Montana Janzen

I was reading in a mag the other day that my wife gave me, an article by John C Maxwell.  He went on to say….

“A leader with credibility has a pocketful of coins. As long a the pocket is full, the leader is believable, worthy of respect and able to be trusted. Each time the leader breaks a promise or acts inconsistently with professed values, he or she must spend some of the conins in their pocket. When the coins are gone, so is the leader’s credibility. No amount of persuasion or personal appeal will be able to buy it back. Once lost, respect and trust take years to regain”

Here are somethings that I learned from John’s article….Gold Life Nuggets to have a life time of crediblity.

1. Always speak the truth and always be open to questions.

2. Don’t hide bad news. - “With huge corporate scandals seared in our collective memories, we have entered on era in which transpaency is demanded live never before”

3. Never over-promise. - To may people over promise and under deliver…however this could happen to us on the home front -  We promise our kids that we are going to do this or that and then our jobs or business gets in the way and we change the plans on them.

 4. Do what you say you will do. - When you speak…speak with commitment and then seal it with a hand shack. Then never back down.

 In case you are leader and you have blown it big time, here is what John recommends you do when your credibility is in question.

1. Acknowledge the mistake.

2. Apologize.

3 Make amends

 Credibility allows you to develop strong relationships and its the bond between leaders and followers. Credibility in whatever your profession or discipline, is what will allow you to become successful in life.

 So always remember to keep a pocket full of changes.

 The artical “Credible Communication” that, John C Maxwell wrote is from The Leader’s Edge.

Have you wondered why…..

1. You don’t get ahead.
2. You had a great idea…but it faded away before you even tried to accomplish it.
3. You feel like you have been spinning your wheels in your life for quite sometime.
4. You feel like you have been failing lately in life

I think we all have been there! But I have some good new for those who have just been beating themselves up lately. – YOU ARE OKAY!

I am writing this, because that is what happened to me.

Just a couple of days ago, I have picked up another book to read and I bought “Your Best Life Now” by Joel Osteen. I remembered seeing him in the Larry King Show and I was very interested in his positive message in this crazy world. So I bought his book and I must say a very good read so far.

I have realized that the world does not care for people who give up or just float along in life. The world will not stop for the mentally week or wounded…now I don’t say this to be harsh, but I say this for people who are having self imposed pity parties for themselves. I will tell you first hand…people just don’t give a rip about how you feel! People have their own problems…why do they need yours.

What people care about are “people of purpose”, “people who are in the mode of conquering and accomplishing their dreams”. The world is hungry for great people to follow and be inspiring by. After thinking about this for sometime, I asked myself one question, that I was asked of 6-7 years earlier…..

Are you living a life worth following? 

In this book by Joel Osteen, he writes in his first chapter “Enlarging Your Vision”…which was exactly what I needed to hear. Now a lot of these principles I have heard before, but this time it hit like a good slap in the face (Wake up call).  Once you have figured out your vision and you have it in front of you…you must keep it there. Unfortunately, here is where most people stumble and or struggle.

You need to raise your level of expectancy. What you expect is what you will get. If you dwell on positive thoughts, your life will move in that direction, however if you think negative on a regular basis, you will start to live a life of negativity. The old saying goes…you reap what you sow.

After getting your stinking thinking sorted out, Joel Osteen mentioned in his book that you need to program your mind for success. “It’s important that you program your mind for success…”. “Each day, you must choose to live with an attitude that expects good things to happen to you”.  This is where I believe most people…including myself fall and stumble. We don’t stay committed to the “Choice” the “Each day, you must choose…” we just give up and let our self talk and thought life just kill our vision and dreams.

Here is a couple of suggestion that Joel gives in book,

1. Say this statement every morning before conquering the world – “This is going to be a great day. God is guiding and directing my steps. His favor is surrounding me. Goodness and mercy are following me. I’m excited about today.” We must expect and anticipate good thins and favor to come our way and you will find yourself in the right place and the right time.
2. Don’t listen to lies from your self talk or from dream steals (people, coworkers or family and friends who tell you, that it can’t be done). – God (or your gods) wants you to get your hopes up. You can’t develop faith without hope.
3. Always set your expectations higher. – Our expectations se the boundaries for our lives. Jesus said “According to your faith be it done onto you” KJ
4. Start using your eyes of faith. – You must see yourself as a happy, health and whole person…even when your situation looks bleak and your are tempted to be discouraged and depress must encourage yourself through prayer or mediation.
5. Prayer or Meditation – Spend a 1/2hour to 1hour in prayer or meditation to get your attitude in the right place so that you make it through the day. Here is a suggestion of a prayer from Joel Osteen’s book “God, I know that You are in control, and even though this looks impossible, I know today could be the day that things turn around. Today could be the day You restore my marriage or relationship. This could be the day You bring my child home. Today may be the day my business begins to prosper exponentially. This could be the day I see my miracle”
6. Avoid negative statements and also let other people’s negative statements slide off you… like water on a ducks back.
7. Expose yourself to an atmosphere of success. – This will get you dreaming again.
8. Surround yourself with successful people. – This too will expand your thinking and association as well. Through positive association…doors will open. Just remember Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
9. Find a place where you can dream – Go touch, feel, smell and see your dreams…may it be, test driving a car, home shows or tours, look at travel magazines etc….you must feed your faith to accomplish your dreams.
10. “NEVER NEVER GIVE UP” – Winston Churchill

Well…I took my four year old son (Richard) to see “Meet the Robinsons”. When I first saw the promo trailer months ago about this movie, I thought it would be a cheesy and boring movie.  Boy! Was I wrong.  

