Mark's West Coast Tour

Lacombe Composite High School

Well it's been a few weeks since I last published my blog. I'm happy to say that the reason for that is that I've been very busy. In addition to putting the finishing touches on the first draft of my book "Live Life from the Heart", I've just started my West Coast Speaking Tour.

At the begginning of next week, I'll be speaking in Maple Ridge, BC at Westview Secondary. If you are a school in the Vancouver Area and you're interested in booking me for Monday, contact me at Mark@MarkBlackSpeaks.com.

I had the priveledge to speak to the students at Lacombe Composite High School yesterday. They were truly an awesome group!

I have to admit that I walked into their school not feeling super "motivational". I'd just had a LONG trip from NB to AB (5 hrs in the plane and 2 more by car); had a near-deaht experience driving to Red Deer the night before (long story); and was going on about 5 hrs of sleep. I wasn't the "perkiest" I've ever been. But when I walked into their school, I was greated by so many friendly faces and enthusiastic and positive students that their energy was contagious!

Isn't that often the case?

Moods, energy, vibes etc. are contagious. It's a powerful thing for us to know and to be conscious of in our daily lives. Someone's bad mood can quickly be turned around when they're surrounded by positive people. Similarly, a positive person can be dragged down, when they are surrounded by constant negativity.

The Black and White

This week, keep an eye out for negativity and do your best to push positivity out into the world to overcome it. You can't single handedly change everyone's mood, but you can help make the environment in which you work, study or play, a more positive one. Good luck.

An Island Adventure...

It was awesome! I realized again today how fortunate I am to be living the life that I am. Just this week, my wife and I got back from a beautiful vacation in St. Martin in the Caribbean. It was beautiful! The water was blue, the sand was white, and the relaxation was amazing.

There are two sides to this beautiful, but tiny, island (the whole island is just 100 km2) one side belonging to the French, the other, to the Dutch. It is the smallest place in the world to belong to two different countries! Both sides were beautiful, and if you ever just need to get away, my wife and I recommend it highly!

All that said, the vacation was not without it's challenges. First we had our connecting flight on the way cancelled. There was only 1 flight to our final destination each week and if we didn't get to Toronto by the next morning, our vacation would have been ruined.

It was tempting to stomp and scream and get angry, but my wife was great. We stayed calm, got ourselves on the standby list and faithfully waited. And low and behold, we got on the flight!

Then we arrived at the resort which we thought was an all-inclusive package. However, upon checking in, we discovered that in fact we didn't have the all-inclusive package and would have to pay for food and drink (not exactly in our budget).

On the way back we had similar issues, ended up in a hotel when we should have been on our way home and went three days with little sleep.

Do we have reasons to remember the vacation for all of the problems it caused? Sure. But we also have the option to remember all of the great parts of the vacation.

The point is this: Life throws you curveballs all the time. It is rare that things will go as smoothly as you'd like. The key to being happy is to recognize this fundamental truth and accept it. Accept that things won't always go as planned and that it's ok. In fact, in many situations, the greatest things that happen in our lives, happen because we strayed from our intended path.

In Black & White
The next time things come up that you don't expect, take a breathe. Recognize that you have a choice about how you react to the situation and that getting upset doesn't do anything for you. Choose to see things positively. Look for the hidden opportunities, and let things happen. You never know what you might discover as a result.

Warning! Youth May Have more to Offer than you Think

First, my apologies having not posted recently. I'm happy to say that the reason is that I've been very busy. I had the priveledge to speak at Eastern Passage Education Centre in Metro Halifax last week, as well as at Citee Des Jeunes and Polyvalente Thomas-Albert, francophone schools in northern NB. No matter where I go, I'm amazed at the level of respect and understanding I find in people who are supposedly only concerned with themselves!

While I'm sure that there are exceptions, the vast majority of youth today are underestimated and over-criticized. Most are not only good citizens, but they're bright, motivated, and ready to make the world a better place.

When I do my motivational presentations at schools, I always ask the students in the audience to write down a big goal that they have for themselves. Anyone who thinks that today's youth lake motivation or vision, ought to have the chance that I do to read some of those cards.

This week I had the chance to meet Tom aka "Bones". He's a high school student working on a novel! He's not out loitering at the corner store, or wandering aimlessly through life as the newspapers would sometimes have you believe about today's youth, he's being creative. Tom is pursuing a dream to be a writer.

Today's youth are not only good people, they are the leaders and heroes of tomorrow. Without them, we'll be lost. So if you're a person between 13-30, keep doing what you're doing. Go out and make a difference. Dpon't believe anyone who tells you that you can't.

If you're part of the 30+ crowd and like many in your generation, you tend to be hard on the youth of today, take a minute to really look around and see what they're doing. It's easy to find negative instances, that's wha tthe newspapers love to cover, but there are lots of great kids doing great stuff out there. Find out what those in your area are doing, and encourage them. After all, one day they'll be taking care of you in the nursing home!

Have a great week!

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Mark Black is an Inspirational Speaker based in Moncton, NB. For more information about his inspirational programs or to learn how to have Mark motivate your group, go to: http://www.MarkBlackSpeaks.com