Think Differently

In today's world, we are being taught to be offended, to think lowly of ourselves, and to make excuses. We all have feelings,but we are not supposed to be led by them. People tell us every reason not to live out the dream God placed in our hearts instead of telling us every reason to live out our dream. We also find every reason not to stay committed to something that will better ourselves in the long run

The biblical worldview on freedom, is that God gives us absolute freedom through His Grace. God does not kill us because we commit a sinful act, but He does warn us that sin leads us to death. So even though we have absolute freedom, people can feel restricted by God's Word. However, living in your sin makes you a slave to the devil and restricts you from being who God wants you to be. So in reality, God sets us free from sin, not to sin, so we can live in peace and have much joy. This same principle applies to free speech. We are aloud to say anything, but some words and thoughts can restrict you from what God wants you to be. God does not want you to speak out of offense, because when you are offended by what someone says, it usually means that whatever they said is true about you. I am of Hispanic decent and people can make racist comments of any race. Hispanics can be called lazy, drug addicts, criminals, you name it. If it offends you, you probably have one of these qualities. But if you represent yourself in a classy and respectful matter, these words should not hurt you. If someone calls me lazy, I will prove that I am not lazy by working hard. If someone calls me a criminal, I am not going to get offended and go do criminal things, because then I would be proving them right. When I was in middle school and early high school, I was called soft by my parents and coaches. Instead of getting offended, I went to do something about it. I woke up early mornings and stayed after school to get in the weight room to get physically and mentally tough. Do not be offended, just prove people wrong in silence, then your critics will be silent themselves

We can make the world so small around us. We believe that where we are from, will dictate our level of potential. I grew up in Southern California, and living in New Mexico now, a difference I see is that people do not believe in themselves as much. I had coaches, teachers, and friends that encouraged me that I can make a big splash in my lifetime. I was taught to take one step at a time and realize this is not a sprint, it is marathon. So making a big splash will not happen right away, but it will eventually happen when you surround yourself with people that believe in you. That is what I love about the vision at Legacy Church, they believe in people and they believe in making a difference one step at a time. From the youth pastors to the executive pastors, one common theme that I get from them, is that they believe God is going to do big things through me. A belief in me, is the best motivation for me, I want to work and serve for people that believe in me. As a player, a coach that believed in me motivated me to work hard for him. However, people can believe in me, but if I do not believe in myself, then it does not matter. When my coach tells me to run, I run. When my pastor tells me to serve, I serve. Not once have I ever believed that any of my coaches and pastors were trying to make me a worse person. They challenge me because they believe in me. If they never said a word to me and let me do what I want, that means they have stopped believing in me. All in all, surround yourself with people that believe in you. Also, believe in people around you, because that is the best motivation you can ever give someone

Excuses are one of the worst things that can you make. They will take away opportunities from you and will limit you from reaching your full potential. Find ways to overcome obstacles, instead of finding ways to get out of things. After my concussion in high school, I was told to take a week off, but that did not stop me from going to every practice and team meeting. It did not stop me from going to school. I did not find any excuse to fall behind and have people feel sorry for me. I would get dizzy throughout the day and my head would hurt, but I just told myself to suck it up and focus on the task at hand. I want to show the people I work for, that I am committed to my work. I do not want to be one of those employees that has an excuse for everything. If I am sick, I will go into work, and if I am too sick to work, then my boss will tell me to go home. When my players tell me they are sick and cannot come to practice, I tell them to come to practice and I will decide if they are too sick to practice. If they are too sick to practice, they can go lay down or sit on a chair with a trash can next to them. I teach this principle because I want them to practice their commitment and loyalty. There is honor in someone who will do whatever it takes to do what they are called to do. When I was dripping blood from my head, I still tried to get back in practice, but coach told me to get out. Isaiah Thomas, hall of fame guard for the Detroit Pistons back in the 80's, had a nasty ankle injury during an 1988 NBA Finals game, early in the third quarter. By the swelling of his ankle, no one would have blamed him for sitting out the rest of the game. Not only did he come back in 35 seconds later, he went 11 of 13 from the field and scored 25 points in that quarter alone! He was hobbling up and down the court, basically playing on one leg, but he made no excuses, instead he made history. No one gets remembered for making excuses. No one keeps a steady job by making excuses. What gets you climbing up the ladder, is doing things you are not expected to do. Pastor Tommy Barnett put a phrase in my mind that I do not think will every be removed from my brain..."And then some". When I am working and doing my job, I will put that thought in my mind and realize that my true value, comes from doing more than everybody else. Do not make excuses, make history

Thank you for reading! Please share with friends and family that you think this can bless them!

Chris Perez

ANNOUNCEMENT: I am running a 3 week basketball training camp from July 5th-July 22nd at Legacy East Campus Gym. If you, or anybody you know is interested, please visit legacybballabq.com for registration and more information!

I Decide

There are a lot of things we cannot control in our lives. We cannot control what others say to us and at times we cannot control our circumstances. But there will be times where we have to make decisions that we can control. For this article, I want to first talk about things we cannot control and that we should accept it. I also want to talk about what we can control and that we should not have a victim mindset. Then, next I will give you a thought that you can meditate on when you make decisions

I believe people are going to speak evil in to my life and speak good into my life. People are going to say hurtful things towards me, but that does not mean I stop doing what God has called me to do. There have been situations that a student-athlete will quit a team, just because a coach told them something hurtful. I believe good coaches want the best out of you, and a way to get the best out of you, is to say something that will hurt your heart, enough to where you want change for the better. Being an athlete, I never wanted to be called soft. That hurt me more than anything and it angered me to be called that. Not because I thought it was not true, it was the opposite, I knew it was true, so I did whatever I could to never be called soft again. Point is, when a boss or coach tells you something that hurts you, take it as a challenge to get better. You may be called lazy, take it as a challenge to be more productive. You may be called selfish, do more unselfish acts. I know we all have those trigger words, but if we act out in anger and defense, we will simply prove that those particular words are true and we need to fix our attitude. It is hard to be corrected, but it is needed. So we cannot control way everybody says, whether it is wrong or right, true or false, but we can control how we respond to those words. No one can make you mad, only you can make yourself mad. Respond the right way to criticism and hateful speaking. A gentle answer turns away wrath (Proverbs 15:1)

The parts that we can control more than anything are what we think about, what we believe in, and our emotions. I can have bad thoughts run through my mind, but I do not have to act on them and I do not have to say them out loud. I can have good thoughts run through my mind, but I do have to act on them to make good things happen. There are people that cry, laugh, get angry, etc, at certain things. We all have emotions but we are not to be led by them. Our emotions should not make our decisions, our thoughts and beliefs should make our decisions. Because our emotions are never permanent, you cannot stay happy, stay sad, stay angry, etc. You see it with kids all the time, one minute they hate you and never want to speak to you again, the next minute you are a hero to them. In relationships, you will have disagreements and you will have lovely conversations. Social media shows that well, because usually when I see a guy or girl post something nice about there significant other, I think that the person that posted it did something bad and wants all of his/her followers that he/she is a good boyfriend/girlfriend. I am joking about this matter but you get my point, emotions change, so we have to control them. We do not have to say everything that is on our minds. When you have a strong belief system, your thinking will get stronger. Whatever you believe in helps your thinking. There are things that I do not compromise, if it goes against biblical principles, I will not do it. If I believe that doing something differently will benefit me, I will do it. Really control what you believe in so that your thinking is not contradicting yourself. You cannot serve two masters, you either serve God or serve Satan (Matthew 6:24)

We have the ability to decide how hard we are going to work at something. There are people that have less, that work harder than those who have more. Why? Because they do not have a victim mindset and they are not content with an average life. Do not let your disadvantages own you. God gives people disadvantages so that they can work harder. If everything was handed to me and I had nothing but advantages, I would get lazy and not want to accomplish anything. There are people that believe they have it all and are content with what they have, but then someone who has less, is working harder than them. As a player I felt I had height disadvantage and athletic disadvantage, so I worked hard. I knew I was small so I had to cut harder, make strong moves, and be smart in order to be successful. I knew that getting in the weight room and being in great shape will help my disadvantages because even though I am smaller, I am stronger. Even though you are better than me, I will outlast you. We cannot let a disease control our life, we cannot let a absent father control our life, we cannot let the wrong people control our life...We decide how we are going to handle our disadvantages. I want you to speak this over your life: I decide how successful I am going to be. I decide how hard I am going to work. No matter who is in my way or what is in my way, I will not lose sight of being successful. I want success, and no one can take that away from me. If I do not want to be the best at what I do, then I will not be successful. I may not be the best, but I will strive to be the best. With this attitude, I will go farther than I could ever go with any other attitude because when I am done, I will have no regrets. Because I decide to give my all

Thank you for reading, I hope this helps! Please share!

