If you are looking to re-birth your devotional life then I challenge you to get this book. It will challenge you to see the “bigger picture” as to what God is saying instead of finding a small verse to claim for the day. Reading this book has challenged me like never before to read the Bible in bigger chunks instead of a verse or chapter a day. 66 Love Letters will also assist you in linking all of the books of the Bible into God’s bigger story. I highly recommend that you get this book and rekindle your devotional life!

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Here are three direct areas that I believe you can benefit from personal life coaching:

1. Clarity – Coaching can help to bring amazing clarity into your life. It is not always because the coach is lecturing you on a specific topic. Instead, good personal life coach knows how to ask the right questions that will reveal your true heart and desires. Anytime you can gain focus massive action is not to far behind.

2. Accountability – many of us in today’s world want to be our own person. We do not want anyone to tell us what to do. That kind of life ends up lonely, confused, and directionless. Only authenticity and accountability can help you to ultimately get you where you want to go. Personal Life Coaches will provide the support, encouragement, and accountability that you need to get things done. If you know that you have to get on a call with your coach in two days and have done nothing with the action plan that you laid out the week before, then you will be pushed to get as much done in those two days.

3. Confidence – I believe that something magical happens when you have clarity, accountability and an action plan. Everything seems to come into alignment for you. Some of us sit idle because we allow the fear of failure to keep us right where we are. That is a rut. Personal Life Coaches can help you to take action in areas where you might have been lazy before.

I hope you will consider taking a step and get some personal life coaching. The experience in and of itself will be worth the time and effort.

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The way I see it is that you really only have two options: give up or determine to keep trying. If giving up is not an option, then keep trying! I like to find ways to trick my mind in an effort to develop better life habits. For example, when I use to jog first thing in the morning I would pick out my clothes and strategically place my running shoes the night before (now, I do a morning walkabout that is much more spiritual and exercise later in the day). Another trick I would do is tell myself to just work out for 5 minutes. Everyone has 5 minutes right? The neat thing is that I would never end up working out for 5 minutes. Once I got started I wanted to go longer.

Sometimes there are even useful online apps that can help you develop healthy life habits. One such website is called Don’t Break the Chain. It is a simple online app that allows you to just color in the day once you have performed that daily habit. The goal then is to see how many days straight you can go without “breaking the chain.”

This idea actually originated with Jerry Seinfeld. He was asked what helped him to become a success as a stand up comedian when so many people have tried that route and been unsuccessful. He attributed it to always having fresh and new content to share. He would use a simple calendar and check off the days he would spend writing. His goal was to write everyday and see how many days in a row that he could check off of his calendar.

So, if you are struggling in developing those important life habits, then try out the Don’t Break the Chain Method for greater success.

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This devotional is ideal for those men who hold a high value to sports in general. Each day offers a real life sports hero as an example of the topic discussed. It will reveal to you the spiritual lives of some of sports most celebrated athletes. It will also display warnings by discussing those in the limelight who choose the wrong paths.

I believe this book is ideal for both the committed Christian and the one who is just leaving life on the fringes. With the discussion questions in the back, this book could easily be converted into a 40 day Men’s Bible Study as well. Living Life in the Zone can also be a useful tool to those who might struggle with taking part in regular devotions.  It would make a great Birthday gift!

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The problem is that it can be a complete time waster. All it takes is to see a message from a newsletter you subscribe to and then you click a link, and another, and another, and….you get the idea. You become lost in cyber space and several minutes have gone by. Here are 4 tips to help you get over your email addiction:

1. Turn off that email notification. The pop-up email notification reminds me of the dog on the Disney movie UP. He is going right along with life and all of a sudden turns his head and says “Squirrel!” We can be just like that when it comes to email. It is like we have EADD (Email Attention Deficit Disorder). It is not good for you to be constantly pulling away from the work at hand. Multi-tasking and focus don’t get along.

2. Decide ahead of time when to check your email. See if you can force yourself to only check your email once, twice, or three times a day. I know that might seem difficult at first, but it can be done. In fact, it makes it better because there is probably more exciting email to look at all at once if you only check it a few times a day.

3. Don’t check your email first thing in the morning. This one was a hard habit to break. The problem with checking it first thing is that you start your day down rabbit trails. Give yourself time to get things going by working on something meaningful first thing in the morning. The world will not fall apart.  I actually check mine 3 times daily (10:00, 2:00, 6:00). 10:00 allows me to tackle anything important before lunch. 2:00 gives me a chance to check in on what is going on. 6:00 (or usually before I finish work) allows me to check in and see if anything is important before the day concludes.

4. Narrow down your email inboxes. This used to be a problem for me. I had too many email addresses. You waste alot of time trying to go to each email address and login. Instead have everything funneled to one or two email addresses. Gmail allows you to select which email address you want your message to be sent from so it can look like it is coming from any email address that you want.

