Leading an Inspired Life

With this being the third week in February and 47 days into 2015, how are you doing with your mini goals?  Are you focusing on your finances?  Are you focusing on cutting back on your sugar intake?  Are you making a difference in some area of your life each day?  Remember: take small steps, celebrate those small steps, and be consistent.

“Personal success is built on the foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you might make that gradually turn who you are at any given moment into who you want to be.  If that decision-making process is not present, you’ll still be somebody – you’ll still be alive – but you may have a personality rather than a character, and to me that’s something very different. 

Character isn't something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints.  It’s something you must take responsibility for forming.    You build character by how you respond to what happens in your life, whether it’s winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing with hard times.  You build character from certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself, just like you would plant and water a seed or gather wood to build a campfire.  You’ve got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut.  You’ve got to chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away rock to create the sculpture that has previously existed only in the imagination. But the really amazing thing about character is that if you're sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you'll not only create those qualities, you'll strengthen them and re-create them in abundance.  Building your character is vital to becoming all you can be.”  Jim Rohn

Often times I hear people stuck with thoughts of not being able to move forward, not able to change, or to make a difference in their lives.  Excuses such as too old, too young, no time, “my boss is too controlling,” it’s not politically correct, no flexibility with activities due to young children, school demands, too tired, and the list goes on and on.  What I think Jim Rohn is saying, in the above paragraph, is that character building is a choice, and fortunately, we live in a country where we CAN make choices. 

Our daughter, at age 32, made the choice that her health and well-being was important.  She wanted to be able to keep up with a schedule of working full-time, raising two young children, being involved with several volunteer organizations, committing to a year-long leadership class to an already busy schedule, as well as being a wife.  She wanted to do something about her weight and physical fitness, so committed to no excuses, doing whatever it took, being consistent, and having a support group.  Planning weekly meals, having healthy snacks available, and finding a workout program that would work for her were all a part of the overall plan.  Now nine months later, she has lost weight, is developing a strong body, is able to carry around 20 month old Zane who weighs 30 pounds, balance her life, and even when on a leadership training away from home found a way to do her workout each day.  I see her so much happier, she doesn’t seem to carry stress as she had before, she seems to be able to let things “roll off her back” easier, and has now decided it’s time to help others with their need to be in better health.  There are lots of opportunities to not follow through, lots of reasons to skip a day of working out, but she’s now in the habit of knowing how good she feels, she’s getting encouraging feedback from those around her, her focus and actions are influencing her husband to also take care of his health and well-being, besides being an incredible role model for her five year old daughter.  Bria has gotten up in the mornings, early, with her own encouraging coaching, and wanting to spend time with mommy. 

Over the weekend, we participated in a celebration of former basketball players at CU under Coach Bill Blair who coached from 1976-1981.  It was a great reunion time with lots of memories and stories being shared.  A common, recurring theme was that of friendship and what being a part of a team has played in the lives of these men now far removed from their playing days in Balch Fieldhouse. Commitment, no excuses, consistency and striving for excellence were those choices made as a young 18-22 year old which translated into those same character choices as a middle age man.  You didn't hear conversations with excuses but conversations of how they were able to pursue their dreams.  You didn't hear excuses about “what if” but you heard a commitment to personally learning, growing, the importance of family, you heard accolades of what a particular coach instilled in them as a young man, and you heard the importance of a team that supported one another. There were wonderful conversations about families, children, and grandchildren who were successful and doing well.  As Jim Rohn said, “Personal success is built on the foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices…”  I’m sure there were those moments of struggle, wanting to quit, not being totally committed over the years since college basketball, but that wasn't the focus of the conversations.  There was an air of respect for one another, an air of self-confidence without arrogance, there was not a “one up-man-ship” with the stories but an air of celebration for the successes, there was laughter, lots of smiles, and positivity of what the future had in store. The current basketball coach, Tad Boyle, spoke to the importance of history and the foundation these men had set in place for the current staff and players.  Tad welcomed the contributions, welcomed the history, and welcomed each former player, former coach/assistant coach, and all the other contributors.  It was their commitment to building a strong foundation for CU men’s basketball many years ago that is making a difference today.

I look at each of our children and their spouse.  They all have been challenged with a variety of circumstances and road blocks.  They all have been frustrated and stressed.  But, what I admire with all of them is they're building their character.  They’re making hundreds and hundreds of choices in all areas of their lives that are “gradually turning who they are at any given moment into who they truly want to be.”  As Jim Rohn says, “You build character by how you respond to what happens in your life.”

It’s back, once again, to whether you choose excuses, rationale, or blame as to why something is not working.  Or instead do you choose focus, what’s in your control, no excuses, no blame, and a goal to take one step at a time? That means consistency and commitment with a support team to encourage and support your efforts. 

Here’s to a healthy mindset built on the foundation of character.