Archives For Terry Hadaway

Choose contentment, not complacency

August 9, 2012 — 1 Comment

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“We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without.”
― Immanuel Kant

We have a tendency to confuse contentment and complacency. Contentment is the state of being satisfied or possessing peace of mind. Complacency is being unaware of a potential danger. Contentment is desired. Complacency is dangerous.

It is interesting, however, that complacency seems to be more common than contentment. People today demonstrate complacency regarding many areas of life. Yet, a person who is content is like a unicorn… rare and dangerous! What makes a content person dangerous? Consider the following characteristics.

  • Content people prove that  quality of life has nothing to do with possessions, popularity, prestige, etc. People who are content don’t need the latest fashions and probably won’t buy new furniture before inviting you to dinner. They are comfortable being who they are and are not concerned with impressing anyone.
  • Content people defy modern marketing strategies. Since they are content, they don’t need the latest, greatest, most amazing gadget. They might be carrying a flip phone and it could take them 10 minutes to send a text. That’s OK because they prefer face to face conversation in a relaxed atmosphere, anyway.
  • Content people give. They give their time and resources because they aren’t drowning in debt incurred buying things they didn’t need to impress people they don’t know. They have margin in their lives and they realize that real meaning happens in the margins.
  • Content people put pressure on the rest of us to reevaluate our lives. A truly content person exudes an energy and vibrancy that can’t be obtained through other means. Content people remind complacent people that it is possible to live a life that matters today and in the years to come.

Complacency is a social disease. Contentment is the cure. Are you one of the sick or a healer? Think about it!

In what areas of life are you complacent? How would true contentment affect your attitude toward your everyday life?

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Making course corrections

August 8, 2012 — Leave a comment

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Navigators understand that the line between the originating port and the destination is straight only on the navigational charts. The process of moving from point A to point B is really a series of minor course corrections. As the vessel encounters wind and waves, its orientation can be skewed. The navigator has the job of correcting the ship and keeping it on its intended course.

Doesn’t that describe life? We see the goal or the destination but life skews our orientation and knocks us off track. It’s easy to lose sight of the destination all together. That’s when life becomes chaotic and confusing. With the destination out of sight, we focus on the path. When we find it, however, we often are facing the wrong direction. What we perceive as progress is really retreat. Meanwhile, the days and years tick by.

The key to making course corrections is knowing the destination, not the path. The path to your future probably won’t look anything like you expect. Life will happen. Kids will get sick. Jobs will evaporate. Relationships will demand attention. Those events require course corrections.

Keep your eyes fixed on your why and live so that you are making a difference today and in the years to come. When we focus on the path, we quickly become disoriented. Think about it.

What course corrections have you made? How do you keep your eyes on the goal?

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You can’t plan a trip without knowing where you are

August 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

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There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way.” | C.S. Lewis

When it comes to planning a trip, it is senseless to identify a destination without also pinpointing an originating location. The same is true in our lives. If we know where we want to go, but don’t know where we are, getting to the destination will be little more than trial and error.

When consulting a map, you typically identify your current location and then trace a path to the desired destination. What would happen if you approached life with that same strategy? Would things be any different? How would you describe your current situation?

Many adults live in denial about where they are because acknowledging the truth would pressure them to make some changes. Psychologists have discovered that people who fear the unknown will rationalize staying in unpleasant situations. Why? The discomfort of the present is less scary than the pursuit of something different.

That’s why so many people today live for the end of the day or the end of the week. They count down the days until their next vacation or the years until retirement. This isn’t the American Dream; it’s a nightmare! We all know people who were miserable in jobs in which they invested decades of their lives. They lived for the moment they could stop doing what they hated. How many years did they waste? What could they have done if they had been honest about where they were and decided to pursue living their whys?

The statement from C.S. Lewis (at the beginning of this post) is correct. There are two kinds of people. There are those who want to live up to their God-given potential and those who want life on their terms. Which one are you? Think about it.

Where are you right now? What is the first step toward identifying and living your why?

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LYW_front_smallLive Your Why will help you identify and pursue your real purpose in life. The book will help you think differently about your life and the Discovery Guide (in the back of the book) will guide your thinking processes. Don’t waste another day wondering what your life could become. Let Live Your Why help you take the next step. CLICK HERE for more information.

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Between trophies and dreams

August 2, 2012 — Leave a comment

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Trophies represent something that previously happened. They commemorate experiences in the recent or distant past. Dreams, on the other hand, are those things that we hope to achieve someday. So, what’s between trophies and dreams? Today.

We can get so focused on our trophies that we live life in reverse. People and organizations do that all the time. They remember days when things were better and they try to recreate those experiences. They believe that recreating the past is better than moving toward an unknown future.

We also can get so focused on our dreams that we overlook our present realities. We have a picture of the future that we believe can become a reality someday. People in this frame of mind can easily ignore today’s responsibilities because their hyper-focus on their dreams is distracting them.

