TVBD success system

The TVBD success system

This system is nothing new, in fact it’s based in principle so by definition, it’s been time tested and in existence since the creation. What we’re really talking about is focusing our energy on some simple but important set of organized principles that can be executed and repeated. Over time, you’ll notice the changes taking place in your life, in part because you’ll be focused and will therefore be looking for them but primarily because you’ll be engaged in the process. 

Let’s begin by defining what success is not. Success is not tied to income, your position in life, or personal status. In fact, the disease called “status” is likened to buying things that you don’t need with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like. 

Now that we’ve got that cumbersome load out of the way, we can discuss what success actually is. Most importantly, understand that success is personal, individual, and not to be compared to other people’s goals or achievements. In the pursuit of success, there is often personal growth that takes place and that, is an individual and very personal process.  In fact, one key element is to willingly accept your challenges and view them as opportunities.  The reason for that is simple: challenges cause you to stretch, stretching causes growth and growth means that you are getting better.  You also stretch when you have a dream.  No one is perfect, nor will they ever be. That means 2 things: first, it means that you can’t ever get to perfection so don’t beat yourself up over it. At the same time, you can’t use the fact that you’re not perfect as an excuse for staying where you are. Some say that if you don’t move forward, you’re actually losing ground. The second thing it means is that you will always have something to strive for.  You can continue to progress while raising the bar. You will never quite reach perfection but you will continue to grow and hopefully enjoy the journey. Here’s the definition of success:

Success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream

Let’s get into the success system:

Think – the basic truth about how you think is this; you are where you are because of how you think.  If you want to change where you are, change the way you think. In other words, you are the product of what you think about.  In order to change that, consider changing or adding to your associations.  In part, your associations are determined by the books you read.  Consider this; books give you insight into people's lives.  You can learn in days what it took someone an entire life to learn.  Be willing to think outside the box.  In other words, don’t put yourself into the little box that others have designated for you. Your creator has much more in mind for you than anyone could know. The truth is even though you know yourself better than anyone else, you’re also the one that will tend to limit your own potential.  How you think determines if you let the dream enter in.

Vision  is the fuel. Some people call it the dream.  It’s just getting to a point where you can “see” yourself as being there. You get a sense of what it actually feels like to achieve the dream. You can define it, taste it.  Most of the time, I believe that a vision is borne out of a passion, or even something that you do very well.  God created and equipped you with a purpose.  Ultimately, you will find your path when you seek God’s will for you.  Along the way, remember the challenges, the struggles, they are your friends.  If your dreams are big enough, the struggles won’t take you down and you’ll be energized to grow through life rather than go through life.  The successful person is not the one where everything works out well for them but rather the one who has grown from their struggles as a result of the journey.  Your vision will be the fuel that gets you through.  Remember this; you will end up exactly where you’re heading.  Do you want to be a wanderer or do you have a vision?  

Become is the process of achievement. Because success is actually a journey, the progressive achievement is very important.  The cool part of becoming, is that as we approach it, we then set new goals based on the vision. We know that we won’t reach perfection so it’s necessary to keep moving forward. This is why success is a progressive realization of the dream, and why it’s a journey, a lifelong journey.  You have now become your vision but, you aren’t stopping there, you keep setting new goals and refining your vision. Do you see why it’s so important to keep your dream alive? We need to keep moving forward to be productive in our lives.  This success system just happens to be a simple way to bring all the principles down to 4 simple components.   

Do. All these things you’ve been doing to bring you to becoming your vision, keep doing them. Success is really a matter of creating the proper habits.  Habits breed results and ultimately, results are what we are all after.  Here’s a simple nugget that might help you with this last step: extraordinary people are just ordinary people that do a little extra. Since we have come to understand that success is a journey, it stands to reason that these steps are to be repeated and become a part of how you live your life. 

I wish you all well in your personal journeys and would love to hear back from you with any questions or testimonies.

