Jason Shick

Posted By Jason Shick on March 5, 2010

I recently went on a vacation to spend Christmas with family. Since the majority of my waking hours are spent in the great state of Florida, my children have not had as much experience with snow as they would like. So they were ecstatic to have the opportunity to give sled riding a chance. We arrived at our destination late in the night, went to sleep, and all was well.

It felt like Christmas when my children woke us up before the rest of the world because they were eager to go outside and play. My two oldest children had found the snow clothes my aunt left for them and were dressed to attack the hill in the backyard with a vengeance. All they needed was permission… and a few ground rules.

At this point, you’ve got to understand that my aunt had already given my son all the advice he really needed, or so she thought. She informed him “the back porch is concrete- so stop BEFORE you get to it. Don’t try to stop with your legs or you’ll break your legs.” One would think this is pretty straight forward and no further instruction is needed. I could see anticipation in their excited eyes so I reluctantly acquiesced to their request. I reminded them one more time to stop before the porch and they were off. Of course my wife and I were just waking up. At this point our two year old (who was now as excited as the other two) was repeating “I wanna go outside, I wanna go outside”. Unfortunately she was not bundled up yet and neither were we.

As I started putting on our snow gear, I commented to my wife “It’s going to be a long day”, which by the way, turned out to be a gross understatement. If you’ve been reading this with a passing glance, now is the part you want to pay attention to. As Jim Rohn used to say “the drama’s in the details”.

Now, fast forward 10-15 minutes. My toddler and I are just about finished dressing for the outdoor weather when my daughter bursts through the door with a look of sheer terror on her face. “Tyson needs help. He hit the porch. Come quick. He’s bleeding.” Just like any other eleven year old, she can be overly-dramatic at time and I figured this was one of them. Walking out on the back porch I expect Tyson to be crying and maybe have a small injury. When I arrive, he’s not crying, however there is blood pouring from the top of his head and staining the snow crimson beside him. Even though I have four children, this was my first real contact with a head injury. I wasn’t aware that lots of blood is the norm. So I begin to assess the situation and at the same time try not to panic. “Go get your mother from upstairs”.

Looking at Tyson, I can see he is shaken. He looks scared and Tyson doesn’t scare easily because he’s constantly pushing his limits and frequently pushing it too far. He’s used to getting banged up. “Are you okay?” I ask. He looks up and says “yeah, I’m just scared.” So I help him walk in the back door and sit down at the table. As I get him a paper towel to put some pressure on the wound I am amazed at how much blood is flowing. There’s a trail of blood from outside, through the kitchen, and still pouring out the top of his head. Trying to remain calm in order to keep him calm (which is difficult because I am not known in my family for doing well with blood) I take note of the situation.

#1) Tyson is bleeding from the top of his head like a warrior who has lost a battle.

#2) Being the first day on vacation and in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, I have no idea where the hospital is.

#3) My aunt is at work and I have no idea what her number is.

When my wife emerges we decide the wisest thing is probably to call 911 and just let them give us directions. While on the phone with 911 they ask our address and we have to literally go outside and look at the house number. Unfortunately, they are set up in provinces need to know what district we are in because they have duplicate addresses in their computer. We, of course, have no idea what district we are in. Fifteen minutes later, my cell phone rings, and when I pick it up, it’s the 9-1-1 operator. “We’re on our way. We went to the wrong district but we’re turning around”. Meanwhile, my son is still bleeding.

To make a long story short, a few hours and 6 staples later we are on our way home from the ER. My son speaks up from the back of our SUV “Can I go sled riding when we get home?… the doctor said not to get water in it when I take a bath… but he didn’t say I couldn’t sled ride anymore.” And so it is with kids- he was out sledding again within 15 minutes of us returning from the hospital.

Now I know what you’re thinking… nice story (albeit a bit long) but what is the lesson? What’s the point, right? The lesson here stems from the story of what happened between the time they went out initially and the time my daughter dramatically burst through the door with the announcement that “Tyson needs help…” On the drive home from the emergency room we learned that while sledding down the hill his hood fell over his eyes. Instead of stopping to put it back on, he was trying to move it so he could see while continuing at full speed down the hill. He thought he had plenty of time when CRACK- he hit the porch. My aunt told him not to use his legs to stop but she never said anything about using his head!

