Your "Circle" Matters

As always, be sure to go back and read the previous 2 articles that go along with this one. Why? Because they form a "mini-series" and today's blog article is the last of this 3-part series. You need to be caught up/up to date on the thoughts that have preceded this article to get the most out of the series.

 

I want to start this one off sharing something that I saw on another commercial. As part of the commercial script, the lady says something along the lines of:   "It's important to surround yourself with the right people."

Now, I already knew this but it was a good "memory jogger" that made me decide to do a blog article/podcast on that truth.

You've probably heard it said many times that we are most like the 5 people with which we spend the most time. When you think about that idea it might SCARE YOU or it may ENCOURAGE YOU. Which is it for you? Do you WANT to be like those people in your "circle"?  

By the way, this is often referred to as your "circle of influence". That's a great description because that's exactly what it is!

When it's stated that you are most "like" those people it means that you are influenced by those people in EVERY area of your life to the point that you "mimic" their thoughts and attitudes and, yes, even their ACTIONS in your own life. Give that some SERIOUS thought, friend!

You tend to adapt the same mindset and attitude with your...Finances, Physical Fitness, How you Present Yourself Physically (and every other way) and even your mindset and attitude with your relationships (spouse, friends, co-workers, etc.). 

 

This "circle" also shapes your thoughts on living a FULL life without regrets (the previous two articles).

So, yeah, YOUR "CIRCLE" MATTERS!

 What influence do YOU have on YOUR "circle"? If you take a look at your circle and decide it's not what you need in your life, you can do one of two things: change your circle or, through your influence you can try to CHANGE the mindset and attitude of those in that circle. 

Maybe YOU are the CHANGE that your circle needs. Perhaps YOU are the one that, through your own mindset and focus, can help change the way your "circle" talks, acts and even thinks. Notice this list of things that Paul encourages the Christians in the city of Philippi to think about and focus on as a way to encourage each other (their "circle").

 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.  (Philippians 4:8)

In the last article I also referred to what the writer of the book (letter) of Hebrews encourage the group there to do as a way to help strengthen each other while going through a lot of struggles... "but exhort (we, today, would use the word "encourage") one another daily, while it is called “Today,” (Hebrews 3:13)

Here's another section where the same writer passes this advice on to the same group of people on how to continue with this daily encouragement..."And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and  good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting (encouraging) one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25) 

The phrase, "stir up" is often used in a negative way. Usually it's something that is bad (and often intentional) and may be used in phrases such as, "Wow, you sure stirred up a hornet's nest!" If you know anything about hornets then you KNOW that that is NOT a good thing! Yikes!

However, in this section of scripture from the Bible, that phrase is used in the opposite way. The advice given is to "stir up" GOOD things such as love, good works (good activity, activity that brings about good/positive results), not "skipping out" on spending time together as a way of encouraging each other.

Now listen, sometimes you have to just understand that your actions may not impact those in your current "circle" the way you need. Take a look at what is said in this graphic...

So, yeah, sometimes you will need to actually CHANGE the people with which you spend your time. Oh, believe me, I understand that this might be very difficult and, at times, may be even seemingly impossible, depending on who that person(s) may be.

But, keep this in mind. If YOU start living your life the way that the above Scriptures suggest then, guess what? YOUR mindset and attitude will improve in such away that you will begin to ATTRACT the "right  kind" of people that will also have the same approach. What will you have then? A "circle of friends" that will encourage you and spur you on just as you will be doing for them. 

So, just in case you haven't quite caught on to this truth, let me leave you with one more graphic using the thoughts found in 1 Corinthians 15:33..."Do not be deceived (don't fool yourself!), bad company corrupts good morals."

You may want to listen in on the podcast to catch some of my "Southern Expressions" that express this same thought. You might get a kick out of it! 

To sum this "mini-series" up: In order to live your life FULL and to die EMPTY (with NO regrets) then you must understand the importance of living TODAY to the best of your ability. One major way to do that is to surround yourself with people that will strengthen and encourage you each and every day. Carefully choose and develop your "circle" to be challenged to live in a way to get the MOST out of your life. 

Until next time, remember...

YOU'RE HERE FOR A REASON and, whatever you do, always be sure to...

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

Mike

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This is just a little teaser to get you thinking about the discussion and challenge to come...

 

11.20.12

 

DREAM...I dare you! Take a moment and write those things down that fit in the category, "WHAT IF?" and then DARE TO DREAM! Keep up with this - take steps to the point that you can then write down the fact that your "WHAT IF?" has changed over to, "IT IS!"

My wife and I came up with this idea today and PUT IT DOWN ON PAPER...awesome!

 

Now comes putting the "print into practice"!

 

 

((( SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS!!))

 

Is It Time to Jump?

"Is It Time to Jump?"

