Baseball Lesson

I heard a song the other day that I just had to share. It is several years older but a great song. It's called The Greatest by Kenny Rodgers. If you listen to the song he tells a story of a boy trying to hit a baseball. He tosses the ball up and swings and misses twice. On the third time he reminds himself that the game is on the line. The ball goes up and comes back down ... and that's strike three. The best part is how the boy reacts to strike three. Even if you have heard the song you should watch this video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqRjbeSuHi8&feature=related

Isn't that a great story. Instead of being sad that he didn't hit the game winning home run, he looked at all the angles and realized that he just struck out the winning batter with his amazing pitching. You can always turn lemons into lemonade. I think too many times when things don't go the way we think they should, we automatically think it was a bad experience. There is good in every situation we just need to look for it.

Be a good finder.
Justin

Something to Live For

Do you have a purpose or a cause? If you have something bigger than yourself to strive for, it makes all the obstacles along the way seem smaller. I love the lines in the latest Rambo and Rocky movies. From Rambo he says "Live for something, or die for nothing." and in Rocky he says "Life ain't about how hard you can hit. Its about how hard you can take a hit and get back up."

Keep moving forward, no matter what happens. And find something that you can live for. I've heard it said "The heart has its reasons the mind knows nothing about." And I'll say it again -Live for something, or die for nothing.

Justin

Positive Inputs

It is good to be constantly and consistently inputting good things into your brain. As it is the same with the body. It may not seem like much when you read something positive, but the repetitive input of good and positive media will enhance your life. Even if it is 20 minutes a day of reading, over time that adds up. In the words of a great friend and mentor "One day I opened up my mouth and all this intelligence fell out." That came from the daily input of good information. We now live in the information age. What information are you listening too.

I have been trying to tune out the negative and input positive for the past couple of years, and what a difference it has made in my life. I have tried to pay attention to my thoughts lately when dealing with different situations. I love the way I think about things now. When I read the book "The Anatomy of Peace" I know I picked up some knowledge that I use almost daily. In that book it talks about treating people as people and not objects. Are other people just obstacles in the way of you getting your tasks done? If so, I challenge you to look at your interactions with people and ask yourself "Is that how I would want to be treated if I was in their shoes?" Just that one thing will help in any task you are doing.

Remember, everyone breathes, everyone sleeps, everyone eats, everyone has the same needs, and everyone wants to be happy. There is a ripple affect on everything you do. Spending a few extra minutes to help a person, even if it does not get you further in your task, will be time well spent.

Also remember that no matter how big or small, Everything Counts
Justin

Validation

I am sharing a link for a great video. It is worth watching. I really love how it shows the ripple effect that can happen. You never know when what you are saying or doing is going to come back around. I hope you enjoy this video and share it with all that you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

Remember
Everything Counts

FEAR

I would say that most everyone has heard it explained this way
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
but that has been around so long, that it really doesn't mean much to me. Then I heard it explained this way. Fear is just incorrect knowledge. That helped me understand better that if I am fearful of something, it really has nothing to do with danger. It can be learned. As a kid it was always scary to be in the basement after dark, scared of the boogieman. But as an adult I know there is no boogieman and so there is no fear. I learned the correct knowledge and overcame the fear. I believe as you pursue greatness you will always come across a new situation that will make you afraid. Just remember that all you are afraid of is not having the knowledge to complete whatever task is at hand. The best way to gain that knowledge is from a mentor (someone who has been there and done that) or from personal trial and error. Since learning the incorrect knowledge theory of fear I have also learned another that has helped conquer fear. That is the definition of Faith is believing in something unseen, and the definition of Fear is believing in something unseen. Notice there is no difference. Once you can get past your fears and move forward, life will never be the same.

Justin

Having a Goal

You may have heard the saying "If you don't know where you are going, then you are probably already there." Until I started my journey I never realized how true that is. They said to me "look at the last 5 years of your life. If you don't make any changes then the next 5 years will be similar to the last 5 years." That got me thinking. I didn't hate the last 5 years of my life. But it was nothing spectacular either. Just running the rat race. And not getting ahead of anything. Just staying the same. I really think that we stop focusing on the future, and get so caught up in whats happening now. Ever since they told me that I have started picturing the future and setting small goals to get to where I want to be in 5, 10, 20 years. I have also heard it said this way "Life is like a camera, what you focus on you will develop." In any profession you start out with ambition and go through the training to become. You focus on the skills it takes, learn them and they become you. That even applies to bad things. The more you focus on hatred for someone, the more it builds up until you despise them.

I suggest you find something that you want to have, or do, or get done within the next few months. Figure a way to divide it into 2-4 steps to get there. Then write down those steps. Look at them everyday and ask to yourself, "What am I doing today to hit this next step?" Before you know it you will have made that want into a reality. Start out with something small and get some results, then the sky is the limit.

Justin

Give Happy to Be Happy

Serving. That is a huge part in being a Leader. The title "Give Happy to Be Happy" is something I hear Chris Brady say all the time. If you want to be happy then give happy. We were at an event last night called the Festival of Trees. There was this lady with a double wide stroller and was struggling to get out the door. When I saw this I walked over and held open the door for her, and with a big smile said "This should help make it easier." She got through the door, looked at me, smiled and said thank you. There was almost a sigh of relief feeling that came from her when she said thank you. Little things like that go a long way in peoples lives.

I absolutely love what I heard Dallin Larsen say
"Life is like a tennis match. He who serves best usually wins."

Justin

Mentor Wisdom

Having a mentor is important in Leadership. You may have heard the expression "Lead, Follow or get out of the way." I believe you must first Follow, then Lead. However you should never quit following. Attach yourself to someone out front that you can trust, who is Honest and has Integrity. That will make all the difference when you have challenges.

I leave you today with a quote from one of my mentors,
"You can't Teach what you don't know, and you can't Lead where you wont go."


Justin

12/3/08

I would like to add another quote that rings so true. It is about learning from failures. If you really understand that in order to be successful you must "fail forward" you will also understand that you can learn and grow from everything you do.

"Lesson continues until lesson learned."
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