This movie has incredible! It’s great teaching for our kids and gives you great prospective about failing in this world. In our world today, we are taught to “get it right the first time” or “If you don’t get it perfect the first time, then don’t do it at all” etc…etc… Well this way of thinking is (at least I think) is totally incorrect and misleading our kids today. I see to many people (adults) beating themselves up mentally because they made mistakes or failed at something.

Where did we get this wrong prospective in life? From our parents, who were taught by their parents and so on and so on.   

When you watch the movie (which is great for our kids and also the kid in you), you will begin to realize, that failure is the greatest part of Success! Without failure you will not experience true success. 

The movie is about a kid named Lewis. He meets a mysterious boy from the future named Wilbur Robinson. The two of them travel forward in time where Lewis discovers the amazing secret of the Robinson family. Lewis is a brilliant twelve-year-old with a surprising number of clever inventions to his credit. His latest and most ambitious project is the Memory Scanner, which he hopes will retrieve early memories of his mother and maybe even reveal why she put him up for adoption. But before he can get his answer, his invention is stolen by the Bowler Hat Guy (whom you find out, knows Lewis ever so well) and his diabolical hat and constant companion (Doris). Lewis has all but given up hope in his future when a mysterious boy named Wilbur Robinson whisks our bewildered hero away in a time machine and the two travel forward in time to spend a day with Wilbur’s eccentric family. In a world filled with flying cars and floating cities, they hunt down Bowler Hat Guy, save the future and uncover the amazing secret of Lewis’ future family.

I give this movie two thumbs up! So next time you’re going to the movies with your kids of any age, you will leave a better person.

So I leave you with what I have learned - Try, Do, Fail, Learn from it, Try again, Do again, Succeed - “Just keep moving forward”

Do you what to jump out of bed, each and every morning… excited? Do you have a dream so big! That you don’t really want to go to sleep, because you don’t want to miss the opportunity to achieve the dream or you will go on less sleep to accomplish a dream. A dream is what gives you life and happiness and wealth in all areas of life (and NO! I am not just talk about wealth through money). But! If you are dragging yourself out of bed, dreading to go to your job (stuck in a 4×4 cubicle, tired and worn out) chances are, you have no dream or just a little dream - Living from weekend to weekend (temporary freedom to temporary freedom).  

When there is no dream, I am sorry… but you are the problem in society. I see to much pain and dysfunction in the family unit because they don’t have anything to live for; they are just to busy trying to make a living (Living… pay check to pay check – and just keeping ahead of the bills, Time broke, Relationship poor and much…much more).

The ages and social status, ranging from 19yrs -58yrs, who have created options in their life and personal freedom grow larger and larger every year. This group of people(s) has become wealthy with big families, acheiving LIFESTYLE. But it’s not just the money, it the “having the next peak to climb” that makes us happy. NOTE! – It is not all about the job or “dream job”… Now! That is another topic in itself which I will write about in a later article. Just a quick thought on that note, the reality of a job is… that you work for someone else, you live by their rules, and you get paid for how much they think you are worth.  My couple of questions to you is,

Do you, at the end of your life want to reflect upon the fact, that you gave 50-60 years to a company and all you can give to your family is a lump sum of retirement money (if you haven’t spent it all). Along with this, the fact that you did not pass down a legacy and residual income or time that is willable to your kids – kids?

Here is something to think about…and I am sure all the other faiths in the world would agree. Proverbs 13:22 – “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…” This is not an inheritance that last for one generation, but four or five generations.

Also in, 1 Timothy 5:8 it says “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (This is a whole topic in itself. This is not just talking about providing with money, but in all areas of life – I will talk about this in a future article)

The other questions is

 Do you, not want to leave this world, knowing that the work you did 20-30 years ago, will give your family and generations to come after you…security and financial options? 

I see and observe to many times, what happens to people when they have no exciting goals, or dream in there house or family…the pain and dysfunctional families that are caused by dads NOT taking the responsibility to help his wife and child dream. So many wandering generalities (bump a-longs), vs. people who life with a dream, vision or a passion. SO many get lost to drugs, chasing temporary pleasure, fake highs, and SO many looking for a relationships and or adulterous encounters to fill that void in their life (which it never will). The child will suffer the most, to the world and all the false pleasure and highs. This is because the parents are not growing up and or getting focused and becoming examples in their children’s lives.

One of the biggest problems in this world, is the void of “Mentorship” in people lives and in close second is our “independent thinking”. We think we know it all and refuse to park our “know it all attitudes” aside, when a teacher (someone who has success in all areas of life” appears.

Do you want a better life? – Then prepare your heart, mind, body and soul. Become humble in your ways, pray to your God and exercise your faiths and remember – “When the student is ready the teacher will appear”

Why is North America or for sure why don’t our schools not recognize the importance of a dream in a family, or at least the danger when one is absent? Why does it sound (late night TV-ish, or like an info-merical) to talk about dreams when the lack of one in a persons life is SO painful?

All of our movies, that move us the most - talk about it, but yet we are all afraid or too shy to “take ownership of that concept, or an opportunity (inspired by a movie), that will allow you to win and create a legacy”. We say things like “that stuff only happens in the movies” and never seek out opportunities and apply it to our lives. We feel others won’t understand your dream or opportunity you have found, and only things that you can count on is that ….everyone has a dream (all at difference level and beliefs), you can relate to pain and bondage people are suffering or under, and being mocked for having a dream by misinformed or narrow minded people.

Please do yourself a favor, seek out opportunities that allow you to dream bigger then you are, that allows us to leverage other successful people’s time and talent. Remember “No person is an island”; we must learn to collaborate our efforts and talents to move forward. It’s so sad to see so many people trying to make it, just on their own efforts. Those days are over and they are never coming back. The cost of living, taxes, inflation etc… etc… is eating people’s time and money away faster then they can gain it.

It’s amazing how un-teachable so many people are compared to the few teachable, and they don’t even know it…

Which one are you?