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Over the last ten years there has been an incredible increase in people participating in baseball fantasy leagues, and fantasy sports in general. There is really only one rule for those involved, and that is they must have a real and ongoing interest and appreciation of the game of baseball. Starting your own fantasy league is easy follow the simple steps below and you will quickly have a league you can enjoy throughout the season.

Fantasy League Step #1 Get your teams together The first step to creating a baseball fantasy league is getting your teams together. You need to find between 8 and 12 friends to participate and create their own team. Why 8-12 teams? This is the range of numbers that will give you a competitive league, which you will need for it to be as enjoyable as possible.

Fantasy League Step #2 ‘The Commish’ Just like Major League Baseball, someone needs to be in charge. Elect a responsible and committed Commissioner to manage the statistics weekly, and is someone who has the opportunity and resources to distribute them to every player in the fantasy league.

Fantasy League Step #3 One League or Two? One of the oldest questions in baseball do we need both the American and National Leagues? Your group will need to decide whether to play with the traditional favourites, or establish a single league.

Fantasy League Step #4 Player draft or auction Teams need players, and the group will need to decide the best way to individually acquire players. Both draft and auction methods work, but whichever method you choose, stay with it throughout the season.

Fantasy League Step #5 Rules You can’t escape rules, even in a fantasy league. Accumulation of points and recording statistics need to be done consistently and to a standard. Agree the rules, and ensure all teams are aware of the compliance requirements, and what happens when they don’t follow them!

Fantasy League #6 Enjoy yourself Americans in their millions play fantasy league baseball to win money, trophies or simply for the sake of it. No matter what your reason, make sure the final prize is agreed by all as this gives you every player the best chance of enjoying themselves.

About the Author

Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.baseballcenter.info a website specialized on Baseball, resources and articles. This site provides updated information on Baseball. For more info visit his site: Baseball

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Baseball In January? I must be loco. ? Here it is January 2. What am I thinking about? Baseball, and specifically my glove.

Hey, I used to do that when I was a kid. That’s one habit I cannot seem to break. I have not tried very hard to snap that habit. ? I can see my glove in my minds eye in the garage on top of a heap of my daughter’s softball gear. Her glove, her batting gloves, and some softballs are all in the milk crate in my garage. ? I remember as a kid I would always find time to think baseball in January. I would find my glove to make sure that it still has the fit I liked. Hey I had not played in three months. Maybe the glove some how got disfigured by the by by well whatever. I had to do some oiling of my glove. Hey I had to take care of the mitt. I had to get back into the swing of things. And the swing of things meant baseball.?

I had to go and find my bat. Did it still feel right to me? I think I will take a few practice swings. Nice and easy. As I checked out my wrists I started getting a warm glow. How many days ’till the season starts? I can’t wait. ? Now it was time to pick up the baseball. Get that grip in my hand. Get the feel. I would take a few slow motion tosses without throwing the ball. Just limbering up the arm a bit. This is when I used to think I was a pitcher and make believe I was throwing one to Yogi or Elston Howard. ?This felt great. I would never throw the ball. I was inside the house.

Except for this one time when I was going through my motions. It wasn’t so bad. I learned how to plaster a wall that winter.

About the Author

Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 45 years. You will love his honesty and his passion.. You will be touched by the heartwarming stories. The unusual statistics will amaze you and the quotes will make you laugh…

Go here right now to join his ezine http://www.baseballsprideandjoy.com/index.php?tag=goart

Contact Aron - The Baseball Networking Guy at aron@baseballsprideandjoy.com

How about an MVP commemorative baseball gift for a keepsake? Or a Stay Cool Sports Towel? What about a Louisville Tpx Youth Equipment Bag? Or for the enthusiastic amateur consider an instructional video such as A Parent’s Guide to Baseball? There are also instructional baseball videos for the fan who hopes to hit like a baseball pro, the instructional video: Hit like a Pro.