I'm scared of heights! That's right - I'm a "scaredy-cat" and I admit it! I don't even like getting up on a ladder to get up on my roof. The climb up is not quite so bad, but making that step off of the ladder and onto the roof drives me nuts!

As a matter of fact, yesterday afternoon I was watching an episode of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery channel where the host was doing the job of changing a light bulb on a big bridge. He had to walk on a "cable" (looked more like a big pipe to me) all the way to the top of this suspension bridge to get to the bulb that needed to be changed. He started off around 200 feet above the water and I'm not sure how high he ended up but it was a LOT higher than when he started.

Here's the crazy part - I was just watching this on t.v. and I started breathing hard. My wife got tickled at me because I began to "pant" as I saw how high he was. Yup, I'm afraid of heights!

I love my sons. What? What does this have to do with what I'm talking about. If you have listened to the podcast, you probably already know where I'm going with this. If not, hang on a minute and you'll see the connection.

I am afraid of heights and I love my sons. What do you do when the two come together? Specifically, I'm talking about being on the lake with my 3 boys and them wanting to jump off of some cliffs and into the water. "C'mon dad, come with us!" Yikes!

So, what do I do? I try to find some cliffs that don't look too high so that I can still have fun with my sons without killing myself or giving myself a heart attack!

But here's the problem - the appearance of height is not the same from the boat as it is from the top of the cliff itself! Not by a long shot! The view from the top is a WHOLE lot different than from the safe confines of the boat below. Trust me on this.

So, again, what do I do? It's too late to chicken out. Remember, I'm afraid of heights, but I also love my boys and I love creating memories with them. (By the way, this is actually all in past tense since 2 of the 3 now have wives of their own and our youngest is about to graduate high school).

So...guess what? They are almost as terrified as I am. We all have discussions about who is going to jump first. This conversation always involves each volunteering SOMEONE ELSE to go first!

Then we do the countdown thing...everyone is going to jump on "3" right? WRONG! We count and no one jumps. We count again, same result.

Well, sooner or later one of the boys decides to jump and, honestly, I'm usually the last one standing and they are all waiting for me to jump. BUT REMEMBER? I'M AFRAID OF HEIGHTS!

But, I love my boys.

So, I jump!

Believe me, it wasn't easy and, although it got easier the 2nd and 3rd times (yeah, believe it or not, the thrill was so great I even did it again! Imagine that!) I still hesitated every time before making that jump.

Here's the point: You may be afraid to break the habit of "NO" and start living in the "YES!". But I hope you LOVE the idea of what awaits you if you decide to do so. I hope you love your LIFE more!

Again, saying and living in the "NO" is the easiest way to "exist" - it's not living, just existing. No challenges. No risks. No potential failure. But also, no reward and no life.

Don't let the F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) keep you paralyzed where you are... love your life and your LIVING life in the "YES!" more and prepare to jump!

And, hey, as you do so...

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

Mike

Frustrating Challenges!! (We ALL Have Them)

Wow. What a frustrating past few days I've had. Yes, even people like me that try to focus on the positive and tries to share that with people like you, have frustrating days!

It seems like one thing after another has not gone the way I would have preferred and, due to that, I've not slept well in about five nights which has tended to keep me "on edge".

One of the things I discuss on today's podcast is the fact that I was trying to update and improve my web page (http://www.futureyouuniversity.com/) and something happened to where it's not even up right now. SO DON'T GO THERE expecting to find anything at this point. I will update the status of that page on here so you will know when it's available again.

You want to hear "the kicker"? Now this is really kind of funny if you allow yourself to look at it this way - and it's the only way I know to look at it at this point. After recording this podcast and talking about "Frustrating Challenges" I went on to the next step in order to upload the audio so that this podcast would be available for you to listen to. Guess what happened? My internet connection went down during this process and was still not working by the time I finally decided that I needed to go to bed. So.....the podcast has been "made public" a little later than I had planned. My apologies for anyone that tried to check on today's episode only to find it not available.

I share a few quotes on today's podcast that can help us think about those "situations" as well as those "people" that bring frustration into our lives - I think you will enjoy these and benefit from them as well.

Oh yeah, one positive thing that happened during all of this.... after recording this podcast and before my internet connection went down I received a message from one of my listeners that was very complimentary on what I'm doing with this podcast. Do you know how helpful that was? Do you know how much I NEEDED that message at that moment? I have thanked the person that sent that message and I just want to encourage you in a couple of areas:
1. Don't allow the frustrating challenges cause you to miss the positive that still surrounds you
2. Don't pass on an opportunity to encourage someone - you never know what may be going on in their life and how much they may need that encouragement.

Well, that's it for today - enjoy the podcast, share the joy even during those "frustrating challenges".

And always remember to.....
"Make it an AWESOME Day! (who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike