Posted on September 9, 2017 by Orlando Ceaser

The Doctor Said the Word, Cancer

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Orlando Ceaser

The company developed, manufactured, and sold anticancer drugs, i.e., breast, prostate, and bone. I was a sales representative and product manager for our breast cancer franchise. Additionally, I’ve given motivational talks to a Cancer Support Group at my church, intermittently, for 20 years.

However, I was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer this year, received twenty-eight cycles of radiation treatment, and was given a clean health bill. I am a motivational speaker, author, and poet who writes about many human experiences. I have added my personal experience with cancer diagnosis and treatment through poetry in a piece entitled, The Doctor Said the Word, Cancer. I encourage personal examination, with regular checkups and a sensible diet with exercise. Early detection continues to be the best protection in identifying and treating cancer.

The Doctor said the Word, Cancer

One day I had a few questions,
I needed a few suggestions,
To calm my mind.
I needed answers,
When the doctor said the word,
Cancer.

Suddenly and immediately,
The shock,
Hit me like a ton of bricks.
My chest was in a headlock.
I was knocked out of orbit,
As my world was rocked;
I felt pressured,
And noticed the clock.

Suspended in a freefall,
The disturbance
Was like turbulence.
I was not asleep, but this wake-up call,
Caused the earth to shake;
I questioned, “Was this a cruel trick?
Was this a mistake?”
Mortality and invincibility
Began to quake;
The news struck and I was stuck
In a moment of doubt;
As I struggled in a bubble
To figure it out.

What happened to others
Was happening to me;
Worst-case scenario thinking
Was entrapping me.
Life is not only about me.
I must be free to act,
Courageously.

I wrestled with my primary fear
Of doubting how long, I would be here.
The inevitable became near.
My instinct was not to be succinct,
But the goal of survival was clear.
Don’t let cancer hyphenate my name,
I pray it’s a disease I can tame.

I pondered the consequences;
My body’s natural defenses;
Which treatment options would be severe,
Which therapies would extend my years?
As I watched, my priorities changed,
Elements of my life were arranged
From the small to the significant;
To be bold, scared, and magnificent.

Copyright © 2022 Orlando Ceaser

Invasion of the Idea Snatchers

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Orlando Ceaser

The Idea Snatchers invade our workspace. They sit next to you in meetings and slowly siphon your concepts and ideas. They steal them quickly in full view of witnesses. They sometimes collect them and stash them away when no one is watching. Later they will repackage them and pass them off as their own.

The Idea Snatchers walk among us in our workplaces, homes, and relationships. They seem harmless, but they drain energy, engagement, passion, and creativity. As in the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, these pods will lie next to you and pick your brain and replicate your ideas.

Ideas are necessary for growth and development. We have more than one great idea in us, so we must harness the ability of continuous generation. The process of duplication and replication of more ideas is a necessity. Ideas are in various stages of readiness. Some ideas should not be shared until they are fully baked and implemented. Others are resilient and modified and shaped into a form superior to the original. Many ideas have a shelf life and expiration date. If you sit on an idea and don’t release it, you will eventually see the idea expressed through the lives of others. An idea, like water, will seek its level and burst forth in time.

Ideas must live and we are the conduits to release them into a world waiting for their impact. We must, therefore, set them free and allow them to flow into the world. But we like to receive a credit; otherwise, we will shut down and shut off their supply.

Idea Snatchers may be ingenious deterrents for sharing ideas. They will question you to fully understand your idea and then use their gift of embellishment to enhance and disguise the origin of the idea. They are not concerned with plagiarism because they believe no one will discover their actions.

Idea Snatchers are prolific plagiarists. They may have the following traits.

Ruthlessly ambitious
Spontaneity
Opportunistic
Disloyal
Great at implementing
Poor at generating their own ideas

Document and track your ideas

Nature channels feature programs about scientific experiments with animals in the wild. They may be tracking fish, birds, or large animals. To keep track of the test participants they will tag the animal with a GPS device to flag them later. They will tag the subject to flag the subject so when they bag or capture the subject to complete the experiment. You must utilize similar techniques to tag, flag, and bag your ideas. It would also be helpful if you could document your idea with a follow-up memo or handouts. Preparing for the meeting will enable you to claim the idea as your own.

Circulate your ideas

Make your boss or others aware of your ideas and contributions. Write your ideas in a memo or in your journal with the date and time of origination. Take your idea from concept to potential utilization. The level of thought put into it will identify you as the creator. Think through the ideas and the value they can provide to the enterprise or the area that can benefit most.

In a brainstorming session, it is hard to determine who generated an idea because they bear the fingerprints of many potential owners. A solution is to make your idea the center of the discussion so that it stands out from the others. You can also set up the idea by saying you thought about the idea a long time ago and list the advantages and disadvantages in a full-blown presentation.

