Category Archives: Encouragement

On Reading and Learning

I take notes when I read books. Not every book, but most. I try to read for pure enjoyment sometimes, but even then I find myself taking a few notes.

One book I recently finished is Jon Acuff’s new book Start. I took 12 pages of notes. Some of you may think I’m nuts. That’s fine. My feeling on taking notes goes something like this: “Why read something if I don’t plan to take something from it to improve my life?” Hence, I take notes.

When I’m finished with the book, I review the notes. Then I make notes on my notes. Here are my notes on the notes from Start.

Action Points / Steps To Take

What is my passion? Inspiration?
Discover/uncover what inspires my wife and boys.
Sing.
Serve. Help others.
Awesome is taking the detour in your day and enjoying the change of path it is taking you on.
Be brutally realistic about your present and dream honestly.
Forget about spending time “finding” your purpose. “Live” your purpose today. Start! Take the step. Open the door and walk through it.
Gather trusted advisors. Stand on their shoulders.
Document your voices. Share your voices. Share your fear and doubt.
Be selfish at the appropriate time of the day. Claim your time, not others.

So now you’re asking what I did with the notes on the notes. Did I follow through on any of the 10 points? Yep. Every day I’m working on these points. Sometimes I need reminders though.

Also, writing this post ties into #7. I’m still working on all of these, but today is a new day, and I’m “punching fear in the face”.

Q: What actions do you take to remember and learn from the books you read? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for joining the conversation.

(This post originally published on August 12, 2013 on https://ricktheule.com.)

Speakeasy Goals

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Shhhhhh…

We all have our Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG). The pie in the sky dreams we share with our friends. This stuff comes spilling out over a cup of coffee on a raining day or when we are around the campfire on a summer evening. But, we also have “speakeasy” goals.

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“Speakeasy” goals are the ones we don’t tell anyone. We keep these goals hidden and secret. We don’t want anyone to know these goals.

Why is that? What could possibly keep people from telling others about something exciting to them?

Fear of rejection is probably the number one reason. What if they think I’m nuts?

Or, how about this doozy we’ve ALL had issues with at one time or another: “I tried it once. I even told people about it. But, I didn’t follow through. Why would I tell anyone this time?”

Yep. I have one of those. It fits squarely into the “I tried once before and failed” category. I’m tempted to tell you what it is, but then it would no longer be a “speakeasy” goal for me. It would be out in the open. Frankly, it scares me to tell anyone about it.

I’m more than willing to tell you all about the book I’m writing. I haven’t failed at it yet. I’m even making progress toward completing it (small progress). I’m also willing to talk about my struggle with depression and how it has impacted multiple areas of my life.

As I think more about “speakeasy” goals, I’m trying to determine if I have more than the one. Have I whispered any goals to my wife or to my best friend? I can’t really think of any right now. I should probably keep a running list as they pop into my head.

Do you have “speakeasy” goals or ideas in your life? Are you willing to share them?
Let us know in the comments.

I’m Writing A Book

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Yep. You read it correctly. I’m. Writing. A. Book.

If fact, I’m planning to write more than one book. For now though, we’ll focus on the first book.

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As most of you know, my life changed last year when I was let go from my job. The time off helped me realize I was limiting myself. I was solely focused on work. A deep down love of writing came to the surface during my brief time off from employment. I love to write. And now, I have something to say.

This first book has been pushing itself to the surface for months. I’ve tried to ignore it while sketching out a plan for a different book, but this book is quite pushy. It needs to be first. It needs to see the light of day before I go on to the next one (which was going to be first).

What is so very important it can’t wait to be published? Encouragement. Inspiration. Filling people up. Pouring myself into others in order to bless them and encourage them in their every day lives and in their Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG)!

Here are a couple of topics I plan to cover:

Don’t pick the people to fill, simply work on emptying what I’ve been given.
How do I fill my own cup so I have more to pour out? i.e. Refilling my cup
Encouragement includes planting seeds you may not see grow to maturity.
Can you encourage, inspire, refresh, pour into others through social media? Twitter, FB, Pinterest, Blogging, etc.? Or, are these solely “in person” activities?

What are your thoughts on the topic? Opinions?

I look forward to hearing from you. I may even ask to use your thoughts in the book.
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Now for some accountability.

My target date for publishing this book is January 1, 2015. While I’m sure you all have an opinion on the time frame I’m presenting, I’m not looking for your opinion. But, I’d love to have your support. Some days I am freaked out by the lack of time with which I’ve presented myself. Other days, when the words are flowing freely, I believe it’ll be a breeze to finish up by New Year’s Day. I’d love your support to keep me accountable. I’m not sure how I’ll gather your encouragement. Maybe through email with a select few, maybe with a closed Facebook group, but I really do want to hear from you along the way.

Keep your eyes on this site, and if you’d like, leave a comment in this post telling me you’d be interested in a more personal involvement in seeing this project come to fruition.

Thanks for all your support so far! Here we go!!