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5 Tips to Navigate Life’s Transitions

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In our previous Wisdom Note, we explored six essential waypoints to live a better life. These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. If you miss any of our Wisdom Notes please go to the blog to read previous articles.

Just as the seasons change, life brings with it major transitions, and this week we will explore the…

5 Tips to Navigate Life’s Transitions

Change is inevitable and at times, those changes come in the form of major life transitions. Sometimes the transitions we face are welcome and joyous, such as graduating, getting married, having a new baby, starting a business, or moving to a new house. We feel excited about the possibilities ahead and look forward to the positive changes these events will bring to our lives.

However, transitions we don’t want or didn’t ask for often come our way as well. Divorce, losing a job, a business failure, sudden illness or injury, and the loss of a loved one are all examples of major transitions that do not initially appear favorable or desired. These changes can leave us feeling understandably angry, anxious, and depressed.

Regardless of the circumstances, navigating any kind of life transition often causes us to feel like a fish out of water. It leaves us in an awkward emotional place that demands us to respond in new ways and possibly even adapt to a different way of life. We often long for the way things used to be. Here are some tips for navigating these unfamiliar times and creating a new “normal.”

1. Acknowledge the Transition

Be honest with yourself about how the transition affects your daily life, old patterns, and routines. When we are unable to rely on our former expectations or daily routines, it can leave us feeling unstable and overwhelmed. Fighting the transitions that occur in our lives can cause greater frustration and keep us from adapting to its new aspects.

2. Expect to Feel

Any life transition, whether wanted or unwanted, leaves us with many conflicting emotions. A new baby is a joyful and exciting addition to life, but can also make new parents feel anxious and overwhelmed until settling into new routines and ways of life with the child.

Feelings of excitement, anxiety, depression, and anger are common when adapting to life transitions. Additionally, it is natural to have feelings of grief and loss as we move forward in life and leave things behind. It’s healthy to feel all of the feelings that occur with any of these transitions. Even so, it’s important to move through these emotions and not get “stuck” in the anger, anxiety, or depression for too long.

3. Listen to Your Body

Navigating any major transition can be stressful and impact us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Make sure to get proper devotional time, rest, nutrition, and exercise; this can be a great way to lay a healthy foundation.

Know when it’s time to take a break, do something fun, or go out with friends. Or, join a small group Bible study can to gain balance if you are stuck in a place of uncertainty. Having realistic expectations and timeframes for the transitions can serve as a reminder to take it one day at a time.

4. Look for New Opportunities

When it feels like life has been flipped upside down and is no longer recognizable, it is easy to look only at the loss or the negative aspects of the transition. However, these times of transition can also be great opportunities to explore new things in your life.

Times of change are a great chance to meet different people, try new things, use your skills in a unique way, or step back and re-prioritize your life. You may get a new and better job, start a business based on your experience and expertise, or form relationships with new friends. Whatever the case may be, looking for new opportunities can help the makeover of your life be positive.

5. Get Support

It’s hard to do it all alone. Leaning on others and learning from others can give the moral support you need to feel more grounded and to move on from the transition. Friends, family, church, small group Bible studies, or a professional can help support you during this time of upheaval. Don’t be afraid to ask for help; be specific with what you need and how you can be best supported during this time. If you feel stuck in the loss, anger, anxiety or depression that comes with life transitions, find a pastor, counselor, or other professionals who can help you with the emotional and spiritual stress of moving on.

Letting go of the old and embracing the new during life transitions can be hard. At times, it may feel like things will never be normal again. While the circumstances are often different, doing the hard work of letting go and moving on can bring about positive results with time.

Getting support and looking for opportunities in these times can provide us with the ability to grow in previously unimaginable ways. Finally, it’s important to be patient and remember this season of life will not last forever. The transitions we struggle with today eventually will become new routines that will lead to a new “normal.”

