Sometimes, You Have to Break Up with Yourself

Hello Readers,
Neil Sedaka wrote a song called "Breaking Up is Hard to Do." He's talking about the pain he felt breaking up with the person he loves. It is equally hard breaking up with those parts of yourself that keep you down. It's really hard. It's hard realizing:

• Life is living me instead of me living it
• My comfort zone is a prison and I'm the jailer
• My highest priority is not the highest priority of purpose for my life
• I am seeking life's purpose, when it found me years ago and I denied it
• And, the beat goes on.

Too often, we give life's circumstances carte blanche in shaping what we think, are, and do in life. Life is not our master. Life is a by-product of the choices, large and small, that we make that form the tree and fruits it bears in its season. A good life is the result of tough realizations, sound judgement, and hard work based on:

• How deeply we invest thought - broadly and clearly into our life's choices
• How well we researched and/or sought wisdom from trusted, learned advisors and God, to identify value gaps in our own thinking
• How well we prepare ourself for success or recovery from failure
• How effectively and consistently we shield our minds from negative people, thoughts, and actions
• How consistently we act in our best interest instead of reacting to options, others, and outcomes
• Finally, having an unwaivering willingness to change who, what, when, where, why, and how of those limiting life ways, so we can live authentically and successfully with ourselves and others

Yes, breaking up with our limiting life ways is hard to do. However, it is the only way to make room for a healthier, limitless, and authentic life. Do the hard work, plant a strong tree, and bear good fruit for yourself and others. And, don't forget about your unique gift/talent, which figures prominently in everything you do.

Live Well,

John

Want Success? Take a Tip from The Sun

If you want success in life, follow the pattern of the sun:

1. Rise early
2. Peak around noon
3. At evening, settle into working quietly behind the scenes

No successful person made it out alive doing 8-5. Once you discover your gift, you will realize how the sun has been teaching about perserverance, persistance, and profit, by simply rising, peaking, and quietly working behind the scenes when most people are sleeping. The sun never rests, so like the good book says, "A little sleep, a little folding of the hands..."

Amen,

Contentment is the Source of True Happiness

The source of happiness is contentment. Happiness, like a fog, occasionally rises from the ocean of contentment. True contentment offers lasting, more satisfying experiences of work, charity, spirituality, and clarity of action in all things.

When you experience contentment, not complacency, you will be grounded in what matters most in your life. You and your Maker are harmonizing, most days, and making life's decisions together, which lead to greater contentment. Too often, we invest heavily in OTHER people's definition or perceptions of happiness. The only one that matters is yours and those nearest/dearest to you.

Find God, His contentment, and He'll make sense of your toughest decisions, connect you with rich experiences, and prepare you for life beyond this one.