I read this recently in a writing by Pastor Rick Warren.

“Knowing what to do (knowledge), why to do it (perspective) and how to do it (skill) is worthless if you don’t have the conviction that will motivate you to actually do it!

The people who have made the greatest impact in the world, for good or evil, were the people with the strongest, deepest convictions. They weren’t necessarily the smartest, wealthiest, or best educated people, but their convictions moved them to move the world.”

So are you really convicted to make changes in 2022 or just giving lip service to change? The start of the new year brings with it thoughts of new dreams and potential changes for our lives but we all know how long those thoughts of change can last. In the book One Word the authors state that 87 percent of adults create new goals and resolutions for the new year. A lot is said and dreamed but by the end of January 50 percent of those dreams and changes will have failed. While it is not stated you can very well imagine that the number continues to rise as the days in the new year continue to fly by.

Life happens, reality sets in and what we thought may have been conviction was not conviction at all merely a hope for change. You may have the knowledge, the perspective and the skill but without true conviction change in 2022 will unfortunately not become a reality. You can do it. You can change. Your can dream dreams that become reality. My prayer for you is that your conviction will match your dreams and desire for change.

For some ideas and resources on helping you keep your convictions see a recent post on discovering your One Word and your Purpose Statement.

Thanks for reading.

Be Blessed!

So here we are. Another year about to be put to rest. Another trip around the sun. We will turn the page to 2022 in a matter of hours but have you taken time to truly reflect on what 2021 gave you and how you can prepare for the upcoming year? I want to briefly encourage you to stop and reflect on three different things as you prepare for your 2022.

Take a few moments and physically write down the blessings that you experienced in 2021. I preferred to write them down on paper but you can use an app in your phone. Just write them down as they come to you. They don’t have to be in any order but take time to experience and see how you have been blessed in 2021.

Our mind has a way of going to the negative, the “sucky” part of what may have happened to us but we need to replace that with our list of blessings and victories from 2021. Keep that list handy and revisit it as necessary as an encouragement so you can be reminded of all of the good that you experienced during this past year.

Go into 2022 with your “One Word”. This process has helped millions of people, including me, have more of a laser focus on becoming who they can become. Don’t set to-do goals. Set to-be goals. The stuff that you do will happen and be a result of who you become.

For more on this process and to get access to the book see this week’s Five Moments Newsletter.

We also recently recorded our annual One Word podcast on Beyond the Bench and you can listen to that here.

You may not have it on January 1, 2022 but that does not mean that you would wait a year. No matter when you start it I believe it can make a difference in what and how you experience 2022.

Please let me know if I can help you with this process. Take the first step.

Take your One Word a little bit further and develop your purpose statement. Life can come at you from many different directions and sometimes it feels like it comes at you like a tsunami and crashes in all at once. A purpose statement can help to keep you grounded and help you be reminded of your purpose and what you are on this earth to do and be.

As long as we are given breath on this earth we are here for a reason. We need to live each day on purpose, with a purpose and for a purpose. Having our purpose statement is a great way to live it that purpose in 2022.

Just like your One Word I would be happy to help you develop and put your purpose statement into words to help you experience 2022 in a more meaningful and focused way.

Doing these three exercises does not guarantee rainbows and dancing unicorns because that would be weird anyway. I do believe that we should all be in pursuit of being the best that we can be and become the most that we can become. Doing a few things to help us turn the page in to 2022 with a purpose can set us up to not only lead ourselves in a better way but ultimately lead others and help them become better versions of themselves as well in 2022.

I wish you a blessed close to 2021 and more blessings in 2022.

When you serve as a leader with other people the goal is not to have them become like you.

Your goal as a leader is to get to know each person individually, recognize their gifts, identify their potential and help them become the best version of themselves. Help them be better.

There is a lot that goes into that. A lot of relationship building. Building trust, respect and mutual collaboration. Those are leadership lessons in themselves.

The goal of our leadership and the greatest gift you can give to those you work with is to help them see their potential and then they allow you to help them grow and become the best version of themselves.

Helping someone be better is not only a gift to them but also a gift to you as a leader. You have been allowed into their life and invited to walk alongside the road and journey they are on. Don’t take that responsibility lightly.

Be Blessed!

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Success is a blessing and something to be thankful for. When you have gone through the trials and the failures success becomes even sweeter.

The balance is to not bask in it for too long. Life is a continuous journey and a road that we must continue to travel.

“Every success is usually an admission ticket to a new set of decisions.” – Henry Kissinger

Your planning, hard work and perseverance will lead to success. Take time to be thankful for it and even celebrate it.

It is OK to do that.

Then move to what’s next.

There are trials that we get through and then there are times that we flat out fail.

Some of the failures are of our own doing and some are out of our control and just happen.

No matter what circumstances cause you to fail it is always an opportunity to grow, to change and to become better because of it.

If we are able to do that then is it really failure? No. We can, check that, WE WILL be better because of it and as we look back we can be thankful for it.

“Failure is never fatal. But failure to change can and might be.”
–John Wooden

Don’t fear failure. It never has to define you. How you use it and grow from it is what will define you.

As we grow and become better we will be thankful as well.

#beblessed