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Find joy in the journey Nigel Alston Motivational Moments Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. - Harold B. Melchart I was young, right out of college with a business admin istration degree and didn't fully understand the point behind a comment a coworker made to me. Based on our interactions, he saw some thing in me that I didn't know about myself. He was sur prised that I was continuing to work in a position that involved being behind a desk, in a cubicle all day long. It , didn't fit with what he thought were my strengths and person ality based on his observa tions. He was right. Earlier this year a friend gave me a book ? "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. The book it based on a Gallup Study of over two million people and helps you leverage your tal ents, strengths and effective ness. He encouraged me to take the StrengthsFinder Profile online Internet test associated with it. I did. The results reinforced what 1 now know about myself after years of experience, training and other similar testing. According to the authors, "to excel in your chosen field and to find lasting satisfaction in doing so, you will need to understand your unique pat terns. You will need to become an expert at finding and describing and applying and practicing and refining your strengths." In doing so, you might also find your "sweet spot." "What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you. A zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell," Max Lucado writes in his book, "Cure for the Common Life, Living in Your Sweet Spot." According to him, "life makes sense when you find your spot." It is hard to disagree" with that point, isn't it? Each one of us has a bag of skills, according to Lucado We are prepackaged for a pur pose specifically suited for us The challenge i^io recognize our unique talents and as he suggests, make a careful exploration of who we are, the work we have been given, and then sink ourselves in it. Why is that important? According to pne job-place ment firm, only one percent of its clients have made a serious study of their skills. And too many people dread Mondays, can't wait for Fridays and manage to get through the days in between with little enthusiasm for life. We suffer as a result from poor health, weak relationships, and inef fectiveness at work. The cure "Unpack your bags," says Lucado. "You exited the womb uniquely equipped." "You didn't exit the womb with your purpose tattooed on your chest," he goes on to write, as he asks the reader to consider a new reality televi sion show. You are a contest ant and you and others must travel to a specific destination, find a prescribed neighbor hood and assume a particular role when you get there. His fictitious show would be called "Find Your Place." Here is the catch. No one tells you where to go or what to do. You must determine your des tination by the use of one tool, your bag of supplies. When you leave for your journey, you are given supplies that provide the clues to your des tination. You will not get a printout of your skills. However, according to Lucado, as your life progress es, you begin noticing your gifts, your skills are revealed to you and you discover your purpose and the place to do your work. As 2007 approaches, get ready for the journey. Everyday is an interview with life. Show up. Unpack your bags. Discover your gifts. j'God tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space in his jigsaw puzzle," writes Lucado. "And life makes sweet sense when you find your spot." Nigel Alston is a radio talk show host, columnist and moti vational speaker. He is a mem ber of the Winston-Salem State University Board of Trustees. Visit his Web site at wwwmoti vationalmoments.com. Run, Obama, Run Ron Walters Guest Columnist The specter grows that ' finds Senator Barack Obama being turned into a national phenomenon, drawing huge crowds of people wanting to . touch the hem of his garment and catch the verbal morsels m that fall from his lips wherever he goes. So massive has been this response that it has sparked a political culture of speculation about his chances . t of running for president in ? 2008, especially as he travels to places like the testing ground of New Hampshire. What people tind attractive . about Barack is first, his back ground, a white mother and Kenyan father, his early resi dences in Hawaii, Indonesia, Kansas - all giving off the scent of a multiracialism in his growing up. Then, there is his' degree from Harvard Law School and his role as the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review, traditionally sug a ^gesting high intelligence, that he used in establishing a polit ical career in state level poli tics, making a sound record of accomplishment. Finally, there are the intangibles of charis . ^ ma, the earnestness in his voice, the self-deprecating, even folksy style and easily likable smile. These are IT *, telegenic qualities that fit well in a media where personal appeal is the stuff of political allure. It may even trump con cerns about his limited politi cal experience. ?So, Barack has attracted the curious, selling out halls in , a rock star fashion, eliciting the "run-Barack-run" chant heard then Rev. Jesse Jackson was also making up his mind about getting into the race for president in 1984. But this 1 chant is not coming from blacks. Therein is the differ , ence. Race and politics are in this equation, covered up right now by