What's your mission?

This is different from: "What's your dream?" Your mission is usually one of your dreams, but it' not the entirety of them. One of our dreams is to spend three months out of every year in Taiwan, and nine months in the States. During our three months in Taiwan every year, we want to work with Yen Ling's church and with the ministry I previously worked with to minister to the Taiwanese & Chinese people -- we are 2-3 years away from living that dream. Another dream is owning a home in Highlands, NC -- large enough so that family and friends can stay with us often. One more of our many dreams is to travel to every continent with our children. 

What's our mission? It's evolving. Missions (as with dreams) are alive. They grow. They require food and water, shelter and relationships, exercise and fun. But at the core of it, our mission is: "To change how the next generation thinks about food." That might not be your mission, but it's very closely related to my personal passion which can be summed up in my life verse from John 10:10 when Jesus said: "I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly." The next generation will be the sickest generation ever. According to Jamie Oliver and Dr. David Katz (Yale University), the next generation will have a lifespan 10 years shorter than their parents. Abundant lives cannot be lived without abundant health, and we have to do something before chronic diseases like cancer completely overtake our children.

So what's your mission? What drives you every day to do what you do? In whatever you do, it is important to have embedded in it a mission that resonates with you. In order to be able to get out of bed in the morning and do what you do at a level beyond "excellent", there must be a core mission that compels you. And one key is that it also compels others. We accomplish so much more when we work together with similarly mission-minded people.

If you can't state your mission succinctly, then I encourage you to take some time to think about it. It needs to be specific enough that it guides you -- it should act as a compass or a filter that helps you evaluate how to spend your time. And when you share your mission with others, they should immediately understand how they can help you accomplish it -- maybe by introducing you to someone who has a similar passion. Without a life compass, you can't know if you are headed in the right direction. At some point in our lives, almost all of us have felt like we are just hamsters on the wheel of life. A clear mission gives us purpose, and living every day with a specific purpose makes life considerably more fulfilling.

Is It Dangerous to Dream?

Do you know that feeling inside of you that sometimes makes you hope, and sometimes makes you uncomfortable? It's the feeling that swims around inside your chest, and at times sits heavy on your mind. It's something alive inside of you; it's powerful, a thousand steps ahead of you, one hundred times the size of you, and beyond the capability of your imagination. It's animalistic in the sense that it's wild and you are not confident that you can tame it. In fact, you aren't sure you want it to be tamed, but at the same time you are scared to death to let it out. The fact is that it is trapped inside of you. You are the prison that holds it in. And you hold the key that will let it out.

Many of us will spend our entire lives doing everything we can to keep our greatest dreams locked inside. If we could measure the amount of effort a single person spends over the course of his life working to keep his dream locked away, then we would shed tears. We would become angry, passionate, loud, and feel outrage like we've never felt it before. As we strive to avoid climbing mountains that we'd love to stand on top of, are we unknowingly climbing mountains that we absolutely have no desire to stand on top of? What if avoiding our greatest fears means we are also avoiding our greatest dreams? 

Close your eyes. Just for a moment. Picture yourself living the life that you label "Impossible". For many of us, we're too scared to even allow ourselves to picture it. Why? Because we know that it is dangerous to dream! There are only two possible outcomes: 

1. We fail. We quit. There are too many challenges. Our hearts lie broken on the floor. Our energy sucked dry. Our spirits have retreated behind multiple locked doors into the back corner of the room that sits tucked away in the basement of our souls.
2. We face our greatest fears.

Do you know when it stops being dangerous to dream? When you pick up the key, unlock the prison, and allow your dream to be bigger than your fears. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from living your greatest dreams. Write your "reasons" on a piece of paper and then toss the paper in the fire. The reasons don't exist. Only the fears exist. 

What is so wonderful about this life is that we hold the key. Every day we can choose whether or not we'll pick it up and use it. No one can stop us from using it. Nothing gets in our way. The key is always available; it's always sitting on the table directly in front of us. No matter how far we run, how many times we quit, or how big we fail, it's always there. And it all begins with that key. Many people who dig deep holes want to jump out of them in one big leap, but it doesn't work that way. We climb out one step at a time. And once we get out of the hole, then we still have the mountain of our greatest dreams to climb. It's not easy, but it begins with that first step and then another and another. 

