Building Strong Relationships
All of life is about people and how you relate to them. Relationships take time, sometimes a lot of time, to cultivate and develop. No man is an island. We all need one another to get ahead in life.
Your personal success in life depends on how well you relate to others. It is impossible to excel in life without building strong relationships. Although in many cases, hard work and much effort are required to build stronger and lasting relationships, it is worth it in the end.
The following seven keys will help you in developing your relationship building skills:
You need others
Relationships give you a sense of belonging. They cause you to feel needed and appreciated. Relationships also give you teammates to help you accomplish your objectives. When each person in a relationship does their part, they lighten one another’s load and insure the job gets done.
Develop your communication skills
Studies have proven that the primary reason for failure in relationships is a lack of communication. From marriages to business associations, breakdowns occur when one or all parties involved fail to communicate. Communication is much more than just speaking your mind. It involves many elements. In order to fully communicate you must work to listen, to understand, to get your point across, and to reinforce what is being communicated.
Know what is expected
Many relationships fail because the parties involved don't know what is expected of them. It is important that each person in a relationship understand his or her roles in the relationship. If you're uncertain, you should ask the others involved in a relationship what they expect of you. Don't be afraid to let others know what you expect of them.
Learn from your past experiences
Draw on your past relational experiences whether negative or positive. Determine not to make the same mistakes that proved to be detrimental in other relationships. Seek to treat others the way you want to be treated.
The role of personality
It is good to understand the role personality plays in relationships. Your personality goes a long way in determining how you relate to others. Great leaders are not only aware of their personality traits, but also of those that they are leading. Understanding what makes a person tick helps you to communicate, assist, and motivate others.
Conflict
Conflict in relationships is inevitable. No relationship is immune to conflict. Seek to find the causes of the conflict as well as the solutions to the conflict. Accept personal responsibility. Don't play the blame game. Do what is necessary to resolve conflict as soon as possible.
Compatibility
Many relationships fail because of a lack of compatibility. You must look for common ground in your relationships. Seek to discover your common interests. Here's a brief compatibility checklist. Do you have similar likes and dislikes? Do you have similar ideas, dreams, and objectives? Do you have similar values? Do you have similar beliefs? Do you come from a similar culture? If you answered no to any of these questions you may find that you are incompatible.
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Value of Preparation
For about 8 years I had the opportunity to play golf at a very high level of competition. One of my dreams as a young man was to play tournament golf as a professional golfer. While I never made the PGA tour, I did play on what are known as the “mini tours.” These are basically the minor leagues of golf. This t is where players work on their games in order to prepare themselves to play on the PGA tour.
I worked hard at honing my skills, sometimes hitting more than a thousand golf balls a day as well as playing at least one practice round of golf. I would be on the golf course or the driving range for up to 8 hours per day practicing all areas of the game. I would practice my pre-shot routine, driving the ball, hitting all of the clubs in my bag, drawing and fading shots, hitting out of sand traps around the greens, hitting out of fairway bunkers, and hours putting on the green. Even when I didn’t feel like practicing, I practiced anyhow. Why would I put myself through all of that? If I was going to realize my dream, I had to work on improving all areas of my game. I had to value preparation.
I’ve never met anyone that enjoys the rigors of preparation. As we get ready to watch the Super Bowl this weekend, there are two teams that are practicing and preparing as if there is no tomorrow. And in their cases there isn’t. This is the pinnacle of the NFL. This is what every player in the NFL works towards on a daily basis. It’s not just about the money; it’s about winning the Super Bowl and being crowned world champions of the NFL. I can tell you exactly who is going to win the game. It is the team that prepares the best and then executes its game plan most efficiently in the big game. Personally, since I live in Phoenix I hope it’s the Arizona Cardinals!
The people, businesses, organizations, and ministries that accomplish the most in life are the ones that are prepared for success. Through preparation great tasks are accomplished. You can have great potential deep inside of you, but it can only be drawn out through preparation. Jerry Savelle says, “I would rather be prepared and never have an opportunity then to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
Can you imagine an army going into battle without preparation? Usually months, if not years, of training and planning go on before the first shot is fired. No one would play a sporting event, and expect to win, without preparation. Preparation is fundamental to success in life.
Preparation always precedes accomplishment. Mike Murdock says, “The quality of your preparation determines the quality of your performance.” Great coaches push their teams to victory through preparation. Practice isn’t always fun but it’s essential. The great heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali said, “I hated every minute of the training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
Preparation produces confidence. If you do the right things on a consistent basis during practice, you will be able to do them for real when the time comes. Olympic champions don’t just happen by accident, they are made. By taking their talents and abilities they are molded into experts through preparation and practice. True champions are never surprised by victory. They were expecting it, that’s what they had prepared for.
In scripture Noah prepared for 120 years to be ready for the flood God said He was going to bring on the earth. Moses prepared for 80 years to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Joshua prepared for 40 years as Moses’ assistant to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Jesus prepared from before man was created to come to the earth as their Messiah and savior. The Apostle Paul prepare for at least 14 years for a ministry that would turn the world upside down.
How to be prepared:
Dream About What You Want to Accomplish. Know what you want to accomplish. Let it burn within you. Make it a part of your very being. In your mind, see exactly what needs to be done and what you want to accomplish. All great things come out of a dream that someone has had. What are your dreams? What excites you? What motivates you to action? What can you do to make a positive difference in the world around you? These are all indicators of what you were created to do. Allow God to birth a dream that you can pursue.