Captured in performance evaluations

Submit your ideas when you provide input for your performance evaluation. Be sure you are claiming credit for your ideas only. Make sure your boss is aware of your ideas before your input. You do not want to be an Idea Snatcher.

Share your ideas

Be careful how and where you share your ideas. Networking events are promising environments to collect the ideas of others. You may willingly share ideas, concepts, and suggestions believing in the Law of Reciprocity, what goes around comes around. You will be rewarded for your generosity in helping others. When you pollinate ideas, don’t be surprised when your ideas come back under the name of someone else. A professional speaker said, “the first time I am quoted, the speaker may mention my name and give me credit. The second time it was something the speaker read. The third time the speaker was just thinking about a topic, and it popped into his head.” The only time you may get full credit is the first time.

You are the conduit, the vehicle to release ideas into the atmosphere. Victor Hugo said, “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” Consequently, if you generated an idea, you want to get credit for creating it and keeping it safely out of the hands of the Idea Snatchers.

I Watch in Awe as Children Play

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Orlando Ceaser

The Chicago Afterschool Development Working Group, under the leadership of David Cherry and Julie Lenner, is a grassroots group of afterschool, education, civic, and nonprofit leaders and practitioners working together to strengthen the voice of impact of afterschool development in Chicago (www.allstars.org). Their work inspired this poem.

I Watch In Awe As Children Play

I watch in awe as children play;
To see them run beneath the sun.
Laugh at the crazy things they say; 
Life is carefree and full of fun.

Creative minds that will amaze,
In formal games or make believe;
Resourceful in so many ways
They achieve what they can conceive.

How simply they can make a toy
From articles within their reach;
Amuse each child as they enjoy,
Lessons that teach and shape their speech.

Some fix objects that are broken,
For they have the proclivity
To solve problems, be outspoken
In their childlike activity. 

I watch in awe as children play;
Especially as they excel;
Imagination on display
With stories used to show and tell. 

They don’t see walls they cannot scale
Or the boundaries of a box.
They do not think that they can fail,
For they are keys in search of locks.

And boundaries don’t need the lines,
For they will color as they see
The picture they want to define,
Is the masterpiece it will be.

Quietly they engage in thought;
To solve puzzles and figure out
The answers that were never taught;
While never focusing on doubt.

I watch in awe as children play,
The purity of inquiry;
The innocence that they convey;
To move with boundless energy.

Their cognitive development;
The social skills that are increased;
In their natural element
Where intuition is released.

They will play it forward if we,
Allow them the chance to explore
The land beyond the boundary
That will refresh and teach them more. 

As they sit alone or in a group,
Playful adventures never cease.
They will jump ropes not jump through hoops;
Exertion is what gives them peace.

I watch in awe as children play, 
One continuous exercise;
We try to regulate their day,
With structure, but they improvise.

Intuitive they get things done,
For they are focused on results,
That’s measure by the kind of fun,
That could teach something to adults.

Copyright © 2016 Orlando Ceaser
www.watchwellinc.com

For The Children – Read by 5 and Lead by 10

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Orlando Ceaser

The Read by 5 and Lead by 10 mindset will give parents and influencers a guideline for the intellectual stimulation and development of children. We know that children have an amazing response to stimuli and their knowledge grows exponentially in the early years. Read by 5 and Lead by 10 could be a slogan, a mantra, helping parents focus on two aspects of the development of their children, which could reap phenomenal rewards.

In the first three years of development
The brain in a rapidly growing state 
Responds to training as a stimulant
Allowing knowledge to accumulate;
If given structure and taught discipline,
Children can read by five
And lead by 10.

Mental synapses grow at lightning speed
Teach them to think, read, write, speak, play and do.
As time elapses give them what they need
A foundation to flourish because you 
Will nourish and love them as they begin 
The work to read by 5 and lead by 10.

Their mind’s receptive to information,
Absorbent as a sponge, eager to learn; 
If properly pushed through education,
If given an environment to earn,
We will raise stronger young women and men,
If they can read by 5 and lead by 10. 

Reach the children, when it is easy to shape
Their thinking, be intentional and find
Learning is a habit they can’t escape;
It helps them compete and not fall behind;
Success is a given, not if, but when 
If children read by 5 and lead by 10.

Ensure they are active during the day
And constantly find ways to train their brains.
When their imagination is on display,
Let them grow socially for it ingrains
The passion to help them network and to win,
Able to read by five and lead by 10.

Libraries say that “readers are leaders.”
But they need encouragement to succeed.
The leaders are not the bottom feeders,
They point to the mountain and take the lead.
Their vision is simple, they want to win,
Teach them to read by 5 and lead by 10.

You want the child to face competition;
Confident they can keep up with the class;
Training puts them in position
To grow their intellect and to surpass
The average with the power within,
As they read by 5 and lead by 10.

