What did we exchange for our lives in 2010?

What does time mean to you?

Ben Franklin said, “Time is money.” However, if we waste our money, we may be able to earn more, but if we waste our time, we can never replace it. If we don’t use our money wisely, we have less money, but if we waste our time, we lose part of our life.

Time is no respecter of persons

When it comes to time, there is total equality for all people. For each one of us, there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. Each of us is given 1,440 minutes per day and 168 hours per week. The thing that differentiates us is how we use this time.

How do you use your time?

Even though it is so precious, there is nothing that we squander quite so thoughtlessly as time. It is tragic how many people would never willingly throw their lives away, yet they are willing to let their lives slip through their fingers in little pieces, just because they haven’t determined what really is important in life. Many people talk about stewardship in giving, but few get serious about stewardship in living.

Time is Limited

In reality, time is more valuable than money, and life is short, so it is imperative that we learn how to manage our time and use it wisely. Life passes by quickly, therefore, we should make the most of every minute. Life is full of troubles and difficulties, therefore, we need to learn how to value each day and use each day for the ultimate good.

Those who don’t value time may become idle and lazy. Laziness and idleness may lead to unproductive, wasted lives that bring shame and disappointment. Idle people often get involved in gossip and conflict, and look for others, who are idle, with whom they can share their judgments. When we are busy making a life, we don’t have time to spend judging others and gossiping about them. When we see ourselves clearly, we realize that there is barely enough time in one lifetime to work on our own lives and grow into who we were created to become. Why waste time criticizing others?

We only have one life, so we should use the time that has been given to us very wisely. We should endeavor to make the most of every opportunity and every minute that we have on this planet. We should endeavor to do everything we do with all of our heart and energy. Why waste our time doing things half-heartedly? We need to learn to spend our time choosing and doing the best things, rather than just good things. We can’t do everything, and sometimes good things can be the enemy of the best things. Therefore, we need wisdom to choose the best things for which we should invest our time and life.

Our lives are often controlled by the tyranny of the urgent, and we get so busy trying to meet the demands of the daily grind, that we have no time to make progress towards reaching our goals or making an impact on the world around us. Time is precious and we need to learn how to value it and use it to make a great life – one day at a time. How will you use your time in 2011? Remember, time is precious because time is life.

What did we exchange for our lives in 2010?

What does time mean to you?

Ben Franklin said, “Time is money.” However, if we waste our money, we may be able to earn more, but if we waste our time, we can never replace it. If we don’t use our money wisely, we have less money, but if we waste our time, we lose part of our life.

Time is no respecter of persons

When it comes to time, there is total equality for all people. For each one of us, there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. Each of us is given 1,440 minutes per day and 168 hours per week. The thing that differentiates us is how we use this time.

How do you use your time?

Even though it is so precious, there is nothing that we squander quite so thoughtlessly as time. It is tragic how many people would never willingly throw their lives away, yet they are willing to let their lives slip through their fingers in little pieces, just because they haven’t determined what really is important in life. Many people talk about stewardship in giving, but few get serious about stewardship in living.

Time is Limited

In reality, time is more valuable than money, and life is short, so it is imperative that we learn how to manage our time and use it wisely. Life passes by quickly, therefore, we should make the most of every minute. Life is full of troubles and difficulties, therefore, we need to learn how to value each day and use each day for the ultimate good.

Those who don’t value time may become idle and lazy. Laziness and idleness may lead to unproductive, wasted lives that bring shame and disappointment. Idle people often get involved in gossip and conflict, and look for others, who are idle, with whom they can share their judgments. When we are busy making a life, we don’t have time to spend judging others and gossiping about them. When we see ourselves clearly, we realize that there is barely enough time in one lifetime to work on our own lives and grow into who we were created to become. Why waste time criticizing others?

We only have one life, so we should use the time that has been given to us very wisely. We should endeavor to make the most of every opportunity and every minute that we have on this planet. We should endeavor to do everything we do with all of our heart and energy. Why waste our time doing things half-heartedly? We need to learn to spend our time choosing and doing the best things, rather than just good things. We can’t do everything, and sometimes good things can be the enemy of the best things. Therefore, we need wisdom to choose the best things for which we should invest our time and life.

Our lives are often controlled by the tyranny of the urgent, and we get so busy trying to meet the demands of the daily grind, that we have no time to make progress towards reaching our goals or making an impact on the world around us. Time is precious and we need to learn how to value it and use it to make a great life – one day at a time. How will you use your time in 2011? Remember, time is precious because time is life.

As we grew up, many careless words made their way deep into our formative souls. Later in life they continually play like tapes in our minds, convincing us of who others say we are, assuring us of what they say we aren’t. Why do we allow the words and treatment of others to define our identity and predetermine our boundaries and limitations in life? How do we ever erase all of the painful and critical entries on our mental hard drive? Once we’ve heard them enough that we actually believe them, and they find their way down to the deepest part of who we are, forming the foundation of our psyche, how do we rescue the person buried under the ruble of other people’s words and judgments?