Anyway, it hurt a bit and his sister hurried over to see if he was okay. “I’m fine.” he told her. Inspecting him closer she said “I think you cut your face because you have blood on it”.

“Well that’s weird, I didn’t hit my face” he calmly replied.

That was when Sydney realized the blood wasn’t coming from his face, it was just down his face from his head. They pulled the hood back and… this is where our original story picked up. She screams, I come out, yada-yada-yada.

There are many lessons here. Listen to your parents, sleep in, wear a helmet, etc. Every story and/or event is like mining for gold. You’ve got to look for the nugget. These initial lessons are like fools gold. They seem right but there’s no real substance. The real nugget here has to do with moving ahead without making proper adjustments.

The lesson here is simple, one must be careful of blind momentum. Often times, once a person has invested in an idea or implemented a plan, their ego becomes involved. If momentum has already been created it can be dangerous. The problem with a bad idea or plan that has gained momentum is that sometimes, in our human nature, we look at the momentum and use its presence to justify an idea and/or squelch uneasy feelings we are having. Unfortunately, those uneasy feelings exist because our subconscious has noticed that something is wrong. Here are a few characteristics that can help you distinguish whether or not you (or your organization) is moving forward on blind momentum.

1) An obstructed view

Sometimes life happens or as I like to say “Shick happens.” It happens to the best of us. In my son’s case it was a hood falling over his eyes. In the real world, it can be anything that stops us from considering where we are heading. For example, if at work your mind is on problems in your marriage, then you aren’t focused on your job. You’re there, things are happening, but you aren’t paying attention. This is a classic case of an obstructed view. The same thing can happen the other way around. Maybe you’re spending time with your spouse or significant other, but you continue to think about business. There are tons of similar scenarios that could be playing out in your life right now. The best thing you can do is deal with the obstruction in the best manner possible. If it can’t be fixed, move it out of your mind and re-focus on the moment- otherwise you will never have peace and achievement together.

2) Blurred vision

When a leader is emotionally involved in something it can blur the vision of what is trying to be accomplished. This is especially true if it is something implemented by the leader because it reflects on them. Nobody wants to look like a fool or a failure, but until a leader is willing to try new ways of doing things and risk their pride, they will never truly connect with their people or connect their people with their vision. (Sidebar - people are usually more willing to risk time, energy, money, relationships, and a great deal more for a vision before they are willing to risk their pride. The funny thing is, only those who are willing to humble themselves and risk a shot to their ego will succeed in tremendous ways).

3) Too much momentum

To put this very simply, sometimes things get moving so quickly that by the time a person or organization realizes there’s a problem it’s too late to stop the damage. It’s almost like those slow motion moments of your life (we all have them). The moments time seems to stand still. Those moments when you see an phenomena about to occur, you know what needs to be done, but the only thing you have the power to do is watch in anticipation as the moment unfolds before your eyes. In retrospect these moments always seem to re-play in my head in slow motion.

4) Lack of objective monitoring

If something is not monitored, it quickly gets out of control. Here are a few examples from my own life, see if you have any similar experiences… my children, my habits, my weight, my thoughts, my actions, and my wife. Just kidding on the last one. J People and systems in an organization need monitoring, whether it’s a fortune 500 company, a small business, or a family unit. If they are not monitored in some way, they will not perform. This is equally true for systems as it is for people. I have found that sometimes systems aren’t monitored because they are run on the assumption that “this is the way we have always done it”. The important thing to remember is that you must monitor these things in a meaningful way and in a meaningful area. If you want a good example of what monitoring can do when left unchecked, take a good look at our educational system. Somebody sold states on the idea of monitoring progress. So all sorts of tests were instituted. Now most of what goes on in unmonitored monitoring (say that one 5 times fast). Ask any teacher and a majority of them will tell you that there is little value to all the testing that goes on. It is too much testing that takes away from learning. However, it must be implemented now because it is law. Please make sure you have monitoring tools in place that are meaningful to those involved because if there is no system in place for assessing what is working and what isn’t, things quickly get out of control.

