The Cobblestone Road

Downtown Savannah....on River Street...bumpity, bumpity, bumpity, bump, bump..bumpity..it is like "WHEN IS THIS ROAD GOING TO END?" The noise of the road underneath the wheel and the constant bumping...and you have to go SOOOO slow. it takes some maneuvering to get through here, the street car tracks in the middle knock you off balance! So, why do I choose this road over the smooth one? It is the best for being right along side the river!

Life is often like a cobblestone road. You wonder when or if it the unevenness of things will smooth out. It is annoying and uncomfortable. What I have found, however is that when you are living a life of excellence, you get many more cobblestone roads than smooth ones! If you are always taking the easy way out, then you are missing out on the best scene! More importantly, you miss out on developing your skills!

So, buckle up and prepare yourself for the bumps. If you don't have them, you are not getting the best life has to offer.

The Comfort Zone

Wikipedia describes the comfort zone as: "a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.[1] The comfort zone refers to the set of environments and behaviours with which somebody is comfortable, without creating a sense of risk. A person's personality can be described by his or her comfort zones. Highly successful persons may routinely step outside their comfort zones, to accomplish what they wish. A comfort zone is a type of mental conditioning that causes a person to create and operate mental boundaries. Such boundaries create an unfounded sense of security. Like inertia, a person who has established a comfort zone in a particular axis of his or her life, will tend to stay within that zone without stepping outside of it. To step outside a person's comfort zone, they must experiment with new and different behaviours, and then experience the new and different responses that then occur within their environment."

That's my dad (yellow circle) and his brother Paul, my uncle, (red circle) having a trip outside the comfort zone this past week on the Penobscot River in Maine. My dad is 66 years young and my uncle is a few more than that. I APPLAUD them and every single person who makes the effort every single day to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. It isn't easy..in fact it can be downright stressful! The older you get, the harder it is to do new things! However, there is something wonderful in saying "I did it!".

If today finds you in a new situation, new job, or someone is asking you to take a trip on the rapids, EMBRACE IT! The initial stress you feel isn't really stress at all. It is your mind's way of concentrating and focusing on learning the new things!

So slow down, breathe and KEEP MOVING! You are amazing. You are doing it! You are breaking through the comfort zone!

(PS. LOVE YOU DAD.)

Failure

I am probably the best one to give advice on failure. I have failed so many times in so many ways at so many things. Failure is something I am proud of! I am proud that I take risks and try. I am proud that even if it doesn't work out the way I intend or plan, I am able to get up and try again...take another risk and quite possibly, fail again. Do you realize that Thomas Edison FAILED more than 1000 times before he succeeded at the invention of a light bulb and his teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." Michael Jordan was actually cut from his high school basketball team! Babe Ruth struck out 1.330 times! Walt Disney was fired as a newspaper editor because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Beethoven was told by his music teacher that he was "hopeless as a composer". 27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss' first book. and the list goes on and on...

Will you give up on your dream? Have you decided that you just can't fail anymore? Do you see your failure as a negative? Failing is something to be proud of. If you don't fail, you don't grow and if you don't grow you stay the same. Often the question is asked, "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" I say...look for the places to fail so that one day you wake up and experience success.

Your dream is right on the other side of the mud puddles!!!!

Some day...

Some day...when...(you fill in the blank)

We have all said that at one time or another and what it really does is keep us from actually getting what we want. If you REALLY want to do whatever you say you will do "some day", then you will put a plan into action to make it happen. TODAY.

*What is it that you want?
*Why do you want to do it?
*How much will it cost?
*By what date will you do this?
*What other details about it do you need to know? (Do you need a passport...do you need a different car? how much vacation time will you need, etc)

Ask yourself the questions...plan it out and start to work on the plan! If you want to take a trip to Spain, go to the travel agent and find out how much it will cost (or research it on the web), set up a savings account JUST for this trip. Start putting a small amount of money from each check into this account. Give yourself a deadline. "I am taking a trip to Spain in the summer of 2012".

If you REALLY want to do or have something "some day", you have to take action TODAY and make it a reality.

BE BLESSED!

Have you ever considered Joseph? Here is this 17 year old boy...out in the fields watching sheep with his brothers who are older than him...and he tells them about a dream. The dream is one of power and position. His brothers mock him and become jealous of him. When their father pays him more attention and gives him a special coat, the brothers SELL Joseph as a slave, steal the coat and put goat's blood all over it so they can tell their father he is dead.

You would think that at this point, Joseph would give up on his dream of power and position! But, No.

He serves as a slave to a wealthy man. The bible clearly states that Joseph had God's favor! (Genesis 39:3) There wasn't anything that Joseph did that didn't succeed. Until there was. He was thrown into prison. Wrongly accused by the wife of his boss. She was attracted to him and he refused her advances. She got mad...told a lie and WHAM! Joseph is in prison. Dirty and hungry and being treated like an animal, Joseph remained committed to his dream. If God said it...then God would deliver. Even in prison, Joseph used the gifts and talents that God had given him. He was a dream interpreter. I am not sure what that would be thought of in today's occupations, but it was someone who listened to another person and gave them advice and council. HEY! Maybe he was a success Coach? :)

So, for 2 years, Joseph was in prison and developed his business about interpreting dreams DESPITE his circumstances. Until ONE DAY, Pharaoh...the richest man in all of Egypt- THE KING, needs his dream interpreted and hears about Joseph. Joseph is brought to Pharaoh (he gets himself cleaned up first of course) and interprets the dream. Pharaoh's reaction is priceless! He acknowledges God working in Joseph (Genesis 41:39-40) and puts him in charge over all his house! (He says..."only in matters of the throne will I be greater than you.") WOW!

Do you see the comparison to our lives today? We get a dream. We know we are supposed to make it happen...but opposition and obstacles hit us from every direction. Then, we get a break and things start to move...but not quite fast enough or strong enough and then WHAM! We get knocked down. Most people give up at this point. They think it must not work. Sometimes, it IS that you are on the wrong path. Or maybe, God is simply strengthening you for the position ahead! Your JOB is to stay using your gifts and talents no matter the circumstances and be PATIENT. You must not GIVE UP at any cost. God's leading will take you to the next step. If you are in the wrong line of work...He will show you. If you are making the wrong business decisions, He will teach you...YOUR JOB is simply to keep your eyes on HIM and keep using your gifts and talents to serve others. Then one day, just like Joseph, you will be at your goal. God wants us to realize that even if we feel like our lives are stuck and there things seem hopeless, He can change our circumstances in an INSTANT. I truly believe that when things are difficult, is when He is watching to see if our circumstances are going to CHANGE us or if we will stay faithful to Him. Don't let today's reality cloud your vision. Focus on your dream, your vision, and keep praying and working. Let God show you the way out. He can change your situation in an INSTANT...The call you have been waiting for or the person you are supposed to meet could happen TODAY! Are you expecting it? Keep looking for your miracles! They are all around you!

WELCOME

This is all new to me, but I am excited to try this! My business is out there to make a difference. God has a plan for EACH of us and one of the talents that I have been blessed with is being able to support, encourage and inspire others to develop their own God given abilities. I pray that you will be blessed by being here and that something I say will give you the energy to get up and make today different than any other day!