Early Jackson

We’ve all had moments in life where we are faced with a choice of doing something uncomfortable or remaining the same. In the world of psychology, it’s called ‘Fight or Flight’. It is the initial response a human has to a time of pressure. What I’ve found is it’s not in that moment you make the decision, but the times before which determine your true character. How we chose to perceive life dictates how we respond to challenges. Heroism is not about confidence as much as it is about courage. The difference is where confidence is situational; courage is a choice of a person’s mindset. By nature, we are innovative beings. It is life’s barriers that later train us to give up our courage. Fear, in any form, will cripple opportunities to step up. Most of us have the wrong understanding of failure. It is not something to afraid of because it is through experimenting with limitations that we discover our true ability. As we grow and develop, we learn to discern between a ‘chance’ and a ‘risk’. A chance is an action taken without proper investigation or analysis. A risk is the action you take after you have done your homework and evaluated not only the ways you can win, but the ways you can lose. When you have examined the angles of a situation and see the potential for growth, you can take the risk with courage. Look at several benefits of ‘Risk Taking’: Risk takers are usually leaders...

It’s that time of the year again! A feverish pace comes upon the sports world while all eyes turn towards colligate basketball in hopes of witnessing history. From Nebraska, to Gonzaga, Connecticut and Florida; everyone wants to know if they have their ‘brackets’ in order to track this year’s upset. You even see evidence of March Madness in stores and television commercials. We’ve all got the ‘fever’ and there is no relief in sight until the end of the month! I found the term ‘On the bubble’ to be an interesting narrative mentioned by nearly all the analysts on ESPN. When I did a bit of research, I also found this to be an allegory of the potential we have inside. In fact, if we really look closely at the similarities, it will give new meaning to this whole crazy month of sports utopia. Let me begin by saying, the place of the ‘bubble’ is where behavior meets beliefs. This sports term is defined as: Being on the threshold; finely balanced between success and failure. For example, if a tournament allows the top six teams to proceed to the next round then those who are close to qualification and can get through by a small increase in performance would be considered ‘on the bubble’. I want us to zero in on the term ‘small increase in performance’. I have found in life that it is usually not the huge margins we find difficult, but the daily, mundane habits that seem to...