Dreams Come True

I felt with the historical inauguration that is happening tomorrow, it would fitting to pay tribute to our past leaders of change. As I mention in my presentation on Leadership called "Will You Be Remembered?" You Can Either Excel At Making Things Happen or Making Excuses...Which One Will You Choose Today?

Watch The Video and Read Along, I think you owe it to yourself to be moved by this



I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

Countdown to Jan 20th

Do you want an amazing Black History Month Presentation for your students? Check our Arel's newest addition Will You Be Remembered?

Getting back into the swing of things

Will you stop putting that off already!?!


So, if you started reading my blog posts awhile back you might have noticed that it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. And it made me realize something about consistency and how we go about doing things in our lives.

I once heard that we actually don’t forget to do things, we don’t want to do them, and that’s why we forget.

I have something to admit, I don’t enjoy the writing process that much.
I LOVE speaking, just ask anyone who has ever seen me at one of my speaking engagements (done over 300 so far) that when I get into a groove I can talk for hours (and sometimes I do!). But when it comes to writing, I really don’t like to do it.

There is some kind of disconnect between my brain and my fingertips, I think the synapses in my brain can only reach to my lips, but not all the way down to my fingers, that’s what I’m hoping my chiropractor will help with, among many other things :)

But I find something to be very interesting, that once I get over the initial hurdle of writing, I actually really like it. I feel this tunnel vision come over me and I just start going… and keep going . It’s not always good, but at least I’m doing it.

Then I started thinking about other things in life that are similar to this. I don’t enjoy the act of working out too much, especially since I started doing the H.I.T workout . So I think about going to the gym and I wince, but once I’m in the gym, I feel like staying there forever. Just one more set, let me do just 10 more push ups etc.


So here’s my belief. Most things that we know we can do, but we don’t love to do seem a lot scarier in our minds than in actuality. The fear of going to your professor for help when you are falling behind is a lot less scary than the actual act of talking with him. The fear of asking out that special someone is a lot scarier than the actual act of asking.

So here’s what I want you to do. Think about that thing that you know you have been putting off because it seems like a HUGE daunting task. You know what I’m talking about. That thing that you have already started but is just sitting there unfinished waiting for your kind return. And promise to stop worrying about the anticipation and get it done.

But here’s the deal, if you really want to get back into the swing of things, tell a friend, you can even tell me (just send me a FB message and I’ll hold you accountable, for real, test me). Because there is absolutely nothing more important than accountability (The explanation of why accountability is the ONLY real way to get things done will be for next time, and trust me you will want to read this next post)

And please leave some comments below on your thoughts on the following statement, “we actually don’t forget to do things, we don’t want to do them, and that’s why we forget.”


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It's my life's purpose to make the lives of others better and more richer. That why I created The College Success Program, the most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in school. Help bring CSP to your school by Clicking Here

The Little Known Secret of the Successful

I heard of this amazing concept the other day and it has just stuck in my head since I’ve learned it so I wanted to share it with you.

So I heard this very interesting concept about what separates successful people from everyone else. Is it some magic skill or gift from birth? Nope. It actually is so simple you might not believe me. It’s called the “slight edge”.

What makes us successful is not the HUGE once in awhile things we do, but the little consistent things we do everyday. Think about it for a second, I want you to really think about this.

There is no one action you could do ONLY ONCE that would make you successful. But one small action done over and over again definitely can lead to success.

The real secret to continued success is to get in the habit of doing successful activities daily. And don’t make it big things. When we make it to big then it seems like a huge task/burden and we don’t do it.

Here’s a personal example. Awhile back I wanted to get back into great shape. And with my busy travel schedule, it’s really hard to hit the gym as consistently as I want. So I made a goal of every day doing just 10 pushups as soon as I woke up. No matter what, just 10 pushups so if I didn’t hit the gym that day at least I got something in. I mean that’s not hard to do right? Well with little extra effort I’m up to 100 pushups in the morning and to be honest with you it never really seemed hard to get to.