Love Obsessively

As the career of another legend has ended, I would like to write about a concept that Kobe Bryant has taught me more than anything, and that is to love obsessively. Kobe is quoted as saying this, "If somebody is not obsessed with what they do, then we don't speak the same language." We must surround ourselves with people that are passionate about what they do. However, being passionate does not mean you will always be liked. If you say you are passionate, but do not prove it with action, then you are just talking. I want to go over these statements in depth

Surround Yourself with People That Have Passion

As we get older, we realize that quality is better than quantity. We focus on having many friends or knowing many people, to having a tighter circle with friends and people that are reliable. What I look for in a friend, is does he or she have passion for what they do? Do they love doing what they do and do they work hard at it? My passion is the game of basketball, but I have surrounded myself with people that have a passion for other things. I get along with those people even though we are not passionate about the same thing. As a coach, the student-athletes that have a passion about the game of basketball and love it obsessively, are the players that I want to help the most. Because I can always help someone that wants to get better and will do whatever it takes to succeed. If you are passionate about working hard where you are working at, your boss will most likely be willing to help you succeed and promote you. There is no doubt in my mind that passionate people will be successful. Because even when they fail, they will get back up and try again. They will find a way to be successful with doing what they love

Being Passionate Doesn't Mean You Will Always Be Liked

As I have stated, quality is better than quantity. If someone in your life is uncomfortable with you or cannot keep up with you, then they are not willing to work as hard as you do. As a Christian, I purpose to strengthen my relationship with God. I do this by going to church twice a week, going to a Bible Study twice a month, serving once a month, leading Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at the school I work at, and taking strong stances for what The Bible says. I am willing to work hard and grow as a Christian, and as I am growing, I am realizing people are not willing to work hard on their relationship with God. So as I grow, and they stay the same, we get to a level of being uncomfortable, to where we no longer get along or "speak the same language". Never does that entitle me to be better than them, but in any aspect of life, the people that work hard at what they do, will get better at what they do than the person who does not work as hard. People will say this about Christians, "Oh well you think you are better than everybody else, huh?" When in reality, we are saying the exact opposite of that, because we are saying, "God, I am not perfect, I cannot do this on my own, I need your help, I am in need of a Savior. Thank you sending Jesus to die for me, He is my Lord and I will worship Him." Admitting you are a Christian is a humble statement. But the people who are not willing to strengthen their relationship with God, will not experience the blessings that the people who work hard on their relationship with God. So do not listen to outside noise, to people who try to bring you down. You have a dream, run with it! You may fail or it may not turn out the way you expected it to, but do not count yourself out without even trying. I never lost sight about being in the NBA, as a player, I tried hard every single day to get there and did whatever it took, and I fell short. But as a coach, I must have that sight again. No matter what people tell me or how unlikely or how hard it may be, I am going to try and if i fall short, I will not be too far off. Shooting for the sun and landing on the moon is accomplishing something. But if you shoot for nothing, you will hit it every time. People that do not work hard

encourage others not to work hard to make them feel better. If those type of people do not like you, then you are doing something right

Passion without Action, Is Just Talking

I have heard many players say they love the game of basketball, but they love it for the good parts. The wins, the crowd, the popularity, you name it. But those same players do not like the grind of waking up early, running, lifting weights, practices, getting good grades, etc. It is just like in a relationship, falling in love is easy, but building on that love takes patience. You can love someone for their good qualities, but can you love them in the hard times? We will all be put to this test of seeing if we truly love something or someone. As a player in high school, I did not like coming off the bench, I wanted to be a starter, but in order for me to still play the game I love, I had no choice but to accept my role. In college, I did not just want to be a practice player, I wanted to contribute more to the team on the court. But if I did not accept my role, I would not have played and learned from a great coach, and I would not have played in one of the best sport venues in the world. I did whatever it took to experience the rewards that the game of basketball had for me. I loved the game, and with love, comes heartbreak. It broke my heart when I lost games, it broke my heart when I was cut from teams I wanted to play for. I had so many thoughts of giving up because I thought my hard work was not paying off. But because I love the game obsessively, I will do whatever it takes to be around it. We all have a love and passion for something. Do no let negative people tell you that you cannot be successful in doing what you love. Do not let the love for money, overcome your love for what you are doing. Love for money will cause you to do anything, and you will be miserable because you will end up so far away from what you love. Have a passion that lives forever, and you will see success come along with it 

Success and Failure

The great concept that success and failure have in common, is that you cannot arrive at them. Meaning there is no "failure" that will keep you a failure, and there is no "success" that will keep you successful. You can fail over and over again, and you still have a fighting chance to turn that failure into a success. On on the other hand, you can achieve success, but you still have to work hard to continue to be successful.

You see it all the time in sports, a loss to most athletes and coaches, is a failure. When a team does not win the last game of the season, they see it as a failed season. But what the great coaches and athletes understand, is that losing does not make them a loser. A loser is someone who accepts losing and gives up. There is not one coach or athlete in the history of sports, that has never suffered defeat and losing. The teams with the most wins, still have lost at some points, but they turn their loses into learning experiences. That is what failure does for us, it gives a fire in our hearts and a motivation to be successful. Some of the greatest minds in science and inventing, were labeled  as failures in school. But thank God that He never labels us as a failure. We can always turn a bad situation around. God is a god of another chance, He knows we are going to make mistakes, so we must find a way to get back to winning and successful ways when we blow it through Him.

Some of us have achieved our goals or some us have found out achieving our goals is too hard so our personal standard of success goes down. God did not make anyone on this earth to be average, humans either use their God given free will to be average or they follow God's concept of we have never arrived and believe they can be great. Every single person on this earth can be great. Believe it or not, I know you may be in a position or area that tells you not to believe in that, but God says you can be great!

I want you to think about that dream you had as a kid, maybe it was to be an astronaut, maybe it was to be a professional athlete, or maybe you wanted to be president of the United States as you got older. But think about this...Did anyone teach you to have that dream? No one has to teach us to have a dream, but the people around us will teach us NOT to believe in that dream. I train and coach kids that want to be college and professional athletes, and I am sure that they have people around them saying that it is too hard to get to that level. I am sure they show the percentages of the unlikeliness of getting to that level. Because I was being taught to not believe in my dream of one day playing in The Pit. I never lost sight, I just kept working hard and kept striving for my goals to get to UNM. I set a GPA to achieve, I set a time to achieve in running a mile. I set a certain number of pounds of muscle to gain. Once I achieved those goals, I did not say I arrived, I then set new ones. My point is, that you should not lower your personal standard of success but rather higher your personal standard of success. My goal right now is to be high school head coach, and once I get that, I will set a new goal of getting to the next level. I do not want to ever arrive, because I enjoy the process. I am so glad that hard work pays off, because I love working hard. I believe I love it because I know that there are rewards for it.