Here's the other thing that's always available to us: the prison. Once we unlock the door and let our dreams out it becomes much harder to put them back in the prison, but it's doable. My advice? Destroy the prison. Burn the ships. Don't look back. Your dreams might be wild stallions; enjoy the adventure. 

The most important step that you will ever take is the next one. Be dangerous. Dream.

Is the desire to answer the most-asked-question-over-the-last-50-years driving every decision in your life?

What do you do? Why do we concern ourselves so much with what we DO? Sure, we spend a majority of our waking hours doing what we do, but does that mean it's THE question? What if what we do is a hollow vehicle? What if it is a car without an engine? What if what you do and I do is the same, but we live completely different lives? What would that say about the importance of what we do? 

I'm not saying that what you do is not important. I'm saying that it's far from the most important thing in your life. What is important? Two key elements combine to form the "engine" of your life: relationships and abundance. Take whatever you DO out of the equation, and focus on these two elements. Tell me about your relationships -- the depth, the honesty, and the love. Tell me about the abundance inside of you -- your daily joy, peace, and energy. Do these questions stir up an overwhelming joy in you? 

What is unique about these two elements -- relationships and abundance? Neither can be controlled, orchestrated, manipulated, manufactured or coerced. Genuine, deep, real relationships are dynamic; they contain their own life that is a combination of the individual lives that constitute them. Abundance can't be faked either. It's being and having more than what is needed -- more than enough. By definition, it has to come from a source that never runs dry. 

In whatever we are DOING in our lives, amazing lives are lived when we bring abundance into real, deep, genuine relationships. Energy and joy are the water and fertilizer that feed the growth of abundant lives. 

Have you ever met someone who is magnetic and electric? Was your first question to him: "What do you do?" I doubt it. It was probably one of the few times that you didn't ask that question within the first few minutes of meeting someone. Instead, you probably just stepped into whatever wave he was on and enjoyed the ride! You loved his energy! And you wanted to build relationship with him; you wanted to listen, and you wanted to enjoy his joy!

So maybe "What do you do?" isn't the #1 question we should concern ourselves with. It's not what we do that determines our abundance! But what we do can align with our abundance and our relationships! We can choose professions that serve us, our families, and our friends. We can choose professions that aren't at odds with the abundant lives we choose to live! "What do you do?" is an important question...in the context your relationships and your abundance. 

How different would our conversations be if the most asked questions were: 

• What gives you your greatest joy?
• Why do you have so much energy for life?
• Who are the important people in your life?
• What are the most amazing things about the people you love?
• What makes you excited? What are you passionate about?

What if these questions, in addition to a deep longing to answer them, were the substance that drove your decisions? How different would your life be? 

What questions are you asking?

A good friend shared with me that a good question is often the key to finding the answer. This includes not only the questions we ask others, but also the questions we ask ourselves. 

I don't know about you, but for me the challenge can often be that I talk so much that there is no room to ask any questions. If our minds were buckets of water and the water represents all that we know and the bucket is filled to the top with water, what room is there to learn?

The less we learn (especially about others) the longer it will take us to achieve our dreams. It's key to note that learning facts about other peoples' lives is just the tip of the iceberg. Just asking questions doesn't guarantee that we will find the answer. We have to learn how to ask questions that reveal what is below the surface. And we have to learn how to ask those high-quality questions in a way that makes other people comfortable enough to share. Have you ever thought that the types of questions you ask set the level of trust in a relationship? 

The direction of your life, your level of impact, and your personal confidence and joy can all be in some way tied to the frequency with which you ask high-quality questions of others and yourself.

Do People Want to Smoke What You Are Smoking?

Would you want to hang out with you?

Do you need someone's help? Do you wish people would support you more? Do you wonder why it's hard to get people to do things with you or for you? Most people don't live out their dreams alone on an island. Dreams, at their core, are wrapped around people. On the journey to achieving our dreams, we can't move forward without others. You are either a relationship builder or you shouldn't be a dreamer. 

Plenty of people accomplish extraordinary things without being relational. There are lots of transaction-oriented people who earn promotions, earn a lot of money, drive fancy cars, and "keep up with the Joneses". But I don't believe any of these people live their dreams. In fact, it's these people who lament that no one can really have it "all". They talk about sacrificing family for career or career for family. They regret what they didn't get to do, instead of JOYing in who they became and who they built relationships with during their lives. 

Dream achievers have to be lovers of people. Dream achievers have to be people who other people want to be around. You have to be magnetic. The energy, joy, and love for life every day has to be so incredible that people become almost desperate to drink from your fountain of life. Jesus said: "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." You know why people wanted to be around Jesus? Because they wanted to smoke whatever He was smoking. 

Look back on your day. Would you want to be around you? Would you feel compelled to get to know you? Would you feel encouraged and more energetic because you encountered you? It doesn't feel good to have a conversation with someone who is negative, complains, moans, whines, worries, wonders what could go wrong, blames, objects, puts down others, or looks depressed. That's simply not fun for anyone. If you want to be a dream achiever, then start with you. Become someone that you would want to be around and then you'll find yourself achieving your dreams while also helping others achieve theirs! 

What Would Life Be Like Without Any Fear?

Your life would be COMPLETELY different if you had absolutely no fear ever again. 

Fear of failure. Fear of what others think about you. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the future. Fear of losing your job. Fear of never finding a job. Fear of rejection. Fear of losing all your money. Fear of having no money, of not being able to earn enough money to pay the bills. Fear of saying the wrong thing. Fear of missing out on something. Fear of your children getting hurt, hanging with the wrong crowd, making the wrong choices. Fear of losing someone you love. Fear of being hurt by someone you love. Fear of never being loved. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of how big your dreams really are and what it would require to live them.

Take all of that off the table of your life. Wipe all of that out of your mind. Erase it all from your vocabulary. Your ears never hear it again. Your thoughts never dwell on it again. Never again do you lose energy, confidence, charisma, daring, joy, a smile, a laugh, a feeling of peace because of fear. What would your life be like then? 

You can't dream and fear at the same time. You might start dreaming. The seed might be planted, the roots might start taking hold, and it might even start poking up through the ground, but fear will kill a dream every time. You cannot accomplish anything great for yourself or others when you fear. Fear is the #1 dream killer.

What did you do yesterday? Think through your entire day. How would your day have been different if you had been different? What if you had absolutely no fear? How about last week? Last month? The last year? Take fear out of the equation and you live differently -- the output on the right-hand side of the equal sign will increase.

Imagine running a race with heavy snow boots on, three layers of clothing, plus an oversized coat, snow gloves, a hat, and a backpack with 60 pounds of gear...in 90-degree heat! Most of us wouldn't run very far or very fast. Take off the coat, the three layers of clothing, the gloves, hat and backpack, and exchange the boots for running shoes, then run the race. One thing I can promise: you will perform better -- and you will feel better -- than you did before. 

Fear hinders, that's all it does. It does not bring anything of value to the table. There is no good reason for you to fear. Stare it down, don't run away from it. Boldly walk through the jungle -- let it tremble before you. Laugh in its face and live your life. Toss it aside and pursue your dreams. Do a flying drop kick in its kneecap and walk with your head high.

The One Thing You Need To Achieve Your Dreams

The lives we live are made up of millions of elements. Every day we encounter thousands of things we consciously recognize -- people, situations, thoughts, objects in our vision -- as well as millions of things we recognize subconsciously. We can't control millions of elements over a lifetime -- those elements have their own rules, patterns, and energy. Though those elements are unique from us, they all play a role in the level of success we achieve in life. As we walk through these millions of elements every day, they will either work for us (propelling us to greater success) or they will work against us. Here's the secret: they work for us when our life is magnetic -- when our energy, joy, positivity, belief, and excitement consistently pull those elements in our direction, in our favor. 

If you have been struggling to achieve something for what feels like a very long time, then check your attitude. If you feel unrecognized, beaten down, and defeated, then look in the mirror. If you wake up every morning feeling exhausted, then it's time to examine yourself. If you are disappointed in life, then the only hope you have is to shift your perspective. If today is not the best day of your life, don't blame the day -- it's on you. 

What if there is only one thing that you need to completely change the outcome of your life? What if there is one key element that could launch you from where you are at to places beyond your imagination -- for you and for your family? 

There's no doubt you need to be organized and disciplined to achieve your dreams. No doubt that you need to work hard -- harder than everyone else -- and have a specific goal that you are driving towards. There are a lot of elements to success, but there is one that so many lack; and if we could just add this one element then I believe many of us would experience breakthrough.

The one thing you need to achieve your dreams: invincible abundance.

Invincible abundance is positive energy throughout the day that is consistent. It's an attitude that does not get tossed around by the rough seas of life. It's an energy that bubbles over from a real place inside of us and the well never runs dry. 

