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The Mountains and Valleys of Life

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Trekking through Life

In this Wisdom Note, we will compare how taking a hike or trek has so many analogies to our daily trek of life.

As we consider this analogy, most often it comes to our minds that we want to be on the mountaintops all the time and avoid the deep valleys at all cost. What we may fail to realize is that in order to reach the summit of a mountain, we have to traverse upwards on many rough and winding trails. Once we do reach the mountain tops, if we desire to continue on with life, then we must move forward, which will require that we head back down into the valleys of life.

Climbing high mountains in life can be just as difficult and challenging as when we feel we are in the lowest of valleys.

Most of us do tend to associate difficult times in our lives with the idea of being in a valley. Maybe it’s a time of depression or despair. Maybe you’ve lost your job or are struggling financially. Maybe your job performance is just suffering. Maybe it’s a relationship that is broken and appears to be shattered.

I prefer to look at life more as seasons than mountains and valleys. Each of us experiences the upward climbs and the downward slopes, sometimes multiple times each day. There are seasons of life that are hard, terribly hard. During the difficult times, it seems our world is pitch black, and we are stuck in the valley of despair. We don’t know if a new day will dawn, or if the sun will ever peak above the next mountain. How should we handle these situations?

I realize there are some that have been mired in the valley for years, but that is usually the exception. One personal practice that I try to remember when times are difficult is to ask myself the question, “What crisis was I having or what was I worrying about last year on this same day?” Usually, I have no clue. Then I remind myself, so shall it be next year. The momentary crisis of today will pass like the storm in the night, and soon we will see a new day dawning with all of its glorious radiance.

One truth that we tend to forget is if we want to reach the summit, climbing the mountain is also challenging. It may mean that we indeed need to make that difficult climb in order to see the sun.

As we travel between North Carolina and Ohio many times each year, we pass through the entire length of West Virginia. While the mountains in WV are not nearly as tall as the Rockies, there are ravines between the mountains that are so close together they receive very little sun. So, if you live up one of those hollers, then you do have to climb the mountain to see the sun. So it is with life. If you find yourself in constant shadows, you may need to make the difficult choices and change your circumstances so that you will see and feel the warm sunlight on your face.

If you find yourself in a valley and at the base of the mountain, start climbing. But, realize that in order to reach the top, you will have to put forth more effort to climb than to remain wallowing in the mire of the valley floor. Be resolute. Be prepared. And, keep climbing. You will never see the beauty of the mountain peak unless you are willing to put in the effort of the climb.

The times of success and ease in your life, when it appears that God’s blessings are being showered on you, can be just as challenging as the times in the valleys, just in a different way. The upward climb is actually much more difficult than heading back into the valley, but it is so worth the effort. If you learn and gain wisdom from each mountain top and valley experience, then each climb will take you a little higher, and each descent into a valley will not be as deep.

The truth is whether you are climbing the mountains or descending into the valleys, life may be difficult. The times when we get to rest on the mountain tops can be grand, so learn to relax, enjoy, and celebrate those times. The times when we are in the valleys are just as important, so learn to reflect, enjoy, and learn from those times.

Mountains and valleys are the realities of life. This challenges an immature line of thinking that many of us cling to – that life one day will be easy. If you learn from and apply the lessons of life, there may be seasons of rest and enjoyment, but if you are waiting to move onto easy street permanently…if it is your life’s ambition to find ease and comfort, you’re going to be waiting a long time.

Winston Churchill put it this way, “Mountaintops inspire leaders; valleys mature them.”

As a follower of Christ in times of difficulty or ease, I go to the source of all wisdom, The Bible, for strength and peace. Today let’s look at a Psalm that King David penned. Psalm 121 helps us on our trek of life.

“I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.”

This passage allows us to realize that we are not on this trek alone. In addition to having each other to assist, we can depend on God to have our best interest in mind.

Regardless of how high your mountains or how deep your valleys Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday!

