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Day 326 – The 10 Laws of a Living Legacy

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 326 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

The 10 Laws of a Living Legacy

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 326 of our trek. Yesterday, we explored 5 essential elements on our hike that will lead us to success. Today on our trek, we will cover the 10 law of a living legacy.

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Thank you so much for coming along with me daily as we add to our wisdom. No one becomes wise quickly. It takes years of life experiences and a desire to be wise before wisdom becomes part of our living legacy. Every day presents us a new opportunity to learn, to laugh, to love, and to make an impact in the lives of others that will last for eternity. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Within The Big House, we were able to get the repainted beds set up in the upstairs back bedroom and are making progress restocking the bookshelves in the library.  I am also refinishing the sign that is at the end of our driveway, as it is well worn from the weather. We are also making good progress with our client work and other related projects. We are slowly building our legacy each day as we take life one day at a time. There are certain character traits, or you might say laws, that we should build into our lives so that we are living our legacy each day.

0d3e9fc834493b3cb68ae94aa6dd1e6dOn our trek today let’s study the…

10 Laws of a Living Legacy

If you want to achieve your true potential in creating and living your legacy that you were called to, you must start by being aware of who you are. Living your legacy is an internal change that will manifest itself externally.

Here are 10 guidelines or laws to help you, whether you’re just beginning your legacy trek or are far up the trail. These laws may not have been handed down on stone tablets, but if you follow them, you’ll find that indeed you are living a positive legacy each day.

  1. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.

    Your reputation is just what other people think; your character is what you really are. To live your legacy, you will face challenges that require a choice between character and compromise; every time you choose character, you gain positive ground. Character is the core of a living legacy.

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  1. Be committed in all that you do

    To effectively live your legacy you have to be committed, and true commitment starts in the heart. It inspires and impacts others; it shows them you have convictions. They will believe in you because you take responsibility, and you are committed to living your legacy.

Be committed in all that you do

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  1. Listen more than you speak

    Communication is critical in order to positively impact others. People want to emulate someone they can understand, or someone who listens. As you live your legacy, you should listen far more than you speak, and when you do speak, make sure your words are consistent with your actions and character. 

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  1. Always show the best of who you are into everything you do.

    It’s easy to admire those who are highly competent, but most of us will never be considered superstars. To live your legacy by having integrity in all that you do is crucial. Cultivate the competence you need to show up every day, to keep improving, to get ahead of the game where you can, and to keep setting the bar higher. Never stop growing yourself.

Always show the best of who you are into everything you do

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  1. Stand brave even in the face of fear.

    To effectively live your legacy each day your dedication to your purpose and principles must remain stronger than your desire to appease others. You must be able to stretch past your comfort zone, to stand strong, and to make an impact on the lives of others who need to see your strength. You need to do the right thing when everyone else is frightened and to step forward in a bold way. Consider this statement which is stated on our Wisdom-Trek.com website which is Our vision is that together we will create a legacy of wisdom, we will seek out discernment and insights, we will boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before, and we will live long and prosper as a result.

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  1. Always live by your convictions.

    To live your legacy, you must be willing to stand for something. Strong convictions precede great actions, and it is our convictions that call us to act with integrity. For those of us to whom much has been given, much is required. How you act, what you say, how you treat others – your convictions build the trust that a living legacy requires.

Always live by your convictions

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  1. Stay focused on consistent excellence.

    Focus and concentration let you accomplish much while making an impact. It’s a discipline that allows you to evaluate what’s in front of you and set priorities and to live your legacy with consistent excellence.

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  1. Have a clear purpose, vision, and mission.

    From grand accomplishments to the small mundane daily tasks, creating a living legacy requires clarity. When you have a clear sense of your vision, mission, and purpose, you will effectively and positively impact others. They will also clearly see the standard of measure from your life.

Have a clear purpose, vision, and mission

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  1. Continually seek knowledge and wisdom.

    Self-growth and a robust commitment to lifelong learning and obtainment of wisdom are the most effective tools you can have impacting others with your living legacy. To continue to grow you need to be constantly looking for ways to improve yourself so that you can help others improve through your positive impact on them. Never stop asking questions and stretch yourself. Stay teachable, curious, and open.

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  2. Honor others and know their importance.

