Category Archives: Deep Restoration

Is It Time to Move or Be Still?

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Have you ever come to a moment where you faced a the daunting decision of making a dramatic change in your life, such as a career change?  Do you ever sit and ponder wondering what the results would be if you change and the risks that are involved in those changes?  We are often faced with the challenge of whether or not to make a big change in our life.  It could be changing jobs or career entirely, walking away from your work to do something independently, changing the church you attend, or any of a number of other things.  These big changes can have been consequences on your life, both positive and negative.  The challenge we face however is not really whether or not to change.  Often times you know it is the right calling, but the whether or not to take that leap and move.

I firmly believe that the path we take through life is all a part of God’s plan for us and each road we go down is a significant part of our spiritual journey and growth.  How we choose to manage that growth however is up to us.  We can learn from them and take our cues from God on the next steps or we can sway from that path and choose what may feel like the safe alternative.

Many people, whether they like to admit it or not, myself included, took safer paths through life building on careers doing work that seemed like the right thing to do even though it may not be what really brings you to life.  We go through this for many years and then one day through our own journey, we realize, this is not where we are meant to be.  God had another purpose for me and now that I know what it is that’s where I need to go.  The problem is that we get so caught up in the comfort that we cannot decide whether to make that change and take the risk.  We are faced with the choice of either moving or being still and staying where we are.

While every change is different and some more dramatic than others, we have a choice to make.  You can plan through it effectively or just out right leap.  Either way, my challenge is this; if you are faced with the decision of moving or being still, it is time to move.  If you pray about it regularly and you feel God telling you it is time to move, then it is time move.  Take that leap into the unknown.  It is a scary thing.  I tell you what, it scares me to change.  But that fear is from the evil one and all those that tell you that it is not right.  If you feel down deep it is right then that is you coming to life and that purpose that God created you specifically for awakening like  sleeping giant eager to burst out to the world.  Listen to your heart.  Pray on it each day and ask God to reveal his purpose to you.  It is there inside each and everyone of us, but just needs to be awakened.

This year, I’ve gone through some serious changes in my own life and how I approach my path and growth.  God revealed this door to me to share my testimony through writing to all of you and through other channels as time goes forward.  It’s been a serious transformation for me.   The change is still happening, but I know where my purpose lies now.  I made the next dramatic move a few months back by stepping away from my doctoral studies.  I realized that it was work that was building toward that safe career path, but not one that truly spoke to me.  I didn’t care how much time I had already put in.  I knew it was not the right path, so I had to step away.  Let me tell you, however, it was hard to do.  It took time, but I finally got there and made the choice.  When I did, the burden relief was huge.  I felt free to really pursue my real calling and purpose and hear I am.

We all have different callings in life.  Although I would are to say that a lot of that calling and purpose revolves around advancing God’s kingdom in some way.  It’s how you choose to do that matters.  If you feel that urge to move, if you know it is what God is calling you to do, then make that move move.  Be bold.  Take on that battle.  Don’t let the evil one and the world stop you.  Take that leap.  It may seem scary, but when you do, you will feel it in your soul that this is what you were meant to do.  You will come alive!

Awaken That Sleeper Inside You

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What do you think about change?  When that word comes up, what is the first feeling you get?  Is it a feeling of anxiety, curiosity, or even excitement?  Everyone tends to respond to change in any number of different ways.  Some change is good and some bad.  Either way, there is a purpose and reason behind it and it is up to you on how you choose to respond to that change.  I’ve been through a number of changes in life.  This relates to job, schooling, growing family, living location, and more.  Each time a change comes, I’ve had to respond in some way to be able adapt to those changes

Now, what I really want to focus on is a change within yourself, your self conscience, and the real focus of your own life.  Have you ever had the urge to make change happen in your life and you just don’t know how to do it?  You could be sitting back waiting for opportunity, or simply afraid of make the change happen and deal with the results that may come.  This again could relate to your work situation, where you live, how you live, how you worship, or how you relate to your family.  Simply stated, change can cover anything.

Often time that urge to change is a result of circumstances or simply could be a new calling and path that God wants to move you toward.  You feel it calling inside you and you know if have to make a conscience choice of how to respond.  Your response to this could call could make a world of difference in your life.  The ultimate decision, however lies in you to make.