Be Informed. Get all of the knowledge and information available for your particular project. Go to seminars. Read books. Talk to experts. Immerse yourself in knowledge concerning what you want to do. Right knowledge is power. Seek to know more about your field then your competitors.
Develop an Action Plan. Plans are important to the success of any venture. You wouldn’t build a house without first of all having blueprints (plans) drawn up down to the last detail. Plans allow you to determine each step of the way. They give you the ability to know exactly what to do in any given situation. To fail to plan is to plan to fail. Success doesn’t happen accidently. It is always on purpose. Take the time to Make plans and then follow-through.
Get Focused and Stay Focused. Train yourself to concentrate on the task at hand. Successful athletes learn how to block out everything but what they are doing at the moment. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by other things or people. Michael Jordan says he never even saw the crowd when he took a shot. All he saw was the basket. In life there are all kinds of things that can distract you on the road to success. Focus gives you the ability to ignore the distractions and concentrate on the end result.
Retain a Coach. Find someone who has the knowledge and ability to help you get where you are going. Make it someone you can trust. Coaches are like miners; they see hidden talent and potential and bring it to the surface. Get a coach that will teach you, train you and encourage you. Find someone who believes in you. Someone that you can respect and listen to. And then follow the directions they give you. Teaching and training are of no value if they are not implemented. (I am available as a life coach to help you prepare for success in life.)
Perfect Practice. An old adage says, “Practice makes perfect.” In reality “Perfect practice makes perfect.” Take time to make sure that what you are doing in practice is essential to what you are seeking to accomplish. More than anything, practice should be a time when you develop your skills, increase your stamina, and build your confidence. It is a time when consistency is developed. Practice that doesn’t make what you are doing routine is useless. Perfect practice prepares you for perfect performance. When I was playing professional golf I would practice hitting balls from similar spots and situations that I might face in a tournament. I would practice until I developed a perfect routine that worked under pressure.
Develop Courage. Fear will stop you from going forward if you allow it to. In essence fear is the feeling that something bad is going to happen to you and keep you from doing your best. It is that daunting voice that keeps telling you why you can’t succeed. Preparation produces confidence which produces courage. Courage says, “I can do it because I’m ready.” Through courage fears die.
Find a Mentor. A mentor is different than a coach. A coach teaches, trains and guides you. A mentor inspires you because they’ve been there done that. They inspire you not by what they say but by what they have done. They are a role model. They are someone you look up to. Someone for you to emulate. Pick someone who comes from the same type of background as you. Someone who has a similar style as you. Someone who has succeeded in spite of the setbacks they’ve had, and the obstacles they have encountered. Find someone with strength of vision, strength of action and strength of character that inspires you to greatness.
Build Your Faith. Jesus said, “All things are possible to him that believes.” Faith is looking past the present and seeing what can be. So how do you build your faith? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” As a believer, when you spend time reading and studying scripture, something super natural takes place. You faith begins to grow. I would challenge you to spend time reading the accounts in the Bible of people that through faith accomplished great things. I would also suggest that you spend time reading, listening to, and associating with people today that are accomplishing great things in life. You will begin to see that ordinary people accomplished extra ordinary things because they believed they could. By developing your faith you will begin to believe that you too can accomplish great things for God, your family, and the world around you!
For about 8 years I had the opportunity to play golf at a very high level of competition. One of my dreams as a young man was to play tournament golf as a professional golfer. While I never made the PGA tour, I did play on what are known as the “mini tours.” These are basically the minor leagues of golf. This t is where players work on their games in order to prepare themselves to play on the PGA tour.
I worked hard at honing my skills, sometimes hitting more than a thousand golf balls a day as well as playing at least one practice round of golf. I would be on the golf course or the driving range for up to 8 hours per day practicing all areas of the game. I would practice my pre-shot routine, driving the ball, hitting all of the clubs in my bag, drawing and fading shots, hitting out of sand traps around the greens, hitting out of fairway bunkers, and hours putting on the green. Even when I didn’t feel like practicing, I practiced anyhow. Why would I put myself through all of that? If I was going to realize my dream, I had to work on improving all areas of my game. I had to value preparation.
I’ve never met anyone that enjoys the rigors of preparation. As we get ready to watch the Super Bowl this weekend, there are two teams that are practicing and preparing as if there is no tomorrow. And in their cases there isn’t. This is the pinnacle of the NFL. This is what every player in the NFL works towards on a daily basis. It’s not just about the money; it’s about winning the Super Bowl and being crowned world champions of the NFL. I can tell you exactly who is going to win the game. It is the team that prepares the best and then executes its game plan most efficiently in the big game. Personally, since I live in Phoenix I hope it’s the Arizona Cardinals!
The people, businesses, organizations, and ministries that accomplish the most in life are the ones that are prepared for success. Through preparation great tasks are accomplished. You can have great potential deep inside of you, but it can only be drawn out through preparation. Jerry Savelle says, “I would rather be prepared and never have an opportunity then to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
Can you imagine an army going into battle without preparation? Usually months, if not years, of training and planning go on before the first shot is fired. No one would play a sporting event, and expect to win, without preparation. Preparation is fundamental to success in life.
Preparation always precedes accomplishment. Mike Murdock says, “The quality of your preparation determines the quality of your performance.” Great coaches push their teams to victory through preparation. Practice isn’t always fun but it’s essential. The great heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali said, “I hated every minute of the training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
Preparation produces confidence. If you do the right things on a consistent basis during practice, you will be able to do them for real when the time comes. Olympic champions don’t just happen by accident, they are made. By taking their talents and abilities they are molded into experts through preparation and practice. True champions are never surprised by victory. They were expecting it, that’s what they had prepared for.