5) Refusal to accept the final destination

If my son would have looked ahead a little, he could have created a path on the side of the house that never ended at the back porch. If he had done this, even in the worst case scenario he would have never hit the back porch. Adults do this in life many times with our actions. Just like my son we think, “well… I’ll stop before I get there”…. So we eat until we’re obese (obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States right now), we work until we drop, and we indulge in habits we know we should abstain from simply because we fully intend to quit BEFORE we hit the porch. Today could be your day. Assess your life & actions, put some objective monitoring in place, accept the final destination of the road you are on, and make the changes that need to occur NOW. Otherwise, in 20 years you will be thinking what you were 20 years ago… “I’ll quit before I get there”.

Category: Success, Vision, leadership | No Comments »
Tags: 9-1-1, 911, achievement, blind momentum, blurred vision, christmas, final destination, jim rohn, life lessons, obstructed view, organization, peace, pennsylvania, progress monitoring, staples, stitches, Success, successful, sydney, Tyson, visioneering, wisdom

Posted By Jason Shick on February 25, 2010

Sometimes it’s easier to think that successful people have somehow gotten all the breaks. The problem with this sort of thinking is that it takes away your power in creating your own story. Truly successful people keep their eye on the goal line. When it gets tough, those are the moments life uses to weed out those with grit and those without it. So when you feel like your dream is taking too long, remember this acronym… F.O.C.U.S. (Follow One Course Until Successful). The great majority of wealth in this country is first generation wealth. That means many people started with little to nothing and created their own destiny. No matter how difficult or out of reach your dreams may seem sometime- DON’T QUIT!

I was once planning to attend a weekend seminar in Orlando and a guy asked to meet with me before I headed off. He was down on his luck and in a mental rut. His business was stagnant and he claimed he wanted to turn it around. Everything else in his life seemed to be on track and going fine. I quickly assessed that all he really needed was a pick-me-up. If he was going to get his business on track he would need to fix his thinking because he was definitely struggling with a bad case of what Zig Ziglar calls “stinkin’ thinkin”. Mentally, he had already decided his business had contracted a deadly incurable virus and would soon be dead. But I know otherwise - I saw tons of potential in him IF he would only get out of his own way. He made the argument that others were obviously gifted in this particular area and that he could never play at the level of other successful people in the same industry. The thing to remember is that successful people aren’t always seen as “gifted” or talented at the beginning of their career. In this particular case he was comparing himself to a man with 37 years of experience who was extremely successful. The guy I was meeting with had a young business organization and was just beginning to gain experience, however he was ready to throw in the towel because it was more difficult than he thought it would be!

Whatever industry you are in, remember that 37 years of experience is different than one year of experience 37 times- in fact, it’s extremely different! Make sure at the end of 10 years you have 10 years of experience and not one year of experience 10 times. I don’t know who said that originally, but it’s a thought I constantly remind myself of.  A more famous example of the F.O.C.U.S. acronym is leadership expert John Maxwell, who I recently heard make the statement that when he first began writing he was extremely bad at it. If you’ve read any book by Maxwell, you will know that following one course until successful (FOCUS) worked for him in an incredible way. His books consistently rank in my top picks category year after year. Chris Gardner (The pursuit of happiness) is another great example. He titled his most recent book “Start where you are”, a simple, yet powerful message along the same theme.

Wherever you are right now in your finances, relationships, spiritual life, and business life I want you to be encouraged! Take your eyes off yourself and start thinking every day about how you can add value to others. Get involved in something bigger than yourself. Expand your vision. Grow. Visit The Difference Project and get inspired to find a way in which you can serve and help others. I want to thank all of you for visiting this site and being a part of this blog as I begin to put content up. I hope in the weeks, months, and years to come it will be of tremendous value and benefit to anyone looking for positive, uplifting, and simple messages. Remain FOCUSed on your goal and on the finish line. Don’t get complacent- challenge yourself everyday and I promise you that whatever you continue to “FOCUS” on will expand, whether it be business, faith, family, relationships, or anything else. Just keep in mind that it works equally well for negative things in your life. If you focus on the bad in your marriage… low and behold, more bad will show up and keep showing up. The bad will expand until it’s unbearable, so don’t focus on it, focus on the good in your life and may God bless your efforts!

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Tags: chris, chris gardner, difference project, FOCUS, follow one course until successful, gardner, john, John Maxwell, love, maxwell, stinkin thinkin, stinking thinking, Success, zig, zig zigalr, ziglar

Posted By Jason Shick on February 18, 2010

I’m not sure where I first got this, but I had it filed and thought it was worth sharing…

A man was exploring caves by the Seashore.  In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls.  It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.   They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him.  As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls.  Each contained a similar treasure.  He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him.  He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves.  Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It’s like that with people.  We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside.  It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We may see a person as less important than someone who seems more beautiful, more stylish, more well known, or more wealthy.  But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. This story can also help to remind us that we are also important and a treasure to God. It’s easy to compare our lives and accomplishments to those who seem further down the road than we are but always keep in mind that though it’s fun to achieve, our value is derived from another source. We are valuable because we are created in the image of God. Hope this helped encourage somebody today.

Category: Spirituality | No Comments »
Tags: beach, clay balls, inner beauty, intrinsic value, love, people, value

Posted By Jason Shick on February 11, 2010

If you attend church regularly then you know how painful it can be when the pastor is out of town or on vacation and there are “guest” speakers. My father is a pastor and growing up I remember that if the congregation found out about a future absence then only a handful of people would show up for the speaker. The reason I’m bringing this up is because our pastor was out this week.

However, the fill in speaker (we’ll call him Ken) did a phenomenal job. One of his key points was that we must re-learn to and allow ourselves to dream. Then we have to determine to pay the price for the dreams we are passionate about. He went on to say that so many dreams are not realized simply because they will cost us more than we are willing to pay.

Ken also read a quote from a book by Jim Collins called Good to Great. In the book Collins states “Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good - and that is their main problem.”

This is incredible insight! The ideas in that short paragraph have the potential to change your family life, your business life, your spiritual life, your emotional life, and any other part of life you allow it to touch. Have you been living a good life, but falling short of greatness? Is your business stagnant because when it started doing good you settled for it?

How did the past 12 months go with your career, family, and marriage? Good… or great? Mediocre? Incredible? I challenge you to challenge yourself to greatness in the next 12 months. Maybe you made resolutions at the beginning of this year. Perhaps they’ve already fallen to the wayside. Understand this, if you are not uncomfortable then you are not pushing yourself to greatness. This shouldn’t stress you out either. We all have more than enough stressors in our life. Sometimes we settle for good because it seems like success. But we know down deep, we could achieve more if we put in the effort. Jim Rohn liked to say “if you can achieve more, should you”? That’s a great question and I feel it can be answered with a resounding YES.

So how do you not get stressed out? You simply remind yourself every day that you are not competing with those out in front of you in life. You are only trying to compete with yourself. Just as a serious weightlifter will constantly try to beat his best, you should be growing and pushing yourself to new levels. Don’t become stagnate! Remember the great words of Bill Murray in What about Bob… “baby steps”. So take your eyes off yourself and focus on others. Good to great is a journey- don’t settle for anything less than doing the most you possibly can with this one shot at the gift we know as life!

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Tags: bill murray, church, education, good to great, great, greatness, if you can achieve more, jim collins, jim rohn, pastor, phenomenal, schools, should you, speaker, speakers, Success

Posted By Jason Shick on February 6, 2010

Have you ever had a problem you wanted to fix and you wanted it fixed NOW!… Of course you have, we all have. The problem is that many times we try to fix the problem by focusing on the wrong things. If you focus on the wrong thing you never will fix the problem. It would be like spraying the fire alarm with the fire extinguisher instead of spraying the fire. It may stop the alarm from going off, but you still have a problem that is getting worse with time.

To illustrate the point I’m trying to make I want to use an example you’ve heard many times. The example of ripening and fruit. There is much talk about reaping what we sow. To have a bountiful harvest we must plant good seeds, nurture and water those seeds, and then harvest the crop. But take a minute right now to think about roots. There are shallow roots & deep roots, thick roots & think roots, great roots & bad roots. Don’t let your mind wander now because here comes the big idea, the “aha moment”, the important phrase to remember. If you remember only one thing from this post, remember this catch-phrase… the roots determine the fruits.  I’ll repeat it, “THE ROOTS DETERMINE THE FRUITS.”

