Where’s My Inspirational New Year’s Post?

Did you miss it?

One of a thousand blog posts telling you, inspiring you, challenging you to make 2011 the best year ever?

Did you miss ours?

No.

We didn’t post one.

Many blogs I frequent use the new year as a way to inspire and challenge their readers to new heights. To set goals and press ahead toward the thing they desire most.

This is all good, and for some, a well-deserved and needed kick in the shorts, but….

I’m going to let you in on a secret. I had no goals in 2010. My 2009 was a lot of highs and lows, and my hopes going into 2010 were pretty much to hope to stay alive and not screw anything else up. Well, 28 days into the new year I laid off my entire staff and 2 months later watched our household turn over as my wife went back to work full time and I became the primary caregiver for my kids. So much for an up-and-coming CEO with visions for a 9 figure company, huh?

It became a year of just accepting fate and dealing with whatever life brought. My mind was defeated and my hopes for the future were pretty much shot.

Day by day I processed this phenomenon that was happening to me and questioning what went wrong and why. I thought I successfully got “fixed” in 2009, so I totally did not understand what was happening to me in 2010.

So did I accomplish anything last year?

On paper, you could argue I regressed, but if you look beyond what people normally evaluate, I accomplished a great deal.

First and foremost, I fell in love with my wife and daughters all over again. I discovered a sincere joy in being able to do things for my family that 99% of dads will never get to do. How many dads get to spend every morning and afternoon with their kids? How many dads get to solve hair issues and hunt for matching clothes at 7am? How many dads get to drive carpool and shuttle kids to activities and get to know their kid’s friends?

How many husbands have a talented wife that is so extremely valued by her employer they put her on the company’s “top ten list”? How many husbands could boast that their marriage was made STRONGER during a time when the husband could no longer bring home the bacon and pay the bills? How many couples discover the amazing reality that a wife and mother are not defined by the tidy-ness and smooth operation of the household and that a husband and father are not defined solely by the money he brings in the pay for the mortgage and grocery bills?

I discovered a deep, satisfying JOY in my “new role” and my wife experienced a joy in her new role. It wasn’t fun or joyful at first for either of us, and I admit I sincerely hated it, but through grace and reflection, we really sincerely developed a love, peace, and joy we never had in our family – even when we’re still challenged in these roles.

How about me? Well, for the first time in my life, I stopped being self-righteous and exhibiting false humility. I began to fall in love with myself and for the first time in my life, believed with 100% certainty in the goodness of my heart. I starting living out of who God says I am, not by who others say I am. I’ve tuned out the voices that tell me I’m a failure, those calling me a bad business man, and all the other false accusations. I no longer seek to please or appease others to make them like me or try not offend them. I’m living out of who God says I am, and I am trying to relate to others in the same way.

I discovered that for those that love me the most, including my Father in heaven, that I’m not valued for what I do but for who I am. Knowing this truth frees you from all kinds of shame and guilt. I no longer have to please others or please God by doing things. I no longer have to appease and perform to gain love and acceptance from them, and I no longer demand this of others. Everything I do now flows out of love and my heart, not out of expectations, rules, or obligations.

My discoveries about Grace and Love and the nature of God were frequent topics of my writings in 2010, and the greatest joy of all was that I discovered all God really wants with me is a relationship, and that everything flows out of love, not obligation. The years of guilt and shame that religious thinking brought to me were erased and for the first time in my life, I discovered true freedom. And the best part is, my wife found it too. So we get to start a new journey together and can share it with our kids while they are still young.

Business-wise? We discovered who were are. We discovered who we were not. We have made hundreds of mistakes and made all kinds of bad choices over the years in regards to business. Many of those choices and actions manifested themselves in the business results and we suffered the consequences financially. However, failure is only devastating if you believe it’s an end rather than a start. You see, failure is a necessary part of growth. There’s no way around it. I cannot find a single successful person that doesn’t have a sting of failures, professionally, personally, or financially in their history. These people are successful because they embraced the failures, learned from them, and intentionally put aside the shame and guilt of these past failures and pressed forward into the future.