In scripture Noah prepared for 120 years to be ready for the flood God said He was going to bring on the earth. Moses prepared for 80 years to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Joshua prepared for 40 years as Moses’ assistant to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Jesus prepared from before man was created to come to the earth as their Messiah and savior. The Apostle Paul prepare for at least 14 years for a ministry that would turn the world upside down.
How to be prepared:
Dream About What You Want to Accomplish. Know what you want to accomplish. Let it burn within you. Make it a part of your very being. In your mind, see exactly what needs to be done and what you want to accomplish. All great things come out of a dream that someone has had. What are your dreams? What excites you? What motivates you to action? What can you do to make a positive difference in the world around you? These are all indicators of what you were created to do. Allow God to birth a dream that you can pursue.
Be Informed. Get all of the knowledge and information available for your particular project. Go to seminars. Read books. Talk to experts. Immerse yourself in knowledge concerning what you want to do. Right knowledge is power. Seek to know more about your field then your competitors.
Develop an Action Plan. Plans are important to the success of any venture. You wouldn’t build a house without first of all having blueprints (plans) drawn up down to the last detail. Plans allow you to determine each step of the way. They give you the ability to know exactly what to do in any given situation. To fail to plan is to plan to fail. Success doesn’t happen accidently. It is always on purpose. Take the time to Make plans and then follow-through.
Get Focused and Stay Focused. Train yourself to concentrate on the task at hand. Successful athletes learn how to block out everything but what they are doing at the moment. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by other things or people. Michael Jordan says he never even saw the crowd when he took a shot. All he saw was the basket. In life there are all kinds of things that can distract you on the road to success. Focus gives you the ability to ignore the distractions and concentrate on the end result.
Retain a Coach. Find someone who has the knowledge and ability to help you get where you are going. Make it someone you can trust. Coaches are like miners; they see hidden talent and potential and bring it to the surface. Get a coach that will teach you, train you and encourage you. Find someone who believes in you. Someone that you can respect and listen to. And then follow the directions they give you. Teaching and training are of no value if they are not implemented. (I am available as a life coach to help you prepare for success in life.)
Perfect Practice. An old adage says, “Practice makes perfect.” In reality “Perfect practice makes perfect.” Take time to make sure that what you are doing in practice is essential to what you are seeking to accomplish. More than anything, practice should be a time when you develop your skills, increase your stamina, and build your confidence. It is a time when consistency is developed. Practice that doesn’t make what you are doing routine is useless. Perfect practice prepares you for perfect performance. When I was playing professional golf I would practice hitting balls from similar spots and situations that I might face in a tournament. I would practice until I developed a perfect routine that worked under pressure.
Develop Courage. Fear will stop you from going forward if you allow it to. In essence fear is the feeling that something bad is going to happen to you and keep you from doing your best. It is that daunting voice that keeps telling you why you can’t succeed. Preparation produces confidence which produces courage. Courage says, “I can do it because I’m ready.” Through courage fears die.
Find a Mentor. A mentor is different than a coach. A coach teaches, trains and guides you. A mentor inspires you because they’ve been there done that. They inspire you not by what they say but by what they have done. They are a role model. They are someone you look up to. Someone for you to emulate. Pick someone who comes from the same type of background as you. Someone who has a similar style as you. Someone who has succeeded in spite of the setbacks they’ve had, and the obstacles they have encountered. Find someone with strength of vision, strength of action and strength of character that inspires you to greatness.
Build Your Faith. Jesus said, “All things are possible to him that believes.” Faith is looking past the present and seeing what can be. So how do you build your faith? Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” As a believer, when you spend time reading and studying scripture, something super natural takes place. You faith begins to grow. I would challenge you to spend time reading the accounts in the Bible of people that through faith accomplished great things. I would also suggest that you spend time reading, listening to, and associating with people today that are accomplishing great things in life. You will begin to see that ordinary people accomplished extra ordinary things because they believed they could. By developing your faith you will begin to believe that you too can accomplish great things for God, your family, and the world around you!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
JUST DO IT!
You have what it takes to win in life. Success is not something reserved for the elite few, it is available for anyone and everyone that will put forth the right effort. Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.” It is one thing to talk the talk; it’s something else to walk the walk. You will not be remembered for what you say as much as for what you do.
As a kid growing up, my mother often told me, “Actions speak louder than words.” I have never forgotten that truth. It’s good to have right intentions, it’s better to have right actions.
Too many people in life want everything handed to them on the silver platter. Our culture and our government have created a whole people group that has developed a sense of entitlement. They want victory without battles. They want success without work. They want health without taking care of their bodies. However, you must remember if there’s no pain there’s no gain.
As I’ve said on many occasions “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” If you want to be successful in life you are going to have to take personal responsibility for your life. You and you alone are responsible for your life. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help people that have had setbacks or experienced some kind of tragedy in life, but what it does mean is we should give them a handup not just a handout!
Perhaps one of the greatest marketing slogans ever developed was by the sports shoe manufacture NIKE. It simply said, “Just do it!” In other words don’t just dream it, don’t just talk it, get busy and do it! Become a person of action. Begin to “Plan your work and work your plan.”
