Last weekend I took my bicycle out for a long ride in the country. The weather was pristine…ok, so it was in the upper 90’s (105 with the heat index) on the road but the sun was shining and I was riding. What could be better?! I climbed a tall bridge and pumped my hardest in my highest gear down the other side. 52mph! The wind gushing through my helmet drowned out the pounding of my heart as I streaked through the countryside.

About fifteen miles into my ride I began feeling a bump in my back tire. For those of you who don’t ride a bike, that’s NOT good. I stopped and inspected my back tire. Sure enough I found a large bubble protruded. Pushing back the visions of a blowout while I was careening down the bridge at break neck speed a few miles back, I assessed my options. When I’m touring I take extra tires, but not when I’m out for a weekend ride.

 I had no choice but to cut my trip short and head for the barn. Fast! Carefully maneuvering to avoid obvious bumps in the road, I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. About five miles from home I was in heavy traffic. A truck passed me, suddenly changing the air pressure. Then it happened. The BIG BANG!! My tire blew. The driver of the truck thought I shot at him. Not that I wasn’t thinking about it… after all, he didn’t give me the mandatory three foot minimum berth required by Florida law. I’d just left my bazooka at home!

I inspected the tire again. A two inch gaping hole stared back at me. Again, a seemingly hopeless situation. No way I could patch it enough to hold air. It was a long walk home in the heat of the day. I could call someone but it would take longer for them to find me than it would have to walk on “Shanks Pony”. So I decided to hoof it. I also decided to make the best of the situation. Even though I was wearing cycling sandals rather than running shoes, I decided to run home. With bicycle in tow, I jogged the five miles and made it home in time to watch the game on ESPN.

During the run, I began thinking about you. You have the ability to avoid the obvious bumps in the road and carefully navigate through that. But when in get in heavy traffic, that’s when the pressures can suddenly and drastically change, resulting in a major BLOW OUT!

When that happens, it may appear hopeless for you. What’s more, those around you feel the same way. I can’t tell you how many people stopped and told me I was in a hopeless situation. It became comical. I wanted to know if they had a pool going of when I’d give up so I could place a bet on myself!

What got me safely and eventually home was that I kept going…continued moving forward. So I had to push my crippled Waterford touring bike rather than ride it. So I sweated. So I had to run in sandals rather than my Brooks running shoes. The point is I kept moving forward and made it to my goal.

I never once thought I was stuck. I just figured out a way to make it work and to make the best of the situation. To make it fun. To make it work for me. You can do the same thing. You can figure out a way to make the best of an otherwise crazy situation and let the ending bring you joy, peace and success.

Weekend Challenge: Think of the last time you had a major blow out and explore ways you could have made it work out in your favor.

Are you facing a big blow out in your life? Why not share it here. 

Evgeni Dinev/ freedigitalphotos.net

Deep within the secret places in our hearts lies a dream just waiting to be lived. It hides in the dark corridors of what might have been. Our days are filled with all sorts of other things that ultimately will be forgotten as the unimportant things they are.

We are led by our to-do list and schedules rather than our heart. We’re busy and put off living our dream for just one more day… then another and another until we reach the end and look back over our life with regrets.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You have the power to follow your heart. Today you can make the decision to pursue that destiny that has been illusive all these years. Though it might not seem that way, you are in total control of how you spend your days.

I know you’re thinking, “I don’t have control over hurricanes or tornados. I can’t prevent my body from getting sick.” True enough. I’ll give you that one, but that being said, you have total control over what you do with the hurricane is imminent. You can throw a hurricane party on the beach or you can head to the mountains. If you get sick, you can choose treatment or not. It’s up to you.

Those dreams in your heart are powerful. What’s more, they will help the world be a better place. If you pursue your dreams, one of two things will happen:

1)   You will achieve them and live a life that is completely fulfilled and without regret.

2)   While you are on the journey, God will lead you in a different, equally as fulfilling direction.