When you understand that living a legacy is all about relationships, you truly know the importance of living in a way that positively impacts, builds, and strengthens connections with those around you every day.

Honor others and know their importance.

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As you consider the 10 guidelines or laws for creating and living your legacy remember to make every action count. It’s the one thing that will take what we have just learned and effectively impact others with meaning and significance. Living your legacy each day means to make every action, every word, every moment, and every relationship count.

Let’s wrap up our trek today as we consider the words of the Apostle Paul in the letter to the church in Ephesus in Chapter 5:15-17, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

The 10 Laws of a Living Legacy provides us with the guidelines that we need to have a significant and positive impact on the lives of everyone that we meet. Tomorrow on our trek we are going to explore learning to be comfortable with discomfort. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

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That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

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!

Day 325 – 5 Essential Elements of Success

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 325 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

5 Essential Elements of Success

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 325 of our trek. Yesterday on our trek, we were challenged with some crucial questions of why life is not a dress rehearsal. Today we will explore 5 essential elements on our hike that will lead us to success.

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Thank you so much for coming along with me as we learn from the wisdom of the ages on our daily trek of life. Every day presents us a new opportunity to learn, to laugh, to love, and to make an impact in the lives of others that will last for eternity. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This week so far has been a beautiful spring week. The hawks are very active although we have not seen any signs of young ones yet, so we are not sure if they have hatched. We continue to make slow and steady progress on our client work and related projects as well as our projects in and around The Big House. There is always much to do, so sometimes it is a bit difficult to measure our level of success from day to day. Success can take many forms in all areas of our lives. We should have a purpose for life that all successes direct us to. At the end of my life, it is my hope that after fulfilling God’s purpose I can say what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”  There are some key essentials involved in success regardless of what success looks like to you, though.

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That is why today we will investigate the…

5 Essential Elements of Success

1. Passion

Bill Gates was able to build Microsoft and became the richest man in the world because he was passionate about his vision of putting “a computer on every desk in every home.”  Passion, defined as intense emotional excitement, goes beyond mere enthusiasm.

· How Passion Is an Element of Success

A person with passion is a person who can set goals. Without them, you’ll have no clear direction and will drift along the road of circumstances. Another technology visionary, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, abandoned his studies at Reed College to pursue more lucrative goals. Once he identified his passion, he was impatient with a slow path to carrying it out.  You, too, can recognize your passions. When you share your goals with others, however, don’t be surprised to hear things like, “Yes, but that’s not realistic,” or “That’s not practical.”

“You see things and say ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were and say ‘Why not?’” – George Bernard Shaw

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2. Determination

We recently watched a Dolly Parton TV special called A Coat of Many Colors. It was touching and inspiring. When it was Dolly’s turn at her high school graduation to announce her plans, she said, “I’m going to Nashville to become a star.” The entire place erupted in laughter. She was stunned, but that laughter instilled in her an even greater determination to realize her dream. Dolly went on to write over 3,000 songs. Today she holds the record for the number of awards for a female artist – including seven Grammy Awards and an Emmy. The first year her theme park Dollywood opened, in 1986, gross business revenues for the city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, jumped 47% over the previous year. Her Imagination Library program has been adopted in 600 communities in 41 states. Dolly is respectfully referred to as the “Tennessee Icon.”

· How Determination Is an Element of Success

Without determination, a person can easily be lured away from their path. Many years ago, Viktor Frankl said, “Without a clear purpose, any obstacle will send a person in a new direction.” Stephen Covey, in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, talks about the tendency to respond to circumstances rather than priorities. Just recognize that if you respond to circumstances, any obstacle will send you off in a new direction. But with determination, you can establish priorities that will guide you through even challenging and unexpected circumstances.

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3. Talent

As a young boy, Walt Disney lived in the world of fantasy and entertainment. When he first approached a Kansas City newspaper with his drawings, the editor told him, “These won’t do. If I were you, I’d give up this work. From these sketches, it’s obvious your talent lies elsewhere.”  Walt could have easily given up. Here was a known “expert” telling him he had no talent for cartooning. He could have easily make excuses for not pursuing his dream to draw and write. All he could find for a studio was an old mouse-infested garage, but in that studio, Walt continued to draw his cartoons. We all know how one of those mice became an international household word. Talent is a funny thing. If you wait for perfect conditions, it will likely never appear.

