Happy 2014 My ASPIRING Friends!

A few days before the New Year, I began to reflect on my failures, successes and lessons learned in 2013.  As I began preparing and planning for 2014, I reviewed my goals and made the necessary adjustments.  Upon finalizing my goals, I felt pretty good…UNTIL…my conference call with Paul Martinelli, president of the John Maxwell Team.

On the first conference call of the New Year, Saturday, January 4, Paul addressed some of the issues we encounter when establishing goals.  When Paul said, “we have a tendency to lower our goals to what we think we can achieve,” an alarm went off in my head.  Immediately, I became aware of how I’ve been limiting my growth.  Consciously, I believed that I was establishing big, audacious and “knee shaking” goals.  However, I now realize that I was creating goals based on my current conditions, what I believed I could achieve.  Let me ask you, “When was the last time you created a goal that seemed unattainable, impossible or unimaginable?”  Can you imagine the level of transformation you would undergo as you strive to reach this type of goal? 

As someone that is committed to aspiring to greatness, I truly believed that I was setting goals that would stretch me and push me beyond my comfort zone.  However, during the call I realized that while many of my goals push me outside of my comfort zone, they’re not FAR beyond my comfort zone. After the call, I decided that I would establish what I have termed, “Unimaginable Goals.”  These are the goals that I dream about, but keep them as dreams, because I feel that I either do not possess the skills, intelligence, knowledge and/or resources to make it happen.  So, with these goals, the tendency is to place them on a list titled “The Wish List.” These are the goals we keep tucked away until we can “see” a way to make it happen.

Well, thanks to Joyce, one of my John Maxwell Team members, I have a new strategy! She said something so simple, yet profound.  Her life changing words were, “When I create goals that are impossible to meet, I delegate them to God.”  In that moment, I thought of the dozens of times I have spoken, trained or ministered on the topic, “The Power of Vision.”  Each time I have spoken on this subject, I have said, “God will never give us a vision and not make provision.  The HOW is not our problem, but God’s.  He will never give us an idea and not equip us to manifest it.”  Just a side note, while I consciously believe this, apparently there is some reprogramming that must be done in my subconscious mind.  Hence, the power of awareness.  Now, back to the topic at hand :).

So, here’s what I have decided to do in 2014.  I will create “knee shaking,” impossible goals, and delegate them to God.  At the appointed time, he will provide EVERYTHING that is needed to accomplish the goal.  But, here’s what I’m most excited about, NOT accomplishing the goal, but who I become on my journey to accomplishing the “knee shaking” goal. For the goals that I did not “fully” accomplish in 2013, I can truly say that in my pursuit of the goal, I have grown in courage, wisdom and faith.  Just imagine how these types of goals will stretch and develop you on a personal, professional and spiritual level.  I know you have “knee shaking” goals that are tucked away in the back of your mind; which you only visit in your dreams. Well, today, I invite you to take this journey with me.  So, review and revise your goal list.  Whatever you can take massive action on now, do it today!  For the “knee shaking” goals, delegate them to God.  If you exercise faith and courage in the attainment of these goals, I believe that God will step in and make the impossible, POSSIBLE.

It’s time for you to Live. Do. Be. Think. HIGHER!

Let’s ASPIRE TO GREATNESS together!