If you have undesirable results, circumstances, or habits in your life, these are your fruits. If you don’t like your results, it won’t do you any good to focus on the problem or “fruit”. You can’t fix a banana once it’s bad. You can pump it full of chemicals and drugs… it won’t help (this is what doctors try to do when our unhealthy lifestyle choices come to fruition… and we usually encourage it.) The mistake these health care providers are making is that they are trying to treat the symptoms, which is another name for the fruit, not the cause(root). You can put a band-aid on your bad fruit, it still won’t help. The only way you can fix the fruit is to fix root.

Here’s the kicker… you’re the tree. The fruits are your results. If you want better results in your life, focus on your roots and while doing this keep in mind that fruit doesn’t grow overnight. Don’t expect to sprinkle some personal development miracle grow on your life and in 24 hours be the next Zig Ziglar or Tony Robbins. It takes time. Here are some interesting root facts and I trust you will be able to see the connections:

1) Roots seek out and soak up nutrients the plant needs in order to thrive. In fact, every root has tiny hairs on it that help soak up all the minerals and nutrients possible. Are you soaking up everything of value in your life? Are you seeking out opportunities to learn and grow?

2) In some plants, such as beetroots, the roots even store food for seasons in the future when nutrients and minerals may not be so readily available. Do you have enough positive stored up in you to offset those bad days and negative people you are going to inevitably run into?

3) The deepest root ever measured grew 68 meters, or 223 feet deep! That’s quite a journey for a food supply. How committed are you to feeding your spirit (roots) what it needs in order for you to become the person you were destined to be and have the potential to become?

4) In response to the concentration of nutrients, roots also create cytokinin which acts as a signal to how fast the plant can grow…. read that again!…

…seriously, go back and read it again right now.

If you didn’t read it again (or even if you did) let me unpack it a little more. The root creates a chemical (cytokinin), based on how many nutrients it comes into contact with. This chemical then communicates to the plant or gives in instruction/permission as to how fast it can grow! This is so perfectly parallel to life. If you want to grow and develop your character and skills quickly, you must soak your roots in nutrient rich soil- Are you reading good books, listening to good cd’s, and surrounding yourself with positive, intentional people?

I could go on and on. I’ve found some really interesting facts about roots, their purpose, and how they work. So much of the world correlates to our lives when we actively look for the connections. As my good friend Gregory Carr likes to say, “be encouraged” and focus on your roots… not on your fruits. The fruits will take care of themselves because the only way you can fix the fruit is to fix the root.

Category: Personal Development | 1 Comment »
Tags: anthony, crop, fruit, fruition, fruits, harvest, nutrients, personal development, plants, reaping, results, robbins, root, roots, sowing, tony, zig, ziglar

Posted By Jason Shick on January 30, 2010

“It’s never too late to become the person you could have been.” -George Eliot

Reputation is how people perceive you. Integrity implies doing the right thing for the right reasons. Please don’t confuse integrity with reputation. As you develop yourself and become a person of character that is able to influence a following, it’s sometimes easy to get sucked into thinking that as long as your reputation is outstanding, then you’re fine. This fallacy is simply not true. Sometimes a leader has an outstanding reputation but there is little or nothing to their character.

Have you ever worked for somebody that everyone thought was the most wonderful person, but you knew differently? That’s a classic example of integrity and character verses reputation or popularity. With good marketing, reputation can be fabricated for the short term, but it always fails in the long run. People who are not honest to the core, have a hard time finding committed followers. They may have people who stick with them for many years but those people are typically following a paycheck, not a person. These people are not committed to the vision. In fact, down deep they may really dislike the job and their leader, which in turn may cause them to speak poorly of their organization, causing damage in the long run. This eventually destroys the false image of reputation.

The antithesis of this is when a person has tremendous integrity but their reputation has been run through the mud. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Perhaps unpopular choices or difficult situations have taken their toll on the leader’s organization. If you ever find yourself in this position, it is so important for you to act with integrity in all you do if you ever hope for things to change… and they will change. They will change because reputation is fickle; character is enduring. The tide changes with reputation quite frequently. It’s more volatile than the NY stock exchange on a bad day. This is an unfortunate and harsh reality- if this volatility is something you can’t handle, you may want to reconsider being in a leadership position.