· How Talent Is an Element of Success

Talent allows a person to focus. No one has talent in every area; discover where you rise to the top. What are those things you love to do whether or not you get paid? Sometimes we discover that our first sense of “calling” is guided more by others’ expectations than as a true reflection of our strongest areas of competence. Your talent is an essential element for success when combined with the other elements. It may require that you invest heavily to allow your talent to bring success, but investment in yourself is never a loss. “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”  – Benjamin Franklin

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4. Self-Defense

Years ago, Jenny Craig was faced with losing 45 pounds. While losing it, she gained the self-discipline she needed to launch her own company. Estimated annual company sales today are $400 million.

·  How Self-Discipline Is an Element of Success

Without self-discipline, a person can easily be swayed by others. Self-discipline is the foundation that makes the others elements work. Knowing the other elements is the initial step, but acting on them always requires self-discipline. Self-Discipline is not a hardship. It is a joy to be focused and intentional while others around you evidence their floundering lives with wasted time and resources. Maya Angelou persisted in her writing even when others discouraged her. At the time of her death, she enjoyed over $4 million yearly income.

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5. Faith

Even with everything lining up logically or financially, real success requires that step of faith into the unknown. Remember Thomas Edison’s 10,000 failed attempts to invent the light bulb? He has the passion, determination, talent, and self-discipline to carry him on, but that alone did not bring him success.  He had unwavering faith to believe that if God had allowed him to see it in his mind, it could become a physical reality.

· How Faith is an Element of Success

Faith is best described in Hebrews 11:1-3, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”

The five elements that we discovered today will help us to refocus our lives so that we invest our time into what is most important and will bring success to our life purpose. Tomorrow on our trek, we will study the 10 Laws of a Living Legacy. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

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That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

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!

Day 324 – Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 324 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 324 of our trek. Yesterday, we hiked on a trail that was carved out hundreds of years ago as we discovered the 10 signs of a life well lived. Today on our trek, we want to learn why life is not a dress rehearsal.

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Thank you so much for coming along with me as we learn from the wisdom of the ages on our daily trek of life. Every day presents us a new opportunity to learn, to laugh, to love, and to make an impact in the lives of others that will last for eternity. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Sunday was a relaxing day as we worshipped at church with Nat & Elizabeth and four of our grandkids. We then shopped for some more renovation materials and groceries. The afternoon was invested in finishing the painting of the back wall of the bookshelves in the library and visiting for a short time with my brother Jack who is recovering from a recent gallbladder removal surgery on Friday. He is recovering well, and it is amazing the advancements that have been made in surgery. He was in and out of the hospital in about five hours and will be able to return to work on Tuesday. Surgery of any kind is serious. We are blessed to live in such a time. Even with such advancements, we still need to take pause and realize that we need to make time for what is really important because…

Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal

“She called me a bad name.” “He took my toy.” “She didn’t like my dress.” “I had it first.” Ah yes, the thrill of being young again. Remember how important these things seemed when we were young? In retrospect, they now seem so trivial.

Of course, as we get older and wiser, we focus on important things, like showing our friends how successful we’ve become, outflanking others to get a promotion, keeping up with the Joneses, and ensuring that we look young — forever. You’d think we’d have learned something from our kindergarten days, wouldn’t you?

The truth is, we’re often so busy running on our treadmill to nowhere that we can lose focus on the things that really matter in life. Before we know it, the seconds have become minutes, the days have become weeks, and the months have become years. And when we finally take the time to catch our breath, we look back in retrospect and think, “Where did all the time go?” As I am approaching 60 this summer, this hits all too close to home.

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It’s so easy to be blinded by ambition, power, and success that many folks miss out on the simple pleasures of life. For example, do your children’s birthday parties, sporting events, or recitals make your priority list? Are you available to counsel your friend in need? Do you make the time to help your kids with their homework, to attend back-to-school nights, or to put down your newspaper, smartphone, and iPad when your family wants to tell you about their day? Or, is something else more important to you at the time?

Now, I know that you lead a hectic life and that you’re getting pulled in many different directions. The truth is, it’s not that you don’t have enough time to devote to things that matter to you but rather, the time needed is spent doing something else instead of being invested into what is truly more important.

