“Success is when the people that know you best, love and respect you the most.” -John Maxwell

I was listening to an interesting leadership lesson the other day by John Maxwell called, “Leadership Off the Wall.” The entire lesson was about things leaders keep in their office to motivate themselves.

One leader had a sign in his home office that read, “You are Home, You Have Arrived”

What a great reminder to come home to. We spend so much of our lives trying to become something to the outside world, when true success is having people who know us intimately love and respect us the most.

When I meet with business men and people who travel a lot, I always ask them about what it is like to travel the world. I always anticipate them telling me how great, however, their response is almost unanimous every time, “Bubba, you can travel the world and you will learn quickly that there’s no place like home. If you can’t travel and experience the world with the people you love most, it’s not worth it.”

John went on to tell a story of when he was on a plane and someone asked him where home was. He pointed to his wife, Margaret, and said, “Wherever she is, that’s home. If she’s not there, it’s not home.” That sums it up doesn’t it?

These lessons will always be a priority check for me. I am preparing to lead my life and family in a way that they always know they are my top priority. I never want Laura to have to second guess that she is way more important to me than ministry, networking, work, or other friendships.

As you go home today, I hope this post will serve you as a simple reminder:

You are Home, You Have Arrived.

Thoughts?

In reflecting on life recently, the only conclusion I can come to is: I thank God for my life.

I think that is an attitude we should all have as we go throughout life. So much of our life is what we make of it. It’s about our attitude. It’s about our choices. There are going to be ups and downs. There are going to be trials and tests. There are going to be tough times. But in spite of all of that, we get to live our lives.

We get to experience so much everyday that we take for granted.We get to have a relationship with God, travel, have great relationships, have bad relationships, go to school, go on vacations, go after our dreams, have crushes, get disappointed, fall in love, experience success, experience failure, go to family picnics, go to high school reunions, take classes to improve, interact on Facebook and twitter, go to church, serve our communities, network, listen to music, exercise, eat great food, smell flowers, see wildlife, shop, drive, watch great movies, you could go on forever on everything we can experience in life.

Life is Beautiful

The bottom line is: Our lives is where the action is. This is the only time in history that we get to live. The people we come in contact with, we may never come in contact with again. This is where we get to dream big and go for it. Everything here is a once in a lifetime experience. Enjoy the journey. Go after your dreams. Take nothing for granted. Realize that there is hope in the midst of any situation you may be in. Keep going. Don’t quit. Don’t get discouraged. When life is bad, realize it will get better.

Live your life for Everything it’s Worth.

Thoughts?

The other day I was on the phone with my good friend, Dan Herod. He is a great friend who lives in Wisconsin. We have a monthly phone appointment where we talk life and ministry together!

He was encouraging me in the fact that God has allowed me to have some pretty awesome experiences. He brought up one specifically in which I got to spend time and work with someone significant. I laughed and said, “Man, that wasn’t a big deal, I didn’t really do anything.”

My attitude when I said that conveyed that I didn’t think I deserved to get that experience, and that I didn’t think I made much of a difference in the situation.

Without hesitation, Dan said,”Bubba, don’t you dare downplay that man! God gave you that experience and you were a huge blessing. Don’t down play the experiences God gives you and the people he allows you to be around. Ever! God believes in you Bubba and He is going to continue to give you opportunities and experiences like that as long as you quit downplaying everything He does in your life!”

Bam! That was a slap directly in my face! That conversation has really helped me a lot in the past month. It made me realize how good God has been to me. Instead of downplaying the great experiences and opportunities He’s allowed me to have out of insecurity, I can now turn my downplaying into gratitude.

What experiences and opportunities has God given you that you’re downplaying?

Maybe it’s the job you have. Maybe it’s the mentors or teachers you’ve had. Maybe it’s a special project you got picked for. Maybe it’s the family he has allowed you to be in.

Whatever experiences and opportunities God’s given you, be grateful. Don’t downplay the goodness of God in your life!