Embracing Your Limitations - Inspired by Phil Hansen

I saw the following video in Dan Miller's post Embrace the Shake. (Dan Miller is the author 48 Days to the Work You Love and Wisdom Meets Passion.

In this TEDTalk, Phil Hansen explains how, as an artist, initially he considered his nerve damage as the end all of his dream. But he learned how to take his limitation and create and expand his art in ways he never dreamed or envisioned.

It's a different way of thinking. What could we learn to create within our limitations if we took the time to embrace them?

"There Is No Overnight Success" by Jonathan Wells

"Life is about growth and change, that is the journey we are on. If we only focus on the final outcome we miss the joy associated with our experience. In other words, we miss out on life itself." - Jonathan Wells

I read those lines in the following blog post.  The post can be viewed in its original form by visiting Jonathan Wells' site Advanced Life Skills.

There Is No Overnight Success

by Jonathan Wells

Because our life happens one day at a time, there is a tendency to view each day as a separate and independent event. While I am a big fan of living in the moment, it is equally important to understand how one moment relates to the next.

Life is a cumulative experience

Those with something to gain want you to believe that major changes can happen almost instantly and with very little effort. They try to convince you that you can be a millionaire, or the picture of perfect health, if you just buy their product and use it for the next thirty days.
Promises like that can sound very appealing. Don’t be fooled, there is no such thing as an overnight success, or even an overnight failure for that matter. Sometimes it may appear to be that way, but that’s just because we were not in a position to witness the whole process.

See the big picture

In actuality, success and failure are the result of prior choices and actions. Barring any unforeseen catastrophic events, your life today is the sum of all your yesterdays.
To succeed in any area of life we need to learn to view today, not as a single disconnected event, but as a major contributor to our future. This requires a special kind of awareness. It means being able to look ahead and see the likely consequences of what you are doing right now.

Shortsightedness eventually brings pain

If we don’t see the connection between are choices today, and our quality of life tomorrow, there will pain and disappointment in our future. We see this scenario being played out every single day.
One common example of this kind of shortsightedness is someone who eats and drinks without any regard for the long term consequences. Over the years their weight and blood pressure rise steadily. The function of their liver and pancreas is slowly impaired, and their level of physical activity decreases. Then, seemingly out of the blue, they are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or worse yet, they have a heart attack.

Still no clue

What’s their response to their new reality? They either wonder why, or they chalk it up to getting older. When in truth, it was the predictable outcome of two or three decades of not associating today’s choices with tomorrow’s reality.
We could say the same thing about a relationship that slowly goes bad, or constantly rising debt that leads to bankruptcy. Failure to recognize and acknowledge that our future is the culmination of all the previous days and years is a sure path to pain and disappointment.

Awareness leads to success

On the other hand, we can make good use of the cumulative nature of life to help move us steadily in the direction of our goals and dreams. However, before we can do that, we need to adopt a different mindset with relation to how we view the accumulation process.
We live in a world that wants everything right now. People have linked their positive emotional anchors to instant gratification. They have no patients for, nor do they find any pleasure in the process. They just want the result without having to do the work. The problem with this mindset is that life simply does not work that way.

Learn to love the journey

Life is about growth and change, that is the journey we are on. If we only focus on the final outcome we miss the joy associated with our experience. In other words, we miss out on life itself.
On the other hand, if we live each day with no awareness of where it is leading us, then we have no direction and will never achieve any goals. What we want is the best of both worlds. We want to fully enjoy and experience each day, and know that it is moving us ever closer to the realization of our long term goals.

How can we do that?

1) Shift your mindset with a question. You need to weigh each day’s activities and decisions according to your long term goals. Simply asking yourself, “will this move me toward success or away from it?” will increase your awareness and change your perspective
This applies to personal goals, business goals, and relationship goals. For example, If you are considering a second helping of dessert, ask yourself if that will move you toward your weight loss goal, or away from it. If you are about to find fault with your mate, ask yourself if pursuing that conversation will strengthen your relationship or undermine it. Always consider the long term consequences before to make a decision or take action.