John

The Gospel of John chapter 1: verses 1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it


Who was John (the author of this gospel)?
John, a very close friend of Jesus is known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. John was the brother of the apostle James; he was also the son of Zebedee, a fisherman of Galilee. John, his brother James and the apostles Peter and Andrew were all partners in a fishing business prior to their calls by Jesus to follow Him. In 70 AD, he moved to Ephesus (modern day Turkey) and became the pastor of the church in Ephesus and had a special relationship with other churches in the area. New Testament books accredited to John are the Gospel of John, along with 1st, 2nd and 3rd John and the book of Revelation (a prophecy given to John directly from Jesus).
This Gospel (the good news) was written by John around A.D. 90


Verse by verse expository commentary of 1 through 5:

• 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

• Jesus is referred to as “the Word”. When somebody says "I give you my word", they are giving assurance that the claim they have made is absolutely true and can be counted on. In this verse, Jesus is referred to as "the Word" giving us complete assurance that the promise of salvation, found in Jesus, can be counted on.

• Jesus was there from the beginning (eternity past)

• The end of v1 is probably one of the strongest verses in the NT that declares the deity of Christ. ‘and the Word was God.

•  Also notice the relationship (the Word was with God). God is all about relationships. It begins with the relationship within the Trinity, is extended to His creation, and then ultimately within the creation itself (people to people). We as people, would have much stronger relationships if we looked to the source and designer of all relationships rather than looking to ourselves first.

• 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

•  Jesus was involved with creation, he didn’t exist just when he was born into the world as a human on Christmas day.

•  Not only was He involved, He was the Creator. (all things were made THROUGH Him).

• 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

•  Note that life in Jesus was not created; life in Him simply exists (it just was). This is significant because not only does life with respect to creation of man come from Jesus, but also eternal life depends on Him. In chapter 14 verse 6 Jesus says this:

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
 
He is not saying that rejecting Him as the savior and being good, or accepting some other “god” will give you access to the Father (heaven). No, He is saying that eternal life is found only through Him.


Now, we all have a choice regarding this issue. We can accept or reject. It is important to consider what He has to say regarding this since He is the creator. Shouldn’t we be willing to put aside what we think and look to the source?

 Jesus is called many things in this book: the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way the truth and the life, the true vine. In this particular verse, John refers to Him as life and the light of men.

Life and light: What does that actually mean, how are they connected and how does it work?

First, notice that John makes a correlation between light and life. What does that imply?
That darkness is connected to death. Also, we know that darkness is called sin. Therefore, as light brings life, sin brings death. So without light, we are left with darkness (sin) and death. Unless the price of sin is paid for, we will die our earthly death and then be eternally separated from God (a spiritual death, in constant torment).

Romans 6:23 For the wages (to pay for, the price of) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

• 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

•  Notice that the light shines in the darkness. We live in a world inherent with sin, spiritually speaking; we live in a dark world.

•  In a physical sense, we need light to see. In a spiritual sense, we need “light” to see our sin so that we can know our need for Christ. And ultimately, as we learned from the previous verse, we need the Light for life.

•  Does it make sense to you that the darkness doesn’t comprehend the light? Why?

•  The darkness doesn’t see the light because it has not been revealed to it. So it cannot know it and therefore it cannot comprehend what it does not know.

• Remember that we only have the darkness until we meet and accept Jesus. Then we live in a dark world but have our citizenship in Heaven.

• Philippians 3:20 But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

• 1 cor. 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.


This is why it is important for us to know Jesus, so that we can see the light and have life. It is also why we must introduce others to Christ so they too will have the opportunity to see.

Recall the hymn Amazing Grace: I once was blind but now I see. This is a testimony of coming to faith.

