I passed a church the other day. It is located just off of a highway. The entrance is - was - on a dirt road. The church sign that day read, "We Have Pavement. No More Excuses."
I use to make excuses. Still do sometimes. Not to avoid church, but for other important areas of my life.
I don't exercise often enough. I don't always watch what I eat. I don't get enough rest. I don't understand technology the way I would like to. And I make excuses. And none of them are valid.
Nobody can change those things about my life except me. I can make excuses or I can change. I CAN change.
Are you making excuses? There is now pavement on the road on which you are traveling. No more dirt roads, no more excuses. No more reasons to put off until tomorrow what you should be changing today.
Today's Winning Thought: I expect results in my life, not excuses.
I like Lou Holtz. He is a legend. The college football analyst is the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different universities to a bowl game. He is a class act.
Holtz wrote the introduction of a new book I am reading: Harvey Mackay's THE MACKAY MBA OF SELLING IN THE REAL WORLD. This is not about about sales. It is a book about life. Mackay writes in his author's note that "The Mackay MBA beats a path up the ladder of excellence." It is an analytic map for success.
Harvey Mackay has forever ended each column or article with a Mackay Moral. That is what led me to end each of these posts with a winning thought. I have shared a few of Mackay's Morals with you in previous posts. Here are a few more from his new book I think you will appreciate.
"Positives abound if you just look around."
"Don't be afraid to make a decision. Be afraid not to make a decision."
"The biggest challenge is not to add years to your life - but passion to your years."
"Technology should improve your life, not become your life."
"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost."
Today's Winning Thought: "Enthusiam is infectious. Start an epidemic." -- Harvey Mackay
I attended a meeting this weekend and heard a gentleman share a phrase that a mentor had shared with him a few years ago. The mentor was asking the young man about his involvement in ministry. He asked, "If not you, who? If not now, when?"
That is a phrase all of us can probably ask ourselves at some point. What about you? Will you get out of your comfort zone this week and reach out to someone? You don't have to look far to find someone with a need.
This week, look at people. Don't look past them or through them. Look at them. See them. Take five minutes and help those who you can. Encourage them. Share something with them. Someone needs something that you can offer.
If not you, who? If not now, when? How about you? How about now?
Today's Winning Thought: Don't dismiss an opportunity because you think it will make little if any difference. You might be making all the difference.
Casey Wiegmann is the center for the Kansas City Chiefs. He has been starting at that position since September 23, 2001. That was the first game following the attack on America on September 11. And he has not missed a single snap of the football. At the start of this season his snap count was 10,141. The streak has been extended in eight games the Chiefs have played this season.
I thought about this while listening to the game last weekend. I wondered how many bad snaps there have been in those 10,000 plus transferrals of the football from the center to the quarterback. Who knows. My guess is not very many. There could not be that many or he would be out of a job.
Then, I wondered how many snaps Wiegmann made before he became the starting center, or before he turned professional. The answer is unknown but it is countless.
If Casey Wiegmann makes a mistake, everyone watching or listening to the game is going to know it. His mistakes would not mean the difference between life and death, but professional football is a business - a big business. It might mean the difference between winning and losing.
How good are you at your job? Are you putting in the hours and the effort to be the best you can be? When you are not at your best, is someone inconvenienced or in danger?
Be the best you can be, even on days when it is difficult. That is all you can do, and it is what you should do.
Today's Winning Thought: "It takes a lot of unspectacular preparation to produce spectacular results." -- Harvey Mackay
Have you heard Trace Adkins' latest song entitled Just Fishin'? If you are a dad, of a daughter especially, you should listen to it. Don't just listen to it, live it.
Here are the lyrics.
I'm lost in her there holding' that pink rod and reel
She's doin' almost everything but sittin' still
Talkin' 'bout her ballet shoes and training wheels
And her kittens
And she thinks we're just fishin'.
I say 'Daddy loves you baby' one more time
She says, "I know. I think I got a bite.'
And all this laughin', cryin', smilin', dyin' here inside's
What I call, livin'.
Chorus
And she thinks we're just fishin' on the riverside
Throwin' back what we could fry
Drownin' worms and killin' time
Nothin' too ambitious
She ain't even thinkin' 'bout
What's really goin' on right now
But I guarantee this memory's a big'in
And she thinks we're just fishin'.
She's already pretty, like her mama is
Gonna drive the boys all crazy
Give her daddy fits
And I better do this every chance I get
'Cause time is tickin'.
Chorus
She ain't even thinkin' 'bout
What's really goin' on right now
But I guarantee this memory's a big'in
And she thinks we're just fishin'
Yeah, she thinks we're just fishin
We ain't only fishin'.
(This ain't about fishin').
Today's Winning Thought: There is nothing I can add to that, except to say don't take a single day for granted.
One of the first things I read every morning is a short devotional thought by Max Lucado. Today's was so powerful. I just want to share it with you. It was entitled God's Thoughts. Here is part of one sentence.
"We avoid pain and seek peace. God uses pain to bring peace."
You can take Max Lucado's word for it, or mine. Or you might have to experience it yourself to believe it.
The first thing that came to mind when I read this today was our daughter. Down syndrome and a heart defect came into our family that day. They brought with them shock, uncertainty, some fear and a little pain. OK, a lot of pain. God came into our home, too. He brought peace - a lot of it. It is not like the peace our friends and family brought. It is different - and stronger. Jesus spoke of it in John 14:27. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid."
Peace - real peace - is not absence of trouble or pain. It is confident assurance in any circumstance.
Today's Winning Thought: Don't seek pain, but don't avoid it either. Pain can make you stronger and bring you real peace.
Yesterday I wrote about the need to occasionally jump start your life. If you are there today, Starbucks can give you some help in the form of the lessons they learned during the company's transformation three years ago.
These lessons changed people, which ultimately lead to a better company. The lessons also changed the way Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz lead the company. Schultz shared the lessons in his book ONWARD. These lesson can help us in our work or our personal lives.
"Grow with discipline. Balance intuition with rigor. Innovate around the core. Don't embrace the status quo. Find new ways to see. Never expect a silver bullet. Get your hands dirty. Listen with empathy and overcommunicate with transparency. Tell your story, refusing to let others define you. Use authentic experiences to inspire. Stick to your values, they are your foundation. Hold people accountable, but give them the tools to succeed. Make the tough choices; it is how you execute that counts. Be decisive in times of crisis. Be nimble. Find truth in trials and lessons in mistakes. Be responsible for what you see, hear, and do. Believe."
Today's Winning Thought: It worked for a coffee company. It can also work for me and you.
Tuesday night when our vehicle would not start I was really frustrated. I had had a long day and did not get a single thing accomplished in the evening hours. I should have been thankful that we have two vehicles. And that it was only a dead battery. And that it was still warm and dry outside. And that I was in a lighted area. And that I was close to home when it died, and I could leave it in an area where it would be easy to get to when I went to jump start it the next morning. After I calmed down, I was thankful for all those things.
A simple jump start the next morning and I was on my way.
We all need a jump start every now and then. A jump start, or a boost, is a method of starting a car, and restarting - boosting - our lives. Do you need a jump start somewhere in your life? At work? In a relationship?
Sometimes we cannot get started on our own. Our source of power just won't start us. We need a boost, we need to borrow someone's jumper cables. And sometimes, we might be the one to lend a hand to others who need a jump start. Sometimes we need the cables. Sometimes we can provide the cables.
Today's Winning Thought: Power is a good thing. It can give others a boost and jump start them when they are stuck. Power can also be abused. Use it to serve.
