Michael Chriswell

Things Have Changed

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:11:35 -0400

I know that most people find change very uncomfortable. In consideration of this new and difficult season of my life, I caught myself making mental notes of the things that have changed in my life, over just the last few weeks…seemingly all a once.

1. Marital Status
2. The place I live
3. The person I live with
4. The bed I sleep in

5. The vehicle I drive
6. The kitchen I cook in
7. The utensils I cook with
8. The kind of food I eat
9. The bank I bank at
10. The place I work from
11. The desk and chair I sit at
12. The computer I use
13. The place I exercise
14. The place I relax
15. The place I go to do work outside the office
16. The sounds I hear, while I work

So much for finding security in stuff or familiar surroundings, but I still have a God who loves me, 5 of the most incredible kids ever born, and some of the most extraordinary friendships a man could ever ask for…Oh, and the lights are still on and there is food in the fridge. What else do I honestly need? These type of things bring such clarity about the difference between our WANTS and our needs…don’t you think?

Death by Adversity

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:45:00 -0400

The last few weeks have been right up there with some of the most difficult in my life, but I’m still alive and I’m actually doing pretty well, all things considered.

There are those adversities, that occur in life, that are so severe, they almost incapacitate you. They feel like mental and emotional death…they take your breath away and leave you feeling temporarily paralyzed. They feel unsurvivable, BUT THEY AREN’T!

The other day, I was pouring some of my anquish out to a faithful friend. I told him about some of the feelings my soul (mind, will and emotions) was experiencing and about how it hates the pain, wants to eliminate it or avoid it and thinks I’m going to die from all of this pain. He calmly said “Yes Michael, but what does your spirit say?” WOW! I felt STUPID and BRILLIANT all in the same moment, because I instantly knew what he was talking about and I was able to quickly answer, but I’d never been smart enough to ask this question before.

While my soul is running around baked in emotions and confused about everything, my spirit has a very different perspective.

My spirit was saying “Stay the course, Jesus has you…trust him, you are not only going to survive this, but you are becoming more like him with the passing of each trial and there is no greater purpose or calling in all of life. This is what you have been praying for Michael and you are receiving the answer to your prayer.”

This was an earth shattering Revelation to me. As a Christian, I’m aware of the battle between my body and my spirit but what he just did, was to remind me that my spirit always knows the truth and is directed by the Holy Spirit…I need only listen to it’s still small voice over the screaming voice of my flesh!

The Kryptonite of My SOUL

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:07:24 -0400

Have you ever watched a movie that just made you so angry you were squirming in your chair and grumbling? I’ve seen several movies that are upsetting, but this one @#$%^! me off! It was a huge clue, pointing to my greatest weakness.

The move is called……Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie. It’s based on real life events in 1928 of a woman who is reunited with her missing son—only to realize he is an impostor. She confronts the city authorities, who then vilify her as an unfit mother and effectively brand her as delusional.

I’ve never been so angry while watching a movie. It killed me…I felt her pain and anguish and I took it PERSONALLY.

I don’t think there is a person on the planet that enjoys being accused of doing something they didn’t do or being accused of being something they aren’t. For some people, like me however, it’s more than just uncomfortable…it’s almost unbearable and it brings out the worst in me.

Over the last year, I discovered it’s my KRYPTONITE…the chink in my armor, the crack in my foundation. If you and I were characters in a Hollywood Blockbuster, and you were my antagonist, all you would have to do is spend your time constantly accusing me and I would easily be defeated…at least for a time, because in any GREAT movie, the Protagonist overcomes his or her weakness and ALWAYS comes back.

When I was 13 years old, someone in my family, falsely accused me of something, in an effort to deflect their own responsibility in a very ugly situation. It forever altered the course of my life. In fact, the moment that it occurred has played over in my mind many times and it remains among the most painful memories I have. As an adult, I can easily make myself cry simply by thinking of that moment.
In counseling, I was able to connect that particular event from my childhood, to my sensitivity of being accused of something, as an adult. It was a thorn placed in my soul and no different than a splinter left in your finger, it remains sensitive and you will react when it’s touched or bumped up against it.

I’ve made some progress in this area. Someone recently sent me an email that said: Mike, @#*% YOU! Stop spamming me! I had no idea who the person was or how they got on my list. A year ago, that email would have made me very angry and I would have replied in kind. However, it was like water on a duck’s back, this time. I didn’t take it personal AT ALL and I replied with kindness.