But IF you’ve decided you can handle it and IF you realize it comes with the territory, then the best thing to do is try to ignore it. This is easier said than done sometimes, but you must decide who you are going to become and head boldly in that direction. Never waver from your core values when making decisions based on how it might affect your reputation or how people might view you. In the end, sincere integrity will rise above reputation every single time! Sometimes leaders simply have to choose the lesser of two evils when situations arise, which makes the leader an obvious target for criticism. Keep your motives pure. Genuinely love people. Stick to the vision and move forward with BOLDNESS remembering “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” - 2 Timothy 1:7.

Category: leadership | No Comments »
Tags: bold, boldness, character, criticism, direction, integrity, leader, leadership, motive, motives, perception, popularity, reputation, Vision, visionary

Posted By Jason Shick on December 24, 2009

The new year is just around the corner. Christmas is almost here. I love this time of year. My thoughts are drawn to what is truly important… family,  friends, and my Savior. Not necessarily in that order either.  I’m leaving for vacation soon and thought I should put up a post for the month.  Before I get into the topic mentioned in the title of this article, I just want to encourage you to allow yourself the opportunity to remember what this season is about. It’s so easy and automatic to block out all the Christmas stuff because it’s so commercialized, but there really is a reason behind all the hoop-la. If you aren’t a fan of this little baby they call the Messiah… well, good luck with that. I figure, if I’m wrong… so what. If you’re wrong… sucks to be you. But in all seriousness, if you have questions or doubts, earnestly seek God and he will show up.  Have a wonderful Christmas and I hope you enjoy the rest of the post.

Moving on, I had a wonderful conversation today with a good friend of mine whom I have known for many years.  We started discussing purpose. Purpose is an interesting word. Many people claim that they believe everybody has a purpose, but when pressed for theirs, the majority of people can’t tell you with any reasonable certainty what they believe their specific purpose is.  It has different names. Purpose, destiny, calling, or an anointing, but they all basically point to the same thing.  At some point, everybody asks the question of all questions of themselves. What is my purpose or what is the meaning of (my) life. It’s the classic search for significance. Unfortunately, sometimes people go years and even their entire lives without finding an inner peace to this question.

There are a few commonalities that show up in a person’s intellectual search. The first time this question comes up, people typically find a quick (yet challenging) answer and pursue it. This is the first stage. The may decide it is money, helping people, family, faith, success, or a variety of other things. They will then pursue this activity for a period of time. But eventually the question comes up again because it was never really wrestled with to begin with- it was only answered on a superficial level…. BUT the person never really answered this question… “what is the purpose of MY life? What am I designed for?” This is the same question as ‘what is my purpose?’ but it’s also very different than ‘what is MY purpose?’ The emphasis on “my” makes all the difference.

By emphasizing a person’s specific bent it becomes easier to focus and define a particular person’s purpose. For example, I know my purpose is to help people. The obvious response to that though is “so what?… lot’s of people think their purpose is to help people.” The true question of significance cannot be identified until a person takes time to really look at what they are naturally suited for. Before reading too much more, you must understand that what I’m about to outline stems a lot from my faith. When I struggle with these questions I turn to my God and my Bible. So that being said, if you come from a similar belief system you should find this blog post a useful guide. If you don’t come to the table with the same beliefs, I encourage you to test it, think about it, use what you can, and discard what you wish.

Here are a few tips for identifying and understanding purpose.

#1) There is not a mystical pill for figuring out your purpose or destiny. There’s not a seven step plan or pattern. You could probably find one online, but that’s only because you can find anything online.  Identifying, understanding, and developing your purpose will take a lifetime and it will evolve as you do.

#2) Please understand that passion is the number one clue to your purpose. Yes you were created. But  the word created is used so flippantly. I like the word designed better. You were designed with a purpose in mind. Those deep seeded passions and desires you have within you that seem to draw you to them were placed there by God to help fulfill the purpose he has for you. If you are passionate about something- pray for guidance and  start moving in that direction. If you aren’t a believer I still encourage you to pray to God for guidance because if God doesn’t exist, he won’t move on you behalf… but if he does, maybe he’ll surprise you! Anyway, your inner desires are there by design, not by accident! God knew you would be drawn to whatever it is that draws you because he planted that desire in your heart before you were born- that is, when he designed you.