The Value of a Checklist

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Benefits of Using a Checklist

If we decided to set out on a long and difficult trek, such as hiking the entire Appalachian Trail, which runs from Katahdin Maine down to Springer Mountain in Georgia, one of the first items that would be required is a complete checklist. What would be on our checklist?

While I have never hiked anywhere close to that long or difficult of a trail, I have read several articles and watched documentaries from those who have hiked all or part of it. The checklist is extensive, and if you are not prepared, the hike can be very dangerous.

Completing the entire 2,185 miles of the Appalachian Trail in one trip is a mammoth undertaking, which can take five months or more. It requires great determination and commitment, but can potentially be accomplished by anyone with the ability to walk. That’s not to say hiking it is easy. The footpath of the Appalachian Trail is far more rugged than most anticipate, given the soft and gentle profiles of the mountains and relatively low elevations.

Each year, thousands of hikers attempt a thru-hike, but only about one in four makes it all the way. Who knows, I may attempt a thru-hike at some point.

As it is with our trek of life, first we need to have a good understanding of where we are heading and why. We then need to have a plan for how we are going to travel towards our destination. In the weekly newsletter that I sent out on November 28th, I referred to the importance and differences between the Compass and the Clock. Both are a crucial part in navigation on a long trek.

Each of us should have a set of guidelines or a code that we live by. This will establish our baseline for the decisions that we need to make each day. While we may not see a lot of progress made on certain days, it does not take too long to realize that the days string together quickly. If we don’t have a set of guidelines, or as it were, a checklist, then we will stumble blindly on, never ending up where we desire to be.

You may establish your guidelines or checklist on a different moral code than I do, but we all have a compass that gives us direction. If your compass is not functioning and not pointing to your true north, then it will show up in a lack of integrity and commitment.

My personal moral compass is the Bible, which I consider to be God’s Word. It has been my guide throughout life. Just as in hiking, there is a checklist for every leg of the hike. I consider God’s Word to be a complete checklist for my life. I am not referring to a legalistic rigid set of “rules” that I must follow, but through the spirit of living in such a way that my manner of life and integrity stands true in all areas of life.

The most famous checklist of all time and the basis for most civilized governments is referred to as the Ten Commandments. It sets the moral standard for how we should conduct ourselves in every situation. My paraphrased version of Exodus 20:1-17 is:

  • There is only one God – and He comes first.
  • Worship only God.
  • Don’t misuse God’s name.
  • Set aside one day a week for rest – it is holy.
  • Honor your parents = long life.
  • Don’t murder.
  • Don’t cheat on your spouse.
  • Don’t steal.
  • Don’t lie about your neighbors.
  • Don’t desire what is not yours to have.

All of the laws that were set up in the Old Testament of the Bible were to show how far short we fall from being God ourselves. It is not possible for us to achieve that standard. Fortunately, we do not have a long checklist that we need to follow for each day of our lives. In fact, it is quite short, and yet covers all that we need. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus put it this way, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

In other words, the Bible can be summed up in these two commands.  Love God, love others…nothing more, nothing less.

What is your checklist for life? Can you articulate it, and do you follow it each day? Let us make sure that our moral compass points to true north, that our destination is known, and that each day of our trek of life is lived with integrity. This will ensure a sure footing regardless of how rough the terrain may be.

For a copy of my checklist for living a successful life, click here.

Life at the Speed of Average

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Average Speed, Incredible Results

As we begin this new year, we have over 360 days ahead of us. So many people like to rush into the new year and attempt to accomplish everything at once. While this is exciting and enticing, it is also why so many people quickly burn out and abandon their resolutions and goals.

Many people have asked me, how do you keep up with a daily podcast along with your other responsibilities? I have to admit, it was not always easy, but, for now, I am committed to a five day per week podcast. It takes being consistently persistent in the small things of life to achieve what appears to be great results. You can even move a mountain one stone at a time, as long as you are consistently persistent for a very long period of time.

