Life Above & Beyond Adversity

Respond or React?

2009-06-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was thought eccentric because of how extensively he planned his plays in advance of each game. Most coaches would wait to see how the game unfolded, then respond with plays that seemed appropriate. Walsh wanted the game to respond to him. Walsh won several Super Bowls with his “eccentric” proactive approach. He was a coach who looked into the future.

Looking ahead is the process of creating the future before it happens. People who learn to do it “understand where they are going.” Like Bill Walsh, it involves deciding your actions in advance so that your life will respond to you. What are the benefits of such a proactive pursuit?

Looking ahead gives direction. It’s like using a highlighter on a roadmap to indicate where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. The highlighted roadmap not only provides information for where you are going; it also suggests where you are not going.

Looking ahead helps us to create rather than react. With each step along our journey, we are faced with a choice either to create or to react. Many people spend their entire days reacting. Like goalies in hockey, with pucks flying at us all day, we react. We react to news, cars in traffic, people, events, challenges, and obstacles. A better way involves making choices and following plans.

Looking ahead saves time. “One hour of planning saves three hours of execution.” Planning yields a savings return. We only have twenty-four hours in a day and 365 days in a year. If we don’t use them wisely by looking ahead, we will forever forfeit those gifts.

Looking ahead reduces crisis. Our daily lives have two controlling influences: plans and pressures. When we look ahead and choose to plan, we take charge and control of our days. If we fail to look ahead, we will spend our days in crisis mode. We will fall into a trap of panic planning—planning on the fly with no time to effectively map out a strategy.

Looking ahead maximizes energy. Failing to look ahead, we dissipate our energy on less important matters, improper agendas, and lost crusades. We waste our time on the trivial many. But preparation often energizes us!

Be wise. Look ahead. It’s eccentric but well worth the effort.

The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.
Proverbs 14:8

The Low Rank

2009-06-11T10:02:00.001-07:00

But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
Luke 22:26

This verse states a view that is so different than what the world practices. According to the world, a leader is to have special privileges and to be treated better than everyone else. A former employee of mine thought that she didn’t need to do as much work because she had “paid her dues.” It only caused dissent with the rest of the employees. Wouldn’t you love to arrive at work someday and find your boss cleaning? Or how about the husband who doesn’t feel like he needs to help around the house because he is the “king of his castle”? Wouldn’t you love to have your husband cook you dinner after you’ve spent a long day with the kids? And what if he did that often? Now that’s serving up love!

Why are these scenarios so unusual? I think that it’s because we have a messed up idea of leadership—and a messed up idea about service. The world seems to see service as a form of weakness. Jesus tells us and shows us that service is a sign of strength—it takes inner strength to serve those around us. It’s a very humbling experience. Leaders who think they are above serving are simply afraid of their weaknesses.

Christ tells us that our leadership should be different than what the world expects. We shouldn’t gloat over being above anyone else but use our place in life to help others. The best leaders or teachers are the ones who can admit when they are wrong or they don’t know the answer. Then, because they are leaders, they work to find the correct answers and lead people down the right path.

Look at the leadership examples around you. Do they tend to be humble or haughty? Take a look at your own leadership style. If you’re a parent, how do you lead your children? As a wife, how do you serve your husband? Husbands, how do you serve your wives? Service isn’t just a sign of humility but of love as well. Good leadership requires love. It’s a love outside of us—God’s love. Ask God for his love to empower and guide your leadership and relationships with people. Follow him, for he is our ultimate servant-leader.

America's Meltdown: Economic or Moral?

2009-04-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

All Great Failures Are…
By Tom Ziglar

Dad’s mentor, Fred Smith (http://budurl.com/vmjt), said that “all great failures are moral failures.” When I first heard the explanation to this statement by Fred it made perfect sense. We all know the stories of very successful athletes, business people, politicians, and religious leaders who take a great moral fall. Drugs, lying, stealing from their companies and cheating on their spouses result in losing their reputation as well as their wealth, and often destroy their key relationships, impacting the lives of everyone around them. Pride, greed, and the desire for instant gratification cause people to make morally bad decisions, and these decisions destroy them and oftentimes many others.

