Last week I listened to this message by Mark Driscoll from the 2011 Newspring Leadership Conference. It is one of the most important messages I have ever listened to. I will be listening to this over and over again.

If you’re married or plan to be one day, if you’re in ministry, or if you find yourself chasing success and idolizing people, you need to watch this message!

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Live a life that can only be explained by the words: “Only God”

Do you remember being a teenager and seeing a pretty girl with a guy and the first thought that came to your mind was, “How the heck did he get her?” Or as you started growing up you see what some people do with their lives and you ask, “How did that person become so successful?” “How do they get to travel everywhere?” “How did they make so much money?” “How did they get a husband or wife like that?”

I’ve made it a habit in life to ask How. When I meet people that I view as successful, I always ask them how they did it.  “How did you…find such an awesome spouse? Make so much money? Become so successful? Raise such a good family?”

The answer I get 99% of the time: I pursued a relationship with God and listened to Him.

The most successful people I know and have met, give God all the credit for where they are in their life. They don’t give God credit because it’s “the thing to do or say” they give God credit because that is the only answer that can explain the life they get to live.

People that knew me in high school ask me, “How did you get such an awesome fiancé? How have you gotten away from drinking, drugs, etc.? How have you gotten to travel to some pretty cool places?” My answer: I started pursuing God with everything in me.

A lot of times, that answer is too simple for people. It puzzles them. They want specifics. They want to believe it was something else. Sooner or later though, they will have to choose whether or not they want to try out this whole God thing.

If they’ll choose to pursue God genuinely, they’ll find Him, and their lives will never be the same. If they choose not to pursue God, they’ll miss out on the best life they could be living.

Start pursuing God with everything in you today. If you don’t know what that looks like, ask someone who does. Give your plans, goals, dreams, and your life to Him. Trust me, He has Bigger and better plans, dreams, and goals for your life than anything you could come up with on your own.

If you’ll pursue God, one day people will come to you and say,”How did you….” and the only possible answer you can give will be: God.

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. -John 15:8

Do you procrastinate? I know I do. I could never figure out why. I would always wait until the last possible moment to study for a test, to write a paper, to . . . you name it. Recently I heard a law that changed everything. Parkinson’s Law.

Parkinson’s Law states: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

In other words. If I give you a month to write a paper for me, it will take you a month to write the paper. If I give you 24 hours to write a paper, it will take you 24 hours to write the paper. It’s the deadline that motivates you to action on long term projects.

As a result of learning this law, I’m starting to set a lot more deadlines. I’ll set more deadlines for the people I lead. We will accomplish a lot more. I’m excited.

In John 15, God says it pleases Him when we bear much fruit. I believe the more deadlines we set in our lives, the more we will accomplish in life.

I’d encourage you to set some deadlines on big goals you have and share them with someone who will hold you to that deadline. If you’ll do that on a consistent basis, you’ll start accomplishing so much more!

So, what deadlines do you need to set this week? This month? This year?