There are things you have to put on hold or do differently to be in the elite class of success. I loved working out on Saturday nights, because I knew that is when some others could be at home doing nothing or out at a party. In the summer, I loved working out in the early mornings because that is when my competition was asleep. If you want more than others, you are going to have to do more than others. If you want to win championships or win a promotion, you should have no sense of entitlement. You need to believe that your reward will come from doing more than others.

My junior year in high school, there was an article in the newspaper about a player on a rival team, and it talked about how hard he was working to get better. Talking about the conditioning and basketball workouts he was doing for two hours a day. It got me fired up to work out three hours a day and I did not care if they did an article on me, I rather work hard in silence and when no one is watching, so I can surprise them when the lights are on. Too many of us have the need to feel noticed for our extra work, we need a coach or a boss to see the extra work we are putting in. I believe that our extra work reveals our true character or ability. If you are working hard in the summer and no one knows about it, then when you walk on campus and start practicing, your hard work will show. Coaches can tell who works harder than the rest, just by simply seeing improvement and growth in your ability. Realize that there is most likely someone out there, working harder than you, trying to take your spot, trying to take your job, trying to take your championship. Do not let that happen, if you want to be successful, you have to have a competitive drive to be better than everybody else. When you start to believe you are better than everybody else, there is someone that is striving to be better than you. We never arrive at a destination when it comes to success.

The next level above success is significance. It is great to win championships and awards, but the next great thing is do something significant with your achievements. Inspire somebody else to be a champion, tell them that it is possible, teach them the ways to be successful. That is where your significance plays in because if you do nothing with your earnings, you start to feel less significant and less successful.

Being a walk-on student-athlete at UNM for 4 years and winning 3 Mountain West Championships can be defined as a success in my book. Now I am using my success to be significant. I am coaching, teaching, and preaching about stuff I have learned throughout my journey. I see so many young athletes that want to be great, and I believe that I have a call from God to help them believe they can get there. The first thing, put down your phone and start working. While others are on their phone, you are getting work done. Put in the extra batting practice, put in the extra shots, put in the extra reps; it is the only way you can have a great career and not an average one. Go to tutoring and study harder, so your grades can help you get into college. Coaches and colleges really take in account to your grades, it could be the deciding factor in recruiting you, verses someone else with the same ability but does not have the good grades

These are things I am teaching because I have seen it work in my life and in other people's lives. I see that Kobe Bryant's competitive drive has kept him at an elite level that not a lot of athletes ever get to. There are athletes with the same athleticism as Kobe, but he wanted to be better than everybody else. A three-peat was not enough, he wanted to win more, and I am sure he will say that he should have 7 championships instead of 5. He has taught me to compete, he has taught me that no failure can ever stop someone and no success can stop someone.

Success can even be more dangerous than failing. The failure wants to get back up and try again while the successful person is content on where they are at. Do not be stuck in your failure or your success. You can turn your failures around and there is always more you can achieve!

Thank you for reading! I hope this article blesses you!

Sincerely,

Christopher Edward Perez

Twitter: @C_P_2
Facebook: Chris E Perez
Instagram/Snapchat: cperez02
Email; cperez0116@yahoo.com

Be Marketable

Being marketable means that you add qualities to your life that will help benefit it. First, you have to realize that you are valuable and you cannot sell yourself short. Also, you should not settle your worth, meaning that you should add value to your life in order to be more marketable. In order to add more value to your life, you have to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. Take these steps and you will see more doors open up and opportunities come your way!

Do Not Sell Yourself Short

In order to accomplish the goals you set, you must have this one value to start, and that value is CONFIDENCE. Having confidence in who you are, will show that you are reliable. It shows you are not afraid to fail and have a desire to succeed (improve/get better). Confidence and boasting (or being cocky) have a very fine line between them. Boasting about your accomplishments will not attract people in athletics, work, relationships, etc. Boasting can also mean that you are lying or making yourself to be more than you are. When you boast, it may work for the moment, but once someone sees that you do not live up to what you make yourself to be, then you will lose more than you gain in all aspects of your life. Realize that you have some value to your name. For your team, for your company, for your relationship...you have to be benefited and you have to be beneficial. For example, in a relationship, you have to be in one that will benefit your life, but also having to be beneficial to your significant other. So when you are deciding on taking a job or joining a team, think about how they can benefit you and how you can benefit them. If you do not think you will get benefits from a person, do not get into a relationship with them or get out of the one you are in now. If you are not benefiting the company you work for, your job may not last too long. If you are on a team and not benefiting them, expect to be cut. If you are not benefiting your significant other, expect that relationship to have an expiration date. Do not sell yourself short!

Add Value

Sometimes adding value to your life, means subtracting some things. You have to limit distractions on your way to be more marketable. I know that drinking late Saturday night made it hard to get to church and listen to the sermon. I sat in church one day and thought, "Drinking is not fun...not fun enough for me to miss out on something that is going to add value to my life." I started to focus on doing the right things and I started to see more opportunities open up for me. I got called in to a pastor's office last year and he told me that I was going to be a guest speaker for his ministry. I got a call to be an assistant coach because the head coach heard from others about my reputation. I realized that people are watching me...that was made clear to me through other things such as being at different places in the city and people coming up to me saying that I have inspired them. People on social media will tell me that my posts on social media have helped inspired them. So my point is to keep clean...keep your social media clean, your behavior clean, and keep your attitude clean. Doing the right things will add value to your life. Values show up in different ways, it can be getting a job, a friend, a spot on a team, etc. Quality will surround you if you give quality yourself. It is hard to stop someone who does the right things and own up to their mistakes. Add value!

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Winners get out of their comfort zone, losers stay in their comfort zone. You will not win that promotion, win that championship, or win that person's heart by staying in your comfort zone. Adding value to your life means that you will have to do things that you are not comfortable with. Some people are afraid to talk in front of people, but those same people gain a desire to share their knowledge with others. In order to speak your mind, you are going to have to break your fear of speaking. If you get angry easily, you are going to have to learn how to be patient when you work for other people. Adding value is like adding muscle to your body. When you lift weights, after the workout your muscles you worked out will get sore and it will hurt. You will feel uncomfortable, but if you continue to work out, your muscles will get less and less sore. That is what adding value to your life is about, it is going to hurt at first and be uncomfortable, but get through that and it will be worth it. The more you step out of your comfort zone, the more comfortable you become!

Final Thoughts

You can always improve in some aspect of your life...seek improvement, that way more doors can open up for you. We all have faults, if you believe that you have no faults, that is your fault (I hope you get that). But you must believe in your heart that you can overcome any obstacles, even if you have to work hard and be uncomfortable. Do not let people label you, do not let people make excuses for you and more importantly, do not make excuses for yourself. Everyone has the ability to be great, but we all have to fight through or unique disadvantages. I am telling you, life is more fulfilling when you get better and overcome obstacles. You will be able to do more things and be marketable. All in all, go all out! Do not die with any regrets or think you could have done more. Think right now, "what more can I do?" Do not limit yourself, doors will open and doors will close on their own. You will never have to do more than you can handle. If too much is on your plate, prioritize and go back to the concept of benefits to help you figure out what means more to you. On your death bed, you want to be able to say, "I gave it all I had"!

Thank you for reading! Feedback and comments are encouraged!

Sincerely,

Chris E Perez

Twitter/Periscope: @C_P_2
Instagram/Snapchat: @cperez02
email: cperez0116@yahoo.com

Experience Teaches

I believe that experience is our best teacher. Whether it is our own or somebody elses, we learn from what we do and what other people do. One way to learn is from when we lose or fail at something. Another way to learn is from winning or accomplishing a goal we set. We have to understand that we will experience bad times and we have to realize that those bad times help us appreciate it when we have good times. Everyone on this earth has made mistakes, but learning from them is what separates the average from the great. People are going to treat you poorly and greatly, you have to use your personal experience to help treat people around you in a respectful manner. When something goes good, reflect back on why it went well so you can continue to do that for future success.

Learn From Losing (Failing)

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Michael Jordan famously stated this. He is considered a winner, even though he has missed, lost, and failed many times. He has 6 NBA Championship rings and a NCAA Title. The reason why he was able to succeed, is because he took the time to figure out why he lost. He did not accept being a loser. In sports, you will lose games and you will have to accept defeat. But you cannot accept giving up or having the attitude, "Well at least we tried." Losing has been a great teacher for me. I do not like losing at all. Since I was 8 years old, I watched basketball, mainly Laker games. When they lost, I would cry after their loses. My 5th grade basketball team went 21-1, we lost in the championship game, and that was the first time I ever cried after my own defeat. People were telling me that I should be proud of being apart of a 21-1 team, but because we lost the last game of the season, it made me upset. I worked harder because of that experience of losing, because when I suffer defeat, it hurts my heart. I remember losing that game like it was yesterday, I work hard so I do not have to suffer that bad feeling again. I will suffer defeat again, but I will learn from that defeat so that I can win more than I lose. I know a lot of athletes that love being the star player more than being on a winning team. UNC Men's Basketball Coach Roy Williams stated that, he will never recruit a player that scores 30 points a game on a losing team. You have to be really selfish and inefficient if you score that many points and lose, especially in high school basketball. Do not accept being a loser and do not be content with losing. In any area in life, if you are losing, find a way to win, even if it seems hard.

Learn From Winning (Succeeding)

Having a winning mindset is what separates the average from the great. To where people that want to win will do what it takes to win, even if it seems impossible or hard. If someone beats you or someone gets a job over you because they are more qualified, you have to push yourself to win out those situations. When people get a taste of winning, they want more. They get a satisfaction that only winning or accomplishing something can give them. I have 4 championship rings, and I want to keep adding to that collection. The joy and the sense of conquering obstacles to get those championships, is the greatest feeling and the best thing I have experienced. When you are apart of a winning culture, you gain a desire to win. For coaches, give your program a winning mindset. You might not be the best team with the most talent, but do not let that bring down your expectations. Do not believe that your team is not championship material. Give them that sense of belief that they can win championships. Crazy things happen in the world of sports, upsets happen everywhere and championships are won by teams that were not expected to. In all sports, there are preseason rankings, and at the end of the season, those rankings change dramatically. It is all about having a winning mindset, once you get a taste of winning, you will start to learn how to win and develop a desire to win.

Experiencing Bad Things Will Help You Appreciate The Good Things

We all will experience bad times, some things we cannot control will happen to us that hurts us. The best thing to do is to learn from those bad times, because when good times come along, you will appreciate them and hold on to them. As the old saying goes, you do not realize what you have until it is gone. Realize that God will put you in situations that will grow you and train you when you receive a blessing of His. Some of you may have experienced bad relationships, and then God gives you a good relationship, but you mess it up. This happens because we can get bitter and assume that things will always go bad. Really mediate on what God is doing in your life. He can either be training you during a rough time so you can be grateful for when something better comes along. Or He can be giving you a blessing and wanting you to appreciate what He has done for you. If it were up to me, I would win every game I have played in and I would want everyone to treat me with respect. Because I lost, I appreciate being apart of wins. Because people treated me poorly, I appreciate the people that treat me with respect. Do not waste a good thing, always be thinking about what God is doing in your life. As you learn through experience, you will be able to tell what is good and bad. Do not be fooled twice, if something bad happened to you and you put yourself in the same position to be set up for that same failure, bad things will happen again. If you get something good, hold on to it and realize that you do not want to go down the wrong path. 

Learn From Your Own & Others Mistakes

We all should realize that no one is perfect, so we are made to experience mistakes so we do not make the same mistake again. Another great advantage we have is to learn from other people's experiences. There are people around us that make mistakes and we can observe and learn how to not make the same mistake they did. There are great people on this earth that share their experiences with others. Embrace those times and appreciate those people. They are trying to teach you something that they did not know at your age. I am glad that we are all imperfect, because it gives us a chance to create friendships based on those imperfections. Always take time to learn from your mistakes and learn from others.

Treat People Better Not Worse

Treating people badly because you believe you have been treated badly, does not help you at all. It creates a never ending dissatisfaction. You will get so caught up in the way people treat you, that you will not see a person that treats you with respect. Eventually, you will think everyone treats you badly. They can come off as the nicest person in the world, but if they say one thing that triggers your mind to something bad that happened to you, you immediately cut off that friendship or relationship. It is better to treat people the way you want to be treated. Even to the people that have treated you badly, you still are better off in treating that person the way you want to be. I get more of a motivation to treat people with respect, because it is a bad feeling to be treated poorly. Instead of dwelling on a thought or a person of treating me poorly, I rather put my time and effort into treating people the way I want to be treated. It is more healthy for your mind. It also boosts your respect level. People are respected for treating others with kindness, even though they have been wronged. If you treat others well, they will want to treat you well. They will gain a sense of gratitude towards you. If they don't, then they will not feel comfortable around you and they will not be apart of your life. The right people will be in your life because the right people are the ones that can truly help you succeed. Do not hold onto grudges, you will never know who you need in order to succeed. Create and keep good connections with people, for they may be able to help you in a positive way.

See What Works

When we accomplish something, we have to reflect on how we accomplished it. We have to look back and see what we did that got us there. When you get a good grade on a test, reflect back on how you prepared for that test and what test taking strategies work for you. This will help you continue to succeed on other tests. Just because you got a good grade on one test, does not mean you will get a good grade on the next one based on your past works. You have to continue to work hard in order to keep accomplishing good grades. When you win a game or a championship, reflect on what you did and what worked. You do not get a championship for last year's championship. You do not win games based on if you are ranked higher than the other team. If you are ranked higher, realize why, and go prove that you are the better team. In order to be credible as person who teaches from experience, you have to realize what works and what doesn't.

Thank you all for reading! Have a great rest of the week!

Sincerely,

Chris E Perez

Twitter/Periscope: @C_P_2
IG/Snapchat: cperez02
Email: cperez0116@yahoo.com 

The Next Level

In whatever position we are in, whether it be in school, in work, or in athletics; getting to the next level in those areas consists of a strong mindset and a good work ethic. One of the ways we get to the next level is to work towards it at ALL times. We cannot get comfortable with where we are at, we end up miserable if we stay in the same spot. Believe you are capable of doing more than you are doing now, as long as your living, God will give you the ability to do more. Lastly, you have to work harder than what you are being paid, you have to give value in order to gain value.

Work Towards A Promotion/The Next Level

Working towards the next level is a great way to get ahead of everyone else around you. In high school, I did not go to practice or lift weights or run miles because I wanted to be a high school basketball player. I was already a high school athlete, I wanted to be a college athlete so I trained like a college athlete. I did extra work that was needed in order for me to play basketball at the next level. A lot of us have a mindset of, "If I had THAT job, or HIS life, or HER car, etc. I will be better and work harder." It does not work that way, why? Because if you asked for a better job and it was just given to you, you would find another excuse to not work hard. There is a drive and passion in all of us, that comes out when we work hard for something. If you worked hard for the job you have, you have more of a motivation to keep that job. You do not want to quit, if you quit you throw your hard work away. If you are given a job, you believe that you can quit and no harm will be done. This is why God made us more than conquerors, He gives us the things we want when we work hard for them, so we feel a blessing rewarded, rather than something we can take for granted. If you work towards the next level, you are working harder than the rest, and therefore you will gain more than the rest. I had teammates in high school that did not gain the opportunity to be a college athlete, but because I trained like a college athlete as a high school athlete, I got what I wanted because I worked for it. In the working world, work like you are the boss! And maybe one day you will become one!