Now that we are going through an economic meltdown as a country and as a world, I started to consider Fred’s statement on a much larger basis. Is this great economic failure really a moral failure? The more I hear and read, the more convinced I am that it is. Choosing debt to support a lifestyle driven by instant gratification is a moral failure. Well-intentioned do-gooders who create policies that allow people to purchase things they cannot afford are ultimately moral failures. Spending money we don’t have is ultimately a moral failure. A society that says “go ahead and get it now, everybody is doing it,” is a society that justifies their own moral shortcomings by getting everyone to participate.

This economic meltdown that we are all experiencing is not a technical glitch, it is the direct result of many morally bad decisions piling up until, by their own weight, they can only come crashing down.
So here is the real challenge we face as a nation. The way out of this mess is not a series of technically creative political and financial policies. The way out is realizing we have to make good, sound moral decisions around money. Debt is bad. People are not entitled to things they cannot pay for. Hard work is the solution. Living on less than you make builds character, lessens risk, and provides a foundation of rock, not sand, for your future.

This all seems so simple, even too simple, but the truth is really always pretty simple, we just don’t like to admit it. Ultimately, to recognize that this economic collapse is really because of breaking moral laws means that we, and our leaders, must recognize that there is a moral law-giver. The bully pulpit in our country right now is controlled by the media and the politicians. They fancy themselves as the moral law-givers, and they certainly don’t recognize a truly moral law-giver unless they agree with him!

Never forget: Just because you are of the opinion that something is not true doesn’t mean that you won’t be governed by it if it is true. When people and countries make enough morally bad decisions, failure is a certainty. Here is the good news. The opposite is also true!

Tom Ziglar is the proud son of Zig Ziglar and CEO of Ziglar. This article was taken from his blog, http://tomziglar.com/

Is Your Life Balanced?

2009-02-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Luke 2:52

A balanced life is characterized by order, peace, and wholeness. The various parts of life are as they should be and where they should be. Each part of the balanced life gets the right amount of time and effort at the right time. It’s not giving each part of life the same amount of time that makes life balanced; it’s giving each part the necessary allotment of time.

The life of Jesus is an excellent model concerning balance. Throughout his life, Jesus was under constant pressure. Friend and enemy alike pursued him. Yet, when examining his life as recorded in Scripture, one sees that he never hurried, that he never had to play catch up, and that he was never taken by surprise. He managed time well, bringing it under control, because he knew the importance of balance. Jesus’ life was well rounded. He grew intellectually, physically, spiritually, and socially.

Does your life reflect a balance? Do you make time for intellectual growth? If you are too busy to read a book or engage in study that stimulates the mind, you are too busy. Do you make time for physical health? Many people burn out because of improper personal maintenance. Don’t be another fatality on the emotional highway. Take care of your physical self. Do you make time for your relationship with God? Do you feel too busy for prayer, Bible study, meditation, or devotions? Psalms 46:10 can be translated, “Take time and know that I am God.” A popular hymn gives this advice: “Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord . . . Take time to be holy, the world rushes on,” but do we do it? Do you make time for primary relationships? Is adequate time provided for your spouse, family, and friends?

Only you can answer those questions honestly. And, only you can take the necessary steps to bring order, harmony, and balance back in your life. Start today.

Intimacy Revealed

2009-02-12T05:36:00.000-08:00

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?”
John 14:9

Knowing God personally is the greatest satisfaction a human can have while living on earth. What a privilege to be able to talk and spend time with the one who created us! And yet there are times in our lives when we don’t strive to be truly satisfied in the Lord. Leaders always have to be on guard against callousness when it comes to their personal faith in Jesus. Head knowledge, education, and work experience do not equal intimacy. Instead, intimacy involves a meaningful friendship with Jesus where deep secrets, struggles, and successes are shared. What results is an extension of his life in their thoughts, attitudes, and actions.

