|
Learn w/ Us Windows IM www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from ourfreedm1. Make your own badge here.
|
Grow w/ Us …friends
& family doing life together, moment by moment, day by day, life by life! |
|
|
Why
Continue to Grow? “The man who does not read, has no advantage over
the man who can not read” “The man who does not grow, has no advantage over
the man who can not grow” Wow! What a powerful precept that applies to many
different facets of life. Unused potential that goes undiscovered and hence
unused is potential that is of no benefit to anyone, including you!
Individual growth or lifelong personal development is a choice, a conscious
choice to come out of the stadium of life as a spectator, and enter the
playing field as a participant. It’s living life consciously, deliberately,
on purpose. Deciding to stop drifting and start growing and to plan that
growth consciously, daily. Personal growth is like compound interest payments
or dividends on a principal invested. It’s not necessarily the size of the
interest you receive or even the size of the principal invested, rather the
amount of time the investment is consistently made that makes the biggest
difference. Day by day, observing yourself & those around you, learning,
and incorporating that learning to make positive, creative adjustments to
what you habitually think, say and do, to accomplish what you want. It’s
aligning your thoughts & habits with your passion & purpose. It’s
about growing in advance to take advantage of opportunities already around
you! Leaving
a Legacy Stop! Whether you realize it or not, you will
leave something behind. You will leave a memory, an example, an impact on the
people & places the path of your life has crossed,
a collection of habits both in thought and in action to those that will come
after you. A collection of artwork, of writings, of knowledge, understanding
and wisdom, of people helped, changed, impacted by what you say or do. After
it’s all said & done, we will all leave something behind, a type of
fragrance of life. This collection of memories, examples, habits, writings,
wisdom, thoughts, words, actions, character… this is your legacy. The impact
of this legacy will be measured by its nobility, its lasting remembrance by
& impact of those that will come after you, and the life it inspires them
to. How insignificant & forgettable your legacy
is or how impacting & memorable, whether terrible & base, or
magnificent & noble that aroma you leave behind is up to you! True, some
legacies will be lost, forgotten, never lived out, buried in the graveyard of
insignificance. Others will be towering pillars, inspiring, life changing
testimonies, forever alive in generation after generation. The good news is,… it’s in your hands! The bad news is,…
it’s is in your hands! Some will leave behind a life spent in the malls of
forgettable busyness & neglect of the things vital to them. Others will
nurture and mother the son or daughter who will change the course of history.
The legacy you leave is built on what you think & do each day, line upon
line, precept upon precept, and eventually gives birth to opportunity &
circumstance, both small and great. This journey of living your legacy begins
today by what you will do after you’ve read this, either an unconscious trek of status quo or conscious voyage living on purpose,
with purpose, realizing the potential for why you were born. No matter how
young or old, this is the beginning of the rest of your life! Make the
choice, go for it! Recommended “As
a Man Thinketh” by James Allen “Today Matters” by John Maxwell “The Tongue a Creative Force” by Charles Capps Living
in Your Potential Unrealized potential is the difference between
thriving & surviving. It is the difference in living a life of purpose
and greatness, living passionately for the reason you were born vs a life of mediocrity lived in a rear view mirror of
would’ve could’ve should’ve. Living in your potential is a decision lived out
via a daily journey, built on the courage to constantly learn, constantly
grow, to become a good student and steward of what you’ve been given. It is
closing the gap between what you can do and what you will do. Many of us already have a book that needs to be
written, a speech that needs to be given, a business that needs to be
started, a race that needs to be won. Others have
witnessed miracles just in getting this far.
Living in your potential is about waking up, starting where you are to
win those seemingly small daily victories aligned with your passions, those things that you have dared to allow your
heart to desire, to dream. You can do it! Others who have journeyed before us
have proved that you are not too young or old, short or tall, thin or fat,
black or white, unemployed or over employed. Its morning again, begin today! Taking
Inventory & Visioning Watch your thoughts; they become words. Taking personal inventory is just that… personal.
It’s about being reflective, standing in front of a mirror and perhaps fixing
that hair out of place, or thread on your clothing. Its putting yourself in
an environment away from the rush of the day to take an objective,
undistracted, honest & sincere look at yourself, where you are in
different areas, with the intent of inspiring positive change in what you
think, say, do and become, thereby living a bit more in your potential. This
is the first step in closing the gap between the outcomes/outputs you desire, then determining what personal investment in
change/input will be needed to fulfill your part in achieving these. Some
will have to ask themselves sobering questions regarding their spiritual life
& destiny. Others reconcile the state of their lifelong relationships
with spouses, siblings & children vs the level
of daily and weekly relational investment they make. Still others will
revisit the timing of launching out in a new career direction or starting a
business of their own. This should be a constructive exercise that results in
a positive change, a course correction, reconciling what you think, what you
say, and what you do each day with what you really want long term. It’s doing
what you can today to live a life without regrets. Spiritual
Heartbeat Q: Do you really know God yet? A: No? Challenge yourself. Study the Gospel of John,
then Luke,
and the Book
of Acts. Then watch the movie Passion of the Christ and have lunch with a
Christian you know the very next day. Take a chance, do it in the suggested
order, then e-mail us. We’ll send you a free bible! Already know Him? Great! There are 3 pillars key to your spiritual development. Reading, Praying &
Fellowship. Ask yourself… Q: How’s your reading? Q: How’s your prayer time & devotion? Q: Are you connected into meaningful fellowship? If there’s no room for improvement in these
areas, congratulations! Not where you want to be? No problem. Some simple
changes to your daily routine, perhaps reading just one Proverb
and a Psalm
each day, can make all the difference. Our Daily Bread is a good
devotional to start. Marriage
Pulse For those who are married, your spouse is your lifelong
partner, friend, companion, and journey mate, whom some have vowed to God to
love & cherish until death do you part. Time to take the pulse if your
daily thinking, words & actions are aligned with whatever vows you made,
to see if your role in their health and healing is being fulfilled. Q: Is your marriage flourishing? Q: Are you investing adequately in your marriage?
