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Ronnie Blair spent a lifetime waiting for the perfect moment. And he never seemed to find it.
He waited to ask Lisa Crane to the Senior Prom. Ricky Styles beat him it to it. Now they’re married with two kids and a third one on the way.
He waited to apply for the college scholarship from his father’s employer; didn’t want to appear too eager, he said. He missed the deadline.
He waited for the perfect job to present itself upon graduation, and in the process passed up three good choices. He wound up taking an entry-level hourly position not even in his field.
He waited for the perfect time to ask Leanne Wilson to marry him, and to her it seemed as though he was afraid of commitment. They wound up possibly the only couple in town who got engaged as the result of an argument.
In Ronnie’s life, the pattern was always the same. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 24, 2011
in Ability,Consumers,Five LV Laws,Gamblers,Hoarders,Insight,Life Currency,Love,LV Alter-egos,Pleasers,Principle of Increase
Think fast! What’s the difference between a test and a temptation?
Fast answer: Nothing.
Slower answer: One comes from the devil and one comes from the Lord. But did you know that the same Greek word is used for both? Check out these familiar words: [click to continue…]
I think I may have found the key to happiness, success, power, and the life you’ve always wanted. I’m not sure how I lived so long without recognizing it; from the looks of things, quite a few people have already figured it out. In fact, you may already be ahead of me on this.
The secret? Be completely in control of every aspect of your life and world.
There you have it. The results will speak for themselves.
No longer do you have to put up with displeasing people – you now will control them. No longer will you-know-who resist your wise ideas, visionary leadership, or impressive communication. You’re in charge. Say good-bye to disappointment, discouragement, rejection, financial pressure, TSA agents, time-wasting meetings, and even those unsightly blemishes.
In fact, research conducted through a grant from the Lifevesting Institute of Advanced Relationship Studies (LIARS for short) suggests that there are at least 12 strategies through which people ascend to such an advanced state of life ownership. Any one of these can take you to new heights. But when you combine these paths, the outcomes are staggering.
Well, somebody’s staggering, anyway.
Here are twelve pathways – twelve roles you can assume to take you to a state of Ultimate Grip Hold (UGH) on life – the last stage before the designation of Master of the Universe. If one doesn’t work for you, feel free to substitute for another. Or mix and match, if you like. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on August 1, 2011
in Ability,Five LV Laws,Life Currency,Love,LV Alter-egos,LV Cycle,Pleasers,Principle of Freedom,Tense Truths,Waiting
I.
It all started with a dream last week,
About a friend I hadn’t seen in more than a decade,
And hadn’t talked to in six years.
Even though it had been so long
And so much life had passed us by,
I realized how important he still is to me.
My love for him and his family is as strong as ever.
And that dream made me take a look at the tapestry of my relationships
And realize somebody was missing.
[click to continue…]
(And You Can’t Do For Somebody Else)
Commit your life to Christ. Study your Bible. Confess your sins and shortcomings. Grow. Change. Restore broken fellowship with God. Obey the Lord. Learn spiritual truth.
Think. Learn. Set goals. Visualize the future. Understand people. Pass tests. Listen. Focus on virtuous things.
Be happy. Feel guilty. Grieve. Laugh. Relax. Overcome depression. Stop being jealous. Express love. Calm down. Be content.
Get up after falling down. Get over failure. Get out of bondage. Overcome addictions. Decide. Change your mind. Quit. Succeed. Make good choices. Make bad choices. Change your mind about the bad choices you made in the past.
Lose weight. Eat right. Rest. Exercise. Take your medicine. Go to the doctor. Prevent unnecessary disease. Be healed. Take a bath. [click to continue…]
A Fable about leadership, teamwork, unity, and of course, honey…
It was a lovely morning in the Hundred Acre Wood, where Christopher Robin’s friends lived and played. The bees were abuzz making their honey (and You-Know-Who knew just who it was for).
Kanga had already gotten an early start on motherly things, while Roo was playing close by.
Piglet was pacing about his tidy home saying “Oh Dear, Dear, Dear” because he knew something Important was about to happen, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was.
Rabbit was tending his garden, nervously glancing around for signs that he soon may be bounced by Tigger.
Eeyore was a bit confused as he chomped on a thistle because he couldn’t think of anything to be gloomy about.
Owl was remembering the time to no one in particular that his great uncle Waldo on his mother’s side did something famous because it happened on a lovely day such as today.
And Winnie the Pooh? Being a Bear of Very Little Brain, he was sitting at the Thotful Spot, thinking. And wishing for just a bit of honey, because as everyone knows, bears think better when their tumblies aren’t so rumbly. And there’s nothing like honey to take the rumbly out of the tumbly.
This was no ordinary day after all. This was the day of the Grand Celebration. They weren’t quite sure what they were celebrating, but everyone had agreed that today would be a fine day to celebrate it. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on June 10, 2011
in Consumers,Five LV Laws,Hoarders,LV Alter-egos,Pleasers,Principle of Abundance,Principle of Eternity,Principle of Freedom,Principle of Increase,Principle of Legacy
This may be a leap, but let’s assume for a minute that you know what it is you want, and you’re pursuing it. I don’t mean what you’re conquering in your search for lunch. I’m talking destiny, journey-of-desire stuff. Maybe it’s to influence or gain the approval of someone. Maybe it’s wisdom to make good choices or the ability to do something that’s hard or impossible for you right now.
Regardless, have you ever noticed that sometimes getting there feels like an eight-lane highway? And other times, the minute you start moving in that direction it feels like you just turned onto a muddy jungle trail?
Have you ever noticed that sometimes the journey launches like gangbusters, but then stalls or stagnates?
Chances are, you came to a fork in the road and made a wrong turn.
Robert Frost was right in his famous poem about the two roads and choosing the one less traveled by. What he failed to mention was that life or any worthwhile pursuit is a series of forks in the road, not just one. One road leads to a path that makes it easier to pursue your dreams; the other leads to mediocrity, failure, and defeat.
Appearances are Deceptive
Paths that lead to mediocrity and failure are well-worn and popular. They require the least mental effort or “soul work.” But what starts off as the path of least resistance quickly turns to the path of resistance-beats-my-brains-out.
Other paths may appear to require a lot of work or may leave you feeling isolated and alone. But somewhere in that spiritual, emotional, and mental work you activate forces that begin to carry your load, increase your speed, and move you in the direction of your truest desires.
The other tricky part about these forks in the road: [click to continue…]
It’s the creator’s fantasy…
…to use the tools of the trade – words or paint or dance or music – to design the ultimate masterpiece.
…to turn passion into such artistic cleverness and inspiration into such adoration that mountains move, easels grow dark, and all other voices remain silent, at least for a while.
…to write the song to end all songwriting, or the story that all other stories are compared to, or the verse that contains the finest content of the heart.
Never gonna happen.
The heart is too large to be reduced to words or rhymes or phrases or meter.
The soul is too powerfully changing to be framed by one snapshot of expression.
The imagination is too delighted in the dance of dreaming to stop with one image.
The inspiration is too elusive and awe-inspiring to ever satisfy the poet that his work is done.
The Creator whose image we bear is too interesting to be limited to our vision-of-the-moment.
So we have the choice… [click to continue…]
Does your team have what it takes to go the distance?
Something happens when people get together to forge a team. Unfortunately, that “something” isn’t always what you’re looking for. See if you recognize any of these teams from your experience:
Team Fritter. Talk about potential. It seems as though whenever they’re on the ropes, somehow the miraculous happens and they live to see another day. On the other hand, every time it seems they have the chance for that big breakthrough they flounder. Never fully realizing their potential, they choke every time they get ahead.
Team Glitter. This bunch has success written all over it. Smart, good-looking, and well-liked, things came fast and easy for Team Glitter. Too fast. And too easy. Before you know it, what appears to shimmer is anything but gold. And the team comes caving in under the load of its own scandal(s), greed, and dishonesty.
Team Bitter. Another story of lost potential, this team doesn’t have an integrity problem. It has an anger problem. A big anger problem. Sucked in by jealousy and dispirited by feelings of rejection or failure, this team sabotages its own enormous potential by holding onto the bitterness, anger, or mistrust. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on April 27, 2011
in Consumers,Enlarging Your Capacity,Five LV Laws,Life Currency,Love,LV Alter-egos,LV Cycle,Pleasers,Principle of Increase,Words
Frankford and 82nd. Sitting at the light. Laura Kate (age almost-3) and I have been on an adventure. And she is about to ask me a very important question. But first, a slight rewind…
“Laura Kate, first we’ll go to the grocery store. Then we’ll go by Grammy’s office and pick up some prizes she has for you.”
“That’s an awesome plan,” she says.
In between, she learns six (count ‘em) verses of an Easter song her uncle Joel and I wrote when he wasn’t much older than she is now. Which brings us to the traffic light near our house on the way home.
“Papa,” says the voice in the back seat. “Are you growed up?”
“What did you say?” I reply. “Am I growed up?”
“Yes,” she says, very seriously.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “I’m growed up.”
“Yay, Papa! You did it!”
Sometimes I wonder.
I wish it was that easy to claim maturity. Sometimes I think I’m still a kid when it comes to such things. And sometimes I feel, well, old. But there’s a difference between growing up and growing old. Peter Pan and his Lost Boys were only half right.
It’s OK to be a baby when you’re still a baby. But there comes a time when the word of God and the world of people come together to shout, “Grow up!” After addressing the Corinthians as a pack of carnal children, Paul writes to the Ephesians that “we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
How do you measure your maturity? How do you know when you’re growing and when you’re floundering? Let me hasten to say that maturity isn’t found in big words or fat bank accounts, or your ability to make babies or get a job (although keeping a job may impress a few people).
In gauging your maturity level, I have found five things that act as measuring rods for progress. You are as mature as: [click to continue…]
Ronnie Blair spent a lifetime waiting for the perfect moment. And he never seemed to find it.
