'What If?' Series #3 - George Foreman wins 'The Rumble in the Jungle'

I was not yet born when the classic battle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman took place in Zaire in 1974. But I happened to first catch the match on ESPN Classic many years ago. It was a bout that always intrigued me because many thought that Foreman had a chance to defeat "The Greatest." What I saw was a fight where Foreman tired himself out and eventually Ali was able to knock him out in the eighth round. But what if Foreman had executed a more solid strategy and overcame Ali?

While Foreman would go on to achieve a great name for himself in the world of boxing, it is interesting to think of what would have happened if he remained undefeated and successfully defended his world championship. He had come into the fight with wins of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. A win over Ali would have perhaps allowed him to remain undefeated for quite some time. And perhaps we would have even seen a rematch between Foreman and Ali. I believe Foreman losing the championship and never receiving a rematch from Ali took something away from him and stopped the awesome momentum he had before.

When Ali was defeated by Frazier in 1971, it was his first defeat. It was the same Frazier that Foreman dominated to become the heavyweight champion. Had Ali lost to Foreman, perhaps more people may be talking about Foreman today rather than Ali. I believe that win by Ali over Foreman established that he was still a major player in the boxing world. Had he been defeated, it is questionable whether he would have ever regained the heavyweight championship again. And perhaps, the "Thrilla in the Manila" may have never happened. That battle with Frazier in 1975 and the punishment that both men took was likely the beginning of the end of Ali's career.

While reflecting back on this bout, I find myself remembering just how big heavyweight boxing was during the 1970s. Today's heavyweight division is nowhere near that today as unless Floyd Mayweather is part of a card, not many other boxers are drawing the way guys like Ali, Foreman and Frazier did years ago. What do you think?

Loving sports history,

LandoRigs

Don't Underestimate Your Imprint

Yesterday while I was on Facebook, I took some time to reconnect with some friends that I had not spoken to in quite a while. It had nothing to do with what anybody did wrong, but was simply about life getting busier and busier and time just happening to go by. One of my friends I connected with was a former co-worker during my days as a journalist and it was that online conversation that made my day.

I am not a social butterfly in the sense that I am constantly around people and keeping up with everyone. I have my family and probably two to three friends that I keep in touch with on a consistent basis. It has nothing to do with any of my other friends but more to do with how funny I am. Even though I can get up in front of thousands of people and deliver a speech, I actually do not prefer to be within a crowd of a thousand people. I work much better in one-on-one situations or small groups. VERY small groups.

But my buddy who was my co-worker reminisced about the days we worked together and said that we were a "good team." I don't know why, and I am still trying to figure it out even as I type this entry, but this made my day. It made me feel so good that somebody has fond memories of something and I actually had the privilege of being a part of that. It meant so much to me to hear that from him and it made me realize the imprints that we leave in life regardless of whether we are aware of it or not. We are creating memories with people each and every day. The people who come in contact with us are going to remember us even if we think that they won't.

This realization also brings with it a challenge. Is the imprint that we are leaving on others one that allows them to think of us with fondness or one that leads them to think of us with disdain? The choice is ours because we have the ability to decide what type of imprint we leave behind. The imprint that leads to fond memories can impact lives in a significant way. Something for us to think about.

Reflecting in pajamas,

LandoRigs

Take Time to Be Thankful

It's been almost a full week since I've been online to post anything on here. And that's the beauty of being able to have your own blog that is based on your own vision and your own direction. You write when you feel it is time to write, but if you don't have anything, that's okay too.

Today, I just want to remind everyone, including myself, to find things to be thankful for on a daily basis. It can start with just being alive, having food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to drive to our destinations, good health if we have it, etc. Sometimes, we can allow our bad circumstances to become so influential in our lives that we forget all the good things. It's always important to remember those good things. I never really fully appreciated how important that was until I was diagnosed with my kidney disease.

It may seem like I bring up my kidney disease a lot on the blog, but it really was a life changing event for me. Being in the position that I was in, when I was in that hospital back in March 2012, I had no choice but to be thankful of all the good things and good people in my life. God has been more than good to me in my 35 years on this planet and that goodness extends even to this very moment. This thankfulness plays a key role in why I can still have happiness and joy even with my condition and many other challenges that have been in my life in the past two years.

Don't wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful for something. I know that it can be hard at times when you're going through a rough season in your life to think outside of your circumstances. But it can certainly help ease the burden. I also know that when we are going through things, it seems like we have it the worst because we are the ones who directly feel it. But I can guarantee you that there are probably others out there that have it worse than we do. In no way am I belittling our trials, but if you can put food in your mouth, you have something to be thankful for. In America, we're so used to being consumers that can never get enough to the point where we're constantly thinking about what we don't have versus what we do have. For some of us, we need to change our way of thinking.

