Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Done is Better Than Perfect

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creativity, Genius, Goals, ideas, Monday, motivation, Muse, Scott Allen, Writing

For anyone that writes a blog, you know that some days you just don’t have any idea what to write. For me, I just have a way of coming up with something to offer here that is meaningful to me and others.

Ideas for writing are the same as ideas for goals and projects. Some folks are overwhelmed because they have too many ideas. Others are on the other side of that spectrum–they have no idea. This can lead to being paralyzed, not knowing where to go, what to do, or what to write.

Scott Allen is known for the quote: “Done is better than perfect.” Perfectionism is paralyzing. It is one of the leading causes of procrastination. Keeping in alignment with Scott’s quote, it is better to do something, rather than nothing.

I like writing every day because it builds a habit. It also gives me the opportunity to get that great article now and then. Think about all the great work you missed out on because you either had too many choices or not enough. So, toss aside that perfectionist inside of you. You’ll give yourself the opportunity to do something great, even if you have days where you didn’t hit that mark. The key is to do something–anything, so you don’t miss out on those opportunities when the stars align, and you tap into your inner genius or muse.

Well, I’ll end here for now. I hope all of you have a great Monday. Remember: “Done is better than perfect.”

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Sunday – Visualization

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Daily Quotes, Spiritual Exercise, spirituality, Sri Harold Klemp, Truth, Visualization, wisdom

As a spiritual exercise, take yourself into a larger room. For example, if you have a desire for self-discipline, leave the room of self-discipline that you’re in. Go down the corridor, and go into another room. This room will be larger. It will be much larger. Just live within the awareness that you want to be in this room of more self-discipline. Then let the Holy Spirit, the ECK, bring about the changes in your life that will accompany such a resolution.

Sri Harold Klemp – Truth Has No Secrets

This is a really neat spiritual exercise if you are lacking discipline in any area of your life. This is a technique you can use, regardless of religious background. This is a quote from the daily inspiration page of the ECKANKAR website. Here’s the link if you’d like to get access to these daily quotes. I visit each day: https://www.eckankar.org/engage/daily-inspiration/

I use this technique for a multitude of things. Things like focus, discipline, or even open-mindedness. If you try this and it works, stick with it. You can create anything you like for yourself. We all have this ability. It is not dependent on intelligence, wealth, good looks, or any of that. You simply close your eyes and visualize a better life for yourself. Once you do this for a bit, you’ll start getting ideas or epiphanies that will guide you.

I hope all of you have a terrific Sunday.

May the blessings be.

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Gaming Saturday – COD MW2, COD Mobile

Tags

Call of Duty MW2, CODM, Dead Space, Diamond Camo Challenges, DMZ, Legendary status, Platinum Camo Challenges, Warzone

Season 2 of the battle pass for COD MW2 is upon us. It’ll be here in 11 days! With the new battle pass comes all kinds of updates to multi-player, the DMZ, and Warzone.

I have finished the platinum challenge in COD MW2 for Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, Submachine guns, Shotguns, Marksmanship Rifles, and melee weapons (shield and knife). I am now working on the pistol challenge. I’m saving sniper rifles for last, because they are really fun to play for me and I want to relish this challenge.

I stopped playing Warzone and DMZ because of the expected changes that will be coming. One of which is a reset of the challenges in DMZ especially. Another huge change is the return of the resurgence map. This one is called Ashika Island. Here’s the official trailer for it provided by the official Call of Duty challenge:

This is going to be a blast!! I really like some of the areas in the new map.

Call of Duty Mobile is also a blast. They’ve had a few challenges so far, that are awesome! I love how they change the Battle Royale map. This one is a Lunar New Year theme with rabbits at select areas you can kill to get great loot.

I’ve golded out all of the weapons that were introduced this season, including the Dingo Light Machine Gun, the Lada Submachine Gun, and ZRG 20 Millimeter Sniper Rifle. Now I’m back in the diamond camo grind and the grind to legendary in both battle royale and multiplayer.

Call of Duty Mobile is a terrific game to play if you do not have a console and do not want to spend the bucks to get one. It’s also a great way to play Call of Duty if you travel extensively. I’m still trying to get my brother onboard with this but have failed to so at this point. I play on my iPad, but many play on their phones, which is totally doable, since the bulk of players in the world, use their phones to play, even those who play in the CODM league, use their phones. It is a requirement. You can also use a controller if you need to, but if you want to play competitively in a league, you’ll have to dump the controller. They do not allow that in competitive play. Also know that if you use a controller, you’ll be matched up with other controller players. Since the numbers of controller players is very limited, you’ll have a harder time getting matches, so beware of this.

