Change

The Power of Positive

/ James / 1 Comment

In the fall of 2015, I had been let go from a high paying IT job. It was the 3rd time I had been laid off in 4 years and it was difficult to find work. I was trying to stay positive but that was really tough for me. Over and over, I kept hearing that I was overqualified for most of the jobs in which I was applying. After six months, creditors were constantly calling, vehicles were being repossessed, unemployment was running out, and we were about to lose our home. On top of that, my marriage was still rocky as we were trying to recover from the year before (that is a different story that I cover in a different blog post). But I was determined to get us out of this and put my life back together, I just didn’t know how to do it. I was praying every day for a good paying job so I could get back to the life I was accustomed to. But God wanted so much more for my life than a good paying job, and he revealed that through the Power of Positive Summit of 2016.

Since I could not find work, I qualified for funding to help me get back to college. I had started a degree in Sports and Health Sciences thinking I might get back into coaching. I had coached football and basketball part-time several years earlier and I had really missed it. I was taking a class and was doing a report about energy levels. Searching through the school’s online library, I came across Jon Gordon’s book, The Energy Bus. I had not heard of it and did not really know what it was about. I started reading it and although it didn’t really pertain to my paper, it quickly drew me in. The main character seemed a lot like me! I soon forgot about my paper and I stayed up all night reading this book. In The Energy Bus, Jon talks about fueling your life, work, and team with positive energy. I searched online about Jon Gordon, and I saw that he and Daniel Decker were about to start a Power of Positive Summit online. The best part was, it was free, which happened to be exactly all that I could afford. I signed up, not really sure what to expect. This positive thing was new to me even though I took a course from the Positive Coaching Alliance years earlier when I coached. But honestly, I never really bought into it.

So early April, the summit started. It had some awesome speakers: Yogi Roth, Joshua Medcalf, Andy Andrews. All giving me great messages and showing me what the power of positive mindset was. But one video really hit really stood out for me. Eric Metaxas talked about what being positive was for him. He told the story of the children of Israel crossing over the red sea. After they crossed safely on dry ground, and God delivered them from the Egyptian army, they thanked God and sang a song. Eric pointed out that they should have been thanking God and singing before they crossed! Right Song, wrong side! God had done so much for them already. I still have the quote I sent out on Twitter that night: This really hit home! “Be thankful in ALL circumstances. Trust. Believe.” – @ericmetaxas.

This is where everything really changed for me! I remember watching that video over and over and crying more each time I watched it. I opened my Bible and dived into Exodus and that story. It hit me like a ton of bricks, I saw how blessed I was and even though I was in a tough situation, I should be thankful for ALL that God has done for me. Even the trials! That is the night when I truly gave everything up to God. I let go, I surrendered everything to Him. I soon discovered that God needed to take away all those possessions because they had become a prison for me. He had better plans for me and I couldn’t get there with all that weighing me down.

I believe that Power of Positive Summit back in 2016 was done just for me. I truly believe that. I so needed that message right at that point in my life! This year, I am this summit’s biggest fan. My family and friends think I am a little crazy as much as I talk about it and promote it on social media. But I think there could be that one video that is life changing for them as well. So I will continue to promote it, like and share quotes, and sing its praises as much as I can. I don’t know if Jon Gordon will ever read this, but I want to thank him for putting this summit on. I have read most of his books and I now live my life with a positive mindset. I am getting so much from the videos this year and can’t wait every day to see what is next. If you are reading this and you have not signed up for this year’s summit, you still got time. The videos are usually just 5 to 10 minutes and they have such great content. If you want to learn about this positive movement, please check it out at http://PowerOfPositiveSummit.com, it could change your life like it changed mine!

Commit

/ James / Leave a comment

I believe if you are going to be successful in anything, you must first make a commitment. It is the first step. No matter what it is, it must start with true commitment! It can not be lip service! A wise coach once told me, that being committed is like being pregnant. You either are, or you are not. There is no in between. You can not be “kinda” pregnant. It is the same with being committed, you either are, or you are not.

We are in the second month of 2018. Time flies, right? I want you to think about all those New Year resolutions or goals you made at the start of the year. It is easy to talk about changing then. There are so many Nike or Apple commercials that motivate and get you fired up. So, are you still working on them? If not, then I’m afraid you did not really commit. I love this quote from Inky Johnson, he says “Commitment is staying true to what you said you would do long after the mood you said it in has left.”  You probably had good intentions. I am sure you were motivated. I am sure you were inspired, but you were not committed.