As you study scripture (the greatest success book ever written) you will find many verses that deal with our being a people of action. In one of my favorite parables (stories with a meaning) Jesus taught that it is only the person that hears, and acts on what he hears, that builds a life that is secure and stable that will be able to withstand the storms or problems that come their way. (Luke 6:46-49)
How many times have you read a book, listened to a motivational speech, heard a sermon, watched an informational video, or attended a training seminar, and agreed with what you learned? Maybe you’ve spent the time and put forth the effort to learn new information or be reminded of something you had learned in the past, yet you have never put into practice what you’ve learned. Why not? The only way to experience success in any area of life is to put into action what you have learned and what you know you should be doing.
The dreams and aspirations that you have will never be realized without action. It is one thing to be a positive thinker; it is something altogether different to be a positive doer! There are a lot of brilliant people with tons of information and great educations that never accomplish all they could because they are only reservoirs of knowledge, they aren’t doers.
While dreams are important, and information is essential, to anything becoming a reality, the only thing that will produce the success you desire in life is action. One of my problems with so many that teach the “Law of Attraction” is that they seem to be missing the most important key to experiencing or as they say, “attracting” success in life. While it is true there is power in positive expectation, positive expectation alone will not get the job done. The writer James in the New Testament made this statement, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” It is important to believe in what you are doing, to believe that success is yours, to believe that good things are coming your way, but it is more important to put action to what you’re believing for and what you are expecting.
Former President Jimmy Carter made a powerful statement that I believe is appropriate for this blog posting. “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
Success is much more than you acquiring a nice house, driving a top of the line sports car, wearing designer clothing, or dining in the finest of restaurants. It is about making a positive difference in the lives of those around you. It is about leaving the world a better place than when you found it. The key to this is found in our becoming people of action. If we will do the right things, the right ways, at the right times, we will with certainty enjoy success.
Got a dream, got a goal, got a plan, got a desired outcome? Just Do It!
You have what it takes to win in life. Success is not something reserved for the elite few, it is available for anyone and everyone that will put forth the right effort. Benjamin Franklin said, “Well done is better than well said.” It is one thing to talk the talk; it’s something else to walk the walk. You will not be remembered for what you say as much as for what you do.
As a kid growing up, my mother often told me, “Actions speak louder than words.” I have never forgotten that truth. It’s good to have right intentions, it’s better to have right actions.
Too many people in life want everything handed to them on the silver platter. Our culture and our government have created a whole people group that has developed a sense of entitlement. They want victory without battles. They want success without work. They want health without taking care of their bodies. However, you must remember if there’s no pain there’s no gain.
As I’ve said on many occasions “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” If you want to be successful in life you are going to have to take personal responsibility for your life. You and you alone are responsible for your life. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help people that have had setbacks or experienced some kind of tragedy in life, but what it does mean is we should give them a handup not just a handout!
Perhaps one of the greatest marketing slogans ever developed was by the sports shoe manufacture NIKE. It simply said, “Just do it!” In other words don’t just dream it, don’t just talk it, get busy and do it! Become a person of action. Begin to “Plan your work and work your plan.”
As you study scripture (the greatest success book ever written) you will find many verses that deal with our being a people of action. In one of my favorite parables (stories with a meaning) Jesus taught that it is only the person that hears, and acts on what he hears, that builds a life that is secure and stable that will be able to withstand the storms or problems that come their way. (Luke 6:46-49)
How many times have you read a book, listened to a motivational speech, heard a sermon, watched an informational video, or attended a training seminar, and agreed with what you learned? Maybe you’ve spent the time and put forth the effort to learn new information or be reminded of something you had learned in the past, yet you have never put into practice what you’ve learned. Why not? The only way to experience success in any area of life is to put into action what you have learned and what you know you should be doing.
The dreams and aspirations that you have will never be realized without action. It is one thing to be a positive thinker; it is something altogether different to be a positive doer! There are a lot of brilliant people with tons of information and great educations that never accomplish all they could because they are only reservoirs of knowledge, they aren’t doers.
While dreams are important, and information is essential, to anything becoming a reality, the only thing that will produce the success you desire in life is action. One of my problems with so many that teach the “Law of Attraction” is that they seem to be missing the most important key to experiencing or as they say, “attracting” success in life. While it is true there is power in positive expectation, positive expectation alone will not get the job done. The writer James in the New Testament made this statement, “Faith without works is dead, being alone.” It is important to believe in what you are doing, to believe that success is yours, to believe that good things are coming your way, but it is more important to put action to what you’re believing for and what you are expecting.
Former President Jimmy Carter made a powerful statement that I believe is appropriate for this blog posting. “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I'm free to choose what that something is, and the something I've chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands -- this is not optional -- my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
Success is much more than you acquiring a nice house, driving a top of the line sports car, wearing designer clothing, or dining in the finest of restaurants. It is about making a positive difference in the lives of those around you. It is about leaving the world a better place than when you found it. The key to this is found in our becoming people of action. If we will do the right things, the right ways, at the right times, we will with certainty enjoy success.
Got a dream, got a goal, got a plan, got a desired outcome? Just Do It!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
You’re Not A Failure!
Motivational speaker and author Van Crouch says, “You’re not finished when you’re defeated, you’re finished when you quit.” Winners in life understand that failing is part of success. You can’t know victory if you don’t have a battle. There is nothing like the joy of something good happening for you like you do after you’ve experienced something negative.
The truth is “Bad things happen to good people.” Jesus once said, “In this world you shall have tribulation.” (John 16:33) In other words, you are going to have some bumps on the road to success. Things aren’t always going to be rosy. People that see themselves as winners simply pick themselves up after a setback and move on. If you have a dream, and you are actively pursuing it, you are going to fall short from time to time. It’s not what happens to you that is most important; it’s what happens in you!
