Just yesterday;

Just yesterday, an acquaintance of ours turned a bitter attitude toward us. How can we be so peace loving and always looking toward a better tomorrow, when the world seems to be going up in flames? How can we tell everyone to focus on themselves, when their environment is demanding so much time from them? How can we continue to talk about love and peace and growth, when all around us is burning down? Don’t we know the state of the world? Don’t we know that unemployment is skyrocketing, and people aren’t going to be able to feed their families? Don’t we know that our government is out of control and will destroy us all?

Now, it would have been very easy to think of this person as a negative, someone who feeds off of their own misfortunes; someone who isn’t interested in growth at all, but is destructive to themselves and their environment. In fact, it was really tempting. But, we took some time and continued our conversation, and found they were being hit with a great deal of stress and circumstances. With a little bit of prompting, the bitterness began to turn to understanding, and the angst lessened. Positive seeks positive, negative feeds on negative.

We didn’t offer a quick solution, we didn’t take their problems away. But we did give them a better mindset to deal with their situations, and a better belief in themselves and their abilities to overcome the obstacles in their life.

Sometimes you need to rebalance and focus, so you can determine what is most important to YOU. We used to be wrapped up in what our friends had, and wanted the same or better for ourselves. But those objects never satisfied, there was always bigger and better. And bigger and better cost more and more money. So we had to work harder and harder. And there was always something just out of reach that we just had to have. The turning point for us came when the economy turned and were faced with layoffs. We had to decide what was important, and in doing so, we cut out a lot of the unnecessary expenses in our lives. We also started spending more time working on our personal relationship with each other. And the most amazing thing happened! We became happier.

When we form our own expectations in our lives, we see our goals attainable. We don’t need a new car if ours is dependable and running fine. We don’t need a brand new big screen television if our regular television still works. We don’t need to work overtime and stress ourselves out to earn enough money to take a vacation to distress and relax. We’ve left the daily grind, and take each new day as an adventure. Of course, we have our responsibilities and commitments, and maintain them. But we are more at peace with what we are and do.

Re-evaluate your goals, be happy with your level of success, don’t let others decide your happiness for you.

The main site to connect to all our work (Articles, Images, Books, Publications, Figurines and soon Freehand Briar wood Tobacco and Smoking Pipes) is at http://RGebbiePhoto.com – Sharing our creativity and inspiration with the world.

It Takes More than Words

How often do people talk about the things they want out of life, but do very little in regards to fulfilling them? Wishes and dreams are wondrous things. The Human mind can create worlds of fantasy, take us on trips to locations we have never been, or develop the next greatest time-saving device. From contemplating what may exist beyond our corner of the universe, to examining our own existence and environment, human imagination and ingenuity enables our species to evolve and develop.

Concepts and ideas without action are the dreams and aspirations we leave unfulfilled. Even the best of intentions will never yield results, if no one acts to produce them. The happiest and most successful people that I have encountered seem to all have one thing in common; they took action, and made decisions that led their lives in the directions they desired. A cart will never carry a load if no one builds, loads, or supplies the energy to move it. It takes more than words for thoughts to become accomplishments and achievements.

When an individual has drive, passion, and desire, almost anything is possible. The most destructive force in blocking them from achieving their goal is self-doubt. It is the responsibility of the individual alone to define the path they desire to follow with their life. If your path meets a dead end, then you should build a new road. Know that each new day presents an opportunity to learn and grow in the direction you wish to travel.

Personal, Environmental, or Career Ambition;
To create positive change, a person must make decisions and positively act on them to achieve the goals they desire. From seeking spiritual enlightenment, to climbing the corporate ladder to CEO, the things we strive for take effort to reach. It is often the journey, and not the destination, that lead people to their greatest advancements in personal development. When a person strives to learn and grow, the obstacles overcome today easily become the stepping stones for success tomorrow.

Every adventure begins with a first step, much like other routines. The more often it is practiced, the more familiar it becomes. Make a concerted effort each day to gain knowledge from experiences. Small gains today lead to greater success in the future. It has often been observed that steady progress eventually results in accomplishing a person’s goal, even when the destination seems beyond reach at the beginning of the journey. The dreams envisioned today may lead to the advances made the next. Believe the goal reachable, and strive to make it happen.

Have confidence in your work. Often, the hardest person to convince an idea is worth striving for is ourselves. Trust in your own value. Believe that, with effort and perseverance, you can accomplish your goals no matter how difficult or lengthy the pursuit may be. The technologies and comforts of today were the concepts and fantasy of yesterday. Dare to challenge the boundaries that exist now for the possibilities presented tomorrow.

Don’t allow others to block your passion or desire. Even Don Quixote found his place in history from the pursuit of his dreams. Own your wishes, no matter how the future unfolds. The things a person envisions are theirs to hold onto and believe in. Whether you are inventing the next wheel, or simply convincing yourself tomorrow will be a better day, you are capable of great accomplishments when you believe in yourself.

Everything comes with a price. It takes effort; do not expect others to build your dreams for you. While it is always nice to have the support of others, you must guide the path your life takes by the choices you make. Even if the dream is shared, both individuals must have the passion and desire for success. Taking a passive roll by allowing others to make decisions, or standing on the sidelines, will not lead to the destination one wishes. Rather, it leads to the other individuals destination. While individuals do not have control over every experience that occurs in their lives, they do have the power to strive for the things they wish to achieve. When empowered with the ability to make decisions about their direction in life, a person has choices about the destiny they arrive at.

The choices a person makes, and the actions they take, have great influence on where their journey leads them. When a person has control over the path their life pursues, their chances for success improve greatly.

I-5 Computers Revisited, Fast and Reliable!

Robert and I had finally felt the stress of working non-stop on our business and various projects, and knew we needed a break. Our relationship had always been a close one, but lately we realized we had stopped dealing with each other on a personal level. It was always about the company.

It was a Friday night, and a phone call spurred on a lively conversation, one which Robert and I continued well into the night. By 4am, we were on our fourth pot of coffee, and the conversation was still quite animated. This began our incredible vacation from work and the world. Formerly logging 22 hours a day online between the 2 of us, we only accessed email once a day, spending twenty minutes hastily browsing the subject lines, only opening the most urgent in need of reply.

We spoke, and shared, and loved, and touched. Not requiring food or sleep, we stayed up for days straight, sharing and growing together, telling the stories you don't dare repeat even to yourself. We grew a lot in those three weeks, solidifying our commitment to each other and ourselves.

It was at the end of the 2nd week that our computer went down. But we weren't ready to get back to work just yet. We were still on our vacation. Without a computer, we put pencil to paper, and outlined dozens of new projects and ideas and goals. And Robert began to draw again.
Well, now at the end of our vacation, we feel the pull to get back into the swing of things. But our computer was still down! I asked a friend for some help, but after 2 no-call, no-show appointments, Robert checked around and found an old co-worker of his is now running a computer business here in Vancouver.

i-5 Computers, located just west of i-5 on Mill Plain is run by Darren and James. Motivated more by ethics and quality than greed, they diagnose computer systems for free, offer very reasonable repair rates, and do Home and Business Networking and Data Recovery. Definitely aware of our economic times, they strive to make affordable systems and offer quality products for everyone. And if they can't fix it, there is no charge for the diagnosis, ever.

Honor, Integrity, Ethics. These are the things that separate a good company from a great one.

i-5 Computers Inc, 309 E 15th Street Suite A, Vancouver WA 98663 (360) 326-4909

The Fall of Technology

Recently, we had our computer systems crash on us, and have been keeping up with things from a friend's computer. We would like to thank everyone for their continued suport and best wishes as we resolve our technical dificulties.

Lori and I have been working on several ideas for new directions and projects. We will announce and present these when we resolve our computer issues and return to a normal work schedule.

Thanks again to everyone and we hope to be back to full operations soon.

Robert & Lori Gebbie
RGebbiePhoto

Keeping the faith

In these difficult economic times, I have watched as numerous businesses closed their doors in the local community. More and more people, including myself, delay or give up their dreams and aspirations. Several of our own projects have been shuffled further down the priority list, or put on hold, awaiting a better fiscal climate. Most entrepreneurs are working harder with fewer resources while scaling back their future expectations for growth and expansion.

It can be hard to have faith in your efforts when the results fail to meet hopes or expectations. When the struggle to succeed begins to feel like a never ending battle, self esteem can often be the casualty. Difficult times and experiences can compel even the strongest to question their faith in themselves.

The human spirit can be amazing at overcoming obstacles when fueled by creativity, passion, desire and ingenuity. Have faith in yourself and continue to follow your dreams. Every day brings a new opportunity and chance to succeed. The progress struggled for today may become the foundation a person builds on the tomorrow. Continue to dream and be flexible to the possibilities that exist in the future.


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