However, it’s still not easy when it comes from someone I love. That still hurts like crazy. I’m making progress, but I’m still not fully mature in this area. I’m now aware that this is something that is preventing me from becoming more like the person of Jesus, which I believe the Bible teaches me to make as my #1 goal. I can feel it in my spirit…the call to more fully die to myself, meaning that I need to more fully put God’s will for my life before my own needs, wants and desires.

I think I will know I am more fully maturing as a follower of Christ, when I can give up my right and my NEED to be defended or vindicated in the face of false accusation, from people that are supposed to love me.

You will have TROUBLES in this life.

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 09:10:00 -0400

She just started crying and kept saying “No, No, No…not you guys too Michael…but you guys have been together for so long.”

“Not all of our marriage was miserable. There were some very good times, great adventures, and a few sweet moments, such as our adoption of Madeline. None of the good, however, pushed away the growing darkness. We each had our problems, and our conflicts were never resolved, mistakes were never forgiven, and hurts were relived day after day.

Small cuts and scrapes in our relationship did not heal as they seemed to in others’ relationships, but became infected and ravaged our lives. Almost every day was full of dread and of dodging conflict.”

– Stephen Arterburn - Author “Healing is a Choice”

You must know that when I read those words, I got light headed. God had just put a book in my hands that explained the “EXACT” story of my own marriage, with the exception of “adopting” Madeline. I felt so alone, so misunderstood and like such a failure, until I read those words from one of the most respected and well known Christian counselors of our day. He had a radio show about relationships and had just authored his first book, when the bottom fell out of his own “relationship”.

LIFE IS NOT EASY and Life is FULL of unmet expectations, frustrations, and disappointments…that’s just the TRUTH. Some of the mess is self-inflicted and some isn’t. You don’t get to a point in your life, where everything just works perfect…that doesn’t exist in this life. Trust me, I have either worked for or been very close to some of the people, you might think are perfect…they AREN’T even close.

Holding on to the illusion of a perfect life is exhausting and hopeless. Jesus himself taught, “You will have troubles in this life, but take heart I have overcome the world”. And what about this verse of scripture that NO ONE ever talks about? “But those of you who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.” – 1 Cor 7:28

It’s easy to share your story or give your testimony after the fire has been put out…that’s an easy speech. It’s very difficult to share the journey as it happens, but I’m convinced that it’s incredibly helpful for other’s to know that you and I are struggling TOO and that they are not alone…YOU are not alone. What if someone was thinking of committing suicide because they felt all alone and helpless with their problem, until they heard you TOO were under extreme fire?

We need those comeback stories too, but I feel that God wants us all to cling together and bear with each other’s burden’s NOW, not to hide in the closet and only come out when everything looks safe.

You knew we had been struggling for some time, by watching my video journals, but now my wife and I are actually separating, just short of 17 years of being together and 15 years of marriage. Please pray for us, especially for our hearts. I’m very concerned about our children, would you please lift them up in prayer, as we walk down this very painful road. If you have need for prayer, please email me and I will gladly pray for you as well. Sometimes, the best way to get through your own problems is to focus on helping others with theirs.

I do not know what the future holds for me, my marriage or my circumstances, but I will stand in Faith and trust God for this life he is allowing me to borrow, regardless of the outcome that I’m able to see with my eyes. If you are going through something very difficult too, join me in standing on Rom 8:28.

“I come from a generation that didn’t talk about personal problems. You sucked it up and went on with your life. If things weren’t going well, it was your duty to hide it from anyone and everyone. Appearances were more important than getting help. Life is to be lived transparently, excitedly, with eager anticipation of the good things that still lie ahead, in spite of our circumstances.”
– Adapted from Embrace the Struggle: Living Life on Life’s Terms by Zig Ziglar

"Trust me…if someone is telling you that you are in denial, regardless of whether you want to hear it..."

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:32:26 -0400

““Trust me…if someone is telling you that you are in denial, regardless of whether you want to hear it or not, you MOST LIKELY ARE! You do not become a failure, by admitting it. You remain a failure by remaining in denial. - Michael Chriswell””

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MXWrencher.com THIS IS TOO COOL. A year ago, I sat my best...

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:05:21 -0400

MXWrencher.com

THIS IS TOO COOL. A year ago, I sat my best friend down on my back porch and helped him to identify his strength’s, talents, passions and abilities, so we could narrow in on a great career or business for him. At the end of several hours, I said “Sounds to me like we should shoot some videos of you teaching people how to fix and maintain their dirt bikes”….One year later…the DREAM IS ALIVE! Pass it on, if you know anyone that rides dirt bikes or enjoys motocross…they will LOVE this!

