Leave

I BELIEVE WE ACHIEVE ULTIMATE HAPPINESS AND FULFILLMENT WHEN WE HELP OTHER PEOPLE SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS AND MEET THEIR NEEDS USING OUR GOD GIVEN TALENTS.

I spent the last 5 hours writing the curriculum for the Leaders of New Generation program (LONG – www.goodleaders.org). I was so engrossed with the writing I did not realized I sat on the chair in the dining room for 5 hours! Anyway, as I got to the end, I wrote the above statement to make a point about finding where your talent and passion intersects with peoples’ needs as the starting point of exploring business ideas.

As soon as I wrote that statement, my internal conflicts about my business became crystal clear and my hesitation to pursue my true passion with 100% focus disappeared. I will share more on this later, but enough about me..

Are you pursuing your passion and using your God given talents to help other people meet their needs? I am sure you have heard this question before. Have you ever really thought about it?

God would not give you a talent without a purpose. The purpose of your talent is to serve others and to make a contribution into other peoples’ lives. You are God’s number 1 option with respect to the gifts he equipped you with for the purpose of serving others and spreading his love. You are the number 1 option because there is no one else like you. However, God has other options and he will not wait for your entire life to see if you fulfill the purpose he has set out for you.

I have never done anything for no reason, have you? Even the most mundane thing I do, I do for a reason. For example, when I walk to the window of my office and look outside for no seemingly apparent reason, I do so to relax and refocus. I may do it subconsciously, but there is a reason nonetheless. Similarly, I have never created anything for no reason. I am not a creator and I am definitely not handy, but once in a while I create “something” and when I do, I do it for a specific purpose.

What is my point? Well if we never do anything or create anything without a specific purpose, why would God create someone so precious, so complex, and so unique for no reason? He would not. You are in this world for a reason. You may have to search for your purpose, but search you must, at least if you want to live a full, rich and happy life. I don’t mean an easy life. There is nothing full, rich, and happy about easy.

If you don’t know your purpose, be encouraged! God can’t hide your purpose from you. There are many reasons why you may be struggling to find your purpose, but I believe there are a few primary reasons.

First and foremost- fear. You may be afraid that your talent and true inner core person will not provide you with the life you imagined for yourself. The problem with this view is you can’t create a fuller, richer, and happier life than God designed for you and he intended for you to experience through your true purpose and calling. You may achieve success but not fulfilment. I once heard Anthony Robbins say that success is a science but fulfillment is an art. This means success has a formula that anyone can follow and many do to achieve worldly success. However fulfilment is an art and is very personal. It is personal because it is connected to your inner core as created and designed by God. You can not follow someone else’s formula for fulfillment.

Second – settling. You may have settled in to your life as you know it and given up hope for living a life that is centered on your true self. It is amazing what you can get used to and live with even when you don’t like it. It takes courage and a lot of emotional and psychological energy to peel away from your “settlement”. This does not mean you should give up. On the contrary it means the sooner you start this journey the better.

Third – waiting for absolute clarity. The idea of living your true purpose is as elusive as it is appealing. We want to be absolutely sure about the path that will lead to our true calling and a guarantee of absolute joy and fulfillment before we embark on it. I was recently reminded that when God instructed Abram to leave his country, he said, “leave your country and your people and you father’s household and go to the land I will show you” The verse later says “Abram left”. God did not give Abram a map quest print out with a specific destination and an estimate of how long it will take to get there, yet Abram left!

God is saying to you “leave you fear and settlement and follow the purpose which I created you for which I will reveal to you” And you are saying, “God tell me exactly what the purpose is and how much money I will earn from it so that I can be sure it will fulfill all my worldly desires. And, how long will it take and how hard will it be?

I don’t know where you are in your life, but if you find yourself paralyzed by fear, if you find yourself attached to your unpleasant “settlement”, and constantly asking God to make your purpose, path, and destination absolutely clear, I have one word for you.

Leave.

Abram left! Leave your fear. Leave your settlement. Leave your need for clarity and guarantee of success behind!

Follow what your heart is telling you about your purpose and put your full trust in God. If you absolutely need some reassurance, read Abram’s story and see how it worked out for him.

Today, I made the decision to leave. Will you?

God bless

Shallow End

I trust all is well with you and that you are excited about life!

I am training someone to swim and I must say I am enjoying it a lot. As a matter of fact it has made me rediscover my love for swimming. It helps that the person I am training is a fast and determined learner! I also train my two daughters every Friday and I love it!

So why did I start with this introduction? Well, I was driving from my daughters’ school after dropping them off and for some reason I started thinking about swimming. Specifically, I started about the shallow end and the deep end. I was thinking about how people who can’t swim are terrified by water and the deep end. I was the same way before I learned how to swim: it was terrifying. To make matters worse, when I was learning to swim in high school, other students would playfully (nothing playful about it!) pull you into the deep end or swim under water and pull you down.

The older you are, the more terrifying it is to learn how to swim. Actually, the older you are the less likely you are to put yourself through the “terror” and commitment of learning how to swim. This is not surprising – why learn when you have gotten as far as you have in life without knowing how to swim?

Anyway, I am not trying to encourage you to learn how to swim, though I believe it is important. I am more interested in sharing with you an insightful analogy that occurred to me today.

Every swimming beginner starts in the shallow end. There may be a few who start in the deep end but I doubt it! I bet even Michael Phelps started in the shallow end. So we can agree everyone starts in the same place. However, some people progress faster than others. The ultimate test for whether you can swim is being able to swim in the deep end and being able to float in the deep end. In simplistic terms, swimming beginners fall into three main categories; a) those that are courageous and venture into the deep end sooner than others b) those that progress normally and eventually make it to the deep end, and c) those that never get out of the shallow end.

It turns out this is a great analogy for life! We all start in the same place! Naturally we start at birth, but more so, this analogy of beginning in the same place, the “shallow end”, applies to everything in life! No one starts anything knowing or “in the deep end”. This literally applies to everything in life: school, careers, sports, business, relationships, finances etc. Even those who end up being the best in their respective fields started off without a clue i.e. in the shallow end. Bill Gates ventured into business without a clue, he had to learn. Michael Jordan was not born playing basket ball. He started out like everyone else, in the shallow end of basket ball. He was even cut from his high school basket ball team because he was not good enough!

So, assuming we start in the same place, the only difference in where we end up in our respective areas of life (career, business, finances, relationships etc) is determined by which category we fall in to: a) the courageous who venture into the deep end sooner than the rest, b) those who progress normally and eventually, eventually make it to the deep end (pardon the repetition but notice the emphasis), and c) those who never get out of the shallow end.

Which category do you fall in to? How is your career progressing? How are your finances? How are your relationships? You can apply this to anything in your life.

I want to encourage you not to be the last group. Don’t settle for the shallow end! Don’t settle for the shallow end of your career! You were created with specific gifts and talents to succeed in your purpose in life! You have much to offer and people need what you have to offer.

The shallow end is a starting place not a destination! Will it take courage to venture in the deep end of your life’s purpose, passion, and goals? Absolutely, but courage is not the absence of fear, rather it is taking action regardless of fear. In swimming, beginners use floatation devices the first time they venture into the deep end. You can do the same and use “floatation devices” in your life to venture in the deep end. Floatation devices in life can be your faith and prayer, friends you can lean on, personal coaches, books written by people you would like to emulate etc. You can create your own floatation device! Whatever you do, don’t settle for the shallow end!

One more thought - if for no other reason you need to move on to the deep end to create space in the shallow end for those who are beginning. If for no other reason, you need to move on to the deep end so that you can be the one coaching those who are beginning.

