Success

Progress On The Inside

“…to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” – Ephesians 4:12-13 Today I want to share with you that personal development is something you can control. Something that you may not have recognized about yourself and others is that all of us want a sense of personal progress in our lives. The way most people measure personal progress is with individual milestones. You get married, and you have children. You receive tenure as a professor or become promoted to partner at your law firm. Perhaps you secure the ideal job or sell your business. These are all significant milestones, but they are not always within our control. So what can

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The Win is in the Waiting

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14 Today, I want to encourage you that “The win is in the waiting.” We can describe what it means to win in life in many different ways. We often think success is when you cross the finish line or when you hit the high C note in a song. The win could be when you receive a trophy or that long-awaited promotion. Perhaps achievement is when you’re invited to perform in the place you’ve always wanted to. But the truth is, the win happens before any triumphs are accomplished. The win is becoming a person who can fulfill the successes you have longed for.  The process we endure in becoming accomplished usually happens when no one is watching. In your free time, when others are scrolling on their phones or tablets, you choose

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Skills Can Be Learned

“I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.” – Proverbs 4:2 Today I want to start with this thought: We can learn most of the skills needed for success. I often share that your philosophy is perfectly designed to produce the results you’re getting. What if your ideals, standards, or beliefs are not producing the results you’re seeking?  Whose fault is it? What do you think should change in your life if what I’m saying is true? A great place to start is to change your philosophy, worldview, and how you see things. Considering the abundance of available skills that can be merged into our lives is essential. Being happy is a skill, and there are books on being happy. I know, I wrote one! Being a friend is a skill; being healthy and becoming successful is a skill. Spiritually speaking, leading a holy life is a

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Real Success

“The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” – Matthew 23:11,12 Did you know that if you invest in God, and invest in people, it pays out dividends? This is sound advice taught by Jesus, whether you’re a person of faith or not. He tells us that those who are humble will be exalted, and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Around the globe, you can study simply by observing the principle that people who humble themselves are exalted, both in this life and in the next. Part of living a humble life is the importance of becoming the kind of person who frees their minds from comparing themselves to other people. It’s about removing yourself from social circles where everyone talks about all the great things they’re doing. Let’s not cripple ourselves

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Change Your Philosophy

“…for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 2:16 Change your philosophy to get the life you want. We each have ideals, standards, or beliefs that have become our personal philosophies. Your philosophy is perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting. Yes, that may sound harsh. I’m not saying this to judge anyone. I’m saying this to encourage you. We are always tempted to blame others when we’re not quite where we want to be. Change your philosophy today. You have the power in you, through Jesus, to build any kind of life you want. He’s laid it before you, but it is easy to place the blame on others. Nobody plays a video game and blames the dragon who’s guarding the princess by saying, there’s a dragon in my way, that

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Get the Life You Want

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 Free time is such a precious gift. Yet, there are competing distractions that desire to take up your free time. Don’t you feel that way sometimes? Such as the boss who calls you after work or on the weekend; maybe it’s your children. Perhaps it’s a stranger who’s talking a little bit too long. There are continual projects or people in our lives, and when they begin to take away your free time, you start to feel uncomfortable or frustrated. You have a nagging worry on the inside that this precious commodity called time, that you have so little of, is being whittled away. In our modern world, very often when we have a little extra free time, the first thing we do is reach for the phone: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok,

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Hear God’s Calling

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.“ – Ephesians 4:1 Here’s what I encourage you to do today: I want to inspire you to make sure all of your thoughtfulness aligns with the calling God has given you and is tied to some kind of action. The scriptures teach us to be the kind of people who are doers of the word, rather than just hearers. When we hear what God has called us to do, we become adaptive, always setting out to do God’s work. I want you to ask yourself: Am I actually going out there and taking steps to do what God has called me to do? If you’re doing this, you’ll see that incrementally over time, you will have some wins and some failures, but mostly, you’re going to become a hugely

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Why Did You Doubt?

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ “ – Matthew 14:31 I want to remind you that in Jesus’ day, the disciples were not just students; they were instructed to do everything the Rabbi did. For instance, Jesus teaches the disciples by demonstrating the miracle of healing the sick. He then instructs them to go out to pray for the sick and watch them be healed. These assignments can be found in Luke Chapters Nine and Ten.  Remember the famous story of Jesus walking on water? Peter thinks to himself that he’s a disciple, which means he’s supposed to do it too, so he begins to walk on water. But as he looks around and sees the waves and becomes scared, he starts to sink slowly. I still think this is an amazing feat. Jesus then takes Peter’s

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Seek Fulfillment in Him

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” – Matthew 13:44 Yesterday, we talked about the fact that God is sufficient in our finances. However, today I want to share with you that even having stable finances doesn’t promise an abundant and fear-free life — that is something that can only be attained when we let Jesus into our hearts and have faith in Him. I remember reading a story told by Simon Sinek, who’s a leadership author and speaker. He shared that he was sitting in a room with 150 of the world’s most successful leaders and business people and there was a speaker, although he didn’t say who it was. As the speaker began to address the crowd, he asked two

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Reading in the Morning

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7 We’ve been discussing my “morning meditation,” which is a daily routine that helps me prepare my mind and heart for the day ahead. I said yesterday that I write down my goals every morning as if they’ve already been accomplished. Today, I’ll share the final stage of my daily routine with you: reading a nonfiction book. While I want to be a good Bible student, I also want to get a broader understanding; I want to learn diverse views and become a student of a variety of issues, such as business, ministry, and leadership. As a result, I devote the last 15 to 20 minutes of my routine to reading a book that teaches me about these subjects. I’ve discovered that incorporating nonfiction reading into my devotional time keeps me on

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