Tuesday, you have the opportunity to let your voice be heard.
Don’t sit back and let someone tell you that you do not have a voice. Don’t let a jacked up system keep you down.

Get out Tuesday and VOTE.

(RSS READERS: Video above, check out http://www.willyoungband.com/2008/11/do-whatever-you-feel-is-rightdo-whatever-you-feel-is-right/ to view it)

I thoroughly enjoy when people use their talent to make a difference in the world. One thing that Senator Obama has managed, whether intentionally or not, to do during his campaign is inspire people. Folks are coming out of the word work using their talents, resources, funds and much more to get the Senator elected and I absolutely love it! This is how politics is suppose to work…THIS is what it’s all about. The American people rallying together to make a difference and (no pun intended) change the world.

Check this video out from West Phillidelphia rapper Nish Gaveer and enjoy. (I’ve disabled comments, simply because this video is for educational, informative and entertainment purposes and nothing more. If you absolutely insist on spewing some type of negativity or attempting to convince me of why I’m going to hell for supporting Barack Obama, feel free to e-mail me

(RSS Readers: Video attached, go to http://www.willyoungband.com/2008/10/barack-obama-change-the-worldbarack-obama-change-the-world/ to see it)

(Barack Obama) Change the World from Change the World on Vimeo.

I stumbled upon ill doctrine through a video on racism that Carlos posted on his blog.

This guy Jay Smooth, is pretty intelligent, and is definitely going to be a blog I check out regularly. Take a gander at this video he recently posted, then head over to ill doctrine and show him some love.

(RSS Readers: Video attached, visit http://www.willyoungband.com/2008/10/a-poem-for-the-young-voter/ to watch)

Today was the first day of my 10 day detox. Though I’m starting to think perhaps I’ll shoot for 7, as that seems to be the norm. I’ll figure it out as the time draws closer.

It should come as no surprise that trying to eat nothing but raw fruits and vegetables and drink distilled water is insanely difficult. Today I was tempted by juicy burgers, pizza, french fries, and more.

At 7am this morning this was my BP & Pulse Reading:

Pretty HIGH. That would be why I am doing this detox.

So today my diet consisted of the following:

Breakfast:
1 pound of a cantaloupe, honeydew, red grape and pineapple fruit medley
1 Banana
Water
1000mg Vitamin C Supplement
1000mg Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplement
1000mg Garlic Supplement

10am Snack:
Apple

Lunch:
A bowl of Baby Greens mixed with chopped red onion, vine ripened tomato, mango chunks and pineapple chunks
1 Banana

4pm Snack:
1 Banana

Dinner:
A 24oz Blueberry/Strawberry/Banana (No additives, no sweeteners, just the fruit and ice)
A 12 ounce salad with romaine lettuce, carrots and tomatoes

At 10:30 pm tonight this was my bp/pulse reading:

Some slight improvement? Maybe? Truthfully, I am insanely hungry! I am used to being able to eat whenever and whatever I want so having to discipline myself to not is difficult. Tonight at our fantasy football draft someone brought in some little caesers pizza…I LOVE LITTLE CAESARS! It was all I could do to not grab a slice. I am wicked tired and am about to post this and hit the sack. I bought a BP monitor tonight, but I think I’m going to take it back it doesn’t seem to be working correctly.

We’ll see how day 2 goes.

I went to the plasma place last night for one of my two weekly donations. For the third time in a row, my blood pressure and pulse were ridiculously high, to the tune of 177 over 105 and 113bpm. <-- Yeah I know, I am a ticking time bomb knocking on deaths door. The reality is that some of that is due to the fact that I have a crush on one of the employees and being in her presence sort of makes me anxious.

HOWEVER...that plays a VERY SMALL role in the big picture. The REALITY is I’ve always had high blood pressure and I’ve never really done anything conducive of fixing it.

That changes today.

I had a 45 minute conversation with my grandmother (my moms mom) last night who I’ve know for a while struggles with blood pressure issues, but in a way that only a grandmother can she scared the piss out of me. (I didn’t tell her that though) That scare tactic, combined with the fact that my own father suffered a pretty serious heart attack just over a year or so ago has made me realize that 23, 24 or hell even 25 is WAY TO YOUNG TO DIE.

It’s no secret that cardiovascular issues are one of the number one killers in our country and a lot of that has to do with our diets. We take in a significant portion of toxins and poisons and do not really do a lot to get rid of them. Last night and in to this morning I’ve been researching ways to do just that. What I’ve found, isn’t surprising: a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables combined with significant exercise and water in take is a great natural detoxification regimen.

So starting today (actually as soon as I finish this entry I am headed to the grocery store to pick stuff up for lunch and dinner) I will begin a 10 day detoxification program. I will be drinking nothing but distilled water and eating nothing more than raw fruits and vegetables. I may also decide to have one boneless/skinless chicken breast every evening but, I haven’t decided yet. I will combine this with my current daily vitamin regimen of 500mg Vitamin C, 1000mg Echinacea, 1500mg Garlic supplement, and 3000mg Omega 3 fish oil supplement.

This goes along the lines of most of the “fruit and vegie detox” programs I’ve found on the internet, and seems to be in line with a similar program that several of my friends did recently and seemed to have good results.