Life is going to swing at you -- every day. You lose if you fight anger with anger or disappointment with disappointment. When life doesn't happen the way you want it to, the proper reaction is not to be disappointed. When someone mistreats you, the proper reaction is not to be upset or hurt. Life doesn't respond well to a lecture; and success is not attracted to defeat. Success is magnetically attracted to joy, energy, hope, positivity, love, and abundance. 

The conscious and subconscious elements around us are searching for people with invincible abundance. If you live every day as if it is your best day ever, no matter what happens, then your days will be so. And your dreams will come true. 

Every Life Has A Story

Every life has a story. Watch this video:

We know our own stories so well, but we often forget that everyone we meet has his or her own story. 

When it comes to pursuing our dreams, one key to achieving them is to spend more time learning about others' stories instead of sharing our own. Don't misunderstand me, our stories are powerful and should be shared -- people can be encouraged by hearing about what we've overcome! But you "earn the right to be heard" when you start by listening. 

Today I got my hair cut (Mom is doing back flips!). I did my best to focus on the hairdresser's story -- I asked her if she had a great weekend, how long she has been cutting hair, what she likes most about it, etc. and she told me stories about her life. It doesn't sound like she loves cutting hair as much as she used to, but I tried to encourage her by telling her that a great haircut can really make someone's day -- that she has a great way to impact someone's life!

Every life has a story. 

Doesn't this make you feel like every encounter is a huge responsibility? What we don't know about the person we are talking to is really the difference. Smiling faces might be covering deep wounds or might be understating awesome achievements! We don't know. Venture to find out. 

I used to hesitate to ask too many questions because I didn't want the other person to think I was prying. But I've learned that people will let you know (one way or another) if you are asking too much. There are too many people in the world today who feel like no one cares about their story. There are too many people who feel like they are walking through their challenges very much alone. 

If you focus on learning people's stories and encouraging them with your energy, belief, and interest in them, then you will start to change lives. And when you start changing lives, consistently, then you will attract a large number of people because people are looking for others to listen to them -- people are looking for reasons to believe, for energy, for someone who is positive and doesn't allow the challenges of life to pull them down. You can be that person! And, as we know, when you serve others, then your dreams come true!

When people drink a 5-hour Energy drink, my guess is that half the time those people aren't even physically tired -- they more mentally tired (so they feel it physically). 100 years ago people worked harder and exerted themselves more physically than we do now, but today we exert ourselves more mentally -- not because we are thinking about amazing inventions, but because we have 4 different digital screens we check every hour and because we have so many activities going on and "keeping up with the Jone's" just wears us out. 

People are looking for something rare -- blessing them begins with learning their story. Take a minute in the grocery line today and ask someone about their day. Take a minute to listen, learn their story, and change a life.

How Do I Reach The "Tipping Point"?

On average, the "tipping point" can be defined as: the moment that I genuinely make it about helping other people instead of helping myself. 

If you aren't familiar with the concept of a "tipping point", it's the time in the life of a business/product/goal/etc. when the dam breaks and months or years of hard work start really paying off. Imagine dumping buckets of water behind a dam for years and seeing very little results. Then, one day the dam breaks and all the water you built up behind the dam crashes through and fills the river below. That's breakthrough...the tipping point.

A lot of people work really hard to reach that tipping point in whatever they are pursuing. Most never reach it. The reason is because most people stay focused on achieving their goals instead of focusing on achieving other's goals. Jesus told His disciples that the greatest must become the last and the servant of all. If we are last then that means that we think about every other person's needs before our own. And if we serve all, then that means we aren't higher than anyone, anywhere.

When we serve everyone, everywhere we go, then we'll find ourselves on the path to our "tipping point"...without fail, before you know it, you will start experiencing great success -- your biggest goals will start becoming your reality. 

For me, this is something I'm working on and learning about every day. It's been hard at times to shift my focus from driving hard toward my goal to focusing on helping other people achieve their goals. Why? Because I've always believed that if I want something bad enough and work hard enough, then I can achieve it. What I've learned is that wanting and working aren't enough; my heart -- my "why" -- also has to be in the right place. 

Here's another key I'm learning: serving others doesn't mean helping them reach the goals you want for them! You might feel like you know what someone else needs or what they would enjoy or what would be best for them, but until that becomes their goal then you aren't helping them. The first step to helping others is to listen -- learn what goals they have. 