What is the one common element that ties all these desirable objects together? They can be thoughtful and fun baseball gifts to give to the people in your life who love baseball.

How does one pick what baseball gifts to award the men in your life? For there will be many occasions from birthdays to just simple I miss you tokens, where baseball gifts can show you care.

First, you will have to watch at least one baseball game with your beloved. I know, he would be flattered that you are taking time to find out what sports he enjoys. So aside from building even more trust and love, it would be a sacrifice. But doing this would provide you a most valuable insight into what baseball gift would make him crow.

Take note of the baseball team he is cheering the loudest for and you will be able to find team insignia to give as a baseball gift.

Watch the baseball commercials attentively for clues. You will see possibilities as to the baseball gift best suited for your baseball fanatic.

You could gift him the team insignia towel as the baseball gift or a pair of sunglasses to wear during the baseball games in the stadium. Your thoughtfully planned baseball gift tells your man that you do think about him. Your baseball gift tells him you know he is special and it shows!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Does your business struggle with profitable online
marketing? If so, you are not alone. Attracting the right
customers to a site and keeping them coming back - while
also turning a profit - can be a challenge. Consequently,
I’m always on the lookout for ways to demonstrate profitable
online strategies.

Last night, as I watched the Baseball All Star Home Run
Derby and visited Major League Baseball’s Web site, it
struck me. The league is doing many things to effectively
find and attract targeted Web customers, while
simultaneously generating revenue.

In fact, I noticed numerous lessons from Major League
Baseball you can consider to profitably target your own
customers. Here are six of them:

Think Through Your Business Models

Free information and activities are present, but well
thought out, revenue generating business models are also
evident.

Lesson 1: Make your profit generators stand out.

MLB.com has a separate, prominent navigation menu for profit
producing activities - MLB Shop, Tickets, Auctions,
Subscriptions - which appears in the upper right on all
pages, where potential paying customers cannot miss it.

Importantly, each corresponding area of the site is narrowly
focused on the visitors’ interests. For example, the shop
sells baseball - and only baseball - items. This is readily
apparent from the slogan “For all things baseball”.

Lesson 2: Sell subscriptions.

The league generates revenue from a variety of event
subscriptions - live video broadcasts, live audio
broadcasts, archived clips, and fantasy games. This also
help open the door for repeat purchases and add-ons.

Lesson 3: Include advertisements.

Pop-ups and other online advertising are a fact of life on
free-to-user sites. Major League Baseball demonstrates taste
and intelligent implementation with their pop-under,
limiting each visitor to a single impression. Banner
advertisements and sponsorships are also apparent.

Develop Profit Pulling Marketing Techniques

Lesson 4: Segment your visitors.

The league uses a “hub and spoke” system, which allows
visitors to choose their own interests. There is one general
site (MLB.com), with links to several specialty sites
(stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com, etc.).

This portal approach helps segment visitors into specific
interest groups. It is a win-win strategy. Visitors find
what they are looking for and the league can more easily
target its marketing activities.

Lesson 5: Target locally.

Each “spoke” off the MLB hub contains local content, which
segments visitors regionally. The league targets products
and services accordingly.

For example, the Cardinals team site includes detailed
information for Cardinals baseball events, ticket purchasing
for Busch stadium games, and auctions for St. Louis related
baseball memorabilia.

Lesson 6: Offer tiered products.

MLB offers subscription services at many levels. By
packaging fantasy games into progressively larger bundles,
they encourage trial as well as repeat visits. The offering
also target customers according to interest level and
budget.

There you have it - five lessons in profitable target
marketing from Major League Baseball.

Copyright 2003 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.
marketing? If so, you are not alone. Attracting the right
customers to a site and keeping them coming back - while
also turning a profit - can be a challenge. Consequently,
I’m always on the lookout for ways to demonstrate profitable
online strategies.