The older I get, the more I am appreciative of everything in my life. I am appreciative of everything that God has done in my life and for always be there with me through good and bad. I am appreciative of my parents for the great things that they taught me while I was growing up. I am so thankful for my father, who I lived with all the way to the age of 30 till I got married. I am thankful for my brothers, who are truly my brothers in practice, not just by blood. I am thankful for my wife, who has gone through the toughest challenges in my life right along with me and still greets me with a smile every morning. I am thankful for my stepdaughter, who is so special and precious. I am thankful for all the people I've ever worked for and worked with. I'm thankful for the opportunities I've been given and for all the friends I've made along the way. And I am certainly thankful for all my friends, who have blessed me far beyond anything I could do to bless them. Now, that's just the people in my life that I'm thankful for and not even getting into all the good things I've been blessed with.

So take some time and reflect on all the good people and things you have in your life. Do this on a regular basis. This is what makes our lives so rich and puts a smile on our faces. I guarantee it will improve your life.

Thankful for you all,

LandoRigs

Laughing Out Loud #2

I came across this video on Facebook the other day and if you remember the older trilogy of Star Wars and were a fan of the movies, you will get why this is absolutely hilarious! Enjoy!

Laugh this weekend,

LandoRigs

Wisdom Comes From Many Places

There is a strong truth in the fact that as we live life, we will certainly learn many things along the way. We live in a society where getting older is frowned upon and youth is what is more desirable. But in my studies of ancient cultures and many cultures today, it is actually age that is of greater value because the idea is that age produces wisdom. And while we certainly can learn much from older people, what I propose is that we should be able to learn from anyone.

I truly believe that we can obtain wisdom from virtually anyone. Whether younger or older, male or female, wealthy or non-wealthy, educated or non-educated, Christian or non-Christian, parent or child, etc. The question is do we allow ourselves to be open to the wealth of wisdom that exists in the world? How many of us cut off a lot of our access to wisdom because of a person's age, gender, religious affiliation, lifestyle, political views or a host of others things we allow to get in the way? How many older people would be blessed to receive some of the wisdom that many of our youth have been gifted with and vice versa? How many Republicans might gain a better perspective of our society if they took the time to consider some of the things Democrats are proposing and vice versa?

In my opinion, to be a great learner in this world, it takes the ability to be humble and to listen. Humility strips down our pride and allows us to be in a place where we don't know everything and we still have a capacity to learn. Learning to listen allows us to engage in dialogue, which promotes the best way of learning, rather than people simply trying to dominate conversations by being the one to speak the longest. I admit that it is hard for me to be humble in this way because by nature I don't like being told what to do or made to feel like I don't know what's best. But when I take a deep breath and am willing to listen, I gain incredible insights that I've never considered and even if I don't ultimately agree with what the person is saying, I still know I've gained much more understanding as a result of such a conversation. It's made a significantly positive difference in my life to be humble and to listen.

If you believe that because you place someone in a certain classification that they have no wisdom to offer, I ask that you reconsider your perspective. I can't tell you how many times I've seen older people completely dismissed younger people because of the notion that younger people are too young to know anything. And while older people have an advantage in terms of how long they've been alive, they can sometimes lack even more maturity than a younger person. Older people certainly can be a wealth of information but sometimes forget that younger people can have a knowledge that even they don't have because while older people see it, younger people are living it. How beautiful it is when the generations can come together! I have a friend whose mother owns her own business. When my friend grew up, he decided to become an entrepreneur himself. Though his mother raised him and was a great example to him as a entrepreneur, my friend has achieved so much that now his mother comes to him for advice. It can be a beautiful thing when we are open to wisdom not based on race, gender, religion, age, lifestyle, etc.

Now does this mean I am proposing that we simply accept everything and be open to everything? No. But what I do believe is that we shouldn't limit ourselves in the gaining of wisdom. While a Christian and Muslim are not going to agree on God and Jesus, perhaps a Christian can learn a great lesson from a Muslim, when he sees how lovingly the Muslim interacts with his family. Perhaps the Muslim can learn a great lesson in generosity from seeing how the Christian shares his earnings. Neither have to change their beliefs but they have hearts that are open to gaining wisdom that will better their lives.

I can remember when I was a substitute teacher in my early 20s and at one point, I went through a phase where I wore an earring in my left ear. One day while I was working on a high school campus, a girl came up to me and asked me point blank, "Why are you wearing that earring? I don't think it looks good on you." I remember going home that day with that still ringing in my head and it made me stop and think why I had this earring in my ear. As I thought about the silly reasoning behind the earring, at once I removed the earring from my ear and never looked back. Now had I looked at the girl is being young and knowing nothing, would I have gone home and reflected that day. Probably not. I was able to learn something from my encounter with her that day and it was during a time when a great change was taking place in my life.

