Engage Your Passions
Those who know me, know that a dear friend of mine is the International Bestselling Author, Barry Eisler.
Now Barry and I have never met in person, only over the internet. We have many of the same friends and I became a huge fan of his RAIN series. After a time, I gained a respect for Barry and his writing genius to the point that he inspired a great character in my Wanted Hero story.
So I’d like to encourage you to go to barryeisler.com and spend some time getting to know Barry and his writing adventures, but for now, I’d like to share this great TED talk he did. Especially for those of you seeking to turn an idea into a reality.
Enjoy.
Jaime Buckley
What Happened to The BIG Lagoon?
You may be wondering what happened to the incredible project we started in 2010 called the BIG Lagoon?
In one simple word: funding.
It stopped. Plain and simple and no matter how much we loved it or wanted to proceed forward, you just cannot create new technology without the tools and resources it requires.
So the main nut of the entire system is completed. The core that sets it apart from every other social network…the connection…and we wait. Moving on with daily life until something else opens up or we find funding from another source.
We did all we could and many of us went beyond our contracts to build this awesome project even after funding stopped. It has been an incredible experience and we look forward to getting it completed and live once again.
Thank you Nat, Nathan and James for all your work, devotion and brilliance.
To all those who signed up for the beta and never got the chance to take this system for a run…we have your names and will inform you the moment anything changes.
-Jaime Buckley
Read MoreRights of a Child: Love
The basic foundation principle of a parent, at least in my own mind, should be love.
Now love is actually a big subject, especially when the world has distorted, misused, chopped up, mutilated and all but destroyed the definition of the word. From a loving mother, holding her new child in her arms after birth, whispering it for the first time….to the perversions of what Hollywood would have you believe, “Love” is defined as many things.
We have tough love, unconditional love, paternal love, brotherly love, the love between a husband and wife, even a ‘love of violence’. So where do we place ourselves as parents when it comes to love in conjunction with out little ones?
I have spent some time reading, talking with my children and even heard a great sermon in church Sunday ON Love, and it deserves to be looked at closely.
My sweet little daughter: Leilani Alyse Uapafutiolevaaoalii Buckley
In wondering how my children felt, I set my yellow pad down and called out to a few of my older children, Cesilea (18), Leilani (15) and Jessica (14). I asked them if they knew mom and I loved them. They just chuckled and said “Of course!” But when I asked them how, they looked puzzled. They couldn’t clarify at first. Nothing came to any of them, until Ditto (Cesilea) jabbed Leilani in the shoulder and laughed: “I know you love Lei, because you didn’t send her back for a working model!”.
It took them some time, but they finally told me they knew they were loved because of a structure we had in our home. When they thought about it, every action and decision Kathi and I made concerning them was engineered for their development. For their progression and their good. Ditto added that the pattern was there, even when they didn’t see it at first.
There were times when my children interacted with their friends, and they would witness conduct from their friends towards their parents, especially the mothers which would make them cringe. It was completely unacceptable behavior and they would come home, embarrassed for themselves…and their friends. “Why would they do that (or say that) to their own mother?” they would ask. Oh, my kids have struggles like any other youth, and they have good days and bad days. My goal is just to help them have far more of the good days.
I took the question next to my Sunday School class. I’m a strict adult, very abrupt, but for some strange reason, the kids want me back every year. That’s gone on for nearly 15 years now.
Standing before 14 twelve year olds (mostly girls), I snapped “Do I hate you guys?”
The room burst into giggles and an occasional laugh. “No.” they replied.
“But I yell at you often!” I bellowed.
One young lady smiled back. “But you love love us anyway.”
I smiled back. They were right. I loved each of them and prided myself on having the brightest kids in Church. Hmmm. I don’t hug them. I don’t change their diapers or feed them. In fact, I tell them stories and frequently call them ‘little craps’ when they act badly. Yet they come back, week after week, parents thank me and say their child has never loved church so much as in that class.
So what kind of love produces that type of result? Is it the same type of love my own children experience in our family?
Read MoreMy Latest Book
