Stay Focused

1. Find your noble focus (remember “hedgehog concept”)
2. Stay focused (there is where we normally fail)
3. Stay humble

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

Forgiveness and the power of Jesus Christ enable a man to survive losing his wife and several children in a car accident—and allow the offending driver to begin rebuilding his own life.

Power of Dreaming

I’m ticked!

What are emotions? Can we control them? A better word than “control” is “school.” Can we “school” our emotions? In this article let’s just focus on what emotions are. Here is a good definition:

“An emotion is a response to our understanding of the situation. Emotions are triggered by particular beliefs. Each emotion is a particular response to a certain kind of judgment. So, emotions are responses to previous value judgments. “

While all the right words are in this definition, I’m not sure if it makes the point. Let’s talk through an example to try and clarify our thoughts on this.

Let’s assume you are in China and you don’t speak Mandarin. Someone comes up to you and calmly says in Mandarin, “I hate your guts. Your mother is a whore. You are the ugliest and dumbest thing that every crawled the earth. I hope to kill your kids someday.”  More than likely you would smile back, bow and try to express your gratitude. You are touched by how appreciative that his person went out of his way and wanted to talk with you.

So, in this situation, why didn’t you get upset? If you were told this in English would you be ticked off? I would. Why? An emotion is triggered by how we interpret a situation. You assumed the best in the example above. You weren’t upset. The point here is that our emotions are outcomes of how we choose to interpret a situation.

Can we make a difference? One idea.



“Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University – a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today – how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime.”

“It is about students in the developed world with good connectivity, but the lessons are the same as regards the need to create active learning. And we have to stop using poor connectivity as an excuse for not changing things in the developing world.”

Want some joy? Is it really that hard?

Do you ever think God is trying to tell you something?    Most of the time he is so subtle.    Sometimes thunder is needed.    I occasionally need some real thunder.

Everywhere I turned,  there were messages telling me I needed to better school my feelings.    At the same time,  I was asked to speak twice on the topic of  “School Thy Feelings.”    I’d been having some health problems (hopefully minor) because of my extreme disappointment in people that should have clearly known better.    I won’t go into details – but my faith was truly being tried.    I had to let things go.

So how do we “school our emotions?”   I believe the answers to most things aren’t complex once we learn them.    However, it is incredible how stubborn and dumb we can be.   We can hear the right words, but until we apply wisdom, they are fairly meaningless.

It helps to understand:

• What are emotions?
• What causes them?
• How can we learn to “school” them?

In future posts,  I’d like to explore some thoughts and get your feedback regarding these questions.    I’m no master on this topic – but am eager to learn.

Good Things to Come

Steve Jobs Offers You Some Coaching

Find what you love, trust in your instincts, and follow your heart.

Missing You

You can tell that Michelle Tumes, the singer in this video, loves and believes in what she does. Values + Noble Passion + Talent + Believing = making an important difference.

The Power of the Right Kind of Planning

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We seem to get conflicting information. Should we plan or not? We are taught the importance of looking to the future and being prepared. On the other hand, we are taught to be flexible and open to the doors that are there for us. What is important is understanding what planning is, what it isn’t, how it can help, how it can hurt, and how we can leverage the benefits of planning without falling into its trapa.  We won’t cover all of these topics today – but they are important to think about.

Planning is about goals, making decisions and taking the best steps forward to achieve the goals. We accomplish more by looking forward, researching, making smart decisions, and working passionately and for a long period of to achieve the objectives.

Let’s take a look at the life of Jesus Christ. He knew what his mission was but not all at once. We learned that he grew line upon line. He was prepared when it was time for his mission.

He probably didn’t know exactly what people, situations and trials he would encounter. However, he was prepared to handle the situations appropriately. He was strong but gentle. He was clear but kind. He blessed but held people accountable.   He respected the agency of others. In fact, he allowed others to kill him – because of his respect for the agency of others.

His mission, goals, passion, and energies were spent on what mattered most to his Father. He was of one heart. He knew that the greatest happiness and growth comes by focusing on others.

So, what does this mean for you and me?  There is real power in  preparing to be the kind of person that can bless others.

The temptation is to simple do what others do.  That is a sure path to an empty life.  We learn that the path to true happiness is narrow.   Who we become is up to us.   Remember the marshmallow study.