The Gift of Joy

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 4-7.

Is joy a feeling or a state of mind? Are joy and happiness the same thing? Why is joy a gift? When was the last time you experienced real joy like the child in this photo?

What is joy? Definition … “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: delight (rejoice)”.

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What Are You Planting?

Are you planting good seed in good soil through your words, your actions and your deeds, in order to reap a bountiful harvest?

Last Friday I led a discussion on this topic with members of our Wingmen Element Group on a Zoom call. For most of us, this year has been difficult, if not overwhelming at times. However, I think we can gain some valuable insight from this experience by looking to the Scriptures for answers.

In essence, we reap what we sow. This may seem overly harsh with what we have had to endure this year. However, as you read through this article, I hope you’ll find some things that connect with you in a positive way to build upon for the future.

“The seed never looks like the harvest it contains.” – Levi Lusko

Mark 4: 13-20 … The Parable of the Sower. After teaching to a crowd by the lake, Jesus later speaks to His disciples and admonishes them by saying, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” Jesus goes on to further explain His message to them.

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How to Overcome a Major Setback

One of the harsh realities we all must face at some point is dealing with adversity or a major setback. Many of you may be experiencing this in real-time today as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adversity or setbacks represent a “reversal of progress”. This reversal of progress can take many forms – i.e. a job loss, divorce, financial hardship, major illness or injury, the death of a loved one, etc. How we respond to adversity or a reversal of fortune reveals a lot about our character and ultimately how successful we’ll be in dealing with life’s future challenges.

 “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” – C.S. Lewis

How will you deal with a major setback when it comes? Will you be a better person as a result of the experience? Here are some suggested ways to overcome a major setback when it occurs and move forward in a positive way.

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What’s In Your Box?

Several years ago a good friend gave me a copy of the 20th Anniversary Edition of Bob Buford’s book, Half Time®: Moving from Success to Significance. I enjoyed the book so much that it was added to the required reading list for my Business Leaders Forum℠ mastermind program.

Buford believes the second half of your life can be better than the first. But first we need to figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives. In Half Time®, this transition is described as moving from ‘success to significance’.

While attempting to come up with a strategic plan for himself, Buford was asked a simple question: “What’s in the box?”

The answer to this simple, yet penetrating question will help to determine how successful we are at fulfilling our future life plans. Whether we’re still young adults, have reached the midlife point, or are already into our second half. Let me explain.

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Holiday Cooking Life Lessons

Six years ago ‘The Boys’, my son Daniel and I, decided to take on the task of doing most of the Christmas holiday cooking. It was our way of giving ‘The Girls’, my wife Laura and daughter Melanie, a break to relax and enjoy the holidays. My wild, crazy idea!

NOTE: The photo above includes some of the sweets and “treats” made as part of the holiday cooking marathon.

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we started. But after eleven recipes and 12+ hours of meal preparation, cooking and the clean up, let’s just say we had learned a lot from the experience.

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Do & Don’t Lists for 2020

The holidays are a perfect time for both reflection and renewal. And it’s an excellent time to formulate the list of things you want to accomplish in the New Year.  While enjoying quality time with family and friends, of course. So, let’s get started on our lists.

“The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.” – Elbert Hubbard

Here are my suggested Top 5 “Do” and Top 5 “Don’t” lists to help us formulate our New Year’s resolutions and goals for 2020.

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Make Your Vision Reality

Each year in Times Square at the stroke of midnight the ball drops officially ushering in a New Year. A time to start anew … new hopes, new dreams, and a new list of New Year’s resolutions, goals and challenges awaits each of us.

Yes, it’s hard to believe the first week of 2020 is fast approaching. So, what’s next for you? Do you have a personal plan to prepare you for success in the New Year? Most importantly …

Do your goals align with your vision?

When I think of the challenges most of us must confront in aligning our goals with our vision, I’m reminded of this quote from Isaac Asimov:

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.”

Getting to where we want to go, from where we are today, is the ultimate challenge for most of us. This transition is also the most troublesome. Why? Because it requires us to move away from old habits and traditional thinking to achieve this new reality.

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Why Being Average Is Not Bad

I get it. Long before Nickelback’s song became a hit record, we all wanted to be a rock star, 5-star athlete, prom queen, Hollywood icon, or a perfect 10. But are these realistic goals for most of us, or are they holding us back?

Too often in today’s world I hear people refer to average as being mediocre. This places an inaccurate, very negative label on being average. Although average is a synonym for mediocre, look closer at the definition. 

What Does “Average” Actually Mean?

Average is the result that you get when you add two or more numbers together and divide the total by the number of numbers you added together. … An average person or thing is typical or normal. Let me repeat that last phrase … “An average person or thing is typical or normal.” So, if being average means you are normal, how can that be a bad thing?

It isn’t. However, our obsession with being a perfect 10 when most of us are 6, 7 or 8s, or the belief that being average makes us mediocre is just wrong-headed thinking. Sure we all want to be successful, want our businesses and our children to excel, but keep things in perspective. Continue reading…

Discover Your Purpose

Who am I? Why am I here? What’s my motivation? What is my ‘Why’? These are all purpose-related questions most of us will struggle with at various stages throughout our lives.

What is purpose and why is it important?

Purpose is “the reason anything is done, created or exists”. Everyone has or needs a purpose, otherwise we are just flopping around with no true sense of direction or meaning to our lives. However, defining our purpose in meaningful terms can be a major challenge.

We quite often hear the term, “find your purpose”. Every time I hear this I want to respond, “I didn’t know it was lost”. But in reality, it wasn’t lost because in order to be found it had to exist. Therein lies the difficulty for many people.

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” – Lewis Carroll

Why having a purpose is so important:

  1. Focus.
  2. Clarity.
  3. Meaning.
  4. Drive and passion.
  5. Achieve success.

These are just a few of the things that come to mind when we consider why having a strong sense of purpose is so important. Continue reading…

12 Days of Christmas Success

Have you been naughty or nice this year?

A tough question to answer given the challenges we have had to face in this year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The holidays are now in full swing and the New Year is just around the corner. Are you prepared for success ahead? Far too many business owners are now left scrambling to put the pieces of the puzzle together in the hope that they will be off to a good start in 2021.

Does this sound familiar?

Well, here’s a news flash … if you have not figured out that ‘Holiday Wish List’ at this point for the upcoming year, then you are being naughty, and you’re way behind the curve!

No one wants to have a failed launch or be behind before the New Year even gets going, so I wanted to share some things you can do, starting today, to get your business and your life on the fast track to greater, sustainable future success. I have reduced my lengthy list of suggestions to a short list of the most important actions to take to help make 2021 your best year so far. Continue reading…