I certainly have no extraordinary abilities or talents. I am a fairly average person but have a desire and drive and choose to move one stone at a time from the mountains that stand in front of me. You too can be average and still be a mountain mover. Let’s look at what can be accomplished even if you feel that you are considered average.

I was an average student who grew up very poor on an apple orchard. I did not allow being “average” hold me back.  Through being consistently persistent, I have written nearly 1 million words within the daily journals in preparation for the podcast over the past 19 months. At initial glance, it does look like a huge undertaking, but it was accomplished by writing a few pages each day consistently.

Due to the nature of our consulting work and other projects, I do not have the luxury to hide away in a remote location and write, record, edit, and publish the daily podcast and journals in batches, but like our trek of life, I take it one day at a time. It reminds me of a little booklet that I read many years ago called “Little Is Much When God Is In It.” The premise of the book is to be faithful in the small everyday tasks, and you will be able to accomplish much. It’s okay to be average as long as you are faithful and consistently persistent in the small tasks of life.

This concept holds true for all areas of your life. For example, anyone can feel a burst of inspiration, head to the gym, and push themselves really hard for a single workout. That’s maximum speed but will produce little result long-term. Instead, what if you had a slower paced workout, but averaged 4 days per week in the last month? How about the last three months? Or the last year? What has your average speed been? Your long-term results will be much greater if you are consistent over an extended period of time, even if each day did not include an intense workout.

This principle holds true for your work habits, your eating habits, your relationship habits, and virtually every other area of your life. Here’s the surprising thing about average speed…It doesn’t take very long for average speed to produce incredible results.

So often we waste our time and energy thinking that we need a monumental effort to achieve anything significant. We tell ourselves that we need to get amped up on motivation and desire. We think that we need to work harder than everyone else. While I am all for continual improvement, it does not take herculean efforts to see huge results over a long period of time.

The natural question that follows from all of this is, “How do I increase my average speed?” Last year I read an article written by blogger James Clear where he wrote “Habit Graduation: How to Increase Your Average Speed.” In other words, graduating from your current habit level to one level higher. Basically, habit graduation is about increasing your average speed.

Here are some examples…

  • If your average speed is eating three healthy meals per week, can you “graduate” that to one healthy meal per day?
  • If your average speed is exercising once per week, can you “graduate” that to twice per week?
  • If your average speed is to only read spiritual or inspirational materials once per week, can you “graduate” to three times per week?

We all have an average speed when it comes to our habits. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, that average speed might be much slower than we’d like. The truth is, anyone can get motivated and push themselves for one day, but very few people maintain a consistent effort every week without fail.

In your health, your work, and your life, it doesn’t require a massive effort to achieve incredible results — just being consistently persistent over a period of time.

This reminds me of the parable from Matthew 25:20-21, “The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”

Remember in your life if you are consistently persistent even at an average speed, you can move mountains. Let us work on increasing our average speed gradually at the same time.

Live Your Best Life

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Live Long and Prosper in 2017

What do you desire to accomplish in 2017? What is your destination? As we trek together over the next 12 months and beyond, let me help you along the way. For myself and our time together on our Wisdom-Trek, let’s make it our combined purpose to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insight, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. This is an effort that will be much easier as we assist each other. In doing so, we will set up the framework in our lives that will truly allow us to “Live Long and Prosper.”

I believe that most of us would desire to live a long life and to prosper. Prospering, though, will take many different forms. It could be financial, but that does not need to be our primary way of prospering. Becoming wise and creating a living legacy by making a positive impact on our world will allow us to truly prosper. The primary purpose for us pursuing and obtaining financial prosperity is to allow our impact to be even greater.

We need to be a river and not a reservoir with our financial gain. Allowing financial prosperity to flow through us to others, instead of hoarding it for ourselves, will help us to gain wisdom.

In addition to setting a destination, our best hope of arriving safely is to have suitable navigation tools. We need to follow a GPS, map, compass or other tools that will allow us to be reasonably sure that we are on the right path. These tools are important, but are only useful, if we follow them.

As I am sure each of us has experienced, even with the best GPS or map, we sometimes end up on a wrong road, and so it is with the trails in life. We may find ourselves at places or in situations that we never expected, either through our own choices or the choices of others.

We may get off the planned trail, but with the right tools, we can still head toward our destination. While my primary map in life on my Wisdom-Trek has been The Bible, I have also studied and followed many others that have traveled before me.

My parents have had a major positive impact on my life along with my wife Paula. Some of my “virtual mentors” that have already reached their destination in this life are been Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, and Earl Nightingale. One of my goals and objectives is to be your virtual mentor throughout this next year. Let me know how I can serve you more effectively.

Using the combined resources of God’s Word and encouraging mentors, when I have found myself on an unexpected trail in life (which there have been many), I am able to head in the correct direction because my destination remains the same. There have been and will continue to be many steep uphill climbs and some dark valleys, but as we continue our trek together, assisting each other, we will have the strength to continue.

Let us all look for ways to encourage and help others as we begin our trek into another year. In doing so, we all will be able to live our best lives.

As the wisest person to ever live King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

A Proper Mindshift

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The Importance of Mindshift

As we are coming to the end of another year, whether it has been a great year or not so good, I believe we would all like to see 2017 as our best year ever. There are some circumstances or situations that are out of our control, but the one thing we do have control over is how we think.  In order for next year to be better than the current year, we will need to have a mindshift.

Each day when we rise, we have some initial crucial decisions to make. How we start the day will largely determine how well the remainder of the day goes.  I am sure you have been able to tell I am generally a very positive person, but I am also rooted in the realities of life. You might say I am a positive realist. How we perceive each day is based on our paradigm tied to our attitude. Our paradigm is a framework containing our basic assumptions or our way of thinking.

Our basic assumptions or the way we think about life will in large part result in how our life will turn out. So in order to change the way we think about life we may very well need a paradigm shift (or mindshift)—a radical change in how we perceive each day.

Over the years of observation and experience, Paula and I have seen the self-fulfilling prophecy of a person’s basic attitude and beliefs many times. We’ve seen so many instances of lost jobs, broken relationships, and failed businesses primarily due to a person’s attitude and belief that the situation would not work out well.

On the converse, those that are hopeful and anticipate that life will go well overall usually experience success.

This is clearly evident in the Bible where the word mind and heart are many times interchangeable as is written in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart (mind) above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

What we think about and how we allow it to permeate our life will determine the course of our lives. If we are fearful of stumbling over obstacles on the trail or falling down the slippery slopes of life, there is a great possibility that those fears will turn into reality.

If we keep in our minds that which is good and positive, then the fruit that is produced in our lives will be good, and the outcomes in life will be positive overall. Christ put it this way in Matthew 12:35, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart (mind), and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart (mind).”

Some days our trails will be flat and smooth and it will be easy to start and remain positive. Other days we will wake up to find that a boulder has rolled onto the path right in front of us or a bear is lurking outside of our tent, and it will be difficult to even begin.

To be honest with ourselves, we have to admit that some of the difficult trails are caused by our own choices. I have observed over the years that some people enjoy living in crisis mode with much drama, for in some strange way that is their comfort zone. They are masters in self-sabotage.

Even when we have a positive, encouraging, and victorious mindset/outlook on life, we cannot always control how rough the trails of life may be, but we can control our attitudes about those trails.

In my life of faith, this is made possible by acknowledging and accepting the gift of God’s Spirit which Christ promised before His return to heaven, after His resurrection. This promise is found in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

One of my favorite quotes from one of my Virtual Mentors Zig Ziglar is, “You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You change what you are and you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”

As we look with anticipation that 2017 will be our best year ever, it starts with a mindshift to make that happen.