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Showing posts with the label The 15 Invaluable Laws for Growth

"It's always easier to see something positive in a negative experience long after it happens."

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 131). Center Street. Kindle Edition. It is but it is also beneficial to see it right after it happens.   If you do then you will be able to learn from it.   That is the key in every negative experience to learn something from it. John also said, “Where there is no struggle, there is no progress. Facing difficulties is inevitable. Learning from them is optional.”   You can choose to change the negative into a positive. Have you learned to do that?   When we get the fact that God is a sovereign God into our life view and that nothing comes into the life of a Christian that doesn’t first go through God’s love then we are constantly looking for His reason for it happening.   That brings into focus the purpose of all things coming into our lives.   God caused it or allowed it and He will bring something good from it into our lives. Even when Sat

"When you feel the pain of bad experiences, creativity gives you the opportunity to turn that pain into gain."

A thought by John C Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 130). Center Street. Kindle Edition. God has created each one of us with the ability to be creative.   The problem is the cares and negatives of life seem to push it way down inside of us.   But it is in those bad experiences that our creativity can rise to the top and create a way out of those experiences.   Our problem is we stay in a hopeless state and rob ourselves of the potential answer. Let me say it again, God has created each one of us with the ability to be creative.   Now it is in chaos that most new ideas come into existence.   John says, “The secret to doing that is to use the energy that comes from either adrenaline or anger and use it to solve problems and learn lessons.”   God gives us the ability to find the answer, to solve the problem. He tells the story of a chicken farmer whose land was flooded each spring.   The water would

"You cannot control much of what happens to you in life. However, you can control your attitude."

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 129). Center Street. Kindle Edition. Have you come to grips with that first statement yet?   You and I can’t really control much of what happens to us.   We can gripe at it, we can demand something different but can we really bring about change?    But here is the key; any potential change comes about because of my attitude toward it.   I can change my attitude toward it.   I do have control of that and then I may see a change in the situation. I like how John says it, “If I have a positive life stance the good and bad will become better. If I have a negative life stance the good and bad will become worse. Therefore I choose a positive life stance.”   There is where the change happens, either good or bad.  It is in our attitude. So where do you need an attitude change?   It will take work.   But it will be worth it. So why don’t you sta

"The important things in life usually take longer than we expect and cost more than we anticipate."

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 106). Center Street. Kindle Edition. John then said that to compensate for that fact he usually multiplies by two.   He says, “If I think something will take me an hour to do, I plan for double to stay out of trouble. If I think a project will take a week to accomplish, I allot two. If I think a goal will require $ 1,000 to fund, I set aside $ 2,000. Two isn’t a magic number— it just seems to work for me. I’ve found that multiplying everything by two infuses realism into my optimism.” I just thought that would be something good to pass on to you.   For one it shows the importance of planning.   So many people just make decisions totally off the cuff and then wake up with a mountain of problems.   They hadn’t set down and put some thought to it before they decided to do it, whatever it is. Another thing to see is the fact that there is so much o

"What we do now controls who we become and where we are in the future."

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 95). Center Street. Kindle Edition. It is such a temptation to live in our past or to live in the future.   Granted there are lessons to be learned from our past and growth to happen in our future but today is when it is done.   Take for instance my challenge to learn more about Jesus so I am reading His story through the Gospels 13 times in 2013.   Now that is accomplished by me reading four to five chapters every day.   I read two right before I started writing this blog.   It will happen by doing something now. I want to be a very effective, growing, and creative retiree.   There are things to learn and difference making things to do even at 65+ but it is done in the now.   My ship isn’t coming in, I am on it and rowing it right now.   What I will accomplish tomorrow is being done today. Who are you becoming?   Who are you with and what are

“If the future looks dull, routine, or confining, you may need to start looking to make changes.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 88). Center Street. Kindle Edition. It is so easy to let your life become that.   Someone said that a rut is a grave with the ends knocked out and there is no growth, adventure, excitement or life in a grave. Is that where you are today?   I hope not but I know that the cares and pressures of life have a way of sapping out all hope, all life.   But you can do something about that.   I was challenged by John’s thought right before this one where he said, “One of the ways to judge whether you’re growing and in a conducive growth environment is to discern whether you’re looking forward to what you’re doing or looking back at what you’ve done.”   Maybe that would be a good place to start.   There may have been some great days in your past but the past is past.   Set into motion again some of the habits you did in those good days and then change you

“When you change your attitude regarding a problem, you open up many opportunities for growth.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 86). Center Street. Kindle Edition. Most of our attitudes toward our problems are negative.   “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”   “What did I do to deserve this?”   Nothing good ever happens to me”    Two things happen with that kind of attitude – One, you don’t solve the problem.   And Two – you get depressed.   Most people see problems as enemies. But other people see them as friends.   They see them as opportunities to grow, to learn, to solve.   Those people have a total different attitude toward life.   Life to them is not to be feared but to be enjoyed.   Life is an adventure to them. Which person are you?   Which person do you want to be? You can change, both for the good or the bad.   It starts with who you are around.   If they are negative then you will have a tendency to see life that way.   But if they are positive then