2) Learn to find joy in the process. I learned this from the legendary Bonsai Master John Naka. When I was relatively new to the art of bonsai he told me that if I did not learn to find enjoyment in the training process, I might as well buy finished bonsai trees and just be a collector.
But I wanted to create not collect. We are all the creators of our own life; we can’t just buy the life we want. Doesn’t it make sense to enjoy the creative process while staying aware of our overall direction? We do this by holding a vision of our desired future and finding joy in each step of the journey.


3) Review your actions weekly. Every week take a few minutes to look back and double check your direction. Are you still moving toward your goals, or do you need to make some adjustments? Were there any activities over the past week that did not support you goals and should be eliminated?
Then review your goals to see if they are still what you want. It is not unusual to discover that the goals themselves need to be adjusted from time to time to stay in harmony with who we are right now. Don’t be afraid to reevaluate your goals as you grow and progress.

Using the present to sculpt the future

As we can see, within the scope of normal circumstances, there really is no such thing as instant success or failure. Learning to maintain a constant awareness of how today’s choices effects tomorrow’s life will empowers us to create the future we want, while finding joy in the journey.

"And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." (Habakkuk 2:2 King James Bible)

"Don't Lose Your Mojo" by S. Anthony Iannario

I read this on S. Anthony Iannarino's site The Sales Blog. Anthony is the President and Chief Sales officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing in Columbus, Ohio, and he's an adjunct faculty member at Capital University’s School of Management and Leadership. To read the following blog post in it's original format, click here.

Don’t Lose Your Mojo
February 17, 2013 by S. Anthony Iannarino

It doesn’t matter that you failed. It doesn’t matter that you lost the client, lost the opportunity, or lost the job. It doesn’t matter that you did your best and that your best wasn’t good enough. The events or the circumstances that led to your failing don’t matter either. There are only three things that matter now.

First, you need to derive any lessons you can from your failure. The price of an education is experience. And the price of experience is failure. What did you learn?

Second, it matters that you pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and step back into the arena. Your past performance isn’t necessarily indicative of your future performance. Lots of people failed countless times before finally breaking through. But to succeed in the future, you have to try again.

But the most important thing I saved for last: You can’t lose your mojo. You are a value creator. You live by the Value Creator’s Code. Because you are a value creator, it’s time to reengage with the world and the opportunities in front of you with all the confidence in your abilities that you had when you tried and failed. It’s time to step back in with all of your mojo, all of your confidence. It’s time to reengage your head, your heart, and your guts. All of these things are still alive inside you. Or they could be.

The world is waiting for you to make a difference. We’re counting on you. A lot of people are counting on you. Get your mojo working.

Times of Change

Changes. They come to shed the old, and this shedding provides for the new. Old thoughts and habits keep us where we are. The irony is while you may be growing, developing, or experiencing success where you are, you're not doing the same where you want to be. Your life isn't heading in the direction you want it to go--where you constantly dream of it's being. And the dream won't seem to go away. Even when you've lost sight of it or given up on it, it still lingers like an odor with a source that can't be determined.

That dream will remain unfulfilled and will continue to linger...it will continue to haunt you with glimpses of how life could be...until you embrace your times of change.


"[A song for going up to worship.] When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, it was as if we were dreaming." (Psalms 126:1 GOD'S WORD Translation)

Step By Step...When You're Tired of Stepping

Have you ever gotten tired of trying? You keep making steps but the steps seem to be taking you nowhere--or nowhere fast. Yes, we've all been there, but what happens when you've been "there" one too many times?

Tiredness pervades your body like a slow moving malaise, and forget the proverbial "one step forward two steps back". It's more like one step forward and ten steps back. And as far as your eye can see, it seems as if nothing is changing. Nothing's growing, nothing's increasing, and you don't want to admit it but things seem to be declining. The time before your period of change is starting to look better and better...

Right now I'm thinking about the biblical character Joseph. Joseph was known as a dreamer, and to make a long story short, his dreams landed him in captivity as a slave. Despite his unjust captivity, Joseph proved himself to be a worthy and capable individual, and his master made Joseph the head man in charge of his house. Unfortunately Joseph was falsely accused by the master's wife of a wrong, and that accusation landed Joseph in...

JAIL, of all places. He had done nothing wrong and now he was in prison. Due to his relationship with God, Joseph was able to interpret dreams. What relevance does this have with the story? Joseph meets two prisoners that happen to mention their dreams to Joseph. Joseph interpreted one man's dream to have a favorable ending and the other's unfavorable. Both of Joseph's interpretations were correct.

