This morning, I participated in Bible study with a group of men from a local church. I wasn’t sure of the topic for the day. But, I was eager for the fellowship. When I found out that the focus for the time would be on purpose, I was pleased. Attending the meeting, I feel was a confirmation of sorts for me. Let me explain my reasoning.
This week, I took on a coaching client to help him walk through my 13-week course to discover his purpose. At the end of this course, he will have a written manifesto for his life purpose. The focus (in short) is to help him become the change agent, that he desires to be in his life. We’ll dig into things like childhood, belief systems, talents, personality, and skills. He’ll have to comb through various aspects of his identity to discover, uncover, and re-discovery…HIMSELF! His introspection will become medicine for healing whatever has disconnected him from his purpose.
It will be a huge undertaking, and it won’t be an easy journey. However, the journey will be worth it when he’s completed it. We owe it to ourselves to ask the hard questions. We owe it to our relationships to be honest and open with our answers. We owe it to ourselves to connect with the Most High, who placed the purpose inside of us. We were created with purpose and for a purpose. All of the deep digging will be useless without connecting to the source of our existence.
If you find yourself drifting through life, ask for wisdom from on high. Your prayers will point you to the answers for working through the recesses of your heart. We are naive to think, that we can figure it out on our own.
About 4 years ago, I came across interview questions for someone you love on Brendon Bruchard’s Facebook page. I thought it was a great idea at the time, and I decided to save the post. Fast forward to this weekend, I took the opportunity to put action behind the desire to interview my father on the “A Father Heard” podcast. If you’d like to listen to Family Life: A Conversation with my Dad, here you go! This episode was the third of four in the series; in which, I sit down with members of my family.
All to often, we put things off with the hopes of getting back to it. That’s a great recipe for not completing the task. I’m very grateful, that my dad is still living. I’m appreciative for a great relationship with him. If it wasn’t for his dedication and labor of love to create a healthy relationship for his children, this conversation would have been very different. Perhaps, it would have never happened.
How many people do you know of that have strained relationships with their family members? There are far to many that I know of in my personal and professional life. As a parent, we have a great deal of responsibility for cultivating a safe and loving environment for our family. If we’ve done or job to the best of our abilities, our children will want to come home as adults to have a conversation about life.
Some people really love to sleep. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with sleep. Rest is extremely important for our bodies. I’m not above taking a power nap. Unfortunately, I don’t have much time for them with my work schedule and children.
One thing is true; whenever, I do hit the sack. It’s a done deal! I’m not counting sheep. I don’t need lavender or chamomile tea. Once my head hits the pillow, I’m out for the count. It amazes my wife how quickly I transition from awake to sleep. I think it’s a beautiful thing!
If sleeping isn’t the problem. What’s going on?
Well, there are two things in play!
The issue is that I have a hard time going to bed. I guess I feel like I’m going to miss something. Even though I feel tired, I’ll stay up way longer than I need to just because I can. Most of the time, I’m engaged in some mindless activity to wind down for the day. Before I get too far down this rabbit hole, the importance of sleep is not what we’re discussing. Albeit, a good discussion to have.
My other problem is that I don’t like waking up early. It’s not like I’m one of those individuals, who sleeps 10 hrs at a time. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
I’m very capable of rising early. It must be on my own terms for me to rise. Take for instance, I can wake up early to bike or run without giving it a second thought. No alarm clock necessary!!! It doesn’t matter what time I get into the bed. If it’s something that I want to do, I’m up! Simply put!
In order for me to get out of bed at 4:30 AM, I’ve got to be fired up about the possibilities for the day. Getting up and getting dressed before heading out of the door, with the family, left me feeling unproductive outside of work. My creativity dried up. I wasn’t fueling my passion. Then, I came across The Miracle Morning and Bullet Journal. The answers to my quest for focus and organization.
I started using them, and I saw my productivity increase at home and at work. I worked it for several months during the summer, and I let it go. I’d come back to it, and then I’d stop for one reason or another. (If this sounds like you, take a look at my previous post. It was written for you!) I didn’t beat myself up about it. Neither should you! Just pick up where you left off, and get back to it.
That’s, exactly, what I started doing at the beginning of the year. And 4:30 has never felt so good! I’m getting in my quiet time with silence, affirmation, and visualization. I also get some movement for the body and mind with exercise, reading, and writing. These methods help set my intention for the days. It’s helping me to prioritize all of the things, which I say and feel are important.
Is it perfect? Not at all! I still struggle with visualization. But, I’m learning. Am I completing all of the tasks on my list? Not quite! It’s okay! We’re, only on day 4 of this new year. However, I am getting most of it done. It’s a work in progress. All of which were designed before the sun comes up.
And, this sound in the setting called Beautiful Day is creating opportunities for the beautiful days ahead. And, that’s why I rise!
Don’t judge! I rise early on the weekends. Just not…4:30!!!
