Wish List

Be careful what you wish for – you may get it.  I like the wish list above from Jim Rohn.  Yes, there are many times in my life when I wish it was easier, there were less problems and less challenges.  There's no growth there.  I'm going the extra mile.  I'm working on making myself better.  There are days when the wind isn't blowing.  Maybe those are the days God wants me to work on patience.  Those days are also great days to work on my prayer life.  I'm going to work on my wish list today and see if this helps.  How about you?  What's on your wish list?  Have a great day.

Family Day Today

Our youngest son is getting ready to go back to college soon.  Before he departs, he has this checklist of things he would like to accomplish and it's almost done.  The number one item is repairing his nose.  Surgery is this morning.  His doctor says his life will significantly improve.  Today his medical team will correct damage from years of wrestling, football and serving in the army.  He was unaware that the blockage in his nose is at about 95%.

Please keep our son in your prayers today.  The recovery time is about three days.   Have a great day.

Keep Track for Success

I'm learning some valuable lessons about achieving goals and they apply to any area of your life.  Weight loss, debt reduction, saving for retirement and getting in shape all need one necessary component to help you win – tracking.  The simple act of stepping on a scale every morning will help you lose weight because your brain is observing everything you do.  The more you pay attention to your daily choices, the better choices you will make.

Your brain needs feedback if you want it to be your ally.  Commit to daily tracking.  I'm applying my Par for the Course game to other areas of my life besides mortgage debt reduction and it's working.  Pick an area of your life you want to focus on and give this a try:

Goal: (Fill in the blank.  Example:  Lose 9 pounds in 9 months)

Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:
Month 1:  Goal 1 pound.  Actual: (Eagle, Par, Bogey)  Circle and write down results here:

When your 9 months is up, tally your score.  Play again for another nine months and don't stop until you hit your goal.  Have a great day.

Celebrate Your Bogeys

If you've been following my debt reduction journey, you know my three year plan started out with a whole bunch of bogeys in a row.  That's okay.  I realize I'm not an expert when it comes to budgeting.  Think of me as a recreational player who wants to improve but lacks the skills of an expert.  Sure, any financial guru would look at me and laugh.  I'm laughing too.  Why?  Because I'm looking at my life through the eyes of a marathon runner and I understand the first eight months were really practice swings.  Yes, I'm counting my strokes as I go and I know if I keep playing this debt reduction game, eventually all the debt will be gone.

I want to make a distinction between the blame game and personal responsibilty.  The truth is I own my score on the debt reduction course.  There are daily choices and I'm the one deciding how to play the game.  I want to savor every moment – the sand traps, the lakes, the rivers, and the bunkers.  They appear as the washing machine breaking, an unexpected bill from the hospital after I thought I was paid in full, or a rate increase on my auto insurance.  Yep, the hazards are all part of the game.  The key is to keep improving until you make par consistently and achieve your objective – financial independence.

Most experts would probably consider my debt reduction game as a bit unorthodox.  Who in their right mind would take four vacations during the first year of a hard core debt reduction plan?  Well, I know I'm not in my right mind and I refuse to conform to something that's so rigid that I feel like I'm stuck on Alcatraz.  Nope.  I'm choosing to celebrate the bogeys.  I will keep working on my swing until I learn to make par for the rest of the game.  Don't count me out.  Yes, I will need a few eagles in the final round to hit my target but some day I will get financial freedom right, even if I'm a hacker who is playing the game left-handed.  Stay with me.  It's just starting to get interesting.  Have a great day.

The Penalty Box

Nobody really wants to be in the penalty box.  Hockey players see it as a hindrance.  They want to be on the ice doing what they do best.  In marriage, the penalty box may be the doghouse or the couch.  In a way, we're all in the penalty box but don't really think about it because it seems normal.  We lost paradise and got sent out of the garden.

What are we supposed to do once we recognize that life is confined to a penalty box?  I believe that the first step is to see our world as one giant penalty box.  The only way out is Heaven.  There's no way we can ever earn our way out of the box.  I'm thankful that Jesus volunteered to surrender his life so we can all get free passes out of here some day when our number is finally called.  Until that time, the best thing we can do is be thankful there is a door out of here and into eternal life.  The clock is counting down.  I'm going to use my time in the penalty box to correct my errors, ask forgiveness for all the times I failed and make sure I express gratitude for the life I have.  How about you?  Where do you want to be with your life?  Have a great day.

Do This When You're Figuring Out God's Plan for Your Life

Figuring out God's plan takes patience, a lot of patience.  If you're an engineer, you need to do some reverse engineering.  If you're a talker, you need to become a better listener.  If you're a teacher, you need to become a student.  Jesus says you need to become like a child.

Remember when you were a kid and everything seemed exciting?  That's what you need to discover.  Be willing to go places where you feel uncomfortable.  Pay attention to your specific gifts.  They are clues.  Listen to the people around you who can help you go in the right direction.  Be willing to pray for guidance.

What does a child do when he's stuck?  Crying gets attention.  That probably won't work if you're fifty something.  What does work is trying something new.  Stand up for the first time.  Stand up again when you fall.  Roll over.  Walk instead of crawl.  Explore.  Try a new approach.  Work well and play well with others.  Love everyone, including the people who interrupt your play time.  Share. Smile.  Rest.  Keep searching until you discover where God wants you to go and what he wants you to do.  Expect obstacles.  They are part of your journey.  Have a great day.

Why 808 is Significant

For me, 808 is more than a number.  It's more than a time slot in a crowded cyberspace where billions of people are all speaking at once.  808 is my personal link to my friends, family and others.  It's my own personal lighthouse I use to publish stories that may help someone who is lost at sea.  808 is my way of holding myself accountable to a promise I made to my Creator nearly ten years ago in late August, 2009 – Publish all the good Jesus is doing in my life every day.  It's a promise I broke only once in 3,633 attempts at publishing every morning at 8:08 AM when I simply forgot to turn on the light at my lighthouse.

808 started out as a dream.  I asked the love of my life to marry me while we were vacationing in the 808 area code.  It became a philosophy when one of my business partners collaborated with me many years ago about creating a plan to work 80 days and then take 8 off.  It's my foundation for my mantra, "work less and travel more."

Spiritually, 808 is how I see myself connected to God.  I represent the 0 in the center of the 8's.  The 8's, when rotated 90º represent Jesus, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega – infiniti.  When we are connected to Jesus, all things are possible.  We become significant.  Our tiny voice in cyberspace becomes meaningful.  We are complete.  Thank you for visiting every morning at 8:08.  Have a great day.