One of the central messages I deliver to audiences is the idea that as early as childhood the passion for a thing will have manifested. As an example, one can easily peg me in two categories professionally, speaker and writer. I am without doubt living out my passion and walking in my destiny! It is hard to describe how blessed I feel each day to know that I know why I'm here on this planet, and am living that purpose.
The evidence in my childhood points to both speaking and writing. Joke-teller, 'star' of Rumplestiltskin in the 3rd grade, a role in the Christmas play in the 5th grade, a student organizer of Hippy Day at my elementary school in the 6th grade (made it on camera for local news coverage!), and on and on. I was also very proud of my handwriting. In the 2nd grade I won a kiss and a pack of M&Ms from my teacher for the best penmanship in my class.
So I wonder if Jacques Cousteau had a fascination for the ocean when he was a boy? Did this man who was instrumental in the development of SCUBA display his passion for the sea in the earliest years of his life? If you are in your 40's or older did you ever miss, 'The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau' when it came on television? Not if you could help it....
The evidence may be a love of baseball that becomes a life in the sport, or a love of music that becomes a life in the arts. Perhaps you were a doodler, or like me and always talking (always!). Maybe you liked putting together puzzles, or seemed destructive because you took everything apart to see how it was made. I am convinced the evidence is there for each of us.
In that evidence are the clues to our individual and personal design; the very foundation of why we are here on this planet. Recall how very different you felt from the other kids, and even from your brothers, sisters, or Mom and Dad? The reason is not bad, but instead a clue which may unlock your destiny.
That clue has virtually nothing to do with your gender, your race, or your ethnicity. It will not promote immorality, illegality, or division. The clues and the evidence they support are instead of the greatest benefit to you and those you love. This evidence, at least that which I discovered, leads to your passion, and passion leads to a life of fulfillment and purpose. Start digging. What does the evidence tell you?
Go to www.LifeThreadCommunications.com and check out my book on this subject, Be Known for Your DEEDS!
Fearlessly,
JD
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Be a Finisher!
I have just finished publishing a book for a gentleman in Florida. He worked diligently, thoughtfully, and finished his manuscript. Then he sent me the completed manuscript which I edited and published. Completion is a beautiful thing.
A dear friend of mine by the name of Dennis Mwanza was visiting with me in 2005. In a Bible Study he led, the message was, Have a Finishing Anointing. You see, many people are terrific at beginning projects. Other folks are equally adept at picking up a project mid-stream, and working it. It seems, however, that far fewer people have the ability to start a project, and see it through to a successful conclusion.
Most projects of any size and difficulty require a tremendous amount of discipline to see them through to completion. Within Discipline (adherence to character) are the Four Keys to Project Completion. #1 is Demonstrate Resolve (determination in the face of opposing odds); #2 is Show Dedication (avoiding the distractions that will arise); #3 is Have Ambition (achievement leading to promotion); and #4 is Provide Leadership (ability to inspire others).
The gentleman in Florida set about to write a book. He began with inspiration like so many do. His inspiration was enough to begin writing. How many get inspired and start strong? When the natural inspiration began to wane, he had to generate his own. He had to remember why he had started the book (project), and the resulting benefit to himself and others once it was completed. Then he had to keep writing. He had to write on the days he loved to write, and he had to write on the days when he'd rather do anything else.
He had to maintain discipline. With discipline he brought his manuscript to completion. A project, more than 100 pages in size, with a difficulty anchored in the unknown - he had never written a book. Who could have blamed him if he threw in the towel 40, 50, or 60 pages in? The excuse would be, "I'm a little burnt out. I'll pick it back up next week," or perhaps, "I've got writer's block. I need some fresh inspiration."
The end result in most cases of 'burn out' or 'writers' block' is months pass, excuses mount, and the project languishes on the scrap heap of other abandoned, inspirations. If you recognize yourself here, then you know the book could be any number of projects we undertake but never quite finish. As my friend from Zambia noted, "We tend to lack a finishing anointing."
The next time inspiration hits try this simple exercise...
1. Find real paper (the back of an envelope will not work!), and write down the inspired idea.
2. Write down the date of the idea
3. Imagine the project completed, and create a start-to-finish outline of your successful project
4. Don't quit this exercise until it is fully realized, and do it in one sitting.
You will have gone further and done more than 99% of the project starters on the planet. You owe yourself a pat on the back, but not a long one. Now sit back down and plot a realistic timeline for completion. Then crank up your discipline, get busy, and finish strong!