Here it is…the final chapter, as they say. This is my...

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:06:00 -0400

Here it is…the final chapter, as they say. This is my favorite part, for sure. Wait until about 4 minutes in and you’ll see why.

Don’t watch this video, unless you have seen part 1, right...

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:48:00 -0400

Don’t watch this video, unless you have seen part 1, right HERE.

There’s little comfort that comes from admitting your mistakes and telling people that you really don’t have it all together, like they thought. However, I can tell you that it’s very exciting to see that my transparency is being rewarded, by others feeling free to become more transparent in their own lives. If you are moved by watching these very personal videos, why not look for ways to be more transparent about your own life? There is great fulfillment that comes from seeing your own story and your own struggles, redeem others.

Some of this might freak you out (IT GETS DEEP) and you...

Mon, 24 May 2010 21:07:00 -0400

Some of this might freak you out (IT GETS DEEP) and you certainly won’t believe or be able to identify with everything I say, but please watch all 3 episodes before you make your final judgment. If I didn’t think this would REALLY help some people, trust me, I wouldn’t be sharing such a personal part of my life, out in the open.

This is a personal video journal that I started filming, just minutes after completing my last visit of a 5-week, restoration counseling session, to look into how my past might be affecting my present and my future. Going through this, COMPLETELY changed my life and ME!

The newsletter is gone now…I’ll be posting everything on this Blog now, so you can get in the conversation with me. Feel free to make comments below.

A Life Defining Moment

Mon, 10 May 2010 09:15:00 -0400

Based on the incredible phone call I just got from Dr. Brent Baldasare, after seeing his story video for the first time, I think I might have a “higher” calling now, …helping people to get their stories out of JAIL, so they can inspire YOU…LOL!!

Last week, I told you about the Richard Weber story, and how he was never even planning on telling his story and this week, it is Dr. Brent Baldasare, who has an incredibly inspiring and moving story and yet he never really knew where or how to start telling it.

I’m perplexed when I think about how many great stories might still be in JAIL. Find someone to help you tell your story…it’s not as difficult as you think. In the meantime, steal some ideas from me.Bear in mind as you watch these videos. I completely “sold” these guys on trusting me FULLY to tell their stories…they actually had NO input, other than to show up, with a bottle of water, and then answer all my questions. There was no preparation, no strategy on their part, no planning, no nothing…just a conversation and then I go to work. In each instance, I shot about 90 minutes of interview footage and then I go in and do the “story” magic and Keri puts her eye on it, to help me cut and cut to get it down to less than 10 minutes. The feedback from these guys has been extraordinary, but I realize that it might be because it’s THEIR stories.

So, now let me know what YOU think. Notice how different these are to the typical approach of marketing and getting your company name out there. I find it absolutely refreshing!

See both videos RIGHT HERE. If you’re subscribed to my blog, every time I post a new story video, you’ll be notified and you can learn some great ideas for telling your own story.

Are You Underrated?

Mon, 03 May 2010 13:30:00 -0400

Are You Underrated?

YOUR Story is Worthy

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:00:00 -0400

Imagine not being happy with your own personal story. Imagine not feeling it’s worthy to be told or even wishing you had someone elses story to tell. Imagine just keeping your story to yourself and no one ever benefitting from it.
I have felt that way for pretty much my whole life, because my story just seemed so normal to me. I never thought it would be worthy or even interesting to others. In my mind, everyone had stories like mine. I knew that I had a messed up childhood, but it seemed normal enough to me, so I never bothered to move beyond simply being aware of the facts.Last year, when Keri and I (ok…mostly me!) drove our marriage hard up onto the rocks, and it looked like we might not make it after 14 years of marriage, I got serious. I read somewhere that as much as 90% of ALL marriage problems are the result of things that happened to people before they’re 9 years old. As a result, I became curious enough to wonder more and more about the implications of my highly dysfunctional childhood and how it might be affecting my marriage, my life and my relationships.
I invested 15 hours of grueling work with two fabulous counselors, while we went through my ENTIRE story, from childhood on. It was very hard work, even for a talker, like me. I didn’t hold back though, I told them everything, concluding that they hear far worse on a weekly basis.