Copyright © 2014 Orlando Ceaser

Everyday is Children’s Day

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Orlando Ceaser

Growing up we were very aware of special days where we could them to hone our presentations skills. For example, Mother’s Day was the second Sunday in May and the Father’s Day was the third Sunday in June. We did not spend much time on Children’s Day because everyday seemed like Children’s Day and the Covid-19 pandemic made this very clear. I have created an anthology of poetry to supplement our focus on their growth and development.

Teach the Children to Dance – CD

Monologue – Dance Instructors

We are dance instructors, gifted by our Creator with talents and abilities that make us unique. We have practiced our craft in church, in school and at work. Our dance routines were honed on street corners, playgrounds, in living rooms, beauty parlors and barber shops, wherever conversations were held. We have learned new moves and perfected our signature techniques along our journey, developing our own sense of style.

As dance instructors, we must capitalize on teachable moments to pass our skills on to our children. They have challenges, as forces try to distract and devalue their potential. We are obligated to inspire, educate, motivate, up lift their spirits and self-esteem. They need to have the advantages of old school wisdom and common sense to complement their technology, to create their own dance steps and develop their own sense of style.

We must teach the children to dance and give them the opportunities, resources and perspectives to succeed in a difficult world.

Teach the children to dance
(Reprise)

We must teach the children to dance,
To strut with eloquence and prance
And flow with the rhythms of chance,
To master each new circumstance.

We must teach the children to dance,
Present the tutor in advance;
Choreograph their moves, enhance
Their skills from structure to freelance.

They should study life’s musical scores
And synchronize actions with the beat
Across school rooms and corporate floors;
Developing new skills to compete.

Adjust their moves in a meeting
Or in the classroom;
Raise the glass ceiling
In the glass room.
And slide from side to side
And stand erect;
And then provide
More than some expect.

Raise their hands in the air
And declare victory.
Drop to the floor
And look back on history;
Look forward to each new circumstance,
As they add new steps, to the dance.

We must teach the children to dance
In a group or to dance alone
To bridle their extravagance
Until the time to set the tone.

We must teach the children to dance
Provide the tutors in advance;
Choreograph their moves, enhance
Their confidence and when it’s expressed
A generation will be blessed.

Excel as if the audience cares;
Play to internal standards please
Themselves as each one prepares
To demonstrate their abilities.

Adjust their moves in a meeting
Or in the classroom;
Raise the glass ceiling
In the glass room.
And slide from side to side
And stand erect;
And then provide
More than some expect.

Raise their hands in the air
And declare victory.
Drop to the floor
And look back on history
Look forward to each new circumstance,
As they add new steps, to the dance.

Teach the Children to Dance is available where you purchase your music

Preview at

Old School Leadership Practices

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Orlando Ceaser

An organization will periodically engage in a campaign that focuses on fundamentals. The bedrock principles and skills necessary to achieve objectives, are put at the forefront of their practices, as they kickstart a pursuit toward excellence. I was involved, during my sales career, with numerous initiatives labeled, “back to basics.” They were a clarion song to get everyone on the same page, as one team of talented individuals, forging ahead to accelerate achievement.

My generation speaks about the old school, which contains more than a reference to nostalgia. There were values and commitments we made that were universal and should be regarded as timeless in our pursuit of living up to personal and professional expectations.

We are role models and must be aware of the fact that we are setting examples for our peers and the next generation of leaders. These old-school leadership principles should be brought into the limelight and used to improve our relationships, achieve our dreams, and improve the human condition, by acting positively and optimistically.

 
 
 Old School                         
 Old school is a working philosophy;
 Authentic, real without hypocrisy;
 A strategy for life and survival;
 A legacy to teach new arrivals.
  
 Old School, we are from the day we were born.
 With methods, that are time tested and worn.
 We fought and struggled, as we learned to spar,
 To work the system, so they raised the bar.
  
 Old School is determined by how we felt;
 Skillfully playing the hands we were dealt.
 We are classics that laid a foundation,
 They shaped a culture and built a nation.
  
 Our dances have a different groove,
 We are originals patented and smooth.
 You sample examples of our moves,
 Our repertoire is new and improves.
  
 We branded our system as Old School,
 For you to build on and follow the rules.
 The rules are structure to internalize;
 To help you learn and then improvise. 
  
 The Old School has powers of deduction.  
 We can explain the journey, as we go.
 The roads are always under construction.
 We are the guides to teach you what we know.
  
 We are ancestors who can be trusted.
 We played the roles of outlaws and outcast.
 The living legacies that adjusted
 Through practices that have worked in the past.
   
 We are Old School and we have explored
 And experienced, we’ve plunged and we’ve soared.
 We are Old School and should not be ignored;
 We have wisdom you may wish to record.    
  