Last night, as I watched the Baseball All Star Home Run
Derby and visited Major League Baseball’s Web site, it
struck me. The league is doing many things to effectively
find and attract targeted Web customers, while
simultaneously generating revenue.

In fact, I noticed numerous lessons from Major League
Baseball you can consider to profitably target your own
customers. Here are six of them:

Think Through Your Business Models

Free information and activities are present, but well
thought out, revenue generating business models are also
evident.

Lesson 1: Make your profit generators stand out.

MLB.com has a separate, prominent navigation menu for profit
producing activities - MLB Shop, Tickets, Auctions,
Subscriptions - which appears in the upper right on all
pages, where potential paying customers cannot miss it.

Importantly, each corresponding area of the site is narrowly
focused on the visitors’ interests. For example, the shop
sells baseball - and only baseball - items. This is readily
apparent from the slogan “For all things baseball”.

Lesson 2: Sell subscriptions.

The league generates revenue from a variety of event
subscriptions - live video broadcasts, live audio
broadcasts, archived clips, and fantasy games. This also
help open the door for repeat purchases and add-ons.

Lesson 3: Include advertisements.

Pop-ups and other online advertising are a fact of life on
free-to-user sites. Major League Baseball demonstrates taste
and intelligent implementation with their pop-under,
limiting each visitor to a single impression. Banner
advertisements and sponsorships are also apparent.

Develop Profit Pulling Marketing Techniques

Lesson 4: Segment your visitors.

The league uses a “hub and spoke” system, which allows
visitors to choose their own interests. There is one general
site (MLB.com), with links to several specialty sites
(stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com, etc.).

This portal approach helps segment visitors into specific
interest groups. It is a win-win strategy. Visitors find
what they are looking for and the league can more easily
target its marketing activities.

Lesson 5: Target locally.

Each “spoke” off the MLB hub contains local content, which
segments visitors regionally. The league targets products
and services accordingly.

For example, the Cardinals team site includes detailed
information for Cardinals baseball events, ticket purchasing
for Busch stadium games, and auctions for St. Louis related
baseball memorabilia.

Lesson 6: Offer tiered products.

MLB offers subscription services at many levels. By
packaging fantasy games into progressively larger bundles,
they encourage trial as well as repeat visits. The offering
also target customers according to interest level and
budget.

There you have it - five lessons in profitable target
marketing from Major League Baseball.

Copyright 2003 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Aluminum baseball bats are Usually preferred to wooden bats due to their light weight and high power (note: pro players are allowed to use wood bats only). Lighter bats are usually preferable to heavier bats as they allow the hitter to create sufficient speed to put some “oomph” into it (although there are restrictions about bat weights at most levels). Additionally, aluminum bats can supply more “pop” of the baseball off the bat, and are much more stable (therefore cost effective) than wooden bats. Bats today are becoming increasingly high tech and costly

College baseball bats are more high-tech than the bats that the pros use. The pros, you see, are behind the times with their baseball bats. Their wood relics have been out of style for years. Wood makes for baseball bats that are heavier, less long lasting, and less functional than their counterparts made from aluminum.

Today’s best baseball bats are to be found in the college ranks. They’re made of military grade aluminum provided by corporations like Alcoa and Kaiser. And these companies keep working on this aircraft aluminum to make it stronger, thinner, lighter, and more stable.

These aluminum alloys go by their corporate trade names or numbers, and customarily by brand names too. You can sometimes find that the same trade name is marketed by different bat makers by unlike brand names.

If you want to see if your college baseball bats are made from one of these advanced alloys, simply look at the bat. Customarily, manufacturers are so proud of the fact that they’ll advertise it in big bold letters on the bat. Then again, if you’re bat is -11 or lighter, it is required by law not to state what kind of alloy is used in its assembly. In any case, these lighter bats probably do not contain the stronger newer alloys. To make weight, the producer possibly used a lighter alloy for the thinner walls of the bat.