Jesus didn't say that the greatest will be the "teacher" of all or the "motivator" of all or the "leader" of all or the "advisor" of all or the "know it all". He said the greatest will be the "servant" of all. So with that, I'm going to go put it into practice one step at a time!

I am Jennifer Holliday

I am Jennifer Holliday. 

And so are you.

Last night Jennifer Holliday sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" on the American Idol finale. The YouTube video is below. The #1 thing I thought about as I watched this performance over and over was this: Jennifer Holliday's greatness. On a 1-10 scale, she's an 11. Out of the millions of singers in the world, she's at the top. And she knows it. If singing can be conquered, she's done so many times over. If singing were a mountain, then she has climbed it; and if it were an ocean, then she has gone to the deepest part and set up residence. Man walked on the moon, but that doesn't compare to Jennifer Holliday slaying this song -- reaching into her soul, pulling everything out, laying it all before us, and willing us to do the same.

Look. Look inside of yourself to the deepest place. I know what you'll find. Greatness. I know what you'll find. Jennifer Holliday's voice, soul, spirit. Who told you that you aren't an 11 on a 1-10 scale? Who told you that out of the millions, you aren't the very best? When did you start believing that there isn't much to believe in? Who told you the mountain cannot be climbed or the ocean depths cannot be explored? 

Jennifer Holliday looks at the mountain and laughs. She talks to greatness and tells it what to do. She walks onto a stage and she knows who she is and what she does. She is the tallest, most deeply, richly-colored flower you have ever seen opening her petals to release a fire of greatness that touches everyone within range with waves of emotion, belief, power, truth, and revelation. And she knows it. She knows she is breathing greatness and, in her own way, she is calling everyone who hears her to their own greatness.

When you pull greatness out of yourself, then you invariably call greatness out of others. Here's the two-part secret to your greatness:

1. You were born with greatness inside you.
2. It doesn't come out unless you pull it out.

There are two reasons we don't pull our greatness out of ourselves:

1. It's a hard, long road.
2. It scares us.

#2 is the biggest reason, by far. We don't believe we have it within ourselves. It's not that we don't want it. Don't tell me that. It's exactly what Marianne Williamson says:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

So go climb your mountain, swim to the deepest part of your ocean, stare down the enemies inside you and pull out your greatness. Sing your song, dance your dance, LIVE YOUR LIFE.

Particularly, from 1:44 to 1:58 you can see Ms. Holliday stare greatness in the eyes and own it. 

When you listen to the song, think about the words as if they are being sung to YOUR DREAM, YOUR GREATNESS. 

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"

And I am telling you
I'm not going
You're the best man I'll ever know


There's no way I can ever go
No, no, there's no way
No, no, no, no way I'm living without you
I'm not living without you
I don't wanna be free
I'm staying
I'm staying
And you, and you
You're gonna love me, oh ooh mm mm
You're gonna love me


And I am telling you
I'm not going
Even though the rough times are showing
There's just no way, there's no way
We're part of the same place
We're part of the same time
We both share the same blood
We both have the same mind


And time and time, we've had so much to see and
No, no, no, no, no, no way
I'm not waking up tomorrow morning and finding that there's nobody there


Darling there's no way
No, no, no, no way I'm living without you
I'm not living without you
You see there's just no way, there's no way


Please don't go away from me
Stay with me stay with me
Stay, stay and hold me
Stay, stay and hold me


Please stay and hold me, Mr. Man,
Try it mister, try it mister
I know, I know, I know you can


Tear down the mountains
Yell, scream and shout like you can say what you want
I'm not walking out
Stop all the rivers, push, strike and kill
I'm not gonna leave you
There's no way I will


And I am telling you
I'm not going
You're the best man I'll ever know
There's no way I could ever, ever go
No, no, no, no way
No, no, no, no way I'm living without you
Oh, I'm not living without you,
Not living without you
I don't wanna be free
I'm staying, I'm staying
And you, and you, and you
You're gonna love me


You're gonna love me, yes you are
Ooh ooh love me, ooh ooh ooh love me
Love me, love me, love me, love me


You're gonna love me

Internal Conflict Is Good

Complacency is a result of being satisfied with our current situation. If we want to achieve our dreams, we have to have crystal clear visions of our destination set in our minds that are vastly different from our current situations. When there is a significant difference between our current reality and our dream, then that creates conflict -- we aren't where we want to be. And that conflict is good because it makes us uncomfortable -- we want to do something about it. Without a significant conflict between reality and dream, then we won't make the decisions and take the actions necessary to settle that conflict. So we want to create conflict so that we will get tenacious and creative enough to get rid of the conflict. The key is how do we get rid of the conflict? We will either give up the dream for the reality or we give up the reality for the dream so that there is no longer a significant gap between dream and reality -- no longer a big yearning in us to change our current situation. In order to achieve our dreams, we have to focus on holding onto a crystal clear dream and changing the reality, instead of giving up the dream to settle for reality.

