When you look at yourself up close and personal, what do you see?

"Great impressions can be made from a distance, but reality can only be tested up close." Howard G. Hendricks

Up close and personal, thats where we feel the most vulnerable in both our business and personal relationships. We think that from a distance we can keep up the impression or the illusion of who we want people to think we are. Up close, is where it becomes very intense to maintain the artificial reality of what we want people to believe about us.

For most, the testing up close means we eventually have to let people in and give them a chance to see the real us. This means letting them behind our protective curtains which is very scary if we are trying to be someone we are really not.

The older I get, it becomes easier to make the real impression up close first, realizing it becomes so much clearer to everyone from a distance. To let the real you be seen here are four things that will make it easier for you.

1. Establish and maintain a peace with your self about who your really are.
2. Don’t expect people to think you are perfect, your not and they already know it
3. Don’t expect everyone to be like you, because they won't.
4. Be an encourager not a discourager up close and from a distance.

If you can put these four thoughts in your mind and internalize them, the impression you will make up close and from a distance will be changed forever.

Go for Greatness Today!

Bouncing Back from the Bottom

"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom"  General George S. Patton.

Bouncing back is not something we tend to measure in American Business. Too often we simply look at achievements and resumes without any knowledge of "bounce back". This is hard to measure and yet vitally important when trying to surround yourself with people who will not let you down when the storm clouds of business roll into to your life.

If a person is being honest they have hit bottom at least one time in their life. Rarely does a person go through life without failure.

The key is how they bounce back.  There are several examples, some lay flat at the bottom, others quickly get up but are gun shy to try again, others process and learn from their failure or the situations.

As you push your own square rocks up very steep hills, be aware that as you add people to help your persue your dream what is their "bounce back" experience.  If they do not have it, they may earn it under your leadership, and that could be a painful experience for both of you.   Rock Pushers have no patience for those who will not get back up from failure.

God revealing Himself through quiet focused reflection

This morning at the barn it begin to rain, there was a slight wind at first.  On the horizon I began to  look at many large trees as the storm grew stronger. At a scan of the horizon the tress appeared not to be  moving with the storm's wind.  However, when concentrating on a single tree in the distance I saw movement. It started ever so slightly and as I watched the single tree seemed to move more.  

Taking my eyes away from the single tree to the horizon of many trees, the movement appeared to stop. 

So it is with Faith and our all mighty God.  We look to the horizon of the future and cannot see God appearing to doing anything.   It is easy to see God's hand up close just as it is easy to see movement in the trees in the forefront of of vision. 

My problem I want to see the future through the eyes of the horizon. The view of the horizon always gives us more chances to see God at work . It gives us more opportunities to choose where we want to go, not necessarily where God wants to lead us.  

Maybe God is wanting me to stop and focus on a single tree and I will readily see my God is alive and active in my life handcrafting a single event in my life in the future. I need to narrow my faith focus to that one small tree in the horizon.  Then be prepared to follow God in that one direction of  a single tree moving ever so slight through the power his wind.  

Thanks be to God

Do not allow the Bullies of Life to keep you from Greatness!

"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today it seems more than ever we are surrounded by bullies. The thought of engaging bullies causes many of us to live a timid life of fear. We make safe choices so as never to come close to the bullies that seem to hover around the opportunities of greatness we are in pursuit of.

Only when we decide to confront those bullies and grab their beard and yank it off do we find that fear has needlessly cost us valuable time in our pursuit of opportunities. When we allow Bullies to keep us from our pursuits we find ourselves mired in the mediocrity of a life of "what ifs".

For the determined, bullies are simply roadblocks keeping you from the realization of your dreams. Do not be timid today, but rather understand that it will be necessary to grab the beards of those blocking your path to greatness. With one committed yank of their beard you will expose them for what they are and allow yourself to move one step close to your goals and dreams. How you engage the bullies placed in your path defines who you are.

Its all in you Mind

An anonymous source once said, “Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind.”

What great things man achieves are a direct result of his own thoughts. How we think does affect every aspect of lives. Most times what we think, "feels" real to us. When we think the same things over and over again they become an attitude. The older I get the harder those mental attitudes are to change.