In addition to the 5 tips just mentioned, as a Christ-follower, I feel that ultimately the key to assisting us during the difficult times of transitions is the strength that we can gain from God through His Word, which is summed up in Romans 8:26-30, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

Along our trek for this week, we visited the five tips to navigate life’s transitions. Next week we will explore the ten secrets of sustained success. In addition to our weekly Wisdom Notes, encourage your friends and family to also join us on our daily podcast – Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

4 D’s That Will Destroy Bad Habits

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The trails today are very difficult, just like breaking bad habits is very difficult in our lives. When we start habits that are not good for us, we do not realize at the time or understand the inherent difficulty in changing old and persistent habits, but that does not mean that it is impossible.

The only way that habits begin to change is when we begin to change our perceptions. Most people are not successful in changing bad habits or addictions quickly. For most of us, change comes as an evolutionary process of almost imperceptible changes. We just keep nudging ourselves in the right direction by forming one or two better habits. Changing habits permanently requires 4 distinct but interlocking steps. It is like the interlocking Lego blocks that connect to each other to build the steps to success. You must connect them together and in the proper order.

Emotions are the most powerful forces inside us. Under the power of emotions, human beings can perform the most heroic (as well as barbaric) acts. To a great degree, civilization itself can be defined as the intelligent channeling of human emotion. Emotions are fuel, and the mind is the pilot, which together propel the ship of civilized progress.

There are four basic emotions or building blocks that can trigger the most incredible activity. The day that you channel these emotions to fuel your desire is the day you’ll turn your life around and overcome bad habits that are destroying you.

1. Disgust with Yourself

One does not usually equate the word “disgust” with positive action. And yet, properly channeled, disgust can change a person’s life. The person who feels disgusted has reached a point of no return. He or she is ready to throw down the gauntlet at life and say, “I’ve had it!”

Productive feelings of disgust come when you say, “Enough is enough.” You have had it with mediocrity. You have had it with those awful sick feelings of fear, pain, and humiliation. You decide you are not going to live like this anymore. Call it what you will. It may be the “I’ve had it” day, the “never again” day, the “enough is enough” day…Whatever you call it, it’s powerful! There is nothing so life-changing as gut-wrenching disgust!

2. Decision Time – You Must Choose

Most of us need to be pushed to the wall to make decisions. Once you reach this point, you have to deal with the conflicting emotions that come with making them. We have reached a fork in the trail. Now this fork can be a two-prong, three-prong or even a four-prong fork. No wonder that decision-making can create knots in stomachs, keep us awake in the middle of the night, or make us break out in a cold sweat.

Making life-changing decisions can be likened to an internal civil war. Conflicting armies of emotions, each with their own arsenal of reasons, battle each other for supremacy of your minds. And your resulting decisions, whether bold or timid, well thought out or impulsive, can either set the course of action or blind it. I don’t have much advice to give you about decision-making except this…

Whatever you do, don’t camp at the fork in the road. Decide. It’s far better to make a wrong decision than to not make one at all. Each of us must confront our emotional turmoil and sort out our feelings.

3. Desire That Won’t Be Extinguished

How do you gain desire? I don’t think I can answer this directly because there are many ways. But I do know two things about desire:

  • It comes from the inside, not the outside.
  • It can be triggered by outside forces.

Almost anything can trigger desire. It’s a matter of timing as much as preparation. It might be a song that tugs at the heart. It might be a memorable sermon. It might be a movie, a conversation with a friend, a confrontation with the enemy, or a bitter experience. Even a book or podcast and journal such as this one can trigger the inner mechanism that will make you say, “I want to change now!”

Therefore, while searching for your “hot button” of pure, raw desire, welcome into your life each positive experience. Don’t erect a wall to protect you from experiencing life. The same wall that keeps out your disappointment also keeps out the sunlight of enriching experiences. So let life touch you. The next touch could be the one that turns your life around.

4. Determination To Do or Die

Determination says, “I will.” These two words are among the most potent in the English language. I will. Benjamin Disraeli, the great British statesman, once said, “Nothing can resist a human will that will stake even its existence on the extent of its purpose.” In other words, when someone determines to “do or die,” nothing can stop him.

The mountain climber says, “I will climb the mountain. They’ve told me it’s too high, it’s too far, it’s too steep, it’s too rocky, and it’s too difficult. But, it’s my mountain. I will climb it. You’ll soon see me waving from the top, or you’ll never see me because unless I reach the peak, I’m not coming back.” Who can argue with such determination?

When confronted with such iron-willed determination, I can see Time, Fate and Circumstance calling a hasty conference and deciding, “We might as well let him have his dream. He’s said he’s going to get there or die trying.”

The best definition for “determination” is promising yourself you will never give up.

Think about it! How long should a baby try to learn how to walk? How long would you give the average baby before you say, “That’s it, you’ve had your chance?” Do you say that’s crazy? Of course, it is. Any mother would say, “My baby is going to keep trying until he learns how to walk!” No wonder everyone walks.

There is a vital lesson in this. Ask yourself, “How long am I going to work to rid my life of bad habits and then to make my dreams come true?” I suggest you answer, “As long as it takes.”

Although it seems impossible at times for us to make the changes needed in our lives, let us not forget that we can draw on the strength of each other and Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philippi in Chapter 4 verses 12 through 14, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.”

The four trails that each of us need to hike to break bad habits and make lasting changes in our lives are…

  1. Disgust
  2. Decision
  3. Desire
  4. Determination

The lessons that we can learn from each other are valuable, so encourage your friends and family to join us each day on our trek.

7 Steps to Become a Person of Influence

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The many life activities in which Paula and I are involved and the clients with whom we work are a result of choices that we have made over the years. An important attribute that I desire for my life is to be a person of influence. I feel certain that almost everyone would like to have a positive influence on the lives of others. In order to do so, you may have to make some changes in your life. Changes require that we make difficult choices at times. The choices that we have made in our lives up to this point determine the situation that we find ourselves in.

So, let me ask a couple of questions…Do you desire to become a person of influence? What changes in your life will be required in order to reach that position? In this note, we will hike the trails of choice and look for the seven signposts that are crucial for becoming a person of influence.

Change Begins with Choice

Any day you wish, you can discipline yourself to change your life. Any day you wish, you can open a book that will open your mind to new knowledge. Any day you wish, you can start a new activity. Any day you wish, you can start the process of life change. You can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year. Zig Ziglar put it this way, “Before you change your thinking, you have to change what goes into your mind.”

You can also do nothing. You can pretend rather than perform. If the idea of having to change yourself makes you uncomfortable, you can remain as you are. You can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are yours to make. But while you may desire change, you must be willing to make the choice to change. As Ecclesiastes 10:2 says, “A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.”

The current situation of your life is largely based on past choices. You have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

You cannot allow your errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead you down the wrong path. You must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how your life works out. And then you must make the very choices that will bring about a rich and satisfying life.

And, if I may be so bold to offer a piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in life…If you don’t like how things are, change them! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life, and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

Once you have made the necessary changes, if needed, then you can become a person of influence.

Be a Person of Influence

If you want to be a person of influence and have a positive impact on the lives of others, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. As a person of influence, you will have the ability to impact others with the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer. To continually impact others positively is a challenge and requires certain qualities that many people lack.

What’s important in becoming a person of influence is refining your skills. You must keep working on yourself until you become effective. Let’s look at the seven signposts that will help you in becoming a person of influence.

  1. Learn to be strong but not impolite. It is an extra step you must take to become a powerful, capable influencer with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not a good substitute.
  2. Learn to be kind but not weak. You must not mistake weakness for kindness. Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. You must be kind enough to tell someone the truth. You must be kind enough and considerate enough to lay it on the line. You must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not deal in delusion.
  3. Learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. To build your influence, you will have to lead others at times. You have to be willing to sacrifice, tackle the problem, and discover the first sign of trouble. Like the farmer, if you want any rewards at harvest time, you have to be bold and face the weeds and the rain and the bugs straight on. You’ve got to seize the moment.
  4. Learn to be humble but not timid. You can’t become an influencer by being too timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease. It’s an affliction. It can be cured, but it is a problem. Humility is almost a God-like word—a sense of awe, a sense of wonder, an awareness of the human soul and spirit, an understanding that there is something unique about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we’re part of the stars. James 4:10 tells us to, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
  5. Learn to be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride or confidence in yourself to be a person of influence. It takes pride in your tribe. It takes pride in a cause, in accomplishment. But the key to becoming an effective influencer is to be proud without being arrogant. Do you know the worst kind of arrogance? Arrogance from ignorance. It’s intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we may tolerate that. But if someone is ignorant and arrogant, that’s just too much to take.
  6. Learn to develop humor without folly. When influencing others, you learn that it’s okay to be witty but not silly; fun but not foolish.
  7. Learn to deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony of delusion. Just accept life as it is—the whole drama of life. It’s fascinating.

Life is unique. Positive influence is unique. The skills that work well for one person of influence may not work at all for another. However, the fundamental skills of influence can be adapted to work well for just about everyone – at work, in the community, in church, and at home.

In this Wisdom Note, we hiked the trail of choice and studied the seven signposts to become a person of influence. Making wise but difficult choices in life allows us to positively influence and impact others.

Life Is About Giving and Gratitude

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Regardless of how difficult our life trails may be at times, we have so much to be thankful for. Our first discovery for today is…

Learn To Be Thankful For What You Already Have

I want to start out this trek with a question. Is thankfulness a survival skill? Perhaps most of you would respond with, “No, Guthrie, thankfulness is not key to survival,” and I would tend to agree with you. Most of us have probably already solved the necessary problems of survival, gone beyond that, and are now working to achieve our desires. But let me give you this key phrase, “Learn to be thankful for what you already have while you pursue all that you want.” I believe one of the greatest and perhaps one of the simplest lessons in life we can learn is to be thankful for what we have already received and accomplished.

Both the years and the experiences have brought me to where I am today, sharing with you daily on our Wisdom-Trek and in our weekly Wisdom Notes as we pursue creating a living legacy.  We have not arrived to this place on our trek together by accident. It was by divine design. It is the attribute of thankfulness that opened the windows of opportunities, blessings, and unique experiences to flow my way. My gratitude started with my parents who raised me and gave me an incredible foundation that has lasted me all of these years, and it continues with the mentors that I’ve met along the way who have absolutely changed and revolutionized my life, my income, my resources, and my future. I am also very thankful for the people, the associations, the ideas, the chance to work and labor, and the opportunity to produce results that I have. All of that has brought me to this place on my trek of life. I’m grateful for it all.

What a unique opportunity each one of us has, with so many of us representing different countries, nations, and cultures, to appreciate the uniqueness of our own experiences that has brought us all here together each day as we gain new wisdom, insight, and understanding and also reinforce what we have learned in the past. We know that each day of our trek represents countries all over the world, and we have the freedom and liberty to come together on this trek we call life.These are extraordinary times. There is more freedom across the world than at any time in history. Although our modern news media on both the right and left would try to convince us otherwise, the facts tell a different story. We as a country and as a world have so much to be thankful for. Always start with thanksgiving. Be thankful for what you already have, and see the miracles that come from this one simple act.

Now thankfulness is just the beginning. Next, you have to challenge yourself to produce. Produce more ideas than you need for yourself so you can share and give your ideas away. That is called fruitfulness and abundance. I think fruitfulness and abundance mean to go to work on producing more than you need for yourself so you can begin blessing others, blessing your nation, and blessing your own piece of the world that you have the privilege to impact.

Once abundance starts to come and once someone becomes incredibly productive, it’s amazing what the impact can be. But, to begin this incredible process of blessing, it often starts with the act of thanksgiving and gratitude – being thankful for what you already have and for what you’ve already done. Begin the act of thanksgiving today, and watch the miracles flow your way.

Thankfulness comes from your heart, which is controlled by what you allow into your mind. Nearly 50 times the Bible reminds us to give thanks, such as in Ephesians 5:20, “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The second discovery of wisdom we want to explore today is…

The Best Gift to Give Yourself and Others

I often hear the question, “How can I best help my children, spouse, family member, staff member, friend, etc. improve/change?” In fact, it the most frequent question that is asked by those that want to make an impact on the lives of others is “How can I help change someone else?”

My answer may come as a surprise…The key to helping others is to help yourself first. In other words, the best contribution you can make to someone else is your own personal development. If you become 10 times wiser or 10 times stronger, think of what that will do for your adventure as a parent, as a grandparent, or as a business colleague.

The best gift you can give to others, really, is your ongoing personal development – getting better, getting stronger, becoming wiser…I think parents should pick this valuable philosophy up. If the parents are okay, the kids have an excellent chance of being okay. Work on your personal development as parents, as grandparents, as friends, and as colleagues. This is the best gift you can give to anyone that you impact.

As we discussed previously, if you have ever ridden in an airplane, then you might have noticed the oxygen compartment located above every seat. There are explicit instructions that say “In case of an emergency, first secure your own oxygen mask and then if you have children with you secure their masks.” Take care of yourself first. Then assist your children or others that are dependent on you. If we use that same philosophy throughout our whole lives, it would be so valuable.

If you learn to create happiness for yourself, your children, your grandchildren and everyone else in your world, they now have an excellent chance to be happy. If you create a unique lifestyle for yourself and your spouse, that will be a great example to serve your children, your grandchildren, and your world.
Self-development enables you to serve and to be more valuable to those around you – your child, your business, your colleague, your community, your church…

That’s why I explore these wisdom nuggets and share them with you. If you keep refining all the parts of yourself, your character, your health, etc. so that you become an attractive person to your world, you’ll attract opportunity. Opportunity will then begin to seek you out. Your reputation will begin to precede you, and people will want to be with you and/or do business with you. All of that possibility is created by working on the philosophy that success is something you attract by continually working on your own personal development.

Even if you feel you know a great deal, there is always room for improvement. Proverbs 9:9 tells us, “Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.”

The two wisdom nuggets that we explored today were to be continually thankful for everything and to understand that the best way to help others is to continually improve and help yourself.  As we digest these concepts and incorporate them into our lives, commit to joining us each week.

11 Life Changing Lessons

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In this Wisdom Note, let us consider this thought, “When we are hiking and in our daily lives, it is imperative that we enhance our power of observation. The more we increase our ability to observe, learn, and understand, the wiser we will become.”

In this note, we will expand on the trail of opportunity that we began last week and observe the 11 mile markers that will teach us some life-changing lessons. Once we have mastered these lessons, we will be able to more effectively impact the lives of others, which will allow us to create a living legacy that ripples through our world and through generations to come. I have gleaned these lessons from one of my virtual mentors Zig Ziglar, who has impacted millions throughout the world.

The trail will be a little longer this week, but it is a beautiful time of year to take our trek. Visualize in your mind as we meander down the trail, we are looking for the mile markers that should be along the path. We must use our keen sense of observation, otherwise we may miss the markers, which at times are hidden in the underbrush. In the same way, many important markers in our lives become hidden with all the stuff that we buy or the activities we do, and we miss very important lessons.

Finally, the first of 11 mile markers comes into view.

Mile-Marker #1 – First help others.

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

It’s possible to get ahead in life by taking advantage of other people. But it’s far better (and easier) to get ahead by understanding what people want and then helping them get it. Once you’ve gone out of your way to solve somebody’s problem, they’ll go out of their way to help you achieve your goals. The goal of every successful person is to help as many people as possible as much as possible. When you create something that’s of great value to many people, your life or business is assured of success.

Mile Marker #2 – Success is lived.

“Success is in the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph.”

Seeing success as an end goal is one of the biggest misconceptions of success. Success is actually an ongoing journey, more about enjoying the trail than the destination. According to Zig, the most rewarding part of becoming a successful person is the actual becoming. He said, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Mile Marker #3 – Keep moving.

“Remember there is plenty of room at the top — but not enough to sit down.”

To be a difference maker in this world, you must continue moving forward until the very end. A strong work ethic is a key to success. “Get rich quick” schemes will never work. “The elevator to success is broken, but the stairs to success are always available.” Many people have negative associations with hard work. But just as climbing the stairs can be more satisfying than riding the elevator, the work of success doesn’t have to feel hard at all. Zig put it this way, “You don’t pay the price for success. You enjoy the price for success.” Proverbs 13:11 puts it this way, “Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.”

Mile Marker #4 – Actually, you do have time.

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”

One excuse that I don’t have much patience for is “I don’t have enough time.” Every person that’s ever lived has had the same number of hours in a day, week, or year. The difference between people who achieve their ambitious goals and those who don’t is the ability to harness those hours purposefully and efficiently.

Next time you feel like you don’t have enough time to do what you want to do, think about somebody you admire who’s accomplished that and more. If they could find the time, then so can you. Learn to use your time wisely. As Zig said, “You can earn more money, but when time is spent it’s gone forever.”

Mile Marker #5 – Make motivation a habit.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

Self-motivation needs to be part of your daily routine. No person or external force can motivate you. It must come from within. Learn and practice daily habits that will motivate you.

Mile Marker #6 – Find good everywhere.

“The healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude.”

Zig has always emphasized the importance of your attitude (“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”) And, he’s called gratitude “the most important and by far the most life-changing attitude.”

No matter how bad you think your situation is, you can still be thankful for what you have – whether that’s your health, your family, or simply the fact that you’re alive on this amazing planet. Appreciating what you have can help set in motion events that will give you more to be thankful for…“The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more you will have to express gratitude for.”

You can learn to love just about any situation in life if you remind yourself every morning and every night of everything that you do like about that situation, even small things.

Mile Marker #7 – Over-deliver.

“When we do more than we are paid to do, eventually we will be paid more for what we do.”

This is a principle that will eventually pay rewards. “Over-deliver in all you do, and soon you will be rewarded for the extra effort.”

Mile Marker #8 – Delay gratification.

With fast-food restaurants on every corner and high-speed Internet in the palm of our hands, we live in a world of instant gratification. But instant gratification disappears as quickly as it comes, and it often does little to advance your long-term goals. “The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want right now.” If you always succumb to immediate desires, then you’re always going to be living from one fleeting pleasure to the next. Instead, take action in the present based on what you want most in the long-term.

“Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to when you want do them!” And, “Learn to live a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”

Mile Marker #9 – Focus on Inward Change

“You are the only one who can use your ability. It is an awesome responsibility.”

If you have problems with other people, realize that “You’re not going to change anybody else, so focus on what you need to change within yourself.” People do what they want, whether you like it or not. Exerting your energy to try to force someone to do something they won’t or be something they aren’t is frustrating to both parties. With that said, people may choose to treat you differently when you behave differently. “When you choose to be pleasant and positive in the way you treat others, you have also chosen, in most cases, how you are going to be treated by others.”

Mile Marker #10 – Just start.

“People who won’t take step number one never take step number two.”

Sometimes beginning is the most difficult part of a task or project, especially when we get wrapped up thinking about all of the potential complexities and challenges. If you’ve been procrastinating on something important, commit to taking five minutes and completing the first step. You may be surprised how much more doable the project seems after you simply start it.

Mile Marker #11 – Character is everything.

“Honesty and integrity are absolutely essential for success in life – all areas of life.”

You must be a person of values. Always conduct yourself with honesty and integrity because that is the right thing to do morally — but it is also a good life practice. “If people like you, they’ll listen to you. But if they trust you they’ll do business with you.”

You might benefit in the short-term by deceiving and short-changing people. But it’s a losing game in the end. Realize “You can get everything money will buy without a lick of character. But you can’t get any of the things money won’t buy: happiness, joy, peace of mind, and winning relationships.”

As we come to the end of our lessons for today, even if it has been a difficult day, always remember that “Yesterday ended last night. Today is a brand-new day and it’s yours.”