We are all given gifts, they differ from person to person, it is what we do with them that counts. If we waste them or don’t use them for a good purpose, things never seem to fall into place. We all know what is good for us, we don’t need someone to take charge, nobody can do it better than we can for ourselves. Step up and take responsibility for our own lives.
There are many uncertain things in life, but there is one thing I have always been sure of: I am responsible for what happens to me. In the late eighties, a friend gave me a book he found at a yard sale. It was, “A Man Thinketh,” by James Allen, written at the turn of the twentieth century. It opened my eyes to how much our mind influences our lives. I later bought another book by James Allen, “Man: King Of Mind, Body, and Circumstance.”
I cannot even begin to guess how many times I have read and re-read these books by James Allan over the years.
One day last week there was a brief period where there was nobody in the gym but me.
I had the music up loud and I was moving around in the ring. I was trying to shadow box, but something someone had said to me earlier kept going through my mind.
They had said I was lucky to be good at boxing and to be in shape.
So as I was moving around the ring fighting my imaginary opponent I had that thought going through my head. I chuckled a bit when I thought of James Allan’s books, because now that I am a Christian his books have a much deeper meaning. I used to read them and only take away what I wanted to use. He also writes a lot about being moral and honest and those were the parts I skipped over.
I am today where my actions and thoughts have placed me. There was no luck or chance involved. My mindset, thoughts and work ethic determine the outcome of my days, weeks and years.
My current circumstance is actually the culmination of thousands of seemingly unrelated small choices over the years. I am not saying that I am defined by my past choices, because I know that good or bad they are just temporary. They will change with the present day and depending on the decisions I make now, they will either put me closer to where I wish to be or set me back.
My boxing skills and fitness are not by chance. Each day is an opportunity to push myself closer to my goals. I want to encourage you to keep pushing forward. Dreaming and setting lofty goals is important, but so is the day-to-day grind and hard work that will get you there. God has given you the tools you need to accomplish the plan he has laid out for you, and it’s up to you to use those tools to the best of your ability.
Philippians 4:11-12
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
We have all heard the saying, “Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you are ready to change.” This is something that I know first hand. I also know others who have gone through the same experience. In fact, most of us will have to rebuild our lives at some point in life.
It may come from an unexpected loss, the death of a loved one, a job, or it could be our own self-destructive behavior. It does not matter the cause, because the outcome is the same. A life in shambles, the feeling of no hope, bitterness, and blame. You can feel the walls of despair closing in on you as depression sets into your life.
Life seems overwhelming and we become frozen in place, shut down. For some, it sends them into a self-medication period or an overeating binge. All the while we distance ourselves from friends and loved ones.
When you find yourself at rock bottom, It is time to examine your life and figure out what has brought you to this place. Make a list, because when you write it down you can easily decide what is most important. You can also devise a plan to begin the journey of rebuilding.
A good approach is to begin by controlling what you can. We can all control what goes into our bodies. Alcohol and drugs will just bring us down, even more, the problem still exists but now our minds are clouded.
What we eat also has a huge effect on how we feel. If we eat sugar or foods heavy with fats, we will feel it. Excess sugar will cause us to hit highs and then come crashing down feeling worse than ever. Unhealthy food will make your whole system feel sluggish. Cut it all out. We do not need them and once our system begins functioning better on healthy fuel, we will not miss them. Challenge yourself by being strong and watching your food intake.
The more you start to take control of your life, the better you feel. It is time to make commitments with some new habits. A lot of hugely successful people start the day early with some exercise. I am not suggesting that you begin with a gym membership. We must crawl before we can walk, so start small. Try walking around your neighborhood every day for thirty minutes in the mornings, without distractions and without stopping. I am not talking about a treadmill! Get outdoors where the weather and terrain varies daily. Use this alone time to think about life and plan your day.
After a series of events in my life, I found myself all alone in a place I had never been. I was depressed and fat, with no idea what I would do with my life from that point forward. The first day I shut myself inside the hotel suite and felt sorry for myself. I didn’t want to face reality. My old life was no more. The people I knew would never and could never be a part of my new life. I had brought everything on myself because of my actions, so the only person I could blame was myself.
I decided that I should begin walking every morning for an hour. I was out the door before light that second day. I walked every day for the rest of that first week. After my walk, I would come back to the suite and watch TV. Eventually, I ventured across the street after dark to a huge bookstore and bought some books and a notepad. I developed a routine. Walk, read, write about my life and eat fresh unprocessed food. After that first week, I found a Mixed Martial Arts gym and I started walking past it every day. Martial arts had been an important part of my early life, but it had been a few years since I had been in a martial arts gym. I checked out the class schedule and thought about joining. It took me almost a month to finally decide to walk into the gym. When I did, I decided on a whim to take a class.