By just doing one simple thing everyday over time will give you the slight edge in success. To really understand the power of the slight edge, Jeff Olson broke the math down like this: If you were only to improve 3/10 of one percent a day, a very Slight Edge-and you kept that up for the next five years, here's what would happen to you:

The first year, you would improve 100 percent (you would already be twice what you are today The second, you would improve 200 percent. The third year, 400 percent. And the fourth, 800 percent. And by the end of year five-by simply improving 3/10 of one percent each day-you will have magnified your value, your skills, and the results you accomplished 1,600 percent. That's 22 times more than you are today.
So how does this apply to you? Think about what you want to obtain, in school, your professional life, relationships etc. And think about one so simple, so easy, so quick, that you wouldn’t even think it was a big deal but would move you toward some of your goals.

Some examples could be 1. Reading 10 pages of your textbook every day 2. Drinking 8 glasses of water 3. Write in your journal for 5 minutes. 4. Calling one person a day to say hi… it could be anything


My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students understand their life's biggest goals and how to obtain through the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college but most importantly find their purpose before graduating. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

This inspired me...

So I was watching the Democratic National Convention last night (two quick side notes, I have never really cared about politics until this election, I think this election really is bringing younger people into politics and two the picture quality of the online stream from was insanely crystal clear, I was really amazed).

Okay I’m back from my digression. I was watching the convention to hear Michelle Obama. I was really interested to know what she had to say and more about her. As she finished her speech, which was very very good, I youtubed Barack Obama’s 2004 Convention Keynote. That speech really inspired me.

What I took away from it and what I want to share with you is the idea of what greatness means for you. We all have goals and things we want to achieve, but are they great? Are they worthy of us? It’s real easy to get blinded by the daily tasks that we have to do and forget about the bigger picture. What are our lives really about? That purpose, that driving force in you that will make you get up when you are down. That will make you walk over broken glass and then swim in a pool of alcohol. That drive. That feeling that will make you move ferociously toward your goals.

What are you doing? What are you waiting for? What are you letting stop you? If a “skinny boy with a funny name” can go from absolutely nowhere to the next possible president, what can you achieve?

And here’s a little insight for you to sit and think about. Do you want to know why people fail in life? It’s not because they aim to high and miss, it’s because they aim too low and hit it! (take a second to think about that line again). Think and act big. However here is my one caveat. This is the point that most people miss. Celebrate the journey.

The problem with big goals is that, at points the journey there will be hard. And you will fail a lot, it’s normal. But if you don’t celebrate the journey, if you don’t acknowledge what you have achieved, your goal will beat you down because “you’re not there yet”. You’ll always focus on what you don’t have and what your missing instead of realizing what you’ve already accomplished.
Set big goals, think big, take action, celebrate the journey. That’s It. You’re Awesome

Your Action Step:
Acknowledge where you were last year today to where you are this year today. Notice what you are proud that you’ve done and what you need to work harder doing. Enjoy the journey

My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students understand their life's biggest goals and how to obtain through the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college but most importantly find their purpose before graduating. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

Completing a Life's Goal...

What is something you've ALWAYS wanted to do?

The plane takes off and starts creeping skyward a few hundred feet per minute. The higher I get the more everything below looks surreal. When we get to the point where cars can’t even be seen, I know that we are at the point of no return, and that’s when Juliano says, “5,000 feet, we still got 5,000 more to go” I’m thinking WTF, we are going higher than this!?!?!?! The plane gets to the highest point and reality is really starting to sink in when the plane door unexpectedly flies open and the wind is whipping into the plane like a screaming banshee and then the unthinkable happens…

Whoa whoa whoa, let me back up. I think I’m getting ahead of myself. Like you, there are things that I want to do in my life time to make sure I live life to the fullest. After following my own advice some time ago, I made a list of all things I want to Be, Do, and Have. Making that list was really exciting for me and what has been more exciting is being able to cross things off of the list (YES!)

I’ve always wanted to go skydiving, but really never thought I would actually do it. It was always one of those “Yeah, I should do that someday” However last time I checked someday is not a day of the week! The thrill of conquering the fear of falling. knowing that I looking potential death in the face has been on my list of things to do since I was a small boy (some people might think this to be crazy, be hey, what are you gonna do?). But actually when I would do it never really struck me.