There is one more thing that is true for all of us. We get older each day. Like I mentioned in the beginning, the older you are, the less likely you are to put yourself through the terror of learning how to swim because the argument that you have gotten as far in life without learning to swim is very compelling! Also, every time you happen to be at the swimming pool, any small desire you have to learn how to swim vanishes the minute you see small kids learning how to swim in the shallow end. You think, “There is no way I am going to learn with them, it is embarrassing!

These excuses are somewhat acceptable for swimming, because the argument you don’t need to learn how to swim is plausible. However, similar excuses are not acceptable in your life, not if you want to be happy.

You need to be in the deep end in your career or business to be happy. You need to be in the deep end in your finances to be happy. You need to be in the deep end in your relationships to be happy. And most importantly you need to be in the deep end in your core purpose in life to be happy. If you are not there yet, you have to start in the shallow end regardless of your fear and regardless of “who will be in the shallow end learning with you”.

So, for whichever area you are not happy with or are not swimming in the deep end in your life, register for “swimming classes” today. Start in the shallow end and determine to take action despite your fears until you get to the deep end. You can do it, but you have to start today!

In closing, I must applaud the person I am training, because in less than a month, he is already swimming in the deep end! Yes, he is using a floatation device, but nonetheless he is swimming in the deep end. He is definitely in the first category! You can do the same!

God bless

Peter

 

 

 

 

 

Life is a test

Life is a test. I am sure you have heard that before.

One of my favorite motivational speakers, Jim Rohn, had a very interesting and instructive question about learning. He would ask, “How long would you let your child stay in fourth grade? How many years? 1, 2, 3? And then he would say, “No! You can’t let your child stay longer than 1 year and if they failed the first year, you would work extremely hard to make sure they did not have to stay much longer”

Hidden in the humor of Jim’s question and answer is a very profound insight that applies to our lives. How long will you keep making the same mistakes or wrong choices in your life? How long will it take for you to learn how to manage your career and finances, to eat healthy and exercise, to manage your relationships, to manage your time well, to get organized?

If you had to take a test more than once, do you think you would pass the second time or the third time? I can bet if you literally took the same test over and over, by the third or fourth time you would score 100%. At least, by the third time I would not be surprised or floored by the questions.

Why is it that we fail the same “life test” over and over, in some cases over a life time? The only explanation I can think of is we never acknowledge life is a continuous class and as a result we miss the lessons to be learned.  

Some people pay attention during life lessons, ace the test and move on to the next class or lesson. What do they do differently? They continually try to get better, by examining their lives, by learning from their mistakes, by reading, and by dedicating their lives to continuous personal development. Over time their progression from class to class and their passing the tests manifests itself in their lives in the form of fulfillment and success. They always seem to be getting better and making progress in their relationships, finances, health, and careers.

Unfortunately some people go through the motions of life oblivious to the lessons and as a result, they never pass the test. Time passes but they remain in the same class and can’t seem to get over the hump.

Life is a test. The good news is that it is a repetitive test. If you pay attention and apply yourself, you will learn the lessons and ace the tests and pretty soon you will be moving from class to class and from success to success.

Why not decide today, that you will not spend more than a reasonable amount of time in the same class. Have you been in finances 101 for the last several years making the same mistakes; always spending more than you earn and always out of money before the end of the month? Why not determine today this is your last year in the same class. Get some personal finances books and read them and apply what you learn. If you need to, go for a personal finances seminar or subscribe to a personal finance newsletter online. Get some new friends who are really good at managing money and learn from them. In other words, since the test will come, why not sign up and register for the class and dedicate yourself to learning the lessons. Once you pass the class this year, next year you can move on to the next class; Investing 101. Now instead of just trying to save some money and to not spend more than you earn, you will be learning to invest in your 401k, in mutual funds, in the stock market, or in a house. If you repeat this process for a few years, you will totally change your life.

This can be applied to any area of your life. Do you lack motivation? Sign up for the “how to become motivated” class and dedicate yourself to learning the lessons. Are you over weight or out of shape? Sign up for the “how to lose weight and get in shape” class. Are you fighting an addiction? Sign up for a class that will help you beat the addiction. Do you always get to work late or “barely on time”? Sign up for the “time management” class and decide that within the next two months you will “graduate” from the class!

In other words, embrace personal development and begin to make a conscious effort to get better in every area of your life that really matters to you. Instead of spending your precious time on things that will not make a difference in your life, sign up and attend the life lessons that will make a difference in your life. In this Internet and Information age, all the information you need for your “class” is available for free and if not, for a very modest cost.

Make a list of the classes or lessons you want to attend this year and determine that at the end of the year, you will “graduate” and move on to the next class.

Good luck, God bless, & Share your success!

Innocent!

Sometimes I think of what to post and sometimes I am led to post something. Today, I am strongly led to write this post. I strongly believe someone needs to read this. It could be meant for me or you. There is only one way to find out and that is to read on.

It is 4 am in the morning. I woke up at 3:40 am from a very strong dream. Unlike my wife, my dreams are always fuzzy, that is the few times I dream. I rarely recall what I dream and when I do, it is very fuzzy and unclear. Today is not one of those days. I woke up with tears rolling down my eyes. Not tears of sadness, or joy, but of revelation or inspiration. I am hesitant to admit but the first thing I did was reach out for my wife. I am not sure why, but I think the dream and revelation was somewhat overwhelming and crystal clear. As I am writing this post I just thought of something else that is startling, but I will wait until the end of this post to write it (Don’t skip to the end!).

Some background is warranted. By the way this is very personal, but for some reason this morning I am not afraid to share. For quite some time, I have been fearful or anxious that I will randomly get called to preach in our church. It sounds weird because I don’t think it will ever happen, but very often when I sit in church I find myself thinking of a “quick sermon” just in case. Sometimes it is so real, my heart races as I sit in church at the expense of paying attention!

Anyway, why is this relevant, because in my dream (don’t ask for details for it is a little fuzzy as to how it happened – see above on fuzziness!) I found myself in the pulpit of our church, apparently after having been randomly called to preach. It was surreal! I was just speaking to the congregation. I was even doing what I practice when I am usually sited in the congregation. (Sorry won’t tell you what in case I ever get called!).

The amazing thing is that I found the message! I am getting really emotional now as I type this because God just remind me of the verse that says he has placed his words in our mouth and we should just speak it! OMG! You see, I have always wondered what I would preach about if I was ever called. What would be the perfect message, I have always wondered. Would I speak about motivation? Would I speak about overcoming challenges? How about my favorite subject discipline? It turns out it is none of those. Those messages would be from my mind.

The specific verse God just reminded me about is…… (Okay bear with me because this is really spooking me now and “emotional” does not describe what I feel). I just search google to find the specific verse (God reminded of what the verse says not the verse lol!), and this is what I found. Read it for yourself and pay special attention to the underlined words)

_____________________________________________________________

He Will Give You the Words To Speak

Posted On Thursday February 3rd, 2011 by Pastor Angelo Pierri

Egypt is in chaotic unrest and it seems that the rest of the world is too. Many may be asking, “Where is God?”, and aside from knowing specific Bible prophecies about the last days, Christians may not know how to answer when asked what is going on. Similarly, has anyone ever told you of a personal crisis so terrible that you really did not know what to say in response? It seems that there are many people in crisis these days who need to hear something from God. Jesus gave us assurance for times like this when He said, “Do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak” (Matthew 10:19). Isaiah mirrors the words of Jesus when he spoke, “The Lord has given me the tongue of the learned (or the tongue of a learner) that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to hear as the learned” (Isaiah 50:4).

There is no substitute for sitting at the feet of Jesus, getting in His presence and letting Him speak to us so we can speak to others. Every morning, we can start our day by sitting at His feet, having some time in the secret closet, and listening as those being taught. And what God gives to us is what we give out to others, day by day, to those who are weary and in crisis and to those who ask, “Where is God?” in a myriad of current situations. “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops” (Matthew 10:27)

Any other words that come from our own emotion or our own desire to speak into a life, will fall short, be shallow, and not touch the heart. But when we speak words to someone filled with the life of Jesus, that’s where the impact is. We will know what to say because we have been with Jesus and He has spoken to us. I have had enough of empty words in my life… how about you?

Start right now, sit at His feet, read the Word, think about what He says and do what He says. Let the Holy Spirit lead you. As He speaks to you, ask Him for ways and “divine appointments” to speak to others what He gives to you. Keep it simple and clear. Trust Him, you will know what to say… and what not to say.

You will touch lives with the words God gives you and it all starts in His presence…sitting at His feet…listening…morning by morning…with a “word in season to him who is weary”. Like Samuel, none of your words will fall to the ground, but will give hope and direction to all who hear.

What do you think?

______________________________________________________

I am at a loss for words. This post has really gone out of my control. I should not be surprised because this is not one of those posts where I think of what to post. For this reason, forgive the length of this post.

At this point it is clear that some of this message is about me, but don’t forget I have not told you the message in my dream, read on.

The message I gave in my dream was “you are innocent! I spoke of and woke up thinking of someone locked behind bars even though they were innocent. I spoke about the confinement of a prison cell, the restriction, the lack of freedom and fear. My message was that many of us are living in self created and designed prison cells that are built with bars of iron constructed over the years from the fabric of our past mistakes. Though these cells are imaginary, they as real and restrictive as real prison cells. They have robbed us of our freedom, ambition, talent, motivation, joy and hope.

My message in the dream is that you are innocent, not because you have never made any mistake but because Jesus paid your sin debt in full!    John 8: 36 says “So if the son sets you free you will be free indeed” Read also, Psalm 146: 7 – 8, Isaiah 53: 5, Romans 6: 20 – 23, Colossians 2: 13 – 15.

My friend, if you believe Jesus died on the cross for you, you are innocent! You don’t have to live in the imaginary prison cell of your past mistakes! If you have been living in one, get up, open the door and walk out. You are free! I don’t know the mistakes you have made in the past, but it doesn’t matter. The freedom afforded you by Jesus is not qualified! The only requirement is that you believe!

What is the makeup of your imaginary cell? Is it fear, shame, confusion, emotional pain from failed relationships, abuse, failure, hopelessness, low self esteem, despair, a debilitating habit or addiction? It does not matter, you are innocent! The minute you acknowledge this by faith you can walk out and breathe the fresh air of freedom, renewed hope, endless possibilities of love, joy, fulfillment, and purposeful steps towards God’s destiny for your live.

Are you weary? If you are, this message is for you. God answers prayers in many ways. This message could be what you need to hear. Your weariness could be coming from pacing back and forth in your imaginary cell. It could be from looking ahead and seeing no hope and no path to your dreams and the desires of your heart. Be weary no more. You are free, and not just free, but free indeed. Your freedom was purchased by the blood of Jesus who paid your sin debt in full on the cross.

I hope this message brings you renewed hope as you start the New Year! I encourage you to start living your life like someone who is free. Wake up every morning and rejoice in your freedom and treat every day like the best gift you ever received. Live with freedom, love, passion, energy, dedication, and purpose. Jesus believed you were worth dying for to set you free. Now it is time for you to believe you are worth it as well.

Finally (for those who did not skip ahead), to my startling thought as I started to write this post. About a month ago, my wife and I were watching Sid Roth program called its Supernatural. It is not a show we watch regularly, but on this particular day I happened to be watching it. When I realized his guest was talking about dreams, I called my wife to watch it with me. For those of you who know my wife, you appreciate why I called her. For those of you who don’t, let it suffice to say she is a dreamer – for real!  I think out of envy I have secretly hoped I could dream like her. Not quite, but at least on occasion.

Anyway, after watching the show, the guest requested viewers to repeat a prayer asking God to enable them to get revelations in their dreams and to know how to interpret them. I rarely if ever do this, but I repeated the prayer (hands to my heart and the whole … you know what I mean) as my wife curiously watched (the way a veteran watches a rookie). I even committed to putting a paper and pen by my bedside as recommended by the guest on the show.

I am not kidding, since that day; I have had some amazingly clear dreams and revelations. They have been so clear I have not required any complicated or super spiritual interpretation! It is scary, in a nice way. In fact I have become bold and I now specifically ask God to speak to me through my dreams. Wow has he answered in a big way or what?

Have you been praying for something? Do not be discouraged, God answers prayers. God bless you and have a blessed 2012 and enjoy your freedom!

What do you think, should I go to church today? I am scared to…

Peter

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great Christmas holiday and New Year. The last week of the year, starting before Christmas to the end of the year is definitely a time to cherish, spend time with family, relax, reflect, and yes eat a lot!

I love the excitement of a new year. It signifies a fresh start. It is telling that we get so excited about a fresh start. It implies we think we can do better than we did in the previous year. It ushers in new hope and anticipation and for many of us New Year’s resolutions.

I recently read that if you start the year with momentum and use it to accomplish most of your goals within the first 90 days of the year then you are well on your way to a great year! Momentum not only refers to motion, but the power residing in the moving object.

Most of us start the year with momentum derived from the excitement of a fresh start. The challenge is to sustain the momentum for a prolonged period of time to create power and sustained action towards your goals. I recently joked that most people start the year like a 100 meter dash and run out of gas by the first or second week of the year. Have you ever noticed runners who run ahead of everyone else at the start of a marathon? They almost always drop out.

To sustain your momentum and motivation to accomplish your goals for the year, you need to start strong but not too strong and you need a strategy to deal with the “valleys” and “hills” of the year. You can count on the “valleys” and “hills”, they always show up! Don’t be surprised when they do, be prepared. Here are a few tips to help you this year.

First, write down ten goals you would like to accomplish this year on a piece of paper. Then, select one goal which would have the most positive impact in your life. Write this goal on a second piece of paper and break it down into actionable steps. On this second piece of paper, write down five reasons why this goal is very important to you. Be very clear about the reasons because they will be your source of motivation or “fuel” when the “valleys” and “hills” show up. Review your goal, actionable steps, and reasons every single day. Finally, determine to take action, however small, every single day until this first goal is accomplished. When you are done with this goal, congratulate yourself and move on to the second goal using the same strategy.

Second, let your actions drive your feelings and emotions, and not the other way around.  This is one of the most powerful secrets to sustained action and motivation towards your goals. If you allow your feelings and emotions to drive your actions, you will feel like a million dollars one day and emotionally drained the next, which needless to say is a poor strategy to accomplish your goals. One of my favorite motivational speakers, Brian Tracy, defines discipline very well. He says, “Discipline is doing what you are supposed to do, when you are supposed to do it, whether you feel like it or not”.  The things that unsuccessful people and successful people don’t like to do are the same, the difference is that successful people do them anyway.

2012 is going to be a great year for some while for others it will be just like 2011. The choice is yours. What kind of year do you want to celebrate on December 31, 2012? I believe it will be a great year for you.  I wish you joy, peace, love, good health, and 100% success on your goals for the New Year.

Meditate on the verse below:

Deuteronomy 30:19 “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

Questions

I love to get up early in the morning. It is quiet and peaceful. It is unlike any other time of the day.

It is 5:45 am. I woke up early to develop the curriculum for leaders of a New Generation (LONG). LONG is a youth leadership training program that is focused on training a new generation of leaders by equipping them with leadership, entrepreneurship, community service, and health skills. 1 am very excited because we have expanded the training to 6 high schools in Kenya and are looking to have 20 schools by the end of 2012.

Anyway, I digress. As I was preparing to write the curriculum, I thought about “questions” and how they impact our lives.

We are constantly having an internal dialogue in our mind and very often that dialogue consists of questions. When we ask other people questions, we normally ask purposeful and deliberate questions seeking answers. 

On the other hand, besides some deliberate questions we ask ourselves such as “where did I leave my keys”, for the most part, the internal questions we ask ourselves tend to be more subconscious, less purposeful or deliberate, and quite repetitive. More importantly, unbeknown to us, they are a powerful driving force in our lives.

What internal questions are you constantly asking yourself? Why have I lost motivation?  Why am I always broke? Why am I always so tired? Why is life so hard? Why do I hate my job?

I don’t know what questions are constantly replaying in your mind. However, I know that a very subtle but powerful change in your questions can have a dramatic impact in your life.

The questions you constantly ask yourself have a powerful impact in your life. Whether you ask them deliberately or not, they drive your internal dialogue, shape your philosophy and outlook on life, and most importantly drive your actions. If you are constantly asking yourself “why” things are not going the way you imagined in your life, you will invariably come up with disempowering answers that will not help you improve.

The key is to ask empowering questions rather than disempowering and de-motivating questions. Successful people ask themselves empowering questions while unsuccessful people allow disempowering questions to dominate their lives.

I encourage you to ask yourself questions that will empower, motivate, and spur you to positive action. There are many ways to do this. I recommend one very subtle but powerful change that can make a dramatic impact in your life.

Make a subtle change and start asking HOW instead of WHY. Instead of asking WHY you have lost your motivating; ask HOW you can regain your motivation. Instead of asking WHY you are always broke; ask HOW you can save enough money. Instead of asking WHY you are overweight; ask HOW you can lose weight.  Instead of asking WHY you have a low paying job you hate; ask HOW you can get a high paying job you will love!

You will discover that the answer to a WHY versus a HOW question is dramatically different. A WHY question is focused on the PAST and will yield a BACKWARD looking answer while a HOW question is focused on the FUTURE and will yield a FOREWARD looking answer. I hope you will agree with me but the FOREWARD looking answer will beat the BACKWARD looking answer 99.9% of the time! The FOREWORD looking answer will empower, motive, and spur you to action. How about the BACKWARD looking answer? Not surprisingly, in most cases it will lead to excuses and blaming others. Let me give you an example.

If I ask any of my lovely daughters (love them dearly!) why their room is such a mess, 99% of the time they will blame it on each other. However, if I ask them how they can make sure their room is always neat, I get a very positive and thoughtful answer. Guess which question I have been asking lately?

What questions are you constantly asking yourself? If you start asking empowering and motivating questions, you will discover motivating answers that will have a dramatic positive impact on your life.

There are many ways to ask empowering questions. I encourage you to start with changing most of your questions from WHY to HOW.

Oops, it is 6:46 am; I need to get back to writing the curriculum. How can I finish writing the curriculum in the next 1 1/2 hours before everyone gets up? I will start by signing off now! Oh yes, and ask my wife to drive to church so that I can “create” 1 more hour to write the curriculum to make up for the time I spent posting this!

Stay inspired

Peter

Be true to yourself

It is 4 am in the morning and I can’t sleep. I woke up with this thought in my mind and I felt the urge to blog about. Hopefully it will stir something within you.

Are you true to yourself? What does that question actually mean? When I think about it, my initial reaction is that I am probably true to myself in some areas of my life and not in others. That is probably the case for most people.

The key question however, is “Are you true to yourself in the most important aspect of your life – your purpose in life? This is a more profound question that demands a more definitive answer. If you are honest with yourself, no pun intended, you know the answer right away.

I have struggled with this question for a long time. Interestingly, my struggle has not been to discover my purpose, but to reconcile my life and what I do for a living to my purpose. It is amazing how much we can rationalize and squeeze our current vocation into the smallest crack of the realm of our purpose in order to pacify our conscience.

Why do we do this? I am sure there are many reasons. I believe the core underlying reason is because we live in a culture that emphasizes an outward-inward ethos that drives our behavior from a young age and ultimately leads us to choose a vocation path that is based on what we can get externally rather than internally.

I pursued a career in accounting and business that started with getting my bachelors in accounting from University of Massachusetts – Boston, my Certified Public Accounting (CPA), followed by an MBA from Babson College. Naturally, I followed up my education by getting into the corporate world; specifically public accounting followed by private equity. To crown by business pursuits, I started my own coffee and tea business – Peak Coffee and Tea.

The truth is I am a teacher at heart. My purpose in life is to teach and inspire people. It is one of the reasons I started this blog. I am much more interested in people than numbers or business. I constantly day dream about teaching and inspiring people. My eyes tear up when a profound thought or idea comes to mind that I know can transform someone’s life. It is happening now as I write this blog. When I pray, my heart aches for and my mind gravitates to people’s struggles in life.

Even though I have known this for a long time, I have rationalized a million times and tried in vain to squeeze my current vocation(s) into my true calling and passion – teaching and inspiring people.

I am glad to say, I have given up running away from my calling. I have fought that battle and lost. Thank God I have lost. I believe God would not let me win, because had I won I would have lost, a lot. I would have lost the joy and fulfillment of flowing in my passion. I would have lost the blessings that are connected to my purpose in life.

Have you ever used the sole of a shoe or some metal object to try and drive in a nail? The best way to describe it is – it is a grind. It takes a lot of work. It is unnatural, inefficient, aggravating and frustrating. It is a grind. It does not flow. Contrast that with using a hammer to drive in a nail. One or two strikes and you are done. It is natural. A hammer was designed to drive in nails.

What were you designed to do? Is your current vocation analogous to using the sole of a shoe to drive in a nail? If it is, then I am sure most days if not every day is a grind.

I am sure there are very many reasons to stay the course you are on even if it is a grind - your bills, your debt, your current life-style and your family and friends opinions. These are all very good and compelling reasons. They also have one thing in common – they are all external reasons.

What does your heart tell you? I encourage you to start listening. You will discover a voice so loud you will be amazed you have not been hearing it all this time. It is the voice of your purpose which beckons for your attention. I believe this voice is constant, but we tune in and out. Mostly out, because it interrupts our daily grind and creates the discomfort of pondering the possibilities.

Make a decision today to start tuning in to that voice because it will help you clear the fog and see clearly the path of your purpose that is filled with joy and fulfillment.

God created that path for you when you were born and he equipped you with the tools necessary for the journey along that path. Those tools constitute your natural talents, your personality, and your essence. Your joy, fulfillment, and blessings will come from using your tools to navigate the path set for you.

Remember, God can’t give you talents that can’t earn you a living because your talents are inherently designed to bless others. Singers are not blessed so they can enjoy their own songs. Bakers are not blessed so they can enjoy their own baking. Neither are you blessed with talents for your own sake, but for the sake of others.

What are your talents? What comes naturally to you? What do you enjoy doing? What would you do for work regardless of the income? Be true to yourself and start the journey that will align how you spend most of your time with your purpose in life. 

I have started that journey. I started my journey with this blog and other initiatives I am working on to train and inspire the youth and to mentor people. I wish I could tell you it is easy to make the decision to embark on this journey, but it is not. It requires a lot of emotional, mental, and psychological reconciliation. It requires the courage to be honest and true to yourself. It also requires something that can be very elusive – clarity.

If you were heading to a particular destination for a very important reason and somewhere along the way you discovered you were lost and it would take hours to get back on the right track, would you give up and just keep driving the wrong way? My bet is you wouldn’t.

Don’t give up because you find yourself on the wrong road in your life journey towards your purpose. Don’t settle and keep driving the wrong way. Instead find the nearest exit and turn around. When you reach your destination, your true purpose, you will be glad you took the exit and you will always remember the moment you made the decision to do so.

Take heart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MfBQ30Ta9w

God bless

Peter