Choice Two: DESTROY

As always, if you haven't done so, be sure to go back and read the past two articles that lead up to today's discussion. Also, be sure to listen to the podcasts that go along with these topics as well. (iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-spillmans-future-you/id423660739 or RSS feed: http://mikespillman.hipcast.com/rss/futureyouuniversity.xml )

de-stroy [dih-stroi] 

      verb (used with object)    1. to reduce (an object) to useless fragments, a useless form, or remains, as by rending, burning, or dissolving; injure beyond repair or renewal; demolish; ruin; annihilate. 2. to put an end to; extinguish.   3. to kill; slay.   4. to render ineffective or useless; nullify; neutralize; invalidate.   5. to defeat completely.  (from www.dictionary.com)

Wow! Take a moment and really look at this definition for the word, "destroy" and then attach it to  the words found in the graphic at the top of this article. I've already discussed, "When Bad Things Happen" and in the last article/podcast I talked about "Choice One: Define" and the need for all of us to understand that, as bad as something may be that takes place in our lives, it DOES NOT have to define us.

"Choice Two: Destroy" - When bad things happen it can define you or DESTROY you. Take a look at that definition again and apply it here. You and/or your LIFE would be that "object" talked about in the first definition. Bad things CAN reduce your life to useless fragments and cause it to be a "useless form".  But, how sad if we allow this to happen! I know that many of you may even feel that your life has been injured "beyond repair or renewal" and that it is nothing but "ruin" (need I go on?) - BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!

Too many people in this world have allowed bad things to put an end to and even "extinguish" what once was a vibrant, productive life. Again, please understand that I am NOT making light of whatever it is you or someone you know may have gone through or may be going through even now. But, the fact is, it is important for me to do all that I can to encourage you and anyone/everyone else that either IS or WILL BE going through these potentially crippling "bad things".

"As long as there is breath, there is HOPE!"

Hey, listen, whether you want to believe this or not, Satan himself wants to do all he can to make your life miserable, insert doubt into your mind/life and absolutely DESTROY you!  In John 10:10, Jesus Himself says this about the devil (the "thief") and what He (Jesus) offers - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

A "bully" wants to kick you while you are down, right? We all know that (at least I assume that we all know that) and I want you to understand that Satan IS a bully and that he wants to kick you while you are down and to keep you down. Why? Well, I could go into a LONG discourse on all of this (but I won't!) but let me just tell you that he does not want you - or anyone else - giving glory to God or even BELIEVING in God for that matter.

Friend, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP! Do not allow any "bad thing" in your life to defeat you completely (definition #5). You have so much more to offer, you have so much more LIFE to LIVE and you have so much more LOVE to share with others that are just waiting for it even now.

Please feel free to contact me at any time (mike@futureyouuniversity.com) if you would like to or need to discuss this further. Whatever you do - DO NOT GIVE UP!

Tomorrow we will look at the best option available when bad things happen - Choice Three: STRENGTHEN!" - and how you CAN actually come out stronger than before. A little "heads up" before we get there...it ain't going to be easy!

Stay strong, my friend and, whatever you do - where you go - be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

 

 

 /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ Show Spelled

Choice One: DEFINE

Kelly Clarkson currently has a song out that has the following line in it, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". We've all heard that saying before, right? And, by the way, I DO love that song! It's kind of hard to sit still when she kicks that chorus in!

I do understand the idea behind that saying but I'm not sure it's 100% accurate. If you are in a car accident and are paralyzed from the neck down are you STRONGER than before? No. However, you may become stronger mentally and attitudinally. But, that may not always be the case either. I'm sure you can add your own examples along that same thought line.

Yet, at the core of that saying lies this truth that I've been sharing for the past three years: "AS LONG AS THERE IS BREATH, THERE IS HOPE!"

Don't ever forget that and, along with yesterday's introductory article, "When Bad Things Happen" we need to remember that we have some choices. The first of these that I'll be addressing today is, "LET IT DEFINE YOU".

Who are you? Why are you "who" you are? What has made you who you are? Yes, I understand that all of our experiences have been a part of making us "who" we are but, again, don't miss this point - YOUR PAST DOES NOT DETERMINE YOUR FUTURE!

