Don't Die Wondering What If...

The last I heard our mortality rate is 100%.  I know this sounds morbid, but the fact of the matter is, at some point we all die.  Someone once said, "You don't get out of this life alive."   There are no do-over’s at the end of your life.  This is no dress rehearsal it’s the real deal.

Numerous interviews have been conducted with elderly people who were staring the end of their time on earth as to, “What regrets about how your lived your life?” And, “If you had your life to live over what would you do different?”

The answers are amazing, because almost to a person, their responses are all very similar and memorable.

It is easy to get so caught up in our careers, the daily activity of just surviving, and material possessions, that we lose sight of what is really important in life.  Things such as, developing our relationship with our Creator, fulfilling our purpose in life, spending quality time with our families and our friends, loving others and telling them so with our actions as well as our words, and the list goes on.

A few years ago, Tim McGraw, recorded a song that became a HUGE hit entitled, "Live Like You Were Dying."  I think the reason it became such a big hit is because it resonated with everyone that heard it and because it stopped people in their tracks and forced them to reevaluate how they were living their lives.  I know it did for me.

Our challenge in life is to live each day to its fullest.  I am learning to be present in the moment, engaged in the process, find joy even in the hard times, and to focus on what really matters.  As Brendon Bruchard says, “At the end of everyday you should ask yourself the following questions: Did I Live?  Did I Love?  Did I Matter?”  I have added a fourth question that I ask myself as well, “Did I Laugh?”

Don’t wait until it’s too late to live the life God has created you to live. Regret is a horrible thing.  Don't do anything today that you will regret tomorrow.  Refuse to be among those who face the end of their lives wondering "What if...."  (Don't forget to click read more to read the rest of the article.)

Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee Beans - How Do You Respond to Adversity?

At one time or another we all go through difficult, disappointing, and challenging times.  Times that try our faith and patience.   None of us are immune to the tough times life brings our way.

We shouldn't be surprised when adversity knocks on our door, but I can honestly say (with conviction) when trouble shows up in my life I usually am caught off guard and surprised by it. I shouldn't be but most of the time I am.  After all, Jesus taught us, "In this world you shall have tribulation (another word for trouble and adversity) but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world."

Yes, we but all face difficult, unexpected, tough, and disappointing times in life,  however, I have learned (and am still learning) that it's not what happens that matters, it's how we respond.

How do you respond when facing adversity?  Do you become bitter or better?  Do you become soft or hard?  Do you tuck tail and run?  Do you give up or keep trying?  Or, do you use your faith and positive action to change the circumstances?

You Are Not a Failure...Unless You Believe You Are

Motivational speaker and author Van Crouch says, “You’re not finished when you’re defeated, you’re finished when you quit.” Winners in life understand that failing is part of success. You can’t know victory if you don’t have a battle. There is nothing like the joy of something good happening for you like you do after you've experienced something negative.

The truth is “Bad things happen to good people.” Jesus once said, “In this world you shall have tribulation.” (John 16:33) In other words, you are going to have some bumps on the road to success. Things aren't always going to be rosy. People that see themselves as winners simply pick themselves up after a setback and move on. If you have a dream, and you are actively pursuing it, you are going to fall short from time to time. It’s not what happens to you that is most important; it’s what happens in you!

Failure is not an event, it is an opinion. You are not a failure until you say you are. Every time you fail you simply learn how not to do something! We learn a lot from trial and error. Jay Leno, host of the Tonight Show, spends his Sunday evenings going to comedy clubs and practicing his jokes for upcoming monologues. Some go over well and some bomb. But he is not deterred. Just because a joke fails doesn't mean he is a failure. He learns from his mistakes and continues to hone his craft. The result is success when he performs his monologue on a nightly basis.

Winners are not people that never get knocked down; they are people who refuse to stay down. There is something in the heart of a champion that won’t let them give up regardless of what they are going through. We've all witnessed it watching sporting events. Just when you think there is no way a team or an individual has a chance to win, they find a way to win anyways. They understand that they aren't finished as long as they don’t quit. Failure is not in the falling down but in the giving up!

Two of my favorite people from history are Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln. It is reported that Thomas Edison did 10,000 experiments before he found a filament for the light bulb. Someone once said to him, “so you've failed 10,000 times.” His response, “No I found 10,000 things that didn't work!” Abraham Lincoln failed at business and numerous forays into the political arena before he was elected the sixteenth President of the United States of America. He goes down as perhaps the greatest or at least one of the greatest Presidents of all time. The common denominator between both of these great men of history is they never viewed themselves as failures.

Here are some questions to ponder in your pursuit of accomplishment.

• How do you see yourself?
• Do you see yourself as a success or a failure?
• What do you do when what you are attempting doesn't seem to be working?
• Do you give up and quit?
• Or, do you get up and find a way to do it anyways?

My challenge to you today is that you begin to see yourself as the winner God says you are. Refuse to let setbacks hold you back from fulfilling your life purpose and accomplishing what you are capable of. Choose to use failures and setbacks as stepping stones to reaching your goals and enjoying a successful life! Say like the Apostle Paul of old, “I can do all things through Christ which gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

You are not a failure!