Sixty Seconds

What is it that you fear most and what great thing is this fear preventing you from accomplishing?  You will not be able to be all that you are created to be until you can embrace your fear and determine its root cause.  Let me provide an example of what I’m talking about.

In the past I have felt that there was always something preventing me from giving 100% to every project which I have worked.  It seemed that it was easy for me to provide 80 to 85% of my effort but I could never go all out.  However, without sounding too arrogant, 80 to 85% of my effort is equal to the best that most can offer.  The problem is that 80 to 85% of my effort is no longer good enough for me and I wanted to determine what was holding me back.  Here is what I found.

I found that the reason I could not give 100% was due to my fear of failure and the emotions attached to this fear.  What I had to do was to separate my fear from my emotions.  In order to do this I had to look at each component separately.  What a wonderful experience!  I learned that my fear stemmed from emotions related to my childhood experiences of “not being good enough.”  This knowledge is truly life-changing.

I now know that what ever I attempt in the future will get 100% of my effort.  I know that I will be running “flat out” and that the world “ain’t seen nothing yet”. This knowledge brings to mind the words of the English poet Rudyard Kipling from the final verse of his famous poem entitled “If.”  The words are as follows:

……

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Are you looking for someone to provide you with a step by step guide to help you fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run?  If so, I suggest you attend my “Straight Talk about Success and Spiritual Growth” public seminar on May 15, in Houston, Texas.  In this seminar, we will discuss how to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way to having success in every facet of our life.    You will learn how to identify and nourish the spiritual part of your being that feeds the success mechanism which lies deep within you.

We will also provide a CD set via the Internet which will discuss in greater detail the information provided in this seminar.  For more information about the seminar and how to register, you may go to the following website: www.asapresents.com/Seminars.html.

Do You Walk the Talk?

Whether you know it or not you are judged by what you do much more so than by what you say. Effective leaders have identified a certain set of values and then live their life in accordance with those values. That is, "They Walk Their Talk". This one step in and of itself allows leaders to live an authentic rather than a hypocritical life. Max De Pree in his book entitled “Leadership Is an Art” says that leaders should have a clear statement of values that should shape their corporate and individual behavior.

The values that you identify and hold sacred influence how you behave in any circumstance and situation. You should behave the same way 24/7, whether in church or out of church, whether in the office or out of the office. If you really want to know and identify your core values just ask yourself why you respond the way you do in certain circumstances and situations. For many of us our core values have been inherited from other people in our life, from our culture, or from where we live. We respond to circumstances and situations because that’s the way we have always done so.

Are there any areas in your life that you feel you would like to improve? If so, ask yourself what it is that you do not like about that area of your life. Ask yourself why you feel the way you do or respond the way you do in that situation or circumstance. Identify the value which causes you the pain in that area of your life. Once that value has been identified you can simply replace it with another that works for you. This is not difficult but does require honesty in its approach.

If you really want to do a personal makeover ask yourself how you feel about a number of different areas in your life. For instance, ask yourself how you feel about your job, your relationships, your spirituality, diversity, God, other ethnicities, etc. Most importantly, ask yourself how you feel about you and why you feel that way. Your response to this one question can have a positive, beneficial effect on you for the rest of your life.

As you identify and modify your set of core values you will find that you will have a new worldview. A worldview is nothing more than your personal relationship with the world. It encompasses why you feel the way you feel and why you act the way you act. As you identify your core values and create your own worldview you will find yourself more often than not being able to “Walk the Talk”.