It goes without saying that every time you decide to focus on one thing in your life, you’ve also decided not to invest that time on something else. Unfortunately, once opportunities are lost, they’re often lost forever — life doesn’t come with a dress rehearsal. So, if you think you may regret the path you’re on, it may be time to change course.

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Here are six guideposts of questions to point you in the right direction:

· Priorities

Have you ever stopped to think about what matters most to you? Do you invest the majority of your time in those areas? Or do trivial issues sidetrack you from doing the things that you should care about the most?

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· Agenda

Do you let other people control your agenda? How much time do you spend reacting to fire drills versus doing things that matter? Are you asking your loved ones to do all of the accommodating, while allowing others to have free rein over your priorities?

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· Time Management

How much of your day is spent on autopilot? Do you devote more time to thinking about what you’re going to do or to doing it? When was the last time you identified and eliminated wasteful tasks and routines?

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· Quality

How much of your day is spent worrying about problems versus appreciating the moment? What percentage of your time do you spend being physically present but mentally absent? Does multitasking damage your ability to give your undivided attention?

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· Inner Peace

Do you care more about what you want out of life or about what others think? Do you value creating wonderful memories as much as you value material rewards? Are you investing in your family and friends or taking them for granted? When was the last time you felt comfortable with yourself?

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· The Decision Is Yours

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day minutiae that we quickly lose sight of the big picture. Those who are truthful and have paused long enough to reflect on where they’ve been have concluded that they’ve squandered much of their precious time on earth.

Even those who have secured enviable positions of power and material wealth admit that their decisions to follow these paths have come with real costs — in relationships and precious moments that can’t be replaced. This doesn’t have to be you.

The trail that you choose is your decision and yours alone. The only correct answer is the one that fulfills your God-given design for you. As George Eliot once said, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” The crucial element is to know what your purpose in life is at this point. The key is to establish goals that matter most to you and your loved ones, align your priorities around your life purpose and goals, and then pursue them. While doing this, you need to take the time to enjoy your life and remain true to yourself through your calling and to those who love you.

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Your goal shouldn’t be cramming as much stuff as possible into your life. Success and happiness are achieved by investing time and attention in areas that really matter to you. No matter how old you are, you still have time to change course. As Alan Lakein once said, “Time = Life, Therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.” Are you investing your precious time in the areas that matter most to you? It’s your choice.

We would all do well to study the entire lesson that Jesus taught in Matthew 6:19-34, which will help to keep our priorities straight. For brevity sake, I will read verses 31-34, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

The six guideposts that we discovered today will help us to refocus our lives so that we invest our time into what is most important instead of spending our time in those activities that have no eternal impact. Tomorrow on our trek, we will explore the 5 trails to success. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

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That will finish our trek for today. Just as you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

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!

Day 323 – 10 Timeless Truths for Life

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 323 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

10 Timeless Truths for Life

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 323 of our trek. Yesterday, we remained at the baseball fields and explored the 4 Financial Lessons from Baseball. Today we will hike on a trail that was carved out hundreds of years ago as we look for the 10 signs of a life well lived.

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Thank you so much for coming along with me as we learn these simple, yet profound truths for our daily trek in life. Living with wisdom and insight each day of our lives will expand our living legacy and allow us to live life with abundance. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It was a beautiful spring day on Saturday, and we were able to accomplish a lot both inside and out. Paula painted the back wall of the built-in bookshelves in the library, so we should be able to install the oak shelves and move the books back in this week. At least the books that will fit. We have many more books that will need to be stored elsewhere.

I painted the two army beds with a second coat of brown Rustoleum, so we will move those into the upstairs back bedroom this week. I was also able to clean and repair the gutters and remove the ivy that was on the side of the garage. We decided to remove the storm doors from the front and parlor entrances. The large oak doors on both entrances really look a lot better without the storm doors. Overall, it was a great but physically tiring day. As we work on the renovations, there are so many thoughts about the timeless days gone by with all the family members who have lived their lives at The Big House. We are blessed to be the caretakers. These thoughts bring us to our trail for today as we learn…

10 Timeless Truths for Life

1. Gratitude cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed.

Gratitude is the sacred experience of living every moment with love and thankfulness. There is always, always, always something to be thankful for and some reason to love. So, be sure to appreciate what you have. Be thankful for the little things in life that mean a lot.

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. - Charles Spurgeon

2. Be a student of life every day.

Experience it, learn from it, and absorb all the knowledge you can. Prepare yourself for greatness by keeping your mind conditioned with fresh knowledge and new challenges. Remember, if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready when great opportunities arise.

3. Experience and failure are the best teachers.

Don’t just memorize the things others are teaching. Practice “figuring out” each day so you can learn the best practices and then do your thing. Life’s experiences and failures will teach you over the course of time, and often at the right time and place so that you will remember forever what is truly important.

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4. Make your choices, your actions, and your life your responsibility.

As much as possible, live your life without fear or regrets. Never let obstacles keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do. Continue to work hard at what you love no matter what the challenges are. Be persistent. Make your choices and accept the responsibility for those choices. You can’t change the past, so live without fear and regrets. This will allow you to experience a life well lived.

5. No one is “too busy” in this world. It’s all about priorities.

What you focus on grows. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, or anyone else. It boils down to that we choose to do what we want, so make wise choices.

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6. Be patient, but resolute. Even pain will be useful to you.

You will never realize your true strength until being strong is your only option left. Until you are broken or have failed, you won’t know what you’re truly made of. Pain has a purpose and will teach us. It’s a sign that something needs to change. It’s a wake-up call that guides you toward a better future. So keep your heart open to dreams, and make the changes needed. As long as there is a dream and positive action, there is hope. And, as long as there is hope, there is joy in living.

7. It is better to be kind than insist on being right.

We do not always need an intelligent mind that speaks, just a patient heart that listens. Be kind at all times. There is never a justifiable excuse not to be kind. It takes a great deal of strength to be gentle and kind. Power comes through kindness. As it says in Ephesians 4:2 & 32, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”

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8. You are a magnet attracting others to you.

What you see in others comes from what is inside you. Judge less and love more. If you want inner peace, resist the temptation to gossip about others or portray them in a poor light. Instead of judging someone for what they do or where they are in their life, determine if there is something you can do to help them grow. As you have the opportunity, help others by loving them, not judging them.

9. Only you are in charge of your attitude.

The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that a situation is over, you cannot move forward. You are responsible for how you feel, no matter what anyone else says or does. You are always 100% in control of your thoughts right now, so choose to love yourself and feel confident and adequate rather than angry and insecure. Choose to look forward and upward, not backward and down.

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10. Satisfaction is not the fulfillment of what you want.

Satisfaction is the realization of how blessed you are for what you have. It’s not that everything will be easy or exactly as you had expected, but you must choose to be grateful for all that you have and happy that you got a chance to live this life, no matter how it turns out. If you are not satisfied with what you have already, you will never be satisfied with more. It requires a mental shift of accepting life for what it is not what you hoped it to be. This does not mean you don’t try to improve and excel personally, you certainly should. As you seek to improve, have gratitude today, and then you will have gratitude tomorrow.

These 10 ageless truths, when put into practice will allow you to live fully, richly, and with satisfaction. Tomorrow, as we hike our trail, we will explore how Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

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That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

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!

Day 322 – 4 Financial Lessons from Baseball

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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 322 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

4 Financial Lessons from Baseball

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 322 of our trek. Yesterday, we stopped by the baseball fields and discovered 9 Life Lessons from Baseball. It is such a beautiful spring day that today we will stay at the ball fields and explore what baseball can teach us about our finances.

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Thank you so much for coming along with me as we discover that each event of our daily trek in life, whether small or large, is packed with wisdom and insight that we can learn and apply to our lives to expand our living legacy. These bits of wisdom will help us to live a rich and satisfying life that we were created for. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Late afternoon on Friday we headed north once again for a little over two weeks. There is much work planned on and around The Big House as the weather is starting to warm up and the leaves on the trees are being released from their winter hibernation. While owning the old family homestead is rewarding and an integral part of our long-term legacy, it is a lot of responsibility and work. It also takes a lot of financial resources to maintain and renovate it. Paula and I are very serious when it comes to managing and controlling our financial foundation. While we have had our share of financial ebbs and flows during the past 37 years, we are always learning on how better to control our financial position without it controlling us.