Either way, you can’t lose if you follow your heart. Here are the top three reasons people do not follow their hearts, as well as the reasons why you absolutely should:

Fear. They are afraid of the unknown. They don’t know what lies ahead because they’ve never been there. If you are afraid to follow your heart, please understand that fear is good. It’s designed by God to get you physically prepared to handle the challenges that lie ahead. It will subside when the steps of the staircase can be seen.

Negative Influence. This usually comes from an external source and has a powerful grip. Friends and loved ones have a different idea about how you should be spending your life and they hound you until you obediently comply. But here’s the truth. It’s YOUR life, not theirs. They only have control over their own lives. When all is said and done, you’ll only be happy if you have lived your life on your own terms.

Immortality Syndrome. I call it that because people tend to think there will always be enough time to do what they really want to do. They ignore the fact that they were born with a finite number of days here on planet earth and when they are lived, it’s over. You can act now with a sense of urgency about your dream. Do it now. If not now, then when? Tomorrow? Are you sure?

Following your heart won’t be easy but it will be fulfilling. You’ll be at peace even in the midst of the trials and challenges you’ll face. You owe it to yourself and the world to follow your heart. Let it plot out your course.

Today’s Challenge: Listen to your heart without any constraints or filters and write down what it tells you regarding your life and purpose.

Do you hear your heart telling you to go in a particular direction? Does that frighten you? Share it here.

Bill Longfellow/ freedigitalphotos.net

I sat on my patio overlooking the lake during the late afternoon of Mother’s Day Sunday. A friend and I chatted as neighbors walked their dogs and children ran by laughing. This particular friend told how her living room had been transformed into the remnants of a tornado that came through… or at least that’s what it looked like when her oldest child whirled through the door with all his belongings from college.

She described the disaster in graphic terms. I joked with her that his future wife was probably at the bottom of the mountain of dirty laundry. Her living room was truly a mess.

It suddenly hit me that her blessing was in the mess of her house. Her oldest son came home to roost. She’d nurtured him, disciplined him, and guided his growth into a man who would one day grace her with grand babies. Yes, the bless of the mess.

Your life is like that as well. Many times you look around and see a horrible assortment of all sorts of life “things”. You are tempted to declare your whole life a disaster area. Perhaps you face mountains of unidentified objects right in front of you. You can’t walk around them, or climb over them. They are painful reminders of how you are suffering in the here and now.

But here’s one truth that makes all the difference. I wrote in one of my books, “True wisdom is forged on the anvil of suffering.” What you are facing right now that seems impossible to trek through will actually provide exactly what you need to endure the challenges of tomorrow.

What’s more, as you go through the fire and the water of the present disaster, you will be picking up precious golden nuggets of truth you can use to prosper others for years to come. Yeah, it’s pretty devastating right now, but trust me, tomorrow two things will happen:

1)   You won’t remember the pain of today. You may remember the trial but you won’t feel the pain any more.

2)   You’ll be the hero in someone else’s life tomorrow. What a fulfilling endeavor to have what it takes to help someone in their time of need. It’s like giving CPR to someone who’s heart is not beating and who has not breath.

As painful as it was for my friend to look out over the devastation that the tornado son left in his wake, her son was home and in the end that was really all that mattered. That’s also true in your life. No matter what you are going through, there is a blessing in the mess. Wait for it. Expect it. And when it comes, use it to prosper others!

Today’s Challenge: Identify the messes in your life today and explore the blessings that are hidden underneath.

Do you have a blessing in your mess? Are you overwhelmed at the mounds of unidentified stink that has been plopped down in front of you? Share it here.

Evgeni Dinev/ freedigitalphotos.net

I’m truly amazed when I meet people who don’t know or understand their value and worth. When I look at people, I see 10’s on each one of their heads. I see bright, shiny objects with priceless value. Trouble is, most people don’t see that when they look at themselves in the mirror.

It’s sad because either live has led them to believe something to the contrary, or they have been blinded to the truth. Perhaps that has happened to you in your life. Someone or something has driven in the belief that you are valueless. That simply isn’t true. I want to give you some truth that will prove you are not value-less, but rather priceless! The two could not be more different.

You are unique…one of a kind… are rare find. Ask any curator of rare art and they will tell you they simply cannot put a price on, let’s say, the Mona Lisa. She’s unique. You won’t find her on isle seven at the local discount store. Well, you’re a Mona Lisa in your own right but I can’t even call you that because you’re even more unique than her. They cannot put a price tag on you for the same reason they can’t do that to her. You’re both priceless.

Your flaws only increase your value. It’s true. No matter what the flaw, its uniqueness makes it more valuable. Don’t believe me? Then go to the department store and check the price tag on those jeans they sell with all the holes in them. It’s enough to break your bank account.

No one sees the world like you do. Only you can look through your eyes and offer a unique perspective. You are the only one who puts your spin on the world. A thousand people who see the very same event will have a thousand different reports of that event. It’s impossible to fabricate your view of the world around you. What’s more, the world needs your individual view. It won’t be the same without it.

Please do yourself and the world a favor and just believe that you have immense value and worth. If anyone tells you something different, please don’t believe them. They may even be well-meaning but they simply aren’t telling you the truth. You are PRICELESS!

Today’s challenge: Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how valuable you are. Judge your reaction. Is it confirming? Disbelieving? Fearful? Write it down and set a goal to uproot the cause of that.

Do you believe how valuable you are, not only within but to the world? Do you struggle with that? Share it here.

If you watch women’s college softball, you know these young women walk out onto the diamond with a heart to win and a tenacity that will not let go until the last pitch has been thrown.

It can be the last pitch of the game and just when the batter thinks they’ll get the low inside fast ball to know out of the stadium, the pitcher throws them a curve. The swish of their full swing wraps around them as they hear the umpire call the last strike. The game is over and they don’t have another chance to win it.

That’s really a sad time in college softball. But we can learn a lot from these ladies of this magical game that we can use when life throws us curves. Here are a few.

Leave it all out on the field. When the game is over, it’s over. There are no more pitches or opportunities to hit home runs. There are no more chances to steal bases or score the winning run. So give it all you have while the game is still on. Swing your hardest. Run your fastest. Dive after the ball if need be in order to win your game.

Get over your errors. The worst thing that can happen in a game is not an error a player makes but rather the one they can’t forget. Say a short stop lets the ball go between their legs. The runner gets on base. Not a big deal… unless that shortstop can’t get beyond that. They tense up and let it eat away at them. Suddenly, the ball is hit to them and the fumble it. Then the next, and the next. All of them were caused by not letting go of the first error. Get over it and keep moving forward.

Don’t try to hit a homerun when getting on base will win the game. I’ve seen it over and over. Young women step up to bat with runners on base. They swing their hearts out hoping to hit the ball over the fence. The result? They hit a fly ball that’s caught by the other team, ending the game with a loss for their team. If they’d just placed the ball in an open spot in the field, they would have gotten on base and advanced the runners. But they tried to take it all and lost the game.

Accept your losses with grace and move on. The first thing these ladies do at the end of the game is form lines and shake each other’s hands. No matter how grueling the match or how disappointing the loss, they always congratulate the other team. Always. Then you know what happens? They go right out and play the next game. Simple as that. No wringing their hands about yesterday’s defeat. No blaming anyone. They just accept the loss and move on toward preparing for their next big win.

At some point, life will always throw us a curve. Expect it. Prepare for it. Move beyond it.

Today’s challenge: Identify the curve ball in your life that you haven’t let go and make a plan to get over it.

What curves have you been thrown? What did or can you do to move beyond that? Share it here. 

Stuart Miles/ freedigitalphotos.net

At one time or another, we all hear, think and see failing when it comes to our dreams and goals. Sometimes is becomes evident by their outcome. Other times in their disappearing act. Sometimes it’s crystal clear when we retell the stories of our lives.

NASA Apollo 13 Flight Mission Commander, Gene Krantz, steered a team of top scientists and engineers to bring the ill-fated spacecraft safely back to earth by uttering these famous words: Failure is NOT an option!