If you want to be able to know accurately what is in your college baseball bats, look for the grade number on them. For instance, a grade number of 7046 means that the bat is fabricated with standard aircraft aluminum, a material fit for many budget bats.

The grade 7050 means the aluminum alloy contains an amount of copper, which makes it one-third stronger than 7046. Other numbers and grades, of course, designate other alloy blends and dissimilar strengths.

Baseball bats are measured using their length to weight ratio, a negative number that represents how many ounces a bat weighs compared to it’s length in inches. For example, a 32 inch bat that weighs 28 ounces is a - 4. The largest ratio is in the range of -12 (for little league bats), while college and high school bats are restricted to a - 3. These restrictions are for safety reasons - a college or high school player swinging a very light bat (- 4 +) would simply have too much power and could pose a danger to other players on the field. Make sure to check the regulations of your league before buying a baseball bat!

About the Author

William Smith lives in Florida with his wife and three cats. William writes frequently on many subjects that may be of interest to all. Discover all the joys and secrets of baseball at Baseball’s Holy Grail

Does your business struggle with profitable online marketing? If so, you are not alone. Attracting the right customers to a site and keeping them coming back - while also turning a profit - can be a challenge. Consequently, I’m always on the lookout for ways to demonstrate profitable online strategies.

Last night, as I watched the Baseball All Star Home Run Derby and visited Major League Baseball’s Web site, it struck me. The league is doing many things to effectively find and attract targeted Web customers, while simultaneously generating revenue.

In fact, I noticed numerous lessons from Major League Baseball you can consider to profitably target your own customers. Here are six of them:

Think Through Your Business Models

Free information and activities are present, but well thought out, revenue generating business models are also evident.

Lesson 1: Make your profit generators stand out.

MLB.com has a separate, prominent navigation menu for profit producing activities - MLB Shop, Tickets, Auctions, Subscriptions - which appears in the upper right on all pages, where potential paying customers cannot miss it.

Importantly, each corresponding area of the site is narrowly focused on the visitors’ interests. For example, the shop sells baseball - and only baseball - items. This is readily apparent from the slogan “For all things baseball”.

Lesson 2: Sell subscriptions.

The league generates revenue from a variety of event subscriptions - live video broadcasts, live audio broadcasts, archived clips, and fantasy games. This also help open the door for repeat purchases and add-ons.

Lesson 3: Include advertisements.

Pop-ups and other online advertising are a fact of life on free-to-user sites. Major League Baseball demonstrates taste and intelligent implementation with their pop-under, limiting each visitor to a single impression. Banner advertisements and sponsorships are also apparent.

Develop Profit Pulling Marketing Techniques

Lesson 4: Segment your visitors.

The league uses a “hub and spoke” system, which allows visitors to choose their own interests. There is one general site (MLB.com), with links to several specialty sites (stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com, etc.).

This portal approach helps segment visitors into specific interest groups. It is a win-win strategy. Visitors find what they are looking for and the league can more easily target its marketing activities.

Lesson 5: Target locally.

Each “spoke” off the MLB hub contains local content, which segments visitors regionally. The league targets products and services accordingly.

For example, the Cardinals team site includes detailed information for Cardinals baseball events, ticket purchasing for Busch stadium games, and auctions for St. Louis related baseball memorabilia.

Lesson 6: Offer tiered products.

MLB offers subscription services at many levels. By packaging fantasy games into progressively larger bundles, they encourage trial as well as repeat visits. The offering also target customers according to interest level and budget.

There you have it - five lessons in profitable target marketing from Major League Baseball.

Copyright 2003 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, MBA, and online marketing research in her writing.

Her book shows how to better find, target, and attract Web customers. Read about it here: http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/bookinfo.htm

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Back in the day …

I used to deal in baseball cards, and some memorabilia in the mid to late 1980’s. Through an old client I had the opportunity to sell a very rare piece of baseball lore. The piece that I was fondest of was a rare document signed by Harry Wright. A founding father of the game. The document was a contract of some player that was signed by Harry Wright, the manager, circa 1870. It was written on Cincinnati Red Stocking’s letterhead.

