Tag Archives: impact

Recognizing Faith Without Argument

Yesterday evening, in a local cigar shop, there was a conversation held about belief in God. I use the capital “G” there for God, because the conversation started out about whether or not one man’s son believed in God. It quickly morphed into a discussion about the difference between “belief in God,” and “belief in deity.” Like most conversations it eventually morphed into something else (mostly because a lot of people are uncomfortable discussing religion) but it was on my mind as I drove home. As I drove I realized how much I take on faith each day, and how much of that isn’t related to any religion at all. And the realization I’ve had before was reinforced again: “having faith” and “believing in a deity” is such a vast spread of shades of gray that I fail to comprehend how anyone can say they have NO faith. Continue reading →

Signs You’re Living Your Purpose

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Someone once said that there are two truly important days in our life: the day we are born and the day we discover what we were born for. That “what we were born for” could also be described as our purpose in this life. It’s something a great many people search for over a span of some years… even decades… and some will tell you they’ve never figured out what their purpose is. I’d like to make a few observations about how to discover your purpose and how to know you’re living it, even if you weren’t even aware you’d discovered it. Continue reading →

The Blessing of Convoluted Circumstance

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Every now and then we get reminded of just how good the people in our world can be. And “our world” isn’t just our circle of nearby friends, or folks from our neighborhood, friends of friends, etc. It quite literally is people from around the world. Bear with me as I elaborate and follow along as I try to share what has been impactful for me this morning. Continue reading →

What Qualifies Me?

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So, I received a private message on Facebook from a gentleman asking, “What qualifies you to give advice on life to anyone?” I had to think about this. It’s a good question. I found myself wondering if he has a point? What DOES qualify me to give advice on anything to anyone? For that matter, what qualifies me to teach anyone anything as well?

The answers become obvious after a while. Continue reading →

The Butterfly Affect in Life

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Plenty has been written about “the butterfly effect.” Whole movies have been made about it from dramas about how minor changes we make can change the future, to science fiction movies where someone consciously tries to manipulate the present or future by changing something seemingly minor in the past. This entry is neither drama nor fiction, but simply… encouragement. All of us have the ability to change our future and, thanks to that butterfly effect, the smallest of changes today can have the largest of impacts tomorrow. Continue reading →

Coaching, Mentoring & Criticizing

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Just this morning (as I type this) I enjoyed a quick back-and-forth conversation on social media and then via email with a man I consider of reasonable wisdom and maturity. He is a hard worker, husband, father and motivated employee of the same company I work for. He has a quick wit and a good sense of humor. The conversation we shared reminded me of the difference between being critical and being a mentor. The one thing that stands out most in my mind is that a mentor (or coach) has to be critical; he has to be capable of evaluation and judgment as part of his skill set, but he also has to be able to communicate what he sees as deficiencies in a way that offers solutions and recommendations for improvement. That add-on to the critical skill set is the difference between being someone who is negative and just complains and someone who offers a solution to an observed problem. Continue reading →

The Power of An Aware And Active Mind

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How many times have you been out in public some place – it could be the mall, a city street, a restaurant – and you see those folks who are so busy looking at their cell phones that they are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them? How many times have you seen someone walking along and you can tell they’re not really there? That mentally they are somewhere else; they are “day dreaming?” How many times have you caught yourself doing the same? All too often we disconnect from the real world in ways that lull our mind into a sleep-like state; at least where our awareness is concerned. In doing so, we cost ourselves the potential experience of seeing beauty or blessings. Continue reading →

A Fork in the Road

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Fork: an instrument having two or more prongs or tines, for holding, lifting, etc., as an implement for handling food of any of various agricultural tools. The point or part at which a thing, as a river or a road, divides into branches.

All of us have heard, and used, the term, “a fork in the road.” We use it to give directions. At the fork in the road, stay to your right. The common usage of this term quite often leads to the impression that a fork in the road has only TWO choices: left fork or right fork. But that’s not the case and when we think about the path of our lives, it is imperative that we not limit our thinking in such a way. Continue reading →

A Letter To Me?

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Country music star Brad Paisley wrote a song called, “A Letter To Me,” and the basic idea of the song was… if he could write a letter to himself; write it now but somehow send it back to his teenage self, what would he say? In the song he takes the opportunity to give his younger self a few valuable tidbits of advice. Don’t argue with dad. Fill the tank before one particular date. Wait, never mind. That date turned out “pretty cool.” The lyrics, when I heard them today, made me wonder, what would I put in a letter to my younger self? Continue reading →

Standing Still Is Falling Behind

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We have all heard the story of the hare and the tortoise; the rabbit and the turtle. We’ve heard how the rabbit was just SO sure of himself that he dawdled and wasted time while the turtle kept on making slow and steady progress. That story is where the phrase, “Slow and steady wins the race,” comes from. Today I want to present to you a different perspective: it doesn’t have to do with how you win the race; it has to do with recognizing whether you’re in a race or not at all. Continue reading →