, and my twitter too.

As she came out on stage, Oprah said "After 25 years, I am still saying thank you America. Thank you so much. there are no words to match this moment. Every word I have ever spoken from the stage of The Oprah Show...is what this moment is all about... When I came here I was about to turn 30 years old. I didn't have a vision, or a lot of great expectations that we talk about all the time. I didn't have one. I just wanted to do a good job and cause no harm... I wanted to encourage you to be yourselves just as you all encouraged me and cheered me on... Soon after I started this show something shifted for me. I started this show as a job. It was not long before I understood there was something else going on here- more than just job satisfaction. Something in me connected with each of you in a way that allowed me to see myself in you and you in me. I listened and grew and I knew you did too. Sometimes I was a teacher and more often, you taught me. It is no coincidence that I always wanted to be a teacher and I ended up in the world's biggest classroom. And this, my friends, will be our last class from this stage.

"This last hour is really about me saying thank you. It is my love letter to you. I want to leave you with the lessons the have been the anchor for my life and the ones that I hold most precious." She explains how she never missed a day in 25 years simply because it is what she was called to do. "Every day that I stood here I knew that this was exactly where I was supposed to be... I showed up because I knew that you were waiting- you were waiting for whatever we had to offer. That is why I never missed a day in 25 years, because you were here."

Even if you never read another blog entry of mine ever again I hope you find something you can learn from this. I just want "to do a good job and cause no harm," as Oprah said.

LIFE LESSONS
(Oprah's commencement speech to Standford U-quotes)

“Walk through life eager and open to self-improvement,” she told the audience. “I believe that there’s a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward.” She advised graduates to follow their “emotional guidance systems” and to trust their hearts. At 22, Winfrey endured a news anchor job that left her feeling miserable. A forced move to talk show hosting, she recalled, was like coming home.“The moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing,” she said. “It felt right…When you’re doing the work you’re meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you’re getting paid. You want your work to be meaningful,” she said. “Because meaning is what brings the real richness to your life.”

Winfrey’s second lesson to graduates emphasized learning from failures. She described her founding of a school for girls in South Africa last year. Heralded by the media upon the school’s opening, Winfrey’s hopes were dampened when one of the dorm matrons was charged for sexual abuse last fall. Winfrey said she was devastated, but took the setback as a lesson to reassess her priorities. “I understand now the mistakes I made, because I had been paying attention to all of the wrong things,” she said, citing her focus on the school’s physical appearance. “I’d built that school from the outside in, when what really mattered was the inside out.”

Finally, Winfrey implored graduates to stand for something larger than their individual selves in order to find happiness. "To move forward, you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of all,” she remarked. Whatever the graduates’ callings, Winfrey emphasized, operating from the paradigm of service would bring more value to their lives. “If you choose to offer your skills and talents in service,” she said, “it turns everything you do from a job into a gift. And I know you haven’t spent all this time at Stanford just to go out and get a job.”

CALLINGS

Oprah talks about having passion and everybody having a calling. "What I learned from this experience with you is that we all are called- everybody has a calling- and your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get about doing it...That is what a calling is. It lights you up and lets you know that that is exactly where you are supposed to be, doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you- and hope that you will take from this show to live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living, I understand that, but you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world."

Her "Live Your Best Life" pitch continues: "Each one of you has your own platform. Do not let the trappings here move you.Mine is a stage and a studio, yours is wherever you are- within your own reach...[We can influence co-workers, friends, etc.] Wherever you are that is own platform... That is your talk show and that is where your power lies. Every way and everyday you are showing people exactly who you are. You are letting your life speak for you. And when you do that you will receive in direct proportion to how you give on whatever platform you have. Of course, I know the circumstances are all different for all of us but the power I know is all the same."

So, I thought to myself, is this really going to be an hour of Oprah giving an empowerment seminar? Personally I'm kind of glad that this is how she ended it. Truthfully, I may have been hoping for more of her usual...but it was after all just about her embracing her fans.

People don't have to do things that make them famous to be of service, she notes. "We're all confused about fame versus service in this country," she says. Don't waste any more time, Start embracing the life that is calling you, Oprah urges.

OMG! What happened?!

I received this blog post in my email and I knew I should share with all my followers. This is a guest post by Sarah from The Blog Guidebook.

Last week some of us faced unfamiliar territory...Blogger was not functioning. Our readers wouldn't know it because they could still see our blog and interact. But we knew it, didn't we? It is so frustrating trying to work behind the scenes on your blog and not being able to. Apparently it was only a small percentage of users affected, but I happened to be one of them. And I have been known to boast about Blogger's exceptional track record when it comes to down time. Blogger was number one when it came to zero down time people! Now, not so much. This "down time" gave me time to go look at Wordpress blogs....(traitor!).  But still, jumping ship right before Blogger makes its big reveal seems like a silly thing to do...I want to see what the new Blogger has to offer me. Will there be more features that are amazing? There better be! You can stay on top of known issues for Blogger by going here. Blogger also posts when problems have been fixed. It might be a good idea to bookmark Known Issues.

Were you affected by Blogger's down time? Did you even notice it wasn't working? If you didn't, then I'm happy for you!

Photobucket has had a few hiccups lately too...Photobucket hosts images, and when they are down, the images are down too...you can literally have a blank slate to look at for as long as 3 days (and longer). Read an article from a fellow blogger here.

Now, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. These are guidelines you might want to follow simply as preventative measures...back it up! Even if you're not on Blogger, these tips will be good for you.

Prior to an outage - we might get a warning or notice of "updates" to be performed

• Back Up Your Blog:  Yes, you should back it up on a regular basis. Especially if you’re thinking of starting a  site redesign or moving to a different blogging platform.
• Keep A Copy Of Your Posts - OFFLINE: Think about keeping an offline copy of your posts, in case something happens to your host (ie. Blogger) and they revert to an earlier version of your blog.This may take some time, you'll have to copy and paste all your posts into a text file, but it will be well worth it!

During an Outage - stay calm and carry on

• Keep Your Readers in the know: Let your readers know via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc that your site is down and you are unable to make changes, write posts etc. Ask them to check back soon, be patient, and send you feedback about their experiences with possible outages.
• Use Social Media to Run Anything on Deadline: If you have a sponsorship deadline, a contest to run, or just about anything else that needs to happen while your site is down, try taking it to social media. Get your followers active and still participating with your site, even if it’s down.

After an Outage - jump up and down in delight

• Read Your Blog: If anything looks different, or the layout has changed, go in and repair the damages.
• Inform Your Readership: Tell your readers you're back up and running. You are back in the captain's seat!
• Get back to blogging: Start back to your regularly scheduled programming, I mean posting. This way your readers will know you are cool and calm in the face of blogging dangers. Then back up your blog - again!

Some blogs have been known to disappear into the Bermuda Triangle too. Read this Google page to find out what you can do if you're one of the Lost. And, did you know that Blogger can delete your blog without informing you? Google hates spam, so don't have a blog about spam (canned ham?). Another good reason to back up your blog, right?

Read all Terms here.

Termination; Suspension. Google may, in its sole discretion, at any time and for any reason, terminate the Service, terminate this Agreement, or suspend or terminate your account. In the event of termination, your account will be disabled and you may not be granted access to your account or any files or other content contained in your account although residual copies of information may remain in our system for some time for back-up purposes. Sections 2, 3, 5 - 8, and 10 - 15 of the Agreement, along with applicable provisions of the general Terms of Service (including the section regarding limitation of liability), shall survive expiration or termination.

Remember to Keep Blogging and Backing Up!