Why would we give up a dream for reality? Because moving from where we are at right now to where we want to be is uncomfortable, risky, and painful. It's not easy. 

Why would we give up reality for a dream? Because we realize that we can have the dream -- it's possible for the dream to become our reality -- if we'll just make decisions every day to push through the challenges to get there.

So a few questions to ask ourselves:

• How is my life working?
• Am I satisfied with where I'm at? If I never move significantly beyond this point, will I be OK with that?
• What is my dream? How clear is my dream? Is it big enough and clear enough to cause me to act outside of my comfort zone?
• What is the bigger fear in my life: pursuing the dream? Or living my current reality forever?
• What do I believe? Do I believe that I can -- that I will -- achieve the dream? 

Go for it!

Dream Chaser or Dream Catcher?

Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better.

168 hours in one week. How many of those hours to we spend wishing life was easier? How many hours do we waste wondering why something didn't go the way we had hoped?  

Life is what it is. The day is what it is. You can't determine what happens to you. You can't pull the strings necessary to ensure that life meets your expectations. The ONLY thing you can do anything about is YOU. 

Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better.

Life is a game. The game is won or lost in our minds. The opposing team wants us to believe the game is won or lost outside of our minds -- in the tangible world: lose a job, can't stand the boss, dear friend gets awful disease, stock price drops significantly, don't get picked for the role, company is in chaos, marriage is on the rocks, promises broken, facing the unknown, regretting the past, harsh words, misunderstandings, bad weather, someone lies, can't find the answer, frustrated and confused. Guess what? None of those events determine the outcome of the game. Only you have the power to determine the outcome of the game.

Do those life events hurt? Yes. Do they weaken us? Often, yes, but they can also strengthen us. They certainly change us. They can mold us into better people or mold us into defeated people. You get to decide. 

The difference between a "Dream Chaser" and a "Dream Catcher" is that the Dream Catcher doesn't wish it were easier, the Dream Catcher wishes she were better. The Dream Catcher doesn't allow the challenges and pain and unmet expectations to slow her down; instead she uses them to make herself better. The Dream Catcher knows that challenges and disappointments are inevitable, and she launches off of those to move closer to her dream. All that happens in her life takes her a step closer to achieving her goals. There aren't setbacks, just opportunities to learn and be better. 

Dream Bigger Than Your Problems

Bill Johnson: Faith doesn't deny a problem's existence. It denies it a place of influence.

As we pursue our dreams, problems will come. Problems can't be avoided and they don't play favorites. 

The people who realize their dreams are people with great faith. You have to believe in what you cannot see in order to keep on going. Every day, you have to believe in the possibility that around the next corner could be the person or event or thing that you have been waiting on for so long. We have to wake up every day and say: "It could be today. It could happen to me!"

Problems have one goal = to stop us from pursuing our dreams. It's our faith that allows us to continue the pursuit even though the problem would have us believe the dream is impossible to reach. At the core, what we are believing is that the pursuit is good, that it is worth the effort. 

When our dreams are bigger than our problems, then our problems can't stop us from achieving our dreams.

Dream Catchers Are Overcomers!

I spent the weekend at Souly Business -- www.soulybusiness.com -- serving in the kitchen non-stop: washing dishes, cutting produce, mopping floors, pulling pork, making banana pudding, etc. My schedule:

• Friday: Left house in Atlanta at 6:45AM. Started work at 10:30AM. Left the kitchen for the bunk in my cabin at 11PM. 
• Saturday: Woke up at 4:30AM to make breakfast for 150 men. Worked till 4PM. One hour break. Then worked from 5 to 11PM.
• Sunday: Woke up at 4:30AM. Worked till 12:30PM.

We've all served others and know how good it feels to do so. I share this specific experience with you because it was so intense and exhausting...and the more challenging it became, the more valuable the experience was for me. 