Currently, my wife and I are working with kids in foster care and there are some horrible and heart-wrenching stories behind the lives of some of these young people. However, it is so important for me to emphasize to them that their past DOES NOT determine their future! The mistakes of those that were supposed to love and care for them DOES NOT determine a continued future of hurt and distrust! Their own mistakes - OUR OWN MISTAKES - does NOT determine the same for their (our) future!

Too many people give up thinking that there is NOTHING that they can do to change this direction of their life and, my friend, there is NOTHING further from the TRUTH!

I talk on the podcast (iTunes -  http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mike-spillmans-future-you/id423660739 and the RSS feed - http://mikespillman.hipcast.com/rss/futureyouuniversity.xml  ) about those that are dealing with or have dealt with tragic loss in their lives. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose a child or to lose my wife. I came close to losing my wife a couple of years ago due to a "one-in-a-million" occurrences with her heart. The thought of going on and living life without her was unbearable! So, I want to emphasize again that I AM NOT criticizing anyone that is struggling with moving on after such a tragic event.

However, please hear me as I say this with complete compassion and caring - this, as well, does not have to define the rest of your life. Will it always be there? YES! Will it forever impact every area of your life for the rest of your life? YES! But it does not have to define and control the rest of your life.

You've often heard it said that the person that has passed would want you to go on and LIVE your life! I'm guessing that this is true but hard for us to think about when we go through such things. Please hear this in the way it is intended...at some point in time we must CEASE living the life of a victim and begin to live the life of a VICTOR!

You can. You must.

I, along with many others, am here to help in any way that I can by doing all I can to encourage you with these positive podcasts and articles. It IS possible to survive and thrive in spite of any bad thing that may have happened in your life.

When bad things happen they DO NOT have to define your life.

Join me tomorrow as we continue on with the next part, "LET IT DESTROY YOU". Until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

When Something Bad Happens

As I begin this 4-part series today, I want to make sure you notice that the saying above is not, "IF bad things happen..." but, instead it is, "WHEN something bad happens...".

Friend, as bad as this may sound it is a fact of life that the longer you live you WILL experience something "bad" happening in your life. That's just part of being alive. Many of you have already experienced bad things happening in your life and, for some of you, maybe even too early in your life.

As I put this together there were many tornadoes that ripped through parts of our country last week that destroyed the lives of many people due to destruction and/or death. Storms come and go in our lives and it's not always the kind of storm that is defined by wind and rain.

As we go through this 4-part discussion we will ask ourselves if we will let these episodes in our lives DEFINE us, DESTROY us or STRENGTHEN us. For those of you that either have been or ARE going through bad times, what impact is it having on your life? Are you handling it - did you handle it - in a way that you wanted to? Hey, don't get me wrong - NO ONE wants anything bad to happen in their life, right? But, again, it is a fact that these things WILL come and we DO have a choice as to how we handle them.

Before we get into this whole discussion let me first of all say that I am NOT here to judge anyone on how they have handled or are handling a crisis in their lives. Too many people find it too easy to do just that - lay down "judgment" on something that they, themselves, either are not going through or have never gone through OR think everyone should handle the way that THEY handled it in their own situation.

We are all different! We all work through and handle things differently. This series is simply designed to be a means of encouragement to those that have been or are going through tough times due to "bad" things happening. It is also meant to be a way to encourage us all to PREPARE for these times before they arrive!

A football team (or any sports team) does not wait until the start of a game to prepare for that game. They begin their preparation MONTHS and MONTHS before that game is even scheduled to take place. The time for us to prepare ourselves for the "storms" that WILL come into our lives is NOT when the wind is trying to blow our door down!

The time to prepare is NOW. And, friend, if you've been there, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love you to share your story with me. I won't use any part of it unless you give me permission to do so, but you may just want to share with me, alone. I'd love to hear from you.

Remember, it's not IF but WHEN. Sure, it'd be great to avoid all things "bad" that may come along the way but, then again, we'd miss out on a lot of good as well.

Think about it and join me again tomorrow.

Until then, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

There is HOPE!

"As long as there is breath, there is hope!"

It's hard to believe, but it has been three years since I first began doing my podcast back on March 2, 2009. And, the very first podcast I did was focused on another of my catch phrases that I use as often as I can - it's the phrase that you see just below the image above... "As long as there is breath, there is hope!" 

What message is more needed today - RIGHT NOW - than a message of hope? We live in a world - not just in our own country, but the WORLD - that seems to increasingly lose sight of hope. Desperation, depression, discouragement, doubt and defeat. This is NOT the life of a winner and it is NOT the life that was designed for you to live!

I do believe that even in the midst of dire situations one can find HOPE. I do believe that it is imperative that one DOES find hope in such situations!

Several years ago I was in a defeated state of mind. I had applied for several jobs that I was qualified to fill and usually had not problem in getting. However, I kept running into roadblocks and, at the time, I had no idea why. One night after receiving another phone call telling me that I did not get the position applied for, I lay in bed with tears in my eyes and told my wife, "I have lost all hope." That's right - I was WAY down and honestly felt that all hope was gone. Thank God for women like my wife who replied, "Mike, if we lose hope, what do we have?"

THAT'S RIGHT! If we lose hope, what do we have? I can answer that for you - NOTHING!

This is why people that feel that they have lost all hope many times feel that they have nothing to live for and, often, attempt and sometimes succeed in taking their own lives.

LISTEN TO ME - as long as you are ALIVE...as long as you are BREATHING - THERE IS HOPE! Regardless of how "dark" things may seem and no matter how "hopeless" your life and situation may seem. God has given you the ability to THINK, REASON and ACT upon those thoughts and your reasoning.

Know this - it likely will NOT be a speedy process but you CAN and MUST understand that you CAN and MUST start taking steps TODAY to make changes in your life. It may be simply making changes on what you allow into your mind - get rid of the negative and replace it with the positive! It may be you changing the way you interact with your family or your coworkers or whoever it may be TODAY. Start TODAY! Don't try to do it all at once, but start making changes NOW.

You are breathing, you are alive and you are ABLE to do what it takes to change the direction that your life is headed at this time. "As long as there is breath there is HOPE!"

There is likely someone out there waiting for YOU to impact their life in a powerful and positive way. Who? I have no idea. When? Again, I have no idea. But here's the key - neither do YOU! But you never know who you will come into contact with that needed your smile or kind word.

Dictionary.com lists this as the first definition for the word "hope" - "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best".

Whatever you do, NEVER GIVE UP! Whatever you do, NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!

Why? Once again, without hope, you have nothing and, my friend, you have EVERYTHING to live for, to work for, to love for when you have HOPE!

Get it? Got it? Good!

Thanks for being a part of Future You University - especially those of you that have been with me over the past three years. And, for those of you that are "newcomers" - I encourage you to stay with me and let me hear from you. I love getting feedback from my readers/listeners.

Whatever you do, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

The Campus of Your Mind

Remember: Today is "Thankful Thursday"...make a list and EXPRESS your thanks today!

Yesterday I began discussing the first part of one of my catch phrases that I say at the start of every podcast, "Your greatest education takes place on the campus of your mind." and, today I will discuss - you guessed it - the 2nd half of this phrase.

We've talked about the fact that your greatest education (mine, yours, EVERYONE'S) is the education that we get by living life each and every day. Now it is important for us to spend a few minutes talking about the "library" that is part of this education - the library that is located on the campus of our mind.

I have discussed on more than one occasion how important it is for us to pay close attention to what we allow in our minds. It has an impact on whether we have a POSITIVE or a NEGATIVE attitude or mindset. Obviously, if we allow positive influence in we will have a positive attitude/mindset and, if we have a negative influence we will have a negative attitude/mindset. Simple, huh?

However, as simple as that is there are so many of us that continue to allow negative influences into our minds and then wonder why we can't seem to make any headway on approaching life with a positive mindset. 

IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Have you ever heard of your car being a "university on wheels"? This phrase has been used many times to emphasize the fact that, while we are driving we can take advantage of that time by listening to tapes, CD's, mp3's of powerful information by such people as Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, Zig Zigler and Mike Spillman....yeah, I had to throw my name in there too! 

Why spend time listening to negative news that will likely do nothing but get you discouraged and depressed? Why listen to negative news that seems to focus on "the sky is falling" mentality?

Hey, it's YOUR library. It's YOUR education. It's YOUR curriculum. How's it working out for you?

Remember, it's NOT the certificate on the wall but it IS what you learn on how to navigate through LIFE and keep yourself positive and focused as well as having this positive impact on all that you come into contact with each and every day.

Get your education and then become a TEACHER!

And, as you do so, be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

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