During the second session, Norma, stopped me mid-sentence and said “Michael, I’ve been doing this for 40 years and I’ve NEVER heard a story quite like yours.” At that point, I thought, “Oh, goodness, she hasn’t really heard anything yet, this is going to get much worse.”

By the third session, Norma admitted to me and Larry, that she was actually having a difficult time reconciling the fact that all of these things that I was telling her, actually happened to me, the person she was sitting across from and who was STILL ALIVE, not in jail, not on drugs and not living under an overpass. She said “Michael…you must write a book about this. Your story will be very helpful to others, who are struggling with some of the same things.” Coming from a lady who has been doing this for 40 years, and who at the age of 82, got on her knees and held my head on her shoulder while I cried in utter pain, I walked out of there that day saying, “Ok, maybe my story is worth telling one day”.

I was so moved by this whole experience and by the power of story, that it has completely revolutionized my business. After seeing the implications of my own story, I became excited about helping others to find and unlock the potential of their own story. I decided to focus Kickstart Productions on helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to tell their story in an authentic, emotional and meaningful way, through a short video documentary format. I’m now on the opposite side of the camera and coming from someone who was so self-absorbed for so many years, I never realized how fulfilling it can be to put the spotlight entirely on others…I JUST LOVE IT!!!

Amazingly, it turns out that I’m not the only one who has had reservations about telling their story. Richard Weber, never really felt led to share his story either, and said if I hadn’t talked him into telling his business story, he probably never would have…CAN YOU IMAGINE? His story not only makes for a very compelling personal story, but what an encouraging business story for so many people that are going through rough times, right now. The only people that won’t benefit from Richard telling his story, are his competitors…you’ll understand why, after you see the video.

Check it out right HERE.

Stay tuned, I’m already working on my next story video with a Chiropractor. This guy has one awesome and compelling story to tell…depending on how fast I can finish these projects; I may just stop writing my column each week and just let you be inspired, by the wonderful stories of other people.

Bottomline…YOUR story is worthy and don’t let anyone tell you any different. Start telling it NOW, it’s the only thing in the world, no one else can duplicate!

This is your life

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:39:00 -0400

This is your life

What are you Angry About?

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:00:00 -0400

They say, “If you’re not having a good day, don’t tell anyone, because 20% of people don’t care and 80% are thrilled that you’re more messed up than they are”. That means 80% of you will instantly feel better after reading my article today.

I’m feeling angry about some things and I never really get to tell anyone about it, except Keri or my small circle of really close friends. So today, I’ve decided to take a risk and unload my anger in your inbox…hope you’re cool with that. Just be sure to read Keri’s article, too, because it will balance out my dose of harshness.

I believe that there are certain things in the world and certain times where being angry is actually very HEALTHY. Read the story in the Bible about Jesus flipping over the tables of the coin changers in the Temple Square. I believe these feelings are called indignation. It’s being angry at things like the collection of thousands of pounds of plastic garbage floating in our oceans, or the way some people treat animals, or about the government abusing its power, or about the fact that children are starving to death in some third world countries…every day. No one would disagree that these are good things to be angry about.

Here’s my rant. At the top of my list is IGNORANCE, not stupidity, which I define as an inability to learn, but ignorance, the unwillingness to learn. Here are the top 7 things I get all twisted up inside about, and not necessarily in this order:

1. The deep insecurity that most people, unknowingly, have and the tremendous destruction it causes us, while trying to alleviate it.

2. Unauthentic people, who wear a mask and pretend to be something they are not.

3. The constant, out of balance, striving to increase the “bottom line”, that I see in much of the marketplace. Growth for the sake of growth is what CANCER does.

4. Speakers, pastors, and authors who give people false hope by telling them exactly what their itching ears WANT to hear or what their wallets are willing to pay for, and not the HARD TRUTH.

5. The behavior of so many of us Christians that make Christianity so unattractive, irrelevant and even detestable to the rest of the world.

6. I’m angry that so many of us have to spend the majority our adult lives fixing all the screwed up things that happened to us as kids.

7. I’m angry that I was ignorant of almost every one of those and that it took me so long to realize it and get angry about them.

What do you feel indignation about? It might be a problem you should bring awareness to or help change in the world. Life is not all a “bowl of cherries”.

A BIG SCARY Dream?

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:45:00 -0400

Have you ever had a Dream that you were afraid of? I’m not talking about a nightmare or the kind of dream that you have when you’re sleeping. I’m talking about the lofty expectation or desire to see something BIG happen.