I was impressed. I was so excited to be entrusted with this rare artifact. I remember saying to myself. “Oh my god. You have got to be kidding.” I was astonished. I was in awe. I felt like I was let into a special group.

I sold the piece in the range of $10,000 - $12,000 if memory serves me. But selling the piece did not compare to the dreams I had about the contract.

Imagine, what it must have been like 130 years ago on the ball field. The baggy uniforms, and the teeny gloves for the players. The pitchers, hurling both games of a double header was common practice and a home run was a rarity. Boy has the game changed.

Handling that document made the early times of baseball real for me. I visualized those men playing in those old ballparks. I felt like I was part of that time. I was having a dream. I was there, back in the late 1800’s sitting in the stands. Smiling and watching baseball - Back in the day.

Handling this artifact was like punching a time clock and never punching out. I was in baseball memorabiliaville.

I can see why some people are so zealous about baseball memorabilia. Their baseball fantasy made a lot more sense to me after I sold this Harry Wright piece.

About the Author

Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 45 years. You will love his honesty and his passion.. You will be touched by the heartwarming stories. The unusual statistics will amaze you and the quotes will make you laugh..

Go here right now to join his ezine http://www.baseballsprideandjoy.com

There is evidence to suggest that in terms of baseball history, people played games that involved a stick and a ball, right back to the early days of civilization. Ancient cultures in Persia, Egypt, and Greece played ball and stick games for recreation and as part of special ceremonies where celebrations were rituals. Ball and stick games of this type spread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and became even popular as different varieties took hold. Europeans brought ball and stick games to the American colonies as early as the 1600s. Until the late 1700s, however, they were widely considered children?s games.

By the early 1800s, a variety of ball and stick games had also become popular in North America. Many people in northeastern cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia played cricket, but rounders also began to take hold. Rounders most closely resembled modern baseball as we know it now.

This early version of baseball history then known as rounders, required a batter to strike a ball and run around bases without being caught out. Balls that were caught on the fly, or in some cases after one bounce, were commonly known as outs.

Varieties of rounders also involved the practice of plugging, soaking, or stinging the batter. This was where fielders could put runners out by throwing the ball at them as they ran between the bases. People used various names to describe it rounders depending on what part of the country you were in. It was also known as town ball, one o? cat, and base ball (hence the now shortened version we know as baseball).

Americans began playing baseball in informal competitions in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, was being described as America’s “national pastime.” In 1845 Alexander Cartwright and the members of the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball. The first game was held at the Elysian Fields, in New Jersey.

In 1858, the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league with tournaments and competitions between clubs was formed and in 1876 the first major league, the National League, was formed. This allowed states to play against other states. State teams were fed players from local leagues where the cream of the crop was selected to play for the states League team. Baseball is know one of the most popular sports in the country.

About the Author: Come and avail of your free baseball equipment from our promotional site. Check out our current baseball offers

Does your business struggle with profitable online marketing? If so, you are not alone. Attracting the right customers to a site and keeping them coming back - while also turning a profit - can be a challenge. Consequently, I’m always on the lookout for ways to demonstrate profitable online strategies.

Last night, as I watched the Baseball All Star Home Run Derby and visited Major League Baseball’s Web site, it struck me. The league is doing many things to effectively find and attract targeted Web customers, while simultaneously generating revenue.

In fact, I noticed numerous lessons from Major League Baseball you can consider to profitably target your own customers. Here are six of them:

Think Through Your Business Models

Free information and activities are present, but well thought out, revenue generating business models are also evident.

Lesson 1: Make your profit generators stand out.

MLB.com has a separate, prominent navigation menu for profit producing activities - MLB Shop, Tickets, Auctions, Subscriptions - which appears in the upper right on all pages, where potential paying customers cannot miss it.

Importantly, each corresponding area of the site is narrowly focused on the visitors’ interests. For example, the shop sells baseball - and only baseball - items. This is readily apparent from the slogan “For all things baseball”.

Lesson 2: Sell subscriptions.

The league generates revenue from a variety of event subscriptions - live video broadcasts, live audio broadcasts, archived clips, and fantasy games. This also help open the door for repeat purchases and add-ons.

Lesson 3: Include advertisements.

Pop-ups and other online advertising are a fact of life on free-to-user sites. Major League Baseball demonstrates taste and intelligent implementation with their pop-under, limiting each visitor to a single impression. Banner advertisements and sponsorships are also apparent.

Develop Profit Pulling Marketing Techniques

Lesson 4: Segment your visitors.

The league uses a “hub and spoke” system, which allows visitors to choose their own interests. There is one general site (MLB.com), with links to several specialty sites (stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com, etc.).

This portal approach helps segment visitors into specific interest groups. It is a win-win strategy. Visitors find what they are looking for and the league can more easily target its marketing activities.

Lesson 5: Target locally.

Each “spoke” off the MLB hub contains local content, which segments visitors regionally. The league targets products and services accordingly.

For example, the Cardinals team site includes detailed information for Cardinals baseball events, ticket purchasing for Busch stadium games, and auctions for St. Louis related baseball memorabilia.

Lesson 6: Offer tiered products.

MLB offers subscription services at many levels. By packaging fantasy games into progressively larger bundles, they encourage trial as well as repeat visits. The offering also target customers according to interest level and budget.

There you have it - five lessons in profitable target marketing from Major League Baseball.

Copyright 2003 Bobette Kyle. All rights reserved.

Bobette Kyle draws upon 10+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, MBA, and online marketing research in her writing.

Her book shows how to better find, target, and attract Web customers. Read about it here: http://WebSiteMarketingPlan.com/bookinfo.htm

The Art of Baseball: Having Faith in Yourself
by Kathy Simcox

It all started with the click of a mouse button and a credit card number. The next thing I knew I was sitting in a Broadway theatre in mid-town Manhattan watching my first play and having the time of my life. As my eyes feasted on this spectacle, I wondered to myself, how could I do that, too?

Now, as I stand on an empty stage in my own hometown some three years later, anticipating the weeks closing performance, I cant help but smile. In my minds eye I can still see that frightened young woman driving white-knuckled and wide-eyed as her car carried her on a new adventure. During the trip I kept asking myself, why am I doing this? What purpose could traveling alone, 600 miles to a city of millions of people possibly mean in the grand poobah of the universe? Has my mind finally left the world of the sane? What will I find? Let me tell you what I found.

I discovered my heart was a treasure chest overflowing with dreams, dreams I never even knew were there. I found possibilities impatiently aching to be realized; they seemed to be shouting, Its about time you finally showed up. Now let us out of here! My state of mind before the trip would have pushed away those dreams, forever ignored by fear. Now, after this wonderful adventure, I found myself straining to hear more of those voices, pushing me toward new adventures and new dreams. No longer would my mind dwell on the voices of fear. Instead, in would ponder those voices of possibilities and attack them with a clear mind.

In this realm lies the beauty of art. It can be any style of art. Art, to me, is simply creating the expression of ones soul and sharing that expression with the world. You dont have to be a tremendously talented person to express yourself successfully. To be truly successful at something, I believe one has to be at least willing to try, regardless of the outcome. A failure is not one who sees possibilities, grabs them, does his/her best with them and doesnt reach the desired outcome. Indeed, a failure is someone who sees the possibilities, even recognizes hidden opportunities, but does nothing with them because of fear. Fear paralyzes the mind and eventually will conquer the heart. The desire, even the ability to open oneself to the beauty of art, to self-express, will be forgotten.

