Pave the Way

Remember the other day when I started sharing a couple fun things I had learned from “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz, Ph.D.? Well I am still reading it and am still enjoying it! Here are a couple more fun tidbits to think about today!

Train yourself

Most of your training is going to be self-administered. There will be no one standing over your shoulder telling you what to do and how to do it. You must choose to set the time aside and be intentional on your own.

Study the lives of successful people

Okay, you don’t have to study a ton of people, just a few. You will see quite a few consistent patterns that have paved their paths to success. When looking at the lives of successful people you will notice that they choose to not make excuses. That is what separates them from the mediocre. Find an excuse or find a way. It is your choice.

Today let’s put our best foot forwards. Choose practices that will help you grow/teach you and be intentional about finding a way, not an excuse!

You Get to Choose

“Embrace the responsibility

You don’t have to prove how good you are. Just be how good
you are.

You don’t need anyone else’s permission to live your dreams.
Give yourself permission, and inspiration, and a sincere
reason, and go for it.

The quality of your life is not determined by what other
people choose to think of you. It is determined by what you
choose to think and do.

Stop wishing for someone to bail you out, or waiting for
someone to give you a break. Give yourself a nudge forward,
then get moving, keep moving and don’t stop moving.

Consider your good fortune at being able to act on your own
behalf. Appreciate the fact that you are responsible for the
way your life unfolds.

Embrace that responsibility and all the good things it makes
possible. Live that responsibility, and make your life live
up to your very best expectations.”

-Unknown

Worth It

I love this. As some of you may know, in April my husband and I completed the Kanakuk Institute and moved back to Dallas. We moved back knowing that the Lord has big plans for us… we were just unsure of what those plans were. We began praying for direction and full time jobs. As a planner this ‘waiting game’ was quite hard on me. But I knew that God is good and so is His timing. While the Lord always answers my prayers, He doesn’t usually do it in the way that I expect. This time however, He did. In May I got an email from a company that I did not even finish the application for. While I have only been with the company for one month, I already love everything about it! They were even awarded one of the best companies to work for. My boss encourages each of the employers to be the best they can and to achieve their goals. She inspires us to grow personally and helps us to achieve our goals. The image above is our companies mission statement. I thought it was too good not to share with each of you!  Let’s work hard to build things in your life that are worth the effort.

The Thing that Distinguishes Success

The Lord has filled my heart with huge dreams and big ambitions. As these dreams are beginning to come to fruition He has continued to teach me how to handle success and setbacks. A few weeks ago I read Blake Mycoskie’s book “Start Something That Matters.” While there are many inspiring quotes and great lessons throughout the book, there were a few pages I marked that I thought were worth sharing. The words below are just one of the many lesson’s the Lord has been teaching me recently.

“Setbacks and fear are inevitable. The thing that distinguishes the ultimate successes from the ultimate failure is this: What do you do with them?

This is the moment when too many people turn back, give up, or start thinking of excuses for or explanations of why they should call it quits. I completely understand this instinct. 

Fear is one of our most powerful emotions, and the more we focus on it, the more it grows and distorts our behavior. But there’s a way through it. Instead of focusing on the fear itself, which you cannot control, focus on what you can control: your actions.”

I do love this tip. Focus on what you can control- you actions. But I would also add prayer. Prayer changes things. Prayer impacts things.

Through setbacks and success, focus on what you can control and leave it all up to God. He has the ultimate control.

Part of the Dance

Henry Ford said that “failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” In life we are all guaranteed trials, failures, and difficulties. We have no control over that. What we do have control over is how we react to these experiences. What if there was no such things as failure? I think it is time that we alter our mindset to see “failure” as a teaching lesson and as something that leads us one step closer to our correct path. Mistakes are how we grow. Therefore, failure is not a bad thing. It is part of life. Embrace it. Make it part of your dance.  Don’t make perfect your standard because you will never get there. Just as God gives you grace, sometimes you need to give yourself grace. And remember, if you are failing- you are trying! The book I just finished, One Thousand Gifts, encourages you to embrace imperfections and to fully live.