 Copyright © 2017 Orlando Ceaser

Pandemic Inspirations – I Need to Step Away

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Orlando Ceaser

I Need to Step Away
I need to step away from the anger,
The bitterness and a state of outrage;
For it is placing my soul in danger,
And causing my spirit to disengage.
Constant news coverage and the debates,
On cause and effect and bending the curve;
Isolate, but if we can’t congregate;
We are afraid we will lose our nerve.
We’re adjusting and changing each routine,
As shelter in place begins to try us.
Keeping a safe distance to intervene;
To mitigate the threat of the virus.
I want to escape into a fortress;
Though solace is only tentative.
I must decompress and reduce the stress,
And act in a manner that more will live.
I need to step away and leave behind
The carnage and the fear in my head;
Embrace my faith for it gives peace of mind,
From the images and my sense of dread.
Lifesaving procedures like washing hands,
As we are focused and adept today.
I must keep my distance and understand,
As I pray and obey shelter and stay,
Is this a reset or a correction,
To show what we can or cannot control;
Will we establish a new direction,
Committing each life to a greater goal?
When this pandemic is overturned,
Remember the good that we are seeing.
We will emerge with many lessons learned;
On how to be better human beings.
I know I must step away from the ledge,
For it seems that I’m walking a tightrope;
To renew my strength for I made a pledge,
To lead with optimism, grace, and hope.
Copyright © 2020 Orlando Ceaser
Watchwellinc.com

More motivational, inspirational and leadership resources at watchwellinc.com and OrlandoCeaser.com.

Pandemic Inspirations: Bless Somebody

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Orlando Ceaser

 

 Bless Somebody
  
 Address somebody with a smile and nod
 They may not know that you were sent by God,
 To give them sunshine on a cloudy day,
 To be the joy promised to come their way.
   
 To bless somebody is why you are here,
 To add the fragrance to their atmosphere;
 Unless somebody has a heart of stone,
 They will be grateful for the kindness shown.
  
 Bless somebody and you bless your maker.
 You are a giver and not a taker,
 Confess to somebody and seize your role,
 To elevate others to warm your soul.
  
 Assess somebody, determine their need.
 Ask them lovingly how you should proceed. 
 Distress can place a person in despair.
 You should be there to let them know you care.
  
 Say yes to somebody when they extend
 Their hand to you so they could be your friend.
 Impress somebody with an open heart,
 Bless somebody for to love is an art.
  
 Address somebody with a smile and nod.
 They may not know that you were sent by God,
 To give them sunshine on a cloudy day,
 To be the joy that is coming their way.
  
 Copyright © 2020 Orlando Ceaser
  
    
 
 
 
  
 
   Web-site: OrlandoCeaser.com
 Email:orlando.ceaser@watchwellinc.co

Pandemic Inspirations – My God Will Not Fold

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Orlando Ceaser

During times of uncertainty, when we are uncomfortable and cannot accurately predict our circumstances, we strengthen our resolve through faith. We find comfort in the shelter of our faith and the Holy Father in which we live and move and have our being. A key element of God as our fortress is the belief that He will not fold, fall apart, or crumble in the face of present and impending danger.

My God Will Not Fold

When things are too hot;

When things are too cold;

I feel like a dot,

Too small to behold.

It’s during these times

My heart is cajoled

With psalms for my doubt;

My God will not fold.

At times I’m frightened,

But I must insist,

To be enlightened

And next on His list.

When God made me whole,

My spirit enrolled.

It’s well with my soul.

My God will not fold.

Personal problems,

May yet beset me;

If I’m struggling,

My God might let me

Learn from the hardship,

And then set me free;

When I was drifting,

My God came for me.

God through the ages

Has always been true;

Faithful through stages

Of what we go through.

He was there for me

And I felt consoled,

My God was with me;

My God will not fold.

No, God will not fold,

When things are too hot

Or when they run cold.

I know he will not

Break down, and His love

To the young and the old,

Gives strength and I’m told;

My God will not fold.

When my composure’s

Disintegrating,

Relationships are

Not generating

Kind words from my lips.

I am unstable

And losing my grip,

But God is able.

When things are too hot

Or when they run cold,

I’m sensing the plot,

As long as I hold

His hand in my hand,

I’m anchored and bold,

For He helps me stand;

My God will not fold.

Copyright © 2019 Orlando Ceaser

Watchwellinc.com

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I Want You to Know This

I want you to know this.

As dire as it may appear,

Your Higher Power casts out fear.

I want you to know you are just

God’s Spirit breathed into Stardust.

I want you to know this.

A plague may be single or in a swarm.

You may emerge battered out of this storm;

And go from transfixed to being transformed,

From a new natural to a new norm.

I want you to know this.

You are a component of something grand,

That’s too miraculous to understand,

You are a part of the universe and

Metaphorically stationed in God’s hand.

I want you to notice,

The wonder in the evening skies,