You might have heard the phrase "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger." That's not a fact, that's a possibility...an opportunity. Difficulties can make us better. Therefore, difficulties can be the reason we succeed. 

When we are pursuing our dreams, difficulties will come. The wise dream chaser will exercise her "overcome" muscle so that when she gets punched in the face, she doesn't get knocked out. Instead, she shakes it off, gets back up, learns from the pain, and continues the chase. 

So sign up for a half marathon (running my first on December 1 of this year!), go serve at a retreat, challenge yourself in some way. Dream catchers are great overcomers!

What Matters Is The Set Of The Sail

Taken, in part, from Jim Rohn...

"The same wind blows on us all...what matters is the set of the sail."

Do you like where you are right now in life? Do you like where you are headed? Do you know where you are headed? Is what you are doing right now going to lead you to where you want to be in a reasonable amount of time? Ever?

These can be hard questions. Or they can be freeing questions. They can be meaningless or mean everything, depending on the person. Like the wind, the same questions are put to us all...and like the sail, it's how we view the questions and what we do in response to them that really defines us -- not only defines our present life situation, but, more importantly, our future. 

The sail sets the direction. Setting the sail says everything about us. And because we can set the sail and because the same wind blows on us all, we can't complain. There are no excuses. Some might sail choppier seas, but we can all go in the direction of our dreams and we can all realize them. 

There are calmer waters to the right and to the left. There is familiarity behind us. The unknown sits far out in front of us. Scary. Risky. Probably rough. Few victories and lots of defeat initially. One thing I ask: if you set your sails to take you right or left, don't complain every year for the rest of your life that you never got to live your dreams. Also, don't tell other people "that's just the way it is" regarding life. That's just the way it is for you. Some people choose to sail into the unknown...and never turn back. They find the lost city. They get to see with their own eyes the land that doesn't exist. They get to live their dreams. 

We all have the wind. Sometimes -- often -- it encourages us to sail towards the calmer or more familiar waters, and so we do. And truth be told, some who sail into the wind lose their ship and some even lose their lives. But I'd rather lose either of those than give up pursuing my biggest dreams. 

So set your sail in the direction you want to go -- in the direction you want to take your family. Don't second guess it. Don't look back. And certainly don't turn back. What separates those who arrive at their dreams from those who don't is simply that once the former set their sail, they never waver. So sail into the unknown. Sail into the storm; I'll see you on the other side! 

The Parable of the Sower

Two facts about the story from Matthew 13:

1. The sower was an ambitious, hard-working person
2. The seeds were excellent seeds

Three out of four seeds did not grow! The birds stole them, the thorns choked them, and the dry ground wouldn't receive them. 

One out of four seeds did grow! And they produced a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty. Even for the seeds that did grow, they did not all produce the same amount.

According to Jim Rohn, the secret is that the sower kept on sowing. There aren't enough birds and thorns to steal and choke all of the seeds. On your journey, you are going to have dream stealers and chokers. You are going to have people who are just like the dry ground -- they refuse to listen. But don't go chasing the birds away -- when you do that, then you are just leaving the field! Stay focused. Keep sowing. The harvest will come!

The Mountain

Our family spent last week in the mountains of Highlands, NC. One of our favorite things to do is "climb" mountains -- we walk up paths that have been traveled by many before us. 

As I was walking up, sometimes carrying Tallulah, I thought about the many feet that had traveled over the same ground. I wondered what they were thinking when they climbed the same mountain the day before, a year before, 10 years before and even 100 years prior. What worries filled their hearts and minds? What joys? Who did they invite to climb the mountain with them? Maybe they didn't think at all during their climb; maybe they left all of that at the base of the mountain and just climbed -- enjoying the clean air, the colorful leaves, the sound of the creek, and the smell of a fresh new day.

A mountain is a great place to take whatever you have been carrying. Take it to the top of the mountain and set it down as you watch the sun rise over the mountain range. And leave it there. 

It's also a great place to go with those you love most. Not a word needs to be spoken in order to experience something magical. Walking with Annabelle -- my oldest daughter -- we had a number of instances in which we were just holding hands while walking along. 

And it's a great place to be alone. As I was carrying Tallulah going up one of the higher mountains in the region, she was asleep on my shoulder and Yen Ling/other girls were way behind us. I just took a step at a time. I literally watched my foot be placed on each newly covered piece of mountain -- making sure my step was sure since I was carrying my baby girl. I thought: "This is life right here. One step at a time. No second thoughts about what is behind. No concern for what is far ahead. One of my loves in my arms, taking one step at a time." 