About 3 years ago, I was hit with such a dream, but I wasn’t afraid of it, until about 2 weeks ago. I’ll admit, I’ve never been short on ideas or thinking about HUGE possibilities, but this dream was different…this was no mere MC fantasy. It was as if part of it came from my DNA, and it felt a little more like a “supposed to Dream” than just a “want to Dream”. This Dream had a “compelling” element to it and it’s largely about positively impacting the lives of young people.

My life has been so busy and in such transition, the last few years, that I haven’t really taken any action on the dream, other than to open the document I wrote it on, and look at it about every 90 days or so.

I shared the Dream with my friend Corvin a few years ago, while we were out riding our dirt bikes and he committed to dropping whatever he was doing to help me with it, when and if it becomes a reality.

I then shared the Dream with a group of men, about a year ago, in a meeting called “Dream Builders”. It’s a gathering of men, who get together once a month to encourage one another in the Dreams that God has given them…what an awesome concept.

After that, the Dream went back in the closet until January of this year. Keri and I were having a conversation about something that recently happened in our life and she mentally stopped dead in her tracks and said “Michael…maybe it’s time we start thinking about that Dream of yours and moving forward on it…maybe it’s something God wants you to do.” The last time Keri told me to move forward on something, it was a tremendous HIT…can you say www.RevelationsTraining.com? When we started Revelations, I was still scared from my last big failure and she said “We are supposed to do this Michael…I have peace about it and I think if we take a step of Faith, God will provide along the way”. That is exactly what happened and Revelations Training has provided for our family of 7 and our clients, in wonderful ways for 5 years, now. Keri has had to stand against, so many of my bad ideas that when she does encourage me in something…I PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. She has almost ALWAYS been right.

Two weeks ago, I was invited to lunch by one of the men, I had met a year ago, at the Dream Builders meeting. During lunch, he asked me to tell him about my Dream, in detail. When I finished, he looked me in the eyes and said “Michael…I think this is likely from God and I think your dream is going to come true.” I spent the next 30 minutes with goose bumps…I’ve never had that happen before. In the end, he said “Michael, I would like to help you make your Dream come true and if you would like, I would like to meet with you once a month for the next year, to help you to plan it all out and keep you accountable to making progress.” He said, “We’ll leave the timing and the results up to God, but I’d like to help you walk in faith towards this.” Honestly, this was like a scene you see in a movie…not in real life. I was in awe!

Three days later, he sent me an email, telling me that he had been sharing my Dream with a few other men and that they were interested in talking to me. One of the men was interested in possibly helping with the biggest resource needed for the Dream to come true. It just got serious and I just got nervous. That’s actually why I believe this Dream, might be from God, and why I know I’m at least supposed to start walking towards it in faith, with courage, because I’m nervous about what’s required to make it happen and it’s happening at a time in my life when I actually have the least amount of resources I have ever had, to pursue a dream like this. I guess if it comes true, God will get all of the Glory and I suspect he likes it that way…hmmmm?

Do you have a NOBLE Dream tugging at you, that you might be afraid of? Have others encouraged you to walk in it or have any confirming things happened? Is it possible that you should take the next step of faith and begin walking towards it? If you’re a little scared like me or you feel inadequate in some way, it might just be a God sized Dream, that you should be praying about and walking towards. Let’s walk towards it and find out.

Success Always Leaves Clues

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:41:00 -0400

Success Always Leaves Clues

A Destructive Addiction

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 08:30:00 -0400

Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, and Pornography. Depending on who you are, those words conjure up different thoughts, feelings, and emotions, but no one would disagree that addictions to these things can be highly shameful and very destructive.

I believe that there is an addiction that primarily affects men, that is 10 times more destructive than probably all 4 of those put together. I believe it creates more destruction and hurts more people than any of the well known “ugly” addictions. This addiction is so rampant because it isn’t shameful and most people can’t see the consequences until it’s just too late. On the contrary it’s praised, and even desired by others who don’t have this addiction. It’s the addiction of achieving success.

I am a self proclaimed, recovering “Success Addict”. As I’ve looked back over the last 15 years of my life, I can see where I have literally been enslaved by the idea and the pursuit of success. The problem is that not only did I not know it, but you wouldn’t have known it either, because I spent so much of my time sincerely working hard to have that balanced “look”. The process that I went through, to get to the place where I can now say this, is worthy of a book…in fact, I’m working on one, right now.

