Hi Friend,
Holy smokes, what a week! Soooooooo many different things have transpired in my life, I don’t even know where to begin. What’s appropriate to communicate and what’s not is also swirling in my mind. These letters to you are meant to be candid, transparent and educational. Boy, have I gotten schooled.
Right now, I’m sitting in Edmond – my former home for 34 years – squeezing writing in. I’ve already run 4 miles, had coffee with a friend and my own quiet time. I’m here because I had an event scheduled on Friday, but it got canceled because of snow. I planned to stay through Sunday so I could go to my favorite church.
I’ve never had an event cancel the day before. Oklahoma is not quite Minnesota when it comes to snow management. Thankfully I have friends around who were available to hang. Monica and I got to spend hours together in person instead of on zoom, doing cool business stuff. I’m excited about our future.
One thing I love about this place is that I have a Life Advisory Board that generates so many valuable concepts for my brain. Honestly, I have the best people in my life who all have unique perspectives that expand my potential. I’m invigorated by the possibilities that have been revealed. However, they represent some of the most challenging opportunities of my life.
GROWTH ADVENTURES
A few weeks ago I shared with you my personal core values. One of them is adventure. What’s so great about that holding weight in my heart is that I can create them, my family and friends can cause them and life itself randomly perpetuates them. When thrust into one I get the privilege of being aligned with my purpose.
I had dinner with my pastors last night. I love them deeply. They are wise, generous, fun, caring, humble, consistent – all the best qualities you’d want in a spiritual leader. I found myself frequently saying to them “What an adventure!” They gave me a lot to think about and I left feeling grateful for the chance to stretch beyond myself.
TRUTH ADVANTAGE
You and I can’t grow in isolation. You and I can’t grow in comfort. You and I can’t unlock any of our potential without adversity. Remove challenges and we shrink. I used to lie to myself to create shortcuts to achieve what I wanted. It temporarily feels like progress. It’s deceptive. No matter how painful or difficult truth is, it’s always the fastest and most effective strategy to going through hazardous times.
Truth isn’t narrow. My Life Advisory Board gifts me with multi-faceted angles of it; each one reflecting back a chance for me to extract smallness from my life. I’m destined for a big life, which means I get to face numerous obstacles for the rest of it. I’m determined to lean into all that’s offered, and create some when necessary.
Instigating Ideas…
1. Get trusted people in your life to speak truth to you.
2. Find gratitude in the unexpected challenges.
3. Define your values clearly.
4. Be a good friend.
When people genuinely care about us, they are willing to say things that contradict our own thoughts. If you have friends that mostly agree with you and confirm the story you’re telling yourself, they’re probably not the best for you. If their goal is to only comfort you, be weary of their counsel. My dang friends almost never agree with the story I’m spinning. They don’t seem to appreciate how right and righteous I am in it.
FRIENDSHIP PARADOX
The paradox of friendship is that the best ones will create the most discomfort in our lives. Human nature prefers justification of mediocracy over the strenuousness of excellence. Small living enables our little lies to persist, while a grand existence requires diligently tracking down truth and aligning with it.
The beauty of adventure is always the journey. How we navigate that, is life.
I hope this week you aspire towards greatness by adhering to truth and reaching for excellence. Every difficulty you face this week is an invitation to become more of who you are capable of being.