“Anyone who does what he must only when he is in the mood or when it’s convenient isn’t going to be successful.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 82). Center Street. Kindle Edition. In this section of his book, John quotes the very successful musical composer, John Williams who states, “I developed from very early on a habit of writing something every day, good or bad. There are good days, and there are less good days, but I do a certain amount of pages it seems to me before I can feel like the day has been completely served.”  And he has been very successful because of his commitment to being consistent. So many times we wait for the mood.  We say, “I have to be in the mood to write, I have to be inspired.”  But it seems we hardly are ever in the mood or inspired so we don’t write.  I like that he has made a commitment to compose each day no matter the outcome. I have made a commitment to write this blog five days a week and I have written 355 posts since I started.  Some have been good, some

“Hard work is really the accumulation of easy things you didn’t do when you should have.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 79). Center Street. Kindle Edition. Oh if we would just do the things we could do today and then not have to do those plus what we have to do tomorrow.    That is when life becomes hard work. Back when I was in college I found that if I had a job I did better in my studies.   I had to make use of the time that I had so I didn’t waste it.   I would do the important things first. What about you?    What is really important to you?   Do your priorities set your agenda or do others or even  leisure? I am retired now.   No one sets my agenda but me.   In those beginning months of retirement I found that a little frustrating until I found something I was to do every day that met my purpose for my life.   Retirement doesn’t mean I no longer do my purpose it just means I have total control of my time to do it.   Procrastination only adds to the

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments, and that bridge must be crossed every day.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 79). Center Street. Kindle Edition . I know, I know that doesn’t sound exciting but that is the way it works. Now the first step is a goal.   What do you want?   Have you stopped and really looked at what you want from your future?   One thing I have set as a goal is to pay off all our credit cards.   We will get a raise if we do that so I have set up a plan to do that.   It means we have to daily discipline ourselves to not use then and then to pay off the card with the lowest balance first and then pay a little over the minimum on all the others till they are paid off.   I already have three of them paid off. The first step is the goal.   Take some time and set some goals and set up a plan.   Remember, it is a cinch by the inch but hard by the yard.    In other words it is easier to accomplish a long term goal by setting up smaller daily go

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 79). Center Street. Kindle Edition . What is it you need to start doing today that will change where you are headed?   We may say I don’t like a specific occurrence in our life but we don’t do anything different.   We stay in our room and wish and wish and wish and even pray but do nothing different and wonder why it doesn’t happen. Now for the most part we know at least one thing that we could start doing to make the difference to change the direction.   We know but we just don’t want to start doing it.   John speaks to the need when he says, “When you make the right choices – however small – and do it consistently over time, it can make a huge difference in your life.” I have been slipping back into doing two things that I know I can’t do to stay healthy and to lose weight.   I had found that walking and not eating anything with wheat i

“You have to give yourself more and bigger whys so you can keep wanting to put in the effort to grow.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 77). Center Street. Kindle Edition. I think for the most part GOD has put within us the need to know why.  It is what motivates us.    I know as a parent it gets more difficult to keep answering the why questions of our small child or to give them the why for what we want them to do but it is so important in there growing to become who they were created to be.   I like what John said about his mom. He said, “When I was a child, my mom continually gave me whys to keep me going. She would say things like, ‘If you eat your vegetables, you can have dessert.’ She knew I needed to know the benefits of eating vegetables when I didn’t want to do it. That kind of training set me up for success, because I started to learn the relationship between motivation and discipline.” I have seen so many adults who have quit asking the why questions and have lost th

“If you value today and find a way to enjoy it, you will invest in today.”

A thought by John C Maxwell (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 75). Center Street. Kindle Edition. This is it.   Today is Friday.   I have never lived today before and I will never live it again.   The way I start it has a lot to do with how I make use of it.   My expectations go a long way with my effectiveness. Now I, personally, start my day in the Bible.   Today I read Psalm 106.   It showed the importance of following Him and what happens if we don’t and what happens when we do.     It ended with “Praise the Lord.”   Good reminder to start the day.   Then I read the last part of Acts 22 and of how God was moving Paul to His desired destination.   It showed how each incident had a part in moving Paul to Rome where He wrote a big part of the New Testament.   Each incident in the day is important to God.    John Maxwell also says, “And the small steps you take today will lead to the bigger steps you take

“Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.”

A thought by John C Maxwell, (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 70). Center Street. Kindle Edition. After I get off the scale every morning I am motivate to either make the added effort to lose the weight I’ve gained or lose more weight.   That should be enough but when I am standing before that Oatmeal Scone at Peet’s the self-discipline must take over.     Now the motivation has a way of getting our attention.   For John his heart attack motivate him to be more health conscious but for some that could be too late.   The discipline is the key. I have done a good job of losing weight until the last month or so.   The scales are showing me I need to start saying, “no” to some things and “yes” to others.   That is where the success is.   It is in the daily actions that I do that leads to my success. My desire on writing my blogs is to encourage and motivate people to become what they were built to be.   I

“The least attractive emotion not only for me, but for any person, is self-pity.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 61). Center Street. Kindle Edition. I totally agree with that thought. Whenever some negative situation comes into my life these self-pity thoughts race into my mind.   If I stop and repeat them to someone then I am in for a major battle but if I don’t rehearse them and repeat them then they just become passing thoughts. I am a born pessimist or as some would say a born realist and I have made it a lifetime task to not let that view of life take control of me.   I read the newspaper from the back, I read a Psalm every day, I step away from negative conversations, I stay away from talk radio/TV and I don’t get into controversial conversations.   There is a problem with this, though.   When I am fighting a negative reaction inside of me and someone in my family is reacting from the negative, I tend to attack them and preach at them.   I am l

“If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed up. He needs to stop, reflect, and change course.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 55). Center Street. Kindle Edition. I wonder how many of us would have seen that we were headed in the wrong direction if we would have just stopped and spent some time to think and to evaluate?    The problem was we didn’t think we had the time.   And that can be dangerous. Margaret and I have made some major changes in our life in the last 18 months.   We have lived in New York, Florida and now California.   At one point in our time in Florida it looked like Margaret’s job was going through a major change and if we would have stayed doing what we were doing we would have been in a very difficult situation. One day we were traveling to a horse show about two hours north of where we lived in Seminole, Florida and we decided to spend some time in reflection.   That two hour trip brought us to some changes that brought us to Pasadena, California

“To become intentional about growing, expect to make mistakes every day, and welcome them as a sign that you are moving in the right direction.”

A thought by John C Maxwell,. (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 6). Center Street. Kindle Edition. Mistakes go along with trying.   It is one way you learn.   The need to be perfect keeps many from growing and learning. Now in many endeavors perfection is the needed result but there must be trial and error in order to get there.   But in individuals perfection is not possible here on earth but growth is and there will be mistakes in growing.   That is a part of learning and growing. My son took his California driver’s license test this past week.   He only missed one but the only one he will remember is the one he missed.   That was the one he went back to see what they said was the right answer.   It was the only answer we all discussed There is so much to learn in trying and maybe in making a mistake.   There is nothing to learn in not trying.   The mistakes tell you that you are trying. Have you

“Nobody ever got ready by waiting. You only get ready by starting.”

A thought by John C Maxwell, (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 32). Center Street. Kindle Edition. I was sitting the other day with a friend who wanted to talk about blogging.   She was excited about doing it; she even said she had six  set up.   So I asked when she was going to start and she said, “Oh I’m not ready yet.   It has to be perfect.” I was walking the other day to my Starbucks for my morning coffee and I walked by the Pasadena Playhouse and I saw that they were having auditions all that day for the play, Sleepless in Seattle.   As soon as I got to Starbucks I told a barista there about it.   I knew she had moved from Virginia to LA to become an actress.    I thought she would be excited and jump at the opportunity but she said, “I can’t do that.   I’m not ready.”   And I thought about the potential contacts she could have had if she would have just tried and she might have even gotten the part.

“When what motivates you lines up with what satisfies you, it is a powerful combination.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potentia l (pp. 23-24). Center Street. Kindle Edition . Rick Warren says that God has given us a SHAPE.   S – Your Spiritual Gifts, Heart – Your passion, A – Your Abilities, P – Your Personality, E – Your Experiences.   Your SHAPE tells you what God created you to do.   Another way to say SHAPE is to call it your Sweet Spot.   Now there is a Sweet Spot on a baseball bat and also a golf club and when you hit the baseball or golf ball on the Sweet Spot the ball will go farther than you could imagine.   You hit the Sweet Spot. When you are working in your Sweet Spot you will be energized but when you are working in anything other than your Sweet Spot, your SHAPE, then your task will de-energize you.   That is why so many people are not energized in what they do because they are doing what they do for the wrong reason.   They are doing it for status, for money,

“A mistake is simply another way of doing things.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2012-10-02) from his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential (p. 6). Center Street. Kindle Edition. Yesterday afternoon after I had written my blog I was reading it and realized that I had left a word out and I had also misspelled a couple of words.   I had already sent it out on the internet super highway with these mistakes.   Now I had a couple of options.   I could have gone to my dashboard and deleted the whole blog feeling ashamed and defeated vowing to never write a blog ever again or I could add the word and fix the misspelled words and then repost and come back again today striving to do better proof reading and here I am today.   Now I don’t like making mistakes but at least I am trying to make a difference, mistakes and all.   I like another statement that John made, “To become intentional about growing, (which we were dealing with in yesterday’s blog) expect to make mistakes every day, and welcome