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Keeping with our focus from yesterday of learning life’s lessons from baseball today we want to learn:

4 Financial Lessons from Baseball

For many people, especially in the US, there is nothing like the start of the baseball season. Even though the season seems ceaselessly long, there is something about the anticipation of the Opening Day of baseball games. It means spring is right around the corner.

Although I am not a sports fanatic myself, one thing I love about sports is the analogies that can be made to our trek of life. I really think any philosophy of life can be explained through sports analogies. The importance of teamwork in winning games and getting things done successfully in life cannot be ignored. Doing the hard work behind the scenes will usually lead to a good performance on the field and in your life or career. The analogies are endless. There is probably no sport more open to analogies than baseball. After doing some thinking, there are a good number of analogies that can apply to personal finance. Even if you are not a huge sports fan, I think you will be able to relate to these analogies.

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1. Good pitching is essential, but you need to score runs to win.

Increasing your personal cash flow is a simple proposition. Increase the amount of money coming in and decrease the amount of money going out. Make more money and spend less of it. In baseball terms, that means score more runs and don’t let the other team score runs. Having a good set of pitchers and sound defensive play from your fielders will keep the opponent’s runs to a minimum. But this alone is not going to win you the championship. You need to be able to put runs up on the board to make up for any inevitable mistakes from the defense.

This means that having a budget and watching where your money goes is not enough in itself. Sometimes we spend too much on food in a month. A car repair is needed. An impromptu vacation is booked. Things fall through the cracks sometimes, so it’s important we put extra effort into setting money aside as well. It can make up for any small mistakes we make and keep our cash flow positive. In addition to saving money in an emergency fund, it is crucial to build into your life multiple streams of income to guard against the slumps the will come.

Putting in place a good, but frugal spending plan is necessary and can put you in a great position financially, but to expand your resources, you need to have backup plans, just like baseball teams have backup players to fill in when needed.

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2. You’re eventually going to swing and miss.  You just have to learn from it.

Legendary Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams famously said, “Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.”  A 30% hit rate is awesome in the baseball world, but is terrible in everything else. Something useful can be gleaned from these words though, which is that failure is inevitable. You can literally plan for it. There is no one who has never made a mistake at some point when it comes to their finances. In our situation, it was business decisions that did not turn out well and impacted us in a major way financially. For you, it may be a poor mutual fund selection, higher than expected credit card bills, or a home improvement project that just won’t stay under budget…Mistakes will be made.

The important thing is to learn from them and become wise financially. Also, learn from the mistakes of others and avoid those situations.

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3. Put your pitcher in the best position possible to win the matchup.

One struggle that baseball managers have is to know when to replace the starting pitcher and go to the bullpen. Choosing the best relief pitcher can be a tricky choice. Some pitchers pitch better at home. Some are better at night. Some are terrible against certain hitters. All these variables must be considered before choosing the pitcher that will give you the best chance to win.

Personal finance is no different. Someone who has a lot of credit card debt and someone who has none should not be doing the same thing with their money. If you have a lot of debt, you may have to get by with a smaller emergency fund while paying down your debt. If you have no debt, you can save up for a more comfortable emergency fund and invest some money as well. You may want to go into business for yourself or invest in tax-deferred financial tools, which can have some tax benefits. Everyone has a different situation, and there is no one answer to solve everyone’s issue. The best action is to analyze where you are and where you want to be and find the most efficient way to get there.

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4. The season is a marathon, not a sprint.

A Major League Baseball team has to play 162 games in the regular season. That’s a whole lot of games. Players can get worn down, worn out, become injured, and lose morale. The important thing to do is to keep the goal in sight. While the goal for the teams is to win the World Series, it happens by winning one game at a time. Once a game is over, win or lose, you have to focus on winning the next game.

So it is with your finances. You win by decreasing your debt and increasing your savings one dollar at a time. Yes, you have to have financial goals in mind, but every decision to either spend or invest each dollar will determine if you are successful. Wise financial decisions are crucial, so if you are going to play ball, play to win.

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As you become successful in your finances by making wise choices, you should keep in mind the words that Paul wrote in his first letter to his apprentice in Timothy 6:17-19, “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”

It has been an enjoyable two days at the ball field where we learned much about life and finances. Tomorrow we will hike the trail of a life well lived. So, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

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That will finish our trek for today. Just as you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

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!