What can happen if you ignore this call?  I’m not a psychic, so I can’t say for sure.  What I do know is that failure to act on something can bring about results that may not be the best.  You may find yourself in a dismal rut and not sure how to get out of it.  You may find yourself absolutely miserable in your daily work and settle into a lifetime of complacency.  Complacency in that you settled and accepted your current reality and no matter the toll it can make on you mentally, spiritually, and physically, and not to mention the toll it can have on those around you.  Not the ideal situation.  If you settle, then that is entirely up to you and there is nothing wrong with that if you are comfortable with.

Frank Herbert wrote, “Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.”  If you feel compelled to make change, then maybe that is exactly what you need to do.  There is something sleeping within and when you feel that urge to change, it is trying to awaken.  Why not let it awaken?  You know what that something is?  IT IS YOU!!!  That’s right.  That something sleeping within is who you are and who you were truly meant to be and do.  Why not awaken yourself and make that change happen.

I’m at that crossroads with you and have had to look within myself to figure out what helps me come alive.  For me it is my faith which I grow in each day and secondly above all it is the time I have with my wife and kids.  Getting to maximize my time with them by making needed changes while providing them the life they deserve.

It may be a scary time for you to make those changes.  You may be so uncertain as to what the results may be that it is hard to make that move.  Think on it and definitely pray on it.  If you are not happy where you are.  Something needs to change, but you have to make that change.  Choose to awaken the sleeper within and see how far it take you.

Don’t Jump!!!!

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Last week, I wrote about the idea of settling into a complacent life versus going after what it is you were placed here to do.  Often times, life can take us on a journey that brings us opportunities and obstacles and then we have to decide how best to navigate through each one.  With so many circumstances molding our path through life, many times we find ourselves settling.  Settling into a life and/or career that is safe but at the same time sucks away every aspect of who we are.   Something comes along that looks like opportunity and what do we do?  We jump right on in not thinking of where it may lead us.

All I have to say to that is, Don’t Jump!!!  Don’t let the circumstances of your life dictate your path and force you into things are not you.  I have learned this from my own experiences in life.  If you choose to jump right on in all that happens is you become trapped.  You become trapped by a career that you do not love.  You get trapped in a life that does not have meaning and purpose.  You lose track of who you are spiritually.  You lose connection with those that you love.

In essence, you get pulled away from being who you truly are.  Just say you are a job that you just do not enjoy anymore, but do not get out of.  What that will start to do is pull at every aspect of your being.  You may become frustrated and without even meaning to, that frustration starts to carry over to other parts of your life.  This is no way to live.  Believe me, I have been there.

So what do you?  First, it begins with your own mental attitude.  You have the ability to let those circumstances control you and make your life miserable or chose not to.  Dale Carnegie said, “Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude.”  You have that ability to create your happiness and change your circumstance.  Don’t just jump in blindly and let your circumstances control you.  You control it.  None of us are going to glide through life without making mistakes or the wrong choices.  How we react and learn from from those choices and mistakes helps to define who we are and where we end up.

God granted each of us with the free will to make decisions about our life and circumstances.  He is always there to guide us through it all if we trust in Him, but we have to make those choices ourselves.  Leo Buscaglia said, “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”  When you are trying to determine what it is you really want to do with your life, take an inventory of your talents and also of your passions. Once you figure that out, go out and do what it you are passionate about using the talents you have.  You also glorify God in this way.

If you are at the crossroads of decision, Don’t Jump!  Don’t settle for complacency.  You were created for much more than a complacent life.  Take advantage of the talents God blessed you with.  Get out there and do what brings you passion and what truly has purpose and meaning to you.  Don’t jump into a life or career that contradicts who you are. You can never come alive this way.

Don’t Wait For Happiness To Come To You

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You know all too often, we hit periods of time where for one reason or another, we just are not happy with ourselves or with the current status of our lives.  It may be circumstances with our work, maybe our career is not going the way we want to go, maybe things are not as happy as they should be in the home with strained relationships with one’s spouse or even children.  Maybe you have lost sight of God in your life because of circumstance and not sure he is playing a roll in your life.  It could be anything.  Many of us, including me ,have come to points where we are just flat our miserable and not sure when things can get better.

