Are you looking for the icebergs?

“When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”

William Arthur Ward

What are three things you discovered about someone yesterday that enhanced your opinion or perspective or understanding of them? Are three too many? How about two things? One? Did you discover the best in anyone at all yesterday? Last week?

My point is that if you aren’t intentional about seeking the best in others to discover the hidden value lying under the surface, you won’t find it. It is lying there under the surface, like an iceberg. You only see what you are looking for, so start looking under the water. 

If you are looking for value, greatness, understanding in others with intention, authenticity, and curiosity, think of the impact on the relationships around you. Think of the impact on YOUR quality of thinking and life. Your best self shows up when you help unlock the value others provide…

What could be?

“The problem with potential is: if it stays in potential form then it becomes procrastination.”

Steven Furtick

We all have untapped potential, things we are capable of doing, but haven’t just yet. There can be lots of reasons that potential stays under the surface and perhaps the most common is “I don’t have time.” The problem with that is there is never going to be enough time to dig deeper and surface those gifts unless you choose to dig. You have to decide to make unrealized potential become a reality.

For many the world is a bit different today that it was a month ago. It won’t be like this forever and at some point life will resume a more “normal” flow. The question is what are you doing right now to maximize this time and the opportunities presented?

There is an old truism that “people gaze so fiercely upon the door that is closed that they fail to see the one that has become opened to them.” I believe that definitely applies with the changes that have been forced upon many of us over the past few weeks. Instead of lamenting what was, is this an opportunity to spend time on “what could be?”

Become your best self…

“One of the marks of excellent people is that they never compare themselves with others. They only compare themselves with themselves and with their past accomplishments and future potential.”

Brian Tracy

Comparison can be such a slippery slope, it can far too quickly turn into an exercise of jealously and envy. All that really matters is making the most out of the gifts and talents that we have been given and using them to their fullest potential. Anything less diminishes God’s intent and purpose for which He created us. Seek growth not by comparing to what others have achieved, but what you could be on “your best day.” Then go make it happen.

To win, you must conquer self…

“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.”

Og Mandino

What is your purpose? How hard are you willing to push yourself to achieve that end? Will you go past your comfort zone? Will you intentionally set aside ease and comfort and “strain your potential until it cries for mercy?”

It is one thing to know your purpose, it is entirely another to embrace the hard and necessary work to achieve that end, no matter how many obstacles you encounter along the way.

I have found through life that the biggest impediment in my path of achieving purpose is principally myself. It is always easier to take the path of least resistance. It is always easier to stop early, to let a little bit of the remaining work wait until tomorrow. It is always easier to find an excuse of why something won’t work instead of soldiering on getting it done, no matter what.

To become the highest mountain, to achieve your God-given purpose in life means that you must overcome the drag of this world and never buy into the reasons why something can’t or won’t work. It means you have to look in the mirror and realize that the single most important obstacle to overcome is yourself.

Are you willing to push yourself hard and farther every single day? Are you willing to go so hard that you will cry for mercy? If the answer is “no,” then you either haven’t discovered your true purpose or you have surrendered to becoming a grain of sand.

Don’t surrender to your own desire for comfort and ease, push through and become a victor over self. No one knows the enemy better than you do. You are uniquely situated to conquer the enemy, you just have to make the choice to do so.

Open your gifts…


“The buried talent is the sunken rock on which most lives strike and founder.”

Frederick William Faber

What is the talent or gift that you have left buried in your life?

Why is it still buried? Fear of failure? Inability to recognize the talent itself? Lack of desire to put in the effort to bring it to the surface?

But what if it wasn’t buried? How might your life be different if you embraced your buried talent and made it a gift, not just to yourself, but for others?

The challenge, as I see it, is that if you don’t seize every opportunity to bring your talents to the surface you are creating a life that WILL BE filled with regret and disappointment.

So why wait until it is too late? The timing will never be perfect. The stars might not align in just the right way. Your talent might be one that only serves to bring joy and appreciation to your life. But if you are happy, that has a cascade effect to those that you share your life with.

Don’t be content to leave the gifts you have been given under the surface. They are gifts, open them…

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dusty

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