by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 23, 2015 | Empowerment, Encouragement, Goals, Self-Leadership, Success
Google is amazing. Some love it. Some hate it.
I confess: Google is my trump card when I need to know something really fast. Recently, I searched “top skills you need to be successful” and I was blown away. I quickly discovered:
- Everyone has their own definition of success
- Everyone has their own list on what it takes to be successful
- Most results centered on power, prestige, possessions, and popularity
- Now I understand why we are confused
How would you define success? A lot of my Google search results considers power, possessions, prosperity, and prestige to be the highest of goals. It is true…God blesses some people with positions of power or wealth.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 12, 2015 | Current Affairs, Decisions, Empowerment, Encouragement, Parenting, Sports, Success
Hey JRW, it’s not your fault – the adults in charge failed you.
The adults in charge put together a questionable roster with ineligible players who lived outside the team’s approved boundaries. In response, officials of Little League International stripped JRW of its U.S. title and much more.
In youth sports, when adults knowingly cheat, kids lose.
Photo credit: MLB Blogs Network
As a father whose son plays baseball at the highest amateur level, baseball is very much an old school sport, much like golf, with unwritten rules. Whatever you do, don’t get caught cheating. It’ll come back & bite you.
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 11, 2015 | Empowerment, Encouragement, Self-Leadership, Vision
You have a deadline looming.
However, instead of doing your work, you are fiddling with miscellaneous things like checking email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and forums. You know you should be working, but you just don’t feel like doing anything.
I’m guilty of it. Even when I don’t want to do it, it creeps up. Now time passes. Ten minutes turns into thirty minutes. Thirty minutes turns into hours and before we know it, the task we set out to do doesn’t get done. Now we’re stressed out because there’s another unfinished task on our todo list. Bummer!
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 9, 2015 | Decisions, Empowerment, Encouragement, Leadership, Self-Leadership, Success
How often have you wanted to change other people so they’d be better?
Have you ever noticed it’s hard to change habitual behavior? As a pastor, leader, and life coach, my mission is to help people achieve positive change in behavior: for themselves, their family, and their leadership teams.
Research shows that successful people, who embrace change, have a strong sense of self-determination. Simply put, their mindset says, “I am doing, what I am doing because I choose to, not “I am doing what I am doing because I have to.”
Since I help people embrace and navigate change, I wrestle with the tension change brings to individuals and organizations. I hear it all the time: “I want to grow. I just don’t want to change.” How do you respond when people want to grow, but not change?
If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 6, 2015 | Decisions, Empowerment, Encouragement, Self-Leadership, Vision
After a long day at the office, sometimes I sit back and watch TV. Recently, I found myself channel-surfing for about 15 minutes. I was amazed at how many of the ads were about getting in shape. Here are some of the exact phrases I heard:
- “Six-second abs.”
- “Easy shaper.”
- “Incredible — a miracle!”
- “It feels terrific! Let us show you how easy it is!”
- “Quickly turn your flabby abs into that sexy six-pack!”
Where did we ever get the crazy idea that getting in shape is supposed to be quick and easy? Why do we think that there will be almost no cost? Why are we surprised when working out turns out to be hard and healthy foods don’t really taste that good? It’s because we think easy and simple are synonymous. Wrong!
Photo courtesy of desktopnexus.com
THE MISTAKE WE ALL MAKE:
WE OFTEN CONFUSE THE WORDS “SIMPLE” AND “EASY”
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by Clarence E. Stowers | Feb 2, 2015 | Decisions, Empowerment, Goals, Money and Finance, Self-Leadership
Live below your means…
You hear it all the time, but do you know what it means to live below your means? More importantly, have you figured out how to do that? The truth is many people live above or beyond their means. “Between 1993 and 2008, personal savings rates in the U.S. declined, hitting the lowest levels since the Great Depression in 2006 by falling into negative territory, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,” according to Glenn Curtis of Investopedia. It took a credit crisis and near-global economic disaster to get Americans to close their wallets and stop spending and “acting” rich.
Photo Courtesy of Mint life
Are You Rich
First, let’s clarify by what I mean by “rich,” as this is a subjective term. It’s an ever-moving target. It’s like trying to nail jello to the wall. Defining “rich” is as personal as taste preferences of food or fashion. Many times, even when you are considered by others to be rich, you don’t think of yourself that way. Why? It’s all about perspective. The problem is you don’t “feel” rich. For the sake of this post, I won’t define rich…I’m leaving that task to you.
Recently, I shared the first reason why you’re broke is because you don’t have a budget. Remember, money without a direction will disappear. You can read it HERE. Next, I shared the second reason you’re broke is because of bad habits. Bad habits interrupt your life and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. You can read about it HERE. Now that you’ve caught your breath, let’s talk about the next reason why you’re broke…living ABOVE your means.
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