Welcome Back! What a great week it has been for us as we are preparing for my favorite Holiday of the year...CHRISTMAS! I hope that is has been as great for you as it has been for me. It really has been a wonderful time of reflection and determination to continue forward.
I ended my last post with my wake up call. About how I was awakened to a sense of knowing there was more to my life then what I was currently doing and knew I had to do something about it. But what? What could I possibly do to get myself in a productive mode where I could help the world? Well, that same night of the conversation between my wife and I, there was a lack of sleep. My mind was racing, I kept pleading with the Lord in my heart to help me know what I need to do.
All I could think of was how grateful I am to have had a wife who was not willing to let her husband waste his life away. Finally, as I laid in bed I had this thought come to me, not just a thought...but THE thought, "There is nothing more humbling for a man than to stand in front of a mirror and have to deal with the reality that is in front of him. To truly say to ones self that they are not who they intended to be, and that they have failed at what was expected of them is the most heart wrenching blow one can take. Yet, in that pride shattering moment, the seed of hope is planted in the soil of our most fragile and malleable soul. It is then that a man can look back into his reflection and has the opportunity to say, 'I know you aren't who you could be...but from this time forward, you will become what you should be.' It is in these moments, when the pit seems too deep to climb from, that the first few infantile steps towards the defining of ones character commences, his courage is forged, and his true destiny unfolds."
I wrote it down as it was coming to my mind, my hands trembling, my mind racing, my pride shattering and my heart opening. This scripture also came to mind where the Lord says, "And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved." This experience was the Lord "compelling" a son that had become too reliant on his own comforts to repent, a son that had become complacent to rise up, a son that was "destroying his own effectiveness" to become something more.
I realized then that the outcome of my life was MY choice. No amount of external circumstances was going to determine who I was going to become and what I was going to achieve. My determination exploded into a fury of notes that I wrote down of things that in this moment I needed to accomplish. One of my favorite lines of literature come from the poem Invictus which says, "I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my Soul." I read those words frequently as a reminder to me, that circumstances do not determine my fate, I DO!
I was fortunate enough in August of this last year to partner with a company called Strongbrook. The President and founder of this company, Kris Krohn, has become a friend and mentor to me and wrote a book entitled the Conscious Creator. I highly recommend this book to you and encourage you to read it. If you would like a copy to borrow, please let me know and I can easily get one for you. (Or you can go to this website here and order the book.) In this book he writes the journey of a young man trying to find his purpose. In doing so he was asked to write down the answers to a few questions, all of which I would like to do for you to answer.
Along with this book comes a journal that helps you reprogram your thought process. For that is what our brains are, one giant computer that is inundated with information day in and day out. That is what I would like you to do this week, this is your HOMEWORK! Go to this link and download the journal and ask yourself the 11 Important Questions and write them down. (I must say that the journal makes little to no sense without the book, that is why I recommend reading the book). So, that was my first step...taking a look at my life and writing down, in my own words my vision of an ideal life. Answering these questions was the first and most crucial step for me: taking a long look in the mirror, breaking down the barriers of pride, and letting change take root in your soul. It has worked wonders for me and I KNOW it can do the same for you. Next week I will talk about what this little activity did for me, and why it has become my driving force!
No comments:
Post a Comment