This year, I am focused, the company is focused. We know who we are, and we’ve got one specific thing we’re focusing in on for us and our clients. This focus and clarity only came about through a tremendous trial period and it’s been worth every second. The future is bright.

So that’s my 2010. A year (on paper) where nothing much happened actually turned out to be the most transformational and exceptional year of my life.

So now as we’re 6 days into 2011, I have a lot of hope. I know 2011 is going to introduce new challengs and new opportunities. Many have not embraced the adversity and processes they’ve gone through in the past few years and will not be able to press ahead in this new season, but I am confident in myself that all these events over the past few years for me have been a proving ground to allow me to see dreams fulfilled this year and into the future.

Let me leave you with this…..

On New Year’s Day, I watched Oprah interview JK Rowling. I know many Christians dismiss Oprah and they dismiss Harry Potter and JK Rowling. My religious mind did for many years as well. That’s a topic for another day. All I can say is I’ve been spellbound by this interview and am really digging the God-breathed message she delivered to Harvard graduates in 2008. JK’s story is one of restoration and a discovery of who God said she was. Her story, and her books are dripping with God. You can’t miss it unless you want to.

Please read this speech. The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination – JK Rowling at Harvard 2008

If you have time, check out the articles and snippets on Oprah’s web site:
The Brilliant Mind Behind Harry Potter and OPRAH AND HARRY POTTER PHENOM BILLIONAIRE J.K. ROWLING

My wish for you in 2011 is simple – to start living out of who God says you are. I bless you with the Love, Peace, and Joy that is promised for all God’s children TODAY through the amazing redemptive work of Christ.

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Dealing With The Anxieties And Stresses Of Managing Your Own Business

Many business owners have to deal with a lot of stress and anxiety nowadays. It can be tough to have your own business and to be successful in what you do. As a result, here are some suggestions on how you can reduce the stress of having your own business.

The first step is to manage your expenses and pay your bills on time. Develop a budget, do not spend more than what you make, and learn to reduce your expenses when you can.

Learn to manage your responsibilities by assigning certain tasks to others. If you do not have time to do a task, then let your assistant do it. You are only one person and can only do so much on a given day. Do what is most important and delegate the rest.

Talk with your customers and employees on a regular basis. Find out what is on their minds. Ask for any suggestions on how to improve business productivity and morale. Communicating with your workers and clients will help prevent future problems and conflicts.

Most importantly, develop a business plan and follow it. Being organized and goal oriented is very important in managing a business. Following a plan or set of goals will prevent you from a lot of stress and anxiety.

Learn to take it one day at a time. Instead of worrying about how you will get through the rest of the week or coming month, try to focus on today. Each day can provide us with different opportunities to learn new things and that includes learning how to deal with your business problems. Hopefully, when the time comes, you will have learned the skills to deal with your situation.

Be smart in how you deal with your business problems. Do not try to tackle everything all at once. When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, break the task into a series of smaller steps. Completing these smaller tasks one at a time will make the stress more manageable and increase your chances of success.

Managing a business can be stressful, but the key is knowing how to manage your anxieties. There is a right way and wrong way to manage a business. Continue to learn effective techniques in managing your business and improve your bottom line. This will go a long way in getting rid of your stress and other business problems.

BIOGRAPHY:
Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/

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Humpty Dumpty Experiences in Life

Anyone who has ever aspired to greatness and set out to accomplish anything of significance undoubtedly has learned that life (and success) is truly a journey and not a static destination point. Ironically, the more specific you are in planning your goals and charting your path towards important goals, the more you will need to be ready to adjust and adapt as twists in the road emerge that you could not have foreseen as you initiated your well planned journey. Does this mean that planning and goal setting is pointless? Of course not, the power of setting specific goals and creating an action plan to achieve those goals is a very powerful force and is a process the most successful people use to stretch and make the most of their potential.

