Special Speech

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us– whatever we ask– we know that we have what we asked of him.”
I John 5:14-15

It is easy to become frustrated when we are restless, rather than recognizing this can be an indication that we are to move on with our lives, or that we are to find new endeavors. We “fight” this feeling, rather than embracing it for what it is. You may find you are at a time in your life where you aren’t satisfied with where you are, but you don’t know what to do. Why not turn that frustration into a search for a dream that can give your life meaning and joy?

Connecting Purpose and Passion
Dreams connected to your life purpose will be in alignment with who you really are. You won’t find yourself asking, “Isn’t there more to life than this?” Your activities will have passion behind them— something that may be lacking in your activities and work right now. It is interesting to hear from some men who have included passion in their work!

Andrew Harrison, in an article entitled The Seeker, published in Worthwhile Magazine, talked about his search to find a sense of purpose. He resigned from a sales job that paid him well. His boss tried to talk him out of it; his friends didn’t understand his vision; his parents were confused; his “salesman brother and MBA sister” had their concerns and doubts. (I might add these were probably all well meaning people, but they were trying to decide what was best for Andrew. And, they didn’t have to live his life, or answer for it.) However, Andrew wanted to take action! He had felt the restlessness that we have talked about.

Andrew decided to “talk with as many people as I could about their career path, life experiences, and what advice they’d have for people who were searching like me. I would seek out people who liked what they did or worked in a field that interested me. I would become… a seeker.” He embarked on a cross-country life journey. “It was a sad morning as I left so many people behind, but once I hit the open road my energy was at an all time high. I was back! I felt like an explorer going into uncharted waters.”

One person Andrew talked with was a man who is a consultant/branding expert. This man commented, “The best class I ever took at Harvard Business School was Self-assessment and Career Development, figuring out what motivates me and what doesn’t.”
Andrew decided, “if Harvard is teaching their students how to find passion, there must be something to it.”

What is the bottom line in Andrew’s adventure? He is very content doing writing, speaking, and chronicling his travels. He feels strongly that people need to find their passion, to learn how others have done it, and to know that it is attainable.

Finding Meaningful “Work”
Where does this leave you? Can you not only find your God-given heart passions, but find the dream that could fulfill them? God has placed these passions within you to fulfill His purposes for your life. That is what is especially exciting.

What are some things you could do? Taking an example from Andrew, you could:

• make sure you are following your heart’s path; make passion the barometer to assess your life;
• talk with others who may be helpful, but always sift their advice/suggestions to make sure it resonates within you; don’t look to external influences to make your decision;
• decide some action steps you could take to get yourself off dead center, even if they are baby steps; Do something!
• create your own passion opportunities;
• have patience, and realize there will probably be some sacrifices you will have to make;

Stedman Graham, (sometimes referred to as “Oprah Winfrey’s boyfriend” by the media, but definitely a dynamic person in his own right), states: “The first step is centered around lovewhat you love to do, what you are passionate about, what is your strength.” He understands that when your talents and passions match, you will be richly rewarded. If you haven’t yet discovered what can accomplish that for you, start to take that journey of discovery today.

You might start by looking at your deepest heart desires and asking what paths they might suggest. You could make a list of desires in one column, separating out the stronger ones from the lesser ones, and “heart opportunities” in another column. Look for the desires and opportunity/activity that “won’t let go.” When you leave those desires, you lose your interest. When you return to them, your motivation returns.

Following New Paths
Be careful not to let logic and excuses get in the way. This could mean allowing yourself to be limited by your present circumstances or experience. (I would never have written two books if I had followed logic alone, mainly because I had never done that before.) You may be being led into uncharted waters. A personal “calling” is a matter of not just doing what you are, but what you are called of God to be. It implies going forward in faith to become that person.

Bring your seed desires to God. Ask that they be watered and grow in accordance with His will. Remember, a God-given dream will always be bigger than you are, to ensure a dependency on God. This also ensures that when fulfillment comes, you will know that it came from somewhere beyond yourself.

Happy dream journey,

Judy Peterson

©Copyright 2006 - Judy Peterson. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve all heard the saying that “talk is cheap.” In fact we’ve heard it so often it’s become a cliché. Like most cliché’s the law of familiarity has set in and keeps us from actually absorbing the true meaning of the phrase. We’ve grown so tired of hearing it that we don’t really listen to it anymore. The fact remains that talk is cheap. It is easy to talk about things and most people do. In fact most people “talk a great game” on a regular basis. The difference in people, however, is not in what they say they will do but in what they actually do.

We don’t really judge people by what they say but rather by what they do. We judge people by their behaviour and by their actions. The reason for this is that deep down inside we all know that words have no real power to create anything in itself. It is only when the words are backed up by action that you have the power to create any real results. The ironic thing is that although most of us know this we get caught up in accumulating knowledge. We learn something and get really interested in the results we think the information can produce for us. In pursuing the results, we often confuse it with getting more information so we end up gathering and accumulation tons of information and knowledge without producing the result we wanted in the first place.

The proper fruit of knowledge is action. It is true that gaining knowledge can make us feel more capable but knowledge in itself will not produce the results we really desire. One of the biggest myths that is prevalent in the information age is the notion that knowledge is power. Knowledge is not power. It is only potential power. What you do with what you know is where the real power is. The difference in people comes in what they have done differently from someone else with the same information. The reality of the world we live in is that information on almost anything is freely available to anyone, quite literally at the push of a button.

Even though you have all the information at your fingertips, still, the most valuable resource you have to create results in your life is your ability to take action. An action always produces a result. When you take action you bring an idea into effect and you use your will to do something to achieve a specific purpose. When you do this you actually create in the true sense of the word as you turn an idea into reality; you express something that was internal on the outside. Every action is a cause set in motion and for every cause there is an effect and it is the effects or results that we are all really interested in. You don’t want to know that you can be wealthy. You want to experience it by seeing and touching it and the real satisfaction comes from turning your ideas into reality.

There is a big difference between knowing what to do and doing what you know. Most people know what to do to be able to make their lives work but knowing just isn’t enough - we must act and use what we know. Something intangible happens when you take action on an idea. You set in motion a series of events, events that you don’t always know the full consequences of. Like throwing a stone in a pond, the ripple effect of the water affects the whole pond and moves everything that is in or on the pond. This illustrates how a single action can have a significant impact even if you aren’t always aware of it. On a more practical and tangible level you start getting feedback from your actions and you learn things that you can only learn as a result of your actions. These are things you simply cannot learn from merely listening to others or reading books.

Think of your knowledge and ideas as an elastic band. It has the ability to be stretched, but until and unless you stretch it you are not using it for its real purpose. Information is usually something external. When you learn it you transform it into knowledge and when you act on it, it becomes part of your life. To truly experience anything in life you must take action. Knowing simply isn’t enough. We all want to feel and this only comes from engaging “all of you” - by engaging all of your senses to experience the fullness of life in all its abundance.

It doesn’t take many ideas to change something in your life. Neither does it take a complicated idea. It takes ideas that you can use and act upon to give you what you really want. Rarely is it the information or ideas that you really want as it is almost always only the means to an end. What you truly want is results and this will only come from using what you know. Don’t get caught in the flood of information and knowledge. Start to focus your mind on action and on applying ideas instead of accumulating them. Slowly feed yourself more information and knowledge, but let your actions be your ultimate guide. After all it is not what you say you will do but what you actually do that will determine the quality of your life and what you achieve or fail to achieve.

Deon Du Plessis is the creator of A Course of Action, a FREE e-Course designed to empower you to break through your limitations, Take Action and transform your ideas into reality. Visit The Self Improvement Gym for more self improvement and personal development insights and resources.