Get a handle on your email addiction and you will put several hours back into your life. Lastly, when you feel the urge to check your email, take a deep breath and get focused again at the task at hand.

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We all have different ways of managing our stuff and much of it is personality driven. However, there is one area that is critical regardless of what time management system that you use:

The Collection Habit

Having a central place to collect everything is the most valuable thing you can do. Otherwise, do you know what happens? Our email inbox has a few things, our physical to do list more things, and our calendar a few items as well. It is okay to have a few collection buckets but the purpose is for all of it to go to one place.

Many people make the mistake of trying to go from an unorganized state to super-organized. That is a recipe for failure. Instead focus on one small habit for 30 days or more and then add to it later. Challenge yourself for the next 30 days to collect everything that comes to mind. If you don’t then you live paralized becuase it only takes a few items in your head to immobilize you. When you get it out on paper (or collection bucket) then you no longer have to try to remember to remember what you need to remember (make sense?)

Here are my collection buckets:

• Physical Inbox (Basket for mail, files, and letters) – I empty this out daily
• Wallet with 3×5 Cards – I have a wallet with a small pen and I record things that come to mind when I am away from my computer
• Sony Digital Recorder - I use this when driving or during my morning walk as things come to mind. A great tool to use if you are not able to write anything down.
• Chandler Project Software – This is a free desktop application software where all the stuff above eventually goes. Find out more about the software here: The Chandler Project

I cannot tell you how much this has simplified my life. When anything comes to mind I put it into my trusted system (whatever basket is closer) and then I religiously take a moment to put everything into Chandler. This has cleared my mind and allowed me to focus on “my stuff” when I want instead of it nagging me all day.

What do you use for your collection habit?

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Why is it so hard to let go, and let God? The tricky part is learning the difference of being a manager and a control-freak.

A control freak…

• Wants to manipulate every outcome to their favor
• wants to know what is going on at all times
• never wants surprises or the unexpected to come visit
• wants a predictable outcome

A manager…..

• works with what he is given
• understands that things beyond his control will happen
• makes the wisest decision when the unexpected does come
• knows the results are out of his hands

Whether your burden today is physical, financial, relational, or business-related, you need to understand your limits. Limits provide freedom. The sooner that you believe that you are human and that you cannot possible control everything, the sooner you will be able to relax and take things as they come.

Controlling what you can is a constant habit and practice that you have to do on a regular basis. When you stress meter is getting high, 9 times out of 10 it is a direct result of you trying to control something.

Simple Exercise

The Bible tells us to worry about nothing and pray about everything.  Max Lucado in his book Fearless gives a great illustration about how to handle worry. If you looked down at your arm and saw a mosquito, what would you instinctively do?

That’s right, you would swat at it, crush it, and smack it. You should do the same with worry. Treat it like that mosquito that is being a nuisance. Don’t let it stay there. Swat at it and get rid of it now!

The simple truth is that when you are trying to control everything what you are really doing is worrying.  Stop worrying and let go.

By the way, if you are looking for a job the General Commander of the Universe is vacant again, but if I were you…I would keep on walking.

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My Personal Year-end Review

Many events and happenings can take place in our lives in the matter of 12 months. If we just aimlessly go through life and never take some time to reflect,  then we will continue to make the same bad mistakes over and over again. This process is more then just feeling guilty for the past, but it is empowering you to make better choices in the future. Doing a personal year-end review is an opportunity for you to take a personal inventory, add everything up and see how you did. Take out 3 sheets of paper and make three lists. 

1. Make a list of the greatest personal events of the year

Sit down with your spouse if you need to and record at least 10 great happenings in your personal life. It can be associated with money, health, relationships, and work. Did you finally pay off a debt that has been dragging you down? Did you make a smart choice with your money? Did you finally do something that you have been avoiding? Even if you feel like you have had a rough 12 months, I guarantee there will be things on your list that will make you smile.

2. Make a list of the greatest lessons learned this year

On the second sheet of paper, record some of the lessons you have learned this year. This is not just about re-hashing your failures, but recording on paper the valuable lessons that you have learned and want to remember for this new year. It truly is taking the bad things in your life and turning them into good. Lessons are not only learned in our failures but in our successes too. Do your best to record at least ten items.

3. Make a list of gratitude

I believe that before you ever set new goals in life you should write a grateful list. I love setting goals but here is what I have come to realize: setting goals focuses my mind on what I lack. I am not saying that you should never have personal goals, but that you should just keep it in perspective. Take the time to first focus your mind on all the things that are going right in your life. Even in the middle of tough circumstances, I bet you can point to times where God showed up in your life at just the right moment. Write a quick list about the things you are grateful for in your life.

Now, you should have three great lists that shows you just how valuable the last 12 months have been in your life. Look over the many blessings. Ponder the lessons that need to be internalized. Look to the future with arms wide open.