Fearlessly,
JD
A dear friend of mine by the name of Dennis Mwanza was visiting with me in 2005. In a Bible Study he led, the message was, Have a Finishing Anointing. You see, many people are terrific at beginning projects. Other folks are equally adept at picking up a project mid-stream, and working it. It seems, however, that far fewer people have the ability to start a project, and see it through to a successful conclusion.
Most projects of any size and difficulty require a tremendous amount of discipline to see them through to completion. Within Discipline (adherence to character) are the Four Keys to Project Completion. #1 is Demonstrate Resolve (determination in the face of opposing odds); #2 is Show Dedication (avoiding the distractions that will arise); #3 is Have Ambition (achievement leading to promotion); and #4 is Provide Leadership (ability to inspire others).
The gentleman in Florida set about to write a book. He began with inspiration like so many do. His inspiration was enough to begin writing. How many get inspired and start strong? When the natural inspiration began to wane, he had to generate his own. He had to remember why he had started the book (project), and the resulting benefit to himself and others once it was completed. Then he had to keep writing. He had to write on the days he loved to write, and he had to write on the days when he'd rather do anything else.
He had to maintain discipline. With discipline he brought his manuscript to completion. A project, more than 100 pages in size, with a difficulty anchored in the unknown - he had never written a book. Who could have blamed him if he threw in the towel 40, 50, or 60 pages in? The excuse would be, "I'm a little burnt out. I'll pick it back up next week," or perhaps, "I've got writer's block. I need some fresh inspiration."
The end result in most cases of 'burn out' or 'writers' block' is months pass, excuses mount, and the project languishes on the scrap heap of other abandoned, inspirations. If you recognize yourself here, then you know the book could be any number of projects we undertake but never quite finish. As my friend from Zambia noted, "We tend to lack a finishing anointing."
The next time inspiration hits try this simple exercise...
1. Find real paper (the back of an envelope will not work!), and write down the inspired idea.
2. Write down the date of the idea
3. Imagine the project completed, and create a start-to-finish outline of your successful project
4. Don't quit this exercise until it is fully realized, and do it in one sitting.
You will have gone further and done more than 99% of the project starters on the planet. You owe yourself a pat on the back, but not a long one. Now sit back down and plot a realistic timeline for completion. Then crank up your discipline, get busy, and finish strong!
Fearlessly,
JD
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Destined for Success
How many of us believe we are destined for success? I used to, then went through a phase that had me doubting anything other than a status quo existence. And the status quo was status low! It caused me to re-examine my life, my priorities, how I did business, how I did relationships, and how I did my faith.
Today I have no doubt that I am destined for success and it's because I have redefined success. I no longer attach success to a robust bank balance, thriving investments, season tickets, expensive toys, or enough botox to keep me wrinkle free until I'm 90. All of those things are nice symptoms of someone's success, and I welcome them as they come...or not.
Success is wrapped up in living out one's destiny. Mother Theresa was an unabashed success, and we would have to conclude that Bill Gates is as well. Delmar Walker, my late Dad, was a success, but he never made much more than 50k in a year. As in the case with Mother Theresa, success is not tied to money. It is tied to passion and destiny.
As of this writing, I don't yet own the boat I want. I don't own the car I'd like or live in the exact house of which I dream. My expensive toys are rather dated and old - not so pricey any longer. No season tickets. The bank account is far from robust, and the wrinkles will just have to add character. But I am in the lane I was born to occupy.
There is a deep satisfaction in that. The cool part is that I am being rebuilt after a fashion that maintains my integrity, my focus, my love of life and people, and will provide the comforts I will never again take for granted. My path to this point is not one I would have chosen for myself, but I rejoice in the strength I've gained, the lessons learned, the new relationships which have been forged, and the clarity with which I see what success really is.
Success is a function of doing that which you are designed to do, and then doing it with all the gusto you can muster. I speak from intimate experience, and now am able to not only tell others how they, too, can achieve success that is sustainable for a lifetime, but I can teach them. It's a cool train.
Fearlessly,
JD
Today I have no doubt that I am destined for success and it's because I have redefined success. I no longer attach success to a robust bank balance, thriving investments, season tickets, expensive toys, or enough botox to keep me wrinkle free until I'm 90. All of those things are nice symptoms of someone's success, and I welcome them as they come...or not.