When the unexpected occurs in life, especially those moments in life or career that put you face to face with a significant and unexpected change of course in your direction, it is important to remember that we never have had, nor never will have the power to plan and execute a path solely based on our will (regardless of talent, work ethic or intentions).

Unanticipated changes happen all the time and what differentiates those who rapidly bounce back and in fact in many cases come through the experience as a better, deeper person after moving through the experience are 3 core characteristics:

1. Faith: To know that you were designed to succeed in life and given unique talents to help you achieve greatness
2. Attitude: To focus forward and not live life in the past always looking in the rearview mirror for “what might have been.” Look back only enough to honestly assess and learn from any course corrections that will help you move towards you future in a positive manner.
3. Courage: Are you “seized up” with tension and paralysis caused by fear of the unknown or are you moving forward with boldness and the confidence to know you were built to prosper (Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”)

There are a variety of reasons unexpected change in our lives occurs, sometimes through self inflicted mistakes and sometimes through changes completely outside your control which you had absolutely nothing to do with. When major life changes occur, especially in the midst of the experience, it is easy to feel a bit like Humpty Dumpty, in pieces on the ground after a significant fall. My advice when this type of life experience presents itself:

1. Acknowledge your disappointment that a change is occurring which you did not expect or necessarily desire
2. Determine what your strongest skills and passions are and chart a course moving forward that aligns with what is “True North” in your own internal life compass. In other words, what you believe is the best path forward based on your own priorities, direction and intended purpose.
3. Life is lived more with a compass than a specific map. A compass allows us to always move in the right direction, regardless of where we find ourselves, however a map is only useful up to the point where an unexpected (and un-mapped) change in the road happens.
4. Don’t forget to count your blessings and enjoy the journey!

In the spirit of the great radio personality Paul Harvey (“Now you know the rest of the story”), for those interested in the origin of the Humpty Dumpty Nursery Rhyme we all know so well, the following provides a background on the history and roots of the poem.

The History and Origins of the Humpty Dumpty Rhyme (adapted from http://www.rhymes.org)
Humpty Dumpty was in fact believed to be a large cannon!  It was used during the English Civil War (1642 – 1649) in the Siege of Colchester (13 Jun 1648 – 27 Aug 1648). Colchester was strongly fortified by the Royalists and was laid to siege by the Parliamentarians (Roundheads). In 1648 the town of Colchester was a walled town with a castle and several churches and was protected by the city wall. Standing immediately adjacent the city wall, was St Mary’s Church. A huge cannon, colloquially called Humpty Dumpty, was strategically placed on the wall next to St Mary’s Church. The historical events detailing the siege of Colchester are well documented – references to the cannon ( Humpty Dumpty) are as follows:

• June 15th 1648 – St Mary’s Church is fortified and a large cannon is placed on the roof which was fired by ‘One-Eyed Jack Thompson’
• July 14th / July 15th 1648 – The Royalist fort within the walls at St Mary’s church is blown to pieces and their main cannon battery ( Humpty Dumpty) is destroyed.
• August 28th 1648 – The Royalists lay down their arms, open the gates of Colchester and surrender to the Parliamentarians

A shot from a Parliamentary cannon succeeded in damaging the wall beneath Humpty Dumpty which caused the cannon to tumble to the ground. The Royalists, or Cavaliers, (known in the nursery rhyme as “all the King’s men”) attempted to raise Humpty Dumpty on to another part of the wall. However, because the cannon (Humpty Dumpty) was so heavy “All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again!” This had a drastic consequence for the Royalists as the strategically important town of Colchester fell to the Parliamentarians after a siege lasting eleven weeks. Earliest traceable publication 1810.

Author: Joel Goode

www.bestlifeandcareer.com

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