JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================y" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?QVdnvzj^G,cr\::ka |QgȖK`|"QKu8'ӿe$ﱴRkroPV{A 3nqC\an&HNv8Qi]o.l׶GzNJݡ0 ܢT CY)NV rKixaZǹ4,'T90'$zkthCwm3UyeiiO\[,vA"wIc<ǥ4<+z4·VYQ!wJ4 :AZK>ybϕ͎gM-Q9S0 u >U=1QxY4), ȧXӻLr?AVcH·576M{OvoJSxQY~*mZmCSYmP]G v>.1@# yl8@OMhK{`@'ӳqwi= to/5a]峃|A4bOvDnSW q<Fۆ߃;ӥt]k !T7\汫]SQq~9C( .!U֤lm4c&Kky$Y}SlVX?އ8=Me:e?NBz4jǙ\iM~}^/W35ŵ";nG yJ{qj2K`PMOn"hVFf=7$㟭K{$1},\w̮.Eٶkfyyp1*0}1_E~Sձӊ/|QrYDfuؙۜ9qk/o{H-EbfrѫFCH& E&ևGdr }Mws:EHL 捾Sчn+4չjc EWi`bs9x#ҵ<*skI廐;[6/D"#rqӞI5}E!LKPxyr [tKO@TZ\Ʀyq"ƛ#^r =N9aܻĹcq^fn-RH@PDK\ ]GAs3oya;w7ʧUkz*G JoՒ2:~1]|YGkwwǓ>qߓڞ Mƥڋyd?695̲TԀQ*-V=G?*:U۩AӮ;{.qCvVt9S<ݚZ xnS]c)t%js7ma$vJ~h  +/P@<+"@PKw1!wgC>e5~c'njö:v%IdWVܤnQPM|HVt~uݮYUNm xEaBǡ(8$I-),|Aj Zi]z)SPٷxHuI.KtP/\U3}mcq-4q 0;]CI)tvC% qҕjg,䗗!0H I<(?cF0]FUR;?!'/LUOcRE7+-ksFuwm>[7̣q8^k& x9\MeA%\p!G?(ֻOz˦Z8gd.vw95CAbeÞ{ҵ>JP?}qvtjvȖ,J\)PTrj8í6w!lcsқ0 B08VEd;c$k7'k WK13ٛx#ĠICOp1p8]֥m2khaiՏ`y^Oy#NX1=kX%mV199Sd>)r[5mCzy]|=?_,ު(]2zs~,r-PH#؎]+Y:L6V+%'sߠ҉oCuK^;h^-X'~ЍÿNqznY"Fy"<}j;^_e[K(aؐ@5N)FM^4tP^@5-r-FO(\c~5\pTf+ZcUu{62m9ݽKJd8 kT֚Xn$#$b+ċ&j۰1g&fc2ķ/nJxOThlv Xunh+;ɜ' ZyaEhEsOii$  Ҵ-Fo9;2)jP(^*[z#^=d`BO8/ `e^{s/.Q=Ia,k [JKsJ4Y ེXHoGm`ia< p% tPJ*}89[<`'nMGQgҫ}km>B:qܰ5SWװ\F1z:T]^2GT$QOK|Q$~ wI c=+F|<¶i;q5 o;j){RqG :ѵ:f_1Y@O`ʗجWvgS>:b)<bײ NU96{,(UsL!;duUBG)7g ux7M&3-l8T/|Ap&@铞MAoXԡ$yQӽg(ʢ5Fί$ykn8jޝ޵;, Jk+6e#'?u$Um"YO]Qi6!r\rI?5ܰ&-6AtS# O Tcfvn߄OSR'?rw vAJbV{PUVҥpZ>$še!di%c[`wi0 E= Ǒ{u#iZ}MC /<~[͂z)TgԎ(99UӗRh,a P~خH c-K[9_NxnjIh$ѪS9P(M>NME[$=E"is6q ;fg.u$ʢn'ZLa"ޠݙE#icՁ)WiӤJIێzn?Ej4Qng the best that you can in life. The creed starts out by eschewing the negative and embracing God and country. It also revisits history and is about self-sufficiency and placing yourself where you can make a difference. Early in the creed it talks about warding off hatred and bigotry. A mistake that this generation (all races) is still paying for.<br>The way I see things, is that we all have been blessed with many talents, and I am not talking about those talents that you hear about in a million dollar seminar, but those talents that people do so well that you have to stop and wonder how it is that they can do what they do so great! Take Michael Jordan for example. Why was Michael so successful? Because he was doing something that he enjoyed and worked extremely hard at it. And, if you think for one moment that he was born to play basketball, you re dead wrong. Like many others before him (yes there was basketball before Michael, he worked very hard to get where he was. Yet, he did not stop working hard after he earned his way into the NBA. Let s face it. Nothing in life that is worth anything comes without a price. We even have to work to earn our own sweat!<br>I feel that it is important to note that I am not without my faults. I bleed like you, I hurt like you, and I can cry like you. And like you, I too, have made many mistakes in my life. But, I realize that I have only two choices: I could sit around and wallow in  could have  or I could rewrite my map (the creed) for life and change my current negative circumstances to reflect the  real me. I said a prayer or three and chose the latter.<br>I would like to leave you with these final thoughts: Whatever it is that you are doing well, do it bigger, faster, stronger and wiser the next time. And never wait until you get sick and tired of being sick and tired before you decide to change a negative situation into a positive one. Think it, Dream it, Become it, <br>Live it - Just Do It! <br><br><br>___________________<br><br><br> When I first saw the National African American Creed, I was deeply touched. I contacted author Terry Harris and got his permission to share it with our BFS readers.<br>I also went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Visitor s Center in Atlanta to gain further insight. The center is a place where all can be both proud and inspired. The following three statements from the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. touched me the most:<br> There is nothing in all the world greater than freedom. It is worth paying for; it is worth losing a job for; it is worth going to jail for. I would rather be a free pauper than a rich slave. I would rather die in abject poverty with my convictions than live in inordinate riches with the lack of self respect. <br> The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. <br> Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don t have to have a college degree to serve. You don t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve . . . . You only need a heart full