To many of us there is a scriptural connection between our thoughts and the rest of our lives.. Proverbs 23:7 say,For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Our thoughts are the thing that is closest to us in life. They are with us 24/7. We have the ability to choose our thoughts and decide what we will think. Most times we simply process what comes in.

Our thoughts fill up from what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. The only way a thought gets put into action is from our mouths. The old saying now makes perfect sense to me as an adult, "Be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little mouths what you say"!

Avoid those things that will put those negative or harmful thoughts into your thinking so you will be able to change your life by changing your mind!

Go for greatness today.

Joshua, a Study of Being Strong and Courageous God's Way

Over the next few weeks we are going to study Joshua.  The man and the book.  Before we can get into the Book of Joshua, we need to examine who Joshua was and his past that put him in the position to lead the nation of Israel into the promised land.

The best way to look at who Joshua was is to simply look at the scriptures that mention Joshua prior to the start of Joshua Chapter 1. 

Here are some of the key things we can learn.  

1.  God had plans for Joshua from the very first battle.  

2.  Joshua was mentored by Moses and God

3.  Joshua spent more time with or close to God than any other man in the bible besides Moses

4.  God wanted Joshua to remember who was in control, God!

5.  God knew Joshua would need encouragement his whole life. 

Weekly Take Away’s

• God had a back up for Moses from the start. Both God and Moses mentored Joshua
• Just hanging out with God  can have a powerful and positive impact on your life
• Dont go with the flow when God is telling you to go a different direction
• Are you strong and courageous?
• Joshua’s wisdom and leadership came from God, where are you and I getting our wisdom today

QUESTIONS WE MAY DISCUSS:

1. Why did God want Moses to write down and “rehearse it in the ears of Joshua”, the battle with the Amalek’s
2. How close was Joshua to God when the glory of God settled on Mount Sinai?
3. Do you notice that as the Mentor, Moses knew when he should handle things vs letting Joshua handle a situation?
4. The Tent of Meeting: where was Joshua when Moses was in conference with God?
5. What caused the nation of Israel to want to stone Joshua?
6. How do you think the nation of Israel treated Joshua when they were all told they were going to die in the desert but not him?
7. How do you think Moses felt about Joshua?

When facing the impossible, are you persistent?

Persistence is what makes the impossible possible, the possible likely, and the likely definite. --Robert Half

Do you pride yourself on being persist? Its an action that requires effort on our part. In fact, it requires a repeated action our on our part. Persistence is the cousin of consistent. It is the seemingly impossible that most of us are overwhelmed by so we move away to something else. Yet persistent action, persistent follow up, persistent attention can lead to making the impossible possible. We just are not determined enough to start.

When impossible moves to likely is the time many of us decide that since it has a chance so we throw some persistent effort at it. No one is really surprised when the likely turns into definite.

Today, as you look at the impossibles in your life, decide to throw a little persistence at those situations. What do you have to risk? Persistence is an asset you can never run out of, the more you throw at a situation the more results you will see. Persistence in a seemingly impossible situation may be the first steps towards a definite success.

Go for greatness today.

All of us should have on our tombstone, "they were a salesman!"

Unless the man who works  is able to "sell" himself and his ideas, unless he has the power to convince others of the soundness of his convictions, he can never achieve his goal.  He may have the best ideas in the world, he may have plans which would revolutionize entire industries. But unless he can persuade others that his ideas are good, he will never get the chance to put them into effect.  Stripped of non-essentials, all activity is a sales battle. And everyone in business or in service must be a salesman.  "Robert E M Cowie"

For years I have been told I must be a great salesman.  Yet for the past 22 years I been the President and CEO of several different companies.  For many years when I was told this,  I bristled at the comment, because I thought it was not the perception I was trying to achieve as the CEO of the company.

Then I came across this quote and it refocused my understanding of selling.  We are all sales people. The owner of the flower shop, attorneys, home builders, bankers, and yes even police and elected officials.  We are all selling something each and every day of our lives.

Sadly, there are people you interact with everyday with great ideas and plans, but cannot "sell" them to anyone else.  Imagine the impact if those "unsold" ideas could be presented and accepted into practice.

Those who understand the fact that no matter what the profession, no matter what the situation, they are a salesman generally will be those on the side of victory in life.

Greatness is only achieved by those who can convince others that their ideas, their products, their cases and their laws can make a difference.  Our goal each day should be to sell something, at the very least ourselves. So go out today and sell something.

The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and- ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' the pig was 'committed'.

Do you want to be involved or committed to the project.  Every Rock pusher starts in this state at the bottom of a very steep hill with a vision and then has one final question:

Am I committed to this Rock and this Hill?

You cannot be lukewarm (involved) and be committed at the same time or you will surely fail.  There's a difference between lukewarmness and commitment. When you're lukewarm in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

Too many of us today have been trained since birth to “hedge” our bets in all areas of our lives. The result is a bunch lukewarm Americans not really committed to anything, but lukewarm about everything. Because if we are lukewarm it appears that we can never fail at anything.

When Cortez landed in Mexico he was committed, but he carried along with him a bunch of lukewarm sailors.  Things got tough and they wanted to return home.  Cortez knew what he had to do, he burned the ships so there was no turning back, he was not lukewarm.

Commitment means there is no turning back. The uncommitted move on to other things when the going gets tough. Examine where you are on the hill of life with your square rocks, are you simply involved like the chicken or committed like the pig?

Creating a great organization consists of assembling a team to respond like thoroughbreds. When you cluck to a thoroughbred, he give you all the speed and strength of heart and sinew he has in him. When you cluck to a jackass, he kicks.

Greatness is achieved by training a team to respond to your leadership.  As this example suggests.  Brevity is essential. It takes a lot of paitence and hard work to establish a "communication language" with your team, but once its in place it creates a powerful stream of momentum.  

You will find that you no longer have to communicate with a lot of words, sometimes its a gesture or a glance and your team can spring into action.  

However, just like this example there are some who will never understand the language by which you lead.  So today, evaluate your team. Have you create an organization of throughbreds who can "kick in" with great ease, or are you dealing with a team of "jackasses" who just kick everytime you try to lead.  

Worry kills Momentum

Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.  "Arthur Roche"

When pushing your dream up the hill of life you need a clear mind.  Worry is the first step towards fear and fear creates inertia.  Inertia brings momentum to a standstill.

Have your ever noticed that worry can dominate a day.  What dominates your day and your nights will build and if its worry it will eventually become fear.  Here are a few facts on fear.  60% of your fears are unfounded, 20% are already behind you, 10% are so petty that they do not make any real difference, 5% are real, but we cannot do anything about them, and finally, 5% are real and we can do something about them.

So as we understand fear, it is important to process that we can only really control 5% of the things we fear. Today,  take a few minutes to figure out what buckets the streams of worry are in your life.  If they end up in the 95% buckets move on you can do nothing about them. Then figure out how to deal with the issues where you can affect the outcome.

Remember, you have to choose to worry, and when you do it affects everything that you think or do, and left unchecked it can lead to fear.  So you may not have as much to fear as you thought!!

Godspeed, and have a worry free day.

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. "Glen Clark"

As we push our heavy square rocks up the hill of life, many times it is important to travel light. We have all seen Hollywood depict this concept with an airplane full of people escaping danger only to find the plane is too heavy.  They begin to throw things off the plane until they have lightened the load. Dramatically, they may even throw off a fellow passenger.

Its always surprising to look at this quote and see the heavy baggage that may be slowing us down in our quest for greatness. Its not stuff that we have acquired, its those things that make our hearts heavy and our minds full of thoughts that take us off our focus.  Things like envy, jealousy, grudges, selfishness and fear. Be honest, we all carry some or all of these weights each day as we push toward success. Throwing off these weights will empower you to move faster each day and clear your mind to focus on the task at hand, not the negative thoughts they may contribute to your failure.

Only YOU know the heavy baggage you need to throw off to travel and faster and lighter. Success requires a single minded focus on the rock you are pushing today.  There is no room for the baggage of envy, grudges, jealousy, or fear.  Great is the man who can see their own baggage and be able to leave it at the bottom of the hill as they push towards success. Pity the man who proudly retains these weights for he may be the one thrown off the airplane the next time a "weight" problem develops.

Every great man is always being helped by everybody; for his gift is to get good out of all things and all persons. "John Ruskin"

Greatness is rarely achieved alone.  While it may start with a single person or solitary idea, true achievement always needs help.  Great leaders understand this concept. Too often great leaders have "Great Egos" that result in the failure of both the leader and the idea.  If the leader does not know how to get "good" out of those they lead, they get no help when they need it most.  No one wants to help the leader who always acts like they need no one's help in achieving success.

The leader who has created an environment of "help" has figured out how to focus on the good within the team.  Balance strong leadership with an openness that that allows the team "to help" you push uphill towards success. If you are making the achievement about your success then the team may not be inclined to help when it is needed the most.

There is a saying "drop the hammer and pick up the shovel".  If your leadership style is one of beating the team with a hammer to achieve your greatness, over time the hammer becomes very heavy and there will be no one to help you lift it.  Greatness is achieved by being able to pick up the shovel and lead by example. Show the team how to take their "good" and make it great.   With this attitude, the team will advance with you to the top of the hill called success. When you stumble (and you will) the team is there to help you succeed. Because they know your success is their success and together you all win.

What lifestyle am I showing everyone I have?

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 6: 6-7)

Looking at these verses as a whole in today's words, they guide us to a christian lifestyle. A lifestyle is defined as a way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group.

God gave us rules and told us to put them in our hearts. We are to impress, on our children. We are to talk about them ALL the time. What our hearts and minds are focused on define our lifestyle. What lifestyle are we projecting to our fellow works, our neighbors, and the "one anothers" we come into contact with.

Does the word of God permeate all of our actions from morning to evening. Is your last thought at night about God and the first thoughts when you wake up to acknowledge God. Thats what these verses are talking about. These commandments were the ten commandments, as a follower of Jesus Christ these commandants were expanded to include loving the one another's. When combined and followed they produce a lifestyle that flows out of our hearts.

If someone looked at my "lifestyle" what would they see? What would they observe based on my words and actions. Would they say, He is a Christian, you can tell by his lifestyle. I rather doubt it. Many people try to obtain a lifestyle by acquiring stuff and showing it off to everyone. Few believe that following God is a lifestyle, its simply religion.

God tells us in these verses that lifestyle flows out of your heart. Your kids will follow the lifestyle you model. Lifestyle is something you are passionate about because you are focused on it 24/7.

Watch a persons attitude, follow what they are passionate about, where they spend their time. There you will see their lifestyle. For me its a simply question. Do I want to follow the lifestyle God has provided for us, or do I want to follow the lifestyle of my wants and desires in the flesh. Where is your heart today?

“A salesman is the act of one, on behalf of another, for the benefit of both.”

This is an unknown quote I came across many years ago.  While we do not know who wrote this quote, I am pretty sure that they had to have been a very successful sales person and rock pusher.

I challenge anyone to come up with a more descriptive definition of a selling in a fewer number of words.  While this quote applies to selling, I would argue that it also applies to life. Taken at the simplest level it is summary of a philosophy for selling and for life. 

Every great action starts with one person.  It may be an act of service, a product, or a passion to change the world.  It starts with the act of one.  Then as “one” comes together with “others” who are like-minded, they now act as a group.

For a great action to succeed it requires a motivation, through out history when one person acts on behalf of another, it creates a selfless path to success.  When the focus is not on “you” but on “them”, a culture of greatness is created. 

For this greatness to grow and multiply, the act of one must benefit both parties.  The “one” and “the another” must both feel that they have benefited during the process.  In sales this is pretty easy to measure.  Did the sales person use good judgment and provide a product or service that benefited the customer, if so they probably made a sale.

An act of one, on the behalf of another, for the benefit of both

Most of us know how to say nothing; few of us know when.

God gave us two ears vs one mouth for a reason.  We need to learn to listen more and talk less.  Too often we decide that to take control of a situation we need to talk. One might argue that the one who knows when to say nothing and let others talk is really in control. 

Years ago I heard a saying that I put into action. The saying was "he who talks first, generally loses".  I was selling typewriters for IBM and had gotten to the stage with a large company where it was time to close the sale.  As I stepped into the Presidents office (who I had not met before) I was a little intimidated. I explained the contract, pushed it across the desk and said, "press hard, there are three copies."  I sat back in my chair and waited, prepared not to utter another word.  I sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity as the CEO looked back from the contract to me.  Finally, the CEO looked at me and said, "I am late to lunch young man and you must practice the same philosophy I do.   "He who speaks first loses", smiling at me as he signed the contract. 

You see too often when we have said all there is to say, we do not know when to close our mouths and say nothing.  A look or body movement, and we want to resell the situation even after we have finished and answered all the questions.  The silence makes us nervous.  

When we begin to talk, we give others a reason not to act, they are having to listen which may encourage a new set of questions.  Its those new issues that may kill a deal that was already done.

So today, take a deep breath, keep you mouth shut and enjoy the silence in the situation you find yourself in.  It means that you are closer to success than you think.

Diamonds, Bricks, Dirt-clods, or Lumps of Coal; Who do you want on your team?

Better to be a strong man with a weak point than to be a weak man without a strong point.  A diamond with a flaw is more valuable than a brick without a flaw. " William Boetcker"

Building a team is essential in the success of any organization. As you look to build a team of strength, it is important to understand who you are surrounding yourself with and what are their weaknesses. Everyone you hire is going to have at least one weakness.  It is important to balance that weakness with the strength that they bring to the team.  My definition of a weakness is simply something that a person cannot claim as a strength.  With leadership these flaws can be moved into the strength column.

Those "diamonds" may have a flaw but they are still the most valuable members of your team.  How you manage and control that flaw that exists within the diamond is the most basic key to your success as a leader.

As great as that "diamond" candidate  may appear, it is still too risky to many leaders to hire a person  with a flaw.  It is always safer to hire the average person who may not shine as bright as the diamond, but does not seem to have any weak points.  An average person will never let you down, never surprise you, never challenge the direction of your leadership. A couple of things about the average person, those "bricks" that work with/for you.

If a person is average in the role they are in, they can never be great, because they are average.  No matter how hard you try to lead them, mold them, train them, encourage them, they will remain average.  As leaders we all think we are different, we can move an average person to greatness.  Great leaders understand they cannot change average, and recognize the fact that it takes the "diamonds" to advance a company to greatness.

Please understand, I am not against average. An average person may become great in another company or even another job within your company. They are simply average in the position they are currently serving. It is important to understand you will always have more average people in your organization than diamonds.

So, evaluate your team today. How many diamonds do you have?  How many bricks do you have?  How many dirt clods do you have?  As a leader you will achieve success as you balance the team between diamonds and bricks.  A proven trait of great leaders is to constantly be replacing the dirt clods as quickly as possible with diamonds, bricks, or lumps of coal.  Because anything is better than a dirt clod. It is the dirt clods that drag down an organization to mediocrity.

Do not be afraid to hire that lump of coal into your organization because if you apply constant pressure on a lump of coal it eventually becomes a diamond.  The visionary leader is the one who can successfully identify those lumps of coal that can become diamonds.

You will need bricks on your team, but keep in mind a bunch of bricks get very heavy on the steep hill of life. Many times the leader will have to carry the "average" on their back uphill to success. Carrying "average" can be an exhausting task for those in the quest of greatness if there are no diamonds helping to advance the team to success.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. "unknown"

Ideas. We all have them. They are up waiting to explode from the dark recesses of our thoughts.  Most times we never know when an idea is about to explode out into the foreground of our minds.  Everyday we have ideas on an unlimited number of topics.  The question is what will we do with those ideas. To advance an idea to reality you need the personal confidence to put it out on the table for inspection and comment as you push the idea forward into action.

In business, I practice the black bullet of death theory for all my ideas.  When idea emerges, I try to find the one big reason why it will not work.  Reasons like money, existing laws, time, and peoples opinions do not count as they can all be changed.  I am looking for that single reason that that the idea could not recover from.  If I do not find the black bullet I continue advancing the idea towards reality.

It will take courage to share your wild and crazy ideas with those close to you.  They are the ones who always care about you, and in my case they want to protect me from myself.  Take heart, all great ideas go thru three life cycles on the way to success.  1.  It can't be done, 2. It probably can be done but its either too hard or not worth doing, 3. They knew it was a good idea all along.  

