The hotel I stayed at in Biloxi was Beau Rivage. As far as rating it, it was very nice, but I must say, it was not the most service-oriented hotel I've ever been to. While the location, the scenery, and the decor was all ravishing, and the numerous onsite amenities were quite appealing, nearly everything about the hotel was geared to take your money. In fact, you could barely even find a seat anywhere in the hotel - the reason: they want you to sit down where they can charge you, such as a restaurant or in front of a slot machine (did I mention the Beau Rivage is a gambling resort). And get this little piece of loveliness, if you want to have Internet access, you have to first buy a cable out of their vending machine for $10 bucks! Then it costs $12 a day to actually get Internet access to go through that crazy little cable. Can you say SCAM?!! It makes the Comfort Inn look more and more attractive every minute.

Anyway, I'll quit my griping...... the pillows were nice. Here are some more pics of the hotel:

You do not live each day just to see what it holds for you, but to create your reality. Whether you realize it or not, every minute and every moment of your life you spend creating who you are and what you are becoming. All of your actions and your thoughts construct the substance of your life. In other words, things don't just happen. You happen. Your choices, your ideas, your beliefs, your determination - they all add up. They have everything to do with your past, your present, and your future. Good or bad, it is the reality you have created, the ultimate summation of all you have sown and are sowing. If you want a new reality, you must change it. No one else can do it for you. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." To change your reality, you decide who it is you want to be, where it is you want to go, and what it is you want to happen. Then, you must understand and believe that everything around you is a part of this process. Invariably, your reality will only be what you choose and truly believe. If that is greatness, then greatness. If defeat, then defeat. Either way, your reality will be a reflection of your thinking and your orientation to life. This is a universal truth, an ageless principle. That is, to succeed or fail, to thrive or deteriorate. It is a reality that is entirely up to you to decide..... and to create.

Yesterday, on my way down to Biloxi, I saw an IBM ad in the Chicago airport that caught my attention. It read: "Stop Talking. Start Doing." I really have to give the marketing people at IBM props, because ever since I saw that ad, I haven't stopped thinking about it.

Stop Talking. Start Doing.

Immediately, the tag line got me pondering all the things that I talk about. Finishing my degree. Buying a home. Traveling the globe. Learning a second language. Living debt free. Becoming a millionaire. Making an INCREDIBLE difference in the world. The list goes on. But you know what? None of these things really matter unless I actually "do" something about them. I can talk all I want about my ideas and my life's ambitions, but talk is cheap. It's only the "doing" that counts for something. That's the part that actually gets us from a dream to fruition, from an idea to a solution, from a possibility to a reality.

So, needless to say, this simple, yet thought-provoking ad, which grabbed my eye and seared my brain as I raced through the O'Hare terminal at 95 miles an hour, has left me both troubled and compelled. Troubled, simply because I'm bothered by the number of unmet personal goals I've done nothing about; but compelled to take action immediately on all of them. I don't want to be known for one who just talks about potential or talks about the possibilities. Good lord, we could talk about potential and possibilities and theorize and visualize until we're all blue in the face. It means nothing without action. Remember, great things don't happen just because you talk about them, great things happen becase you DO them.

Here's a cool video to watch.......

The difference between hot water and boiling water is just one degree of heat. While that may not seem like much, it's the difference between a relaxing cup of tea... and being able to power a 50-ton steam locomotive up a mountain. The following movie brilliantly illustrates how one extra degree of heat, that one extra degree of effort, can make all the difference in your life and perhaps someone elses.