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Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast! The weather has been beautiful, our like 5 days of fall we get all year when the temperatures are in the high 60's, low 70's...for those in the Northeast & Midwest - it's all about perspective! :)

Earlier this week I heard a comedian speaking on the radio. He was talking about how ridiculous dreams are. He went on to explain that so many people miss living today, in the present moment, because we are so busy thinking about and waiting for our dreams to come true. As a guy who routinely encourages people to chase the dreams they treasure in their hearts it really got me to thinking. I understood his point.

For many years I had the privilege of serving others as a football coach. I didn't really know why, I just knew I wanted to try to make a difference in a kids life. I then went into intercollegiate athletic administration. I didn't really know why, I just knew I wanted to make a difference in a whole bunch of kids & coaches lives. And then God put me in time out. I went through a season of life that some might think was a negative however for me it was transformative. I took a job that to all the world made perfect sense - I must be clear here...God gave me signs that it was not right however I ran right through those stop signs! - however within 8 months I realized I was in the wrong place and then it took another 3 months to actually find a new job. It was during this time, a time I spent a ton of time with God reflecting on my life, who I am, what I believe, why I do what I do, etc. that I found my "Why".

Simon Sinek champions the idea of "Start with Why." On the website, startwithwhy.com, it says, "Everyone has a why. Why do you get up in the morning? Why does your organization exist? Your Why is the purpose, cause or belief that inspires you to do what you do. When you think, act and communicate starting with Why, you can inspire others."

Simon also came up with the idea of the Golden Circle. It is a three ring circle with Why? in the inner circle, How? in the middle circle and What? in the outer circle. Here is what they stand for:
Why? - Why do you do what you do?
How? - How do you do what you do?
What? - What do you do?

So let me bring this back in real personal. During my "time out" I realized that I really do believe that every persons life has value, meaning and purpose. I had also encountered hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people who did not see the value, meaning & purpose of their own lives and thus, were not living them. It broke my heart...praying, "God, please break my heart for what breaks yours" really does work. I realized I had found my Why. Shortly thereafter I had clarity of why I truly believe the purpose placed me on this earth - to encourage, empower & equip others to become the best they are capable of becoming as they pursue their life purposes. This is my How? So What do I do? I intentionally get up very early every morning and read my Bible & then a leadership book - I must first encourage, empower & equip myself before I can even think about doing the same for others. I then write my Beautiful Bride and 3 Tender Warriors a note. After doing this I look for quotes & scriptures, usually led by a word or thought I read in my Bible or leadership book, that I then share on Twitter & Facebook. After doing this I go to the gym to workout and pray. One of the things I regularly pray is that I will see things with spiritual eyes, that God will continually break my heart for what breaks His. That I will not see people as they are but as they could be. That I will see the brokenness, hurt and love them and accept them where they are. I offer a word of encouragement whenever I can...and always a smile, to everyone. I do life with people. They call, I answer. They have a need I can meet I do everything I can to meet it. And oh yeah, once a week I get up a little bit earlier so I can write "Happy Friday!"

I want to circle back to the beginning. In the beginning I knew I wanted to be a football coach because I wanted to make a difference in a kids life. If you asked me my dream I would have told you it was to be a football coach in the Southeast Conference (SEC), preferably Georgia. When I was in athletic administration I would have told you that my dream was to be an athletics director, preferably in an athletic department that needed building...I have always been a builder, not so much one to sustain something that has already been built. The funny thing is, no matter my position, I always had contentment in my Spirit and I had great purpose. Why? I believe it is because I was just misidentifying the dream. It wasn't about the SEC, building an athletic department, etc. It was about encouraging, empowering & equipping others to become the best they are capable of becoming. Could I do that as a football coach? Absolutely! And at any level. Do I do it now as a Development Professional? Without question!

This all comes back to the point the gentleman was making on the radio. Had I sat their simply waiting & hoping for my "dream" of coaching in the SEC or building an athletic department, I would miss living the life that I am living, I would miss living my purpose. Encouraging, empowering & equipping others is not done in only one field, vocation, conference, etc. It is done living life where God has me.

So Friend, what is your Why? As I was thinking about this earlier today I think a real clarifying question is "what do you really believe?" What you really believe will lead you to your why. Here is the thing; this IS your life. Don't miss it waiting for the right job, person, conference, etc. Find your why and live it every single day wherever you are!  

One quick quote - it has nothing to do specifically with this Happy Friday! - that I came across this morning and want to share with you:

"So, we password protect our phones but we allow anything to enter our hearts???" - Derron E. Short

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev