There is so much to unpack in these four lines. These four lines could easily be turned into a monster discussion, writing or podcast.
Today though think about your story, your dreams and how what has happened to you has lined up to put you on the path that you are walking today.
Trust that the things that you have experienced and what has happened to you have happened so that you can use them for good and to help you help others.
As you reflect on your dreams and your story you can live your life on purpose and with a purpose. You may still be working toward your dreams but your story, and your dreams, are being written day by day and moment by moment.
You have been given a sphere of influence that only you have and it is directly related to your dreams and your story. You are where you are right now for a reason doing what you are doing with the people who need you to do it. Be faithful to that today.
Your dreams and your story. Trust it and Live it.
Be Blessed!
Todd publishes a weekly newsletter every Thursday called “Five Moments Newsletter”.
On January 25, 2022 a man named Duane King passed away. Some reading this knew him, some didn’t, but we all could work to live and be more like him. After two days of processing the loss and encouraged by what he was now experiencing I wrote the following raw and unedited words very early in the morning of January 27. Here are those words, still raw and unedited. My prayer is that a thought here will prompt you to think of those who have left a legacy in your life and encourage you on your journey. Those that leave a legacy do not live their lives or leave this life without it making an impact.
I am thinking/reflecting about LEGACY and the life of Duane King. As I turn 60 years old in a few months what will mine be?
What is legacy?
Is it knowing in your heart that what other people see is who you really are at all times?
Is it giving yourself and abilities to something bigger than yourself? A God sized dream?
Is it giving to and and doing something that will outlast you?
I believe, check that, I know that Duane could answer yes to all of those questions and he would do so humbly and with a huge smile.
Can I? Am I?
Duane would have been the first non family member man to hold me after I was born. He and Peggy (his wife) loved me like their own. They made you feel like it.
The death of people that we know and love makes us (should make us) evaluate where we are personally and what we are doing with our life. The more I processed this and evaluated it the more I realize that the long term is truly what matters.
What legacy am I leaving and living?
People that leave a legacy don’t wake up and say “I’m making my legacy today.” They get up, love and serve those around them as Christ loves them. Legacy is not built as a goal it is built by how we live moment by moment, interaction by interaction, day by day. Legacy is not the goal. The goal is serving every day. The right way. God’s way. Duane wanted nothing more than to make sure you knew that God’s way was the right way.
Thank You Duane for smiling, laughing, always caring and showing us a better way through it all. You were a man and a leader of vision but always with incredible follow through. Your laugh and your love were contagious and warm. I was better after every interaction and conversation that I had with you.
Can/Will this be said of me?
Can/Will this be said of you?
Leave a legacy day by day.
Life moves on today and we move on honoring those who have helped us along the way. Honor them by how we live, love and serve today.
What if you helped just one person today? Just one.
What could the trickle down effect of that look like? What if the person that you helped turned around and helped one and then that one helped one more? You have now played a part in touching three people by taking the time to care for and help just one person.
Your impact could become endless and you may never know the lasting impact of one little helpful moment in your lifetime.
We can get caught up trying to change the world around us with dramatic and big impactful moments when all it may really take is taking the time to help one person. The dramatic and impactful moment may not be yours to have but it may happen down the line somewhere all because you took the time to help just one person.
So what if you helped just one person today? Just one. You may never know the overall impact of that interaction but that’s OK. Help the one. Be in that moment. The moment in front of you. It is the moment that is the most important.
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Have you ever had a bad morning? You know, when their isn’t enough milk for the cereal and then there is no bread for toast? Then, the traffic on the way to work is slow and in my case I hit a red light on the only stop light in town.
Some days things seem to just pile up on top of you before you even open your office door. When you get to work it’s like you almost need a break but there your people are. Needing you and your leadership.
Many days the challenge for us is to get ourself out of the way so we can focus on what other people need. If we can do that we are able to serve and lead them more effectively.
Don’t base your leadership on what you may need or on how your day is going. Lead from your heart focused on the needs of others and your day will immediately begin to be better and so will the people you lead.
So many people only want the easy, the good. If that’s all we ever got we likely would never appreciate what we do have. The rough times are what helps to shape us and reveal who we really are. The tough times are part of the journey.
Many times in the spring and summer you can see storms coming but other times, when the atmospheric conditions are just right, a storm can just pop up right on top of you. You may have to get some things inside or get them secured before the storms come and winds start to blow. Sometimes you may have a warning but other times the storm may happen without warning. Either way you have to act.
What happens though after that storm blows through and the sun comes back out? There is calm. There is a sense of peace. We appreciate and notice those things more after the storm passes.
Not everyone is able to handle themselves in times of crisis. Some will not handle the rough times because they can’t see the good that will come out of it or the calm that may come after it. Be a leader determined to navigate the rough times with a forward and positive outlook.
The tough times. The storms that blow into your life, planned or unplanned, will need to be faced head on but after they pass you will be better, more experienced and able to use what you went through and learned to be a more effective person and leader.
Lean into the storm. Appreciate the calm. They are both part of the journey and we lead through them both.
Made For This Moment 