Remember When?

Since it's still January, I imagine many of us are still setting our 2010 goals.  I know I've been immersed in learning about vision boards, making to-do lists, goal-setting, etc.  Earlier this week I sat in on a call where the speaker introduced me to the "Remember When?" game. It wasn't the traditional, "Remember when this event happened 10 years ago?" kind of exercise. Instead, it asks you to remember forward. This is a way to speak life into your goals and relates very well to the last part of Romans 4:17 that says God "...calls things that are not as though they were (NIV)" and Mark 11:24, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (NKJV)."

This is an exercise you can keep in your journal, but I thought it would be good to do some public "reminiscing."  I can't wait to come back in a year to see how many of these "Remember Whens" have already manifested in our lives.

Here are a few from me to get everyone started. Remember, these are related to your future goals, business or otherwise:

- Remember when I made more money my first year back full-time in my business than I ever made in corporate America?

- Remember when I made the cover of Entrepreneur...twice?

- Remember when I paid off all my debt, including those student loans, and never owed more than I could afford to pay again?

So, what do you "remember?"  Is it the first day on your dream job, the celebration you had because your child finally made the honor roll, marrying the man or woman of your dreams, fitting into a size you never thought possible, starting a worldwide ministry, making $1MM after expenses in your business venture, or something else entirely?  Whatever it is, don't be afraid to remember it.  Put those goals out in the universe, push forward and praise God as they come to pass.

Happy remembering!

Why Not Start Now?

Like many, I wait in anticipation of the coming year. It always feels like a new beginning and a fresh start. The attitude of regret for not completing goals in 2009 turns into excitement of all I'll accomplish in 2010. With the new year only days away, I want to encourage you to start now. Yes, this is a time of reflection, but instead of focusing on all you didn't do, focus on the actions you can take now to move closer to your purpose. Who said you had to wait until January 1st? For months I've been saying, "Next year I'm going to..." or "When January hits, I'm really going to..." You have probably been saying those same things, but how about replacing those future phrases with some "right now" sayings, such as, "Today I'm going to contact..." or "As soon as I'm done reading this blog post I'll..." 2010 could very well be the best year of your life (I know I'm expecting miracles), but you have to plant the seeds now. I'm sure there are several things that can either be added to or crossed off your to-do list today. Maybe catching up on this blog was one of them. :-)

In 2009, my biggest breakthrough was hearing God's voice again as He gave me clarity of purpose. If you've been following my journey, you know that purpose has to do with re-establishing myself as a full-time business owner and blessing others through that business. My challenge in 2009 was taking action once God confirmed my purpose and trusting Him fully. It's definitely a mindshift to go from thinking a job or person is your ultimate provider to realizing that God takes care of ALL needs. That doesn't mean I never worry, but I'm quicker at recognizing His blessings (financial and otherwise).

To move forward with my goal I've made a point to reconnect with some old business contacts and put myself and my services out there more. Today that meant sending off information about advertising, contacting a business coach and making sure I stay on top of recent project inquiries. For you, this may look like prepping for an upcoming interview or pulling out an old exercise tape (yes, I said tape...some of us still have VCRs).
:-) It may even be opening your journal back up and writing another few lines of your bestselling book. For those who feel their purpose is in corporate America, it may mean sending out holiday greetings to your multifunctional team or doing an outline for a project that formally kicks off in January.

There are only a few more days before 2009 ends. What are you going to do?

You Are Closer Than You Think

In the bookstore on Saturday, I was thumbing through Joel Osteen's book, "It's Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams, and Increase in God's Favor." An important phrase he repeats in the first chapter is "you are closer than you think."  He uses a story of him hiking up a mountain.  A sign at the bottom told Joel that it would take him 3 hours to reach the top.  After 45 minutes of a tough climb, he sat down, discouraged and ready to give up.  Just then an older man came down the mountain, looked at him and said, "You are closer than you think."  This phrase inspired something in Joel and he got up to continue his climb. Surprisingly, he reached the top of the mountain about 10 minutes later.  There he was thinking he had at least another 2 hours of climbing to do when he was only 10 minutes away.  What if the man hadn't been coming down the mountain or encouraged Joel to keep trying?  He may have given up never realizing that victory was just a few short steps away.

How many times have we done that in our lives?  Think about the sign at the bottom of the mountain - 3 hours to the top.  We see signs like that everyday - 4 years to a college degree, most businesses fail after 1 year, it takes more than 1 try to give up smoking cigarettes - and the list goes on.  Instead of being bound by those signs and timelines, look to "kairos" or God's time.  He may want your business to thrive for 30+ years or put you in an accelerated degree program or even give you the tools necessary to quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey.  However, if you give up before it's time, you'll never reap those rewards.

Now I realize how easy that seems when things are going well.  If you're on day 364 of successfully running your business, I'm sure you'll trust and believe that God will help you last through the next year.  It's important to praise God in those times, but it's also important to trust when you're unsure of what tomorrow will bring.  When you're on day 1 of opening your business without a customer in sight or day 364 of your job search and are going on yet another interview.  Personally, think of the moments where you've prayed for breakthrough month after month.  It's closer than you think:

- financial freedom
- good health
- new job
- small business success
- good relationship with your children
- the end of your addiction
- peace

What have you been praying for?  What desire has God placed on your heart that you're ready to give up on?  Keep the faith.  Remember you are closer than you think!

Do Something!

I have been so frustrated lately.  Between day job stress, neverending family commitments and lack of "me" time, my mood has not been very positive.  It's been easy for me to channel the restlessness and frustration into complaint.  After a straight week of this, I realize it's getting me nowhere except even more restless and more frustrated.  I need to re-read my blog and take my own advice.  :-)  The best way to fix a negative situation is to actively look for ways to change it. The same is true for you. Yes, God is in the miracle business, but it's hard for a miracle to find you when you're not setting yourself up to receive it.  How are you going to find the mate God has for you if you sit at home every night complaining about being single?  How are you going to find that new, better job if your resume hasn't been updated since 1994?  How will the world discover your talent for singing if you won't even commit to doing a solo in the church choir?

Today, I ask you to do something.  Take at least one small step toward changing your situation.  It can be as simple as putting down that donut, making a phone call, crossing something off your to-do list or saying a prayer.  My one small step is to get out of the house for a minute to get my mind off of the craziness of the day job.  My resume has also officially been updated. 

Your turn. What are you going to do?

Day Three: What Drives Your Life?

Today's Purpose Driven Life lesson is around the driving force or forces in your life. Specifically, what is driving your life today and what you like it be in the future.  For the longest time, the driving force in my life was approval.  I still struggle with that on a regular basis and have to journal myself calm or talk to a trusted friend who can snap me back into reality.  I'd like the driving force in my life to be God's purpose.  I've decided to wake up every morning thanking God for staying with me and asking Him to use me as He sees fit.  There are many times that He is working in the background to give me an opportunity for a better life or even placing me in someone's path to be a blessing.  However, I'll never get that if I allow the devil to steal my joy or make me concerned with pleasing people vs. God.

Rick Warren had a few lines under Day 3 that addressed this - "It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God's will.  If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do more than God intended for you to do."  I've had days like that, very recently, where I couldn't get anything done that I thought was important for the day.  Everytime I started, there'd be a distraction or the hardware wouldn't work or I'd get sick or something.  However, nothing negative happened when I did what God wanted - reading a book or the Bible (which brings me closer to Him), spending time with the children, working on my business, blogging here.  In fact, I was able to focus more on the "worldly work" related to my day job and get it done quicker once I let God have his way first. Things that normally would take 5 hours only took 1.5 hours.  I love simplicity God brings, and I need more of that in my life.  Instead of trying to be all things to all people, I will live each day asking God to direct my path and use me how He sees fit. When I've done that in the past, things just worked out...things that I thought were impossible became possible.

I am ready to change my driving force.  Is there something you need to change, start or stop?  Let God be the miracle worker that He is.  Even if you can't change it, He can.