August 12, 2013

Wrong Labels

Did you know that wrong labels can keep you from your destiny?

You are not who people say you are. You are who God says you are. People will label you not good enough, too slow, too old, too many mistakes. God labels you strong, talented, valuable, and loved. Make sure that you’re wearing the right labels. Don’t go the next 20 years allowing one negative comment to hold you back. Many people don’t know any better. They wear the negative labels like they’re the truth. They become so engrained in their thinking that they end up becoming what people say they are instead of what God says they are. Are there labels that are holding you back today? What a coach said? What a counselor said? Even negative comments spoken by your parents? This is the time to remove every negative label. People don’t determine your destiny; God does. The only power that label has over you is the power that you give it. If you will remove it; if you will forgive that person and quit dwelling on it, then that label will have no effect on you. Are you removing wrong labels today?

August 11, 2013

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August 11, 2013

Success Love

Expecting success creates positive results and gives you the confidence to go out and do just that.

Success in this life isn’t necessarily about how popular, influential or educated someone is. Success is about living a life of excellence. When we step out to do what God has called us to do, His love surrounds us like a shield. When we have His love, we have everything, and we have an advantage for success! God’s love opens the right doors. His love will bring good breaks. The love of God will cause you to accomplish what you could not accomplish on your own. It gives you an edge. Now, if you’re going to see the gracious hand of God at work in your life, you can’t go through the day feeling intimidated, thinking that you’re average, looking around and comparing yourself to everyone else. No, you have to live like you have His love, think like you have love, talk like you have love, walk like you have love, dress like you have love! Not arrogantly. Not in a way that portrays that you’re better than somebody else, but with a quiet confidence knowing that you have the awesome hand of God on your life! Live like you’ve got it because you do. Are you expecting success in your life due to God’s love?

August 10, 2013

Long Life

One key to staying passionate about life is to simply stay productive.

You have to have a reason to get out of bed every morning. You have to keep your goals out in front of you. You may retire from the job, but don’t ever retire from life. You have to choose to keep your mind active, keep growing, keep learning and keep helping others. You have to find a way to stay productive. When you stop producing, you stop growing and thriving. God promises that if we’ll keep Him first place, He will give us a long, satisfied life. You may say, “How long is a long life?” Until you’re satisfied. If you quit producing at fifty and you’re satisfied, then the promise is fulfilled. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got too much in me to stop right now. I’m not satisfied. I’ve got dreams that haven’t come to pass. I’ve got motivational talks I haven’t given. I’ve got a family to enjoy. I’ve got grandchildren I haven’t seen yet.mToday, get a vision for your future. Get a vision for staying productive. Expect to be fulfilled, expect to live a satisfied life, and expect to embrace all the good things God has in store for you. Are you staying productive?

August 9, 2013

Satisfied

You shouldn’t be satisfied with success–someone is always waiting to challenge that success.

Never get to a place where you are too comfortable. The only place you should be comfortable is in being uncomfortable. When you are living your life on purpose and making a difference in others lives; you will have success. When you add value to other people; success will come to you. However, never get too comfortable with your success because someone is always wanting to challenge you. Working with National Championship athletes in several sports this has never been more true. I not only express to them not to be satisfied in what they have done both in their sport but in their life. It’s easy at times to think we have arrived and stop pressing. That is when we get knocked off by our challengers. Keep pressing toward your goals. “Don’t stop til the whistle blows twice.” Keep focused on whatever it is you are doing in life. When success comes don’t let up. You are adding value and making a difference. Stay sharp and may the force be with you. Are you avoiding the satisfied success syndrome?

August 8, 2013

See a Little

Focus is an ability to zero in on what’s important and being able to avoid distractions to complete the task.

There are so many distractions coming at you today. Technology is a major distraction, maybe more than it’s a help at times. However, you have to be able to set your focus on what is important and not let distractions distract you. See a little; see a lot, see a lot; see a little. That means, the smaller you can focus, the more you see. When you focus in a one small detail, you see the whole picture more clearly. When you try to focus on the whole picture at once you miss the details. Get zeroed in on the task at hand today. Develop a mindset that nothing is going to distract you from being focused. Focusing is just like anything else, it takes practice to sharpen the skill. Know the task you need to finish, see the finish and then complete the task. You can do this, I believe in you and what is inside you. You have the ability and the desire. Are you seeing a little seeing a lot today?

August 7, 2013

Balanced Focus

Balance is a crucial element in the art of maintaining focus.

In life, it’s easy to get so focused on our dreams and goals, the things we want, that it consumes us. We can get to the point where we’re not happy, and we’re not going to be happy until it happens. But I’ve found that if we have to have something in order to be happy, our lives are out of balance. When our goals and dreams start to frustrate us, and we lose our peace and we’re not enjoying life, that’s a sure sign that we’re holding on too tightly. What’s the solution? You’ve got to release it. Freedom comes when you say, “God, I’m turning it all over to You. You know my desires, and You know what’s best for me. I’m choosing to trust You and Your timing.” When we learn to be content whatever the circumstances, the power of the enemy is broken. It takes away his ability to frustrate us. Not only that, but by our actions we are showing our faith in God. When you choose to trust in His timing, you can live in peace, you can live in joy, and you can rest in Him, knowing that He has good things in store for your future. Are you balanced in your focus?

August 6, 2013

Focusing Love

One thing that knowledge and experience have helped me with is determining what is worth focusing on.

So often, it’s easy to get caught up in our to-do lists of life. You might even have a spiritual checklist in your mind of all the things you think you need to do in order to please God. And we should have the desire to please Him and follow His commands, but pleasing Him starts with our heart condition. Scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians that only faith, hope and love will last into eternity. We can’t have faith unless we first have hope, and our faith won’t work without love. The point is that we have to remember to adjust our focus and make sure that we aren’t just going through the motions in our spiritual walk. We can do a lot of “good” things, too. But if we don’t have love, they won’t matter in eternity. We can have a lot of knowledge, but if we don’t have love, it won’t do us any good. However, when love is the foundation for everything we do, it honors God and opens the door for the life of victory in blessing He has prepared for you. Are you focusing on your love walk today?

August 5, 2013

Process

So what keeps me focused on the important stuff? My belief in my process and in my system.

What do you believe in that you are able to do day after day? What keeps you focused on the important tasks that you need to accomplish each day? I recommend, no matter your age, that you develop a process, a system that you are able to repeat day in and day out. We talk about focusing on your process quite a bit here at the University of Alabama. Each person has their own unique process that connects into the whole system. We have team goals but each person has individual goals that will enable the team to reach its goals.  The point is, you too, should have a personal process.  Stay focused on your process and never stop working it. There are times when we have to tweak our process, sometimes even day to day, but we never loose sight of the process. Keep it simple and easy to work  each day. Don’t complicate your process to the point you get lost and bogged down and don’t even remember what you were supposed to be doing. The process starts here with me; should be your mantra. Do you have a process?

August 4, 2013

Pressure

Use pressure to lift you up rather than push you down.

In sports, just as in life, we talk about how to deal with pressure. Pressure in the context of it pushing you down, being a weight on you, causing you to fail. However, there is a different aspect of pressure. Why not use pressure to lift you up? Like helium in a balloon. Take the pressure that is attempting to push you down and allow it push you higher. Pressure situations then will take you toward your goal. Use the pressure of the moment to cause the law of lift to come into affect. With this being the case pressure is your friend. If you are in a situation today and you start feeling that pressure that causes you to sweat, throat go dry, and nervousness, then take that pressure and use it to your benefit. Pressure you see can be your difference maker if you let it. Are you using pressure to your benefit?