It should look something like this (or some type of derivative of this):

Breakfast:
Supplement regimin
16 oz Distilled Water
1 Banana
1/4 Cantelope

Lunch:
Leafy Green Salad with cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumber and carrot slices

Dinner:
Whole fruit smoothie (NO YOUGURT, simply fruit and ice, and maybe some sort of healthy supplement)
POSSIBLY a whole boneless/skinless chicken breast

This is a HUGE deal for me as for 23 years I’ve been doing nothing but putting toxins and poisons in my body and doing nothing to get rid of them. I anticipate the next 10 days to be pretty much like hell. :-/ I’m used to eating what I want, when I want it and this plan is going to require a significant amount of discipline. I have confidence in my abilities to carry it out though, and I am already anxious to see what the end result may be.

I will be monitoring my health daily and keeping tabs on here so that you can stay updated as well. Who knows maybe I’ll do some video blogging too?

Wish me luck folks, I am about to embark on what will probably be the most difficult 10 days of my life up to this point. (And I’ve been through Army basic training!)

**Cheese warning: This entry is going to be quite cheesy.**

They say that life is nothing more than a plethora of chapters in a book. With each new major event, or life changing event in life you write a new chapter in your book. I agree with this philosophy however, I believe that at a certain point in life you actually write the last chapter of one book, and begin writing an entirely new book.

I’m pleased to say that I have finished the first book of my life and am about to begin writing the second book.

I began sometime ago seeking out a career move that will put me in a better position to achieve my overall professional and personal ambitions. Consequently, I found an organization that was looking for someone to fill a position that would do just that. Long story short, I interviewed, was offered and accepted the position. Yesterday, I notified my current employer of my resignation, effective at the end of the business day on September 5th 2008, and will begin my newest career on September 8th. Through my new employer I’ll be working in the overnight hours (5pm to 1:30am) which will free up my day time hours to pursue the formation of No Motives, the non-profit organization that I am founding and have had to put on the back burner since I made the announcement that I am founding it. It will also allow me to continue my education so that I can work towards my eventual career goal of being a teacher. In addition to both those, this new position offers me the flexibility to do more freelance journalism, work on more political campaigns, substitute teach, pursue my voice over/voice acting hobby as well as my interest in audio broadcasting. The position offers incredible benefits and a pay that is equal to, if not slightly greater than what I am making right now.

I call this my opportunity of a lifetime.

I think it is important while you’re young to have the ability to figure out what it is you want to do with your life. I have been trying for quite some time to figure that out. Most folks my age do that while they’re in college. The only problem with that for me, is that without some sort of assistance, I can not attend college. (Consequently my new employer offers a very generous tuition reimbursement benefit) I truly believe that I am in the beginning stages of the latest book of my life. Out of this opportunity I am convinced that several other life altering (changing) events will happen as well.

I look forward to writing the future chapters of my latest “life book” with you in the coming years.

Despite popular belief I think that change is probably one of the greatest feelings to experience.

I am about to experience some insane changes in my life over the next few weeks. One HUGE change actually, which will put in to play a series of other changes that will affect my life. Once things get to a point where an announcement can be made, you most certainly can expect me to make the announcement, however right now it is still in the midst of process, so I must keep my mouth shut.

I am freakin thrilled about this change though as it honestly is the greatest lifestyle adjustment that I’ve made in quite a long time, more on that later though.

Do you embrace change, or does change scare you?

The lady that owns the company I work for is what I call a “Forward Queen,” you know the type: the ones that forward every e-mail they get because it tells them to or else something terrible will happen. Or forward this so it’ll “change someones life.” Well, I have to give her a little credit as she forwarded me a message the other day, that while not changing my life per say, did leave a lasting impression.

Lately I’ve struggled with the idea that our (myself included) lack of humanity has made me and many others into fairly jaded individuals. That’s part of the reason why this vision of No Motives is so important to me. We’ve forgot that there are others out there and whether they’re just like us, nothing like us, or somewhat like us they still deserve to be treated just like we want to be treated. I think somewhere between the 6 o’clock news, the “war” in Iraq and the latest diet trend we’ve forgot about the golden rule of treating others exactly like we want to be treated. But I digress, partly because I talk about it too much on here, and partly because that’s not what this post is really about.

Any how, my companies owner sent me a message titled “5 Lessons of How We Treat People.” I almost deleted it, because I thought for sure it was just another “stupid forward,” I didn’t though and I’m glad.

Here are just two of the 5 lessons that were shared in that email:

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50 ‘ s, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. “Absolutely, ” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

This lesson got me thinking. What if, even outside of our careers, outside of our churches, outside of anything really, what if we take the time to listen and talk to people? I’ve started riding the bus a few days a week. I started doing it mainly to conserve fuel, however now I realize that the opportunities to meet people are far greater for me on the bus than they are in my car. So much so that now I want to ride the bus as much as I can. Being an ambitious, future politician, this idea of meeting people was striking to me because all good politicians should know the community they’re advocating for. I realized though, outside of my political ambitions, how lucky am I to get to know these people for no other reason than just getting to know them? The answer is: I’m one of the luckiest men on the face of the planet.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

I find myself telling people on a regular basis now that if they’re fed up with something then they should change it. I even became the receiver of my own advice when I realized that I was sick of complaining about gas prices and did something about it by beginning to take the bus. I’ve heard people say in one form or another that every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition, but never paid it much mind until lately.
We can’t just keep crying about the way things are then move on. If you don’t like the way something works change it! Many objects have been invented because someone didn’t like the way the object before it worked, so they did something about it. We’ve got to start doing something about life. If we’re tired, jaded, irritated, frustrated about our condition, or the conditions of those around us, we need to start acting. It’s easier than we might think.

I figured I’d share those lessons with you, there are 3 others too that are very inspiring, I actually sort of teared up at the end of the e-mail. If you’d like me to pass the message along to you please feel free to leave your e-mail in a comment and I’ll get it to you.

Ex animo,
Will