But what if our hearts are calloused and hardened, wrapped in protection much like an artichoke? We first must realize that we cannot, in our own power, fix the problem. Secondly, we have to be willing to discard our pride and re-surrender our lives to the Lord. Only he can peel away our layers of protection so we can be changed for his glory. He knows our hearts even when it’s hiding behind the artichoke leaves.

The twelve disciples had life experiences unlike any of us will ever have. They were able to spend time daily with Jesus, walking, talking, and watching him perform countless miracles. Even with their proximity to the Lord, they still didn’t understand who he was. Jesus’ question to Philip in John 14:9 is one that he asks his followers today. Just replace Philip’s name with yours. At the same time, Jesus says to us, “Come and know me. Really know who I am.” It’s a call of hope, of rest, of excitement that cannot be easily forgotten.

Not now. Not ever. Can you hear that call to intimacy with Jesus today?

Real Leadership

2008-10-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
John 13:15

The qualifications for being a leader do not consist solely of sitting behind a desk and barking out orders for others to accomplish. If that were the case, life as we know it would come to a standstill, with lots of talk but no action. Successful leaders are able to delegate duties to others but are also willing to perform them if necessary.

I know of one grocery store chain where the CEO and his team of vice-presidents attend the grand opening of each new location. Instead of simply basking in the spotlight of another success, they get to work, helping the new staff. They can be seen stocking shelves, performing price checks, helping customers, and bagging groceries. They even gather shopping carts from the parking lot. Talk about setting an example for the new employees to follow!

Jesus set the perfect example on the night he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. As the evening meal was being served, he got up from the table, grabbed a towel and basin of water, and proceeded to wash the feet of his disciples. Such a task was supposed to be done by a servant, but Jesus was willing to take on that role. Peter wasn't sure what to think of this, rejecting the foot washing at first. He had to be convinced. Later, Jesus informed Peter and the other disciples that leadership equals servanthood. It's not an easy truth for many leaders to apply to life, but Christ’s example that night makes an eloquent case.

So the next time you're ready to tell someone what to do, think back to that evening meal when the Lord, on his knees, washed the dirty, smelly feet of those he loved—and for whom he later died. That's leadership in its highest form. How can you follow that example?

Patience? aaarrgh!!

2008-10-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9

At once. Now. Immediately. Deadlines.

These are words that come to mind regarding the fast-paced lifestyle many of us find ourselves in. We expect our newspaper to be on the front porch when we wake up. We expect traffic signals to turn green the instant we approach them. We expect a bag of popcorn to explode into light, fluffy goodness in exactly three-and-a-half minutes. But what happens when our desires don't materialize in what we consider to be a timely fashion? We may experience frustration, grumpiness, possibly even anger.

As one of the fruits of the Spirit, patience is a character trait God desires to produce in us (see Galatians 5:22-23). Yet the only way to really learn what it means to be patient is to experience it firsthand. Patience is an oh-so-gradually unveiled gift.

Noah lived in a time when lawlessness and sin were the rule, not the exception. Imagine his reaction when God told him about his plan to destroy humanity! Picture Noah's reaction when God told him to build a boat, giving him specific dimensions and directions! Imagine having to wait 120 years to see it happen! I wonder if Noah ever said to himself, "Okay Lord, things are getting worse instead of better. Aren't you going to execute your plan? After all, it's already been fifteen years!" Thankfully, Noah learned the lesson of patience, trusted God's timing, and was spared from the flood as a result.

Our response when something doesn't happen on schedule speaks to how well we have learned to be patient. Maybe God has something better just around the corner. He will let you know when he's ready—or perhaps when you're ready. That's something to consider the next time you throw a bag of popcorn in the microwave.

Reasons, Seasons, Lifetime

2008-09-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season!

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (any way); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

One Degree....the difference between good and GREAT!

2008-09-19T04:32:00.000-07:00

At 211 degrees...water is hot.
At 212 degrees...it boils.
And with boiling water, comes steam.
And steam can power a locomotive.
And, it’s that one extra degree that...
Makes all the difference.

So many times, in business and in life, it’s that one extra degree of effort that separates the good from the great.