For now, I think it’s time to start asking some tough questions about success.

Have you ever seen success? How did you know it was success? How did you know that it wasn’t just extraordinary results in one area of life, at the complete expense of other more important areas?

How many train wrecked lives are there behind the smiling faces of your heroes, in the magazines or on the TV?

Are Olympic Gold Medal athletes successful? Are Fortune 500 CEO’s successful? Are Hollywood stars successful? Is the entrepreneur you look up to, successful? How do you know? Is it because they won the prize in one extremely narrow area of their life? Is that was success is? What is the purpose of so much sacrifice for winning in one small area of life? Does it make them happy? Why does it make them happy? Is it the sense of achievement or the fame or the prosperity or the glory? Sure…all of those feel good temporarily, but are ANY of those lasting or NOBLE reasons?

Do the people that you think are successful have families that think they are successful? Will their success in that area of their life still matter to them on their death bed? Are they still proud they made the sacrifice?

Why do we esteem success so much? Is it because we are convinced that it’s the answer to ALL of our deepest longings for happiness, and fulfillment? Is it because we are all so sub-consciously insecure about ourselves that we desperately need success in something, to feel esteemed and valuable?

I wonder if we should just drop the idea of striving for and achieving success and instead completely focus on being obedient to God, and what he created us to be and to do. Then we could stop striving and just leave the results up to him…couldn’t we?

I think so and in the next newsletter, I’ll tell you how I’m coming to that conclusion in my own life.

First Things First

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:38:00 -0400

First Things First

How Secure is Your Anchor?

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:50:00 -0400

I recently heard a speaker named Andy Stanley say in one sentence, what took me several years to experience and to understand in my own life. Here is his incredible statement:

“It is ALWAYS a mistake to decide what you want to DO in your life before you decide who you want to BE.”

Just think about all of the big time sports athletes, Hollywood actors and successful business owners, who have achieved such extraordinary success in one area of their life, at the expense of everything else. I don’t believe many of them “planned” to end up in a train wreck. They simply decided what they wanted to do before they got solid on who they wanted to “BE” and because of their talents, their “success” quickly surpassed the capacity of their character to handle it.
Those are extreme examples, but it can happen to all us and in more subtle ways. In my case, my talents, such as my ability to communicate, to persuade, and to be creative, created such wonderful and exciting waves of opportunity that I was easily enticed and blown into waters that I couldn’t safely navigate. I had not yet fully committed to who I wanted to “BE” in my life.

The picture above is of me on a very, very, happy day. In contrast to our lowest financial point, just 3 years earlier, where we had to break Tyler’s piggy bank to get $6 in change to pay for his formula, it was an EXTREMELY HAPPY day. It’s not every day someone pays you several hundred thousand dollars for a product that you created, from a company you started, in your spare bedroom closet. Can you imagine? This was an Amazing High Point, where everything in the world seemed to be just perfect for us and we couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next!
Understand, there had been several “big check” happy days previous to this, with amounts between $10k and $40k, but this time it was a check for over a quarter of a million dollars, which was just the upfront money on a nearly half-a-million dollar contract. This created a large prevailing wind that began to blow me off course and away from some of the values I “thought” I had anchored myself too. I was easily enticed and quickly began heading straight into dangerous waters that put everything else that I valued in my life, at risk. This, once again, led to a series of painful consequences that could still be felt years later. However, I began to get much more serious about defining who I wanted to BE.

About a year ago, “the opportunity of a lifetime” literally fell into my lap. It was an opportunity that would have likely catapulted me into “stardom” of the speaking world and I honestly don’t know anyone that would turn it down. The projected income was more than I could have ever even imagined and Keri and I would be set for life financially! I signed a 5-year non-compete/non-disclosure agreement and Keri and I carefully discussed and prayed about this wonderful opportunity.
It didn’t take us very long to say “NO” because we concluded that the opportunity was much much bigger than the capacity of my character, at the time, to handle it. In truth, we both knew it would have absolutely RUINED me and our family…I know this for a fact! We passed on “the opportunity of a lifetime” and instead decided to stick with who we wanted to “BE” over what we wanted to “DO”.

Have you firmly anchored yourself on the values that determine who you will “BE” so that regardless of how strong the winds of opportunity or circumstances blow, you will not be enticed or blown off course and into dangerous waters?

Don’t stop climbing that mountain you might be on, right...

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:15:00 -0400

Don’t stop climbing that mountain you might be on, right now!