And that's what I think life should be about -- that's what my focus should be. One step at a time with what matters most closest to me.

FUEL

James Cameron enjoys making films. He's written and directed the two highest grossing films of all time: Titanic and Avatar, as well as a number of others. But filmmaking is not his first love.

This past weekend, the premier for the release of Titanic in 3-D was held in London. Mr. Cameron was not there with Kate Winslett, et al. Instead, he was with his team preparing to dive to the deepest point of the ocean -- Mariana Trench. The trench is >120 times larger than the Grand Canyon and more than a mile deeper than the height of Mt. Everest.  

Mr. Cameron said this about his journey:

"Most people know me as a filmmaker, but the idea of ocean and exploration has always been the stronger driver in my life. This is the culmination of a lifelong drive, having first heard about it in the 1960s." Only two other people have ever been to the deepest part of the world, they traveled there in 1960 but only stayed for 20 minutes and could not see anything. 

Mr. Cameron said this about the two activities (filmmaking and ocean exploration) he spends most of his time on:

"Hopefully I can do the two in parallel. Going to be turning my attention to Avatar 2 & 3 shortly. A lot of people who saw Avatar saw connections to the oceans. Everything I've seen underwater goes into my imagination."

Here's the key for me: James Cameron would love to spend every free moment of the rest of his life exploring the ocean if he could. But his greatest, biggest dreams require FUEL to make them possible. The same is true for us. Not many people can spend every waking moment doing whatever they want to do. Most of us aren't Richie Rich having inherited enough money to allow us to live whatever life we can imagine all the time. Mr. Cameron's movies FUEL his biggest dreams. Not just his movies, but the fact that they are the most successful movies in history. He clearly pours himself into something that is not his #1 passion in part so that he can pursue his #1 passion. In addition, he has found ways to combine the work that FUELs his passion with what he loves most -- in making Titanic, Mr. Cameron personally took more than 30 trips to the wreckage. This, in part, prepared him for what was likely the greatest day of his life yesterday. 

Dream big. Find a vehicle that can FUEL that dream. Then pour your passion and all your excellence into FUELing that dream.

Click Here to Learn About James Cameron's Voyage

You can do what you can do, and that's it.

This week's thought: you can do what you can do, and that's it.

Let it go. Whatever I'm holding onto, I have to let it go. Put down the "tug-of-war rope" and walk away. Here's the deal as I pursue my dream: any relationship, any conversation, any experience, any partnership, any moment even can sidetrack me from the road I need to be on to accomplish the mission. What can happen is that I get into a possible business partnership or I have an experience or dialogue with a potential customer and I stay there -- I pick up the tug-of-war rope. As we chase our dreams, I don't think we need to be fighting battles. As crazy as this might sound, I think the pursuit of the dream should be easy going -- working hard, but not hard work. When we are doing something we believe in and inviting people into that experience, then we just need a simple answer from them -- are you interested? Would you like to join me? Would you like to go there together? If the answer is "no", then move on. The right people who believe in you and your dream will come along. The wrong people aren't right for you, and the best thing you can do is let go of the rope and keep walking forward.

You can do what you can do, and that's it. Look up, look forward, let go of the rope, and enjoy the pursuit.

Forgive

Forgive. 

What would my life look like if every single rope I've tied around myself wasn't there? How would I feel if I took out my rope-cutting scissors and snapped every one of them off? 

We've done a lot of driving as a family -- driven across the U.S.A (east to west) three times. Whenever we go over a big bridge all five of us try to hold our breath until we get to the other side. As soon as the front wheels get to the end of the bridge, we all let out a big, loud breath and immediately suck in a big gush of air. It feels so good to be breathing again. 

It's almost impossible to pursue our dreams when we have ropes tied around our legs and arms, or when we are holding our breath. Choose to breathe. Choose to live free. Forgive. 

I just finished "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (she also wrote "Seabiscuit"). It is a life-changing, true story. The main character, Louie Zamperini, had only one thing holding him back from pursuing his dreams = his unforgiveness. How could he possibly forgive his guards at the Japanese POW camps? Read the book to find out! But the bottom line is this: GREAT things are ahead of YOU. Throw off anything that hinders you, and pursue your dreams with JOY!