Archive of ‘Inspiration’ category

Motivation Monday: Will you accept the 42 acts of kindness challenge?

 

Birmingham School Board member Sherman Collins Jr. challenges citizens to do 42 acts of kindness in memory of late wife

By Chanda Temple

“Clink! Clink! Clink” go the quarters as Sherman Collins Jr. drops them into an expired parking meter next to a stranger’s car.

“That should help somebody,” he says as he buys $2 worth of time and moves to the next meter in downtown Birmingham.

His actions today come with a special meaning. He’s doing them in honor of his late wife, Katrina Bethune Collins, who was always helping strangers in the smallest of ways.

“She wanted to bless people,” Collins says. “She’d buy people lunch. Feed expired meters. It didn’t have to be someone’s birthday. She would buy flowers and take them to (people’s) grandmothers.”

Birmingham School Board member Sherman Collins Jr. with his wife and their children. Photo credit: Special

Birmingham School Board member Sherman Collins Jr. with his wife and their children. Photo credit: Special

Sherman Collins Jr., a member of the Birmingham Board of Education, challenges citizens to do 42 acts of kindness in memory of late wife

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Motivation Monday: Picking up the pieces of the past

Randall Jimerson with his siblings. Photo credit: Special

Randall Jimerson, far left with siblings Ann, center, baby Mark, Sue and Paul, rear, in early 1963. Photo credit: Special

By Chanda Temple

Imagine you’re the son of a white pastor who’s moved his family from Virginia to Alabama in 1961 to work in Birmingham’s civil rights movement.

You support your father’s cause and his push for equality. But some of those determined to keep things the way they’ve always been in segregated Birmingham, don’t like change. And they tell you so.

“As a young teenager, I’d answer the phone (at the house). …there would be either silence or heavy breathing or ‘Your daddy is gonna be six feet under,’ ” recalled Randall Jimerson.

Such words were hard for Jimerson to hear. But he knew his father, the Rev. Norman C. “Jim” Jimerson, was on the right course, a course to help others and to bring about change for the better in Birmingham.

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Motivation Monday: University of Alabama graduate and designer Smith Sinrod talks fashion, rejection and Southern grits

Inspired by architecture and art deco, designer Smith Sinrod likes to work with Thai silk, vibrant colors and bold patterns to give a spin on classic looks. Photo credo: Special.

Inspired by architecture and art deco, designer Smith Sinrod, 28, likes to work with Thai silk, vibrant colors and bold patterns to give a spin on classic looks. Photo by: Chanda Temple.

By Chanda Temple

When starting your own business, you can’t be afraid to hear the negative feedback because it’s bound to come.

It happened early in the career of clothing designer Smith Sinrod. She was at her first trade show when a woman walked by and said, “Eeew, look at that.” The woman didn’t know Sinrod was the designer.

The comment hurt so much that Sinrod wondered, “Gosh, should I be doing this?” But Sinrod recovered, telling herself that for every 10 nos the one yes she gets will make it all worth it.

“People are very opinionated. I’ve heard it all,” she says. “I think it’s important to have a little criticism. That’s the only way to evolve.”

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Be thankful for the little things

Thanksgiving

Thank God for everything, even the small things in life. Photo via Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

Tonight as I worked on a blog post, I couldn’t figure out how to size a certain photo. I kept trying and nothing worked. Then all of a sudden, something appeared on my computer screen. It was just what I needed to fix the problem.

I then looked up and thanked God. He made it possible.

Right after I did that, I remembered my pastor’s message from this morning: In All Things, Give Thanks. Citing Matthew 14:15-21, my pastor gave us five ways on how to give thanks. With this being Thanksgiving week, I thought it would be a good time to share them.

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Motivation Monday: What would you do if you lost an eye?

Kenisha Shamburger Photo by Handy Media Photography

Kenisha Shamburger Photo by Handy Photo Media

By Chanda Temple

Picture this: You’ve just pulled out of your driveway and you’re headed to work. On the way, you hit a patch of black ice and your car goes zooming into a ravine. You hit a tree, head on.

The airbag deploys and you walk away – without a drop of blood on you. Minus a swollen right eye, you think things are good.

But future doctor examinations will reveal something else: You have high pressure in your eye, which threatens the life of your right eye. Your vision is touch and go. You develop glaucoma and later have a cornea transplant and then an eye transplant. Two years after all of that, your eyelid begins to droop. What would you do?

For Kenisha Shamburger, all she could do was lean on her faith.

“For a long time, I couldn’t read or watch TV. Things were blurred and I couldn’t see,” she said of what she experienced before the eye transplant. “I would literally have to sit in bed and talk to myself, saying, ‘You will not die. You will not quit.’ ’’

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Motivation Monday: Oprah Winfrey’s tips on how to live your best life

Oprah Winfrey's "The Life You Want Tour" is the life you want. Photo credit: Sonya Boatwright

During Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Weekend” tour in Atlanta, the media mogul said that her fundamental belief is that for every action, there’s a reaction. So if you are putting out jealousy, envy, hate or love, that will come back to you. What are you doing to change that? 
Photo credit: Sonya Boatwright

Note: I attended Oprah Winfrey’s Life You Want Weekend Tour in September 2014 in Atlanta, Ga. I’ll be blogging every day this week about the main messages from the event. Today is Day 1. 