“Life is 10% what happens to you & 90% how you react to it.” 
Charles R. Swindoll

Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is 
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control.”

What would you do if there was no chance of failing?

Making Things Happen

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The openness of my Husband & my futures makes me excited & anxious slightly terrified at the same time. I am excited because of all of our options. Where do we want to live, do we want to move to another country for a few years, what do we want to do? The options are endless. I’m anxious for the same reasons. Where are we going to live, what are we going to do, when is God going to give us clarity? Luckily, I know that God has a plan for us and He holds us safely in His hand. He holds our future. I’ve also been loving all of the encouragement that Lara Casey gives. The fact that she so clearly has a heart for the Lord and others makes her an easy woman to like. But now not only is she a woman whom a dozen of my friends and I follow, she is also my dear friend Meredith’s boss! That’s right- my sweet friend Meredith is now Lara’s nanny. Can’t wait to hear from Mer what a day in the life of the Casey home looks like! Have a lovely day all!

 

 

Small Habits, Big Results

“Being realistic is the most common road to mediocrity.” –Will Smith

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”- Demosthenes

For the record, I am a college graduate (Boomer Sooner and Go Noles!) with huge aspirations and almost no idea what path Caleb and I will ultimately take to achieve these goals. However, I do know that with passion, persistence and prayer anything can be achieved.

As I mentioned before, I have been reading “The 4 Essentials” by Cliff Michaels. And as I promised, I have more to share about our journey to becoming entrepreneurs!

Cliff Michaels points out that due to rising costs, young individuals are developing poor habits. He is not solely referring to poor eating habits, a lack of workout routines or a lack of putting ourselves in opportunities where we may learn or make connections. Instead he is referring to the fact that we have done these things as well as limit our training to strictly the “classroom.”

The idea that success training begins or ends in a classroom remains flawed.  Peer-to peer education is just as relevant as instructor-to-classroom. This is as true for artists as it is to executives… The sooner these principles [skills, strategies, values, purpose] are practiced, the sooner we accelerate peak performance in all areas of our personal and professional lives. It’s simply a matter of connecting the dots.

Is there an entrepreneur or individual that you look up to? If so, ask them to mentor you. The worst they can say is no. We need to recognize that once we are finished with our classroom work, doors are opened and we can learn so much more.

Fearless

Today the song “Fearless” by Taylor Swift was playing on the radio and it really got me thinking. What if we were fearless? What if we weren’t afraid of others opinions, of looking/sounding absurd, of failure, of being hurt or of being let down?  If you were fearless, what would you do?  Who would you be?

It is your life and you only get to live it once. Who says you can’t achieve the impossible?  When it comes to achieving something big or winning something grand people’s mind-set tends to be “why me?”. My father has always said “why not me?”. There is no need to let the fear of failure or others opinions deter you from your dreams.

My little sister in my sorority shared a quote with me that I have shared on this blog more than once and again, it seems to be very fitting:

“Our deepest fears is not that we are in adequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our dark, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. We are all meant to shine. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not within some, but it is within everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others the permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson

24 Years

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”- 1 Corinthians 13:13

 

I’m thankful to have two parents who are in love with the Lord, have faithfully devoted their lives to one another, and have raised a family to walk obediently unto Him. Today my parents are celebrating their 24th anniversary! Their marriage has always been different from the “average” marriage and I have always prayed that one day I would have a marriage similar to theirs. The Lord’s hand is so evident in their lives together. They are each others best friend and enjoy every moment that is given to them. I am so blessed to have them as role models as I am about to enter a marriage of my own.

Thank you Jesus for the gift of marriage! I pray that the legacy of commitment and faith will carry on for many generations. Happy anniversary to my sweet parents- I love you both!

“We love, because He first loved us.” -1 John 4:19

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”- I John 4:18