After receiving a gift card to the Mast General Store from my brother (it was a belated birthday gift), I decided to pick up a pair of 5 finger shoes (by Vibram for those wondering).

After testing them out in the store for 15 minutes, then running/walking/trotting upon running trails, streets and enormous water pipes in the park (note: kids don’t do the latter in as you could fall and crack your head open) over the next hour, I am now officially ashamed that I have worn traditional sneakers for so long instead of 5 finger shoes.

The only thing I don’t like about 5 finger shoes is that it takes a lot longer to put on than traditional sneakers (as you can see from the video below), but aside from that I’m probably only going to purchasing 5 finger shoes in the future due to how natural they feel upon my feet.

I’m planning on purchasing another pair (5 finger boots for those wondering). However if I could find a pair of 5 finger dress shoes, my feet would be complete!

So I forced myself to traverse a bridge I had no desire to cross.

So what’s next? Sleep of course! Joking aside I’ll be trying to spend whatever free time I have left hanging out with 2 dear friends before they enter the next transition in their lives.

After that I’ll be spending more of my free time (re)organizing my life which means I’ll be spending less time downtown hanging out with friends (with the exception of Fridays & Saturdays of course).

Despite crossing that bridge for the first (and hopefully last) time, it’s what’s around the bend that has me excited.

Solomon’s words of wisdom ring true today as they did thousands of years ago.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

~Proverbs 4:23

I think my biggest problem is that I’m too open hearted, which results in me exposing myself to the wrong people who in hindsight do not have my best interests in mind (and end up causing me unnecessary grief).

I need to be more selective when it comes to personal friendships lest I end up receiving another heartache.

In essence I need to begin focusing on myself and less on distractions. Starting tonight….or maybe tomorrow (as it’s late right now).

–Posted from my iPhone

In order to get a fresh start.

After today’s (or rather yesterday’s) ordeal I’ve decided to turn what use to be fond memories into positive experiences again, so I’m donating some trendy clothes and shoes to charity (you can ask me why later on when I’m ready to talk about it).

Either way I’m looking forward towards the next 6 months. Hopefully my work will bear fruit (especially during this horrendous recession).

–Posted from my iPhone

So I’ve been on the hunt for a decent pair of sneakers that will not only last longer than 6 months but also complement my feet from the very first step (as in I don’t need to “soften” them with a baseball bat).

With my affection for NewBalance waning, I’m considering switching allegiances towards Vibram FiveFingers brand due to their…well, look at them!

I’m currently looking at the black pair (as shown below) and fortunately I think I found a store nearby that has them on sale.

I’ll admit that I’m drawn towards the shoes due to the “geek appeal,” although honestly I’m looking for a pair of sneakers that will compliment both of my feet without having to wear inserts (which I now use due to an operation on my right foot to insert an arch to correct a knee issue).

Unfortunately I’m not sure if the company has my size (12.5 inches) so I’ve contacted them to see if they have something available for my Goliath feet.

And yes, it probably means I’m going to have to purchase toe socks as well!

Let’s face it no one really likes pain. In fact, most of us go out of our way to avoid pain.

However, if we are going to accomplish our goals and ”complete the race marked out for us,” we must endure some pain along the way. If we seek to “Fix our eyes on Jesus,” as suggested in Hebrews 12:1-3, then we must look at adversity (pain) the way scriptures looks at it.

Jerry is training for the Ironman (which is insane) although he is also a pastor at my church (he’s in charge of the youth).

While I do like people who encourage (what my senior Pastor is awesome at), I love the blunt talkers, especially those who encourage you to survive the trials, regardless of how bloody it might be.

As an aside, I personally love Jerry blunt sermons (i.e. improve slacker or perish), although I think I’m one of the few who do.

(Image via Endless Cycle)

–Posted from my iPhone

Yeah, if you recognize that title, then you must have grown up with Dr. Seuss! (I was a fan ever since I could pronounce sentences together)

Out of all of the books that he wrote, my favorite thus far has been “Oh The Places You’ll Go!,” mainly due to its emphasis on exploring the unknown world around you (despite the bumps).

In fact, I just bought it from the app store right now, although for the uninitiated here is it via YouTube (thanks to some brazen user, although you should buy the book).

Anyways the  reason I am writing this is because too often in my life I’ve seen so many people give up their dreams and exploring the world around them due to past disappointments, finances or some immovable obstacle.