Failure is not an event, it is an opinion. You are not a failure until you say you are. Every time you fail you simply learn how not to do something! We learn a lot from trial and error. Jay Leno, host of the Tonight Show, spends his Sunday evenings going to comedy clubs and practicing his jokes for upcoming monologues. Some go over well and some bomb. But he is not deterred. Just because a joke fails doesn’t mean he is a failure. He learns from his mistakes and continues to hone his craft. The result is success when he performs his monologue on a nightly basis.
Winners are not people that never get knocked down; they are people who refuse to stay down. There is something in the heart of a champion that won’t let them give up regardless of what they are going through. We’ve all witnessed it watching sporting events. Just when you think there is no way a team or an individual has a chance to win, they find a way to win anyways. They understand that they aren’t finished as long as they don’t quit. Failure is not in the falling down but in the giving up!
Two of my favorite people from history are Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln. It is reported that Thomas Edison did 10,000 experiments before he found a filament for the light bulb. Someone once said to him, “so you’ve failed 10,000 times.” His response, “No I found 10,000 things that didn’t work!” Abraham Lincoln failed at business and numerous forays into the political arena before he was elected the sixteenth President of the United States of America. He goes down as perhaps the greatest or at least one of the greatest Presidents of all time. The common denominator between both of these great men of history is they never viewed themselves as failures.
Here are some questions to ponder in your pursuit of accomplishment.
How do you see yourself?
Do you see yourself as a success or a failure? What do you do when what you are attempting doesn’t seem to be working?
Do you give up and quit?
Or do you get up and find a way to do it anyways?
My challenge to you today is that you begin to see yourself as the winner God says you are. Refuse to let setbacks hold you back from fulfilling your life purpose and accomplishing what you are capable of. Choose to use failures and setbacks as stepping stones to reaching your goals and enjoying a successful life! Say like the Apostle Paul of old, “I can do all things through Christ which gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) You are not a failure!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
How's Your Aim?
Denis Waitley says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to know when you get there.” It is important to have a destination in mind when you leave on a trip or you may end up somewhere you don’t want to be.
Anytime I think about having the right aim in life. I am reminded of the hunter that told his friends he had killed a great buck at 1500 yards. His friends told him it was luck that he hit it. His reply has always stuck with me. He said, “It may have been luck that I hit it. But, it wasn’t luck that I was aiming at it!”
The fact is you can’t hit your target (goals) if you don’t have any or if you aren’t aimed at them. When Nasa sends a spacecraft into outer space they constantly have to make adjustments to the flight plan in order to get it to the destination they want it to go. In other words they have to keep adjusting their aim.
So it is with all of life. If you are going to hit your goals, fulfill your dreams, and live on purpose you must be careful to have the right aim. When you notice you are off line, take the time to refocus. Get your aim straightened out, and you will hit your target.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13, 14) Several things come to mind when I read this passage.
One, you can’t go forward looking in the rear view mirror! You can’t undo anything in your past. If you are constantly focusing on past failures or mistakes you are sabotaging your present and your future. In order to go forward you must forget the past. Let it go. Someone once said, “Don’t look back unless that’s the direction you want to go!
Two, you’ve got to reach forward to what’s before you. You must become focused on going forward. Of making progress. Of accomplishing what you were created to accomplish. Focus on what is possible not what is impossible. There will always be naysayers and dream stealers that will try to tell you that you can’t do it. Ignore them. Keep reaching!
Three, if you are going to hit your target you have to put forth diligent effort. The word press means to bear down on, to push, to give it your all. Just like a runner in a race you have to strain yourself using all the energy you have to cross the finish line. Success always requires effort on your part. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Four, without a goal to aim at you will wander through life never maximizing the potential inside you. Goals give us direction, focus, and a reason for getting up in the morning. They keep us on track. They help us to identify the distractions from our objectives and to ignore them.
Five, the prize or reward keeps us motivated to action. People work long hours because of the prize of a paycheck at the end of the week. Athletes put in long hours of training for the prize of winning the game or the championship trophy. When I was attempting to play professional golf I practice 6-8 hours per day to hone my skills and prepare myself for competition. The prize of not only the competition but also the tournament trophies (and potential payday) motivated me to spend the time necessary to do what it took to prepare.
Six, Paul said his prize was the upward call of God. God’s call to us is always an upward call. In other words it is a call to a higher level. It is rising to new levels of success, accomplishment, and productivity. Contrary to what a lot of people think, God desires for you to succeed in life. You were born to win in life. You were born with a purpose to fulfill. You were born to make a positive difference in the world around you. New levels of productivity and success afford you the ability to accomplish great things in the lives of others.
My challenge to you today is to check your aim. Do you have clear goals and objectives that you are presently working towards? Are you stretching your faith, your abilities, and your efforts? Are you being held back by past failures and mistakes? Are you putting forth diligent effort to reach your goals? Do you have a prize you are trying to attain? Do your goals lead you to a higher level and a better life?
Remember what I said earlier, “If you don’t know where you are going you may end up somewhere you don’t want to be!
Denis Waitley says, “If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to know when you get there.” It is important to have a destination in mind when you leave on a trip or you may end up somewhere you don’t want to be.
Anytime I think about having the right aim in life. I am reminded of the hunter that told his friends he had killed a great buck at 1500 yards. His friends told him it was luck that he hit it. His reply has always stuck with me. He said, “It may have been luck that I hit it. But, it wasn’t luck that I was aiming at it!”
