Heartbeat Radio
Today, I'll Be A Little More Myself
If you've been looking for a good way to make yourself miserable, I've got a suggestion for you, and it's very simple. Just try to be somebody else. Because you'll never be more than a second best somebody else.
Or, if you want to feel good about yourself, just begin to realize that you are a unique, unprecedented, unrepeatable, irreplaceable person. And so is the task you're given to accomplish. There is a place in the world that only you can fill!
Life doesn't need you to be somebody besides just who you are. Life will never ask me: Why weren't you Abraham Lincoln or why weren't you Albert Einstein? No, if I fail, I know the only question I can be asked is: Why weren't you more like Landon Saunders?
So that's my unique task. Every morning, when I get up, I spend a few moments saying to myself: I think today I'll try to be a little more myself.
ARE YOU REALLY LIVING?
A son was describing to his father a somewhat different, risky adventure he was going to launch with his life. Because it was different, he was explaining how he wanted to feel alive. He just wanted to live intensely and, he said, he wasn't afraid of failure.
The father listened, and then said, "Son, I think you're throwing your life away."
The son quietly responded, "Dad, I love you and I've learned a lot from you-and you haven't thrown your life away. In fact, you haven't thrown your life into anything. You've just sort of left the lid off and it's evaporating. Dad, would you tell me that you're really living?"
The father was quiet. You know, nothing has a stronger influence on the life of a child than the unlived life of the parents.
What are you throwing your life into? You're giving your life to something-what is it? Is it worth it? Have you decided on a goal-not just a goal for your career, but a goal for your life?
Now, if you haven't, you're missing a great energy source. Without a goal, your life is like a stone block. You're not going anywhere. Setting a goal for your life means chiseling the corners off that block-you reinvent the wheel!
With a goal, your life begins to roll, and as it rolls, it gains momentum. You've got drive, you've got direction, you've got a dream. You're alive! And even if you take some risks and experience some failure-isn't that better than just sitting there and letting your life evaporate a day at a time?
Take twenty minutes today to write down some possible goals for your life. And do this every day for a week. Then look over your list and choose the one that is most important to you. Choose a goal that you would even be willing to give your life for-because the truth is, you are giving your life for something every day. Let's get some corners chiseled off the block and get things moving again.
Good Question
I have a young friend who applied to five universities and they all accepted him. He needed some help deciding which to attend, so he turned to his dad. Really, his dad raised more questions than he answered. He asked him what he wanted out of life and he finally zeroed in on one question:
"Son, when you graduate from college, what then?"
"Well, I'll get a job."
"And then what?"
"Well, I'll get married, have some kids."
"And then?"
"Well, I guess I'd live a long and happy life."
"And then?"
Finally the boy was frustrated and blurted out: "Then I'll die!"
"And what then?"
Quietly the boy answered, "Good question, dad."
And here's how to answer that question. Think about the things that will be most important to you in your last day on this planet. Then, treat those things as important today.
What Are You Waiting For?
"I hate to tell you what it feels like to know I spent 20 years of my life waiting for something that was never there."
Those were the words of a retired Air Force Colonel. We were flying together on the same plane when he said: "I spent 20 years looking forward to the day I got out, the day I retired. But now that I'm out, it's not what I expected it to be. I hate to tell you what it feels like to know I spent 20 years of my life waiting for something that was never there."
I looked at him for a few moments. He was well-dressed, composed, had a comfortable lifestyle, had attained some success…and still he was feeling this real sense of emptiness. He had spent a lifetime waiting for something that wasn't there. Have you thought about what you're waiting for? Will it be there?
Don't you hate waiting? We head for the express lines in grocery stores. We walk away from restaurants when the lines are too long. At the movies, long lines make us nervous as we worry about having to sit on the front seat. We hate to wait.
And so, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for your life to be happy? For someone to love you? Are you waiting for tomorrow? Are you waiting to live?
That's the greatest illusion of all 'cause life won't wait on you. It won't wait until you get it all figured out. You can't put it on hold. You can't even preserve one moment. It's here and now, with no power for postponement. If you're going to live, you better be about it. Don't wait on your dream house, your promotion, until the kids are through school. Don't spend your life waiting to feel good about yourself. Do it now!
“I Can’t Get No Respect”
“I can’t get no respect.” Remember the comedian Rodney Dangerfield? That’s what he always said. And we can identify, can’t we? “I can’t get no respect”—but we’ve got to! Respect is one of our basic human needs. You can’t feel good about yourself without respect. But how do we get the respect we need? Simple—we give it to ourselves. And that means we may have to disregard our past, we may have to forgive ourselves again…and again…and again. And as for the present—we have to face life’s situation as it is and deal with it responsibly—just one challenge at a time and just one day at a time. Live today the best you can. And if you do that, you’ll be able to give yourself the respect you need to feel good about yourself.
Don't Wait Until It's Too Late
Don't wait until it's too late. That's what happened to Thomas Carlyle. He'd loved his wife for 40 years. She had been a joy to him, helped him become a stronger person, but suddenly she died. He wrote in his diary, "Oh, that I might have you for five minutes by my side, that I may tell you all." Every day for 40 years he had had that opportunity, but now he would have given anything for just five minutes. But the five minutes were never given. Here's the good news, though. Today, you have that five minutes. Is there something you left undone, something you should correct today? Something you intended to do but haven't? Or have you thought about something life-changing that you might do someday? Let me make a suggestion. Take five minutes to begin today!
SURPRISE!
One of the great discoveries of my life was learning how well the unexpected works in the midst of the predictable.
My dad was a master at this. He was a builder by trade, and I'll never forget the morning he woke my brothers and me a little earlier than usual with instructions to meet him at the barn after breakfast.
When we gathered, he began passing out the tools: a crow bar, an axe, a sledge hammer. He informed us that today we were going to begin tearing down the house we were living in! At first we were excited. But, as he led us single file toward the house, the novelty of the idea began to wear off as we remembered that mother was, at that very moment, cleaning up the kitchen. As if dad might have let this slip his mind, we quickly reminded him, "Dad, mother's in there!" And he responded, "Yes, and won't she be surprised!"
Well, when we started hammering and clattering away...she was! She looked out, astonished, and said, "What on earth are you doing?" To which my dad nonchalantly replied, "We're tearing the house down." I've never forgotten that day. I mean, what little boy wouldn't love the chance to tear his own house down?
Now...I don't recommend tearing down your house unless, like dad, you have a replacement ready. But, I do recommend a hearty injection of surprise, especially in your daily routine and your relationships. You'll find that it begins to change your perspective.
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