We’ve now grown accustomed to thinking of failure as some sort of dreaded disease to be avoided at all costs. If we do catch the failure bug, we must quarantine ourselves until we have sufficiently recovered that no one will notice. 

Although failure was not an option for Gene and crew back in 1970, for the rest of us, it is crucial to our success.

Here are just a few facts about failure:

•  Thomas Edison conducted over 9000 failed experiments before he created a real working light bulb? Just one more try…and there was light!
•  Ludwig van Beethoven, whose music instructor said, “as a composer, he is useless” composed 9 symphonies, five of which he wrote after becoming deaf. Say what?!?!
• Abraham Lincoln failed at winning elections 12 times before being elected president of the United States.
•  Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team for having a “Lack of skill”.
• Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and reportedly the wealthiest man in the world for the last decade, failed out of Harvard! I guess the only thing stuffy about him is his bank account!
• Walt Disney’s first cartoon went bankrupt. He was ridiculed by a newspaper journalist as having no good ideas or film making vision. Do you know who that reporter was? Me neither.
• Steven Speilberg, arguably the most wealthy and successful film maker in history, failed out of junior high school. He tried to go back but after only a month he failed out again, never to return.
• Albert Einstein’s teacher personally asked him to drop out of school because his grades were failing so miserably they said he would never amount to anything. See? That’s the real theory of relativity!
• Henry Ford’s first 2 automobile companies failed. Think of that while you’re cruising home today!

Do you know what the difference is between these famous people and you? Ummm… that would be nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Absolutely nothing. That’s right. Just because you’ve failed in your life does not mean you will repeat it. If you do, what of it? If you have failed and you’re pursuing your dream, that means you’re failing forward. Nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, it’s admirable! I want you to know that it’s okay to be Failing Forward.

When all else fails in your life, I want you to know it is only one part of the entire story. You can achieve. You can be the skilled scientists who help steer that ill-fated life safely back home to a splashdown in the sea of success. Turn your mistakes into stepping stones for success. You will be happier for it and the world with be better for it.

Your Challenges for the weekend:

1)   Check out John Maxwell’s book: Failing Forward

2)   Write down the times you can think of when you’ve failed. Yes, all of them you can think of. Now, write down all the successes you can think of. You’ll be getting the failures out of you and the successes into you.

When have you failed? What did you learn? How did it help you move more toward your goal? Share your stories here.

Red Skelton and Me 1982

One of the greatest characters I ever met was Red Skelton. He was a comedian and I was a cop. I got out of my patrol car on the airport tarmac and he stepped out of the vehicle I’d escorted. He took one look at me, threw his hands up in the air and said, “Law enforcement is so pretty around here, makes me want to take the law into my own hands!” That was 1982. I still remember it. Word for word. A ten minute encounter made my day and changed my life.

I’m sure Mr. Skelton didn’t wake up that morning and decide to make a girly cop’s morning. He just did what he did best: made people laugh. In fact, every time the memory floods my mind, it brings a smile to my face. And that was… ummm… too many years ago for me to do the math. The point is, even though Red has long since gone to that Improv in the sky, his words remain with me even to this day.

Make no mistake, your words have power to change the world you live in each and every day. Something you impart, many times just in passing, will make a life-long impact. Every single encounter you have will render that different than they were before.

Here’s the truth about the words you speak, “YOU are changing your life forever by the words you speak”. Your presence and your words have that much impact, meaning and power. Make it count. Say those things that will lead you down the right path…down the road to success. If you do that, decades from now when you think back, you will remember them with gratitude. That’s your destiny.

Follow these steps and improve your life:

Check your baggage. Do you routinely say you can’t do this or you’re not good enough to do that? If so, check that baggage. Whatever you do, do NOT carry it with you.

Consciously change your language. No, I’m not talking about those dirty words your mama washed your mouth out with soap for saying. I’m referring to those negative statements you make about yourself and your future. Listen for them and when they pop out, make a conscious effort to exchange that statement for a more positive one. Don’t say something that isn’t true. Just speak the positive part of the truth.

