Study success
What is its pattern?
Who does God touch?
Look outside yourself
Sometimes we tell ourselves
Bedtime stories
Wherein we are the heroes
But none of us flies solo
Except to the grave

What moves you?
Who is pushing or pulling?
What drives you on?
Who whispers in your ear,
Who tells you what success is
When to be happy
What hangs from the stick just out of reach?
Then who tells you you've failed?
Is it the truth?
Who withholds the prize?
What makes you feel angry and insufficient?
What holds you back?

Love is gold and pearls
Opal swirled white
Covered in lace
Enveloped and hooded
Above the skin the surface
Is alive and electric
Talk to the plants
Your energy is quite tangible
Not just a flush or dilating pupil
But an aura larger than you

Telling others that you are worthy
That you are special
Is redundant
You were born worthy
You are nothing but special
Or you would not exist
Others are too worried about their own abilities to measure up
To listen to your resounding gong
We all have a part to play
So save the sad soliloquy for Armaggedon
You're home and the war is over
Adjust to a new era
In times of peace, enforce the bonds
Yes, we must test our resolve for success
Pull the knots to expose weak spots
But enter with caution
Into easy but unfamiliar territory
Your post traumatic stress is bound to interfere
Be ever aware of the sleeping serpent inside us all
Which devours both evil and good when its basket is kicked

How big is too big?
I start a business
It grows to 250
Then start another
Let's fill those holes
The empty buildings
Look wrong on Main Street
I'm good at this
Let's do it right!
Put people to work
What do we need?
There's too many eggs
In too few baskets
I'll start an army
Of Maslow leaders
We'll change our country
One block at a time

How do you handle a lightning bolt?
Let it cool down, dissipate, lose the charge
Emotions are real
But jagged and sharp
Not gentle or respectful or thoughtful
By nature
Express if you must
Then the work begins
In the calm afterstorm
To repair what was fried
And find shelter in one another

Mr. Llaneous
The opposite of quiet
Social networking
Makes people nervous
We're not supposed to know
What's on your mind
So many words might carry disease
But we can't shut up

These minds of ours
Are ready to be tamed
By the whips of masses
From a distance
Silence in the new age
Is not a virtue
But a resistance
To the future

A hidden success
Your secret triumph
Not newsworthy
Notable or ad-friendly
But a step
In the right direction with a heavy foot
And a friend by your side
The crowd didn’t cheer today
But “life ain’t a track meet —
It’s a marathon.”

Understanding expectations
Imperfect communication
Fears are illusions
Failure impossible
Live to succeed
You make the rules
Change the game
Sniff out the fakes
Imperfect by nature
Disregard the sad
You eat that cake sometimes
And it tastes so good going down
But you’ll regret it tomorrow
Nothing you do will change the past
But you can walk with pride today
And maybe brighten their day

A tickle in the throat
That’s all she wrote
Cough up a lung
Isn’t this fun?
Mucus for miles
Half-hearted smiles
Tissues and cough drops and water
Oh my!
Can’t we be over this illness already?
It’s taken its toll
Wasn’t that the goal?
Now leave me alone
You’ve already won.