Something to Think About...: 369 Steps to Self Awareness

By Johnnie Williams III

We all have thoughts on subjects like life, politics, education, and relationships. But are our thoughts actually our own? How often do we really dissect the roots of what we think and believe? Society is full of people reacting their way through life and wondering why they arrive at the outcomes they do. It's time for a thought revolution!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Feb 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098301750

Johnnie Williams III

Johnnie Williams III is an encouragement presenter that has spoken to youth and adults in the United States, Canada, China, Africa and the Philippines. Williams teamed up with his brother, Jerome Williams, and Eric Walters for two titles in the Orca Young Readers series.

Book preview

FORWARD THINKING…

On this day, I shall dance with life, breath by breath, taking it step by step; hoping that this beautiful song plays on and on and on.

- Johnnie Williams III

As we move toward our next chapter in human evolution, where man and artificial intelligence are becoming more and more intertwined, let us not forget the benefits of unplugging just to think for ourselves- as we once did.

The creation of Something to Think About…, has taken me nearly twenty plus years of interesting experiences to write. So many thoughts have passed through my mind over the years. I never thought to write any of them down until just a few years ago when I begin journaling the thoughts that came to mind. After a while, I begin posting them on my own Twitter account @ johnnietalks. I just wanted to make some of my personal quotes and thoughts accessible to people I had spoken to during my many keynote speeches. This simple act has produced more than 369 thought-provoking quotes that will keep you thinking.

I can remember getting stuck on my 13th entry and thinking to myself, if I can just come up with another 12 quotes, I’d have a nice collection of my own thoughts to promote. Little did I know that I had so much more to say to myself and the world around me. As I emailed and texted my posts to individuals within my Thought Tribe, I would often get asked to explain the thought behind the thoughts. Some people expanded upon what I shared in ways that allowed me to grow in ways that might not have happened otherwise. Still there were others who struggled to grasp the message I had nestled within the message. So, I began adding images that creatively aligned with what was being said. This simple addition opened the door to a much larger audience that would begin engaging with my thoughts daily.

As I cycle through the seasons making up my life, I am finding that my tree of life is branching out once again. There are so many new budding opportunities for me to explore and learn from. I have weathered my winter season once again, which helped stir up so many of the thoughts I have chosen to share in this book. I hope within the pages of this book that you find encouragement, insight, and the inspiration needed to continue writing your amazing life story.

As an Encouragement Specialist, I firmly believe that mankind is searching for something on the outside that can only be found within himself or herself. Therefore, many of our acquisitions end up becoming sources of more stress, and artificial work titles are just another mask hiding who we really are, or wish to really become. What I find to be most challenging of the time spent on self-reflection, is our growing addiction to social media. These are virtual portals that isolate us as we attempt to forge meaningful connections with others. Look up and you’ll see that with just about every free second one gets nowadays, by mere habit, the cell phone is picked up and the process of keeping up with events and others’ lives begins. So, when do we stop to just THINK about what’s going on with us and how to maintain or improve upon things?

Something to Think About… was written to assist you with creating the habit of slowing down to just think for thinking sake. Sadly, what most folks do not realize is that we have slowly become a very reactionary society. We are fed a stimulus- often through a media program- that we find is trustworthy. Their content will often activate a predictable group reaction, or they will share what the group is already thinking. This does not cultivate thought; it actually steers thought and promotes ideas that support a much larger agenda.

For so many years we have been taught and told what to think, but not so much how to think (for ourselves).

- Johnnie E. Williams III

This has wide reaching impact on our beliefs, perspectives, and ultimately our ability to improve as a human family. This is not a race amongst our races, but rather an opportunity to come together in service to one another.

As our newest generation of students and college graduates arrive at the doors of our schools, universities and employers, their ability to apply critical thinking skills is becoming a very common concern. This is ultimately what happens when test preparation precedes teaching our children how to think. During years of student mentoring and motivating, I found that our nation’s focus upon testing to ensure that we are not failing our students has actually caused more failure amongst our students. This is not for a lack of great individuals teaching in our schools across the country, but rather the focus placed upon remembering over applying.

Acquired knowledge may assist with passing a test and obtaining a degree, but it is applied knowledge that one can monetize into compensation.

- Johnnie E. Williams III

When is the last time that you’ve heard or maybe said the phrase I don’t know? Often this is said before one even takes time to actually stop and think about what an intelligent response might be. So, our problem isn’t just a lack of intelligence; it is more about addressing this lazy mental habit that makes no cognitive effort to produce well thought responses. My hope as you engage with my thoughts, is that they might trigger thoughts within you that may not have emerged otherwise. And, I sincerely invite you to join my Thought Tribe of diverse thinkers respectfully conversing over our colorful differences in opinion without the opposition. What a world that would be!

Something to Think About…

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