When we hit these points of depression and unhappiness we often find ourselves in a more negative state.  It becomes difficult to be positive and your not sure how thing can get better.  Like I said, I am no different.  What in the world do you do with that?  How can you get yourself out that rut and move toward a point where you are happy again with life and your direction?  I certainly had those questions.  About 8-9 years ago, my career was at a point where I was flat miserable everyday.  Nearly 4 years ago, I lost my Dad in a tragic accident and thought, what does anything matter anymore.  I was in bad way mentally, even though most people would not know it.

First over the past couple of years, I chose to walk closer with God each day and that reestablished my relationship with Christ.  Then I realized, no matter what they situation is, I have to make the choice to get myself out of a rut and find the happiness that helps me come alive again.  I have done a lot of reading and a lot of soul searching in recent years.  I’ve quoted Earl Nightingale many times especially from the “Strangest Secret” when he says, “We become what we think about.”  If we set our mines on the negative we will never find the positive.  We have to gear our minds to think toward the positive, to think toward the goals we want, to think toward happiness.  It is all purely mental.  You have to have the  mental toughness to not let circumstance keep you from reaching your potential.

Going back to Earl Nightingale, he also said, “Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”  We have to find what makes us happy.  We cannot wait for it come falling in our laps because it won’t.

I’ve come to realize that our time that God gives us on this Earth is very precious and is gone in the blink of an eye.  Don’t stand by and let it move past not make the most of the time you’re given.  It can be gone in a snap.  Don’t waste your time on the negative.  Things will happen in life.  It is a part of life.  But you need to have the mental toughness to bounce back and move forward with life.  Paul said in Philippians 4:8, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”  You have to fix your mind on the positive.  Fix your mind on what is worthy and not where the adversary wants you to go.  Fix your mind on Christ and he most definitely will guide out of the difficulties you face to freedom and happiness.  You have to make that choice and not wait for it come to you.

Conquering Fears That Tell You No

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We all have fears in life, don’t we.  There are those things that we encounter that tell us that we cannot do something.  What fears have you encountered?  It could be anything from riding a roller-coaster, flying in a plane, fear of new opportunities, fear of failure, and even, yes, fear of success.  Fear is something that is so stifling, that it can keep you from perusing your dreams and goals and force you down paths that are completely contradictory to anything that you would otherwise do.  Fear can keep you stuck in a job that makes you flat out miserable.  I know many that have been there.  Either they become too secure in their job and its benefits or they just don’t want to risk going on to something new for fear of the unknown.  This fear can suck the spirit out of you and keep you from ever coming alive.

Dr. Charles Stanley had a great quote about fear.  He said, “Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins.”  Does this sound like you or anyone you know?  The fear can come from a number of areas.  It can be your own psychological fears of moving forward or it could those naysayers that constantly want to tell you that you can’t do this or you shouldn’t do that.  Either way, as Dr. Stanley said, fear stifles your thinking and actions and can result in lost opportunities.

The struggle that must be faced by everyone is how to conquer that fear.  What can you do to brush aside the naysayers and that nagging feeling that keeps you from pursuing the goals you have ahead and what God has intended for you?  Elbert Hubbard stated that “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one.”  We all know there will times where you will not succeed in one venture or another.  If you never try however, for fear of failing, then you have once again let fear overcome you and your goals.

So how do you conquer those fears?  The biggest thing is to put your trust in God that He will lead you through the challenges and toward the path He wants you on.   Psalm 56:3-4 says, “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.  I praise God for what he has promised.  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?”  That’s self evident there.  What can anyone or anything do to stop you if you put your trust in God.  He will help you overcome your fears when you trust in Him and let Him take control.

With your trust in God, you can muster the strength to overcome any fear and follow your dreams.  Les Brown stated that “A lot of people do not muster the courage to live their dreams because they are afraid to die.”  Don’t be afraid of where the path goes.  Follow your dreams and goals and follow them without fear.  I have a frame on my wall at home that says “The Will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.”  Know that He is always there.  Don’t be afraid of failure.  Don’t be afraid of success.  Don’t be afraid of the unknown.  Have faith that the path you follow is the one you are meant to be on.  You keep your mind fixed on those goals and they will come to fruition.