At the beginning of the summer I was looking at my list and then the thought struck me, what am I waiting for? What is stopping me from doing this now? Well, where would I go, how much would it cost, could I get others to go with me? (Trust me, not something you want to do alone, it’s a group outing) Well with some help I was able to answer all of the above questions in about 1 hour. This again proves to me that the things we procrastinate on the most because they will take so long really aren’t that bad.

With all things lined up, I had my two best friends and my brother committing to jump out of a plane with me. Some of the best guys in my life right now. Is this really happening?

Fast forward to the door swinging open. My legs get sucked out of the airplane and get pressed up against the side of the plane. Without any 1-2-3 JUMP or anything, Juliano, my skydiving instructor, pushes me out of the plane and I commence to scream like Michael Jackson. After doing a few flips in the air I was able to orientate myself and feel the amazing rush and beauty of the world from a perspective I have never had before. There really is no way to explain the feeling of free falling at over 350 mph. It’s intense.

The whole time I was trying to think of the most profound life changing thoughts but all I could think or say was “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”
Then the parachute opens and I realize where I am, in mid air floating and drifting in the beautiful sky.

And that is when the epiphany hit me. Sometimes life isn’t about the planning or saying the right words or being perfect in action, life is just about committing and then making the jump. Sometimes things can’t be put into words because words are too limiting to express them fully. But when you feel it, you know it’s amazingly awesome. And I can rest assure knowing that I will never be one of those people who said “You know I always wanted to go sky diving”. By far regret is the heaviest weight to bear.

I’d like to challenge you to think of something that you’ve always wanted to do in your life and commit to doing it this year. And when, not if, but when you do it, just experience it and let it soak in.

Life really is beautiful.



My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students understand their life's biggest goals and how to obtain through the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college but most importantly find their purpose before graduating. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

You Can't Control the Outcomes, Just Your Behavior

So I don’t know about you but sometimes I can get frustrated in certain areas of my life when things don’t go “according to plan.” Can you think of a time when things didn’t turn out exactly how you expected? I’m sure you can think of many.
So what happens? You do something expecting a certain outcome and then BAM, not what you want, and then you get messed up. We all know we are suppose to “bounce back”, how does the old adage go, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again” right? But what is the truth?

When you don’t succeed it takes some wind out of your sails and you have to regroup. So what happens you start getting less and less productive and then you find yourself in the vicious cycle of feeling like you are not productive and becoming unhappy.

Here is the secret to overcoming that wind that gets taken out of your sails. You have to understand that you cannot control the outcome of anything; all you can control is your behavior. Before you say yeah, yeah, I know that, take a minute to really think about what this means, it could be the most important thing you do today toward your life… You cannot control the outcomes, you can just control your behaviors.

So what does that mean? Well let’s say you want to ask out that special someone. You can’t make them say yes. All you can control is asking. If you ever had to do sales, you can’t control whether your potential customer will buy your product/service. All you can control is how you present what you have.

When you focus just on the outcome, you get caught up, lose motivation and then when things don’t go your way you might say “Well, I guess I’m not just cut out for this” That’s bull doo-doo. You are awesome!

Okay now what? This is why this is so important. When we go through fixated on controlling the outcome we lose site of what we really have control over. Our behaviors. So the best way to move toward your success is to focus on what specific behaviors you have to do every day to help move you toward your goals. If you study any successful person, there’s a good chance they do certain things everyday that moves them toward their specific goals. They don’t succeed every time but they do these activities, whether it be exercising, making cold calls, studying. It has to be a commitment to yourself.

It’s much better to do a little everyday consistently then to do a lot once in awhile. The first thing to know is exactly WHAT you should be doing everyday and then do it. With my program, the College Success Program, we focus on exactly what makes a student successful and what steps they need to be taking daily to ensure victory in college. You have to figure out what is right for you.

Since it’s still the summer, how do you apply what you want to do when you don’t have a test to study for or paper to write?

Here’s your Action Step Assignment:
Think about the goal that you really want to achieve right now. What consistent steps can you take every day no matter what to reach those goals? For example, if you want to lose weight but hate working out, Commit to doing 20 pushups everyday and eating at least one carrot. That’s it. If you commit to doing those little steps, you will get in great shape and lose weight (the real key is that once it becomes a habit you want to do more…and even if you fall off the horse, you know you still did your daily commitment to yourself). So go ahead, think about what success step you need to take daily. Do it, and focus on your behavior not on the outcome. And of course WRITE IT DOWN in your calendar!

