Category: 10 Bedrock Truths

When a challenge or tough time comes our way, we all have a choice as to how we will deal with difficult circumstances. The next time a challenge shows up in your life, why not embrace it and become the person you admire? Here’s what I recommend: grow your relationship with God, family, and other important people in your life. Evaluate your life and prioritize your desires and actions so the important things are done first and the lower value things are the ones that get knocked down the list and perhaps not done at all. Live life, so there are no regrets! Choose to be the role model that not only brings joy to your journey, but to the journey of others! In the difficult times, what do you…

Truly believe in the “Work hard while doing your best, do the right things, and go through the doors of opportunity that are in front of you” philosophy. Working hard may be pretty easy to put our minds around. But how about “do the right thing”? My definition of “do the right thing” is this: “Can you pass the ‘red face test’ if you share your motives and actions to all that are affected by what you do?” The “red face test” is not the same for all people, of course, but you need to worry only about your “red face test.” Could I ever have planned my journey and the points of interest along the way? No way! For me, had I not been open to new ventures and…

So how do you respond to unreasonable people? The first thing is to identify who is being unreasonable, and that may be easy to see since most of them display this characteristic on a regular basis. If you can, avoid them! If not, minimize your time and topics if you deal with them one on one. And if necessary, have a witness. One of the keys to dealing with emergencies is planning and writing out a plan on how to deal with them. During the emergency is not the time to do the planning as we don’t do our best planning and thinking in stressful situations. The same type of plan needs to be thought through and chosen ahead of time on dealing with unreasonable people.

I have tried to pass this truth down to my boys as I have found this topic to be so true in my life. “Conflict is not bad; only unresolved conflict is bad.” It is in the process of resolving the conflict that the most effective solutions emerge. This process allows for a joint resolution that provides a better solution for all. It also helps to build strong relationship bonds because of the trust it builds from resolving the conflict.

I love to use football as an analogy for teamwork. I was a linebacker and we all know that linebackers are good looking, athletic, and smart. But how good would a team be with 53 linebackers? You need offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and they are different from one another. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, defensive backs, and yes, even kickers who may not have real pads or helmets—but when you need that extra point, field goal, or well-placed punt, they are critical to team success. “Power of diversity of skills and thought” is the theme here and it applies to any team who is looking for high performance. “If two people think alike, one of them is not needed.” In managing complex and/or important situations, “Plan wisely before moving forward.” The…

Approach life from the viewpoint of the driver’s seat: with a “big windshield looking forward and a small rearview mirror looking back.” It is more important to continue to look forward and navigate effectively through life than to constantly look back in the review mirror. We should glance at it periodically to gain perspective or lessons we can apply to our journey, but our primary focus is ahead. So let me ask you these questions about your current journey: Where are you going? Who are you leading? How much do you want to focus on what’s current and what is in front of you versus staying focused on the past? The answers to these very important questions will drastically affect how you navigate your journey and how you will lead…

We have a choice in who we choose as friends, but we don’t have a choice in who we have as our family. To build that relationship with family, it may and often does require us to get into their worlds. I was very fortunate that both my boys played football and it was a family endeavor. I coached youth football, announced games, and was a member of the youth football board. We not only invested in our children in this sport, but in the children of our community at the same time. Because it was an interest of mine, it was easy to get involved and allocate my time, money, and emotion. But football was not the entire makeup of our children. Our older son wrestled as a second…

My father was a product of the depression and I joke that I am also, but people say I am too young. This is true, but important values do get passed on and the emphasis of hard work and wasting nothing is a part of my fabric. This is why this quote by Thomas Edison hits home with me: “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Do you have examples in your life or in the lives of others you know where hard work sets the way for opportunities? What kind of satisfaction do you feel after succeeding in a difficult task or situation? All I can say is this part of my journey gave me the confidence to address challenges head-on,…

How are your margins with your time and money? Is your stress higher than it needs to be and stealing joy from your life? Have you ever prioritized your time and spending, to ensure you are spending your time and resources on the most important things in your life? Are all your needs getting addressed, or are your wants getting in the way and causing you to spend too much or all of your money and leaving no funds in savings as a margin for an unexpected life event?