This is an excerpt from a video teaching by John Maxwell that I watch on a consistent basis to remind me that the bigger I dream, the bigger the price I’ll have to pay to make my dreams happen. I hope it encourages you and challenges you to give up to go up!

“The problem is never having the dream. That’s why I’m never impressed when people say, “Well, I have a dream” So does everyone, you go to sleep and you get one. I’m really not impressed with your dream. “Well, I’ve written out my goals.” That’s wonderful. That means you had a little time and a legal pad and a computer.

What really impresses me is not your dream. What really impresses me is when you show me how you’re going to pay for it. What really impresses me is how you are going to get there. You start telling me the price you’re going to pay, the hours you’re going to give up, the relationships you won’t have, the money you will spend, the time, energy, and effort.

Everything has a price. The bigger the dream, the higher the payment. Small dreams, small prices. Big dream, big prices… Any person that got to the top, paid a price to get there. The higher you go, the greater the price. The price isn’t much at the bottom.

When people start off in life and say, “I gave up everything.” I say, big deal, you had nothing. That means you gave up a coffee table and an old tv. I’m never impressed with people who give up in the beginning, because they didn’t have much to give up.

What really impresses me is when you have something and you give it up. I am impressed by what you willingly give up, to go to another level” -John C. Maxwell

What are some of your dreams?
What are some of the things you’re going to have to give up to make them happen?

Thoughts?

“Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us.” ~Philemon 1:11

Have you ever felt like you can’t cut it? That you’re not good enough? That you’ll never be where you’re supposed to be? I know I have.

Be encouraged with this today: No matter where you are in your life right now, you can get better. You can become better equipped, more qualified, and more useful. You can become a better spouse, a better worker, a better servant, a better writer, and even get in better shape. Honestly, if you can name it, you can get better at it.

How can you get better? Try a few of these:

Ask someone that you look up to to mentor you.

Take a class.

Learn a new skill.

Join a club or organization in your area of interest.

Start leading something.

Ask your boss how you could do a better job.

Start going to church.

Start serving in your church.

Serve at a non-profit.

Go to counseling.

Go back to school.

Read books for personal growth.

Listen to leadership and business audio podcasts and mp3′s.

Mentor someone.

Start a blog.

Write everyday.

Journal.

Make a daily to do list.

Start a business.

Start a network.

Look for opportunities to get involved in areas that you are passionate about.

You’ll only get better if you choose to get better. Maybe it’s true, maybe you haven’t been as useful as you could have been in the past. That’s ok, you can be more useful today than you were yesterday. If you’ll choose everyday to get better, one day you’ll be better than you ever thought you would be.

When that day comes, people that once thought you weren’t of much use, will take note of of how much you’ve grown and you will be in a position to help them in ways you never could before. All because you chose to get better!

“Never substitute your identity with your geography” -James MacDonald

I was listening to Jame’s Macdonald’s series on Identity on his Walk in the Word program last week when he said, “Never substitute your identity with your geography.” That statement moved me.

So often we find our identity in our geography. I work at _________. I went to _________. I’m married to _____________. I go to ______________. I hang out with _____________. I live __________.

Well, that’s great. Until whatever you find your identity ceases to exist. You lose your job. Your kids grow up and move out. Where you went to school doesn’t help you anymore. The people you pride yourself on knowing don’t help you impress the people you’re trying to impress.

In my life, finding my identity in the wrong places has been the source to some of my greatest struggles. You don’t realize how much your identity is wrapped up in something until it’s no longer a part of your life. That’s when you really find out where you find where your security comes from and what your identity is really rooted in.

If you are finding your identity in where you work, what you’re a part of, your current role, or who you know, realize that all of these things can only provide temporary security and none of them will last forever.

Ask yourself, if I lost everything I pride myself on today, would I be ok? If you wouldn’t, your finding your identity in the wrong place.

James finished his message on finding your identity with this verse:

This is my command be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go! -Joshua 1:9

God is with us wherever we go. That is where we need to find our identity, security, value, and worth. We need to rest in this truth.

No matter what job, No matter what role I am in, no matter who I know, no matter where I go, no matter what I am a part of, no matter what happens in my life, God is with me.

I don’t think anything can give us more security in who we are than that.

As you go through life, never forget that God is with you WHEREVER you go.