My company delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We help students find their purpose with the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People?

The Question: Why does bad things happen to good people?

This story might help shed some light on the answer.

So there once was this really rich king who lived a long time ago. He spent his entire life living a life a luxury. One day something horrible happened to him and he couldn't figure out what he had done to deserve it.

Needing answers, he went far and wide to find the wisest sage to discover the answer.

He came across a humble farmer who was known as the most brilliant man in the land. He told him about his tragedy and asked him the question "Why does bad things happen to good people? and all the man replied was, "Have you ever made bread before?"

Now the king was a little taken back by the question because 1. a king would never do such a menial thing as make bread and 2. it had absolutely nothing to do with the king's question... or so he thought

The farmer said, I will give you the answer you seek, but first to get the answer you must help me make some bread.

The king was willing to pay any price to find out the answer so he thought, if all I have to do is help him make bread, I'll gladly do that to find out such a meaningful answer.

(Mind you, the king has never done any type of farm work or any laborious work ever, so everything about farming was new to him.)

So this is what preceded to happen...
1. The farmer shows the king a beautiful field then thrashes it with a rake to aerate the soil.
The king freaks out, "What are you doing!?!?! that was a beautiful field why would you smash it up like that?"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

2. After the farmer is done beating up the soil, he then starts pouring water all over it.
The king yells, what are you doing!?!?! Now you are turning this great earth into a soggy mess!!!
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

3. Then the farmer takes out a beautiful burlap sack filled with perfect looking seeds. The king sees this and thinks it looks beautiful.
The farmer then takes many handfuls of the seed and throws them, scattering all of the seeds all over the land.
The kings says "WHOA! why would you just throw away all of that good seed? What's wrong with you?"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

Then a few weeks go by and the king gets nothing else out of the farmer and is just completely confused by why the farmer would do such horrible things to his land.
Then the farmer takes the king to the field so that he can see how beautiful the grain has grown. So the king thinks he finally gets it, he thinks to himself "Oh, so we did all of that crazy stuff to get this beautiful field of grain.

4. Just then the farmer takes out his sharp scythe and begins to cut down all of the crop that just took so long to grow.
The king is now convinced the farmer is completely nuts. The king says "Okay I thought I got it, but why cut down what took so long to grow?"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

5. Then the farmer bundled up all grain into nice piles and then began to run a course sled over the grain separating the top of the grain from the long stem.
The king says, "Wait, you put it all into nice piles just to separate them like that so roughly?"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

6. Then the farmer took his pitch fork and picked up the grass and threw it into the air. The long stems blew away and the grain fell. The king was perplexed, "So now you are throwing away all of that crop to keep just that little bit on the top?!?!!"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

7. Then the farmer took the grain and began grinding it down into a fine powder.
The king FLIPPED! "why crush the grain like that? it has taken us so long to cultivate it"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

8. Now the farmer begins to add water and other strange ingredients to make some weird mixture turning the grain into a doughy gross feeling thing. The king is disgusted and confused and before he can open his mouth to say anything the farmer says "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

9. Then the farmer takes this mixture and heads to throw it in the oven. The kings screams, "NOOO, you are going to destroy weeks worth of work by putting it in that fire!"
To which the farmer replied, "It's okay, just trust me, it's for the best"

Finally, the farmer opens the oven door to show the most delicious looking loaf of bread the king has ever laid eyes on and then says to the king.

"We go through life not truly understanding why things happen the way they do. Life seems to thrash us, break us down, smother us, and when we finally think we have figured it all out we get cut down, separated from ourselves, ground up, turned into mush then subjected to the fire. But we have to have faith that the Man in charge knows what He is doing. So when bad things happen, you may not know why at first, but in the end know that it is going to be okay and it is for the best"







My company Arel Moodie International (AMI) delivers the necessary principles of success to change the mindsets of how students approach school and their lives. We are proud to bring you the College Success Program
The most complete event existing today to help college students succeed in life and in college. Could one event completely change your life the better? Find out at www.arelmoodie.com