Do Not Get Comfortable

Some of us, especially in the working world, get comfortable of where we are at. There are people that have been in the same job and same place for years. Two different type of people are formed through staying in one place. One is someone who really loves their job, and two is someone who keeps complaining on never getting anywhere. If you really love your job and love where you at, that is okay, as long as you are growing and becoming the best person you can be. If you keep complaining that you have been stuck in the same job for years, it is because you are not willing to grow and work at the next level. We cannot expect to get promoted if we are doing minimal work. The ones that climb to the top, are the ones that do the maximum work. Really think about the position you are in and ask yourself, "What is the next level for me?" For high school athletes, the next level can be college athletics. For high school students, the next level can be getting into college, then getting a degree, then getting a job, and then growing in your career. The main reason why we should never be comfortable and never settle, is because we always have another level we can reach, we always can do more!

Believe You Can Do More!

We can get into a mindset that, achieving greatness is just not for me. I am just meant to make it through life based on doing minimal work. We believe that we are not called to inspire people around us...I want to encourage EVERYONE, that no one is too young, old, or small to make a big difference in people's lives. God did not make me bigger than everybody else, but He did give me a big heart, He did give me a drive and passion to pursue greatness. He has given that to ALL of us, but it is our job to believe it. You do not have to pray to God to give you the ability to do more, He already gave you that ability, you just need to believe and have faith that you can do more. Pray to Him and ask what He wants you to do. Sure enough, He will answer your prayers and reveal what He has called you to do. God is willing to move you to the next level, the question is are you willing?

Work Harder Than Your Paycheck

As kids, we have a love or passion for something. We do something, not to get paid, but because it is fun to us. When a paycheck is involved, we lose love and passion for that certain something. You could have had a dream as a kid to be something, and since you did not get to be that something, you lose your drive. That is when you feel like you are working instead of living. On the other hand, people will fulfill their dreams, but once a paycheck is added to it, they lose the drive and passion and start focusing on the money. We cannot focus on money if we want bigger paychecks. We cannot say we are working if we want to pursue happiness. We have to say we are living a great life. We have to love what we do and love the people around us. Sometimes, we are going to have to work outside of our paycheck in order to get to the next level. You hear the phrases all the time, "I do not get paid to do that." "They do not pay me enough to do that." That mindset is going to keep you at the job you are at for many years. Or how about this one, "Well I am not getting paid to do this so why should I work hard?" The things you do that are outside your paycheck, that is your value. The price tag for your work ethic gets higher and higher when you do things that no one else thinks to do. Go the extra mile, take the extra time and effort to be the best person you can possibly be. Soon enough, the next level will be knocking at your door, the higher paycheck will come your way, and you will see how success and greatness works. In order to succeed and to be great, you have to think at a level that very few dare to think at.

Thank you for reading! Please share this post and offer any feedback! God bless!

Sincerely,

Chris E Perez

Twitter/Periscope: @C_P_2

IG/Snapchat: @cperez02

email: cperez0116@yahoo.com

Earn Your Spot

Earn Your Spot

To earn your spot, means that you have to work hard to get that spot, and you have to continue to work hard to keep it. People sometimes gain a sense of entitlement in thinking they will not lose their spot or that they deserve to be in their spot no matter what. We also have to understand and respect others when they accomplish something and gain a spot that we want. During our lifetime, we cannot settle for mediocre if we want to earn a new spot or keep our spot. We have to keep going!

Sense of Entitlement

To have a sense of entitlement, means you are believing that you can do whatever you want and have whatever you want. This mindset does not work in any aspect of your life. There are things in life that are handed to us, and those things are called privileges. Privileges are things that can be taken away. For instance, you can qualify to get your driver's license, but if you think you can do whatever you want on the road because you have a license, the law can step in and take that privilege away. If you make a team, you cannot have a mindset of not working as hard as you did to get that spot on the team, you have to keep earning it. I see this in the dating world, that a guy will do anything to get a certain girl to be their girlfriend, and once they get that girl, they gain a sense of entitlement and self declare that, "she is mine." But that girl can easily break up with him, probably because of that attitude. It is okay to believe that a significant other is yours, but you have to constantly prove why they should be yours and prove why they are happy with you. Do not get power hungry, because nothing worth having will be handed to you, you have to take what is yours and earn it!

Respect Others For What They've Earned

People around you will get things that you want, and you can get jealous or you can complain that you deserve what they have, maybe even more than them. Realize that we all have an unique story to be told. God is the author to all of our lives and He does not write the same book twice. Some of us have to be more patient than others and some of us have a disadvantage while others have a head start towards success. But like I have mentioned, no matter how much or how little you have, you are going to have to continue to make an effort to earn your spot. Money can be taken away from the richest adult, the poorest kid can be desperate enough and motivated enough to make money to provide for his/her family that they gain success! So when you see people around you accomplishing things and gaining success, you admire what they have done and you get inspired by their work. You do not get jealous and complain that you should be where they are at. You cannot want to be somewhere or someone if you are not willing to work hard for it or work as hard as them. People have different goals and are on different paces. I have friends making millions of dollars right now that are my age and I am barely making enough money to make rent. But I know my pace is slower and takes more patience. I do see millions of dollars down my road, but I am going to have to work hard and earn it the way God wants me to earn it.

Keep Earning Your Spot

Keep earning your spot! I think this a very important mindset to have because a lot of us can get complacent or comfortable in the position we are in. In reality, being comfortable will cause your life harm, why? Because people are working hard to get where you are at. If you are around people that are expanding their comfort zone and growing towards success, and you are not keeping up and trying to stay comfortable, that will get uncomfortable for you. J.J. Watt, Houston Texans Defensive Lineman and captain, signed a huge contract a few years ago that made him one of the highest paid athletes in NFL history. The morning after, he went to the practice facility at around 4 a.m. to get a workout in. He was asked why he did this, his response was, "I have to start earning that money." A lot of athletes think that once they sign that big contract, they have enough money to take it easy and not work as hard as they used to. But being comfortable hurts them, when you are sitting comfortably at home for too long, you start to get a desire to want to do something. Being comfortable is boring, you do not earn a job position by getting it, you start earning it when you prove you belong through your works. You may get a job based on what you have done in the past, but earning your job is what you are doing now and what you will do in the future. God gives us Heaven for our eternal life but we are not entitled to it, we have to follow Gods ways and earn our spot in Heaven. Getting a job or making a team or getting into a college will get you in the door, but it will not keep you there. Earn that job, earn that spot on your team, earn that high level education. Your works in the past, your work ethic in the past, your grades in the past; mean nothing once you start that new chapter in your life. It is all about earning your spot now so you can get closer to success. And success cannot be measured, success is giving your all and enduring to the end. Never stop doing what you are called to do.

Thank you for reading! Please contact me for ideas, thoughts, requests, and prayers!

Sincerely,

Chris E Perez

Twitter/Periscope: @C_P_2
Instagram/Snapchat: @cperez02
email: cperez0116@yahoo.com

The Art of Discipline

I strongly believe that there are three stages of discipline. All three stages are needed in order to succeed and they must go in order. The first stage of discipline is ACCEPTING DISCIPLINE, the second stage of discipline is DEVELOPING SELF-DISCIPLINE, and the third stage is TEACHING DISCIPLINE. You cannot teach discipline if you have not developed self-discipline, and you cannot develop self-discipline if you have not accepted discipline. Also, you need to have all three aspects of discipline throughout your life. You do not just stop accepting discipline or stop disciplining yourself. In fact, what makes you a credible teacher of discipline, is showing by example on how to accept it and discipline yourself. In this lifetime, we will never stop learning and we have to humble ourselves. No one is too big or no one should be too proud to accept discipline.

Accepting discipline can root from how we are as students and how we are as athletes. We have all grown up with teachers and coaches.

