Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 51 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Suck it Up and Deal With It

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. Each day I will provide you with bite size nuggets of wisdom that if consumed and applied will become a part of the very fabric of who you are.  As with any significant changes in life, these changes will take time, but the changes that result from this wisdom will start to take root and grow into a large and solid tree. This is Day 51 of our Trek, and today we are going to look at how to deal with those issues of life that are thrust on us, especially when we have little or no control over them.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Being able to work from our newly renovated office on the 2^nd floor is a real blessing.  The new large windows provide a nice view to work from.

After spending the last nine days focusing on how changing your thinking can dramatically change your life, today we are going to put this newly learned information into practice.  So, let’s break camp and head out on the trail.

As we are hiking along with our new knowledge gained from our twelve waypoints, our plan is to make use of this knowledge on our 20 mile Trek today. The first part of the trail is going rather smoothly, and we are making great progress. We find a nice clearing and break for lunch before heading out again.

Suddenly, we see dark, ominous-looking clouds on the horizon in the direction that we are heading. But, we must move on towards our destination anyway.  As we continue on, the wind picks up and starts to blow dust and twigs at us. We don’t like the looks of what we are heading into, but we press forward.

Soon the rains starts – small drops at first, then larger, and then sheets of rain start plummeting at us.  Before long, it becomes much more difficult to keep solid footing, but we continue forward. As we head down into a ravine, we hear and then see a rush of water from a flash flood about 100 yards in front of us.  It completely obliterates the trail that we are supposed to take.

Now what do we do? We don’t want to go back, as that does not lead to our destination, but now we can’t go forward. At this time, we don’t have a safe trail in front of us. It is time to panic, to give up, and to wish we had never headed out today. None of those options will help, and so it is with life sometimes.

When we run into these unforeseen events, we must put into practice all of the thinking skills that we just learned last week.

Crises and hardships are a part of everyone’s life and some of them are unavoidable.

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I have lived enough years to realize that the crises, for many, are certainly inflated due to past unwise choices that have been made.  Some people like to live in continual drama because it gives them a certain sense of purpose, attention, or accomplishment by having something to combat.  I see this in personal and business interactions frequently.

Regardless if the crises are self-imposed or completely out of your control, how you deal with the issue is your choice.  The tools that we gain each day on Wisdom-Trek will help to navigate life when it becomes treacherous as in our story today.

None of us are immune to crises, whether it is health-related, financial, relational or otherwise. Some crises can be inflamed by our own decisions in each of these areas, but others may be completely out of our control.

On a personal/business level, we have recently experienced two such storms.  Due to the lack of sales for one of our clients, they were not able to retain our services on a monthly basis.  Within a month of that, another client that is in the oil and gas industry was hit hard by the 60% reduction on crude oil and natural gas prices over the past twelve months. While we will maintain servicing this client, based on our collaboration with him, we have agreed to a 60% reduction in our fees, at least until the oil and gas industry recovers. These “storms” in our business life were both outside of our control and in two completely unrelated market segments.

We have experienced enough business cycles to understand that these issues will happen and to prepare for them. Likewise in our personal lives. We know that there is always sunshine after the storms. With pre-planning and by God’s grace, a construction project in Arizona that has been in the planning stages for three years has finally been approved and construction is beginning this month, so that will help some. And, Paula and I have planned diligently to make sure that we do have options and choices when these tempests of life do hit.

So what are our options when the storms of life do strike?

1. Give up, throw in the towel, and grovel in the fact that life has done us wrong. We can retreat and head back to a life that was unsatisfying but safe.
2. We can become paralyzed with fear not wanting to advance forward and being too scared to go back. We can resolute that once out of this storm, we will never take a risk again.
3. Or, we can Suck It Up and Deal With It…If we plan, knowing that life does have its ups and downs, its sunshine and its storms, its pleasure and its pain, then we can plan during the good times so that we can weather through the bad.

Now on the third point, Paula says that Suck it Up and Deal With It was my motto when she and our kids ever ran into issues. Now, I don’t recall saying those exact words, but that is certainly the impression that was ingrained in their minds. It has become somewhat of a joke between us now, and I do believe I am becoming more compassionate with age and wisdom.

Joking aside, though, we do need to deal with life as it is, not as we wish it to be. If we are having difficulties in our lives, here are the steps we need in order to handle the storms.

1. We must first analyze our situation to see if our current problems are based on the choices that we have made. If yes, or even partially so, then learn to make wiser choices in the future
2. Plan now and during the sunny times, so when the storms do come, you will be better able to handle them.
3. Realize that after every storm, the sun will shine again. Rejoice during the sunny times, and then based on your planning in advance, dance in the rain.

As we plan how we are going to get out of our predicament that we experienced at the start of today’s Trek, I will leave you with these encouraging words from the Apostle Paul’s’ letter to the church in Philippi chapter 4 verses 4-8, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!  Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. As we continue our Trek tomorrow, we will figure out a way to move forward on our trail, realizing that there are no guarantees in life.

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to help us in the following five ways:

1. Leave your name and email address on our website in the bottom right hand corner of any page in the side-bar. This will allow us to update you with special information about Wisdom-Trek.
2. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com.
3. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
4. Leave a rating, so we can gain exposure for Wisdom-Trek.
5. Encourage your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

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

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

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 50 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life (Part 7)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. When you consume these daily wisdom nuggets, you can think of them as your daily supplements for your life.  They will provide you with nutrients needed for daily health. This is Day 50 of our Trek, and we will visit our last waypoint #12 on our lessons about how changing our thinking changes our lives.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We arrived a couple of days ago and are ready for working on house renovations, meeting with clients, and gathering with family.

Yesterday we attended the annual Robb family reunion in Canton, Ohio. This is Paula’s mother side of the family, and it is always enjoyable to visit with family members, especially when we are able to share our lives of faith.  Paula and I are fortunate to come from families that have strong faith, work ethic, and integrity.  It shaped who we are and certainly aided in our strong marriage of nearly 36 years.

I consider all of our Wisdom-Trek listeners as Wisdom-Trek family members. I have the privilege of sharing with you each day, and I appreciate it when you share with me by leaving comments on Wisdom-Trek.com.

We have nearly completed our current Trek, as we are visiting the 12 waypoints on the Trail of Thinking where we have sojourned for the last 7 days. So far, we have stopped by waypoints 1-11 and have only 1 more waypoint to visit.

I encourage you to apply each waypoint to your life so that you can become more wise and successful.  If you have missed any of the previous podcasst this week, please take the time to listen to them or read the daily journals so that you will be all caught up on the trail with us. We certainly don’t want to leave anyone behind.

As in the previous days, when we ended our podcast yesterday, I asked you to deliberate on two more questions:

• Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with maximum cooperation?
• Do I stay focused on productive thinking so that I can gain the maximum results and reap the full potential of my thinking?

Study these daily questions, and then apply them to your life.  Doing so will radically change your thinking and gradually change your life.  Just like our trek in life, progress is usually slow and may be burdensome, but is required to become wise and successful.

As we reach waypoint #12 today, we are switching our focus from how to think are concentrating instead on what to think about.

12. Concentrate on What you Think About

As we consider this last waypoint, I am reminded of a quote I recently came across from Peter Lord that I feel is quite appropriate as we look at how to concentrate on what you think about.

“We have no control over how we feel, how we act — our attitudes, and actions — except as they are determined by our thoughts.  All these elements are irrevocably tied together.  But since we do have control over what we think, it is possible to control our attitudes and actions…All thoughts can be divided into two basic categories: true and false.  The thoughts that come from God are true.  He is the God of all truth and has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to guide us into all truth.  If I can receive God’s thoughts, I can think the truth.  Therefore I will have the right attitudes and actions.  How do you get the air out of a glass?  By filling it with water.  How do you get rid of wrong and untrue thoughts?  By filling your mind with true and right thoughts from God.  The control of our thought life, then, comes by thinking God’s thoughts with Him,” Peter Lord.

Since we do have control over what we think, it is possible to control our attitudes and actions.

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I recently reread a short book by James Allen titled “As a Man Thinketh” in which the core foundation is taken from Christ teaching in Luke [6:43]-45,

 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.  A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

Remember in Scripture that many times the word heart and mind can be used interchangeably as they refer to our internal thought process and reservoir.

What you say flows from what is in your mind.

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In the chapter “Effect of Thoughts on Circumstances,” James Allen puts it this way, “Man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth (or produce).  If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind…Every thought-seed sown or allowed to fall into the mind, and to take root there, produces its own, blossoming sooner or later into act, and beard its own fruitage of opportunity and circumstance.  Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts, bad fruit.

Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results. Bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. Men understand this law in the natural world, and work with it. But few understand it in the mental and moral world (though its operation there is just as simple and undeviating), and they, therefore, do not cooperate with it.”

While I don’t agree with James Allen’s entire premise, the core ideas of his book are solid. Our lives reflect and are a product of what we think about.

In God’s divine sovereignty, there are exceptions to these basic laws of humanity.  There are situations where seemingly bad things do happen to good and positive people. The book of Job illustrates this concept. Also, innocent people do suffer at times at the hands of those who are not.  In most cases, though, our lives reflect what we have planted in our minds.

A person does not attract that which they want, but that which they are.

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I would encourage you to read “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen. It is available to read online for free on several websites and only takes about 30 minutes to read in its entirety.

Waypoint #12: Concentrate on What you Think About can be summed up in the letter written to the Church in Philippi by the Apostle Paul.

Philippians 4:8 reads, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits described in today’s podcast. It is then we will become wise and successful people. Remember though, it is not enough just to learn something. We must also put it into practice for it to become effective.

Focus Question: “Do you concentrate on what you think about as much as how you think?”

Based on your answers to all 12 of these questions, where are you strongest? In what kind of thinking do you need to grow?

Develop in any of those areas, and you’ll become a better thinker. Master all that you can, especially the process of concentrating on what you think about.

As your guide, friend, mentor, and fellow sojourner, I encourage you to “keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you,” Phillipians 4:9.

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, especially the past nine days that we have focused on thinking, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow as we continue our Trek, we will look at how we need to act when we are faced with adversities and hardships.

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to help us in the following five ways:

1. Leave your name and email address on our website in the bottom right hand corner of any page in the side-bar. This will allow us to update you with special information about Wisdom-Trek.
2. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com.
3. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
4. Leave a rating, so we can gain exposure for our Wisdom-Trek.
5. Encourage your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.

Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

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

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

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 49 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life (Part 6)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. By consuming these daily wisdom nuggets, you will grow in wisdom as you listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. You’ll also receive understanding and guidance on each day of life’s journey.  This is Day 49 of our Trek, and we will continue today and tomorrow learning how changing our thinking can dramatically change our lives.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. By the time this episode airs on Sunday, July 19^th, we will be back at The Big House for a little over three weeks, as we continue renovations and prepare for a family gathering on Paula’s side of the family.

Although this is day 49 of our trek, we started on Day Zero, so I am pleased to announce that this is our 50^th episode!  It has gone by quickly, and I want to thank everyone who has listened.  My prayer is that each day’s trek has been encouraging and enlightening.  Leave us comments at Wisdom-Trek.com, and let us know how we can improve and serve you more effectively.

Life is a trek, and we are all in this trek together. Each day as we gain wisdom and insight, let us do all that we can to live life each day so that we are leaving a legacy.

We have stopped by waypoints 1-9 so far, so we only have three more to go.  I encourage you to apply each waypoint to your life so that you can become more wise and successful. Let’s continue on life’s trail until we reach waypoints 10 and 11.

As we ended our podcast yesterday, I asked you to consider two more questions:

8. Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?
9. Am I consistently searching the minds of others to think “over my head” and achieve compounding results?

Consider these questions each day and apply them to your life.  This will help you to change your thinking and start down the trail to a changed life.  As we are on this trek of life together, one of the most important ways of thinking is found at our 10^th waypoint.

10. Practice Unselfish Thinking

Unselfish thinking is beneficial because it enables personal fulfillment, adds value to other people, and increases the quality of your life. When you engage in unselfish thinking, you become part of something greater than yourself. It is only possible to create a long lasting legacy by thinking unselfishly and investing in others. Here are five ways to cultivate the ability to think unselfishly:

• Put others first. When you think unselfishly you make a commitment, both mentally and emotionally, to look out for others’ interests.
• Find situations where people have needs. One way to practice unselfish thinking is for you to find situations where people have needs and then do something about it. At first, the kind of giving you provide is not all that important; the goal is for you to learn how to give.
• Give quietly or anonymously. After learning how to give, you must learn how to give when nothing is provided to you in return. Anonymous giving results in spiritual, mental, and emotional benefits.
• Invest in people intentionally. Consider different people and their journey, and then work together with them. To possess the characteristics of an unselfish thinker, you must make sure the other person in a relationship wins first.
• Continually monitor motives. It is in your human nature for you to put yourself first. This is true of everyone. It is important for you to examine your motives to ensure that you are not acting for selfish reasons.

As we look at unselfish thinking, it reminds me of verse 24 of Hebrews chapter 10,“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

Focus Question: “Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with maximum mutual aid?”

11. Rely on Productive Thinking

In your life, being useful and productive determines whether you are succeeding or not. However, money is certainly not the primary measure of success. The primary measure of success is to determine if you are achieving the desired results in your life and if your life is positively impacting the lives of others. Productive thinking provides clarity by providing a benchmark to measure activity. Decisions also become easier when the desired outcome is determined. Success in the future relies on recognizing if you have been productive today.  No matter what the desired result is for an activity, it can be improved through good thinking that turns ideas and dreams into results. There are five ways that you can learn to become a more productive thinker:

• Identify the results desired. The results may be large or small objectives. Regardless of the size, the desired results must be as specific as possible.
• Make the results the measuring point. All activities in your life should be consistent with your values, which should not be compromised.
• Create a plan to achieve your results. Plans must be designed so that your smaller goals add up to your overall objective for the season of life you are in.
• Ensure that family and friends help you towards your objectives. Your family, friends and associates should know and understand what your life values and objectives are, and what role they may assist with.
• Choose a system that will help you with your objectives. The systems and methods in your life must reinforce achievement of your objectives and the results you desire.

Productive thinking helps us to grow in our character as mentioned in Apostle Peter’s 2^nd letter in chapter 1 verses 8 and 9, “The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.”

Focus Question: “Do I stay focused on productive thinking so that I can gain the maximum results and reap the full potential of my thinking?”

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits of unselfish and yet productive thinking in our lives. These are traits or habits of wise and successful people.  It is not enough just to learn something. We must also put it into practice for it to become effective.

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, or Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow we will finish up with our 12^th thinking habit, but instead of focusing on how to think, we will concentrate on what to think about. You won’t want to miss it.

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to help us in the following five ways:

1. Leave your name and email address on our website in the bottom right hand corner of any page in the side-bar. This will allow us to update you with special information about Wisdom-Trek.
2. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com.
3. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
4. Leave a rating, so we can gain exposure for Wisdom-Trek.
5. Encourage your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.

Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

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

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

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 48 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life (Part 5)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast and journal. By consuming these daily wisdom nuggets, you will discover the principles needed to help you live a disciplined and successful life, which will result in doing what is right, just, and fair on each day of life’s journey.  This is Day 48 of our Trek, and we will continue  looking at how changing our thinking can dramatically change our lives for the next three days.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. We are focused on client work and also preparing to head back to The Big House on Friday.  By the time this episode is released, we will be in Marietta and then heading north to the Akron/Canton area for the annual Robb reunion, which is Paula’s mom maiden name. We try to attend every year. Family ties are important, and it is a good time to celebrate together. I will give you an update in a few days on the day’s activities.

The hiking analogies that we use for Wisdom-Trek fit so well with our Trek through life each day.  It is when we take one step at a time over a long period of time that we make the progress we desire. Being on life’s trail allows you to truly experience the full spectrum of human emotion, sometimes all in one day. A moment of frustration and despair is seamlessly followed by peace and beauty. And so it is with life.

Just like in hiking, we need to plan and also take time to think and rest.  So far we have stopped at waypoints 1-7 to analyze our thinking so that we will become more wise and successful. Today we are working towards waypoints 8 and 9.

As we ended our podcast yesterday, I asked you to consider two more questions:

6. Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible problems?
7. Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?

I do encourage you to consider these questions each day and apply them to your lives.  This will help you to change your thinking and start down the trail to a changed life.  One of the benefits of hiking on trails that are not used frequently is that we do not have to compete with masses of people as you would on a busy thoroughfare.

This also applies to waypoint number 8 where we have just arrived.

8. Question Popular Thinking

Questioning popular thinking can be challenging, but there are valid reasons for you to do so. When people follow a trend, they usually do not give it much thought. Although you may view popular thinking as a source of safety and security, there is a large difference between acceptance and intelligence. Because popular thinking favors the status quo, it discourages innovation and brings average results. Being an entrepreneur and someone who tends to question anything that the masses are following all my life, I have not had a major issue with this point.  Here are five different ways for you to question the acceptance of popular thinking:

• Think before following. You need to consider what is best, rather than what is popular. When you challenge popular thinking it means that you will need to step off of the well-worn trail. When you go against popular thinking, you may be blazing your own trail, but it often hold the seed of vision and opportunity that others won’t recognize.
• Appreciate different types of thinking. When you appreciate the ways that other people think, you open yourself up to embrace innovation and change. It is useful to spend time with people who think differently.
• Question your own way of thinking. It will be a major temptation to return to a way of thinking that once worked well, even if it is no longer effective. You must realize that your successes of today can often be the enemy of your successes tomorrow.
• Try new things in new ways. In order to get yourself out of a rut, innovate in small, everyday ways. By thinking unconventionally, you will question the way things are done and look for new options.
• Get accustomed to being uncomfortable. All change is uncomfortable. Popular thinking is comfortable. When you embrace new ways of thinking and the achievements that will result, you will have discomfort.

Embrace thinking that may not be popular and make decisions based upon what works best and what is right.

As I think about questioning popular thinking it certainly reminds me of how Christ himself questioned the popular thinking of his day.  He questioned the religious leaders continually because they were more interested in self-promotion and preservation than pleasing God.  In Mathew chapter 6 he warned against the self-promotion of the religious leaders on public giving, prayer and fasting.  In Matthew chapter 22:16 when the religious leaders were trying to trap Christ, they proclaimed truth, “’Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites.’”

Focus Question: “Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?”

This brings us to waypoint number 9.

9. Benefit from Shared Thinking

When you seek out and value other people’s thoughts, you can accomplish more than you can alone. Shared thinking is faster, more innovative, and stronger than solo thinking. The ideas that result from your shared thinking benefit both you and those that you are sharing with…which brings greater value overall. To benefit from shared thinking, there are five different things that you can do:

• Value others’ ideas. When you are open to the idea of shared thinking, you become more emotionally secure and value the interactive process.
• Move from competition to cooperation. When you think cooperatively, you will help to complete the ideas of others. It is then that the best idea forms, rather than one person offering an idea.
• Have a plan when meeting with others. When you meet with others for shared thinking, always have a reason for the meeting and an expectation of what you will contribute or receive from the discussion.
• Meet with the right people. Do not choose shared thinking partners based on feelings of friendship or convenience. When you meet with the right people for shared thinking, it will help uncover the best ideas.
• Bring value to those who are collaborators. Shared thinking is not all about you. Make sure that everyone is bringing and receiving value from your times of sharing.

Shared thinking is clear throughout Scripture also. The one passage that comes to mind today is Matthew 18:19-20, “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” 

Focus Question: “Am I consistently searching the minds of others to think “over my head” and achieve compounding results?”

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits of wise and successful people.

As your guide, friend, mentor, and fellow sojourner, let me know how I can help you avoid falling prey to popular thinking and instead practice shared thinking with those who are wise and successful.

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow as we continue our Trek investigating waypoints 10 and 11, we will continue to change our thinking to literally change our lives.

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to help us in the following five ways:

1. Leave your name and email address on our website in the bottom right hand corner of any page in the side-bar. This will allow us to update you with special information about Wisdom-Trek.
2. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com.
3. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
4. Leave a rating, so we can gain exposure for Wisdom-Trek.
5. Encourage your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.

Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

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

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

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 47 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life (Part 4)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast and journal. By consuming these daily wisdom nuggets, you will digest the principles that will help you in your quest to become healthy, wealthy and wise as we trek through life together.  This is Day 47 of our Trek, and we will continue for the next few days on our Trek to look at how changing our thinking can dramatically change our lives.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. After another very full workload today, it is good to be able to reflect on some words of wisdom to help refocus our priorities. One of the purposes for Wisdom-Trek is to provide mentoring to others. In order to gain wisdom, we need to be receptive to receive it and ready to apply it to our lives. It is through proper thinking that we are able to become wise and successful. As we change our thinking, our choices in life will change, which will also change our lives.

So far we have visited waypoints 1-5, so we are making good progress on our Trek. Today as we search for waypoints 6 & 7 on our expedition, let us see what advice we can gain so that we can continue to change our thinking. If you missed any of the past five days of podcasts, please go back and listen to them, or read our daily journal entries.  Doing so will enable you to be equipped with all of the information that you need to change your life.

As we ended our podcast yesterday, I asked you to consider two more questions:

4. Am I building a solid foundation on facts so that I can think with certainty?
5. Am I implementing strategic plans that give me direction for today and increase my potential for tomorrow?