Good Enough

The question is: am I good enough? The answer is: good enough for what?
The answer to the first question “good enough for what”, which is another question itself, is really the question that needs to be asked because it will ultimately reveal how you view yourself and how you come to that determination. The basic simple answer is that you are not good enough. You are not good enough at anything, nobody is. Once we think ourselves good enough, we begin to “settle for” rather than “go for”. We become complacent and that leads to a nonproductive life. And, it is habit forming, meaning that you will begin to find a decline in all aspects of your life if not brought under control. Perhaps the question of good enough really speaks to you as a person. We are creatures that need to be accepted, loved, respected, and so we want to think of ourselves as “good people”. As a means of answering this question, this need, many people like to gage themselves by how good they think they are. And, when they aren’t sure (which is most of the time) they measure themselves against someone else. The problem with that is you can measure yourself against a criminal and appear to be much better than he, or you can measure yourself against an accomplished person and feel useless. You can also ask yourself questions like, who says that being successful makes him good, or being a criminal makes him bad? Who wrote these ground rules and, why do they seem to change over time? is there not an un-changing standard, a go to principle that I can count on, teach my kids and know that it will still be of value when they teach their kids? Now, that is the right question and I’m glad you asked.
The idea of right vs. wrong, good vs. bad, truth vs. lies, and life-long principles vs. progressive idealism, is a real battle in our day. In fact, it has been a battle since the fall of man (man’s inherent sin nature). And as always: right, good, truth, and life-long principles are from God and can be found in His love letter to mankind, The Bible. What I’m saying is that if you want to know if something is right, good, true, and a solid principle to live by, go to the source.
With respect to the original question of “am I good enough?” the answer is found throughout scripture (the Bible). In the book of Romans ch.3 verse 23, the Apostle Paul writes: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This means that in God’s eyes, we are not good enough. That is because He is without sin and cannot invite our sinful lives to live among Him. The good news of course is that because He is love and desires to live in relationship with His creation, He has given us a way to be reconciled of this sin. The way is Jesus. Recognize your sin and accept the atonement of it through the death of Jesus on the cross in substitution for your sin. This is God’s gift, a way out.
In closing, when you feel the need to ask yourself the question: “am I good enough?” The answer should always be measured against how God views it. He wrote the rules, He created us, He is the one with the eternal plan, He is the source of life and life everlasting. He is the only un-changing source of truth that you can count on. You are good enough to be reconciled to Him only by the gift of Jesus. And not by what you do, but by what Jesus has done. And, it is GOOD enough.

Tyranny vs. Freedom

While the American left has made it crystal clear that God is not welcomed in our politically correct society (unless of course the discussion is about a mosque in the vicinity of ground zero), the populous is becoming more energized in the opposite direction. 

As a youth soccer coach, PE teacher, and sports fan, I have found that a struggling athlete is best served by getting back to the basics.  No excuses, short cuts, or blame, simply remember why they are there, and take responsibility to correct what is within their control.  Gandhi once said Live your life as you want your world to be.  The obvious principle here is for you to get a vision of what should be and to become that yourself.  This takes a vision followed by action.  In my previous post called the dash, along with the ones on success, I clearly define the elements that make up this principle which are grounded in hope and ultimately faith.  Hebrews 11:1 says, Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen.  Faith and hope are inextricably connected. 

When things are not going well, it’s always wise to get back to the basics, and inevitably back to faith.  I pray that this is where we are as a nation.   Why?  Because we are experiencing a breakdown of our society, which many call tyranny, and we know it.  Some may not be able to define it, or put a finger on it, but it’s there and many sense that we need to turn back to God.  When you come back to your faith, you become more inclined to live by God’s principles, in fact you desire it.  These principles, designed as part of what makes this world function properly, are disappearing from daily life and the results of it are becoming obvious to even the moderate among the religious crowd.  For those readers who don’t relate to the religion thing at all, getting back to basics generally means a simpler life based in principle.  Most folks get to a point where they realize that living by principle (not taking short cuts but rather doing what is right) produce the best results in the long run.  One of my favorite nuggets regarding this principle is:  Convenience vs. commitment:  Living together = convenient, marriage = commitment. Settle for = convenient, go for = commitment.  If you take the time to read the bible, you’ll find that all good principles that you are familiar with are found there.  An example that comes to mind is the “golden rule”, do on to others as you would have them do on to you.  This is familiar to most and has been taught throughout history in our society.  It’s the foundation for respect and dignity.  This principle can be found throughout the bible. Following are 2  of many such references:

Matthew 7:12 Jesus says;   So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets

Romans 13:9   The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

1^st Great American awakening:  History shows us that religious freedom proved to be a significant component of the American revolution. Consider the following excerpt taken from Wikipedia:

President John Witherspoon of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) wrote widely circulated sermons linking the American Revolution to the teachings of the Hebrew Bible (old testament). Throughout the colonies dissenting Protestant congregations (Congregationalist, Baptist, and Presbyterian) preached Revolutionary themes in their sermons, while most Church of England ministers preached loyalty to the King.^[12] Religious motivation for fighting tyranny reached across socioeconomic lines to encompass rich and poor, men and women, frontiersmen and townsmen, farmers and merchants.^[13]

·  12  William H. Nelson, The American Tory (1961) esp. p. 186

·  13  Bonomi, p. 186, Chapter 7 “Religion and the American Revolution

Is this where we are today? Perhaps not at the “revolution” stage but many people see today’s events as tyranny.  The federal government, media, and the extreme left pushing our nation in a direction that mirrors socialism.  Our religious freedoms are under attack, and we are losing our moral compass.  Government is getting bigger while our freedoms are being taken away.  Our vision, ambition and sense of creativity and ultimately responsibility are slowly being replaced by a culture of entitlement. The most dangerous of all however is that God has been pushed out of our lives and replaced by the state.  The state will take care of you, handle your charitable giving by redistributing your wealth, give you free health care, and take over industry in order to protect you from it…  Who needs God?  We all do and that’s my point and my hope is that we recognize it. 

I’ll leave you with this last nugget:    When the people are afraid of the government you have tyranny, when the government is afraid of the people you have freedom      

The Three trees (author unknown)

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods.
They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said,'Someday I hope to be a great treasure chest.  I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with an  intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.' 

 
Then the second tree said, 'Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and  Queens  across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. People will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.' 

Finally the third tree said, 'I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill, look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.' 

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, 'This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter, and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest. 

At the second tree the woodsman said, 'This looks like a strong tree.  I will be able to sell it to the shipyard.' The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. 

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true.  One of the men said,'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one,' and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what
he had prayed for.

The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat.  His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying Kings had come to an end.

The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree.  One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped.  At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree.   It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong  enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts. 

Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined...

We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

The Dash

1901 – 1987.  Any idea what those dates represent?  They are the birth and death year of my grandmother. She and I were very close throughout my life and her passing was difficult except for the fact that I know I will see her again. While the dates represent the obvious, that small dash represents an entire lifetime.  The significance of the dash and how I view it is the subject of this blog.

If you recall from a previous post, I had mentioned that books give you insight into people's lives. You can learn in days what it took someone an entire life to learn.  In essence, that is the dash.  It’s not necessary to author a book for the dash to have significance; it’s merely a result of life, and worth recognizing.  What that means in fact, is that every day, be it filled with productive activity or completely void of anything worth remembering, is a day that has value somehow, even if you don’t recognize it at the time.  The truth is that a simple benign conversation could be the difference between someone else being encouraged or not.  You never know what is going on in someone’s life and everyone has a story.

One day, a man and his 2 young children were riding on the bus.  His children were loud, moving about, and to be honest, disruptive and annoying. This I’m certain is what most of the other passengers were thinking.  And they had to wonder why the father wasn’t controlling them, in fact didn’t even attempt to.  The longer this went on, the more agitated the passengers became. One such woman couldn’t contain herself any longer and went over to this man and asked him why he wasn’t doing anything about his children, and that didn’t he realize that they were being disruptive.  Solemnly, the man looked up at her and quietly responded.  He told her that just 2 days ago, the children had lost their mother to an accident and that they just didn’t know how to handle it. He added that in fact, he himself didn’t know how to handle it. 

The point here is obvious, that everyone has a story and therefore everything you do and say does have significance, at least to someone.  If each day is significant, imagine what a lifetime represents.  This point really brings our “dash” into perspective a bit, and also prompts the question of hope. Where does the hope that lies within you come from? Things can seem hopeless at times I realize but, in general people are hope filled, anchored to something that transcends daily drudgery, events and routine.  Figure that one out and you will live your life with purpose.  We’ll circle back to that in a bit.  In the mean time, just know that purpose, significance and hope are all intertwined and are ultimately reflected in your dash.       