The fact is you can’t hit your target (goals) if you don’t have any or if you aren’t aimed at them. When Nasa sends a spacecraft into outer space they constantly have to make adjustments to the flight plan in order to get it to the destination they want it to go. In other words they have to keep adjusting their aim.
So it is with all of life. If you are going to hit your goals, fulfill your dreams, and live on purpose you must be careful to have the right aim. When you notice you are off line, take the time to refocus. Get your aim straightened out, and you will hit your target.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words, “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13, 14) Several things come to mind when I read this passage.
One, you can’t go forward looking in the rear view mirror! You can’t undo anything in your past. If you are constantly focusing on past failures or mistakes you are sabotaging your present and your future. In order to go forward you must forget the past. Let it go. Someone once said, “Don’t look back unless that’s the direction you want to go!
Two, you’ve got to reach forward to what’s before you. You must become focused on going forward. Of making progress. Of accomplishing what you were created to accomplish. Focus on what is possible not what is impossible. There will always be naysayers and dream stealers that will try to tell you that you can’t do it. Ignore them. Keep reaching!
Three, if you are going to hit your target you have to put forth diligent effort. The word press means to bear down on, to push, to give it your all. Just like a runner in a race you have to strain yourself using all the energy you have to cross the finish line. Success always requires effort on your part. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Four, without a goal to aim at you will wander through life never maximizing the potential inside you. Goals give us direction, focus, and a reason for getting up in the morning. They keep us on track. They help us to identify the distractions from our objectives and to ignore them.
Five, the prize or reward keeps us motivated to action. People work long hours because of the prize of a paycheck at the end of the week. Athletes put in long hours of training for the prize of winning the game or the championship trophy. When I was attempting to play professional golf I practice 6-8 hours per day to hone my skills and prepare myself for competition. The prize of not only the competition but also the tournament trophies (and potential payday) motivated me to spend the time necessary to do what it took to prepare.
Six, Paul said his prize was the upward call of God. God’s call to us is always an upward call. In other words it is a call to a higher level. It is rising to new levels of success, accomplishment, and productivity. Contrary to what a lot of people think, God desires for you to succeed in life. You were born to win in life. You were born with a purpose to fulfill. You were born to make a positive difference in the world around you. New levels of productivity and success afford you the ability to accomplish great things in the lives of others.
My challenge to you today is to check your aim. Do you have clear goals and objectives that you are presently working towards? Are you stretching your faith, your abilities, and your efforts? Are you being held back by past failures and mistakes? Are you putting forth diligent effort to reach your goals? Do you have a prize you are trying to attain? Do your goals lead you to a higher level and a better life?
Remember what I said earlier, “If you don’t know where you are going you may end up somewhere you don’t want to be!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Go For It
What is the burning desire of your heart? What is the one thing you would do if money weren’t the object? If you knew you could do something you always wanted to do and that it would be successful, what would you do? The answers to these questions reveal the true deep-seated God-given dreams for your life.
Now, let me ask you something else. What is holding you back? Why aren’t you actively pursuing the dream in your heart?
Great achievers are not those who just have great dreams, they are people that are determined to make them a reality. They aren’t content to have good ideas; they are focused on bringing them to pass. The difference between achievers and non-achievers is not the dreams or ideas, but what they do with them.
I saw a sign once that simply said, “Don’t just dream it, Do it!” There are millions of people with great ideas that never accomplish great things because they never go for it. As Denis Waitly says, “They live on someday I’ll.” Someday I’ll do great things. Someday I’ll start a business. Someday I’ll lose weight. Someday I’ll write a book and so it goes.
To have what you’ve never had, you have to do what you’ve never done. You can live your dreams and bring your ideas to fruition if you will simply begin to do something to make them happen.
How to go for it:
Make a list of your dreams and ideas. If you don’t have a concrete picture of what you want to accomplish chances are you never will. By making a list you not only understand what you want to do but also how to get started.
Start today. Procrastination keeps many from never achieving great things. Good intentions are not good enough. There must be positive action. Don’t put the journey to the fulfillment of your dreams off until tomorrow. Begin to live in the now. It’s what you do now that determines your tomorrow.
Let go of whatever is holding you back. Whatever is holding you back needs to be conquered if you are going to go for it. Face your fears, your insecurities and your excuses, defeat them and go on. Remember, every great achiever has had to face similar obstacles to their success.
Focus on the end result. As author Steven Covey so aptly says, “Begin with the end in mind.” Picture yourself having already accomplished your objectives in life. Get a mental picture of how things are going to be once you’ve gone for the dreams you posses. By staying focused on the end result it makes the effort worth it regardless of the how tough it may get.
Find a role model. Find someone from a similar background as yourself, that has accomplished their dream and model yourself after them. Talk to them. Ask them questions. Learn what they did to get where they are now. Allow them to coach you. Instead of learning from your own mistakes, learn from the successes and failures of others.
Believe in yourself and what you are doing. You can’t accomplish anything if you don’t believe you can. If you believe you can or believe you can’t you’re right. Believe in your talents, abilities, dreams, and potential. When everyone around you is telling you that you can’t do it refuse to listen to them. There will always be naysayers and dream stealers. Winners learn to ignore the negative input of others and believe in their objectives until they are realized.