What time do you wake up? How do you set your day? What success or challenges have you experienced as an early riser?
Yesterday, we let go of 2018! Today, we embraced 2019!
With this new year, the world is going crazy with resolutions for lives. The gyms are full of individuals looking to get healthy! The grocery carts are loaded with fruits, vegetables, and high quality proteins. The journals are receiving fresh marks of ink. Many of these are made with good intentions, and they’ll benefit a small portion of the population. However, much of the population will revert back to what is comfortable faster than the ink dries on that brand new journal.
Now, I don’t want you to think that I’m coming from a place of condemnation. That, my friend, is not my intention. I have become all too familiar with the process of starting with hopes high, only to fall flat on my face. Brutal!
There are the times when I’ve soared high like an eagle searching the country side! That’s when everything is working as I desired! In these moments, we’re feeling good about the decision to make changes in our lives. It’s easy to wake up at 4:30 a.m. for quiet time before the day gets away from us. It seems like the articles and podcasts are full of creativity, that will never dry out! The weight is falling off!
Things are clicking! But why is that? It’s simple!
Every result comes from action! And the opposite is true. If there’s no action, then we can expect to have no results. Make no mistake about it. Both are related to lifestyle choices. One will do work, and the other will choose not to work for it.
Human beings are the only creatures who have the ability to write down their goals and design their future. And here is why most of us don’t. We’re trapped either by regret of the past or the routine of the present. Jim Rohn
I don’t know where you are currently located on the spectrum of life. Just know that another resolution isn’t the answer. I’m not saying to continue doing what doesn’t serve you. If you want to make changes, then make those changes. However, it means to figure out what you need to have in place to make your desires more attainable.
Here are a few suggestions:
Identify your priorities.
Find your purpose and passion, and fuel it with your WHY!
There are so many things that we can do to create results. But, they start with changing our mindset and our habits. So as the scripture tells us, “Write the the vision and make it plain!” I wish for you much fruit in this season! Isn’t that why you started in the first place?
When you think about faith and it’s impact on your life? What is the first thing that comes to your mind? What rises up in your flesh; as well as, your spirit? What do you take hold of as apart of your own beliefs? What do you cast off by the way side?
When one begins to think about faith, how did they come to a particular faith or lack of faith? Are you, merely, operating out of what you were taught by your parents? Perhaps, your faith is due to being born in a certain region of the world. No matter how you came to a particular belief system, you must learn something about you as a person. If you’re not learning and growing; you’re, fooling yourself!
“’Christians’ need to be asked some serious questions. I’m tired of how shallow most people’s faith is…”–Joshua Banks
The statement above came from a good friend of mine after an interesting conversation about knowing oneself. Particularly, how faith is a key component of knowing oneself. For me, it is the rudder steering the ship of my life. When I’m most aligned with my belief system, my ship is full steam ahead. At times, I find myself out of alignment for numerous reasons. Consequently, I experience difficulties with navigating the ship. The waters become murky. The waves are larger than life itself. Next thing you know, I’m way off course. Once I come to my senses, my faith is quickly restored. Now, I’m moving in the right direction.
All too often, we don’t study, practice, and teach our beliefs. When we neglect any or all of these, we can find ourselves in a position of not knowing who we are. We start acting and behaving in ways, which are not consistent with our character. Most importantly, not consistent with our professed system of faith. Or, we find ourselves going through the motions. Merely, faking it! What happens when we stop faking it?
When we begin to draw near to God, He draws near to us. If you’re not familiar with the story of the Prodigal Son, you can find it here. The story tells us about a young man, who left home with an inheritance. He went off to a far off place, where He was doing any and everything under the sun. At some point after wasting his inheritance, the son comes to himself and returns to his home. He had become unrecognizable. As he is approaching, his father recognizes him. Then, runs to receive him with open arms. Ultimately, the father throws a welcome home party for the son.
His identity was quickly restored through his actions. Despite his waywardness, he was the exact same person that his father always knew. His father knew, solely, based on their relationship. Despite the distance and the son’s behavior, their relationship hadn’t changed one bit for the father. The father knew himself. It was the son, who lost sight of himself.
At the same time, while this father and son is rekindling their relationship, the other son is having a case of amnesia brought on by his own identity crisis. He, too, didn’t know who he was to his father. And, he hadn’t left the house. He had been there the whole time, and didn’t recognize his own worth and value. He didn’t realize the love, that was ever present for him.
As a father, I can say that I love my two children equally. There’s no favoritism of one over the other. However, our relationships are very different. I see them as individuals. Therefore, I love them differently. But, I don’t love one more than the other. No matter what they do. I love them!
Back to the question at hand. What does my faith system tell me about myself? My faith tells me, that I’m loved by the most high. It tells me, that the Creator is delighted in me. That he knew me inside of my mother’s womb. With this knowledge, I understand that there’s nothing that I can do to add to it or take away from that love. And, as the song states “I’m fully known and loved!”
A Father Heard 