The critical words of others often wound our souls mortally and push us behind the walls we create for protection. We spend our whole life performing in an effort to give value back to our inner child who has been devalued a thousand times. Somehow it seems that in the end we must finally bolster our low self-esteem in something or someone much higher than ourselves. Once we discover this truth, we realize that the words and treatment of others can never define who we are or who we can become.

We are the lovely creation of God. His creation of our lives and his love for us defines who we are. He declares that we are wonderfully created with unlimited potential and we are passionately and completely loved. No one on this planet can ever take away our true value, unless we let them. No words can ever minimize the wonder of who we are, unless we believe them. When we realize this, we can come out from behind the walls we have built, because we know who we are and no one and no words can ever take that away from us. Come on out and make a life!

Sometimes, just when you think that things couldn’t get any worse … they do. The Russians used to tell me that Murphy was an optimist. That’s because he never lived in Russia. No matter where we live, sometimes life can be just plain painful and overwhelming … until we learn the power of perspective and expectation reformation. Many ancient writers and fathers of wisdom have warned us that life is just plain painful and we should be ready for it. Job stated that “man is born unto trouble as the sparks fly upward”. Have you ever seen sparks fly any other direction? Unfortunately, most of us have seen sparks fly in more places than bonfires. Homes, offices, football fields, and highways are just a few of the places where sparks fly. They fly in all kinds of relationships: husbands with wives, parents with children, siblings, co-workers, and strangers who get in our way. The sparks may fly upward, but they often bring us down after the smoke has cleared. Life is full of troubles, so we need to just expect them. Always be ready to work towards putting out relational fires, and strive to do more than just put out fires. As Smoky the bear warned, “Only you can PREVENT fires”. Remember, It’s easier to prepare than to repair!

Knowing that fires, breakdowns and troubles of all kinds are inevitable enables us to respond more rapidly and in more healthy ways. How often we lose our cool because things heated up at work. How frequently we are blown away by the storms of life because we weren’t prepared for inclement weather. Everything purchased will one day break down. We cut the grass, but it keeps growing back. We rake up leaves, but more keep falling. We wash our cars, but they keep getting dirty. The whiskers we shave and the hair we cut keeps growing back. We work out at the gym, but our bodies keep falling apart. The weight that we lose keeps coming back. We try to look younger but we keep getting older. It appears that all of life is a conspiracy against us, and there is little that we can do about it … except expect it! When we expect it, we take the shock and awe out of all that would normally devastate or emotionally upset us. Readjusting our life expectations takes away the element of surprise … for when you least expect it, we expect it, and that greatly defuses the potential life explosion and keeps us on our feet, in one piece, and full of peace.

Moses said the life is short and full of troubles and sorrow. Jesus declared that in this world we will face trials and tribulations, but we can be of good cheer for He has overcome the world. That’s the point, no matter how we look at it, life comes at us fast and furious and far too often full of pain, but how we look at it makes all the difference in our world. If we adjust our expectations to reality rather than virtual reality, we can have the mindset of victorious people who overcome hardships, rather than victims who allow hardships to overcome them.

If we learn to be thankful for all things great and small, we will actually be able to smile through the pain, dance in the rain, and make something good out of all the bad that comes our way. Sometimes, perspective is everything! On the outside, nothing changes, but on the inside everything changes. It all depends on how we look at it.

In Part 1, we acknowledged that there are times in our lives when we wake up day after day to go to work at a job that we don’t even like. We convince ourselves that it is just a temporary situation, but years later, we realize that we are simply stuck in the situation and have no other easy alternatives. In fear of the future, we often chose to remain in the present situation – in mere survival mode, rather than making a real life. The longer we remain in this situation, the harder it is to get out and begin to move in the direction of doing what we love and were created for.

TODAY is the day to Identify the Situation that’s hindering your potential; Clarify how it is hindering your potential, Quantify what it is costing you to remain in this situation, and Rectify it by examining all of your options and making a plan to change situation.

Take a few minutes to work through the following questions to be sure that you are not stuck in “Situation Deathics” . If you are, TODAY is the day to step out into your destiny and CHOOSE LIFE – YOUR LIFE!

TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY?  -  THAT IS THE QUESTION

In this specific situation:

*Are you growing? In what specific ways or areas?

* Do you have room to advance and improve your financial status? Why or why not?

* Do you feel satisfied? Why or why not? Do you feel energized or drained? Alive or slowly dying?

* Is it helping you to fulfill your life mission/vision? How?

* Is it helping you to achieve your life goals and plans? How?

* Is it positive and healthy for your family or loved ones? Why or why not?

* Does it fit with your beliefs, values and ethics? Why or why not?

*Do you look forward to being in this situation every day? Why or why not?

* Are you feeling anxiety, pressure or fear in this situation? What other feelings are you experiencing in it? What about the situation is causing these feelings?

* Is it worth remaining in this situation or would it be more costly to change it?

* Would you like to remain in this situation until you leave this planet? If not, when do you plan to get unstuck from it?

*How will you get unstuck and move to a new reality? List the steps and how and when you will take them.

