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HECTOR’S SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS

You’d have to read yesterday’s blog post to understand what my plans are for MakeAShift this week. It all stems from my love for a movie I watched a few weeks ago called Hector and the Search for Happiness, a very inspiring and powerful movie, at least for me it was. My name is Hector of course and what better topic to cover this week than that of Happiness.

Unlike the character Hector in the movie, I haven’t taken a journey around the world that provided me with some crazy life changing revelations or anything like that, but I have had my share of challenges, some recent and some not so recent. As a 43 year old man who has lived as full a life as possible, I can say that I’ve been through enough to be able to write on the topic of happiness and I hope that my insight can help you find yours today. My list isn’t in any particular order so know that it’s all coming out as I write. Enjoy.

HAPPINESS IS DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

I’m a fairly happy person most of the time and it’s very rare that I wake up grumpy or upset. I’m usually ready to go and look forward to that first morning cup of coffee. I work for myself and for the most part I’ve been doing so since college. I of course have had some full time jobs over the years, but the longest I ever worked for someone else was for about 5 years in the 90s. Some might say that being my own boss is the reason I can wake up and be happy, but no, this is my disposition for the most part.

Trust me, working for yourself isn’t always easy and there can be many reasons to want to quit, but I love it. I’m not rich by any means and being my own boss is great but that’s not the part that I love the most. I could be my own boss doing anything, but I don’t think I’d be happy running my own landscaping business or owning a kiosk at the mall, not because those aren’t great, but because they’re not my passion. If you’re going to be your own boss then do so by doing something that you actually love and enjoy. I own an ad agency and I get to create and design every day. Sometimes the work and clients are great and sometimes it’s challenging, but in the end I’m doing what I love and enjoy.

By working for myself I’ve also been able to turn other passions into businesses with two of those being a love for cycling / bikes and dogs. Two very successful festivals have come from this and 2015 marks 4 years for each fest. This November 7th will be the 4th Annual HTX Bike Fest and this past Spring the Puppies for Breakfast Dog Festival was the largest yet.

If you have a passion for something, whether it makes you a lot of money or not, jump in and do it. You don’t have to get up and quit your current job today or tomorrow to make it happen, just take baby steps and start doing something that you love that will increase your happiness everyday and make waking up all the more better.

HAPPINESS IS COFFEE

I love coffee but I’m not what you call a “real” coffee drinker. I stick to the basics, just give me a good cup of standard brewed coffee and let me add some cream and sugar and I’m happy. My ritual every morning is to heat up some water and then poor all of that hot water goodness over a one cup pour over system that is usually filled with some Dunkin Donut brand coffee grounds. I’ll usually just sit out on the porch for a little while and sip on that cup or I’ll do what I am doing this morning and I’ll write or work. I usually only make it to cup #3 before I realize that I have the shakes and then it’s time to stop. I’m sure there’s an addiction by now, but it’s ok, I’m happy.

HAPPINESS IS FORGIVING

Remember, I said that this list would come in no particular order, which is why i can jump from loving coffee to now talking about something deeper such as forgiveness. Working for yourself is great and can be awesome, especially if you do it each day with a cup of coffee in one hand and a donut in the other, but if you’re walking around with unforgiveness towards someone you might as well quit and go work for someone else.

If there was ever anything that could affect a person’s happiness it’s the decision to carry around unforgiveness. We’ve all been hurt by someone at some point in our lives and I’ve seen first hand how destructive unforgiveness can be to a person. It can be a huge weight and there are some people that will carry this weight for years and never deal with it. Forgiving comes easy for some but can be very difficult to do for others. I’m wired to forgive fairly easy and quickly, to a fault, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I would hate to be walking around with the burden of that huge weight, stunting my growth and disabling me from moving forward. Forgiving someone can be so freeing and life changing. If you’re carrying around one of these weights, please, let it go today. Lay it down, give it to God or allow friends or family to help you remove it and take it off.

I found this image online of the donkey that is suspended in the air, still attached to an overloaded cart that he was pulling. It’s hilarious, but the only way to safely get that donkey back down on the ground is to begin removing some of the weight from the cart. Only then can his legs touch the ground again and he can be detached from the cart. I’m sure that donkey was scared as hell being suspended in the air like that, and he was probably the happiest donkey in the world when they brought him back down.

Take the weight off of your cart. Lighten your load and in doing so watch how much room you can make for happiness.

Until tomorrow, enjoy your 3rd or 4th cup of coffee and get back to work. Thanks for reading.

@hectorgarciahtx

Posted on October 14, 2015 In Blog, Life, Personal Growth, Resources coffee, donkey, entrepreneur, forgiveness, happiness, happy, hector, hector and the search for happiness, love

ALL COMMENTS MATTER: WHY I STOPPED DEBATING ONLINE ABOUT RACE, RELIGION, AND POLITICS.