By Chanda Temple

In September 2014, I attended Oprah Winfrey’s “The Life You Want Weekend” tour in Atlanta, where Winfrey dropped nuggets of empowerment and encouragement into folks’ souls, just like farmers drop seeds into the ground during planting season. With a little sunshine, rain and prayer, those seeds are bound to yield a mighty harvest. I can’t wait to see what develops for my own crop.

If the thousands in the audience at Philips Arena wondered what to expect for the weekend, Winfrey announced it soon after stepping onto the stage: “I’m here to help you turn up the volume in your life,” and to help you figure out your purpose, your passion and your vision in life. And once you realize all of this, what will happen next? You’ll be that much closer to the life you want, she said.

As the audience went wild with applause that first night, I went wild with my note taking. I learned a lot and wanted to share it.

Atlanta's Philips Arena was packed during the weekend tour with Oprah in early September 2014. Photo credit: Chanda Temple

Everyone attending Oprah Winfrey’s weekend tour at Atlanta’s Philips Arena received electronic bracelets that lit up during certain moments of the program. The arena looked like it was full of dancing fireflies.
Photo credit: Chanda Temple

For the next couple of days, I’ll be blogging about the messages from that weekend, which also featured inspiring words from guest speakers “Eat Pray Love” best-selling author Elizabeth Gilbert, life coach Iyanla Vanzant, pastor Rob Bell and spiritual leader Dr. Deepak Chopra. Today’s message looks at how positivity helps you live your best life.

To get us rolling with today’s theme, I recalled Winfrey’s challenge of transformation from the first night: Write a new story for yourself and intentionally create the life you want and live your life on purpose.

Here are four of her tips to get you started:

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10 tips to get you blogging

Blog what will interest your audience. Image by Flickr via Creative Content.

Blog what will interest your ideal reader.
Photo by Christian Schnettelker via Flickr/Creative Content.

By Chanda Temple

Birmingham, Ala. blogging expert and See Jane Write Birmingham founder Javacia Harris Bowser recently held a blogging workshop to get bloggers and would-be bloggers blogging. She had a lot to say. Here are her are top 10 tips.

1) Write a mission statement for your blog

What message are you trying to convey with your blog? Have you identified your target audience? Include that in your mission statement. Write it. Live it. Love it.

2) Create a strong “About” page

Besides the look of your website and the content, your “About Me” page sets the tone of your blog. Be sure it clearly explains the topics you cover in your blog and offers background on you. Make the writing interesting and fun. Include images and links to of your favorite posts, too.

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Motivation Monday: Quotes to keep you going

When in doubt, keep going. Victory is coming. Photo by Steven Depolo via Flickr/Creative Commons.

When in doubt, keep going. Victory is coming.
Photo by Steven Depolo via Flickr/Creative Commons.

By Chanda Temple

When I worked as a reporter, I always listened for quotes that sounded like music. They were words that blended so well together that they stayed with you well after the person stopped talking. Such motivational messages fed my soul and I figured they’d do the same for readers. It’s a practice I continue to do to this day.

Whenever someone makes a memorable comment, I write it down or punch it into my smartphone. I sometimes post them on social media or share them when I talk to students. They are a constant reminder to keep going after goals 

Here are some of my favorites. I hope they inspire you today and always.    

  • “The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, ‘I wish someone would come by and turn me on.’ What if they don’t show up? You’ve got to have a better plan for your life.” – Jim Rohn

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Breast cancer survivor Demarish Ruffin-Smith’s story of hope

Demarish Ruffin-Scott with sons Rich, 13, left, and Reese, 9.

Shelby County’s Demarish Ruffin-Smith today with sons Rich, 13, left, and Reese, 9. They were 8 and 4 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.

By Chanda Temple

Break out the pink. Demarish Ruffin-Smith is celebrating a five-year anniversary today.

She found a lump in her right breast on Aug. 6, 2009 and had a double mastectomy 20 days later. She’s been breast cancer free ever since.

“Most of the time, people are estatic to make it to the five-year mark. Depending on what kind of cancer you have, it can come back,” said Demarish, 43 and a married mother of two sons living in Shelby County, Ala. “I just thank God every day for waking me up.”

Though the lump she found in her right breast was cancer that was in the  early stage and the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes, she wanted to reduce any chances of the cancer returning. She opted for a double mastectomy.

For Demarish, the decision for a double mastectomy was easy. At the time of the diagnosis, her sons were 4 and 8. She wanted to be around to see them grow up. It was a decision that worked for her. Each woman, she said, has to do what works best for them.

“I know there are many other life-threateing diseases. Some people, unfortunately, will not have my outcome,” she said. “I caught it early because I know my body and lead a healthy lifestyle. My prayer is that no matter what your diagnosis is and what course of action you choose to take, that you become an educated patient.”

“Know your options,” she said. “Decide what’s right for you and put your boxing gloves on every day.”

She offers six breast cancer survivor tips:

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