So remember, don't disqualify the opportunity for wisdom because of the person who is sharing it with you. Instead, be humble enough to take what they are saying or showing you and see if it can better your life. We will know whether it is good or not. But if we have the attitude that "this type of person" can't teach us anything, we're going to miss out on a whole lot.

Something to think about,

LandoRigs

'What If?' Series #2 - The Lakers defeat the Bulls in 1991

The 1990-91 NBA season was seen as the year when former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan finally emerged as the new leader in the pro basketball world. Before the end of this season, the NBA had been ruled by former Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird. Between the two players, they won 8 NBA championships (Johnson 5, Bird 3) from 1980-1988. They also, along with Julius Erving, spearheaded an entirely new awareness of the NBA that brought the game to levels of popularity it had never seen. Going into the 1990-91 season, Jordan was starting to be recognized as one of the NBA's elite players but didn't have a championship to go with his growing resume.

In what was a fitting NBA Finals matchup for that season, the Bulls took on the Lakers in the NBA Finals. After losing the first came to L.A., Chicago came back and took four straight to win its first NBA championship.

But what if instead of Jordan and the Bulls making history, the Lakers found a way to outlast the Bulls and win it all? Would it have changed the entire landscape of what we knew as NBA basketball in the 1990s? The answer is no.

If the Bulls would have been defeated by the Lakers, knowing Jordan's competitive nature, he would have come back stronger and more focused than ever in the 1991-92 season. So the 1992 and 1993 championships still would have went to Chicago. But here is where it gets different. If Jordan only won back-to-back championships instead of the three-peat we all know from 1991-93, would he have left to play baseball? In my opinion, I don't believe he would. He would have looked to three-peat in 1994, which means that Chicago would have likely crossed paths with the Houston Rockets in the NBA Finals. These two teams might have even played each other for the championship in both 1994 and 1995.

Where things could be more different is that after winning three or four championships in a row, perhaps Jordan would have taken a break from the game in 1996 or 1997. Or he might have stayed to see if he could close out the decade with seven or eight titles.

Whatever the case may be, Jordan would not have denied championship glory even if he lost in 1991. He was too good and he had too talented of a team for that to happen. What are your thoughts?

Reminiscing is fun,

LandoRigs

Missing the Point of the Heart of Christianity

I happened to come across an article today on "Christian" broadcaster Rick Wiles where he is quoted as saying this:

“It may be the great attitude adjustment that I believe is coming,” Wiles continued. “Ebola could solve America’s problems with atheism, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, pornography, and abortion.”

There are a lot of problems with this statement. I don't think there is enough blog space to even tackle everything but I will hit on a few points at least. First, what he is saying is totally against the character of Christianity and its founder, Jesus. The Lord came to save the lost and we believers who share the gospel do so in order to for people to turn their lives around from their sins. What we, who are Christians, also have to remember is that before we were converted, we were also sinners, meaning that we were once in the exact same as the people we are sharing the gospel with. This should create a natural humility among believers, whose hearts are to see people experience the very same salvation that we have. We shouldn't want people to die lost in their sins because neither does God.

Mr. Wiles is looking at Ebola as a possible cure to the problems that he sees with America. How does that reflect the character of Jesus? And as a Christian, shouldn't he view Jesus is the answer to what is going on in America? Frankly, I'm also offended that he would spotlight homosexuality, atheism, sexual promiscuity, pornography and abortion as if those are the only issues going on in this country. What about pride, greed, oppression, selfishness and so many other destructive things that are going on as well? In my estimation, there have been "Christians" who have done just as much damage to our society as anyone else has done in their greed, deception and selfishness. Yet those same people want to point the finger at others. Christian hypocrisy has done a great deal of damage and guys like Mr. Wiles only further damage the name of Christ with things like this.

Within the heart of all Christians should be the desire to see people in sin be freed of their sin. Because we were once in sin, we also should have a special sensitivity for those who still struggle with it. As Christians, we also believe there will come a day when God will set everything in order and the earth will once again become a paradise it was intended to be from the beginning. But that is for God to worry about. As His representatives on this earth now, we are to shine His light, spread His love and teach people His truth. All of this is to be done in love and humility.

Many Christians mistakenly mix their patriotism with their faith and the result is that they start acting as if America is God's kingdom. It isn't. Our Lord already has a kingdom and He invites us to become a part of it. This kingdom isn't favorable to America and it doesn't belong to man. It is for God and it belongs to Jesus. No matter what Christian background or Christian influence exist here, America is a worldly country just like all the others. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. I believe all of us who are believers would do well to remember this.

So be careful of having the attitude of Mr. Wiles. It is not in harmony with who Jesus is and what He represents. Because of it, he is missing the very heart of Christianity.

Loving the sunny days,

LandoRigs