Page 8 • April 20 - April 26, 2015 • Insight News

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LIFESTYLE

I am better, not perfect Man Talk

By Timothy Houston The pursuit of perfection, although an admirable ambition, sometimes gets in the way of one enjoying the moment. In my younger years, I remember reading a story about two people who scored a perfect score on the SAT test. I was in the mist of preparing for the SAT test and decided that perfection was my only option. I took the test, and sadly, did not score a perfect score. Although I scored high enough to attend any school in the country, the thought of being perfect kept me from enjoying the moment. Since that time, I have learned to enjoy and celebrate my

continuous pursuit of being better. Here a few things you can seek on your way to excellence. • Seek purpose. On your way to excellence, seek your true purpose. To do the wrong thing perfectly is not perfection. To be perfect, you must do what you were created to do. If you know in your heart that you should be a teacher, teach. Being the best teacher that you can be is better than being a perfect engineer. Purpose leads to perfection. This realization is true for all the dimensions of your life. • Seek to be kind. Kindness is in your sphere of control. You do not need a degree, special training, or help from others to be kind. When others are unkind, you can still choose kindness. The way you get to perfection matters. Wounding others along the way takes away from your personal accomplishments.

I may not be perfect, but I am better. I pray that you will find the courage to make the incremental changes needed to be better.

The continuous pursuit of kindness is the forerunner to your continuous pursuit of being better. • Seek contentment. Contentment is happiness (temporal state) coupled with peace (permanent state). It is simply a way of accepting one’s current life state and being grateful,

happy, and at peace with it. This attitude of contentment leads to more positive outcomes as a result of the harmony that goes with being contented. Contentment is the ability to forget those things that are behind and to reach forward to those things that are ahead. This is the

stepping-stone needed for the continuous pursuit of being better. • Seek balance. Balance is the even distribution of weight that enables a person to remain upright and steady. Being upright is a vertical state that deals with your relationship with others, and is predicated on things being in their proper place physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You cannot be upright and depressed at the same time. Balance brings the steady positioning needed to make contentment possible. • Seek oneness with the Father. To seek perfection without seeking God is futile. Peace with God is the whole duty of man. “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” Matthew 8:36. The Lord’s Prayer admonishes you to refer to him as your

heavenly Father. He is the only one that is perfect so He is the only one qualified to lead you to perfection. The pursuit of God is the pursuit of perfection. Although I never received a perfect SAT score, I have a wonderful life. I have peace with God, family and friends who love me, purpose, balance, and contentment. Because of this, I can declare myself above all men most richly blessed. I may not be perfect, but I am better. I pray that you will find the courage to make the incremental changes needed to be better. Although you may never achieve perfection, you too can have a wonderful life! Timothy Houston is an author, minister, and motivational speaker who is committed to guiding positive life changes in families and communities. For copies of his book, questions, comments or more information, go to www.tlhouston.com.

Focused, determined and striving for greatness Motivational Moments

By Penny JonesRichardson At different times in life we set goals that will help us get

Fire From 1 In addition to the UnBank, a longtime neighborhood grocery store, Brix, was lost, as was the headquarters to community action group,

to our next level. It could be a goal of moving up the ladder at work, or completing a personal goal that you haven’t shared with anyone. Whatever the case may be, we never stop setting goals. Each time you think of doing something different with your life to make your life better, you are setting a goal. Some goals we don’t have to write down. I worked with a young

man many years ago who only set goals for himself once a year which he would do at the beginning of each year. His goals would be listed from most important to the least important. He said his list could include professional goals as well as those goals that he could finish in a day or two. But no matter what, he always completed everything on his list. I would be amazed by all he completed each year.

At the time I thought it was crazy to only set goals once a year, but as time went by I learned to appreciate what he was doing. He showed me how to stick to a plan and also how to be focused on the most important things in your life. This was the most disciplined person I had ever met at that time. I also learned that some goals will take time and some may take you all year to complete.

Lately I have had to set some personal goals of my own. I had to start thinking of finishing some things that I never thought about before. These goals are hug for me and they are going to take me staying focused and keeping my eyes on the prize. Just like that young man from my past, I have to start with the most important and map out my journey to completing it. What I’ve learned along the way is to

never lose focus of what’s best for me and to always remember that this journey belongs to me! And as always, stay focused, stay determined, and keep striving for greatness.

Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC). While the cause of the blaze has yet to be determined, there is speculation that the fire could have been intentional. “All we know is that the scene is under investigation, but some folks on the (fire) department that I talked to said

it’s unusual as to how quickly the fire spread and how hot the fire got,” said Anthony Newby, executive director of NOC. Calls to the Minneapolis Fire Department were unreturned. Newby said while his organization is without an office, he’s most concerned with those who are without a home due to the blaze. “Our first concern is for the residents who were living in the apartments on the second story,” said Newby. “Our thoughts and prayers go

out to them.” More than just thoughts and prayers, NOC is sending relief as well. The organization known for fighting for workers and voting rights set up a funding campaign that ran until noon on Thursday (April 16), with 100 percent of the proceeds going to assist the apartment residents. According to Newby, within the first 20 hours of the campaign the group raised more than $12,000. Without a home itself, NOC later began a funding campaign to keep its operation

afloat. “We don’t have an office, a pen, a pencil, paper, a chair to sit in,” said Newby. “Everything we use to function as an organization is gone.” While firefighters were still battling the blaze, workers for NOC were doing what they are known to do, which is organize. The group was granted temporary shelter just a block away in the offices of Juxtaposition Arts and workers used cell phones to reach out to potential donors. Newby said several unions have come to the group’s aid, offering operating space and Emerge, an employment agency in the 1100 block of West Broadway, has also offered the group a temporary home. “To see the community come together like this is a really good thing,” said Newby. “We’re going to come out of this on the other side a bigger and more powerful organization, but we need the community’s help to do so. Thankfully, there’s been a tremendous outpouring of support.”

Rep. Raymond Dehn (59B), who on the state level represents that portion of West Broadway, said he fully expects the area to recover. “This is yet another devastating blow to our community after the tornado of 2011 destroyed much of north Minneapolis,” said Dehn in a statement. “Broadway has continued to be an area where we’ve seen revival in north Minneapolis and I’m sure we’ll continue to see that spirit after this fire is extinguished.” Newby said a great concern to him is what will happen moving forward to the now gutted block of West Broadway. “The community has to have a say in what happens here. We want the community to get involved because oftentimes developers swoop in and whoever’s got the biggest check gets the prize,” said Newby. The NOC executive director asked for citizens to voice their concerns over any pending development by emailing NOC at info@ mnnoc.org.

Penny Jones-Richardson is a published author and life coach. She can be reached via her website at www. thequeensproject.com or email at penny@thequeensproject.com.