Somewhere between our trophies and our dreams is a reality in which you and I must live. We can’t escape it. We can’t go back and alter past experiences. Neither can we fast forward to the future to avoid the present. We must live it one moment at a time.

So, what are you doing with the moments you have? It’s great to learn from experiences and to develop goals that motivate you, but what about today? Are you investing your life in someone else? Are you looking for ways to motivate someone to achieve his or her goals? Are you cheering on others or listening for applause?

You’ll never become something in the future that you aren’t becoming right now. Live your why today and you’ll get to live your why in the days to come. Put off living your why until later and you’ll never live it. Life has taught me that later never arrives early. Think about it.

What are you doing to live your why today?

Tired of wondering what you want to be when you grow up? Live Your Why can help. This book and discovery guide will help you identify your why and develop a plan to live it. You can learn more about it by clicking here.

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Get your life in motion

August 1, 2012 — 3 Comments

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Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside force. That’s true about objects and people.

If your life is paused while you wait for whatever is next, it will remain paused unless an external force is applied. In our lives, this might be called motivation. Without it, we will keep reliving the present. With it, we can accomplish things we never thought possible. The choice is ours.

Why would anyone resist the motivation to pursue the best possible path toward the future? Fear. Complacency. Laziness. When we predetermine a course of action, we will create a rationale that supports it. Even the most ridiculous excuses begin to make sense.

The first step toward pursuing your why is mustering up the motivation to go for it. Some will doubt you. Some will discourage you. Some will try to convince you that a lesser goal is more attainable, and therefore, preferred.

In a society in which everyone gets a trophy, the goals are often lowered and mediocrity becomes the norm. You might have been in a class where the teacher graded on a curve. That system rewards mediocrity and pressures those who are excellent to aim low.

We’ve carried the grading on a curve mentality into other aspects of life. Excellence has been redefined in terms that used to refer to average. Those who dare to pursue true excellence will face self-inflicted objections as well as resistance from the outside.

We can’t allow ourselves to accept average as excellent. We must reclaim a vision for our lives and see our potential from the viewpoint of our Creator. We were created to leave a mark on the world, but not a pencil mark that is easily erased. Think about it!

What mark do you want your life to make? What are you doing to pursue your why?

Live Your Why is now available from the Live Your Why store. This 160-page book (including the Discovery Guide) will walk you through a process that will help you identify your purpose in life and then set out to live it. If you are tired of mediocrity, Live Your Why is the place to start! Click here for more information.

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Your brain is playing mind games

July 31, 2012 — 2 Comments

1376046_16267722Research about the brain is fascinating. A recent Lifehacker article pointed out some of the tricks the brain plays on us. These tricks can interfere with progress and reduce our daily productivity.

For instance, our brains often trick us into believing that busy work is the same as productive, measurable work. John Bargh concluded that our minds love robotic activity that mimics other people. When we convince ourselves that we are busy, we can excuse ourselves from pursuing important tasks.

This is a common obstacle for people who want to discover and pursue their whys. They mistake being busy for making progress, but the two are not the same. Only through retrospect do they discover how much time they actually waste each day. So, how can you overcome the mind games your brain is playing?

You need to have a plan against which you can evaluate your progress and determine the viability of a possible action. As you begin to determine and pursue your why, you will find yourself fighting your mind’s natural tendency to do what you’ve always done.

There is a difference between visualizing living your why and fantasizing about it. When you fantasize, your mind responds as if you’ve already achieved the goal. This can shut down progress and work against you. When you visualize living your why, you stay motivated to pursue it. Visualize your why!

Your mind is both the greatest asset and the greatest liability to determining and living your why. Harness its power and keep moving toward the future. Otherwise, you’ll keep reliving the past. Think about it.

Is your brain playing mind games? How can you stay focused on your why?

Terry Hadaway’s newest book, Live Your Why, will walk you through a process that will help you discover and live your why. The book and discovery guide will focus your personality, passions, and opportunities in a way that gives you a clearer understanding of the path for your life. Order your copy today!

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Give thinking a try

July 27, 2012 — 1 Comment

948412_11526557Have you ever met people with ulterior motives for the questions they ask? One day I was minding my business at home when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door only to be greeted with a smiling gentleman holding a spray bottle. He greeted me and asked, “Are you particularly fond of the oil stains on your driveway?”

Now, at the time I had a car that could change its own oil. It dumped the dirty oil in my driveway and I poured the clean oil in the engine. I was well aware of the oil slick I was creating, but I had never given much thought to my relationship with it.

I knew the salesman expected me to declare the oil stain to be the ugliest thing I’d ever seen. That would open the door for his sales pitch and leave me with a dilemma—buy the product or be labeled as the strange man with an odd affection for a stain on the concrete.

He had me, so he thought. However, being the fun-loving guy that I am, I decided to have a little fun. So, I responded, “Yes, I am very fond of that oil stain. Thank you for asking.”

That wasn’t the response he anticipated. He was frozen because his next line was predicated on the anticipated response. He looked at me, shook his head side to side, turned, and walked away in search of a neighbor who really hated his oil stain.

Because things didn’t turn out as expected, the salesman was thrown for a loop. He obviously never prepared for any other response. He never asked a “what if” question.

Life often presents unexpected situations. We often make bad decisions when we fail to ask “what if”questions. If we are going to avoid some of the chaos we experience, we must ask more questions in advance and have responses rooted in our unconditional love for God, His Word, and other people. Think about it.

In what situation could you benefit from some “what if” thinking?

The above is an excerpt from What If Thinking by Terry Hadaway. Learn more by clicking here. % ” @

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Build a bridge to your why

July 26, 2012 — Leave a comment

1356646_38970864For the past several months, I’ve written a lot about discovering and living your why. I’ve also been asked a few questions that deserve answers.

What should a person do if they know their why but can’t pursue it right now?

That’s a great question because life doesn’t always afford us the opportunity to drop what we’re doing and head off to a new challenge. The best way to begin pursuing your why is by building a bridge to it.

A bridge to your why will be a series of intentional steps designed to move you closer and closer to living it. This usually will involve creating some margin in your life. So, if you want to build a bridge to your why, give the following a try.

  1. Create some margin by evaluating how you use your time. It might be as simple as adjusting your daily routine. Look for a way to set aside 30 minutes to pursue your why.
  2. Start small by learning more about your why or practicing it. Before you launch fully into your why, you’ll want to make sure it is something you can see yourself doing for a long time.
  3. Gradually increase the time you allot to your why. Make it your goal to double your daily time allocation within three months. Then double it again three months later. If you started with 30 minutes per day, in six months you’ll be spending two hours per day working on your why.

The Discovery Guide that is part of the new Live Your Why book will walk you through a process that will help you not only determine your why, but also work through some real opportunities to live it.

Your why is more than wishful thinking. It is a way for you to have the best possible life. After all, living a mediocre life isn’t a great plan. Think about it!

How can you create some margin in your daily schedule?

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Measure your failures

July 25, 2012 — Leave a comment

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In order to succeed, your desire for success should be
greater than your fear of failure. | Bill Cosby

Failure. The word evokes memories of excitement turned to anguish. No one plans for failure; they plan for success. Failure is what happens before success becomes a reality.

You’re familiar with the story of Thomas Edison’s persistence while inventing the electric light. He is viewed as a success, but he experienced a lot of failure along the way.

Failure is a mean teacher. It has lessons for us to learn and suggestions for a better future, but its homework is almost unbearable. However, if we measure our failures, we will see that they make us stronger and better equipped for the success we desire. So, while we don’t want to fail, we can certainly learn from any failures we experience.

Maybe you are in the midst of something you consider to be a failure. It’s a tough place to be because it pushes your optimism into the dark recesses of your mind. It tries to convince you that you are a failure. Don’t listen to it.

Everyone fails, but not everyone is a failure. A failure is someone who fails and stops trying. Don’t let failing keep you from success. Try again and again. Had Edison given up, we’d be sitting in the dark. If you give up, future generations might never be affected by your ideas. That’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to you. Think about it!

What has failure taught you about success?

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Life, like coffee, is an art

July 24, 2012 — 1 Comment

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Three things you need to know about life and coffee

If you’ve read my blog before, you probably already know that I love coffee. I buy my beans green, roast them myself, brew them in a variety of ways, and enjoy visiting coffee shops that get it right. As a roaster, I know what to watch and listen for. As a consumer, I know what great coffee tastes like. It’s interesting that the three ways to evaluate coffee also are valuable tools when evaluating our lives. Here is some practical advice for life from the viewpoint of a coffee nerd.

Watch. A fulfilling life requires vision. We must be able to see what hasn’t happened so we can work with anticipation. Vision is a reality-based picture of the future. When we have vision, we inspire those around us to live with passion and purpose. So, much like a coffee roaster, watch your life and the direction you’re headed. If you don’t like where the current road ends, change roads!

Listen. It’s possible to have lots of information coming at you and never listen to any of it. Listening isn’t the same as hearing. Listening is active and purposeful. You can learn a lot by listening to other people and to God. Listening puts you in a position to be influenced. So, be careful who you listen to; but, listen to those with something valuable to say.

Taste. This is the experiential part of life. Many people are afraid of the future or of doing anything other than what they’ve always done. An abundant life is full of experiences that add flavor and excitement. An imagined life has no flavor; a real life does. So, live with passion and vitality. Make every day an adventure. Enjoy the nuances of today because you only get to live it once.

Life, like coffee, is an art and you are the artist. Paint your day with joy and live your why. Think about it!

What can you do make today a work of art?

 

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