the hype, but posi tioned to bolt to the surface at the right moment. That is why Barack Campaign Photo Sen. Barack Obama is getting a lot of attention. the savvy Obama began his speech in New Hampshire recently saying that he was "suspicious of the hype." Obama is as aware of any one of the lingering fictitious ness of public opinion polls when it comes to assessing white support for black candi dates. When Tom Bradley, the black mayor of Los Angeles, barely lost a race for governor in 1982, a pattern was observed: he received high poll numbers, but a low final vote from whites. The same thing happened to David Dinkins when he ran for mayor of New York City, and Doug Wilder when he ran for gover nor of Virginia, creating a belief among analysts that the true level of support by white voters for black candidates is much less than believed. What political scientists know is that context is impor tant in judging white support for blacks. This was seen in the recent election where Deval Patrick was elected gov ernor of Massachusetts, an overwhelmingly white state. But in the background, as in every state, was an explosive vote against the current admin istration, amounting to more than 60 percent in some national polls, for its handling of the war in Iraq. Context may also configure the politics of 2008. ? In my most recent book. "Freedom Is Not Enough," I create a "Jackson Model" for black candidates running for president and compare it to the campaigns of Carol Moseley Braun and Rev. A1 Sharpton in the 2004 elections. But there is a distinct difference when black candidates run from a progressive base of black, women, low-income, civil rights challenged, etc. voters or whether he or she positions the campaign toward a moder ate electorate. As a potential candidate already favored by the white mainstream and run ning second in polls to Hilary Clinton at this writing, the prospect is great that Obama would run toward the m#in body of the electorate that is to the right of blacks. This raises the question ot where his base will be. He may well attract black voters as a base, who will give him some issue slack because of the view that he may just be the first genuine black candidate to win the presidency. But there is great resentment among some blacks over the rightward drift of the Democratic Party, and if be adds to that, he could be in trouble with black voters. 1 think that Barack Obama should run for president, espe cially since he doesn't loose politically. Even if he looses the nomination fight, it height ens his leadership profile in national politics and virtually ensures his Senate re-electidn in 2010. Right now, Obama's true political value is unknown because of the curiosity factor. In the 2000 election, Alan Keyes, Obama's 2004 oppo nent for his Senate seat in Illinois, drew large crowds to hear him speak, but he attract ed few votes. Separating the entertainment factor from a political judgment may well be Obama's most trying chore in making up his mind. Of course, if he finds a creative way to use it, that will be all to the good. Ron Wallers is the distin guished leadership scholar, director of government and politics at the University of Maryland College Park. His latest books are: "white Nationalism, black Interests" and "Freedom Is Not Enough." Lorraine M- Mortis FWtnfly Law Jessie Draft & Associates LLC Jessie Draft/Broker CRS, GRI, REALTOR RNJDRAFT@MSN.COM 3750 Beeson Dairy Rd Winston-Salem, NC 27105 (336) 403-1254 Business (336) 748-0871 Fax MULTIMILUON DOLLAR PRODUCER S. Wayne Patterson \(loriU'\ \l I ;iw [?Immigration *Social Security ?Civil Rights ?EEOC Claims ?Non-Profit/50 lc(3) ?Employment Discrimination 1235 Peachtree St. 301 North Main St. jSuite 400 Suite 2420 (Atlanta, GA 30303 Winston-Salem, NC 27 127 1-877 -SWP-4LAW or local number (336)714-8858 www.swaynepatterson4law.com BANKRUPTCY Logal H*tp For Your D*M Problwm DONALD R. BUIE, Attorney At Law Donald n Bale www.donaldrbuit.com * Free Initial Consultation * Stop Repossession &.Faredo?ure The Law Office of Donald R. Buk is a Federally designated Debt Relief Agency under Title 11 United States Code Section 528(a). We help peo ple file for bankruptcy relief nnder the baakrnptcy code. 773-1398 8 W. 3rd St, Ste. 100 Rep. Larry Womble NC House of Representatives 71st District Tel (336) 784-9373 Fax (336) 784-1626 E-Mail: LWistm@aol.com Home Address 1294 Salem Lake Road Winston-Salem, NC 27107 Lock E. Haws The Choice for African-American News 617 N. Liberty Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 The Chronicle was established by Ernest Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974, and is pub lished every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co.; Inc. The Chronicle is a proud member of National Newspapers Publishers Association ? North Carolina Press Association ? North Carolina Black Publishers Association ? Inland Press Association Contact Us Fkrn Number 336 / 722-8624 r, b 336/723-9173 msiiAHm!-. ww.wschronicle.com E-mii*um,: news@wschronicle.com Business Office 723-8428, ext 100 Paulettb Lewis Business Office 723-8428, ext 101 Andrea Moses Home^elTverTTubs^iption Order o YES, Please send me The Chronicle o 2 years: $40.95 o I year: $30.72 o 6 months: $20.48 Phone City O VISA O Mastercard Zip O American Express O Check enclosed O Please bill me Account Number Expiration Dale Signature Send to: The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636. Winston-Salem, NC 27102
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