Think of it this way: Picture yourself at a baseball game. You are the pitcher for the winning team, and the opposing team is up to bat. Its the bottom of the ninth, your team is ahead three runs and there are three opponents on base, just itching to score. They represent Guilt, Regret, and Anger. The next batter steps to the plate: he represents Fear. The ball you are about to throw represents every Dream in your heart. First the wind-up, then the pitch. Fear connects with your dreams with an earth-shattering crack, and you are left standing, completely helpless, as you watch the ball, your dreams, soar over the fence, never to be realized. Fear and his friends run all the way around the bases. As you watch the last man, Fear, touch home plate, you realize your time has run out, and you and your dreams have lost the battle. You will never have a chance to play this game again.

Following your heart means following your dreams, putting every ounce of God-given strength and faith into something unseen to the naked eye, something that may even seem foolish to those without the faith to try, foolish to those with fear. But when the eyes of the soul look past the fear and gaze upon faith, dreams really can come true. Open your heart to the artist within and the expression of the soul will follow. Then you will truly score.
by Kathy Simcox

It all started with the click of a mouse button and a credit card number. The next thing I knew I was sitting in a Broadway theatre in mid-town Manhattan watching my first play and having the time of my life. As my eyes feasted on this spectacle, I wondered to myself, how could I do that, too?

Now, as I stand on an empty stage in my own hometown some three years later, anticipating the weeks closing performance, I cant help but smile. In my minds eye I can still see that frightened young woman driving white-knuckled and wide-eyed as her car carried her on a new adventure. During the trip I kept asking myself, why am I doing this? What purpose could traveling alone, 600 miles to a city of millions of people possibly mean in the grand poobah of the universe? Has my mind finally left the world of the sane? What will I find? Let me tell you what I found.

I discovered my heart was a treasure chest overflowing with dreams, dreams I never even knew were there. I found possibilities impatiently aching to be realized; they seemed to be shouting, Its about time you finally showed up. Now let us out of here! My state of mind before the trip would have pushed away those dreams, forever ignored by fear. Now, after this wonderful adventure, I found myself straining to hear more of those voices, pushing me toward new adventures and new dreams. No longer would my mind dwell on the voices of fear. Instead, in would ponder those voices of possibilities and attack them with a clear mind.

In this realm lies the beauty of art. It can be any style of art. Art, to me, is simply creating the expression of ones soul and sharing that expression with the world. You dont have to be a tremendously talented person to express yourself successfully. To be truly successful at something, I believe one has to be at least willing to try, regardless of the outcome. A failure is not one who sees possibilities, grabs them, does his/her best with them and doesnt reach the desired outcome. Indeed, a failure is someone who sees the possibilities, even recognizes hidden opportunities, but does nothing with them because of fear. Fear paralyzes the mind and eventually will conquer the heart. The desire, even the ability to open oneself to the beauty of art, to self-express, will be forgotten.

Think of it this way: Picture yourself at a baseball game. You are the pitcher for the winning team, and the opposing team is up to bat. Its the bottom of the ninth, your team is ahead three runs and there are three opponents on base, just itching to score. They represent Guilt, Regret, and Anger. The next batter steps to the plate: he represents Fear. The ball you are about to throw represents every Dream in your heart. First the wind-up, then the pitch. Fear connects with your dreams with an earth-shattering crack, and you are left standing, completely helpless, as you watch the ball, your dreams, soar over the fence, never to be realized. Fear and his friends run all the way around the bases. As you watch the last man, Fear, touch home plate, you realize your time has run out, and you and your dreams have lost the battle. You will never have a chance to play this game again.

Following your heart means following your dreams, putting every ounce of God-given strength and faith into something unseen to the naked eye, something that may even seem foolish to those without the faith to try, foolish to those with fear. But when the eyes of the soul look past the fear and gaze upon faith, dreams really can come true. Open your heart to the artist within and the expression of the soul will follow. Then you will truly score.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR