Tag: literature

What got you here …

What got you here won’t get you there…

a known phrase in business…

also applies to life I believe.

You want to see someone wilt in front of you, become defensive, and just shut down…

criticise them.

It’s been called a lot of things,

Nagging, henpecked, micromanaging…

But what about the voice used when talking to oneself?

I was good at this one thing …

But what got me here won’t get me there…where I aim to be and where I’ve set my goal…

I must become good and go from good to great and this means growth…

I have to undertake difficult things…uncomfortable things…

——-

Everyday there’s countless distractions, grooming us on how important we are…and how much more we deserve …

We have the best economy in the world, the global 1 percent is us…30k something a year and that’s the GLOBAL 1 percent …

We’ve never had it better…

But am I aware or am I just coasting on autopilot?

Just showing up …waiting for my annual raise …

Just showing up …

Waiting for my annual vacation

Just showing up waiting on my “passive income.”

Just showing up …

Like I did in baseball

Knowing I’ll get a photo and a trophy at the end of the year …

Just show up …

Where’s the burden ?

The weight

The work …

Hard conversations …

The practice field where the sweat and the blood and the scars and the bad habits are broken and new ones formed…

Practicing basics …

so well understood …

That we don’t move or compromise on them …

This is where values are forged

This is where we don’t compromise

This is where we look at ourselves and we understand …

Life is a series of stages …

What got us here won’t get us there…

We must be growing …

What else is there?

– E

Begin today

When Dietrich Bonhoeffer began his school of ministry… his colleagues came to tell him he was too extreme…too radical…just calm down…Relax…take it easy…

Bonhoeffer took them up the hill…and looking out over the valley there was a Nazi training camp…pointing to his school of ministry he said to them “THIS….must be STRONGER than THAT…”

This must be stronger than that.
——
When I think about marriage and fatherhood…
I know I have a picture in my head of what these things look like…
The awesome responsibility,
——

Christ felt that weight …
He stumbled and fell three times carrying his own cross…

He prayed until his sweat became blood…

Job cries out “though he slay me!! …”
“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him!”

———
This must be stronger than that…
Than all the things screaming for our attention…
Than streaming , internet, apps, alcohol, shortcuts…
Everything out there and within …
——-
Christ said to Peter, “upon this ROCK I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
——

We are appalled at education and schools but then we hand our children phones with access to the world eternal…
——

I don’t want to just be a dad…
Who gets a trophy just for showing up…
Bare minimum…base value…here’s your card for best dad of the year…

There’s a foundation to be made …
There’s leadership we are called to…

I want to be a father…
A mighty oak within my family …
So there …all the time … that there isn’t a question in their mind as to the stability…
Nor the consistency of my presence …
Like the fact that the sun is going to rise tomorrow…

This must be stronger than that…

Begin today…
Begin…

What will I leave behind?
Maybe
We are called to be mighty oaks within our family legacy …
Steadfast …
Proven…
Faithful
Leaders …
Is it too late?
Begin today…
What else is there?
-E

Intention

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”

Proverbs 4:25,26

Be content where you are, knowing you’re building something to leave your children…

I paid off my credit cards …
I’ve been smart and I’ve been real, real stupid, I’ve been debt free and I’ve gotten right back in it.

Working for a debt free company opened my eyes to the freedom that brings in a new way and how it has to be intentional, everyday…

So many things really are about lifestyle…
How you choose to live and work…
It has to be intentional…
Nothing just happens…

Now when I look at my son, I know he is watching everything I do…not just what I say…

It has to be a lifestyle …

“You not only have to be right, you have to look right.”

– George Jenkins

Time

Seneca said, “It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested.”

We need a long term vision and we must pass that to those coming after us…
We must bring our best everyday…why would we bring anything less than our best?

It takes a sense of urgency
A lifestyle
New habits
Someone said we could retire with millions BUT it takes ownership and commitment and time.
Nothing happens overnight.
Move forward …
Long term vision and accepting reality…
Where we are and the role we play in it…
And then an action based plan to move forward…

What else is there ?

-E

Legacy

The book of James says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (5:16b ESV). Other translations say, “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (NIV) or “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (KJV)

Pray…
There’s still an old way
It’s a calm quiet way
It is held by a calm faith and assurance …
To lead and raise your family and build a legacy of faith…

“And some from among you shall build the old waste places; raising up the foundations of many generations; and be called The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in.”

“far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.”

“Why did you wish me milder? Would you have me false to my nature? Rather say I, play the man I am.”

— Coriolanus

God is not shaking his head and trying to figure out what to do with you or your life …
Banks may fail and rivers flood…
But he is not surprised …
Marriage is hard and raising children harder…
Being leaders of our homes is a responsibility but it is worth it…
We are called to be fathers and husbands and be active and present …
To raise up an old foundation …
A sober foundation …
Of faith and love.

-E

Repair

“And some from among you shall build the old waste places; raising up the foundations of many generations; and be called The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in.”

  • Isaiah 58:12
  • “far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.”
  • 1 Samuel 12

There’s always going to be plenty of excuses…
If you’re looking for them you’ll find an endless supply of them…
There’s takers in life
People who wait for some hero to come along …
Or you can be someone that is a problem solver…
Someone who gives back …
Builds up those around them …
Someone who takes initiative …
Dreams dreams even…
It’s ok to understand reality…
Yes, it will take longer than you think…
Be harder than you want …
But the reward is so much greater than you dreamed…
You can’t live in a harvest time all the time …but you can sow seed…
You can prepare…
you can see a need and meet it …
You can build back what’s been forgotten…
Walk firmly and gently in what you can control …
You can give …

  • E

Lead

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”
-Martha Beck

“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything will rise.”

-Michael Jordan

Get the basics down. Don’t “practice” just live it out…
Life isn’t waiting for you…there is no waiting room…
Flip the switch…
Be about your life, your business,
When you’re at work be at work when you’re home be home…
But be there…
Someone said leaders can’t be tired…
Notice they didn’t say don’t get tired …
They said, can’t be tired…
Show up…
Everyday…
You set the tone for your home and your team…
So it’s going to be hard…
Ok…
It’s going to be uncomfortable…
Ok…
Get the basics down …
How we do anything is how we do everything…
The world will tell you…
Dive into your emotions and your feelings and live there …
Your happiness is the most important barometer for your life and health …
But there’s something stronger than all of that…
Pride and respect and responsibility…
It rises above the status quo and raises the standard…
Get the basics down …
Write your personal philosophy and live by it …
Lead your family , show them grace and strength…
Lead your business…Develop and build, impact your community…

There is so much more than what we have seen and heard…

So it gets hard …
You get tired …
Flip the switch …
Be a leader …
There’s something deeper and stronger than what you’ve been sold …
It’s a life well built …
It’s a legacy …
It’s a culture that can’t be bought…
In the home and business …
It’s rooted in the process…
The fundamentals…
The small details …
Day in and day out …
Whether you win or lose …
You show up…
Living the fundamentals …
Raising your sons and daughters …
Developing your team…
Leading your family…
That’s how champions are made …
That’s how legacy’s are built …
There’s pride in that that can’t be bought or stole.
It’s yours.

-E

Change

“Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life.
Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole truth can be won.”
-The Cadet Prayer, West Point

I hope you know you can change
You can take ownership of your life
You can choose a greater good
Truth, compassion, courage, dedication, determination, dignity, discipline, integrity, loyalty, perseverance, responsibility, service, and trust…
These are virtues carved in stone at West Point
Let them be over your heart and life …
You can choose and you can build and you can change…
Take ownership of your life and where you are going…
Anything is possible but not everything
And when you fail or fall rise up and stay humble and build back stronger .
Life doesn’t happen by accident …
Success and sons and daughters prepared for life and equipped doesn’t
Happen by accident…choose and lead by example.
Maybe it’s not normal
Maybe it’s not common
But why not now
Why not change
Why not today…
What else is there?
-E