To a fault, I can be one of the most opinionated people that you’ll ever meet and I will always have something to say about anything and everything. Give me a story with little facts about a young black kid who gets killed in a neighborhood by a “white/mexican” security guard and I’m all over it, especially if social media and the news carelessly begin tagging it as a race / hate murder. Or feed me video footage about blacks terrorizing their city in anger and I’ll have lots of opinions to share about their careless reaction. Or hey Facebook, feed me the latest trendiest videos and posts about Hillary Clinton being a big fat liar or Obama helping feed the race division that’s in our country so that I can get sucked into the 5,000 comment thread and waste half of my day doing so. Want my thoughts about Joel Osteen and his mega mansion and him having no right to own a house that big, even if it was purchased with money from the many businesses that he has owned before even becoming a pastor? Just post some awesome hate memes about it and I’m all over it.

OUR OPINIONS MATTERS MORE THAN WE KNOW

I believe our opinions matter and we all have something to say, but after realizing how much meaningless time I was wasting doing it on Facebook I took a step back and said No More. This came about through a mixture of two things: One, a dear friend of mine who I hadn’t met in person yet, shared some very inspirational words with me about how much MY opinion mattered and how much impact it could be having on those that follow me. Two, a personal change in my life revealed what truly mattered in my life and it didn’t include stupid Facebook opinions about the latest trendy topics.

I can’t remember her words exactly, but this friend of mine one day messaged me and in the nicest and most tender way possible said “Hector, do you know how powerful your words and your opinion are? Do you realize how many people follow you and look up to you?” (paraphrased) She expressed how, whether I like it or not, there are people who look up to me and are influenced by my words and actions. There are a variety of groups and organizations that I’m involved in, and with that comes positions of “leadership” that I never really pay much attention to. So if I have a very divisive opinion about a topic of race, for example, I’m influencing many people that I don’t even know about. This became clear to me one day as I was out on a group bike ride, and while waiting in line at a bar someone who I would have never even assumed was reading my blog posts got my attention when he said “Hey man, I loved your recent post about being a better person. Very inspiring”. This was a young man in his 20s who I don’t think even “Liked” my Facebook post about the blog. Haha. It was encouraging to hear those words from him, while at the same time a reminder of how far my online words can reach.

WHAT REALLY MATTERS

There’s no better time to receive a real perspective on life than when you’re going through challenges or some type of loss. That was the case for me a few months ago and my interest in getting caught up in silly Facebook debates stopped instantly. None of it mattered in the grand scheme of things. I had just lost someone that I loved very much, and my opinion on another race riot or police shooting meant zero to me. It was during this time that I realized how trivial it all was and how much time is wasted on debating topics that are simply trending items and nothing more.

Think about it, everyday we are fed videos, photos, memes, and news updates on trending topics and stories and those stories become the topic of “discussion” for a couple of weeks. All it takes is seeing one of our friend’s opinions on these stories and we all of a sudden feel the need to be heard as well and we dive in. If these stories would never have been put in front of us, we would never have known about them and in turn, never would have had that crazy opinion that we posted on Facebook. Also, within a week or so, there’s already a brand new trending topic waiting for you to get sucked into. No one wins in these debates either, no one. You might think that you’re debating but in essence no one ever really backs down or concedes. That’s not a debate, that’s a shouting match. When is the last time you remember someone in a Facebook post debate say “you know what guys, you’re right, I’m wrong, I’m changing my opinion on this matter”? Probably never, right?

HAVE FUN

I love Facebook, Instagram, sometimes Twitter, and some occasional Snap chatting. This is how we communicate today and in and of itself, these communication mediums are not bad things. For me personally, I use them to communicate and be stupid with friends and promote my business and the many events that we create. Facebook should be fun and we shouldn’t use it as a platform to bitch and whine all of the time. Have fun with it. Let’s all lighten up and not get sucked into the machine. And don’t be that person that decides to delete their account because you can’t “handle it”. Those people crack me up, because they always come back. Yes, always.

So today, have fun. Let’s see pics of your kids, your dogs, your lunch, you running in the rain, or some funny memes. But don’t get caught up in a stupid online debate, because all it’s going to do is piss you off at some point and the only person that will suffer is your puppy, who didn’t get a chance to be seen today or get over 40 likes in an awesome Facebook post.

All comments matter. Make yours count today. The weather is awesome here in Houston. Get outside and enjoy it. We’ll be waiting for your happy posts and pics.

@hectorgarciahtx

Posted on September 12, 2015 In Blog all comments matter, facebook, facebook debates, happy, instagram, social media

3 Comments

Live.Love.Laugh.