IF YOU FEEL LIKE LIFE SUCKS, YOU ARE PROBABLY STUCK

Wherever I go everyday, I ask people, “So what are you doing with your life?” Many people answer, “Man, I’m just trying to make it.” When they do, I ask them, “So, have you figured out what IT is?” They usually look at me with a ‘deer in the headlights’ sort of look, and ask what I mean. After I explain … most people respond that they haven’t really figured out what the IT is. They don’t know who or what they want to be when they grow up. They don’t have a life mission or vision. They don’t have clear direction of where they want to go, or plans to help get them there. They don’t have a complete financial strategy, and they aren’t even close to reaching their full potential. Their ‘trying to make IT’ is mere survival, and their efforts to SURVIVE are keeping them from truly MAKING A LIFE.

So, how about you? Do you have a life mission and vision, clear direction of where you want to go and plans to help you get there? Do you have a fully developed financial plan? Are you living your passions and reaching your potential? Are you doing more than just trying to make it? Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold. Break out, straighten up and fly right! Survival is not true life. You have been created for much more.

It is as if someone or something has blinded billions of people and sucked them into survival mode. Take a minute to think about the L-evate Life Law of the Blind Leading the Blind:

YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO “MAKE IT”, IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT “IT” IS

Friendship is a beautiful thing! Isn’t it? You may feel like answering, “not really, not always, not in my life”. Maybe you have tried to build and maintain friendships, and have encountered many difficulties.  You might be feeling that friendships cause great pain, they cost a lot of time and effort, and they are not worth it. It is true that real friendship involves a great cost and much sacrifice, but if we follow healthy principles of True Friendship, we will discover that the investment of time and effort is well worth it.

The Foundation of Friendship

As we consider healthy principles of friendship, we see that True Friendship must be built upon a proper, strong foundation. All friendships will at times be severely tested by winds of adversity, conflict, and misunderstanding, but if we develop and maintain our relationships with healthy principles, our friendships will be loyal, deep and life-long. The fruit, or results of friendship are truly wonderful and can enrich and change our lives and the lives of many hurting people in this world. Building lasting friendships requires sacrifice and an investment of time and heart, but the results make these investments worthwhile.

Many times, friends disappoint us and friendships don’t last because they are built on a faulty foundation. As we examine healthy friendships, we can see the essential values, or building blocks that establish a firm foundation of friendship. When friendship is build upon this sure foundation, it will last, and it will bring us lasting joy and greater growth in our lives. Let’s take a look at several elements of a firm foundation upon which a close friendship may be built:

• Kindred Spirit:

In order for friendships to grow strong and deep, there must be a spirit of unity. As two friends spend time talking, praying, playing, sharing, working, and doing things together, they begin to open up their hearts and lives to each other. They come to understand each others thoughts and feelings, and gradually their spirits become knit together. If this never happens in a relationship, the people may call themselves friends, but in reality, they are nothing more than acquaintances. True friends share their thoughts, hopes and dreams, and hurts and struggles with each other. They grow to understand each other and empathize with each others feelings. This can only happen when people are willing to open up their spirits to each other.

How many true friends do you have? With whom have you opened up your life and become one in spirit? Those who never learn to be open can never fully share their lives with anyone. They may have lots of acquaintances, but can become very lonely, even in a crowd. They build walls around their hearts, and their spirits are off limits to others. They will never be able to open up until they are able to trust another person. In order to truly build friendships, people must learn to trust each other, gradually open up their lives to each other, and become one in spirit.

● Deep and Unselfish Love:

True friendship must be built upon a foundation of deep and unselfish love. Too often, we think more about ourselves than we ought to and not enough about other people. We put ourselves first, we take good care of ourselves, and we desire others to care for us and serve us. It would be healthier for us to be aware that life is not all about us, and that we should love and serve others. This focus on self is not spiritually, emotionally, or relationally healthy for us. When we are growing as healthy people, the quality of our love for others deepens and our relationships improve continually. True love makes others a priority and is willing to sacrifice for others. It is always concerned for others and willing to reach out to help. It is patient, kind, forgiving, and compassionate. This is the kind of love that true friendships are made of, and this is the kind of love that everyone would love to have in their lives.

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YOU WERE CREATED WITH EVERYTHING INSIDE OF YOU THAT YOU NEED TO BECOME ALL THAT YOU WERE MEANT TO BE! BUT IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO DEVELOP AND USE IT ALL TO FULFILL YOUR DESTINY

To really feel alive, we have to really live! To really live, we must have a life mission or purpose – it’s what we wake up to be and do every day of our lives. What’s your life mission or purpose? If you don’t yet know, do all you can to find out. Until you do, you really aren’t living and until you are really living, you won’t feel really alive.

A good life mission is usually much bigger that we are, but it’s what we were created to be and do. Here are two examples of people who had clear life missions and left a legacy:

I am not sure what the stated life mission of Jerry Lewis was, and I am sure that he made many mistakes in his life, but he did state that, “He was on a mission from God” and he raised over two billion dollars for “Jerry’s Kids”. That’s some legacy. Life mission usually is much bigger than our small lives and worlds.

In regards to life mission, this is what Mother Teresa had to say, “People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway.”

Don’t you think it’s time to really live?!

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