The class gave me over an hour a day when the only thing I could think about was the class. My head was clear and focused when I trained. I developed a new schedule. I would walk every day for an hour, come back and watch two shows, then go take a class, read a book for learning (history, science, etc), eat lunch, work on writing the story of my life, and later read another book for pleasure. This routine pulled me out of the hole I had dug for myself.
Writing about my life laid bare the fact that all of my problems had been caused by the choices I made. I started a list of things that I had to change, and believe me it was a huge list. I started working on one of them at a time. I am still working on the list and it grows all the time. I have found that I gain confidence every time I conquer a personal dislike. People might feel my life is too regimented and strict, but it is actually freeing.
Find something that you can get into. Something that allows you to forget about your problems and clear your mind for a time, even if you can see no immediate benefit.
When you develop a new routine, make a pact with yourself that you will not stop for a month.
Write about your thoughts and problems. Keep a diary, even if it is just a short e-mail you send to yourself at the beginning of each day. This is enormously helpful and it is between you and you alone.
As I was writing this post, I counted at least five times that I have hit bottom and started to rebuild my life. The best thing to come out of those experiences is that I have tread familiar ground repeatedly. I do not know what the says about me, but at least I know what choices I no longer wish to make.
I spoke to two others about the aftermath of their destructive lives. I asked them both what helped them come back from the brink. One told me that when he was doing his thing it was about him. When it all came crashing down it affected those close to him. He let everyone down. He had support and he decided that he would take it and better himself. The second person told me he realized he was a grown man and if he did nothing he would be wasting his life. The life he had was no longer part of the equation, so he started one step at a time and day by day it got better.
Ephesians 4:28
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
2 Timothy
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Regardless of who you are today, you had dreams and goals in mind when you were young. Maybe you dreamed of playing professional baseball or maybe you aspired to be an astronaut.
Life happens. As a result, those dreams may have fallen by the wayside. Why is that? A lot of times we settle for jobs we don’t love just for the paycheck, so we can live. The cash starts rolling in and now you have a lifestyle that you have become accustomed to. You cannot change and do what you really want because you have so many obligations. Does this sound familiar?
I understand this situation very well because that is how my life played out. I was on that treadmill for almost forty years. I did things I did not like, only because of what I could put into my pockets as a result. Many times, I tried to convince myself that I liked what I was doing. Even though I detest gambling and alcohol, both played a role in my livelihood.
I learned how to “take action,” or bookmaking, from an older gambler named Mark. Mark had been a bookie for at least twenty-five years when I met him. In fact, I am sure he is still taking action to this day – well into his eighties.
I had expressed interest in making money through bookmaking and loansharking (also known as shylocking) to a number of men associated with the Los Angeles cosa nostra family. They all knew me as a kid who worked hard and brought in cash, so they put me in touch with Mark. I began to work for him, and during that time I mastered the art of running a sportsbook. This was in a time before either cell phones or the internet. We used a series of payphones, hardlines and answering machines to run the business. We got our updates on odds and point spreads from what was known as the “Island Line.” We also had Las Vegas contacts who helped with lines and laying off some of the action. Mark pulled in a great living from sports gambling and he also ran some after hours card games.
I took to this “job” because I liked the attention, and most importantly, I liked the cash that came with it. I used to tell myself that the money I brought in gave me the freedom to do what I really wanted to do in life. Looking back that is funny because I can tell you this: I never did much of anything else. I spent all of my time running the business and living it.
It’s important, to be honest with yourself about your gifts, your goals, and your dreams. You must decide if what you are doing or will be doing is right for you. Does it align with your values? Is it what you were created to do?
You will most likely spend years working at something to get it working well enough to put dollars in your pocket. This where your own personal values come into play. When I was young I had some vague, at best, personal values – and it showed in how I conducted myself. Once you have a good personal value system in place, the decisions you make will help guide you toward lasting success.
Clarity of purpose is key to living a successful happy life. Once we find our purpose in life, it will help guide and shape our decisions. In the end, being successful looks different for every single person.
I was lost for so many years until I came back to living a life that wasn’t about my desires but about God’s purpose for my life. I was lost and broken, but I could never understand why I was feeling the way I did. When I found my faith I realized that life was not all about me, it was much bigger than that.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
2 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.
Motivation, Inspiration and Change 