What's Holding You Back?

A friend of mine and I were talking this week, and at one point he laughed as he said, "You write books and I barely even read them."  

My two recent book projects are very different - one’s a research project involving several languages (luckily, the primary sources of these several hundred-year old documents are written in a foreign language that I speak).  But, there are a few other languages that “pop up” as I follow this factual trail back four hundred years.  It slows my progress, and sometimes - if I’m honest with myself - derails me for several days or even a week or two. 

Thinking more about what he said over the week (knowing he indeed reads yet still making a good point), I realized that “Millennials” get the bad wrap for being disinterested, wrought with attention deficits, or other self-absorbed entitlement descriptions.  Think about your own ascribed attributes for your “class” - economic category, race, gender, sexual orientation.  How many things about you are wrong because they aren’t about you but rather statements of perception?

Maybe ‘millennials might not read’ because there isn’t much worth reading.  Short lack-luster articles are posted by news outlets for rapid-fire consumption.  Truth be told, I don’t read those things much either - so why would I assume it’s the person’s fault and not the access to quality items for this problem?  

Being more considerate and thoughtful about “problems” (i.e. millennials have attention issues), it might be the definition is wrong… bored with what is being spoon-fed, they need challenges and seek their own path when not supported by the mainstream community - and by not letting what others say hold them back - Hello, Google!

It’s easy to fall into the “trap” of using ascribed status (meaning that which is written or said about “your kind of people”) than blazing forward to do more for your personal achieve status (the things you earn by your talent and vision).  If you can dream it, you can do it. 

Yes, things slow us down.  For me, it was language - but I recently got inspired again and have set a deadline to add another achievement to my dream list.  It’s not a bucket list - that’s doing what other people have done before and you’d like to try.  A dream list includes things YOU want to do for yourself.

These six women show how someone dreamed it and they did it - being recognized isn’t the reason for doing things.  Sometimes, you just need to prove to yourself you can.  Change your attitude and amaze yourself at what you can do.  Break through a wall, even if it’s accomplished one hit at a time.

https://www.upworthy.com/these-6-women-got-written-out-of-tech-history-theyre-finally-being-recognized?c=pop

Five Ways To Believe in Yourself Again

This is season of Lent, and many people are giving things up in order to refocus their lives.  Some see this as relinquishing aspects of overindulgence - sweets, alcohol, or particular food-types they somehow believe will make them better (carbs gone, red meat gone, gluten gone…) - while others add things to their routine such as getting back to the gym.

Rather than giving up things you enjoy (or adding things you may not enjoy), you would be healthier if you gave up the things that harm you.  The sacrifice is actually greater to give up unhealthy habits than indulgent pleasures - harder than giving up candy for forty days, but the rewards benefit you so much more!  Believe in yourself again by getting rid of dead “wait” - the proverbial weight that makes you second-guess yourself and keeps you from living.

It is an interesting parallel to taking shortcuts along the way.  Men and women forget the whole reason why they chose a certain path back “in the beginning.”  Do you remember?  Here’s how you eliminate your “dead wait” this season as you move toward great things:

1. Bust Out in Spring Cleaning

You’ve heard the phrase “there are people that come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.”  But many of us spend a lot of time on the relationships we have categorized as “a lifetime” rather than giving a lot of energy into “a reason” - trying to convert it to a season or a lifetime.  Spending and giving are two very different forms of remittance, and one means a whole lot more than the other.

We can’t help ourselves.  We get locked into habit.  This spring, this season, look at that list of contacts in your phone or your email, your social network and your business files.  That list represents names.  People.  Who matters most?  To whom should you give the most of your time?  “Create in me a clean heart” begins Psalms 51:10 - Clean up your priorities and make time for the right ones for the right reasons.

2. Encourage Yourself to “Go Blind”

While a blind date may not always be successful, when it comes to choosing your path going blind isn’t bad.  Rely on your heightened senses to guide you instead of your eyes deceiving you or making decision based on perception.  When “blind”, you aren’t making assumptions - you take action based on your gut - and our instincts are usually spot-on.  Blind means don’t look in the rear-view mirror, either.

Forget what lies behind you (Phil. 3:13’s introduction) and move toward what lies in front of you.  You know that doctors are saying don’t look down when walking, don’t test when walking, it bends your neck and causes a myriad of problems.  Don’t look down - don’t fret what’s ahead.  Know whatever is in front of you is better than what’s behind you: keep moving forward.

3. Imbibe in Things You Enjoy

At a crossroads in a friend’s life ten years ago, I asked him something to the effect of “what would you do if earning money was no object?” He immediately replied, “Be a carpenter.”  He liked the grains of the wood, designing pieces in his head, inhaling the scent as he sands the pieces, and he never forgets the color of pieces.  There was no hesitation in him.  

Enjoying life is important because the memory of joy stays with you even when you struggle (you guessed it - Ecc 8:15).  If you can’t make money at your passion yet, at least make sure you do something for fun on a regular basis.  Use your talent to bring joy to your life.  Filling your non-work hours with enjoyable pastimes reduces stress and increases your happiness. 

4. Remember Your Fairy Tale

There was a story about a nameless nobleman, who wanted to fight wrongdoings and bring justice to the world.  He finds a friend, looks to do good works, and eventually becomes discouraged.   You’d know the story if I told you it was Don Quixote a la Mancha - but you’d only be partially right.  You only remember the name and the place, but not the raison d’être. 

The first three words are the most important part of the tale - The Ingenious Gentleman.  Imagination and Ingenuity got him through his battles - he didn’t conform to the norm, and why should you?  1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us to look beyond the outer person and into the heart of their nature - look into your heart. Remember the WHOLE story of why you wanted to take those first steps and your real reason for being…

5. And…Never Say Never

What’s never been done is merely an opportunity for you to be the first to get to the finish line.  And don’t plan to just “get there” - blow right past your goal.  If you plan to go farther than you want, you know you will absolutely make it to where you want to be and beyond.  (I will let you find your own verse about being blessed!)

Frederica Mathewes-Green says, “Everyone wants to be transformed, but nobody wants to change.” If you never change, you never grow.  If you never reach, you never stretch.  Lent is a time for passion in miracles - you are a miracle and can do miraculous things.  

Take flight, have faith, be blessed, never forget your imagination - you will succeed!

Happy Mardi Gras

There's a time to relax... and just enjoy the music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wNSHPQj0W8&list=PL7C39819549B89FA4 

Older posts on business and leadership can be viewed here or at     http://www.rre-llc.com/blog.html 

(Picture taken by me this weekend, Carnival 2016)