The high school football team I coach for, has a commitment night before the season starts. It is an awesome night! We gather in a room and one by one, coaches and players go up to the front. We put our hand on a team helmet, and commit to the team. It is powerful stuff. We laugh, we cry, we draw closer to one another. And as the season progresses, we remind everyone about the commitment they made to their brothers. It makes a big difference through the season. I believe this works because each player has made themselves accountable to the team. It is a good practice for yourself. Make yourself accountable to either a friend, family, or even a coach. We all have bad days, we all have those moments when we want to quit. You need that accountability. That is why getting a life coach, or mentor in your life is so beneficial.

Usually, when there is lasting change, most people can remember a time when they made a commitment. A commitment to themselves, friends, family or God. That moment when they said enough was enough, when they said: I have to change, or I have to quit drinking, I have to lose weight, I have to quit smoking, I have to start being there for my family, I have to give my life to God. Whatever it is, whatever you need to do, start with committing. Write it down, then tell someone about it. Then live up to your commitments. The most successful people I know do what they say they were going to do when they say they are going to do it. Improving is a process, and the first step of that process is to commit!

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established – Proverbs 16:3

Next Play

/ James / Leave a comment

As a coach, I am always reminding players to focus on the next play. It is easy to say, harder to do. What separates the elite athletes from most, is they are able to put the past behind them. They focus on whats next. We call it having a short memory. Too many times, athletes can not do that. They do not let it go. They keep recalling that horrible play over and over in their head. They keep reliving it, which causes them to make more bad plays. It just snowballs.

Recently, Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys had this happen to him. In a game they had to win, he dropped a simple pass, then he fumbled the ball. This lead him to sitting on the sideline with a defeated look for the remainder of the game. I do not mean to just pick on Dez, I know sports radio has done enough of that over the past few weeks. I just wanted to point out that even professional athletes do it, not just the high school athletes I coach.

But it is not just athletes, we do it in this game of life as well. Think about when you had a bad day, which turned into a bad week, a bad month, etc.. Or one bad decision that lead into another bad decision, then another, till you find yourself at rock bottom. Wondering how in the world did you sink so low. How did it get to this.

In sports, coaches stress fundamentals. If the player does what they are suppose to do, they have a better chance of making a positive play. When they get away from those techniques that they were taught, negative things usually happen. It is the same for us. I believe most of us know the fundamentals on how we should live our lives. We just do not execute like we should. We do not stop the negative momentum from building up. We need to pause and tell ourselves – Next Play. We can not change the past, there is nothing we can do about yesterday. We can only control the controllable’s. So as we learn from yesterday, let us make sure we focus on today. Not tomorrow. Just today! Focus on just this next play.

Bitter

/ Militza / Leave a comment

The truth is that it had to be bitter.   For total dependence on God. For change to happen. To be healed. To grow. To help others.

Our family has been broken, homeless and has suffered together.  Through these bitter waters God has worked miracles.  Our journey has revealed the true strength of family and has given us a story to share.

Israel found themselves staring at bitter waters in Exodus 15, just days after the waters were split and the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea. “…And the Lord showed Moses a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet (Exodus 15:25, KJV)”.  God provided Moses with  the solution and through his object lesson demonstrates to his people the blessings he longs to give them, if they will cling to him.  Forty years later in Deuteronomy 11, a new group stands before God prepared to enter the promised land.  Again, God gives his promises.  This group had experienced the bitter waters resulting from the lack of obedience from their parents.  It had to be this way in order for the Lord to finally grasp the hearts and beings of his children.  They are prepared now to cling to their God.

I am often overwhelmed by the promise of Deuteronomy 11.  My heart weeps as I read it.  Israel would be a land that the Lord God himself would provide for.

“For the land, to which thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from where ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs; But the land, to which ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven, A land which the Lord thy God careth for.  The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year (Deuteronomy 11:10- 12, KJV)

This was no ordinary land.  They would not even have to water!  It was all taken care of.  Still today, God wants to take care of it all!  What will it take to bring your heart to full surrender to him.  Will it be bitter?

Thank you, Lord God, for calling this family and for using our pain to demonstrate that you are King and the true breath of life.  May our story bring hope to many families that are fighting and struggling through each day.