Be A Person Of Value

Be A Person Of Value

Albert Einstein wrote, “Try not to become a man of success, rather try to become a person of value.” In our society many are selling themselves short simply by trying to succeed at any cost. While success is the by-product of vision, goal-setting, planning, action and determination, it should not be your ultimate goal. You must not get caught up in the web of trying to be a success so others will think you are great.

Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions. I have met countless numbers of people in my life who have experienced mental breakdowns, a loss of proper desires, and emotional breakdowns because they chased success instead of letting it follow them.

It is startling to finally reach the top of the ladder only to realize it’s propped against the wrong wall. Your life does not consist of the abundance of things you possess. When you die you will not be remembered for what you owned as much as for who you were.

A person of value not only has worth but also adds worth or value to others. There are many ways you can add value to those around you. Here are a few. Compliment someone that does a good job. Smile at others and make eye contact when you talk to them. Encourage others in the pursuit of their dreams. Find a need someone has and meet it. Place value on others by listening to their ideas. Always treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.” In order to be the person you were created to become, your life must be founded on right and moral principles. Show me a person with no values and I will show you a failure.

In order to leave a positive lasting legacy you must seek to be a person of character. Seek to live a life based on principles and values. Be a person that makes the difference in the lives of others. Live a life that exemplifies the life of Christ in all you do. In other words be a servant. Zig Zigler says, “If you help others get what they want you will get what you want.”

To Your Success!

Do You Need Some Change?

Do you ever find yourself questioning why you are doing what you are doing? Has life lost its luster? Do you ever feel like for some reason you have gotten off track and don’t know how it happened? Does it feel like your life is stuck on a treadmill? That you’re always busy but never getting anywhere?

If you’re like me, and you probably are, you’ve asked yourself these and other questions similar to these hundreds of times, and your answer is a big fat “YES!” Now the question is, “So what are you going to do about it?” You can either give in and settle for less than what is possible, or you can make the decision to do whatever it takes to break out of the mundane existence you find yourself in.

From time to time we all find ourselves in some sort of rut. It’s easy to get in a rut without even realizing it. You know you are in a rut when what used to be fun and was a challenge has become ritualistic and boring. Someone has rightly said, “A rut is nothing more than a grave with both ends kicked out of it.” It is existing instead of excelling at what you were created for.

It is important to examine our lives from time to time, in order to discover the rituals, habits, or ruts that we have developed. Especially the ones that are making us miserable. Plato is quoted as saying, “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.”

Notice what the Bible says about examining your life. “But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” (Galatians 6:4) Taking personal inventory of your life, and examining yourself, is not always a fun process. But, it is vitally important so you can make adjustments that lead to greater success and productivity.

Right now, in our world, with the economic crisis that is getting so much press, individuals, businesses, and organizations are having to examine their practices as to what is working or not working. They are having to take a long hard look at what is necessary and what is unnecessary as to their projects, their spending, and their work force. Then they have to make the changes necessary to succeed in the face of failure.

One of the keys to success is the ability to adapt. To make the necessary on course adjustments that will get you to where you want to go. When NASA launches a spacecraft or satellite into orbit, there are countless numbers of adjustments that have to be made along the way in order to get them in the proper orbital pattern. So it is with all of life. If you don’t make the necessary adjustments along the way you’ll miss your destination (goals) by miles.

My challenge to you today is to set aside some time and ask yourself the hard questions. Make the time to examine all areas of your life; Your attitude, your life purpose, your gifts and talents, your passion, your dreams, your spending habits, your work habits etc. Then make the decision to make the necessary adjustments and changes that will lead to personal success and productivity. “If what you are doing isn’t working, then you need to change what you are doing!”

To your success!

How to Have a Great Day

Far too many people are caught up in reliving their yesterdays or fantasizing about their futures, but few are living in and enjoying the now. Several years ago I spoke on the subject, “The curse of yesterday and tomorrow.” I spoke about the fact that if all you think about are your yesterdays or your tomorrows, and then it becomes a curse to your today.

Today is the most important day of your life. Your destiny is determined by what you do today. The attitudes and ideas you have today will help to determine your successes tomorrow.

Author J.J. Turner writes:

Today is the day of Action.
Today is when the battle shall be won.
Today is yesterdays tomorrow.
Today is all you have.
Today is the time for winning.
Today you will take a step toward your goal.
Today must not be wasted.
Today is under your management.
What will you do with today?

If you are going to experience great success then you must learn to live in the present. You must quit just dreaming about tomorrow and reminiscing about yesterday. Determine to live today with all the gusto you can muster.

Determine that nothing is going to keep you from having a great day today. Nothing is going to keep you from recognizing the opportunities that each day presents you with.

Believe That Something Good is Going to Happen Today

Having a positive mindset determines the course of your life. Jesus said, “As your faith is so be it unto you.” In other words what you believe is what you will receive. This is true in both a negative and a positive sense. If you start your day with a negative mindset, expecting the worse, then that is what you are going to experience. Conversely, if you start the day with a positive attitude, expecting the best, then that is what you will enjoy.

Make the decision to begin looking for and believing for the best in your life every day. Begin to say to yourself “something good is going to happen for me today.” Repeat it often until it becomes a part of how you really feel.

Begin Each Day With Prayer

Prayer is simply spending time communing with God. It is what gets God involved in your circumstances. As my mom used to tell me, “Things go better with prayer.”

The Bible is full of teachings as to the power of prayer. Jesus said these things about prayer, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) He further said, “Hitherto have you ask nothing in my name, ask and you shall receive that you joy may be full.” (John 16:24) “What things you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them.” (Mark 11:24)

Organize Your Day

Much time is wasted by people who don’t take the time to plan their days. As someone has so rightly said, “Time is money.” Start each day with a list of prioritized things that must be accomplished. Learn to manage your time so as to get the most out of each day.

Look for Opportunities to Use Your Skills and Abilities

God has created you with certain talents and abilities that make you unique and important. There is nothing more fulfilling than doing what you were made to do and using the talents that God has blessed you with. On any given day you will encounter many opportunities to use what God has given you. Be who God made you to be not what others want you to be.

Have a Positive Attitude

It is very important that you maintain the proper perspective if you are going to enjoy the winning life. Many have said that attitude is more important that aptitude when it comes to being successful. While aptitude is important without a positive attitude it is powerless. Having a positive attitude is a prerequisite for using what you know in a productive manner.

Your attitude determines how far and how high you will go in life. We have all met extremely talented and brilliant people that are not accomplishing their dreams because of a poor attitude. On the other hand, we’ve all met less talented and less brilliant people that are accomplish great things because they have an upbeat positive attitude. The attitude you possess is your choice. Make the decision to start each day with a positive outlook and high expectations.

Practice Acts of Kindness

When I was in the Boy Scouts as a young man we were expected to do a good deed for someone everyday. That was part of our motto as Boy Scouts. I still remember the positive feeling I had every time I did something nice for someone else. While most of my deeds of kindness were not a big deal, it was a nice feeling to see how good you made the other person feel.
I have paid peoples meal tabs without them knowing who did it. I have paid toll for the people in the vehicle behind me for no reason at all. I’ve paid for the groceries of people in line ahead of me just because I wanted too. Now, none of these things are to brag on myself, but to simply illustrate what I am talking about. Try it and see if you don’t get the same feelings of joy that I’ve experienced. If you want to have a great day, help someone else have a great day!

Live Each Day As if It's Your Last

Enjoy each moment. Enjoy the company of others. Learn to appreciate the sunshine, the flowers blooms, the bird’s songs, and everything else that you come in contact with. Make each moment count. Do the things that will bring lasting results, things that will benefit and promote others. If you are going to experience success in life then you are going to have to begin to live in the now. Oh by the way, Have A Great Day!

Manage Yourself, Lead Others

In order to be successful in any arena of life, you must put into practice the principles that promote success. You will never be an “accidental” success. Success comes as a result of putting the right principles into operation on purpose.

You cannot lead others if you cannot manage yourself. It is imperative that anyone in a leadership role learn to manage their thinking, their actions, their words, their time, their relationships, and their emotions. In other words, leaders are people who take charge of their own lives, before they try to lead others.

Your Thinking

How you think has an affect on every area of your life. Positive thinking leads to self-motivation, which in turn leads to productivity. Negative thinking leads to self de-motivation, which leads to a lack of productivity. The way you think not only affects you it also affects those around you.

We are a result of the way we think. The Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Everything we are and everything we accomplish is affected by how we think. We determine our destiny by what we allow our minds to dwell on.

Your Actions

In order to be successful as a leader you must be a person of action. What we think or believe is in the end of little consequence if we are not people of action. The only thing of real consequence is what we do. The Bible teaches us over and over again that we are to be doers not hearers only.

Ask yourself these questions. Is what I am doing taking me in the direction I want to go? Are my actions causing me to be productive? Is what I am doing the right thing to do? If you answered no to these questions, you need to reevaluate what you are doing.

Your Words

Your words carry the power to create or destroy. Never underestimate the value or importance of the words you speak. People tend to go in the direction of their dominate thoughts and what they talk about all the time.

You can find out if a person is negative or positive by just listening to what they talk about all of the time. Jesus said, “a good man out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth that which is good, an evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

In order to enjoy success in leading others you must watch what you say. Learn to speak more complimentary and less critical. Speak more positively and less negatively. Speak motivating words instead of de-motivating words.

Your Time

You will either control time or it will control you. By properly managing your time you insure that tasks will be accomplished. You will get more done. You will enjoy success.

Avoid time wasters. Guard your time. Once it is gone it cannot be reclaimed. Determine to spend your time on things, and with people that are relevant to your productivity. Beware of distractions.

Your Relationships

Relationships are important. It is impossible to be productive without proper relationships. In order to be a successful leader one must learn to manage their relationships. They must learn how to develop, sustain, and strengthen their relationships.

Some relationships are draining and unproductive. There are some people that sap you of your energy and creativity. Successful leaders understand the necessity of cutting off or ending such relationships.

Choose to associate with positive upbeat people. People that will encourage, enhance and edify you. Get around people that celebrate you, and away from people that just tolerate you.

Your Emotions

Your emotions have much to do with how you respond or react to a given situation. Negative emotions such as anger, frustration and impatience are detrimental to success in leading others. Positive emotions such as sensitivity, understanding and patience are helpful in leading others.

As leaders it is important to develop an even emotional keel. One must learn to not allow themselves to get too high or too low emotionally. Championship athletes and teams understand the emotional balance. Determine to live on an even keel. Take control of your emotions.

Personal Development: Be All You Can Be

Life is about learning, growing, and improving. It is impossible to be as effective as you could be without constant personal development. You should be constantly seeking to improve your abilities, your knowledge, and your person.

You can be all that you were made to be. Growth or maturity takes time. It does not happen overnight. It is a process. Given the proper effort, discipline and perseverance you can develop your potential.

Keys for Personal Development:

Don’t think you have arrived.

No one has arrived to the point of maximum potential. Researchers tell us that upon the examination of Albert Einstein’s brain after his death, they discovered he had only used fifteen percent of his mental capacity. This brilliant man still had room for improvement. Think about it, eighty-five percent of his mental potential was undeveloped. With that in mind it is easy to see that human beings never truly arrive at a place of maximum potential. There is always room for improvement.

You are what you think.

Solomon wrote, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” It is a true statement that you become what you think on a continual basis. People that see themselves as losers or failures actually live down to their expectations. They literally find ways to sabotage their lives. Conversely, people that see themselves as winners, in turn live up to their expectations. They find a way to win. It is important that you guard your thoughts, because your thoughts determine your actions.


Birds of like feather flock together.

Your associations are important to your personal development. You tend to become like the people you associate with on a continual basis. If you want to soar with the eagles you can’t flock with the turkeys! There are some people that are toxic to your life. Their negativity is poison to themselves and those they are around. In order to become the person you want to become you must sever any relationship that pulls you down instead of building you up. Hang around positive, faith-filled, achievement oriented people, if that’s the type of person you want to become. Run with winners. Solomon said, “Walk with the wise and you will be wise.”

Don’t be afraid to try new things.

In order to be successful you must be willing to take new risks. One reason many never accomplish much is because they are afraid to try anything different. Many times in order to have what you’ve never had; you’ve got to do what you’ve never done. The only thing worse than the person who fails, is the person who never tries.

Refuse to accept the status quo, as the way things have to be.

To experience personal growth you must be willing to leave your comfort zone. As creatures of habit it is easy to get locked into certain patterns that are comfortable but not necessarily productive. Just because things have always been done a certain way does not mean there isn’t a better way. Look for it. Find it. All great achievers have this mindset. That’s what drove Thomas Edison to find a better way to light the world.

Keep Learning.

We’ve all met people that are “know it alls.” At least they think they are. They act as though they are experts at everything, when in reality they aren’t. The longer I’ve lived the more I realize I still have a lot to learn. I like to spend time reading positive books on success and achievement. I spend time regularly listening to audio presentations of successful people. I attend seminars on subjects that interest me. Why? So, I can continue to grow as a person. The day you stop learning is the day you die!