So don’t ever let anyone or anything tell you that you can’t follow your passions and dreams.  You can conquer those fears.  I have had my share of those fears over the years of where I may end up.  It is now in God’s hands and he is guiding down the path I was intended to take.  You can do the same thing.  It takes time, so don’t let that stop you either.  Stay focused and you can conquer those fears and come alive!

Creating a Trail

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When I was growing up, I spent a great deal of time playing with the woods with my brothers and our friends from around the neighborhood.  We would spend our time building forts and carving trails through the woods for riding our bikes.  We would spend day after day working on these trails and forts and exploring new areas of the woods around where we lived.  I know today this concept has not died out on my kids and they like to hang out with their friends carving out trails through the woods and building forts.  Seems to be a trend here.

I reflected on this today as I continue my work toward my doctoral research and completing my proposal and dissertation.  After a discussion with my mentor last night, I began to reflect further on the direction I am taking with my research.  One of the goals of doctoral research is to contribute new knowledge to the literature and carve out a new way of looking the research topic in a way that can have an impact on scholars and on leadership.  I began to really reflect on my study in trying to figure out what would be the most impacting approach to my research.

Now, you are probably asking yourself, what does carving out trails in the woods as a kid and my research have to do with each other?  It’s simple.  The ultimate goal of my research is to carve out a new trail.  Not to reinvent the wheel and do something that others have done in the path.  To forge a new way of looking at things in a way that can have a real world impact.  As a kid, we did not constantly build the same trail over and over again.  No, we built new ones.  We created!  This same holds true in my research.  My goal is to create a new pathway.

Earl Nightingale said that, “Instead of competing, all we have to do is create.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson said,”Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”  These quotes hold true to all parts of life.  In my everyday research, I am striving to build a strong pathway built on extensive research to go somewhere completely new.  In my life, I also strive to break the mold and cave out a new trail for the way I live my life.  It is a matter of striving for goals I set for myself and not sitting back and waiting for someone to tell me what is the path I should take.

I have written time again about seeking God’s path for our lives.  In this path, each one of us has a unique calling to His purpose.  It is up to us to forge ahead and build that pathway to seek out that purpose that is before us.  Each day, our walk takes on down a new road in life.  We are in essence already creating  a pathway and leaving that newly carved trail behind us.  This is when we have decide if the pathway we take is one that is safe with a trail already carved out, or if we are forging ahead to build our own trail.  Decide if you want to be trail carver or if you want to follow trails already built by others.  We are all given an opportunity to carve our own way and not let others define what your are or who you are.  Choose to create and go after the dreams and goals you set for yourself and achieve your God given purpose.

The Need for Patience and Persistence

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Yesterday was a dicey day for weather in my neck of the woods.  Unusually warm weather for January with a strong cold front approaching made for some strong storms to roll across Georgia.  It made for an interesting day with bad storms ripping across the state with a tornado or two further west then heavy rain and wind in my area.  The storms hit my area just as Amber and I were picking our kids up from school.  When we arrived at the elementary school for Ashley, the severe storm warning was issued for the county so school release was delayed.  We went inside the school to get out of the storm and wait it out.  One the storm passed they started organizing the dismissal for car riders as most parents were inside at that point.  Of course, it never fails in those types of situations, that patience where thin and people started getting snippy with the school as they were trying there best to organize an unusual situation.  It was very aggravating to me and made me reflect on just how little patience people often can have in various situations of life.  I’ve been guilty of this a time or two as well.

Today, I have been reflecting on the need for patience as it applies to life and our overall successes in life as well as the need persistence.  Far too often we come into situations in life where we have little patience to wait for the result we are looking for.  This could be  as simple as waiting in line at a store or an event or as big as waiting to make a success out of ourselves in our careers.  We have become a society that is bent on give me this now that we forget to exercise  a level of patience in waiting for those things to come.  What is old saying…”The best things come to those who wait.”  A very simple and timeless saying.  It applies to everything in life.  Yet with that simple saying, we put that aside when it comes to what it is we want.