Growing up, Jason and his dad always spent Saturday afternoons washing and admiring the 1967 Mustang Fastback that dad promised he’d give to Jason when he was old and responsible enough to take ownership of it.  It truly was a beauty, and they both dreamed of that day. Jason would drive and his dad would be the passenger. They would drive into town, just to be seen, he could hardly wait.  Over the years, the anticipation grew making the dream even more vivid and desirable.  The time had finally arrived; Jason had his license now for one year and had a part time job, time to talk with dad.  Dad would give him the car as promised but wanted him to think about his faith, and understand how God, the car, and he were all connected.  He gave Jason a bible, Jason wanted the title.  Without saying a word, he accepted the bible, went to his room, put the bible on his desk and never opened it.  The relationship became strained and Jason never brought the car up again. Dad attempted to communicate but Jason was unreceptive.  What Jason didn’t know is that his dad had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had a short time to live.  Dad wanted to make sure that Jason had a firm foundation, and understand that his life’s hopes and purpose would be found in meeting Jesus.  It couldn’t have been more than 18 months before dad died.  At this point, Jason was aware of dad’s condition and had already begun renewing the relationship. It wasn’t for a while though that Jason would open his bible.  One day he did, and as he thumbed through it, he came upon something tucked inside.  The title.  Jason was welling up with tears that he could no longer hold back.  Memories of his dad flooded his mind and the car seemed insignificant.   It was then that he got on his knees and asked God for forgiveness.  He asked God to reveal himself in a way that he would understand, he wanted to know what his dad knew, and wanted to be reassured he would be reunited with dad once again.   

It’s a process knowing God.  It takes a lifetime.  The good news is that He desperately wants us to know Him and is patient (though I wouldn’t recommend testing His patience as you never know what will happen).  Risking eternity just isn’t worth it.  It took Jason this tragedy to bring him to the point where he was willing to learn just how his life and God were connected.  What he will find out is that God created him with a purpose, equipped him with gifts, and will grow him into the person he is intended to become.  Jason’s part in this is to get to know God through prayer, people, and reading His love letter (the bible).  Jason will be reunited with his dad, but not for a span of time represented by a small dash, but for eternity.

In Revelation chapter 21 (last book of the bible), you will find God’s promise of eternal life:

 ¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."      

Further in this same chapter you find God’s promise for those who reject Him:

 ⁶He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. ⁷He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. ⁸But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Jesus warns us of false teachers. Many things in life speak to our emotions and “move” us.  Where are we being transported to?  It’s important to seek truth, not movement.

In the New Testament book of John, chapter 14: verse 6, Jesus says this:   Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The only way to God’s promise of eternal joy among Him and all those who have believed is by accepting the one and only gift of redemption found in Jesus.  We are all sinners and not worthy of God’s grace, but by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, we have been redeemed and accepted. 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

You can accept this gift by praying a prayer where you acknowledge your sin, unworthy of God’s grace because of it, and in desperate need of redemption through Jesus.  Ask God to forgive your sins and to reveal himself to you in a way that you can know him

Your were created for a purpose, God knows this purpose and you will be where you are supposed to be when you align yourself with His will for you.  Know that your destiny lies in His capable hands, and that your salvation is secure in God’s promise through the Christ Jesus.    

Like Jason, You will be reunited with fellow believers, but not for a span of time represented by a small dash, but for eternity.

Success, what is it really?

In my previous post, I began with the definition: 

success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream.

I went on to explain that the originator of this definition has been a very successful business person. This is where I’d like to begin.

While some people have tremendous business or financial success, it’s important to realize that success isn’t measured only by someone’s financial statement. Mother Theresa for example, was successful in her endeavor beyond imagination and was at the same time just as poor, or at least, not wealthy. Some would say that she was spiritually rich. And she was. So what we have is a working definition of success, with its principles, that may result in a vision of success that is way too small. What we need to understand is that success is realized in as many ways as there are people. It’s not always visible or tangible but rather progressive and based on an individual dream.