To get what you have never had, you must do what you have never done.

http://www.212-degrees.com/

Giving Your Best

2008-09-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.”
Mark 7:37

Leaders pursue excellence. They lead their organizations, their families, their businesses, and, in fact, their very lives striving for their best.

Jesus was committed to excellence. God gave his very best—his Son. And, as the New Testament writer Mark reminds us, God's Son gave his very best—his life. He made the best wine (see John 2:1-11), his fish and bread recipes were delicious (see Matthew 14:13-21), and the limbs he restored were perfect (see Mark 3:1-5). His followers should do no less. Less than our best is inadequate, considering the fact that God has given us his very best.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry." Whatever our role, our position, our organization, or our lot in life, we should strive for the best. The measure of our success should not be attached to our particular career or what we earn but on our character and what we give.

Excellence does not mean being the best but being your best, understanding that variation makes all the difference in the world. Excellence is being better than you were yesterday. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential.

Some people have fame thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them. Excellence is achieved. What will you do to have people say, like they said of Jesus, "Everything he does is wonderful"?

Persevere

2008-08-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

Don’t Give Up

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.Hebrews 10:36

Effective leaders accomplish seemingly impossible tasks because they never give up. They never buckle under. Despite mounting criticism, intense opposition, and overwhelming obstacles, they persevere with determined resolve. They refuse to throw in the towel.

Often, the easiest thing would be to quit. Just give up. Forget about one’s dream and return to the comfort and convenience of mediocrity. Give in to the words of the critics, give up to the opposition, and give way to the obstacles. Simply tuck tail and run away.

Great power is embodied in persistence. The race is not always won by the fastest, nor the game by the strongest, but rather by the one who keeps on keeping on, who refuses to give up. Consider the postage stamp. Its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there. Race car driver Rick Mears said, "To finish first you must first finish."

It is always too soon to quit. One of the most powerful and destructive tools that Satan has in his arsenal is discouragement, the subtle but dangerous compulsion to give up, to quit, saying, "What's the use?"

When you are tempted to quit: resist. We must endure in the battle until the evil day is over. We must press on in the face of the temptation to quit. Until the war is over, we must fight to the end. Until the race is finished, we must keep running. Until the wall is built, we must keep stacking bricks. Never give up. Never. The promises of God are always at the end.

Simple Truths

2008-08-22T04:22:00.000-07:00

http://www.simpletruths.tv/movies.php?movie=FJOY

No Room for Excuses by Ron White

2008-05-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

'The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.' You have heard it a million times. However, my guess is that you have never heard it from the mouth of the 'rich'. Instead, this echo has most likely bounced to your ear with its origins being an excuse. That is right... an excuse. Excuses are what many use to pacify their guilt of not accomplishing what they are capable of.
I am not suggesting that wealth is success. My inference is that success is the progressive realization of predetermined worthwhile goals. It may be something as simple as raising a family.
What do these names have in common? Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan Bill Clinton
They were all President of the United States, right? They were all the most powerful man in the world at one point. However, I am looking for something else...
Richard Nixon... Nixon was born in the home his father built. He won an award from Harvard his senior year of high school. However, his family was unable to afford his leaving home for college. He instead attended Whittier College.
Gerald Ford... Ford was born as Leslie Lynch King, Jr. In 1913 his mother left her abusive husband and took her son to live with her parents. She met Gerald R. Ford, whom she married and gave her child his name Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. He was the only President to be adopted. Ford worked in his stepfather's paint and varnish store growing up. He coached boxing during college to afford his tuition.
Jimmy Carter... He was the first member of his family ever to go to college and his father was a peanut farmer.
Ronald Reagan... Son of an alcoholic traveling shoe salesman. He worked his way into show business by broadcasting baseball games. At forty, he was divorced and his career was at a dead end.
Bill Clinton... Born William Jefferson Blythe IV, his father (a traveling salesmen) died in an automobile accident three months before he was born. His mother married Roger Clinton and Bill took that name. Clinton grew up in a turbulent family. His stepfather was a gambler and alcoholic who regularly abused his wife, and sometimes Clinton's half brother Roger.
None of these men were born into wealth and prosperity, yet they each achieved the rank of most powerful person in the world by working hard and not making excuses. That is 5 out of the last 7 Presidents or 71% of Presidents in the last generation born into normal families who struggled. Yet, they refused to use that as an excuse.
It is true that these men were healthy and had no physical handicaps. However, I encourage you to visit http://www.johnfoppe.com/ and watch his video. This speaker proves that there is no room for excuses, regardless of your lot in life.
Life is too short to make excuses. Set your goals and pursue them. If you have been dealt a 'worse' hand than another, it may indeed be a gift that teaches you the value of hard work. Your story will be richer and your success sweeter when you achieve your dreams. Maybe one day I will cast a vote for you as President of The United States!
Ron White

