On January 8, 2009, I began this blog. In my very first post, one of the things I wrote was this:
"...I realized that I am being called to try something different. I feel called to use my knowledge, experience, gifts and talents to develop a new type of ministry -- a ministry that develops the individual so that he or she can then make an even greater difference in the world. For if there is one thing I have witnessed over the years, time and time again, it is that people who are healthier in body, mind, and spirit, are usually the ones who are better able to minister to others. By taking better care of themselves, they end up being better equipped to take care of the people around them."
Unfortunately, a few months later I found myself in a position where I needed to spend more time taking care of myself and my family. I was employed by a failing auto parts company, and forced to work in Juarez -- the current murder capitol of Mexico (and the world, if I'm not mistaken). I decided that much of the time that I had been devoting to online publishing should be used to prepare for and find a new job in a safer part of the country.
Well... I succeeded! After 7 months and over 75 customized resumes (not to mention the countless pages of online applications, phone interviews, etc.), I landed a better job, earning a better wage, with excellent benefits, and tremendous career potential. Oh... and did I mention that I don't have to venture into Juarez every day? (When was the last time you landed a job that drastically increased your life expectency?)
Here we are -- a year after starting this blog and 8 months since my last post -- and I'm ready to start writing once more. Over the coming weeks and months, I'll share with you the lessons I learned while searching for a new job, as well as the support and sacrifice that I needed from my family. I'll also spend some time documenting my continuing quest for fitness which, unfortunately, continues to elude me at times. And as always, there will be plenty of thoughts about faith and spirituality, which tends to be the glue that holds everything else together.
So, my friends... shall we try this again?
Train hard and pray harder,
~Brandon
Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Evolution or Revolution?
It's easy to look at my life and come up with all sorts of things that I should change. Because I'm not perfect (really... just ask my wife), there are always new skills I want to learn, and old skills I want to improve; new knowledge I want to gain, and old knowledge I should brush up on; new habits I should develop, and old habits I need to change.
Is it just me, or do you see a pattern there too?
It seems that my life is a constant battle between the old and the new, and I'm not always sure which one should win. For instance, old habits aren't necessarily bad, but are they helping me as much as they should? Would I better off tweaking the old habit or trying to drop it altogether and replace it with a new habit? The same is true for skills and knowledge. Do I work towards an evolution of my abilities, or should I be striving for a revolution? Steady change or upheaval?
When I read about people who have become very successful, I find myself longing for revolutionary change. I want to be like that person! The skills, knowledge, and habits that they've developed could propel me to success too! I should scrap the things I've been working on and make massive change! Re-engineer my life! Woo-hoo!
Luckily, the initial euphoria wears off and my common sense and better judgment prevail.
The skills, knowledge, and habits we need are the ones that support what's important to us. They are the tools we need to move us towards our goals and answer our calling, whatever it may be. If we come across a new skill, some excellent new knowledge, or a great new habit, and it would be useful on our journey, then we should embrace it.
That doesn't mean we need to scrap everything else... or anything else, for that matter. If it makes sense to exchange the new thing for an old thing, that's fine. If it ends up being a revolutionary change for us, then that's fine too -- as long as it improves our ability to answer our calling.
Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon
Is it just me, or do you see a pattern there too?
It seems that my life is a constant battle between the old and the new, and I'm not always sure which one should win. For instance, old habits aren't necessarily bad, but are they helping me as much as they should? Would I better off tweaking the old habit or trying to drop it altogether and replace it with a new habit? The same is true for skills and knowledge. Do I work towards an evolution of my abilities, or should I be striving for a revolution? Steady change or upheaval?
When I read about people who have become very successful, I find myself longing for revolutionary change. I want to be like that person! The skills, knowledge, and habits that they've developed could propel me to success too! I should scrap the things I've been working on and make massive change! Re-engineer my life! Woo-hoo!
Luckily, the initial euphoria wears off and my common sense and better judgment prevail.
The skills, knowledge, and habits we need are the ones that support what's important to us. They are the tools we need to move us towards our goals and answer our calling, whatever it may be. If we come across a new skill, some excellent new knowledge, or a great new habit, and it would be useful on our journey, then we should embrace it.
That doesn't mean we need to scrap everything else... or anything else, for that matter. If it makes sense to exchange the new thing for an old thing, that's fine. If it ends up being a revolutionary change for us, then that's fine too -- as long as it improves our ability to answer our calling.
Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Feelings Should Trump Emotions
I spent many years working with teens and had countless informal counseling sessions during that time. One of the things I often tried to help teens do was draw a distinction between feelings and emotions. Emotions are fleeting, flashes in the pan that come and go, changing with the wind. Feelings, on the other hand, run much deeper and are intricately tied to our experiences, our knowledge, and our basic beliefs and understandings of creation and the creator.
Remember the first time you held the hand of that special someone? Your heart raced and the butterflies in your stomach went crazy! You would have given anything to spend the rest of your life together!