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The sooner that you learn that those things (while fun to enjoy) do not really bring happiness the better you will be. My eyes were opened to this truth when I went on a trip out West to the mountains of Idaho. My Grandmother has a log cabin at about 8,000 foot elevation with literally nothing else around. The little town at the base of the mountain had some how sheltered itself from any commercial advancements in the last 50 years. It was truly remarkable.

Not one brand name can be found anywhere in the entire town. No recognizable fast food restaurant, gas station, motel, or hardware store. Everything was owned individually by the members of the town. It truly felt like I had gone back in time. Things were much simpler and the people seemed happier. I was forced to slow my pace down that week and it did me much good.

How to Be Satisfied With Less

1. Focus on the Essential.

Many people struggle with wanting more in their life because they are not sure what they value in the first place. If you had to narrow your life down to four or five essentials, what would they be? What really matters to you? What is your heart’s desire? Can you focus your life in such a way that you only have a few essentials? My life was scattered about a year ago until I decided to really think about what was important to me. Here is my list in no particular order.

Family (Social Time)
Reading & Writing (Mental Time)
Coaching & Mentoring (Vocation)
Exercise (Physical Time)
Spiritual Life (Spiritual Time)

Yours might be different, but that is what is most important to me. I can easily eliminate the non-essentials in my life if they do not fit into my list.Because of this list I have been able to achieve more by focusing on less. It simplifies my life and I am satisfied with less by not trying to run down every rabbit trail that appears into my life.

2. Live in Constant Gratitude.

I love to set goals. It inspires me and gives me hope that the future could be better. At the same time, I have noticed what happens to me when I set goals. I can easily become impatient because I see the gap between who I am and where I want to be. The only way to close the gap is by living with gratitude. Start with gratitude and contentment will come into your life. Gratitude is much like cleaning your house, it has to be done on a regular basis. When you live each day with a sense of gratitude, then you will be content with having less in your life.

3. Enjoy and Live in the Present.

This was the hardest principle for me to learn. I am a dreamer and love to live 10 to 15 years down the road. What I have come to realize is that living in the future makes me worthless in the present. I do not take the daily action that I need to get to where I am going. My wife is talking to me and my mind is elsewhere. I am riding bikes with my kids and thinking about the big project I have to get done for work. I am at work thinking about being at home and at home thinking about my work. Have you been there? You solve this by forcing your mind to live in the present. Whatever activity you are doing at that moment, just focus on that. Quit bearing the responsibility of the universe on your shoulders while throwing baseball with your kids. To be successful with this principle you have to choose to have a mind like a kid. Remember the simple days? Never worried about money or where your food was going to come from. When you were engaged with an activity as a kid that is all you thought about. Learn to live and enjoy the present moments in your life. The pressures of life will begin to fall off when you are satisfied with less in your life.

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Now, life feels much different. Maybe you are not exactly certain what your unique skills are or what strengths you possess that can truly add value to an organization. You grow envious of others because they just seem to know what they are all about while the rest of us are on a quest and a journey.

I read a quote about a year ago that has really stuck with me. Dan Miller of 48 Days To the Work You Love said, “A job search is 80% inward.” The point he was trying to make is that we can spend way too much time focused outward on our job search that we never take the time to look inward first.

There is a classic book written in the early 1900’s called “Acres of Diamonds.” You can read the full version online for free. It was written by Russell Conwell, the Founder of Temple University. In the book he tells a story of a man who strongly desires to be wealthy. He was reading stories about ordinary people becoming extremely wealthy in the Gold Rush Era. He then decided to sell his land to his neighbor and go on a pursuit for wealth.

He spent his whole life and resources and died with nothing.

Meanwhile, a few years later by accident his neighbor discovered diamonds buried on this old man’s land. Wealth was under his nose all along. The moral of the story? What you really want in life is buried within you. The truth is it is not the extra $2.02 raise or the next new company that is going to bring you the happiness in life.

It is discovering your unique gifts and abilities and living your life using them to bring value to others.

Looking internal means asking questions like:

1. What are my unique gifts and abilities?

2. What are my natural strengths that come easy for me but can be a challenge for others?

3. What would I be the most energized and fulfilled doing?

I believe too many of us see work as a necessary evil instead of a higher calling. I have a question for you that literally stopped me in my tracks when I heard it for the first time:

You will spend more time at work then you will in all of the other activities combined (family, friends, church, vacation), shouldn’t you at least enjoy what you do?

Especially if you are out of work at the moment, you should take some time to assess your skills and strengths and get clarity on what you are all about. When you understand where your true strengths lie, things just begin to click. It will give you confidence in the interview and land you the job.

Are you still lost?

Here are a few resources that can help you:

1. Strengths Finder

2. CareerPath by CareerBuilder

3. Path 101

Take some time to discover your strengths it will energize you and renew your passion in life.

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