Krystal's blog

First, I must begin by saying that I have gone to a Christian church since I was about 4 or 5 years old. When I was about 7 or 8 is when I remember first believing in the Gospel. I was baptized in that Assemblies of God church at 8 years old and, although I’ve had my times of falling away or walking away (which ever you choose to call it), I have since then almost always called and considered myself a Christian. I’m “one of those crazy born-agains” if you will.

Joel Osteen’s name became widely famous with his cleverly titled book “Your Best Life Now.” I personally have not read the book, but from the title and it being a #1 New York Times Bestseller, I can pretty much get the gist. It seems very natural to want the best life, especially we Americans. It’s as if we expect it. We have a sense of entitlement that is not present in every culture. The “American Dream” is still something that we strive for and think is the ultimate goal.

As a hairstylist who is considering opening my own salon, my clients are constantly asking me if I’ve seen Tabitha’s Salon Takeover. I’m usually ashamed to admit that I haven’t. I had seen her on Shear Genius in the past on a marathon stint that got me caught up (gotta love Jet Blue). The truth is that we’re too cheap to order cable. I actually had so many people asking me this that I asked my husband if we could justify it considering it would be a “Salon Business Planning Market Research” or some sort of tax write off, wouldn’t it?

Usually with knowledge comes pride. It’s just a cause and effect, an action and reaction. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If it was then we may not have ecologists and doctors and astronauts. I was having a rather heated discussion with someone the other day when it took a turn for the why we were saying, rather than the what. The person proceeded with, “Don’t talk psychology with me Krystal, I’ve taken five college courses on the subject!” to which I replied, “I may have never been to college, but I do have a library card and Google and have spent a great deal of time studying it so you just might not want to go there with me…” It’s funny how we ass-u-me what someone else knows or does not know just by our observation. It’s funny just how wrong we can be.

All of us have something and/or someone that drives us. Something or someone that motivates us to do what we do. This motivation could be a passion, a loved one, or even rent money. Let’s be honest, often what drives us is selfishness. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who has washed the dishes just to get praise from my husband, worked overtime to buy myself new clothes, or done something nice for someone just so they would tell me how nice I am. Selfishness is a great motivator. Maybe I shouldn’t say great. That could be easily misinterpreted. More appropriately I should say that selfishness is a highly effective motivator. So many things that we do, if we are honest with ourselves, are out of selfishness. People have lied, cheated, stole, and murdered from the driving force of selfishness.