How we are in the classroom strongly determines how well we accept discipline. There are a lot of students that are rebellious and want to go against what the teacher asks them to do. Or they are lazy and want to find the easy way out, so they just want to pass and graduate with the minimum GPA. Those students usually have a hard time in the real world when they have to find a job. Because the more disciplined you are, the more marketable you are as a worker. People want to hire employees that accept discipline and develop self-discipline. Because then they do not have to worry about 'babysitting" them, meaning that they do have to be monitored constantly. People want to hire someone who is going to represent their company in the best way possible, no matter what position. So even though you may believe your GPA does not matter when it comes to finding a job, but if you are able to do what the teacher asks you to do and you are able to discipline yourself to get good grades, you will have the tools to be a great worker. Be teachable!

When I played basketball, since 4th grade, I had coaches that taught discipline. We always had to be on time or else we would go through a correction process that led to running or suspension of games. Off the court, we had to be good students and good people in our community. So as children, we are very impressionable and we feel lost. Children seek role models such as their parents, teachers, and coaches. As a 4th grader, I knew that I did not know as much about basketball as my coach. I had that mindset throughout my whole playing career. I accepted the coach's discipline because they were my role models. I wanted to be a great basketball player, I wanted to play in front of big crowds. I would go in my backyard or I would go to the gym and put myself in a game-winning situation at the Staples Center in the NBA Finals. I never lost sight of that, in order for me to be able to play in front of big crowds, I had to learn how to play the game and I had to do whatever it took to get there. So as a basketball player, I never went to a team to be the star player, I wanted to be on the team that wins a lot of games. It was more satisfying for me to be apart of wins, then it was for me to be scoring 30 points a game for a losing team. In order for me to be on winning teams, I had to have a winning attitude, and a winning attitude consists of accepting discipline. I did what it took, I played my role, I was patient, and I took advantage of my opportunities. A common attitude that my coaches had about me, from 4th grade to college, is that they did not have to worry about me, meaning that they knew I was going to do the right things and I was going to work hard every single day. Of course I had to go through a learning curve. I did not know what was right or wrong in 4th grade, I had to learn the team rules and sometimes it was learning them by experience. If I got yelled at or got in trouble, I did not take it the wrong way. I accepted that I did something wrong and that I would have to go through a correction process. When I got into 9th grade, I had a new coach and was apart of a new team, so it took my 9th grade year to understand what was right and wrong and go through another correctional process. Same thing went for my freshman year in college. I accepted the fact that I was going to make mistakes and that I was going to have to go through a correctional process that will motivate me to not make those mistakes again. Be coachable!

Self-discipline is strongly needed when you no longer have teachers or coaches in your life that are making you do schoolwork or making you go to practice. You develop your self-discipline as a student or an athlete, by doing more than what the teachers and coaches ask of you. Doing the bare minimum work in the classroom or in your sport, will cost you in the long run. Like I have mentioned before, you aim for an A grade, you might fall short to a B or a C. If you aim for a C, you might fall short to a D or an F. Same applies with athletics, do not let some tell you, "You will be a good division II player" and make that your ceiling. I know I would have been a good division II player but I did not settle for that. If I settled for people telling me I would be a good DII player, I may not have even played college basketball, because my work ethic would have not been as strong as it is. I pushed myself to my limits, to where I barely got onto a division I team as a walk-on, and I was very close to being cut. I was one mistake away, I did not have that much room for error, not as much as the scholarship players. But my self-discipline got me four years on a Top 25 DI basketball team. I did not do the bare minimum, I did not just accept that I was on the team, I wanted to benefit the team in the best way possible. In my position, that was tough because I did not do much on the court. When I was on the court, I played hard. Every practice, even though I was not playing, I gave my all because I wanted to help the team get better. In the classroom, not only did I want to succeed there, I wanted to help my teammates succeed in the classroom so they can be eligible to play. Self-discipline is doing more than what the teachers and coaches ask. Once you no longer have those coaches and teachers making you do schoolwork or making you go to practice, you cannot get lazy. There are so many former athletes that get out of shape because they did not develop self-discipline. I have been removed as a basketball player for over a year, and I still train and exercise constantly. Coaches do not teach you discipline so you can throw it away once you are done with them, they teach you discipline so you can use it to be successful. If you are able to accept discipline and use it for greater success, then you can teach discipline to others to help them be successful.

The best way to teach discipline, I believe, is through your actions and leading by example. As a leader, you have to follow your own rules. If a pastor preaches on tithing (giving 10% of your income to the church), he has to tithe as well to be a respectable leader. If you are a coach that wants punctuality from your players, you have to be on time as well. Teaching discipline is holding yourself and others accountable. I personally like working out with other people because they can hold me accountable if I am not doing my best. It is easy to get lazy or not work hard when you have no one around to hold you accountable. Do not worry about people that do not like you for teaching them discipline or holding them accountable. If you constantly accept discipline and have self-discipline, you are a credible discipline teacher. A lot of people do not like discipline, I have seen that in the classroom, in sports, and in church. If it is hard work, some students will find an excuse to not do the work and complain. If a coach is too hard on a player or always picks on them, that player will give an excuse that the coach does not like me. When in reality, the coach that gets on you and picks on you actually cares enough for you to get better. If I had a coach that did not get on me for making mistakes and not going hard, I would shy away from that coach. Because that coach is either too lazy or too scared to correct me. In church, if a pastor preaches on something from The Bible, that person may disregard what God says and shy away from the church. Preachers cannot please everybody, they have to teach discipline based on biblical principles. If a preacher goes away from God's Word and teaches a different belief system, then that preacher is no longer teaching discipline, not the way God wants them to teach it. Not everyone is going to accept discipline. As an educator of discipline, you may not be liked, but you will be respected. Too many people live their lives based on getting people to like them. If you live that way, you will not have a belief system to stand on. You have to believe in the right things, you have to believe in discipline, in order to teach it. You cannot teach something you do not believe in. People can tell if teachers, coaches, and pastors are believing in what they teach. If you believe in your program, if you believe that God's Word is the truth and the way to live; you will be respected as an educator, even by the people that do not like you.

Never lose sight of discipline, we all need it and we all need to teach it. I am not bitter at anyone but I do not respect people that do not discipline themselves and that do not hold me accountable. We should want to be around people that do not encourage us to do the wrong things. People around us should not let us slip up. Parents have to discipline their children, they may not like you or say they hate you, but they will love you for giving them the tools to succeed. My parents taught me discipline and I did not always like my parents. I said mean things to them and thought mean things, but if they did not have the courage to teach me discipline, I would be lost in the wrong things. Do not live your life to be liked by the wrong people, live your life to respected by the right people.

I know school is starting so I want to spend this month talking about things to get us off to a good start! Thank you for reading! Comment or message me anything such as questions or requested topics to write about!

Sincerely,

Christopher E Perez

Facebook: Chris E Perez
Twitter/Periscope: @C_P_2
Instagram/Snapchat: @cperez02
email: cperez0116@yahoo.com

Pursuit To Perfection

This article is not to declare that we as humans will ever reach perfection. The pursuit to perfection consists of knowing you will never be perfect, but you can strive to get close to perfection. This concept has stuck with me since high school. My high school coach Josh Giles, was the man that taught me about this. He is all about perfection, he wants his players to be perfect in the classroom, he wants to structure his practices, he wants to discipline his players, he wants his players to dress appropriately, and he wants his players to be great leaders of the community. There is no way we can accomplish perfection, but striving to accomplish that will make us into great and successful people.

As a basketball player, I grew up with playing for very prestigious coaches. From 4th grade, I played for Coach Ken Caldwell. He taught us the game like we were high school players. When I got to high school, it was an easy transition for me because Coach Caldwell prepared me very well. In high school I played for Coach Josh Giles, who has won CIF Coach of the Year and HSGameTime Coach of the Year multiple times. He made my transition into college basketball easier for me because he ran college level practices. It gave me the chance to be able to experience being apart of a Coach Steve Alford UNM Lobos team, something that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I tell you this because for all three programs, I received a compliment from them that means the world to me. Coach Caldwell, Coach Giles, and Coach Alford; all said that I represent their program in the best way possible. Coach Caldwell has told me that I was one of his favorite players he has ever coached. When I go back to visit my high school in Corona, California; the coaches let the players know who I am, because I was one of the players that set an example and standard for what Centennial Husky basketball is about. The MaxPreps rankings had Corona Centennial listed in Top 10 in the nation to finish the season this year. For me to be apart of that program gives me the most pride. When I was finishing up my senior season, people of the UNM Lobos program, from coaches to fans, told me I did a good job of representing a Lobo. And I rarely played, I just practiced and played a few minutes.