Your spouse? Q: Can you/ do you pray together? Marriage, just like any living thing, needs to be
fed, nourished, watered and cultivated. With the busy lives we lead, even the
strongest marriage if neglected long enough, may need some special attention
& TLC. Marriage is not about just surviving, it should be a time of
thriving intimacy (in-to-me-see). If your marriage is in need, its not a sign of weakness, rather an opportunity to
refocus on what’s important to you. Do something different. Consider reading
a book… together.
Pray with and for each other. Date each other again. Learn each other’s relational needs
and how best to meet them. There are wonderful marriage conferences and
retreats available to decompress, some with special topics tuned to certain
groups, be it medical professionals, executives, educators, empty nesters, military,
young families. Leverage the resources below, calibrate with a marriage quiz. DNA
of Relationships, Gary Smalley Embrace Retreat Family
Life , Dennis Rainey Weekend to
Remember Marriage,
Focus on the Family Hot Topics Great Commandment/
Intimate Life Relational
Care Intensives The challenge! We’re so certain that you will
benefit from a marriage retreat at one of the above resources,
we’re willing to reimburse you for it if you don’t think is was worth it!
That’s right, select the one that’s right for you, get away for the weekend,
and if you don’t think it was worth the money after attending, send us the
registration receipt and we’ll reimburse you for it and the hotel cost! That
makes it risk free! Take the challenge, what you gain may last a lifetime! Family
Vital Signs Are you doing what you want to do to invest in
and cultivate the relationships that are most important to you? If not, no
problem, start today! People have needs, and those most dear to you have
needs that you should treat as precious. Cultivating relationships has a lot
to do with recognizing these relational needs
in others, and genuinely, creatively finding ways to meet those needs. An
environment where needs are met causes people to blossom, address deeper
issues, and live closer to their potential, and live a life of overflow.
Consider those most dear to you outside of your spouse: Parents Children Siblings Extended Family & Friends Take time to be an attentive listener, be
involved, and consider the relational need
of each and how you may best meet it. For some, this may be a monthly event,
perhaps to children, daily. It can be as simple as sending an IM message or
cell phone SMS with an encouraging word eg, “I
believe in you!”, “I miss you”, “I sure am proud at how well you’re doing in
piano!” The more honest and sincere the better. Career As have many words, the definition of the word
job has changed over time as we have move thru the industrial revolution into
the information age. Even today there are many trends of right sizing,
outsourcing, off shoring, etc. taking place affecting what we call a job, and
ever more important for you to understand these trends in light of your
personal priorities, and what you want to accomplish. In the 1918 Webster’s
dictionary, a job is defined as follows: job (j 1.
To do chance
work for hire; to work by the piece; to do petty work. A regular activity
performed in exchange for payment, especially as one's trade, occupation, or
profession. 2.
A position in
which one is employed. For some, the vehicle of a job is like a piece of
fresh fruit, a blessing intended for a certain time. Like an orange, it is
sweet and provides rich nutrients for your finances and time. For others,
that orange may be perishing, no longer good for
consuming, and it may be time to launch out in the direction of starting a
new business venture or franchise. This may be different for everyone at
different seasons. Consider your current course & speed, and study those
who have 5, 10 or 20 years longer. If this is aligned with where you want to
be, then you’re on track! If not, make creative adjustment and re-invest
aligned with your longer term objectives. How
Are You Your life is about overflow! It is in overflow
that you live a life of excellence, meaning & legacy. To do this, your
cup must run over, and this is accomplished in your daily routine, your
spiritual habits. This life is not meant to survive, but rather mean to
thrive in Him. Personal sacrifice is of value, obedience to His Word is
better. Don’t neglect yourself, your physical health, your emotional health
just because you can. Consider taking time to decompress, perhaps a weekend
getaway every 7 weeks, and a longer getaway every 7 months. Prioritize your
physical health before it prioritizes itself for you! A
Click here to ask a question, share
a comment with us or just to say hello! |
Quotes The time is always right to do what is right. Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or
strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. Our greatest glory is not in never
failing, but in rising up every
time we fail. Where there is no vision, the people perish. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot
and hang on. Do
not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a
trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson The future depends on
what we do in the present. - Mahatma Gandhi Great spirits have always
encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. You
cannot bring about prosperity by
discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot
further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot keep
out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build character and
courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help men
permanently by doing what they could and should do for themselves. Twenty
years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the
safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain Begin
with the end in mind. - Stephen Covey |
|
|
|
|
|
b)