#3) God will give you a mountain to climb.   When you really tap into your purpose, your dream will probably be much bigger than what you could currently see yourself accomplishing. It will look like a mountain. You’ll feel challenged by the thought of scaling it, but at the same time you will have an insatiable desire to commit to climbing to the peak. In fact, you won’t be sure whether you can scale it or not- but the thought of trying will excite you! When you have that feeling within you, you have found your mountain. God has given you this mountain. Others may even think it’s a lofty or unreasonable thing for you to want to climb the mountain… forget them. It’s not their mountain. It’s your mountain. God has given you this mountain. Of course it’s big. It’s supposed to be. It will always be something you can’t accomplish on your own because your destiny is meant to do two things- cause growth and bring you closer to God. If your mountain wasn’t bigger than you, you would never challenge yourself and grow because you wouldn’t need to. You would also never be seeking God because you would have it under control. But it is when we feel inadequate that we seek God out first, so your purpose will naturally draw you closer to God as you try to accomplish it.

Pray for guidance. Keep these things in mind and begin to listen for what excites you. It’s never to late to begin something that should have started long ago. Find your mountain, resolve to finish what you start, take a big breath, and start climbing! Merry CHRIST-mas and a happy new year!

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Tags: ambition, anointing, calling, challenge, Christ, christmas, destiny, evolve, God, growth, mountain, purpose, savior, significance, Success, successful

Posted By Jason Shick on November 23, 2009

“Discipline, not desire, determines a man’s destiny.” – Andy Stanley

This past week I spent some time watching Dave Ramsey (who has some great ideas by the way). His show recently highlighted people who have overcome tremendous obstacles in their lives. Their stories were unbelievably inspiring. One guy had overcome cerebral palsy and a speech impediment to become a motivational speaker. Another was born with a handicap and ultimately a business was born out of that handicap which has become quite successful. To be honest, I didn’t get to catch every show for the week, but I wish I had.

At the end of the week Ramsey made an observation that is worth mentioning. Ramsey provided commentary on what success looks like from the outside as compared to how it is perceived. Many times success can be perceived as being easy to the outside observer. Almost all wildly successful people seem to rise out of nowhere- suddenly and without expectation. The perception is that they immediately (and easily) conquered the mountain of success in whatever industry they appeared in. Then they move on to victoriously crown themselves the king or queen of the mountain and live happily ever after. But from the perspective of the person on top of the mountain- the person who has painfully labored for that success, the climb to the top is dramatically different than the accepted perception of it.

Ramsey made a comment that has stuck with me and I’ve thought about it often this weekend. I’m not sure I have the wording right, but here is the general idea… “Success is seen from the outside as a gleaming mountain, but successful people know the mountain is actually a pile of garbage, they just happen to be standing on top of it.” The idea is that success is really a series of bad experiences a person must go through in order to come out on top. It is these experiences and failures that actually enable a person to achieve success. Thomas Edison is known for saying “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” We must accept the fact that true success in any endeavor requires hard, sustained, focused WORK. Unfortunately, many people suffer from D.T.S.S. (Drive-Through-Success-Syndrome) which causes them to quit before they achieve the success they desire.

As you move forward in your success quest, remember that success in any endeavor is not analogous to fast food… it’s more comparable to a meal that slowly stews in a crock pot. As you work on yourself and your business, over a long period of time, the aroma begins to draw people to you. Running your life and business with this in mind takes more time, however, it produces higher quality results. If success is taking longer than you anticipated, be encouraged, hold fast to your vision, and continue to create with crock-pot certainty. Don’t ever allow failure to steer you away from creativity and innovation- sometimes the best crock-pot meals contain the most creative ingredients!

