Set the intention that your brand will be a success...no matter what!

"You have one or two choices when someone throws a rock at you. You can pick it up and throw it back, or you can pick it up and build a castle." Terrance Howard.

It’s time to raise your game.

From now on, you aren't allowed to play half-court. You're not allowed to be a bench warmer. In fact, the bench will be removed in order to ensure all the players stay fully engaged; on the court, and in the game. That's the good news.

Here's the bad news: we're no longer taking excuses.

"Can't" has been removed from the vocabulary. "Impossible" is no longer an acceptable excuse. Nothing's Impossible!

Global warming...no problem, we the citizens of the world can fix it.

Hunger...we'll get right to it. No one should ever die from an empty belly.

Uninsured...surely, if you live in the richest nation on the planet you should be able to see a doctor from time to time.

Homeless...our doors are always open and our lights are always on.

Cancer...if we can put men into space, we can figure out how to remove a few bad cells from a body.

From the moment that Obama won the presidency, the overriding sentiment has been the same, "he makes me want to raise my game." But now I'm starting to wonder what that really means? Does it mean a fancier car, more degrees, a bigger house? Or, does it mean making a bigger difference in the world; being a better citizen.

My challenge to all of my reader's this week is to figure out how you are going to contribute to the betterment of the world. Besides working hard, raising your family, paying taxes and being a "good person," why is the world a better place because of you?

Millions of people sat in awe, worldwide, as Obama took his oath pinning all of their hopes and dreams on him. But he's just one man. Like he said, "We're the ones we've been waiting for."

We're the ones who need to clear up crime and speak up when we see something out of the ordinary.

We're the ones who need to get back in the inner city and mentor those young women and men desperately in need of guidance.

We're the ones who need to pick up trash we see when we're on our morning jog.

We're the ones who need to volunteer in the schools, help out in the prisons and figure out how our talents can serve this world.

There is so much work to do-and we're the ones who have been hired to do it!

So dust off your game gear and meet me on the court!

©2010 Jennifer Ransaw Smith