Happy Friday Friends!
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day and one heck of an awesome week coming to a close for you! What an exciting time of year it is; school is getting ready to start, football practice has begun...I absolutely love this time of year! There is so much hope, there is so much optimism, there are so many dreams that will be pursued and for some, realized beyond their wildest imaginations! It is incredible!
My heart however this week has been on "what if this is not a Happy Friday for you?" What if you have been kicked in the gut? What is something unfair or hurtful has happened to you this week? What if you really didn't want to get out of bed this morning let alone go to work, turn on your computer and find an email in your inbox from some goofball telling you that this is a Happy Friday? What if, what if, what if...
See Friends, we know that life happens and it does not always happen the way we want, the way we hope. The reality is bad things do happen; people get hurt, get sick, get fired, get divorced, people are mean to other people for no reason other than the person who is mean has something in their spirit that made them mean, etc. These are facts of life that none of us, no matter how hard we may try, can avoid. Within this, the first step for all of us in excelling, succeeding in and through whatever circumstance we may find ourselves is realizing that what is happening to us is no different than what happens to everyone else. AND many times, if we will take the focus off of ourselves and our problems for just a brief moment, we will realize that there are others with far greater challenges, trials and tribulations than we have ever faced.
Second, we desperately need to realize that it is through the challenges, trials and tribulations that we grow which ultimately leads us to becoming what we were intended to become, to become the best we are capable of becoming, etc. I don't think any of us, if we had the choice, would choose to go through something difficult (however you want to define difficult...and what is difficult to one is not always difficult to another) however if you will look back at your life through the past difficulties you have faced, you will see it was at those times and in those moments that you grew, that you became stronger, that you became the person you are today...much to the blessing of all of the rest of us! When speaking to HS football players I often give them the example of doing squats in the weight room. Most really don't enjoy doing them, you often feel nauseous afterwards, it's hard to walk, etc. It can be really tough to go into the weight room and do a true, honest to goodness, give it all you got squat workout. However, everyone wants to have great success on Friday night. You see, by going through the adversity (squat workout) they are able to achieve the success they desire on the football field. Show me a football player who won't do a squat workout (show me a person who won't face adversity) and I will show you a football player who comes nowhere near reaching his potential (I will show you a person who is nowhere near reaching his/her potential). Our challenges, trials & tribulations make us stronger, they build our foundation so that we can become all that we were intended to become!
Finally, it is critically important to control our thoughts. It has been said that, "there are no hopeless situations, only people that grow hopeless in their situation." Let me give you a few examples of challenges, trials, tribulations, storms, etc. bringing forth goodness. Without rain, flowers would not grow. Winds cause the roots of trees to strengthen which then makes them more capable of remaining standing during stronger storms (interesting little side note; there was a thing called the Biosphere in Tucson. It was the perfect environment; perfect temperature, moisture, no wind, etc. Suddenly, trees began to fall over. What they determined had happened was that because the trees faced no wind [adversity] when they grew to a certain height their foundation could no longer support them, they fell and died. May we all think about that the next time we bemoan our adversities!), wind resistance prevents birds and planes from flying faster however if there were no wind resistance the birds and planes could not fly at all, it is the same with boats and water. I don't remember the exact numbers on this one however there was a study done on highly successful people. The study found that a ridiculously high number, a number well above 95% though again I don't remember the exact number, had overcome great challenges, trials and tribulations to be successful. Please, no matter where you are on this beautiful day, please know that great things are coming. Please know that your rainbow is coming after the rain, your foundation will be stronger when the wind stops and that you are going to soar higher than you ever could have hoped or dreamed because of the wind resistance that is pounding you so strongly in the face that you can barely keep your eyes open (think about riding your bike down the hill when you were a little kid...that feeling times 1,000!). AND, if you can't see it, if you are sitting there thinking, "Kev, that is all nice and cute and everything but you have no idea what I am facing", please walk it out by faith, remembering the examples listed above and hearing the heart of a man who has faced many challenges, trials and tribulations and will testify to the fact that you will not just survive, you will in fact thrive!
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for any of you. I will be honored and privileged to serve you and your family any way I can.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, enjoy & cherish your families and walk boldly & confidently towards your rainbow!
Kev
I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day and one heck of an awesome week coming to a close for you! What an exciting time of year it is; school is getting ready to start, football practice has begun...I absolutely love this time of year! There is so much hope, there is so much optimism, there are so many dreams that will be pursued and for some, realized beyond their wildest imaginations! It is incredible!
My heart however this week has been on "what if this is not a Happy Friday for you?" What if you have been kicked in the gut? What is something unfair or hurtful has happened to you this week? What if you really didn't want to get out of bed this morning let alone go to work, turn on your computer and find an email in your inbox from some goofball telling you that this is a Happy Friday? What if, what if, what if...
See Friends, we know that life happens and it does not always happen the way we want, the way we hope. The reality is bad things do happen; people get hurt, get sick, get fired, get divorced, people are mean to other people for no reason other than the person who is mean has something in their spirit that made them mean, etc. These are facts of life that none of us, no matter how hard we may try, can avoid. Within this, the first step for all of us in excelling, succeeding in and through whatever circumstance we may find ourselves is realizing that what is happening to us is no different than what happens to everyone else. AND many times, if we will take the focus off of ourselves and our problems for just a brief moment, we will realize that there are others with far greater challenges, trials and tribulations than we have ever faced.
Second, we desperately need to realize that it is through the challenges, trials and tribulations that we grow which ultimately leads us to becoming what we were intended to become, to become the best we are capable of becoming, etc. I don't think any of us, if we had the choice, would choose to go through something difficult (however you want to define difficult...and what is difficult to one is not always difficult to another) however if you will look back at your life through the past difficulties you have faced, you will see it was at those times and in those moments that you grew, that you became stronger, that you became the person you are today...much to the blessing of all of the rest of us! When speaking to HS football players I often give them the example of doing squats in the weight room. Most really don't enjoy doing them, you often feel nauseous afterwards, it's hard to walk, etc. It can be really tough to go into the weight room and do a true, honest to goodness, give it all you got squat workout. However, everyone wants to have great success on Friday night. You see, by going through the adversity (squat workout) they are able to achieve the success they desire on the football field. Show me a football player who won't do a squat workout (show me a person who won't face adversity) and I will show you a football player who comes nowhere near reaching his potential (I will show you a person who is nowhere near reaching his/her potential). Our challenges, trials & tribulations make us stronger, they build our foundation so that we can become all that we were intended to become!
Finally, it is critically important to control our thoughts. It has been said that, "there are no hopeless situations, only people that grow hopeless in their situation." Let me give you a few examples of challenges, trials, tribulations, storms, etc. bringing forth goodness. Without rain, flowers would not grow. Winds cause the roots of trees to strengthen which then makes them more capable of remaining standing during stronger storms (interesting little side note; there was a thing called the Biosphere in Tucson. It was the perfect environment; perfect temperature, moisture, no wind, etc. Suddenly, trees began to fall over. What they determined had happened was that because the trees faced no wind [adversity] when they grew to a certain height their foundation could no longer support them, they fell and died. May we all think about that the next time we bemoan our adversities!), wind resistance prevents birds and planes from flying faster however if there were no wind resistance the birds and planes could not fly at all, it is the same with boats and water. I don't remember the exact numbers on this one however there was a study done on highly successful people. The study found that a ridiculously high number, a number well above 95% though again I don't remember the exact number, had overcome great challenges, trials and tribulations to be successful. Please, no matter where you are on this beautiful day, please know that great things are coming. Please know that your rainbow is coming after the rain, your foundation will be stronger when the wind stops and that you are going to soar higher than you ever could have hoped or dreamed because of the wind resistance that is pounding you so strongly in the face that you can barely keep your eyes open (think about riding your bike down the hill when you were a little kid...that feeling times 1,000!). AND, if you can't see it, if you are sitting there thinking, "Kev, that is all nice and cute and everything but you have no idea what I am facing", please walk it out by faith, remembering the examples listed above and hearing the heart of a man who has faced many challenges, trials and tribulations and will testify to the fact that you will not just survive, you will in fact thrive!
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for any of you. I will be honored and privileged to serve you and your family any way I can.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, enjoy & cherish your families and walk boldly & confidently towards your rainbow!
Kev
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