Seek the truth and speak it. It’s great to get feedback from others but that’s inconclusive. You must look for the truth about who you are, why you were born and what you are to be about doing. That’s the truth. Speak it. Remember, it has power.

So, to get back to the title question, what’s in a word? Well, in a word, EVERYTHING! Use them wisely and to your advantage.

Your Daily Challenge:

Sit down with your journal and write every positive trait about yourself that you can think of. Then, say those things out loud. Seriously. I promise you it will make a difference.

How have words impacted you in your life and purpose? Have you gained power from words? Have they let the air out of your balloon? Share your experience here.

Tungphoto/ freedigitalphotos.net

I love to motivate people. To see them hook on. To see the change in their lives and attitudes. In fact, I used to tour North and Central America motivating people. I thrive on watching folks square their shoulders, spread their wings and dare to soar with the winds of motivation beneath their wings.

Trouble is, no matter how great we motivate others—or ourselves for that matter—it never lasts. NEVER! That used to bother me. I felt I wasn’t motivating enough. Sometimes I felt I’d failed, particularly when I saw someone I’d really impacted months later and they were back to their old mundane existence. Once I even thought, “what’s the use. I’m just spinning my wheels”.

After struggling with this for quite some time, Zig Zigler finally set me straight. He says: motivation never lasts. Bathing doesn’t either, that’s why I recommend it daily! How utterly true!

That is exactly why you simply MUST get motivated each other every day. The fact that you were encouraged by that motivational CD a week ago Friday is great. Kudos to you. But you woke up this morning reeking of dirty, stinky motivation. You need a motivation shower TODAY. That’s the most wonderful gift you can give yourself today.

When I come in from a hot trail run, I’m as dirty and grungy as a pig in slop. That shower quickly washes away the trail dust that formed mud cakes on my legs and I feel human again. That’s what motivation does for you. And you need it so desperately.

Here are a few ways you can motivate yourself each day:

1) Stop thinking it will last and decide you are going to make motivation part of your daily routine. Don’t try to wear yesterday’s dirty clothes. Get a fresh set out of the closet.

2) Find motivators who really speak into your life and use them. Perhaps an author resonates with you. Read them. Keep a collection of inspirational CD’s within arm’s reach to feed your soul during that commute to work.

3) Pray and meditate. Remember the Bible tells us to “think on these things”.

4) Write 10 personal affirmations and say them out loud every day. The more you say them, the more you believe them and the more effective they will be. Be sure to use language that is positive such as “I am” “I can”, rather than “I won’t” or “I’ll stop”.

5) At the end of the day, spend some quiet time with a journal. Write about those things that were good about the day. List those things you accomplished. Even little successes can go a long way toward motivating you tomorrow!

Your Challenge for today:

Give yourself a daily dose of encouragement and motivation for thirty days and you will see a palpable change in YOU. I dare you!

How do you motivate yourself? Who do you listen to? What do you read? Share those great resources with us here.

Karen Shaw/ freedigitalphotos.net

It’s inside you. A unique genius that makes the world complete is begging to get out of the corral and run like the wind. Yet, it seems stabled, incapable of being set free. Someone—or something—put a bridle on your brilliance.

That was the bad news but there is some very good news. You can be let out of your pin and you’ll be able to run through the pasture completely unhindered. But to do that, you’ll need to determine what bridle has you muzzled.

There are many different things that control us and turn us at their whim. But there are three main ones. If you can identify them and eliminate those binding factors from your life, you’ll be free to roam around unbridled. Here are the top three bridles and ways to free yourself from them.

External Factors. Sometimes there are circumstances that simply stand between you and letting go. You have to chew through the leather if you’re to loosen the control. Perhaps those closest to you provide negative reinforcement. Or maybe your job is so stressful, your creativity has been replaced by survival tactics. Either way, stop what you’re doing and tell yourself the truth. Yes, right now. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Tell yourself out loud how brilliant you are. How gifted and talented you are. Do it every day. Your mind will eventually cut through those external factors and be set free.

The Fear Factor. Brilliance scares us. Why? Because we know that to whom much is given, much is required. That’s an awful lot of responsibility for a wild stallion. Just the thought of it makes us feel like we’re wearing a bridle on top of an ox yoke. No wiggle room and no chance of escape. That just feels… umm… scary. The good news is that you have complete power over the fear factor. No, you may not be able to eliminate fearful thoughts from coming into your mind, but you have complete control over how you respond to them. Make a decision today that, when the fear comes, feel the fear…and do it anyway. Acknowledge the fear as a natural part of the process and move on. Simple as that.

The Dread Factor. Believe it or not, many people feel that they will suffocate if their brilliance is set free to gallop through an open field. You don’t want to unleash it because it will cause more pain, more stress, more work. But you may not realize the measuring stick you’re using is your current job, life or other situation. They are simply not the same. Work, especially at a job you don’t like, is drudgery. Running with your brilliance is exciting and produces its own energy. It’s not confining but rather expansive. Why? It’s what you were meant to do. Let go of dread and embrace your brilliance.

You were meant to use the brilliance God gave you to create a better world for yourself and others. You simply must set it free. I promise you that, when you do, your spirit will soar!

So what’s keeping you bridled? What’s holding you back from living your dream? Leave me a comment and share with me. I may be able to help you bite through that harness and set you free.

Kenneth Cratty/ freedigitalphotos.net

Ever have a passion for doing something, but are too afraid to live it because you’re afraid of what others will think? Yeah, me too. And so have millions of other sad people. They know those closest to them will roll their eyes, shout them down and write them out of their will when they even mention it.

But you simply must live your dream and here’s why:

This is your life and it’s not a dress rehearsal. Your life doesn’t belong to anyone else. It is yours. And with every ticking moment, you come closer to the end of it. There will come a day when you have no more days left and in that moment, if you look back and have not pursued your dream, you’ll have regrets. Lots of them.

You’ll never know unless you try. I had a dream of winning Wimbeldon. I went to college on a tennis scholarship. I was making $15.00 per hour teaching tennis in 1975. Someone close to me told me I was crazy and asked when I was going to get a real job. I gave up my dream and got a job making $2.10 per hour as a cashier in a grocery store. I’ll never know if I could have competed at Wimbledon.

Your dream is worth the effort. Dreams should never be taken lightly. They form us into who we are. Take Homer Hickam. He watched from Coalwood, West Virginia in 1957 as the Sputnik satellite orbited the night sky and dreamed of going to outer space. He and three of his classmates built rockets. Most of them ended in disaster but one flew so high, they won the national science fair. Not to mention college scholarships. Homer never made it to outer space, but he still lived his dream. He had a long and prosperous career with NASA and trained astronauts on SkyLab, the Space Shuttle and the Hubble telescope deployment… all because he dared to dream beyond the coal mines.

Your dream keeps you alive. When studying his fellow concentration camp prisoners, psychologist Viktor Frankl realized that those who survived, were those who had dreams. They were passionate about their life, their country and their families and dreamed of being reunited with them and imagined living in peace.  Your dream of doing whatever it is that you want to do will keep you alive as well. It will energize you. Give you purpose.

Pursuing a dream ignites your inner passion for all things in life. Remember the last time you were doing something you really wanted to do? It seemed like everything around you was better. Say you wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. You planned for months and you were really excited. As you drive to the mountains, it seemed that drivers on the road were more courteous. The cashier at the gas station smiled at you. The sky was bluer and the clouds were cotton white. Why? Because your flame of passion gave you better glasses with which to see the world.

Have a dream? Then you simply MUST stand up for it. Embrace it. Tell your world about it. When you get negative push-back, stand up for it. Defend it. Go for it. Don’t get to the end of your life and have regrets. Live your dream!

What is your dream? What are you doing about it? Why not tell the blog-world here? Leave your dream comment here. Forward this blog post to a friend who needs to read it.