Patience is something that needs to be practiced throughout life.  I know it’s not always easy.  I have my moments where I can get very impatient too.  It is part of our human nature I guess.  With that however, we must learn that when we are after a particular goal, we cannot expect to always achieve that goal instantly.  My career and education has been a practice of patience.  I used to get frustrated after I finished my undergraduate when I did not realize those salary goals that the admins insisted I would achieve.  Then I realized that i had to be patient for the right opportunity, so I continued working hard and advancing my educational learning even through today.  Napoleon Hill stated that, “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”  This is true with everything I have learned to realize.  You have to keep working persistently toward those goals knowing that the reward will come.  Don’t let yourself get frustrated when it does not come instantly.  It usually never does come instantly.

The Bible also tells us that patience is needed.  Colossians 1:11 states, “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.”  Our journey of faith requires patience as well.  There are many times when we pray to the Lord for something and all too often when we don’t think He has answered those prayers when get angry and sometimes resentful thinking He is not listening to us.  When are praying and seeking God, this is a time where we need to practice even more patience.  We should in fact pray for the strength to find patience within us.  God knows all of our prayers and hears us always.  We cannot expect an answer on our time.  We are on His time always.  Be patient and listen and He will respond at the perfect moment whether you expect it or not.

Life is all about being patient for what it is we want to achieve.  It does not matter what pillar of life are driving at.  The biggest thing is to understand that no matter what the circumstance, big or small, patience is always needed.  If you are working toward something, be persistent about it but at the same time, don’t get so persistent that you forget restraint and lose patience.  Be persistent in your prayers.  As Jesus said, ““Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7.  Those words ring true through everything in life.  Be persistent in life, but never lose patience in that persistence.

Patience

A Lifetime of Doors

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We have all heard the saying that when one door closes, another one opens.  I posted a quote on the 4 Pillar Living Facebook page from Alexander Graham Bell that said “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.”  Our lives are filled with doors of opportunity at which we are left with the daunting of decision of stepping through or passing by.  When we reach those challenging moments in life where a door closes, as Alexander Graham Bell mentioned, people often times stair at the closed door and don’t look forward to the new ones.  A example of this is going through a layoff.  I have been there before.  For me, it was right after my second child was born and on my wife’s birthday of all days.  That was a difficult time, but I knew that at that moment, I had the opportunity before me to do something better.  I could sit and sulk or bust my tail to open the next door, which I did.

These doors opportunities start when we are kids as well.  As a parent, I want to help my children be able to crash through those doors and make the most of every opportunity that’s presented to them.  We have taught all three of them that they have to set their mind to what it is they want in life and then take the steps to achieve that goal.  They also know that through each door of opportunity that comes their way, is another opportunity to do great things and further glorify God in how they tackle those opportunities.  As adults, I want my children to always be able to understand that they can have whatever it is in life they set their mind to do, if God wills it.  If they continue to seek Him, He will show the doors that are meant to be opened in life.

I bring my children up as an example of how doors of opportunity continue to come our way.  I have a son with passions to be a chef, another that plays competitive travel baseball with desires to play professionally, and my daughter plays competitive travel softball with desires to play professionally as well.  Each of them has before them several doors they can take as kids and teenagers that can lead them toward their goals or lead them away toward other areas of life, good or bad.  This is the same throughout all of life.  We can either crash through the doors of opportunity or sit back and let fears, doubts, and temptations take us through alternating doors.

Now, you may think, I have heard a lot of this before.  This is true.  These same things I am talking about are lessons many of us have received from our parents or others we have looked up to in life.  The problem that may of us have, however is that when we come to these doors of opportunity, we either shy away, or when we open them, we step through very timidly.  2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”  These are our golden opportunities to stare that fear down and come crashing through those doors.  Don’t open them with fear, even if it is totally new and unknown territory.  I have said that few times in this blog.  Crash through those doors.  Have confidence in yourself that you can make the most of the opportunity ahead.  People who excel in life take the challenge that is before them.  Learn from each door and always press forward through the next one.

 

Don’t Wait…Just Do!