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Tags: crock-pot, dave, dave ramsey, innovation, perseverance, Success, successful, Vision

Posted By Jason Shick on October 31, 2009

The Principle of the Path - Andy Stanley

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The Principle of the Path is a book written by Andy Stanley. If you’ve ever felt like you are stuck somewhere in your life and can’t seem to get to the destination you want to get to, then this book is for you. Conversely, if you’ve ever ended up somewhere and wondered how in the world you ended up there and what to do now, this would also be a great read for you. The entire book can be summed up as a practical guide to help you get from where you are to where you want to be. The principle of the path can be stated like this “direction, NOT intention, determines destination.”

The weakness of the book is that the concept is so simple. The idea is that if you don’t get on the right path, it doesn’t matter how fast you go, you will never arrive at the right destination. There are a few times in the book where some readers may think to themselves….. ‘duh’. But interestingly enough, the weakness of the book is also it’s strength. This simple concept, which is blatantly obvious in the physical realm, is often overlooked when it comes to the different paths we choose in life. Andy constantly reminds us that for some reason there is a huge disconnect in our lives when it comes to this principle. The first chapter or so I thought to myself  ‘is that it? There’s got to be more to this principle, I mean… he wrote an entire book on it’. But as I got deeper into the book, I started to see how even in my own life (and some of those around me), this disconnect is alive and well.

Recommendation: If you’re looking for an “aha” concept and you haven’t had that “aha” moment reading this book review- then you probably won’t have it reading the book itself either. I am quite serious when I say that the principle of the path is simply “direction, not intention, determines destination.” However, if you think there might be a disconnect in your life AND you have an open mind, this book is a great resource for pinpointing some of the reasons why that may be occurring and also gives some practical advise as to what you can do about it.

Rating: 3.75 stars

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Tags: book review, destination, direction, goal, goal setting, goals, principle of the path, Success

Posted By Jason Shick on October 31, 2009

40)…”Most men leads lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
39)… A person should develop & work in their areas of strength (don’t put a round peg in a square hole)
38)… I have a purpose
37)… Everyone has been designed to fulfill a purpose (you have a purpose)
36)… We are fearfully and wonderfully made (psalm 139:14)
35)… I have a Proverbs 31 wife!
34)… Faith, family, friendships, fitness, and fun are the fabrics of life - they are all woven together, overlapping, and intersecting - not compartmentalized. Anything that affects one, affects them all.
33)… Good things come to those who wait, but only what’s left by those who hustle. (Lincoln)
32)… In living fiercely (courage)
31)… Attitude = altitude
30)… There is more than one path to reach a destination.
29)… If you see a roadblock, it’s sometimes less damaging and quicker to take a detour than to barrel on through.
28)… If you see a roadblock, sometimes it’s quicker and less damaging to just barrel on through.
27)… Wisdom and good council help us know the when it’s time to barrel through and when it’s time to go around.
26)… The Principle of the Path (Andy Stanley)
25)… Life’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.
24)… Divorce should be discouraged.
23)… Success shows up when you make a commitment to the journey.
22)… Every boy needs a dad; every girl needs a mom; every child needs a parent
21)… Children need discipline.
20)… If you take care of others you take care of yourself.
19)… “Help enough people get what they want and you can have everything you want.”
18)… Laws are limiting, freedom is decreased with every new law.
17)… Results matter.
16)… Death is a transition - not an end.
15)… Everyone has secret.
14)… Sin Imprisons.
13)… Wants and needs are different.
12)… People need hope -without dreams, life loses it’s flavor.
11)… Wal-Mart sucks.
10) … Leadership is influence.
09) … Our nation has become a celebration of mediocrity.
08) … Change is optional (in most cases, the longer an organization, system, or person has been in existence, the harder it is to implement change).
07) … Potential is ignited by purpose.
06) … The choices we make dictate the lives we lead.
05) … Unchecked power and position leads to destruction.
04) … The coin of life can only be spent once, so make sure it’s spent wisely.
03) … Being courageous and being reckless are two different sides of the same coin.
02) … Just because you’re offended doesn’t make you a victim (and it doesn’t mean your freedom has somehow been infringed upon)
01) … Faith fuels…. (many things, you tell me. Leave a comment with your ideas to finish the statement “faith fuels…” )

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Tags: belief, believe, change, choices, courage, courageous, freedom, influence, leadership, mediocrity, position, power