If you've neglected your tools for keeping your focus, make a commitment to yourself to take them out, dust them off and hit them again.

And if you really want a recharge, mark your calendar for this coming Saturday's, "Under Construction with Mr. Black." You can listen live this Saturday from 12 noon to 1 pm Central Time on Biz Radio 1360 in Dallas and Houston. 

If you don't live in Dallas or Houston, you can listen live by clicking this link. Just make sure that you tune in at the right time for your time zone (10:00 am for Pacific; 11:00 am for Mountain; 12 noon for Central; 1:00 pm for Eastern).

Can't make it for the live broadcast? No problem. You can listen to archived shows on the Empower U web site any time of the day or night. Just click here to listen.

Get ready to participate in one of the most powerful and informative hours on radio and take advantage of this additional tool to help you reach your goals.

As you might imagine, the orphans always need supplies. In particular, they need school supplies for the coming school year.

Empower U will soon be sending another shipment to Father Israel and the orphans in Africa. We will be collecting school supplies. Donations from graduates would be greatly appreciated and very welcomed by Fr. Gonsalves and the orphans.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of these children, please send donations of school supplies or money to be used for supplies to our Texas office. We can also accept credit card donations. All money collected will go directly to purchasing supplies for the orphans. Here is the address:

Empower U
C/O Edie
8205 Camp Bowie West
Suite #204
Fort Worth, TX 76116

For myself I am doing this several different ways. The first, is through my involvement in Toastmasters, a non-profit organization that helps individuals improve their communication and leadership skills. There are currently over 200,000 members worldwide. As of July 1, I am District Governor for District 39, which has over 5,000 members.

Each District Governor gets to choose a theme, mine for the 2006-2007 term is "Making A Difference... One Toastmaster at a Time." I developed this not only from the Starfish story, but also from the story about the General who wanted to change the world. This General came to the realization that he needed to change himself, and this would change his family, changing his town, changing his country, therefore changing the world.

The other way that I am living it, is through Toastmasters I have the opportunity to mentor young people through Kaiser's Summer Youth Employment Program. For 8 weeks, from 11-12 on Wednesdays, I get to teach them Communication and Leadership skills. I instill in them the EmpowerU principles of being focused and committed, having passion for what they do, being part of a team, seeing their vision, and knowing their purpose.

We had a graduation on Friday August 11, which I was the keynote speaker. I began with the story of the General, letting them know that they can change the world, starting with themselves!

I presented each young person with a custom made bookmark designed by an EmpowerU Graduate, Niki Wehling. The top of the bookmark is their name, underneath their name it says "Today I will make a difference", followed by the starfish story. At the bottom is a nice graphic of a starfish! I want them to know that they will make a difference as they continue to make better choices.

We have so much influence over those around us and helping them live life like it matters. People are always watching us, so make sure that you are living life like it matters. Our actions will give others permission.