Think About It

2008-05-12T02:26:00.000-07:00

Positive Thinking (By Zig Ziglar)

Just what can positive thinking do? To be candid, some people have given positive thinking a bad name. I can't stand to hear some gung-ho individual say that with positive thinking you can just do "anything." If you think about that one for a moment, you recognize the absurdity of it. As a ridiculous example, I'm a positive thinker, but I could never slam-dunk a basketball or perform major surgery - or even minor surgery - on anyone and expect that person to survive. Nate Newton, the 300-plus pound lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, is positive, optimistic and outgoing but he'd be a complete failure as a jockey or a ballet dancer.It's safe to say that positive thinking won't let you do "anything." However, it is even safer to say that positive thinking will let you do "everything" better than negative thinking will. Positive thinking will let you use the ability which you have, and that is awesome. It works this way. You can walk into a dark room, flip on the switch and immediately the room is lighted. Flipping the switch did not generate the electricity; it released the electricity which had been stored. Positive thinking works that way - it releases the abilities which you have. The student who hasn't studied and prepared for the test won't be helped by "thinking positively." However, positive thinking will help the student who has studied and prepared by "releasing" the stored knowledge when the questions are asked. To express it in a different way, knowledge breeds confidence; confidence breeds enthusiasm; and enthusiasm is an important key to being and doing more with your life.

F.E.A.R.

2008-04-30T21:58:00.001-07:00

It is so amazing what FEAR can do...it can be a motivator...which is "motive in action" and can protect us from harm... for example, if we are walking across the street and a car is speeding towards us, fear of being struck will "motivate" us to move faster and remove ourselves from harm.......however, fear is most often a tool used against us in our endeavor to prosper in this journey called life.....FEAR is truly False Evidence Appearing Real..... something that in our mind appears to be real, but in actuality is all together different.... I can go into a store with a mask over my face and my finger stuck in my pocket and demand money from the clerk and threaten to shoot them if they dont comply.....now the evidence appears real that I have a gun, but the reality is contrary....the clerk will probably give me the money based upon the evidence as it appears to be.....such is the same in life....we may feel that we are trapped in a situation that is hopeless....that we will never be able to have a better job, a better marriage or to ever be any better than where we are right now in life....but that is just not true...it is False, although it may Appear Real......we have to look at what is possible, look for the "what can happens" in life instead of focusing on the "cannots" ...... if you see yourself always being poor, broke and miserable then you are right....but the great thing about that ology is the opposite is just as true....if you see yourself as intelligent, wealthy and happy, a person of value and designed for greatness, then you are also right! You have to THINK, BE, and DO....your brain does not know the difference between truth and fiction, it just accepts what you put into it as real....you gotta put the good stuff in to get the good stuff out.....you must replace the negative, self defeating thoughts and images with positive, life-giving thoughts and images...allow yourself to accept the belief that you can be happy, successful and properous...how can you ever expect to have something if you dont even believe it exists....our deepest FEAR is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure....don't be afraid to succeed....let your circumstances be learning experiences and allow yourself to move forward...but do just that-learn and move on....then, as you are liberated from your own fear, your presence will automatically liberate others.....YOU CAN BE ALL THAT YOU EXPECT TO BE, so THINK, BE and DO in a powerful way!