As I age gracefully, I’m learning to appreciate and use the limited time I have.  Twenty years ago, I began to set aside an hour each weekend and ponder this question: What is the purpose of my life?  Here’s a book I recommend to get you started.  Afterwards, I would take notes & craft sentences that describe my life’s purpose.  I encourage you to try this – it really works!

Next, ask yourself how each part of your life (work, friends, family, hobbies) align with or relates to that purpose.  Again, write it down.  Are you spending your time on things that will help you achieve your purpose?  If not, you know you have to make changes.  When your actions are at odds with your goals, you need to make the slight, necessary adjustments.

This may seem like a simple exercise, but very few people do it.  The truth is you probably already know your purpose and goals.  But you may have pushed them off to the side.  Or you may not have aligned your daily actions with your long-term goals.  Doing this exercise will help you to do so.

A few minutes of quite reflection can give your life the clarity and sense of purpose you may lack. To keep your day-to-day choices in sync with your life’s purpose, take a moment to consider your purpose before you make any major decisions or take on any new responsibilities. It will help you remember the precious importance of every second.

Are you up for the challenge?  Do you know your purpose?  I’d love to hear about it!

We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing.  Guess what, I found the secret to their success and because I want you to succeed, I’m ready to share my discovery with the entire world.  I’m about the let you in on a secret that has the potential to revolutionize your life!

Shhhh…Lean Closer….

Here it is:

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS TO SUCCESS.  PERIOD!

Nobody is great without hard work!

Researchers have identified what they call the ten-year rule when it comes to becoming a world-class performer.  In 2006, Fortune Magazine published, “What It Takes to be Great” which coined the phrase “Performance Principle.”  The Performance Principle says that it takes a long time to be an overnight success.  Furthermore, the author goes on to say, “Even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class…”  This pattern is so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.  In short, what they and others have discovered: There are not shortcuts!

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call “deliberate practice.”  It’s activity that’s explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one’s level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.

Fortune magazine gives this example:

Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don’t get better.  Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day – that’s deliberate practice.

Have you ever been tempted to take shortcuts?  Did you?  What were the results?

The reason that many successful people had mentors is that people destined to succeed ATTRACT all kings of people, including mentors.  They attract mentors, fans, followers, and even HATERS.  So the way to attract a mentor is to display those traits that will lead you to success anyway.  Like begets like.  Birds of a feather flock together.  Will a mentor lead you there?  Perhaps.  Will one help you in some smaller way?  No Doubt.

Here’s my advice: Don’t seek just ONE mentor.  Instead, focus on doing the things that might attract people, including mentors.  If you do find a mentor, make sure you include others.  Remember, mentors are people, people are fallible, and even gifted doctors misdiagnose.  Fortunately in many of those cases, the patient sought second and third opinions.  YOU SHOULD TOO!

Having just one mentor is overrated;
having several is not.

What do you think?  Do you agree or disagree?

FYI: I thinking about starting a mentoring group this Spring.  If you are interested and live in the greater Chicago area—please email me (urban.pastor@gmail.com) and I will outline the details for you.

Here’s a fact: Those who are comfortable with the status quo do not grow!

This is because remaining in a comfort zone encourages people to do the BARE MINIMUM.  Thus, their only goal is to keep things the same way they’ve always been.  To become successful (according to your predetermined standards of success) you must be willing to push yourself outside your safety zone over and over again.  In other words, you must plan to escape from the “Prison of Comfort.”

Realize that your comfort zone is holding you back – then step outside of it!

Pushing your limits is like stretching your body.  You will know it’s working when you start to feel uncomfortable.  When you feel that twinge, be assured that you are inching your way closer to your ultimate goal.  Let this be the year you decide to break free from the “Prison of Comfort.”  I know you may be afraid, but, I’m encouraging you to be bold and courageous.  I once heard someone say, “Courage is not the absence of fear; It’s moving ahead in spite of your fears.”

What would you do if you knew for sure that you would not fail?

So Who Are You?

Like every organization, every person has a dozen good stories that reveal that person.  Stories move people. Stories excite people. Stories change people.  Your task is to write your story – the true story.  Ask for input from someone who knows you well; someone who can give you perspective.  Start there.  Get help, if necessary, but do it TODAY!

What Do You Do?

Most banks (Pre-Mortgage Crisis Meltdown) almost always ask this question of organizations that come to them for money.  It’s a simple question, but the answers often are not.  You must answer simply, too.  Otherwise you will confuse people.  If it sounds like you do many things, or too many seemingly unrelated things, people will assume you cannot do any of them well.  Here’s an assignment: Ask and answer “What do you do?”  Show it to four people whose opinion you value and ask them:

1. Is it clear?
2. Is it simple?

What Difference You Are Making?

Can you describe what difference you are making in three sentences or less?  Are you ready for this challenge?  Marketers often refer to the necessity of defining one’s “point of difference.”  You must not merely answer what makes you different, but how what you do makes a difference for others.  Ask and answer “What difference am I making?”  Show it to four people whose opinion you value and demand they be ruthlessly tough with their answers.

There are other questions, too; I doubt this list is exhaustive.  But I think I have covered the major ones.

Question: What other life-changing questions do you currently ask?

In order to make my resolutions stick, I decided to employ Michael Hyatt’s four strategies found here.  Therefore, let it be resolved:

1. That I will read through the entire Bible by December 31, 2010 using YouVersion’s Chronological plan as my guide (started Day 1 yesterday).
2. That I will lose fifteen pounds (current weight: 217) by exercising a minimum of 3 days per week with a minimum of 20 minutes of cardio during each exercise session.  I will accomplish this by July 30, 2010
3. That I will continue to resist the lure, draw, and undeniable seductiveness of late night unhealthy snacks like candy, soda, cookies, & other fattening foods and replace them with fruit.
4. That I will finish the first draft of my new book by June 30, 2010.
5. That I will write at least three posts per week on my personal blog, where I share my thoughts/ideas on leadership from an urban perspective and some general life musings.

So let it be noted.  So let it be done.  And please give me a swift kick in the rear end if you see me getting off track.

What are your goals & have you gone public with them?