Inspiration

I’d like to invite you to join me in my sandbox.

You may be asking “What does he mean by “sandbox”? Good question. Lemme ‘splain.

My sandbox is this. Yep. This. Right here on this page. But it is more than this page. So much more. My sandbox is HUGE! Well, my future sandbox is huge. Right here on this page it is small. But it is growing. You are helping it grow. Every time I post here, and every time you read what I’m writing, and then share it with your friends and co-workers, you are helping it grow. (So don’t hesitate to tweet, share, link, etc.)

Why do I want it to grow? Wow. Another great question.
I want it to grow because I feel led to share what I have accumulated. I want to pour into you and help you grow your own sandbox. I believe I have been uniquely prepared for this moment. Uniquely prepared to work with and encourage you as your personal journey to awesome continues. Did you know that you are on a journey to your personal awesome? Did you forget? Do you have a dream that you put aside last year? Maybe you put it aside or buried it a long time ago. What happened to that dream? Why did you leave it in the attic to collect dust? I believe if you are true to yourself, you will find your dream again. You just need to go looking for it.

So I’m opening up the gate into my backyard, and I’m inviting you to join me in my sandbox. I have some great tools with me in my sandbox. May I share them with you? God placed these tools in my life. Many times I wondered why, but now I know. I’ve been carrying these tools around so that I can share them with you. We are going to do some digging and building in the sandbox.

Some of my tools.
Relational Selling – I have been selling vehicles for more than 16 years. I do not fit the well-worn car salesman stereo type.
A Listening Ear – Yep. Really. I have been blessed with the ability to listen to you share your personal story.
Compassion and Understanding – This particular tool ties in to the listening ear. I want to walk beside you on your journey.
Reading – I have a passion for reading. As my sandbox becomes larger I’ll share my favorite books and blogs with you.

These are only a selection of my tools. I’ll share more as we go along. I’ve acquired these tools over the years through times of debilitating pain, immense joy, hard work and simple blessing. Every single day God has been refining my tools and adding to my collection.

I plan to use these tools to talk with you about cars (I’m not a “car guy”, but I love cars.), selling (how I sell and my personal philosophy on selling), Depression and ADHD, my life as a husband/dad/son/brother, baseball and so much more.

But, my message isn’t about cars or selling or ADHD or Depression or my family. My message is about my story. My story is about leadership and success and encouragement. I’m going to share stories with you. Stories about what I have mastered in my life. Stories about what still needs to be mastered. I want to share with you all that I can give.

Please join me in my sandbox.

As the statement on the header tells you, this blog is about a few things.

Inspiration
Encouragement
Journey
Awesome

As I’ve been recovering from shoulder surgery for the past week, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the first word: Inspiration.

We all like to be inspired. We like to hear about the great things people have done. The heroic and super-human always seem to be the most well liked. We also look for inspiration to start our day, continue in our jobs, complete projects, etc.
But I’m wondering if we know what inspiration is? Here’s what I found in the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.

Definition of INSPIRATION

1
a : a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation
b : the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions
c : the act of influencing or suggesting opinions
2
: the act of drawing in; specifically : the drawing of air into the lungs
3
a : the quality or state of being inspired
b : something that is inspired
4
: an inspiring agent or influence
— in·spi·ra·tion·al adjective
— in·spi·ra·tion·al·ly adverb

Which one resonates with your current definition?

On a couple of social media sites I recently asked people what inspires them. The answers ranged from mountains to art to nature, etc. My answer was “my wife”. I said this because she is a full-time RN and is taking classes towards another nursing related degree.

As I’ve been pondering the word “inspiration” I discovered I’ve been asking the wrong question. I should be asking, “What are you doing to be an inspiration?”

I’m going to latch onto the 4th definition from the options above. I want to be “an inspiring AGENT or INFLUENCE.”

So, the new question is, “What have you done (are doing) to be an inspiration?”

Look at what you can give instead of take.

Tag Archives: Inspiration

My Sandbox