Last month I was fortunate enough to celebrate 7 years of clean living! The day was sandwiched in between several big events in my day to day life, all of which allowed for tons of celebration! It was really a fantastic week! As you can see, I’ve got great friends, an amazing staff & the best Wife on the planet!
(Watch this video to see what they did! )
All of the celebrating, kind text messages & encouragement got me thinking about all that’s transpired over the past 7 years. I tried to capture it all in a talk I gave for the Hope is Alive Residents entitled, “7 Challenges to Change the World”.
Here are the highlights. I hope you enjoy!
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You can change the world. Yes, YOU. You have what it takes and you live in a world where one change, in one town, at one place in time, can ripple into an tsunami of change in a matter of hours. Changing the world for the better is truly possible today.
The cliche saying says, “Change one persons life. You’ve changed the world”, I believe that. And with that in mind, I think in some small ways I’ve changed the world. But more importantly, over the past seven years I’ve been fortunate enough to be around a lot people who have definitely changed the world. I’ve tried to glean and even steal everything I could from these world changers. Here are the top seven things I’ve picked up from them and a few from my own personal experiences as well.
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You have to Want MORE!
It’s not enough to desire to accomplish one thing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to set a goal, go and get it done. But world changers have a deep desire to want more. When the world is done working, they want one more hour. When everyone is tired at the gym, they want one more set. When everyone’s given up on someone, World Changers, say “I believe one MORE time, just might be what they need!”
This doesn’t’ mean you can’t be content, it just means that you must hunger for more. More from you, more from life, more, more, more.
World Changers don’t get satisfied with the status quo. World Changers push for better, strive for greater & are always looking inward to see what can be improved in order to become the very best version of themselves. With this fire inside of you, literally anything is possible! You’ll go from success to success. Without this fire inside of you, you’ll struggle to make it. You might survive, but you won’t thrive…and World Changers want MORE than just surviving! -
Talk yourself UP!
No one has a bigger influence on YOU than YOU! So what’s your self talk look? What are you telling YOU?! Recently I was told by a mentor that our subconscious mind has 50-70k thoughts daily. That’s a ton, right?! So how many of yours are positive and how many are negative? This is so important! Why, because as the old saying goes…
“Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
It’s true your thoughts dictate your destiny. What you think about yourself, will direct where you life will end up going. Your future, your success, your friendships, the fruitfulness of your life, all of it is being programmed by your self talk.
So again, I must ask you, what are you saying about YOU? What is your first thought every day? What do you think about when you’re faced with tough challenges? Are you speaking positive affirmations over yourselves or placing doubt in your mind by thinking about the last time you tried something & failed?
I don’t know about you, but I need all the positivity I can get. That’s why from the first moment of the day, I begin speaking affirmations over my body, my family, my mind, my relationships & my job. Here are a couple examples that I am using right now.
I was born to change the world! Influence, support, creativity, passion & encouragement flow to me like a river!
I am leader of leaders. I am capable of leading a national organization. Talented, skilled, hard working people desire to be lead by me.
These are affirmations that point to my future. I am painting the picture of who I want to become. I am affirming to myself, about myself, where I desire to see myself in years to come.
Real world changers, real successful people, have amazing self talk!
This week practice over the top, super positive, self talk and see where it leads you… -
Develop an Inner Fight (Bounce Back)
One thing we all know, is that in life, the storms keep coming. People pass away, relationships end, uncertainty hits. In short, stuff happens!
What I’ve learned over the past seven years is that, to be the best version of me I have got to learn to FIGHT! This is the opposite of how I used to live. During my addiction I was a runner. When tough times came my way, I sprinted the other direction.
But today, for me to live out the calling God has placed on my life, I must turn and face tough situations. I must learn how to stand up and fight when negative things roll my way. I have to resolve to bounce back, no matter what happens.
You are the same way. If you want to change the world, you must develop a FIGHT to be the BEST version of YOU. If you don’t, you are destined to repeat the same sad cycle of life you’re coming out of… (sorry, that’s just the truth!)
You have to be someone who has some bounce back to them. When one door closes you’ve got to keep your head on a swivel because you know another door is about to fly open!
I love people who have some BOUNCE BACK, who fight for what they want and know WHO they know are destined to be. Here’s a great example.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN:- 1816 His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
- 1818 His mother died.
- 1831 Failed in business.
- 1832 Ran for state legislature – lost.
- 1832 Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
- 1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
- 1834 Ran for state legislature again – won.
- 1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
- 1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
- 1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
- 1840 Sought to become elector – defeated.
- 1843 Ran for Congress – lost.
- 1846 Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
- 1848 Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
- 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
- 1854 Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
- 1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
- 1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
- 1860 Elected president of the United States.
President Lincoln’s bounce back was legendary.
How is your bounce back? How will people judge this time in your life? Tripped and fell and stayed down, lost a job stayed in bed moping around, faced a tough unfortunate situation and wasted the story God wanted to use? Or will you bounce back?!
World Changers embrace the storms of life, because they are fighters. World Changers are a people who embrace storms, because we know that eventually storms end & that’s when opportunities begin!
Here’s the cool thing about this, God is fighting the biggest battles for you already!! That’s the key you’ve got to realize… you are NOT fighting ALONE! You have the God of Angel Armies standing with you, helping to pick you back up & pushing you to keep fighting!
Just don’t give up… keep growing, keep getting back up, keep bouncing back, keep doing the next right thing…!
🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹
Check back in next week for Part 2 of “7 Challenges to Change the World”
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