The dream is generally where it all begins. An idea that keeps your mind occupied becomes a passion. It often sounds like “I really want to …”  ! Once you figure out that you want to get this done, the desire is in place and it’s time to put the second principle into action. Preparation. I can say that this is where many people fail. Decisions have to be made, a measure of accountability is also recommended, and the work that ensues often times bring on the inevitable challenges. How do I know this? The same way that you do, experience. Look, how relatable would I be if I preached from a book without experiencing this, and ultimately, who would read this post? Experience is the best teacher no doubt, but someone else’s experience is a much quicker means to an end. This is where I can interject one of my favorite nuggets:  

don’t GO through life when you can GROW through life. Growth happens when you are stretched and stretching happens when you are out of your comfort zone. Guess what puts you out of your comfort zone? You got it, challenges. That’s why coaches and personal growth gurus always position a challenge as an opportunity.

One last thing regarding success. You will know your success by the fruit you are producing. Though your particular dream may not be visible, such as something that is a matter of the heart, you will still know when your dream is being realized by the fruit you are bearing. This is a way to measure your progress, maintain accountability, and to keep striving to accomplish more.

As a Christian, understanding that God created everything for a purpose, gives me peace, satisfaction, and even a sense of adventure to seek His will for my life. It has given me a purpose because I know that His desire is not to harm me but to give me life. In the New Testament book of John, ch. 10 verse 10, Jesus says “The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. This doesn’t mean a life of nothing but pleasure and guaranteed happiness all the time. Challenges, growth, and accountability apply here as well. In fact, the Bible (God’s letter to us) is where you will find all principles played out in the lives of others.

My last nugget for today: Books give you insight into people's lives. You can learn in days what it took someone an entire life to learn. The greatest book ever written is the Bible.

A Guide to Success

SUCCESS: is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream.
  
This definition is one that I have adopted from a very successful business person many years ago and found that it has truly passed the test of time.

The 2 keys components to success are:

1. Desire (it's your dream, a matter of the heart)
2. Preparation (a matter of the head)

Desire

• Define it and refine it
• Do you see the value in what you have set out to do
• Can you get excited about being involved in something that can change people’s lives
• Can you see that success here will enable success elsewhere
• Can you visualize yourself "there" before you've even begun
• Expect challenges and know that they are a part of "growing" you into the person that you are striving to become. View challenges as a positive. Your desire is what keeps you energized when those challenges seem monumental and overwhelming. Also remember that success is often a game of inches. If it's worth it, don't give up because the goal could be just around the corner.

Preparation

• Don't waste time agonizing over decisions, make the decision to prepare once. Then do it.
• Don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed by the scope and magnitude of what needs to be done. Break it down into logical-simple-flexible increments

(How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time)

(How do you build a skyscraper? From the ground up. You begin with a foundation, then one beam and one column at a time)

• Your preparation enables you to build a secure foundation then everything else falls into place. Nothing of value can be built without a foundation.
• Work from a list
• A list will help you remain accountable
• A list will enable you to free up your creative thinking

(A short pencil is better than a long memory)

• Scratching items from a list as you complete them is empowering because it gives you a sense of accomplishment

• Add new items to the list. Remember the definition:

SUCCESS: is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream

The key words in this definition are progressive and dream.

·         The dream is represented in the first key to success. Desire

·         Progressive indicates that it is ongoing. Hence, add new items to the list.

Your Lists

• Make a list that clearly defines your desire. This will be the fuel that energizes you.  Writing it down enables you to go back to it, and “reselling” yourself on the concept.
• Make a list of people that may have value to your project. Also keep in mind that you never know who knows who. What I mean is always be willing to meet others and share conversation and ideas, you never know how you might be able to benefit each other from the relationship.
• Make a list of all the reasons why your dream is important and has value
• Maintain a list of ideas as you think of them.