Here's the kicker. The man whose dream ended well was supposed to tell the person in authority (which just so happened to be the king) about Joseph. However, he forgot, and he forgot for three years. But then the king has a dream that those around him cannot interpret, this man remembers Joseph, and Joseph ends up before the king. Joseph interprets the king's dream, and, well, the rest is history.

All of that to say what? Can you imagine being Joseph? Would you want to imagine being him? First he was sold into slavery by his brothers for being a dreamer. Then he catches a break and becomes the head servant of his master's house, only to be thrown in jail because he does not give in to the wife's attempts to seduce him. And when it seems like he may be leaving prison soon because he interpreted the butler's dream, he's forgotten about for three years.

Me, personally, I think I would have gotten discouraged after being thrown in prison. And I probably would have been absolutely broken after three years. But could that be God's purpose all along? To break us of everything that's hindering us from becoming the people we imagine and envision ourselves to be? Do I agree with all of God's Ways? No. Is that a problem? No, because He's the God of all hearts, and He knows how to change our hearts if we will let Him.

So if you're tired of stepping, take a moment and regroup. What around you do you still have? And take inventory of yourself. While your surrounding circumstances may have taken a turn for the worse, what about you and your character has changed or grown? And then, once you've had a small breather, start moving again, because eventually you will step into the dream you've been seeking.

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Arise , and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter : so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. (Jeremiah 18:1-6, King James Version)

"Transparent Moments Pt. 2" by Broderick Walton

This post is from Broderick Walton's website. To see the post in its original form, click here.

Transparent Moments Pt. 2
Posted on 11 September, 2012

I’m learning daily that God will make the comfortable uncomfortable in your life, just for us to realize that we have a greater purpose than just living & working 9 to 5s. As God starts to stretch me & take away things that I’ve grown to depend on, he’s only making it so that I solely depend on HIM & not a job or my own understanding. Sometimes when I just want to live the NORMAL life w/o encouraging others on the daily, I’m reminded of who saved my life & who is depending on me to lead others to him.

When I accepted the calling on my life, I knew that my life would change, my inner circle, and the blood line with my last name attached to it. Am I in this for the long haul? Yes!! Does it hurt being stretched & learning to trust God rather than my job & own understanding? Yes!! Is it worth it seeing my complete obedience helpings others make it in to heaven? You better believe it!! I’m reminded daily that my last 10 years of sufferings, going thru, and being healed of my past was just for this current season. With all that being said, my season is now hear to trust God in doing what I was born to do. Lord, use EVERY ounce in me to be a blessing to your kingdom.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28 King James Version)

It's Never As Bad As It Seems! by George Whitten

This inspirational piece is by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions.

It's Never As Bad As It Seems!

Psalm 27:4-5 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

The world these days is full of bad news, with tensions growing in the Middle East, economies on the brink of collapse, and nature constantly adding to the chaos with one disaster after another. It's a time of trouble all right, and for us believers it may sometimes be hard to believe – but it never is as bad as it seems. Let me illustrate with a joke I like to share with my messages.

Way out west (in America, of course), a cowboy is driving down a road, his dog riding in the back of his pickup truck, his faithful horse in the trailer behind. As he takes a curve on the highway he suddenly loses control of the vehicle and has a terrible accident.

Sometime later, a State Police officer comes on the scene. A great lover of animals, the officer's attention is first drawn to the horse. Realizing the serious nature of its injuries, he draws his service revolver and puts the animal out of its misery. Then walking around the accident he finds the dog, also critically wounded, and whining miserably in pain. This grips his heart and he quickly ends the dog's suffering as well.

Finally the police officer locates the cowboy, who has suffered multiple fractures and can barely breathe. “Hey, are you okay?”, he says.

The cowboy takes one look at the smoking gun in the trooper's hand and quickly replies, with unexpected energy, “Never felt better!”

We are pilgrims in this dangerous world, which will wound us at times so badly it will seem unbearable – yet we have this promise from God, “in the time of trouble He will hide me”. It's because my real life, my true life is in Him and with Him no matter what happens to me here. So when the world approaches me with a smoking gun, ready to put me out of my misery, I can find a supernatural strength, and simply say, "I never felt better!"