Success is wrapped up in living out one's destiny. Mother Theresa was an unabashed success, and we would have to conclude that Bill Gates is as well. Delmar Walker, my late Dad, was a success, but he never made much more than 50k in a year. As in the case with Mother Theresa, success is not tied to money. It is tied to passion and destiny.
As of this writing, I don't yet own the boat I want. I don't own the car I'd like or live in the exact house of which I dream. My expensive toys are rather dated and old - not so pricey any longer. No season tickets. The bank account is far from robust, and the wrinkles will just have to add character. But I am in the lane I was born to occupy.
There is a deep satisfaction in that. The cool part is that I am being rebuilt after a fashion that maintains my integrity, my focus, my love of life and people, and will provide the comforts I will never again take for granted. My path to this point is not one I would have chosen for myself, but I rejoice in the strength I've gained, the lessons learned, the new relationships which have been forged, and the clarity with which I see what success really is.
Success is a function of doing that which you are designed to do, and then doing it with all the gusto you can muster. I speak from intimate experience, and now am able to not only tell others how they, too, can achieve success that is sustainable for a lifetime, but I can teach them. It's a cool train.
Fearlessly,
JD
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Wisdom Earned
Wisdom cannot be found lying about like so many pennies and dimes. It will not attach itself to you, and comes not by accident. It is not easily gained, but is worth the time and expense to acquire it. Wisdom's payoff is most obvious when mistakes are not repeated, goals are set and met, and our tongue speaks blessings. Wisdom is not intelligence, but points to it. Intelligence is not wisdom, but is pointless without it.
I don't believe that I am so different from folks in my age demographic. I can look back upon my life and trace the roots and growth of my own wisdom. It's often a humorous exercise as I marvel at the ignorance of my youth, and am yet standing today! Surely this is the definitive in the proof of God's existence. Without Him I am quite sure things would have turned out differently for me.
Wisdom put to use recently, I was engaged in a conversation with one of my coaching clients when the thought crossed my mind to expound more on a speech she was to give. There were some tweaks which would have improved the text, and maybe added a laugh to move the speech along at a better pace. But her confidence level going into the performance of her speech was not so much solid as fluid. Wisdom dictated that I refrain from too much advice, and instead encourage. She 'blue-ribboned' in her Toastmasters club, and when she said, "I couldn't have done it without you," wisdom was vindicated.
The path along which wisdom comes our way is winding, hilly, and laden with exposed roots, loose stones, and low hanging branches - all of which requires our attention. We can navigate the path oblivious to the obstacles, stumbling as we go, but then they will remain obstacles in place for our next jaunt down this particular path. It is when the obstacles are seen for what they truly are - opportunities - that wisdom becomes a companion, growing within us and enriching the experience of the journey.
If time permits, take a meditative pause in your busy day to reflect on activities, relationships, work, or other life experiences which have been enhanced through your accumulated wisdom. Then smile. You are progressing, getting better everyday, and earning the wisdom found in a life well-lived.
Fearlessly,
JD
I don't believe that I am so different from folks in my age demographic. I can look back upon my life and trace the roots and growth of my own wisdom. It's often a humorous exercise as I marvel at the ignorance of my youth, and am yet standing today! Surely this is the definitive in the proof of God's existence. Without Him I am quite sure things would have turned out differently for me.
Wisdom put to use recently, I was engaged in a conversation with one of my coaching clients when the thought crossed my mind to expound more on a speech she was to give. There were some tweaks which would have improved the text, and maybe added a laugh to move the speech along at a better pace. But her confidence level going into the performance of her speech was not so much solid as fluid. Wisdom dictated that I refrain from too much advice, and instead encourage. She 'blue-ribboned' in her Toastmasters club, and when she said, "I couldn't have done it without you," wisdom was vindicated.
The path along which wisdom comes our way is winding, hilly, and laden with exposed roots, loose stones, and low hanging branches - all of which requires our attention. We can navigate the path oblivious to the obstacles, stumbling as we go, but then they will remain obstacles in place for our next jaunt down this particular path. It is when the obstacles are seen for what they truly are - opportunities - that wisdom becomes a companion, growing within us and enriching the experience of the journey.
If time permits, take a meditative pause in your busy day to reflect on activities, relationships, work, or other life experiences which have been enhanced through your accumulated wisdom. Then smile. You are progressing, getting better everyday, and earning the wisdom found in a life well-lived.