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A significant challenge that many of us face in life is deciding which avenues to pursue.  Trying to find go after that one thing in life that speaks to our hearts and lights a fire inside.  When we do find that something, we are often pulled back by fear or uncertainty of the unknown, especially when it is something that is far different from the usual path of life.  I have been at that cross roads.  It can be a scary place if you let it be.  So what are the fears that hold people back?  It could be fear of not making money, fear of what others would say, or even fear of being successful.  For whatever the reason is, it can be easy to avoid this road of the unknown and stay in a place that feels “safe” and does not really rock the boat of life.  I have learned though, that doing this is one of the sure fire ways to keep you from coming alive.  You may say, but I work hard at what I do and have made a good living at it.  My only question to you then is, do you love what you do and does it have meaning and purpose to you.  If you say yes, then good for you.   If you say no, however, then there is something missing, but only you can figure out what that is.

My quote of the day on my Facebook page is by Howard Thurman, which says, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.” This quote spoke very loudly to me today and it should to so many of us.  What the world needs for more people to come alive.  You cannot come alive if you wallow in misery doing something that you hate doing.  Loving the work you do is so instrumental to being alive.  I have met many people who beam with joy at their jobs because they do something that has meaning to them and that is what they wanted to do.

Earl Nightingale defined success as being “The progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”  To be a success you have to set your mind at something that you want to accomplish and then take the steps to realize that goal.  If you begin to move toward that goal you are already successful and the benefits of that will show itself over time.  Nothing happens overnight, so you cannot expect that, but if you take real steps toward a particular goal, it can and will happen.

Once you find that particular goal you want to shoot for, be it your dream job at a particular company, the journey to start your own business, or anything for that matter, you have to push aside any fear that stands in your way of that goal.  Any goal toward doing what it that you love to do and gives you fire and passion in your life is worth going after.  Avoid the naysayer and go forward.  As John Maxwell says, make  the changes in your life that are necessary to create an environment for growth.  That dream will not fall in your lap by any means if you stand by hoping things will change.  You have have to make those changes in your life to allow those goals to come to life and to realize what is a worth ideal.

DON’T WAIT…JUST DO!!!!

Surrounded by Passion and Success

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I just had one amazing weekend! Having never been in an environment like this, I was blessed with an amazing opportunity. I traveled with my brother, Rob, to Franklin, TN outside Nashville, to the 48 Days Sanctuary for their 2012 Christmas Open House. At this event I was afforded an opportunity to network with many entrepreneurs who have taken the road to freedom to pursue purposeful lives and work. This whole weekend I was like a sponge. I got to listen to people talk about their many pursuits and how they have journeyed through life to be free. The energy and passion in everyone here was absolutely awe inspiring. I have never been in a setting where people were just all about their own dreams. There was an absolutely genuine sense of happiness among everyone. You do not see that very often.

Throughout this weekend, I grew immensely as a building leader and entrepreneur  It built a stronger feeling that the decision to go down this road was the right decision. It may not always be easy, but I know God is pointing me to work that is my purpose, will be meaningful, and that I will love. God has laid out a path for each one of us and the choices in our lives are built around finding that path and living it out. The people you surround yourself with in life bring further influence into how you move  toward God’s path. This weekend was a breading ground of success and just these few hours helped to build more confidence in myself that I can do this and so can anyone else who feels they may be stuck in that career that is not right for them and that is stifling their lives.

While at the 48 Days Sanctuary  I took times to step away and walk around the property to process and think about the experience and what it means for me. I took in the wonderful scenery and just contemplated it all. What a beautiful place Dan and Joanne Miller have, by the way. After this weekend, I have made a definitive decision in who I will surround myself with into the future to help drive my own aspirations. People like those the 48 Days Family are who I need to be around. When you surround yourself with people that drive your energy, you will be energized yourself. The energy here was amazing.

In your own life, be aware of those you surround yourself with. If you are around people that sulk in their work and our miserable in what they do, chances are that you will fall down that same path. If you have dreams and passions you want to pursue, surround yourself with those that help you bring out those passions, that will drive you to successes in your passions and give you fulfillment in life. It is part of a key that will unleash your full God given potential.

48 Days Eagle