Wherever you go, pursue perfection in all aspects of your life. The place you work or the school you are at, that is who you represent. Take pride in being the best possible person you can be, no matter what role you play. I played a very small role at UNM, I never started a game in high school, but the positions I was given, was for me to represent the program as a whole. It was never about me, it was about the team. Having that attitude has led me to experience great things and gain great opportunities.

There are some people that have accomplished a lot, so they get under the impression that they do not have anything to work for. I see it in athletics a lot, there are athletes that settle for being the best player on their team, they may even settle for being the best player in the state, or just one of the best players in the state. They have a good game, and they think they do not need much practice. Or athletes do not think they have to work as hard because they are ahead of their competition. In anything, there is no settling, regardless of how good you are. You can be the best player in the world, but if that stops you from working hard, then someone else will come in and take that title. There are players right now, working extremely hard, and they are not one of the best. There are some of the best athletes in the country that are not working hard because they are settling for what they have. You even see it in the NBA, some players just want to say they made it to the league. Those players do not last long, the players that last long pursue perfection. They pursue being the best player in the league or the best player they can become.

The evil to being great is being good, if you think you are good enough, you will not strive for greatness. If you are the best employee at your work, continue to get better so you can get promoted. If you are the best student at your school, do not stop working hard. It is painful to pursue perfection, it is painful to live a life of regret; the difference is that the pain from pursuing perfection has rewards and blessings. Regret leaves you in a state of pain. Whether you have accomplished a lot or have failed many times, it is never too late or early to pursue perfection. You may think you have messed up too much, you may see the people around you and feel overwhelmed in the sense that you cannot pursue perfection. It all roots to patience, if you have patience, you will understand that you will not get better overnight, you will not succeed right away, you are going to have to work hard and stay on that pursuit. Once you prove that you are willing to pursue perfection and stay faithful on that pursuit, the rewards will come and the blessings will come. The pain and hard work comes first, so you have to fight through all the negativity and doubters in order to succeed.

In a race, if you are running behind, you cannot tell yourself you will not win before the race is even finished. Even if you do not feel like you can win, try as hard as you can to get close to winning. If you are leading a race, know that there are people behind you that want to catch you and win, so do not slow down, keep pushing so there is a less chance someone will catch you. It is not about where you start, it is how you finish. You can start off good or you can start off bad, but in both positions, you still have to finish strong and attempt to win. Never count yourself out, never tell yourself you cannot be bigger than who you are. You can accomplish so much, because I just look back to last year, and I have seen that I have accomplished a lot since then. I could have stopped trying to accomplish new things. I have 4 championship rings and I am have the most wins for a walk-on in UNM history. But in no way did I ever think I am done from accomplishing new things. No matter how old I get, I am always going to want to accomplish something new. It is hard to stop someone that is so driven to be the best person they can be. Apart of that drive is willing to learn new ways to pursue greatness, never think because you have done something a certain way, is going to continue to work. As we get older, there will be new ways to do things and new opportunities to accomplish. Do not be in the lead and finish weak, do not be behind and give up. Endure until the end, do not limit yourself, pursue perfection and let's see how close you get to it!

Thank you for reading! Any questions, feedback, and prayer requests are encouraged!

Sincerely,

Christopher Edward Perez

Twitter: @C_P_2
Instagram: @cperez02
Facebook: Chris E Perez
email: cperez0116@yahoo.com

The Bigger Picture

A lot of us want temporary happiness or instant success. We want to win the lottery, live off that income, and never have to work another day in our lives. More so, some of us believe that if we have more, we will be better off. This article will express and interpret why working hard when we have little, will give us a lot.

I think of temporary happiness as things that give us selfish gratifications. When people smoke, they do not care for the people, they do not care if they get sick from second hand smoking. Nonetheless, they do not care about harming themselves, they just want that temporary good feeling. When people drink to get drunk, they do not realize that other people have to help them. They have to make sure they do not do anything they will regret (fighting, sex, driving home, etc.). Getting drunk is something that people want to do for themselves, and the reasons can be celebrating or trying to avoid their problems. When people argue or fight, they want to win the argument or fight, not necessarily to make the other person feel good. Sometimes people argue and fight with people to attempt to show that they have authority over you. People may even want to hurt you to make themselves feel good. There are other examples of being selfish, and I believe being selfishness hurts you as well as it hurts others. We have to see the bigger picture, we cannot be so narrow minded in selfishness, that we forget to see how our decisions are effecting other people around us.

Instant success is something I am guilty of thinking of, I think about having millions of dollars and thinking of the ideas I would do with my money. So I think that if I could somehow get a lot of money now, I would know what to do with it. In reality, people are becoming broke after winning the lottery and athletes are declaring bankruptcy after making millions. Why? Because when we have little, we realize that we do not need as much and are happy with what we have. When we have a lot, all of a sudden we are under the impression that we need more because we have more. You must work hard for your success because once you become successful, you will realize that you do not need as much and can give to others

You will see other people struggling and you will use your money to help others. That is how the circle of life should work. Whether you have grown up in a poor family or a rich family, you should not feel bitter or feel bad towards other people. If you grew up with a little and you are able to gain a lot, do not be selfish and tell yourself that since you worked hard for every penny, that it is all yours. Instead realize what struggles and mistakes you made, and share that with others. Give people that were once in your position, the chance to pursue greatness.

God gives us a testimony to share, and He enriches us so we can help those in need. (You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11). God gives us EVERYTHING, whether you start with a little or a lot. If you start with a lot, wear your blessings well. People may think you have it easier then those who are poor, but in reality you miss out on some struggles that poor people go through. Struggling makes you stronger, both sides of the coin have to overcome their situations. I have heard stories from poor people that did not have a lot and those stories humble me and I gain more appreciation for my life. I have heard stories from rich people and I have seen what they do. There are people that use their money for the better of others and not necessarily for themselves, because they want to see joy in other people's faces, and there is no dollar sign on that, it is priceless...I have seen poor people give up and say this life is too hard...I have seen rich people use their money for selfish reasons...We are all given a situation, it is your decision in whether you want to use it for the glory of God or for the glory of yourself.

Do not believe that if you have more, you will be better off. The reason why you do not get a promotion, is because you are not giving your best effort in the position you are in. You may think, "But if I get a promotion I will give better effort." Me for example, I do not necessarily want to be an assistant coach. I want to be a head coach at the highest level. And I believe I can be a good head coach right now. But I have to be the best assistant coach I can possibly be. I cannot pout as an assistant and think that will get me promoted to a head coach. When I am ready, I will move up the ladder. The keys to moving up the ladder is to have faith in the little things and taking your job seriously. You may make fun of someone for taking their job seriously, but the ones that do take it seriously, will get paid more and move up the success ladder quicker than you. When you paint the bigger picture, you have to make sure every little detail is in place. The little things you paint, create the big picture. You could have an ugly past, but once you learn from the mistakes you have made, your future will look good.

I want to leave you with a rhetorical question that I want you to ask yourselves...What gives me the right to be selfish?

God gave all of us life, we should not glorify ourselves. Jesus SAVED all of our lives, we should live for Him. We all are grateful to our mothers for giving birth to us and we all are grateful to people that save our lives. So we need to see the bigger picture and realize that God gave us this life and Jesus saved us. He continues to save us and protect us, and I realize that now that I am saved, He has been saving me even when I did not have a relationship with Him...We all want to inherit the kingdom of God and spend eternity in Heaven, we can only do that if we have a relationship with Christ. Jesus has saved us, but it is our calling to live for Him.

We have to be obedient to Him, if we SAY we believe in Christ but do not follow His ways, that does not mean we have a relationship with Him. If I am a coach, and I tell my team to run a play, and they don't, that means my team does not believe in me. If someone asks my players, "Who is your coach?" They will say it is me, but that still does not mean they believe in me. If you do not do what Jesus asks you to do, then you do not believe in Him, you are just using Him. You are just declaring that He saved your life and you do not owe Him anything. The mindset of, "Thank you Jesus for saving my life, but I am going to do my own thing now, see you in Heaven." does not work. Jesus did not save your life so you can turn away from Him, He said that whoever believes in Him, will never die. (...everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. John 3:15). Saying you believe is not enough, being obedient is believing in Jesus. Anyone can raise their hand and declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but it is what you do after that, and after declaring He is Lord, you must develop a relationship with Him that will set you free and break you away from the bondage and uncertainty of sin.

Thank you for reading! Feedback and personal stories are encouraged! Please share with anyone you believe needs to read this!

Sincerely,
Christopher Edward Perez

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Ability vs. Willing

According to Webster's Dictionary definitions, ability means to have the physical, mental, or legal power to perform. Willing is defined as, prompt to act or respond; done borne, or accepted by choice or without reluctance; the power of choosing.

In order to do something and to be successful, you must be able to have both of these concepts. I could be willing to build a house, but I am not able to do that since I do not know how to, I would have to learn how to build a house in order to be able to do it. I could have the ability to learn something new, but if I am not willing to learn, then I would not be able to get smarter.

As human beings, we are all given abilities, but we are given the choice of having the willingness to use those abilities for the good of ourselves and others. Here are some examples of abilities we all have.

The ability to be strong and getting stronger. A lot of us deal with pain, in fact all of us do, physically and mentally. I have said myself that I do not get hurt, and I realize that I was lying to myself. What I was really saying is that I am not going to let any pain or hurt ruin my life. I am not going to let things that happened to me in past, get in the way of my present and future. I will learn from pain, but I will never let it consume me. I know pain will come again in my life. A few weeks ago I hurt my ankle, last year I lost a childhood friend my age to a car accident...the physical and mental pain will come, but it can not stay with you. It takes a person about 24 hours to grieve when they lose a loved one, after that it is pain they are holding on to. Senior Pastor Steve Smothermon, Sr. from Legacy Church said this last night during the sermon, "If it is so painful, then why do you carry it with you?" We have the ability to let go. This comes from the ability to get stronger. My attitude is to have a willingness to be strong because I know I have the ability to be strong and it will make me more successful and inspiring.

The ability to be thankful. There are people that really make an effort to think on the bright side, and the best way to do that is to be grateful and thankful. Even saying the statement, "I have nothing to be thankful for." You can be thankful that you have the ability to talk, the ability to think that thought, and the ability to be standing there alive. There is always a bright side and positive perspective. God tells us over and over again to be thankful. If you pray to God without being thankful, then He will not respond to your prayers because you did not do what He asks of us, to simply give thanks to Him and to others. I believe that having the ability to be thankful but not willing to give thanks, is being grateful. There are things I am grateful for, but being grateful is telling yourself that you appreciate what you have. Being thankful is reaching out to someone and telling them that you appreciate what they do for you. We all have grateful thoughts, but we must be willing to speak our gratefulness into thankfulness if we want the true and greater blessings from God.

The ability to be happy. Last night I had dinner with some friends from church, and within flow of the conversations, we talked about special needs people. We mentioned that they are so happy, and I brought up the time when I volunteered at the Special Olympics in my home city of Corona, CA. By far it has been my favorite event to volunteer at, mainly because of the positive energy and happiness from the participants. Then I thought to myself, why do people that have disabilities, are more happy than the people without disabilities? Some people may never reach a level of higher learning because of a disability. Some people may not be able to perform physically at a high level because of a disability. But when you use your ability to smile, you give yourself power, no matter what your advantages or disadvantages are. Be happy, not because you can, but because it will bring you joy and to others. No matter what you are going through, being happy is what we are called to be so we can help make others feel better. I know we have pain that makes it hard to be happy. God wants you to still be happy and thankful for something(s) that He has given you. When you do that, then God will heal your pain. If you really think about it God tells you to be happy, thankful, and strong through difficult times; so you can forget about the pain and bring joy to others. Seeing someone else happy helps your pain. Being thankful helps your pain. Being strong DESTROYS pain! Focus on those three concepts during painful times,  because that is your best medicine.

The ability to love others. Love cannot be measured, we have a limitless amount of love in our hearts. There are 7 billion people in the world and you have the ability to love all of them. And God gave us the fundamentals of human abilities in Corinthians 13:13 - "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." Our best ability is to love but a lot of us have a lot of hate towards others, or we do not like certain people, and we get in arguments that have no substance other than hate. There are people in your life that you are not going to get along with. I know people that have a hard time getting along with me but it is not out of hate, it is because we all have unique lifestyles and different goals that we aspire towards. Especially the born again saved Christians, when we are saved, most of us forget about love. Because when we start getting right with God, we start seeing all the evil and wrongdoing around us more clearly. So we then get angry at them or tell them off, with no love whatsoever. For the people that are right with God, remember there was a time when you were not right with God. And for me personally, it was not like I did not believe in God, I just did not know how to serve Him and be obedient. So I did not have the ability to serve Him, but I did have the desire to serve Him and the ability to learn. So friends invited me to church, I read The Bible, I became associated with a church that has taught me the right way to serve Him and continues to teach me. Why did God give me this desire and ability to seek Him? Because He LOVES me, and He loves EVERYONE in this world, even if they deny Him. He loves all people so much, that He sent His only begotten Son to suffer dying on the cross to pay the price of our sins. Jesus Christ died for us, out of love, and He put that love in our hearts so everyone can have a relationship with God. But we cannot lead people to Christ if we do not humble ourselves and put our egos aside. People that do wrong need to get right with God through love. Are you willing to not have anger, jealousy, or hate towards people? Have love, it is the best thing you can do!

We also have the ability and willingness to do bad things and wrong others. However there is a price YOU have to pay if you choose to do the wrong things, and that price is eternal life in hell. By living righteously and choosing to do the right things, well that price has already been paid in full by Jesus dying on the cross for ALL of us! When you accept Jesus as your Lord, when you live in obedience, and you endure to the end, you will have eternal life in Heaven! (Matthew 24;13 - "But the one who endures to the end will be saved.") And there is no in between. You may say you believe in God, but if you do not follow His ways then that means your actions do not show you believe in Him. Saying you believe in Him means nothing if you do not show Him that you believe in Him. So if do some good things, or only do some of what He asks, you do not go to Heaven, you do not go to a lower level of Heaven. It is either Heaven or hell. Psalms 39:5 - "You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure." This psalm of David, he is saying that this life on earth is short compared to our eternal life. A handbreadth is basically the palm of your hand. It is a symbolism as how long your life is here on earth. So ask yourself, is this temporary life, that is very short in comparison to my eternal life, worth living wrong? Do I want to spend FOREVER in hell or FOREVER in Heaven? Some may even think that since doing wrong fells so good to them, they do not mind going to hell...It is not worth it, be willing to live a righteous life and you will experience the greatest thing you can ever have, which is eternal life in Heaven. Do wrong, and you will experience the greatest punishment and torment in hell forever. Who are you willing to serve? Satan, of lies and no promises other than an eternal life in hell? Or Jesus, who died for you and promised eternal life in Heaven? Your choice!

Thank you for reading! I hope this inspires you to live righteously and I encourage you to share this reading, because you never know who it can help!

God Bless!

Christopher Edward Perez
Twitter: @C_P_2
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email: cperez0116@yahoo.com