A journal entry to the start of 2018.
Capturing the journeys steps to ‘Success’.
I would like to use a football analogy to paint a picture for you and share where I was and where I believe I am now in my writing endeavor.
Then I would like to share two topics with you that I am formulating as my personal philosophy. They will not be complete, or rather, not concrete, but I truly believe in them and will be working on them in 2018.
If my life was a football field two years ago I would have been pinned back at my own six inch line about ready to fall off the ledge.
Having the good Lord as my quarterback though has provided me with a few good plays so far…
- he placed a gentleman in my life who was willing to teach me how to be a writer – in football lingo we hit a little dink pass out on the flat to the half back to get off the line and get some breathing room, He gave me life.
- I started writing daily, learning, testing the defense – football is a running game and so in football terms we ran to the right a few times, we ran to the left a few times and we tried up the middle, grinding it out and before you knew it He had us using most of the play book but nothing fancy, just good old determination and hard work.
- He challenged me to write a book, I did, ‘Killing Suicide’ – solid ‘First Down!’
- Sticking to the running game I was approaching a milestone – 200 posts on my website.
- It worked once, run it again, book number two completed by the end of December 2017, ‘When We Were Lions’ – another ‘First Down!’.
- Sticking to the fundamentals of the game and working with an inexperienced teammate the Lord was able to get me out of a hole and moving down field right before the half, and there it is, with time running out, BANG! Paid author, ‘Touchdown!’, I received my first income check from selling some books.
- Coming into the new year for me is like going into half time with the lead – First half stats, Website up, writing daily, posting often, 2 books done, bank account set up, received payment…
- At half time the coach usually has some adjustments, here are some of mine for 2018
- Continue meeting with mentor group on Thursday
- Have asked a President/CEO for personal mentoring meetings to discuss ‘How to Market a Man’.
- Set goal of 5 books completed by the end of April.
- Have reached 200 post milestone on website
- Research paid writing gigs – find one company to submit an original blog post to for payment by the end of Jan.
- Exercise needs to be for a specific reason – choose boxing.
- Diet for health and to help boxing.
- And other assorted daily successful steps to do everyday inching towards the end zone.
As a man I am working on two ideas. Using successful steps I’ve learned from others to get this far I now am at a point where I want to formulate my own perspective.
One: The word ‘GOAL’. I think we are taught wrong on what that means. People say, “Set the goal”, “Strive for your goal”, and I think the most erring is… “Keep your eye on the goal.”
My take is this.
The ‘GOAL’ doesn’t move. The goals of life are already set in place. Like being a fireman, police officer, factory worker, doctor or lawyer or whatever, they are defined and set and do not move. Like Jesus.
We need to move.
The first thing to determine, our first action, needs to be what playing field do we want to play on??? Laborer, Chef, Loader Operator, Business Administrator, Professional Licensed Massage Therapist, Butcher, Baker or Candle stick maker.
That is the first hard question isn’t it?
I just watched a video interview with Sophie Lizard and Danny Iny. During the conversation Mr. Iny stated, “The answers are easy. It’s asking the correct and sometimes hard questions that are hard.”
I believe that.
If you choose Basketball you won’t show up wearing Hockey skates and who has ever heard of a football bat??
Case in point. I’ve decided on learning Boxing as a 2018 exercise goal. I have talked with a gentleman who is willing to teach me. Now it will be an easy answer as to what equipment I need and what exercises I need to focus on in order to hit my coaches stated goal which is, “I want you to look like a boxer.” Okay.
Two: Is a bit more philosophical. You heard of Zen haven’t you? Zen Buddhism, The Zen of Archery and Zen Meditation, etc. etc.
My thought is we need more of ‘The Zen of Oneself’.
I’m not talking about sinful selfishness or things like identifying yourself as your job, it’s deeper than that. It came to me the other day as I was writing. I know some of my Christian friends and especially my training pastor will be really nervous about me talking about Zen anything. I actually think the bible asks the question very pointedly.
I believe we need to honestly evaluate our self. We have so many layers to ourselves that I know we really don’t know who we are and sometimes the person we do know, we don’t like very much.
I have been looking at myself as I go on this journey of ‘The Emerging Man Chronicles’.
The bible… well actually, a demon in the bible asks the question, here is the verse. Until next time.
Acts 19:11-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
“11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus in whom Paul preaches.”
14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”
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