Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 191 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Conquering Alibi Mountain

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 191 of our Trek, and yesterday we learned how to overcome the obstacles of conflict that may be blocking your trail to success. Today we are going to climb and conquer Alibi Mountain. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. We traveled safely back to Indian Trail arriving late Sunday evening. As always, I am blessed to have Paula drive so that I am able to work on the Wisdom-Trek episodes. Our week is starting out busy as we had anticipated.

We were able to set up our outdoor silhouette Christmas Nativity set, which was made for us by a friend a few years ago. We are also decorating the house for Christmas. It is a little later than usual, but since we were at The Big House since before Thanksgiving, we did not have the prior opportunity. After discussing Christmas with our five grown children, we plan on having our family Christmas celebration on January 9^th at our home in Indian Trail. This will allow them to have their own celebrations with their children on Christmas. Since we travel between The Big House and Home2 so often and the fact that The Big House has additional on-going renovations, this was the best solution where everyone could be present. We are looking forward to our delayed celebration.

On today’s Trek, we want to climb and conquer Alibi Mountain, which is one of the most difficult hikes that we make in our lives. It is so easy to come up with excuses for why we are not able to do or accomplish certain things in life. In our hearts, though, we realize that it boils down to the fact that we don’t want to pay the price in time, energy, or resources to succeed at a certain task. We all do this, and none of us are exempt although there are certain individuals that are much better at coming up with convincing alibis.

So let’s head out now to…

Conquering Alibi Mountain

People who do not succeed have one distinguishing trait in common. They know all the reasons for failure and have what they believe to be valid alibis that are impossible to overcome. Very few realistic goals or ambitions are unachievable, except for in our minds. Now it is true that at 5’ 4” in height, it would be very difficult for me to become a quarterback in the NFL or a center in the NBA, but we are speaking of realistic opportunities that we have in life.

Our true choices that we have available for this season of life are somewhat controlled by choices that we have made in the past. But be very careful that you do not manufacture alibis that are not true. As we hike up Alibi Mountain, let us destroy all of the “If Only” rabbit trails that we find ourselves going down. I will read off each trail as we pass them, and then we can move beyond each one as we scale to success summit.

The “If Only” Rabbit Trails for not achieving in life are…

• If only I had time…
• If only times were better…
• If only other people understood…
• If only conditions around me were different…
• If only I could live my life over again…
• If only I did not fear what “they” would say…
• If only I had been given a chance…
• If only I were younger…
• If only I were older…
• If only I were thinner…
• If only I were better looking…
• If only I were in better health…
• If only I had the talent that some people have…
• If only I dared assert myself…
• If only I had someone to help me…
• If only I could just get started…
• If only my talents were known…
• If only I could just get a “break”…
• If only I didn’t have so many worries…
• If only I were sure of myself…
• If only luck was not against me…
• If only I didn’t have to work so hard…
• If only I didn’t have the past…
• If only other people would listen to me…
• If only —and this is the greatest of them all—I had the courage to see myself as I really am…
• If only…You fill in the blank with your best alibi.

Building alibis with which to explain away failure is a national pastime. The habit is as old as the human race and is fatal to success!

But we have a resource…the very creator of the universe that we can draw on to provide us with all that we need. Here are a few passages that may help…

Romans 8:15 – So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:38 – And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

2 Timothy 1:7 – For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

1 John 4:18 – Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

2 Peter 1:3 – By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

Matthew 19:26 – Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” 

As we are approaching the summit of Alibi Mountain, we have passed all of the “If Only” Rabbit Trails. I would encourage you to pursue your dreams and carry on no matter what you face. Think about this as I read the inspirational poem titled…

“Don’t Quit”

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit—
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is odd with its twists and turns,
As everyone sometimes learns.
And many a person turns about
When an individual might have won
had he or she stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with yet another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems that we can
To a faint and faltering woman or man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he or she might have captured the victor’s cup;
And one learned too late when the night came down,
How close he or she was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And when you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst, you mustn’t quit.

So in our trek of life, don’t quit, and you will soon conquer Alibi Mountain. As we reach the summit, our trail leads us to the rich and satisfying life God desires us to have. As you travel through each day, please share Wisdom-Trek with your friends and family and encourage them to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we explore the Ink Trail and the concept of “Ink it when you think it.”

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

If you would like to be added to our weekly email update and special publications from Wisdom-Trek, just text the word “Wisdom” to 44222 on your phone, and you will receive a message asking for your email address. It is very quick and easy to do.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!