So when that next big idea emerges, see if you can find the black bullet of death for the idea. If not, be prepared for the "It can't be done" comments from everyone.  This is where most great ideas die before succeeding.  The it can't be done" is not the black bullet of death, but this is where many warriors give up.  You see advancing ideas to reality are like a mother giving birth. She hears many comments and has many helpers on the topic of the actual delivery.   But in the end it is one person, the mother, who endures the final pain to allow that new life its first breath of earth's air. Great ideas are same, they can be painful and in the end their birth into reality depends solely on you.

So the key is to great ideas is action.   The birthing of great ideas is hard and painful to those pushing this square rock uphill. However,  the payoff is exhilarating to have the naysayers come to the point where they knew it was a great idea all along.

So have the confidence to release those great ideas out of your mind and into action, and do not be swayed by the unimaginative who want to simply tell you why things can not be done a different way.

Don't let the guage get under 1/4 full in your relationship tanks.

My wife of 33 years has been telling me for years not to let the gas tank get below 1/4 of a tank.  When it approaches that mark she goes and gets the tank filled up. We have had an ongoing conservation for the entire length of our marriage about this concept.

She want to be prepared for the unexpected and has enough gas to get where she needs to go. I think I will always be able to find gas even when the yellow  fuel light is blinking.  I have run out of gas at least five times over the past 30 years, my wife has never run out. 

Too often, we view our relationships like a tank of gas,  we run them so low on fuel that when we run out of gas in our relationships we are surprised.  It seems we have a lot of realtionships that have yellow flashing lights, and we are not sure where to find the fuel to power that relationship back to a full tank.

Relationships are like gas tanks.  Taking the lead from my wife, we should never let our relationship "tanks" get below a 1/4 of a tank.  The first step in this approach (men) is to understand how to read the guages. Many of use think the tank is full in our relationships and they are running on fumes. Most of the time this happens because we have been too busy to put in any fuel. Fuel can be many things: time, a hug, a gentle word, a non combative discussion, all add fuel to the relationship tank.

We all are moving so fast today, we do not see those we love needing replenishment of any kind. So the tank gets lower and lower and one day there is simply no more fuel to keep the relationship going.  Then we are forced to make mad dash and try to find fuel and get it back in the relationship tank so we can continue down the road of life.

We have all been there at one time or another trying to recharge a relationship.  Imagine if we maintained a self awareness never to let the relationship tank get below 1/4 of a tank.  Its those relationships that last because they never have to stop, they continue with momentum down the road of life.  It takes a lot longer to get down the road of life pushing a car because its out of gas versus driving with a gas power vehicle.

So today, take a moment to determine how much fuel is in the tank of that person you have a relationship with.  If it needs refueling take it immediately to be refueled.  Because if you depend on the flashing yellow light you may be disappointed , it is only an estimate of how much fuel is left. Don't take the chance with any relationship that you can make it another few miles without fuel, or you may be left alone on the side of the road without anyone with you.

I call it the 1/4 of a tank rule, its a good one for cars and relationships.  Spend today filling up the cars and the reationships in your life to a full tank and never let them go below 1/4 full.  While this is the most important with personal relationships, it also applies to business relationships. Imagine pushing big flat square rocks up the hill of life with a team who is running on relationship fumes because you as the leader were too busy to replenish the tank.

It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau

We are all so very busy today.  Work, play, family, and a myriad of other responsibilities. So we are very busy, but are we busy with a purpose?  Too often we use being busy as an excuse for why we cannot begin a great journey.  We say, I would love to take a chance and pursue that dream but I am just too darn busy.  

When we use the "busy" excuse we need to take a deep breath and spend a little time examining what are we busy about.  Does our busy translate to the achievement of our life goals, are does busy mean we are simply in the circular loop of living out our years without a real purpose.  

It is the person with purpose who finds value, finds joy, and finds an inexhaustible supply of passion in pursuit of busyness.  As I have shared, we are all pushing different rocks up the steep hill called life.  As we take a moment to examine the different rocks we may be pushing, how many of them are related to those things that can advance our careers or improve the relationships in our families.  If those rocks are not supporting the purpose and goals you have established for your life, then you are simply being busy like an ant.  

We all share the common element of twenty-four hours in a day.  Use your time this week with purpose, examine your time spent and you may find you only spent a fraction of your day in true pursuit of your life goals. The rest of the time you were acting like an ant, busy without a purpose.   Focus on your purpose and you will find you have plenty of time.