Fearlessly,
JD
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Best in You
My unofficial mentor is Jim Rohn. He's 'unofficial' because he passed away last year, and we never met while he was alive. I call him Mentor because of the wealth of wisdom and valuable advice he amassed, and passed along, during his professional career. Wisdom and advice I have leaned upon as I construct a new life in pursuit of my passion for communicating.
Steven R. Covey, famed author of The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, and numerous other works of practical wisdom and insight, has likewise affected how I view the world and my place in it. When I finally committed to read 'Seven Habits' I found I couldn't put it down. Timing is everything, so they say, and my time for his landmark work had come. It became foundational.
What do Alice Walker and James Fenimore Cooper have in common? Me! I count, The Color Purple and Last of the Mohicans among my all-time favorite reads. The Color Purple may be the magnum opus of Ms. Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning career. Told through the eyes and voice of Celie, The Color Purple is a wonderful read.
I love the breadth, the scope, and the cinematography of Michael Mann's screen adaptation of Last of the Mohicans. In major ways it is completely unlike the book, but if you agree with me about the movie, you must read the book. Immerse yourself in the grand scope of one of the all-time classics, Last of the Mohicans.
I am sure you agree that life comes at us from all angles with challenges, obstacles, and opportunities. From these we craft victories, suffer defeats, endure, shut down, cry, shout, laugh, mourn, or just sit in wonderment that we are still alive. I have chosen to be victorious though I have suffered defeats (bankruptcy and foreclosure to name two); to shout frustrations as well as great praises to God, to laugh often, and to mourn those who have passed into God's presence before me.
I still sit in wonderment that I am alive some days, and I thank God for His mercy and faithfulness to have preserved me thus far for the work yet to be done. Today that work consists of encouraging you, the readers of this blog, to find a mentor you can trust to challenge you to raise your game to the stars. Find a book that will reorganize your thinking in such a way as to re-shape how you do business (and how you do 'personal'). Finally, make the time to lose yourself in a really good novel at least once a month.
Seek the best around you and within you, not the average. Then ask yourself the questions that Jim Rohn asked, "Why wouldn't you push to the best you can be? To make all the money you can? To read all the great books you can? To learn all you can? To be the best spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, or friend you can? Why wouldn't you?
Andrew Carnegie said, "The man unable to motivate himself will never rise above mediocrity no matter his talent or his giftings." Make the best in you, the daily you.
Fearlessly,
JD
Steven R. Covey, famed author of The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, and numerous other works of practical wisdom and insight, has likewise affected how I view the world and my place in it. When I finally committed to read 'Seven Habits' I found I couldn't put it down. Timing is everything, so they say, and my time for his landmark work had come. It became foundational.
What do Alice Walker and James Fenimore Cooper have in common? Me! I count, The Color Purple and Last of the Mohicans among my all-time favorite reads. The Color Purple may be the magnum opus of Ms. Walker's Pulitzer Prize winning career. Told through the eyes and voice of Celie, The Color Purple is a wonderful read.
I love the breadth, the scope, and the cinematography of Michael Mann's screen adaptation of Last of the Mohicans. In major ways it is completely unlike the book, but if you agree with me about the movie, you must read the book. Immerse yourself in the grand scope of one of the all-time classics, Last of the Mohicans.
I am sure you agree that life comes at us from all angles with challenges, obstacles, and opportunities. From these we craft victories, suffer defeats, endure, shut down, cry, shout, laugh, mourn, or just sit in wonderment that we are still alive. I have chosen to be victorious though I have suffered defeats (bankruptcy and foreclosure to name two); to shout frustrations as well as great praises to God, to laugh often, and to mourn those who have passed into God's presence before me.
I still sit in wonderment that I am alive some days, and I thank God for His mercy and faithfulness to have preserved me thus far for the work yet to be done. Today that work consists of encouraging you, the readers of this blog, to find a mentor you can trust to challenge you to raise your game to the stars. Find a book that will reorganize your thinking in such a way as to re-shape how you do business (and how you do 'personal'). Finally, make the time to lose yourself in a really good novel at least once a month.
Seek the best around you and within you, not the average. Then ask yourself the questions that Jim Rohn asked, "Why wouldn't you push to the best you can be? To make all the money you can? To read all the great books you can? To learn all you can? To be the best spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, or friend you can? Why wouldn't you?
Andrew Carnegie said, "The man unable to motivate himself will never rise above mediocrity no matter his talent or his giftings." Make the best in you, the daily you.
Fearlessly,
JD
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