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Faith

12 People Who are Always in Control

by Andy Wood on August 8, 2011

in Five LV Laws,Hoarders,Leadership,Life Currency,LV Alter-egos,Pleasers,Principle of Freedom

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…]

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The Myriad

by Andy Wood on June 6, 2011

in Five LV Laws,Following Your Passion,Leadership,Life Currency,LV Cycle,Principle of Legacy

Who is the shyest person you know?  Picture them in your mind.  Got it?  Good.  Now…

Imagine that person at the end of his or her life.  And sometime just before they kiss this world good-bye they’re the guest of honor at the most amazing invitation-only celebration.  This party is reserved for those whose life has somehow been touched – influenced – by Shy Guy himself.

Care to hazard a guess how many names are on the invitation list?

Ten thousand.  A myriad.  Ten thousand people whose lives are influenced by the most reserved, quiet girl or guy you know.

That’s nothing compared to the lives that have been impacted by bubbly ol’ you.  And this isn’t about somebody else’s influence.  It’s about yours.

This is about your myriad.  Or in your case, perhaps your million.  It’s about all the people who make decisions because of you.  Who make changes because of you.  Who establish relationships, try something new, dig deeper, grow wiser, or go farther because of your influence.  Or, it’s about the people who grow hard-hearted, discouraged, dispirited, or fearful because you showed them how.

Somebody’s watching.  Somebody’s doing.  Somebody’s believing.  Somebody’s changing.  And they all have you to thank. [click to continue…]

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Get Out of That Tomb!

by Andy Wood on May 19, 2011

in Ability,Allocating Your Resources,Five LV Laws,Life Currency,LV Cycle,Principle of Abundance

It’s time for a resurrection.

Namely, yours.

You have focused on death long enough.

It’s time for another kind of reckoning.

Christians worldwide seem to have a fascination with death.  Pass most any church and somewhere you’ll find a cross – a symbol of public execution and death.  Listen to us talk about spiritual growth and overcoming sinful habits and somebody will mention the Bible principle of being dead to sin.  Listen to our music or examine what there is of our art, and you hear descriptions of a life so surreal you have to, well, die to get there, or we celebrate the death that Jesus died to make it possible.

Lest I be misunderstood, all of that is true.  But it’s only half the truth.  [click to continue…]

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It’s Time for a Counterattack

by Andy Wood on May 14, 2011

in Ability,Five LV Laws,Life Currency,LV Cycle,Principle of Increase,Protecting Your Investment

Pssst.

Hey.

Yes, you.

We need to talk.  Really I need to talk and you need to just shut up and listen.  I don’t mean to be mean.  But the most elite fighting force in heaven or on earth is spread all around you.  Their shields are up, and nothing can penetrate them.  Their swords are drawn, and no force in hell or on earth can resist them.  And they’re on your side.

And they’re doing absolutely nothing.

Just watching you get your brains beat out by an enemy that is smarter, craftier, and more powerful than you are. [click to continue…]

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Don’t Toss Your Confidence

by Andy Wood on March 4, 2011

in Hoarders,LV Alter-egos

Ever hear of Harry Hartman?  

Probably has the distinction of having the shortest major league baseball career ever. 

Harry was a gifted Dodgers ballplayer whose day of glory arrived in 1918 when he was called up from the minors to pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  This was the moment he’d dreamed about, the beginning of a great career! 

But Harry’s dreams began to fade when his first pitch was hit for a single. 

The next batter tripled. 

He walked the next batter on four straight pitches, and when he did throw a strike to the next hitter, it went for a single. 

At that point, Hartman had had enough.  He headed for the showers, dressed, and walked out of the stadium to a naval recruiting office, where he enlisted.  The next day, he was in a military uniform, never to be heard from in professional baseball again.

Safe to say, ol’ Harry left baseball with an itty bitty confidence problem.  And the tragedy of it all?  Harry was good enough.  But he threw away his confidence, and never tried again. [click to continue…]

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Seven Battles You Can’t Win

by Andy Wood on February 24, 2011

in LV Cycle,Protecting Your Investment,Tense Truths

(Tense Truth:  Every believer occupies a position of victory and authority because of the finished work of Christ. But we can position ourselves to fall victim to Satan – an already-defeated foe.)

He’s the player to be named later.  The unwelcome guest at any crisis, the unspoken stalker behind every fear.  He’s the artful author of your doubtful thoughts about God and the persistent reminder that you should just go ahead and quit. 

And before a wise apostle concludes his note of encouragement to suffering believers, he puts in a plug to remind you and me…

This lion doesn’t sleep tonight.  Or any night.

Pull back the Curtain of the Seen in the Land of the Obvious, and you will find that behind every frustration, accompanying every conflict, and beside every expression of trust in God, a battle is being waged.  And you’re in it. [click to continue…]

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The Life Shaper You Can Become

by Andy Wood on February 7, 2011

in Enlarging Your Capacity,Leadership,Life Currency,LV Cycle

In the previous post, we explored the idea of Life Shapers – the people who help make you more than you naturally would be in specific areas.  Some people influence you to be stronger, wiser, funnier or more committed to excellence.  Others may influence you to be fearful, suspicious, negative, or angry – all by the ways they interact with you.

This may explain why you’re drawn to the friends you have.  Maybe you like them, or maybe you like the person you are when you’re with them.

It may also suggest some people you need to avoid.  What your Mama (and the Bible) told you about bad company rings true in many cases.  But I’m not just talking about party animals or thieves.  If they constantly leave you feeling shamed, rejected, angry or afraid, maybe it’s time to choose a new set of influences.

Quoting from the last post…

You are who you are largely because of the people who believe in you, have you in their hearts, and expect the best (or worst) from you.  This may be a good time to say “thank you” to the ones who are building you up, and “good-bye” to the ones who tear you down.

And for those who still answer when you call or read what you write, maybe it’s time to wise up – and rise up – to the life-shaper you can be.

Bringing Out the Best in Others

Do you realize the potential you have to be a life shaper?  You are just as much a potential influence on others as they are on you.  And while your nonverbal communication is still much stronger, there are some intentional things you can do to bring out the best in others. [click to continue…]

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The Waiting List

by Andy Wood on January 21, 2011

in Life Currency,LV Cycle,Time,Waiting

This is a season of Death-By-To-Do-List.  The quiet pause, lethargy, and feeding frenzy of the holidays are followed by the jump-started, resolution-driven frenzy of the New Year.  So this morning I started my journaling by listing one or two things I still haven’t done this week.  And the one or two became six or seven.

“I swear, I’ll die by checklist overload,” I wrote.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s missing in our life planning.  It’s so easy to get lost in the whirlwind of the frenetic or even the focus of the goal-directed that we neglect some of the most significant parts of the plan.

Like waiting.

I’m all about making mission statements that lead to goals lists that lead to action steps toward making those goals and mission a reality.  I get it.  I completely understand that if you aren’t taking massive action in the direction of your dreams you are probably kissing some of them good-bye.

How do you respond, however, when the dream or passion is completely authentic, but there is literally nothing you can do about it today – at least in outward to-do-list fashion?  How do you keep the important, important, when it’s not front-and-center in your appointment book? [click to continue…]

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The Veteran

by Andy Wood on November 12, 2010

in LV Stories

I showed up at the gym yesterday, ready to tangle again with Jacobs Ladder, its newest chamber of horrors, among other things.  Just as I hit the sidewalk, I passed an older couple getting out of their car.  “Older” as in mid-to-late sixties, I suppose.

There was something different about him.  Maybe it was that he moved with a straighter, more invigorated gait than other men his age.  Maybe it was the intentionally-tight silver buzz haircut.  Maybe it was the black Army t-shirt he wore – something similar to the one pictured here.

“Stop,” said that little voice inside my head.  (You have one too… you may want to pay more attention.)

A bit out of character for me in places like this, I paused to ask:  “Are you a veteran?”

His already-alert face lit up as he helped his wife to the curb.  “Yes, I am,” he smiled. [click to continue…]

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God Doesn’t Give Snakes When You Ask for Fish

by Andy Wood on October 22, 2010

in Uncategorized

“He who is powerless before God is powerless before men” (Watchman Nee). 

On September 16, 2001, an amazing phenomenon took place in churches across the United States.  Civilians came out of their foxholes in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11.

And they were talking about God. 

On that day, in churches everywhere, they came looking for answers. 

Within a matter of weeks, however, things had settled down to business as usual.  Not long after, The Washington Times had a story that predicted that within a decade Americans would “invent” a religion of their own that met their needs.  The article said that when they revisited the places that had once nourished them, they didn’t find what they were looking for. 

Ouch.

To be fair, maybe they were looking for a place that let them have a god of their own making.  And the fact that people may try to invent a religion of their own doesn’t bother me – we’ve been doing that since Adam and Eve were escorted out of the Garden. 

What bothers me was that when they came to our house – the church – looking for answers, evidently something was missing.

What if they came to our house looking for answers, and we were just as confused as they were?

What if they came looking for life, and we were just as dead?  

What if they came looking for supernatural power – some evidence that God is still on the throne, still works miracles, and still has the power to change lives – and all they found was platitudes, programs, and politics? [click to continue…]

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