I hope that you will take the time each day to reflect on these questions. This is crucial in gaining wisdom, as Proverbs 2:2-5 says,

“Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.”

As we continue on our trail of life this beautiful day, enjoy the sunshine, the soft mountain breeze, and the fragrances of summer after a brief shower.  As we visualize this, we soon come upon our 6^th waypoint and find our first instructions.

6. Explore Possibility Thinking

To be a possibility thinker you must believe that solutions exist to even the most difficult problems. When you believe something challenging can be done and then succeed at doing it, doors open and others are attracted to you. When you make things happen, it inspires others to create possibilities.  When you approach difficult tasks, you have the potential to attain exceptional results.  When you embrace possibility thinking, you believe in what you are doing and are energized by it. There are six different ways to stimulate possibility thinking:

• Do not focus on what is impossible. Instead focus on solutions to your problems or challenges in any situation.
• Stay away from experts. This may seem counter-intuitive to having a mentor, but an expert may see all that could go wrong and may discourage your dreams. It is good to take wise advice, but be leery of those individuals who are self-proclaimed experts.
• Look for possibilities in every situation. Opposite of the first point, regardless of the circumstances, try to look for positive possibilities.
• Dream bigger. To encourage possibility thinking, try to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone. Bigger dreams that are realistic will force you to grow.
• Question the status quo. It is impossible to stay the same and also improve. Greater possibilities mean that you do not settle for the status quo.
• Find inspiration from great achievers. One way for you to learn more about possibility thinking is to study great achievers. Anyone who has already achieved a level of wisdom and success also has a story of failure or tragedy.

If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size, and because you believe in possibilities, you put yourself in position to achieve them.

Focus Question: “Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly impossible problems?”

Now that we have explored possibility thinking, let us continue on to our next waypoint in thinking.

7. Learn from Reflective Thinking

Today’s fast-paced society does not encourage us to practice reflective thinking, but this practice can help you learn from past experiences and identify what should stay the same and what should change. There are many benefits associated with reflective thinking. It provides you with true perspective, lends emotional integrity to your thinking, clarifies your situations, and increases your confidence in decision making. One of the most important aspects of reflective thinking is your ability to transform your experience into insight.

There are five ways to improve your ability to think in a reflective manner:

• Set aside time for reflection. If you do not dedicate time for reflective thinking, it is unlikely that you will.
• Avoid distractions. Reflection requires that you find a place that provides solitude and an escape from your interruptions.
• Regularly review your calendar or journal. Although calendars are a useful planning tool, they are also good to use during reflective thinking to show how your activities align with priorities.
• Ask the right questions. Much of the value that is derived from reflective thinking comes when you ask prudent questions.
• Cement learning through action. You must be intentional about putting your thoughts into action. Once you learn something new, take action on what you have learned so that it will benefit you and help in the process of changing your life.

Focus Question: “Am I regularly revisiting the past to gain a true perspective and think with understanding?”

 Time for reflective thinking can be a real game changer for your life.  Yet few of us take the time to truly reflect. One area that we should reflect on more often is the goodness of our creator.  There are three verses in the 119^th chapter in the book of Psalms that encourage us to do so.

Psalm 119:5, “Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!”

Psalm 119:15, “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.”

Psalms 119:55, “I reflect at night on who you are, O Lord; therefore, I obey your instructions.”

We need to explore the possibilities in life and dream big, but we also need to reflect on what is most important in our lives.  As this type of thinking becomes  a habit in our lives, it will allow us to grow wise and successful.

For me, being grounded in God’s Word is foundational.  I should always put into practice what I am learning each day.  As Christ’s half-brother James put it in chapter 1 verse 22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

It might also be said that 

As your guide, friend, mentor, and fellow sojourner, let me know how I can help you make these statements on thinking into habits in your life.

Well, that will finish our podcast and journal for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow as we continue our Trek, we will investigate more waypoints to learn how changing our thinking can literally change our lives.

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to help us in the following five ways:

1. Leave your name and email address on our website in the bottom right-hand corner  in the side-barof any page, which will allow us to update you with special information about Wisdom-Trek.
2. Leave us feedback about the podcast on Wisdom-Trek.com.
3. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher.
4. Leave a rating, so we can gain exposure for Wisdom-Trek.
5. Encourage your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.

Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

As we take this Trek together let us always:

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

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