August 5, 2010 — Leave a comment

One of the most popular phrases that we’ve all heard at least once and will continue to hear is that “life isn’t easy”. It’s really not and for some it’s an every day balance between work, kids, school, activities, debt, relationships, friendships, play, and family. If we’re not careful, life can beat the crap out of us and keep us down for long stretches of time.

But the hardness of life doesn’t have to defeat us or win. We can choose everyday to fight back and allow the good things in life to supercede the bad. We can make the choice to wake up every morning and be happy or find at least one tiny little thing to focus on that will keep our head above water for that day. For some it’s their kids or mate. For others it can be their faith in God. Some even find it in a hobby, sport, or even their craft. Whatever the case, I feel like there are at least three things that we can do everyday that will always make it good a one.

LIVE.

I’ve had someone tell me before, “I love the way that you live life”. This was of course in response to seeing all the stuff that I do and how much fun I’m always trying to have. Regardless of how tough things might be, I really do love life. I enjoy living and experiencing all that life has to offer. If I could afford it, I would travel the world and see as much of it as I could. I do what I can now with what I have, but this life was meant to live and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m a little kid in a man’s body per se, and yes, I do want to have as much fun as possible. Just seems like the natural way to live.

Every morning when you wake up, choose to Live. Don’t get caught up in the routines of life. Make the most of everyday. Treat yourself. Have fun. Take time out to have fun, however that may be. And if you have a hard time treating yourself, get someone to help push you and force you to make time. Take trips. Go running. Swim. Ride a bike. Do something good for someone else. Give. Dance, even if it’s by yourself in your home with the radio full volume. Move yourself to get the most out of every single stinkin day of your life. This life is too short to get caught up in the crap that it throws at us everyday.

LOVE.

I firmly believe that Life without Love is no life at all. There are so many different forms of love. There’s the love that you have for your kids or family. There’s love that you would feel towards a friend. And then there’s straight up falling in love, which is one of my favorites. But love is essential if we are going to say that we’re “living life”.

I’ve been “blessed” with such a big heart and the ability to love and forgive so easily. Sometimes it’s a blessing and sometimes it feels like a curse, but I definitely wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m not ashamed of it. Those who know me well know that I have no problem expressing my feelings and sharing my heart. Again, life is too short to keep what we feel bottled up inside and all to ourselves. If I love someone why keep it inside? Why not let that person know how much they are loved? We all want to be loved and appreciated, so by me keeping that inside, I’m depriving someone from receiving one of the most powerful feelings and emotions we as humans could ever experience.

Open your heart today. Allow yourself to love and be loved. Don’t be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve and let others know what you feel or think. We’re emotional beings and were created to love. Love with all of your heart. There should be no such thing as loving with half of it anyway, right? Choose to love today. Give love today. And if someone loves you, open your heart and receive it.

LAUGH.

Some research shows that by the time the average kid reaches kindergarten, he or she is laughing some 300 times each day. Compare that to adults who only laugh about 15 – 17 times per day (men and women laugh about the same, just at different things of course).

I’m 38 years old, and I would have to say that my laughter count is more than likely way more than 17 and hopefully closer to that of a kid’s. I love to laugh and I love making people laugh. A day without any laughter would suck! We all know how powerful laughter is too, because we’ve all had a friend or family member who has been down or sad and what is one of the first things that we try to do for them? Yep, we try to make them laugh or bring a smile to their face.

Laughter just feels good. It’s a physical and audible way of our bodies expressing happiness. So be happy today and laugh. Laugh alot. Let the kid inside of you come out and play. Again, life is too short to take it too seriously. This life is over before you know it, so why not fill it with laughter and peeing your pants (that’s what happens when something is super funny). 🙂

Have a good day everyone. Live. Love. Laugh.

– Hector

In Blog, Life, Personal Growth, Religion, Students happy, hector garcia, laugh, laughter, live, love, make a shift

“Change” – Not just a political catch phrase.

January 13, 2009 — 1 Comment

For the past 2 years there’s one word that we’ve heard repeatedly, whether we liked it or not and whether it meant anything or not. That word is “change”, and it was promised to the whole world from now President Barack Obama. Whether we see true change come out of this new administration is questionable, but one thing is for certain, change, whether good or bad, is going to take place.

Through SHIFT, I’ll provide anything and everything that has to do with helping us all with “real” change in our lives. I’ll provide as many stories, tips, tricks, and resources that will push your life and ministry one step further. The information provided through this blog will be raw and uncensored, with providing truth being my number one goal.

With that said, come by every day and get a good dose of whatever it is we have for you. Sometimes it’ll be a light breakfast, and other times some good healthy meat. Just come hungry. And if your mom’s name is Kathy, then “Word to Kathy!” (whatever your mom’s name is, insert it in place of Kathy)

In Blog barack obama, change, dunamis media, happy, hungry, make a shift, shift, the byke project