Too many people are merely satisfied with only living out their lives day by day instead of striving what is best for them, their family, their ________ (fill in the blank folks!).

It is my firm belief that every child born is assigned a destiny by the Almighty, and the passions within the heart are hints (or indicators) of what your destiny is.

You should never stop short of pursuing that, and should strive towards that goal everyday in every way you can.

While you’ll encounter disappointment along the way (we all do), you should view obstacles as lessons instead of barriers.

To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite quotes:

“And if you keep your vision clear you will see the future. What happens in our future is our own responsibility.” ~Rem Saverem

So stop the pity party friends! The future has yet to be written, and regardless of what lies ahead you can succeed–if you really want it.

(Image and Video Credit: Dr. Seuss)

To the shock of some of my friends, I’ll be fasting from Facebook for the next 40 days (if not indefinately).

My reason for leaving Facebook has nothing to do with the privacy fiasco, nor is it related to the inability to export my data offsite (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, rejoice! You’re not a geek).

Rather Facebook has (to put it bluntly) become a one stop vanity shop, creating no inherit value whatsoever in my life.

Unlike Twitter (which enlightens me), Tumblr (which encourages me), YouTube (which entertains me) and WordPress (which is just plain awesome!), I can not find any inherit value in Facebook that makes it worth investing time into.

So starting tomorrow (May 30th) I’ll be disconnecting my entire life from Facebook for at least 40 days (if not forever).

I’ve already turned off all notifications so if you need to contact me my Gmail is DarnellClayton and my tweet account is @Darnell (Skype is HiddenNook).

–Posted from my iPhone

If there was one feature request I could ask Google, it would be a way to schedule important interuptions on my life (the ones where saying no makes you evil in the sight of God and man–women too!).

I’d simply turn my iPhone off (by switching to airplane mode), but then I’d miss important phone calls from friends, family and business.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be as “servant-hearted” as I would be able to get twice as much done.

But if I did that I’d become a Ferangi (from Star Trek) which would infuriate a lot of people.

I guess for now I’ll stick to simply cutting out more sleep. After all, we are in a recession, so I should simply be gracious, kill my selfish “what the frack” attitude, and help those in need.

Ever since I was little (I think 5 or 6) I’ve had a strong desire to communicate my thoughts visually (back then it was on a piece of paper).

I’m not sure why but for some strange reason writing has always appealed to me, despite the fact that my hand writing was atrocious (ironically though my cursive was excellent).

Later on I encountered a strang magical device called the Mac. I soon realized that my horrendous handwriting didn’t need improvement, as long as I could type with 2 fingers.

Ten typing fingers and a decade plus later I noticed many of my friends started typing out their thoughts upon a web journal service called Xanga (I didn’t know they were called blogs back then).

After joining the blog cult, and posting more times than I care to admit, I decided to migrate to Blogger after one of my Canadian friends (Chris) enlightened me on the art of blog design.

Later on I encountered two blogs that would change my perspective on writing forever.
The first was The Blog Herald which exposed me to the blogosphere, SEO, WordPress (and other platforms) and social networks in general

The second was ProBlogger which taught me the art of blogging, blog design, and (most importantantly) how you could actually earn money typing away at the keyboard.

Being the skeptical mind that I was, I decided to put ProBlogger’s advice to the test and launched a blog called Inside Orkut (slapping up Adsense ads on the side to see if this “blog earning” thing worked). Eight months later Google mailed me my first check.

Later on the Blog Herald was sold to a new company, who was looking for a few good bloggers. I signed up immediately, and although the pay wasn’t that great, the exposure was awesome (although truth be told I would have written upon it for free).

Fast forward towards today and now I’ve begun free lance writing, which has been surprisingly profitable despite the recession.

Not to mention being able to blog upon a dozen plus domains, as well as starting a few more sucessful blogs myself, the latter which have begun opening doors to the east (specifically Israel and China).

I’m not sure where this path of the digital word will eventually take me, but I’m very thankful of the opportunities of the past, as well as the upcoming ones in the future.

Although I do have other life plans (mainly dealing with agriculture and energy, which I’ll clarify later on this year–depending on whether I can secure a patent), whether it’s for passion or profit, I think I’ll be writing for the next 100 years (provided God, medicine and technology enable me to).

–Posted on my iPhone