Tag Archives: Encouragement

My Virtual Mentors

The Internet and Social Media give me the ability to learn at the feet of great mentors.

Most of the time they don’t even know they are mentoring me. There are some exceptions to this, like when after following and reading material from someone for many months, or even years, you begin interacting with them via social media, or you talk in person on the phone or at a conference.

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Here are mine….Who are yours?

Jon Acuff

Mark Batterson

Michele Cushatt

Jeff Goins

Michael Hyatt

Andy Stanley

Ally Vesterfelt

 

These are mentors I look to while on my current path from my Day Job to my Dream Job. Will these ever change? I’m 100% certain of it.

As my goals in life change, my mentors will change. Some mentors are long-term, and some short-term. Will I ever outgrow the incredible leadership wisdom offered by Andy Stanley? Probably not. But, I may transition to a different leadership mentor, or add one.

Jeff Goins, Ally Vesterfelt, and Jon Acuff are key mentors for my current growth as a writer.

Ally in particular has had a huge impact on me as a beginner or new writer. Her short book, “Writing to Find Yourself” (available through her writing course) has really pushed me to speak my mind, and to use my own words to express my thoughts and ideas.

Jeff’s writing, through his blog and books, helps me understand I need to continually work on the craft of writing.

Jon has been pivotal in pushing me to understand I don’t need to stay where I am as far as a career. Jon is so open about his career. He continues to share the guts and details of his changing life as a writer, entrepreneur, husband and dad. I think the only way I could learn more from Jon is if he let me live with him (pretty sure Jenny will say no to that idea).

Michele Cushatt is the epitome of courage and empathy to me. Even before her current battle with cancer, she showed to me through her writing what it means to be authentic and caring for the people around you. Whether those people are family members or blog followers like me, she shows a true understanding of the emotion of people.

Michael Hyatt has been a leadership guru for a number of years, and now he is vital to my growth in the area of setting and attaining goals in my career. I learn at least one thing from Michael every time I read or listen to him.

Finally, Mark Batterson has forever altered my prayer life. Over the last couple of years he has pushed me to pray boldly. He has shown me the truth of how big my God really is. Mark’s books, The Circle Maker, and The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, are life changing. I will continue to read them and use the principles he teaches through them, to expand and grow a rich prayer life.

I could go on forever writing about how these people impact my life. But, this is a blog, not a book. I encourage you to click on the links I provided for each of these folks. Follow them on Social Media. Subscribe to their blogs and websites. Use their materials (each of these people offer a HUGE LOAD of FREE materials).

Most importantly, find your own mentors. Find people who “speak your language”. Search out people currently in the space you hope to be someday. Learn from them. Find out who they learn from. And, share with your followers the great information you learn.

Who are your current mentors? Share with us in the comments.

Excuses

“Excuses are doubts hiding in disguise.”Bryan Hutchinson

 

Photo Credit: https://www.facebook.com/1Year1000Challenge

Photo Credit: https://www.facebook.com/1Year1000Challenge

 

What excuses are you (am I) using to hide from your dream? Let’s make a list.

  1. Not enough time.
  2. I don’t have any ideas.
  3. Not enough money.
  4. My Day Job gets in the way of my Dream Job.
  5. I have a family.
  6. I’m too old.
  7. I’m too young.
  8. I don’t have any support from my family and/or friends.

     

Nice list. They all suck. You and I both know these excuses aren’t valid. You and I both know people who have used these excuses at one time or another, and at some point they overcame their excuse.

For me, excuses leave me on the couch. Usually they leave me on the couch watching TV. What a complete waste of time!! Please don’t get me wrong, TV can provide great entertainment. The problem I have with TV is the mindless hours spent simply watching whatever is on. As much as I love watching Jason Bourne in action, do I really need to see one of the Bourne movies for the 25th time? Probably not.

Here’s how I typically justify TV watching in my own mind. I get home from work at 8:30 on a Monday night. I’ve worked an 11 hour day. I’ve earned myself 3 hours of TV time. Surely I’m too tired and worn out mentally to do anything productive.

Or, how about a Saturday afternoon? Instead of working on a home repair, or going for a bike ride, I justify an afternoon of watching sports by telling myself I need a break. A break? A break from what???

Excuses, excuses, excuses. They run rampant in our lives (at least mine anyway).

So, as I bemoan the lack of available time to write a blog post, write a book, read a book, exercise to lose 40 pounds, spend time reading the Bible and praying, working on my side-hustle to create my Dream Job, etc, I need to remind myself of the quote at the start of this post. I need to think about why I doubt myself and my ability.

I also need to figure out who would be willing to hold me accountable for my actions (or lack of action).

The easy solution for accountability would be to make sure my wife and I are on the same page. I should be sharing my dreams and plans with her. She’s a part of the plan. She should be aware of my progress.

She may get sick of hounding me though. As much as she wants me to succeed, I’m sure she doesn’t want to create more tension in our house.

My suggestion? Find a group of like-minded people who are willing to call you out when you don’t hit the mark on progress toward your goal. They won’t put up with your excuses.

(In a future post I’ll spend some time on how to find these people.)

Do you have a set batch of excuses you use when you don’t accomplish things you want to? What are they? Please share in the comments.

People You Need To Know

For the month of November, I’m working on a project first presented by Jon Acuff. The month-long project is known as “Need To Knowvember”. You can follow along on Twitter and Facebook by searching for the hashtag #NeedToKnowvember.

Each day one person is highlighted. You may or may not already know these people, but the purpose of the post is to promote them to a wider audience and highlight some of the great projects they are working on every day.

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Here are my #NeedToKnowvember people for the first 10 days of the month.

Matt Ham: Perspective To Enrich Your Life

Paul Sohn: Salt & Light – Empowering Christian Leaders Rise To The Top

Chris Theule-Vandam: Western Great Lakes Young Life

Larissa Theule: Fat & Bones Book

Mike Loomis: Launch & Grow Your Dream Project

Abbie Unger: Flight Attendant Career Connection

Kelsey Humphreys: Author-Speaker-Entrepreneur

Amy Campbell: The Red Checker and My Resume Lady

Lisa Anderson: Around The Table

Josh Collins: Experience Architect

Corie Clark: The Simplicity Project

Brandi Goff McElheny: Beauty For Ashes Uganda

 

These folks are dreaming and building and hustling in their lives. They are stepping out to achieve their Big Hairy Audacious Goals!

Do you have a big project you are working on? Share it with us in the comments.