Well, folks, that’s it for today. I hope you have a great Saturday. I’ll be gaming today on both console and mobile. Oh! Before I go, I also wanted to tell you about Dead Space remastered. It is released and there are some game play videos on YouTube. If you loved Dead Space like I did, you’ve no doubt downloaded it and started playing. I may or may not. It depends. Weapons grinding is time consuming, so I don’t know if I’ll have the bandwidth to add another game to my life at this point, but I’ll definitely be considering this when I’ve finished all the camo grinds in both games.

Happy gaming!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Free Writing Friday – Maya Angelou, Thomas Sowell, Neil deGrasse Tyson

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Academics, Astrophysics, Black History Month, Economics, Heroes, Maya Angelou, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Poetry, Thomas Sowell, Trailblazers

For this month, I’m going to highlight African Americans that I believe have been huge influencers on our culture and society in general. Each Friday I’ll post Wikipedia links for you to read and learn about these great Americans.

The first is Maya Angelou. She has carried many titles throughout her life, but the one title she is most recognizable for is her poetry. Here’s her Wikipedia link if you are interested in learning more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou

The second is Thomas Sowell. If you’ve never read him or seen any of his YouTube videos, you’re missing out. He is a terrific read and has made significant contributions to economics throughout his career. Here is the link to his Wikipedia page if you are interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sowell By the way, I’ll be adding one of his books to my reading list and begin today.

My third choice is Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is an Astrophysicist, who is commonly seen on the news, Ted Talks, YouTube, and even interviewed on the Joe Rogan Podcast. He is terrific. Here’s his link to learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_deGrasse_Tyson

I hope you enjoy all of the videos. All of these folks have written books, if you are interested in reading them. Just type their name in your search followed by books and you’ll get them.

Have a great weekend, folks! I hope you enjoy my journey this month seeking out and learning about many of the Black Americans that have made significant contributions to our culture, society, and even the frontiers of space.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Reading, Watching, and Learning – A Deadly Influence, Timeline (YouTube), MS Excel (Udemy)

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A Deadly Influence, Black History Month, Expanding Your Mind, Kyle Pew, Learning, MS Excel, Officenewb, Timeline, Udemy, YouTube

A Deadly Influence is about the police trying to find a kidnapped boy, a religious cult, and multiple murders. I’m getting close to the end of the book, and it is a great read. As a part of Black History Month, I’m going to find a non-fiction book on an African American that has had a great impact on our society in some way. I’ll begin my search for that person today. I’ll keep you posted.

I discovered a great History series called Timeline on YouTube. Here’s a link if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/@TimelineChannel/playlists

If you are interested in learning more about MS Office, here’s a great link for you: https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?src=ukw&q=kyle+pew This link will take you to all the courses Kyle Pew teaches. I would recommend MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. He’s a great instructor and he provides a great deal of volume in his courses. For around $12 when it’s on sale, you can’t beat it. I’ve been taking his course in MS Excel, since 2021. I’m still going. It’s just a great course!

Well, that’s all I got for today. Have a great one, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Black History Month

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African American History Month, Black History Month, Gerald Ford, History, Learning, Wikipedia

All, I’ll be forgoing the quote today to announce Daily Rambling’s focus on Black History month. All of my postings will be about black scientists, performers, poets, and other topics. I like doing this each year, because I learn more.

For those of you who reside outside the United States. Here is a link to Black History month: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month

I read this article each year and learn something new. We have so many peoples in the United States. We all benefit from the contributions of African Americans, and so many other cultures. I look forward to a terrific month of learning and sharing my learning with you this month.

I will be using a picture of Martin Luther King Jr.’s monument for each day this month.

Have a great Wednesday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Stress = Sick

Stress comes into our lives in all forms. It can come as physical pain if we are sick or hurt. It can come if someone we work with is toxic. It can even come from our own minds, when we worry about things we cannot control. We are all unique. What stresses you out, may not make a dent in my level of calm.

One thing I chose to remove from my life is the news. I don’t care what politician did this or that. I don’t care what celebrity does this or that. I just don’t care to waste my life reading the news, which in my opinion has changed into a bad reality tv show or soap opera.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the video. Take care of yourselves. Stress can be managed, if you pay attention to yourself. To me, the best way to relax is meditation. If you ever get stressed out, simply close your eyes and concentrate on your breath. That’s it. You’ll calm down in a short amount of time.

Of course, we all get our little surprises now and then that totally freak us out. When this happens, take a day or so to let the emotions subside before you act. You see, when you’re stressed out, you can’t really think straight. If you act while the emotions are high, it will likely result in a bad decision.

I hope all of you have a non-stressful Tuesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Checklists

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Checklists, daily progression, Goals, Monday, motivation, Small Steps, To-do Lists

My daily routine is nothing more than a checklist that constantly repeats. It basically allows me to knock out all my important tasks each day on “autopilot”. I don’t think. I don’t worry. I don’t forget. I knock out my tasks and when I’m done, I do what I want. It’s a great system, because it doesn’t require motivation once I’ve worked through it for a few days.

Each year, I evaluate what I did during the year. What worked? What didn’t work? What do I want to accomplish this year? What did I want to accomplish last year that didn’t get done? Then I go about putting down daily tasks that will help me achieve what I want to get done.

For those of you who have goals you want to achieve, try setting up a checklist for all of your goals. The key is to do one or more things each day that build momentum toward your goal. If you’re writing a book, you probably want to put that as a checklist item each day, right? The same goes for exercise, journaling, and all the rest.

Once you start your first day, do everything on your list. When you’re done, you get an award, like watching movies, playing games, or whatever you enjoy. This is how I operate every day and boy, you can get a lot done in a year, if you do something each day consistently.

Well, that’s all I have for now. I hope each of you has a terrific Monday! Try checklists out. They really are easy to do, once you put together your list.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Sunday – Self Sufficiency

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Eckankar, God, ideas, Inner nudges, Intuition, Karma, Life, Self-responsibility, Self-sufficiency

Whatever path to God you follow ought to make you able to stand on your own feet here as well as in the inner worlds; here and now, in this lifetime, before you drop the body in death.

If the path isn’t able to do that, then you ought to keep looking until you find one that gives you this ability.

Sri Harold Klemp – Touching the Face of God

All of us are on our own unique way back to God. It doesn’t matter what path we follow. I’ve chosen ECKANKAR as my path, but I could just have easily chosen Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam. There are many religious paths including being an agnostic or atheist. Soul needs to experience every one of these throughout its many reincarnations.

In ECKANKAR we learn to trust our intuition. We tend to call them inner nudges. An inner nudge is like an idea. You wake up after a good night’s sleep and you get an insight to a problem or something troubling you in your life. This trouble could be another person, a financial issue, or even a physical ailment. Whatever the problem is, most people can figure out a solution to their problems.

One problem hinted at in this quote is the responsibility to self. We must carry our own load. There are some in this lifetime who need outside support. The disabled need help in this lifetime. The chronically ill need help. But for most of us, it simply means we have to find a way to make a living.

But there is more to standing on our own feet than just making a living. It is also about serving our societies, our families, and our friends. We must take responsibility for our actions in this life and previous lives.

Some religions profess to offer salvation by accepting a savior. You could be a mass-murderer and if you accept salvation, you are all good. This could not be more wrong. No one escapes karma. Many think they are getting away with doing wrongs. Sometimes this thought is supported by a life where a person just gets away with everything without paying the piper. This illusion is dissolved when they come back and have to pay for all their wrong doings in previous lives.

We have all hurt others and have been hurt by others. Karma does not forget, despite our inability to see what we did in a previous life. It is set up this way, because we must learn from scratch in each lifetime. Slowly, we start wondering why our lives are this way or that. Why am I cursed with such bad luck? You are not cursed. You are simply paying back things you did before. No one escapes this.

When we finally realize the truth of this, we start to live our lives in a more responsible way. We avoid hurting others if we can. We avoid selfishness. We begin to see that service to others, including ourselves, is key to resolving our karma, so we stop building our karmic debt. In fact, we start to clear up some things and make it easier on ourselves when we return yet again.

I hope all of you have a terrific Sunday!

May the blessings be…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Gaming Saturday – CODM and Call of Duty MW2

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Battle pass, Call of Duty MW2, CODM, Lunar New Year, New Challenges, New characters, New Weapons, Season 2, Year of the Rabbit

I’m so stoked for today. It’ll be a full day of gaming. Right now, I’m working on some challenges in CODM. I’m also grinding camos and working on Legendary status in both Battle Royale and Multiplayer. I’ll keep you posted. I’ve completed the battle pass but need to finish out the Zombies battle pass. I’ve still got a way to go.

I’ve just finished the light machine gun platinum camo challenge and will be moving onto marksmanship rifles next. Now that I know where the places are on all the maps to get longshots, the grind is much easier.

They’ve announced some big changes for Call of Duty MW2 for season 2. Changes to the DMZ and Battle Royale, bringing back hardcore mode, and many others. I’m really excited about all the new weapons that are coming out, along with new characters and maps. It’ll be great fun!

I’ll also be looking at getting into another game on my console, just to keep things fresh. I haven’t decided what that game will be yet. I’ll be looking around my Xbox ultimate game pass to see what’s in there. I’m sure I can find a great game to play that will be awesome!

If you haven’t played the new battle pass for CODM, I highly recommend it. This season is celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year and this year’s animal is the rabbit. It’s been terrific fun to play the new Nuke Town, Battle Royale, and the multiplayer. They’ve also added some new maps to ranked multiplayer and that is a lot of fun as well.

Well, I’m off to start my gaming day. Have a great Saturday, folks!

Happy Gaming!

Dave