That's an emotion... and it's fleeting. A month later, holding hands doesn't do anything except get your hand all sweaty. What you felt before wasn't love; it was some form of excitement, but nothing deeper than that.
After you've been married for 13 years, you argue once in a while (but quickly forgive), you hold hands without thinking when you're walking into the grocery store, you really enjoy just being in the same room watching TV or reading a magazine, and you can't even imagine what life would be like with anyone else... that's a feeling. It's love that runs deep, is based upon experience, knowledge of the other person, and an understanding of one's own beliefs. At some level, it is also based upon a conscious decision -- a choice -- and we continue to make the choice every day.
As I look at successful people around me, it seems that passion is an emotion, but it stems from a choice that people have made. And the more deep-seated the feelings behind that choice, the more likely it is that passion will erupt.
It is very rare to find someone who is passionate all the time, regardless of their "cause". But when they've chosen their cause in line with their fundamental beliefs, they will continue to succeed even during those times when the passion isn't there. They will keep moving forward, even when most people would lose energy and fizzle out. They will push, and push, and eventually something will change and the passion will return, for at least a while.
Passion is an emotion and is usually fleeting. But if you make your choices based upon what truly matters to you, then you'll have the drive to make it through during times when passion fails. And that is a critical key to success, because feelings should trump emotions every time.
Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon
Remember the first time you held the hand of that special someone? Your heart raced and the butterflies in your stomach went crazy! You would have given anything to spend the rest of your life together!
That's an emotion... and it's fleeting. A month later, holding hands doesn't do anything except get your hand all sweaty. What you felt before wasn't love; it was some form of excitement, but nothing deeper than that.
After you've been married for 13 years, you argue once in a while (but quickly forgive), you hold hands without thinking when you're walking into the grocery store, you really enjoy just being in the same room watching TV or reading a magazine, and you can't even imagine what life would be like with anyone else... that's a feeling. It's love that runs deep, is based upon experience, knowledge of the other person, and an understanding of one's own beliefs. At some level, it is also based upon a conscious decision -- a choice -- and we continue to make the choice every day.
As I look at successful people around me, it seems that passion is an emotion, but it stems from a choice that people have made. And the more deep-seated the feelings behind that choice, the more likely it is that passion will erupt.
It is very rare to find someone who is passionate all the time, regardless of their "cause". But when they've chosen their cause in line with their fundamental beliefs, they will continue to succeed even during those times when the passion isn't there. They will keep moving forward, even when most people would lose energy and fizzle out. They will push, and push, and eventually something will change and the passion will return, for at least a while.
Passion is an emotion and is usually fleeting. But if you make your choices based upon what truly matters to you, then you'll have the drive to make it through during times when passion fails. And that is a critical key to success, because feelings should trump emotions every time.
Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Passion!
Passion. It's something you read about all the time. The small business owner who continues to thrive in this down economy. The athlete who does amazing things without the use of performance enhancing drugs. The missionary who braves jungles and armed militia to bring medicine to small villages. All of these people are passionate about what they're doing. They feel so strongly about their chosen endeavor that it gives them strength and energizes them every day when they arise, ready to take on the world all over again!
Passion! That's what we need in order to succeed at following our dreams!
Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Don't you wish you felt that way about something? If you do, that's wonderful, and I'm extremely happy for you. Unfortunately, most people don't have that sort of fire in their souls. And when they do find something to be passionate about, those feelings are often far too fleeting.
Want some concrete examples? Start randomly checking out the blogs available on Blogger.com or other blogging platforms. Go back to their earliest archives, and you'll almost always see a flurry of activity, with tons of posts, links and trackbacks. But as you continue through the archives, witnessing the evolution of the blog, you'll almost certainly see the posts become fewer and farther between... until the posts end altogether. Obviously the blogger started out with passion, but fizzled out in the end.
Is passion sustainable? Are there things we can do to stay passionate about something? Or is there something else that drives people, and passion is merely an outward expression of it?
A few things to think about until next time.
Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon
Passion! That's what we need in order to succeed at following our dreams!
Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Don't you wish you felt that way about something? If you do, that's wonderful, and I'm extremely happy for you. Unfortunately, most people don't have that sort of fire in their souls. And when they do find something to be passionate about, those feelings are often far too fleeting.
Want some concrete examples? Start randomly checking out the blogs available on Blogger.com or other blogging platforms. Go back to their earliest archives, and you'll almost always see a flurry of activity, with tons of posts, links and trackbacks. But as you continue through the archives, witnessing the evolution of the blog, you'll almost certainly see the posts become fewer and farther between... until the posts end altogether. Obviously the blogger started out with passion, but fizzled out in the end.
Is passion sustainable? Are there things we can do to stay passionate about something? Or is there something else that drives people, and passion is merely an outward expression of it?
A few things to think about until next time.
Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon
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