The Cost of Moving Forward
Choosing to move forward is choosing to PREPARE to move forward. What makes preparation so hard though is that it COMES WITH A COST (I use capital letters when I would prefer to be yelling). I would argue, however, that the cost of not preparing is much higher than the cost of being ready and equipped when life’s inevitable difficulties come your way. Preparing is hard but makes success in life much more achievable than simply hoping that nothing bad ever happens. You will either pay the price now by preparing or pay the price later by struggling to survive.
Living a Culturally Resilient Life
There is no question that our culture is changing at a pace none of us could have imagined. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. But even though it is changing, culture does not need to overwhelm and defeat us-we simply need to focus on becoming Culturally Resilient. We will get knocked down. The important thing is that we get back up quickly, focus on “true north” and start moving forward!
The Product of Pain
I cannot know what you may be dealing with in your life. None of this is to say that pain is not really painful or that we can motivate our way past the hurts and trials of life. Pain is called that for a reason. We must realize, however, that only when we confront the pain and allow God to use it as a refining fire in our lives can we ever really move forward! Its not fair. It shouldn’t have happened. I can’t explain it. BUT, the pain that we encounter in this life WILL be used to grow us into the person that God has created us to be.
Having the “March or Die” Mindset
What we do always begins with what we think. That’s the reason we find this statement in Proverbs 23: 7: “For as he thinking in his heart, so is he.” That is King James Bible talk for, “You are what you think.” Everything begins in the mind. And so it is when faced with something difficult. Whether or not we march forward begins in our mind and most often begins before we know there is a problem. We need to think right now so that we will act right later.
Run Your Race
God created you with talents and will provide to you opportunities that align to all He intends to accomplish with your life. Remove anything that will keep you moving forward, patiently run a race that will last a lifetime and know that as you do those who have gone before are cheering you on. You are in a race. Run well.
Train Today for the Fight Tomorrow
Living life as though there will never be a spiritual, relational, or physical challenge is at best naïve and always dangerous! We need to use the times of peace and balance in our lives to get ready for the difficulty that is an unfortunate part of the fallen human condition. Failure-Experiencing consequences spiritually, mentally, or physically that are the result of an unprepared life.
6 Principles of Effective Communication
Technique, the communication method, will be different from one person to the next. Method may even change depending on the situation. There are principles, however, that apply regardless of the method. Find YOUR technique, but use these principles to guide its use and communicate effectively.
Lead Like Jesus-Lessons on Leadership from “Good Friday”
This is why I believe we need to see the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross not as simply paying the price for sin (although that is the most important aspect of His death), but as a Leadership example that we can follow if we truly want to be “Servant Leaders”. Jesus is God and could have made salvation possible any way that he wanted to. He decided to do this by dying a very public death on the cross. He did this to provide an example for us to follow (Ephesians 5:25). Do you want to lead like Jesus? There are some lessons to consider as illustrated in His death on the cross.
Winning is about relationships: The Importance of Teamwork
Having the right team is essential to any victory, but winning is about more than just having the right people in the right place. It is about the relationships among team members that go beyond a skill set or proficiency. It is a relationship built over time that allows you to look into the eyes of those on your team and know what they’re
thinking. It’s about understanding when to push and when to pull back because you know how heavy the load can become before the team will begin to fall apart. Winning is not simply about the team; it’s about relationships. A team can win when everything goes according to plan. And when the plan needs to change because the situation has changed, you need more than a team. You need a group of people who understand each other and care for each other and are willing to adjust even though it may be difficult. You need relationships.
What is Your Standard?
All of these, and so many more, are determined by the standard against which we choose to measure them. Even though we rarely think about the process we use to draw conclusions, sometimes hundreds of times in a day, we are constantly measuring against a standard that informs how we think and feel. So if the standard is off, our conclusions will be off as well! I know that makes sense but most people STILL act like it doesn’t matter. And what do we use to measure our lives when we don’t think the standard that we use really matters?
An unsettled culture! We let culture become the arbiter of the most important areas of life. Is it any wonder then that we as people and as a country are so confused? We are driven by the everchanging sea state of popular thought and emotion never able to rest because the standard never stops changing.