Make up your mind to finish what you start. Don’t be a great starter. Be a great finisher. Be persistent. Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Don’t quit until you accomplish what you’ve started. A marathon runner doesn’t burst off the starting line to fast or he’ll burn out too soon. He steadily paces himself so he can endure the grueling race set before him. Even when he feels like quitting he refuses to do so until he crosses the finish line. Anyone can start, winners finish.
Believe in the God who believes in you. Realize that God is the source of the dream you have in your heart. He believes in your ability to realize that dream so much that He gave it to you in the first place. Not only does He give you the dream but the Bible says He gives you the power to accomplish it. The Apostle Paul penned these words. “For it is God who works in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” In other words, it is God who gives us the dream and the power to accomplish that dream. When you feel weak, allow His power in you to give you the strength you need to go for it!
What is the burning desire of your heart? What is the one thing you would do if money weren’t the object? If you knew you could do something you always wanted to do and that it would be successful, what would you do? The answers to these questions reveal the true deep-seated God-given dreams for your life.
Now, let me ask you something else. What is holding you back? Why aren’t you actively pursuing the dream in your heart?
Great achievers are not those who just have great dreams, they are people that are determined to make them a reality. They aren’t content to have good ideas; they are focused on bringing them to pass. The difference between achievers and non-achievers is not the dreams or ideas, but what they do with them.
I saw a sign once that simply said, “Don’t just dream it, Do it!” There are millions of people with great ideas that never accomplish great things because they never go for it. As Denis Waitly says, “They live on someday I’ll.” Someday I’ll do great things. Someday I’ll start a business. Someday I’ll lose weight. Someday I’ll write a book and so it goes.
To have what you’ve never had, you have to do what you’ve never done. You can live your dreams and bring your ideas to fruition if you will simply begin to do something to make them happen.
How to go for it:
Make a list of your dreams and ideas. If you don’t have a concrete picture of what you want to accomplish chances are you never will. By making a list you not only understand what you want to do but also how to get started.
Start today. Procrastination keeps many from never achieving great things. Good intentions are not good enough. There must be positive action. Don’t put the journey to the fulfillment of your dreams off until tomorrow. Begin to live in the now. It’s what you do now that determines your tomorrow.
Let go of whatever is holding you back. Whatever is holding you back needs to be conquered if you are going to go for it. Face your fears, your insecurities and your excuses, defeat them and go on. Remember, every great achiever has had to face similar obstacles to their success.
Focus on the end result. As author Steven Covey so aptly says, “Begin with the end in mind.” Picture yourself having already accomplished your objectives in life. Get a mental picture of how things are going to be once you’ve gone for the dreams you posses. By staying focused on the end result it makes the effort worth it regardless of the how tough it may get.
Find a role model. Find someone from a similar background as yourself, that has accomplished their dream and model yourself after them. Talk to them. Ask them questions. Learn what they did to get where they are now. Allow them to coach you. Instead of learning from your own mistakes, learn from the successes and failures of others.
Believe in yourself and what you are doing. You can’t accomplish anything if you don’t believe you can. If you believe you can or believe you can’t you’re right. Believe in your talents, abilities, dreams, and potential. When everyone around you is telling you that you can’t do it refuse to listen to them. There will always be naysayers and dream stealers. Winners learn to ignore the negative input of others and believe in their objectives until they are realized.
Make up your mind to finish what you start. Don’t be a great starter. Be a great finisher. Be persistent. Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Don’t quit until you accomplish what you’ve started. A marathon runner doesn’t burst off the starting line to fast or he’ll burn out too soon. He steadily paces himself so he can endure the grueling race set before him. Even when he feels like quitting he refuses to do so until he crosses the finish line. Anyone can start, winners finish.
Believe in the God who believes in you. Realize that God is the source of the dream you have in your heart. He believes in your ability to realize that dream so much that He gave it to you in the first place. Not only does He give you the dream but the Bible says He gives you the power to accomplish it. The Apostle Paul penned these words. “For it is God who works in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” In other words, it is God who gives us the dream and the power to accomplish that dream. When you feel weak, allow His power in you to give you the strength you need to go for it!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
ATTITUDE THE KEY TO WINNING
Your Attitude in life determines whether you win or lose. Simply defined, your attitude is your outlook on life. It is your point of view regarding the world that surrounds you. It is the way you look at circumstances and problems that you encounter in life.
A proper attitude is vital to success in all areas of life. Without a proper attitude you will be easily distracted, discouraged, disappointed and defeated.
Everyone has one. You can’t hide it. It stands out like a sore thumb or a black eye. Whether good or bad, glad or sad, positive or negative, your attitude is always showing. It is a state of mind the you always have control over.
Your attitude can:
· Help or hinder you
· Make or break you
· Make friends or enemies
· Make you uptight or at ease
· Make you a success or a failure
· Help you get better or get worse.
In order to have a better world to live in, your attitude needs to be evaluated. A better world does not depend on what’s happening around you, but rather what’s happening within you.
The Bible has much to say on the subject of attitude. Notice these verses.
Numbers 14:24 “But my servant Caleb, Because he had another spirit, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”
Daniel 6:3 “Then Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king set him over the whole realm.”
Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
The word “spirit” as used in these scriptures, in the Hebrew lanuage, means “seat or organ of mental acts.” In other words it is your attitude.
A person with a proper attitude almost always looks on the bright side of things. They are always able to see something positive even in a negative situation.
The key to a proper attitude is found in the renewing of the mind. The Apostle Paul teaches us, “I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1,2.)
Renewing the mind is simply changing the way you think. In computer lingo, it is “reprogramming your mental computer.” To renew the mind is to determine that you are not going to think the same way you always have.
You are the only one that can control your thought life. Others may influence the way you think, but only you have the power to make that choice. You can train yourself to be positive instead of negative. To believe God has your best interests at heart. To believe that something good is going to come out of your bad situation.
Determine today to take your attention off of the negative reports of others and instead begin to focus on what God’s word says about your situation. Begin to think in line with the promises of God’s word. See yourself the way God sees you.
As you begin to think in line with God’s word, you will begin to notice a change in the way you look at life and the circumstances that surround you. That’s what the scripture means when it says you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you think of transformation, think of the caterpillar that becomes a beautiful butterfly. Now that’s transformation!
The same thing happens to you as you change your attitude. Instead of being negative all the time, you begin to be positive. Instead of seeing yourself as a loser you will begin to see yourself as a winner through Jesus Christ. No more will “I can’t” be a part of your vocabulary, but rather you will say with the Apostle Paul, “”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philipians 4:13).
As Zig Zigler so adequately says, “there are times we need a check up from the neck up!” It is time too get rid of all our “stinkin thinkin” and begin to have the attitude that god wants us to have.
Ephesians 4:24 declares, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” In other words change your attitude. At one time or another all of us must make adjustments in our attitudes. You probably need to change your attitude when:
· You don’t have enough time for yourself
· You don’t have enough time for God
· Others tell you, you need too
· Your relationships with others is strained
· Your view of others begins to lower
· Your view of life becomes cynical
Of the twelve spies that searched out the land of promise, only two, Joshua and Caleb, entered in. Why? Because they had the right attitude. Of all the people in leadership in Babylon, Daniel was promoted to second in command. Why? His attitude was excellent. Of all the kings that ruled over Israel, only David was known as a man after God’s own heart. Why? Because he knew how to accept the fact that at times he needed an attitude adjustment.
You can excel in life. You can be everything that God has created you to be. You can make an impact on those around you. All it takes is having a proper attitude. You see “Attitude Makes The Difference!”
Your Attitude in life determines whether you win or lose. Simply defined, your attitude is your outlook on life. It is your point of view regarding the world that surrounds you. It is the way you look at circumstances and problems that you encounter in life.
A proper attitude is vital to success in all areas of life. Without a proper attitude you will be easily distracted, discouraged, disappointed and defeated.
Everyone has one. You can’t hide it. It stands out like a sore thumb or a black eye. Whether good or bad, glad or sad, positive or negative, your attitude is always showing. It is a state of mind the you always have control over.
Your attitude can:
· Help or hinder you
· Make or break you
· Make friends or enemies
· Make you uptight or at ease
· Make you a success or a failure
· Help you get better or get worse.
In order to have a better world to live in, your attitude needs to be evaluated. A better world does not depend on what’s happening around you, but rather what’s happening within you.
The Bible has much to say on the subject of attitude. Notice these verses.
Numbers 14:24 “But my servant Caleb, Because he had another spirit, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”
Daniel 6:3 “Then Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king set him over the whole realm.”
Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
The word “spirit” as used in these scriptures, in the Hebrew lanuage, means “seat or organ of mental acts.” In other words it is your attitude.
A person with a proper attitude almost always looks on the bright side of things. They are always able to see something positive even in a negative situation.
The key to a proper attitude is found in the renewing of the mind. The Apostle Paul teaches us, “I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1,2.)
Renewing the mind is simply changing the way you think. In computer lingo, it is “reprogramming your mental computer.” To renew the mind is to determine that you are not going to think the same way you always have.
You are the only one that can control your thought life. Others may influence the way you think, but only you have the power to make that choice. You can train yourself to be positive instead of negative. To believe God has your best interests at heart. To believe that something good is going to come out of your bad situation.
Determine today to take your attention off of the negative reports of others and instead begin to focus on what God’s word says about your situation. Begin to think in line with the promises of God’s word. See yourself the way God sees you.
As you begin to think in line with God’s word, you will begin to notice a change in the way you look at life and the circumstances that surround you. That’s what the scripture means when it says you will be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you think of transformation, think of the caterpillar that becomes a beautiful butterfly. Now that’s transformation!
The same thing happens to you as you change your attitude. Instead of being negative all the time, you begin to be positive. Instead of seeing yourself as a loser you will begin to see yourself as a winner through Jesus Christ. No more will “I can’t” be a part of your vocabulary, but rather you will say with the Apostle Paul, “”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philipians 4:13).
As Zig Zigler so adequately says, “there are times we need a check up from the neck up!” It is time too get rid of all our “stinkin thinkin” and begin to have the attitude that god wants us to have.
Ephesians 4:24 declares, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” In other words change your attitude. At one time or another all of us must make adjustments in our attitudes. You probably need to change your attitude when:
· You don’t have enough time for yourself
· You don’t have enough time for God
· Others tell you, you need too
· Your relationships with others is strained
· Your view of others begins to lower
· Your view of life becomes cynical
Of the twelve spies that searched out the land of promise, only two, Joshua and Caleb, entered in. Why? Because they had the right attitude. Of all the people in leadership in Babylon, Daniel was promoted to second in command. Why? His attitude was excellent. Of all the kings that ruled over Israel, only David was known as a man after God’s own heart. Why? Because he knew how to accept the fact that at times he needed an attitude adjustment.
You can excel in life. You can be everything that God has created you to be. You can make an impact on those around you. All it takes is having a proper attitude. You see “Attitude Makes The Difference!”
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