The Dream Factory

Now Is the Time! Recession Is No Excuse for Recess!

Contrary to the human tendency toward flight in times of danger, these are days for entrepreneurs to venture forth into the unknown and strut their creative stuff. The time is right for new ideas, for niche thinking, and for bold initiatives by men and women who will not be ruled by fear or passing circumstance.

The very limitations, restrictions, and scarcity of our times that cause some to retreat will prompt others to think more creatively and move aggressively into the arena of invention and innovation.

In the midst of recession when the tides of prosperity appear to be receding, there sounds no recess bell. Class is still in session. The need for vision and visionaries is profound. Life goes on. There is a sea change of thinking, a correction in our collective greed for consumption, and a reevaluation of our definitions of success. But people still require basic services and great ideas still have landing places among receptive minds.

We cannot retreat from entrepreneurship, Rather, we must embrace it at a new level. Our communities need out-of-the-box thinkers and risk takers. Our nation and world need people who are willing to move forward to build great business, social, and spiritual initiatives on a shoestring.

Recession is no excuse for recess.

Big Rocks

Note: This is a speech I will be giving today to a graduation class of family life educators. Some of the material has been previously posted.

In "First Things First," Stephen Covey tells a story that was told him. I don’t know the sources, so I will embellish a bit.

 

There was a speaker who was called upon to address a group of young people. As a prop, he pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar and placed it next to a pile of fist-sized rocks, another pile of gravel, a jar of sand, and a glass of water.

 

“Who believes I can get all of this into this one gallon jar?” The question evoked some chuckling. No one raised their hand.

 

After filling the jar to the top with rocks, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

The group replied, "Yes."

 

He then took the pile of gravel and began to pour it in. He jiggled the jar until the gravel filled the spaces between the rocks.

 

Again, he asked, "Is the jar full?"

 

By now, the group cautiously replied, "Probably not."

 

The speaker then added the sand and asked, "Is the jar full?"

 

"No!" shouted the group.

 

Finally, the speaker filled the jar to the brim with water and asked the group the point of this illustration.

 

Someone replied that you could always fit more things into your life if "you really work at it."

"No," countered the speaker. The point is, if that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get any of them in.

 

What are the big rocks in your life? I’d like to suggest a few for your consideration:

1. Do not neglect the rock of FAITH:

 

a. Have faith in the power of TRUTH – and by that, I suggest to you, ultimate truth, a higher power, God if you will.

 

b. Have faith in the power of TENACITY. Keep on keeping on. Don’t give up. Persist and insist on a successful outcome and work toward it.

 

c. Have faith in the power of TENURE – By that I mean, time invested and time passed. Be patient with temporary setbacks and inconveniences.

d. Have faith in the power of TEAMWORK. Work together. TEAM stands for – Together Everyone Accomplishes More! "Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part." - Casey Stengel "The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team."- Coach Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls - "Men have never been individually self-sufficient." - Reinhold Niebuhr - " All winning teams are goal-oriented. Teams like these win consistently because everyone connected with them concentrates on specific objectives. They go about their business with blinders on; nothing will distract them from achieving their aims. " - Lou Holtz 

THE WOLF

``Now is the Law of the Jungle---as old and true as the sky;

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back---

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.''
- Rudyard Kipling

 

2. Do not neglect the rock of FAMILY: You are here because you believe in family and have committed yourself to strengthening families. You have been sharpening your skills for that purpose. You are already heroes and deserve praise. Now, do not neglect your own family.

 

a. If you do not have a warm family, CREATE it! Gather folks around you with whom you can be accountable, authentic, and supportive. If your family is dysfunctional, you will also be in creative mode by setting and observing strong boundaries and creating a safe zone of functionality around yourself. When Rich Mullins, the song writer and leader of the Ragamuffin Band died, there was a traveling funeral that moved from city to city, mostly on university campuses because it was said that Rich created communities wherever he went.

 

b. CULTIVATE family. Like a garden, a warm and nurturing family must grow. To grow, it needs the sunlight of truth, the food of love, and the water of life.

 

c. Third, we must all make it a point to COMMUNICATE as families and develop healthy communication skills which we can pass on to our children. Strong and nurturing families that resolve conflict with healthy communication, fair “fighting,” and unconditional love are the hope of society because the skills children learn in families, they practice in the larger community and world.

 

3. Do not neglect the rock of the FUTURE. Become futurists. That means to begin to live a life of hope and optimism in a dark world.

 

a. Have a WINNING attitude. Your future will rise or fall on your attitude.

 

b. Translate I WANT to I WILL! Then, will it and do it!

 

c. Then, WORK toward a brighter future for, after all is said and done, the big rock of success, which is a journey and not a destination, is a four letter word spelled simply: W-O-R-K.

 

Don’t forget the big rocks in these difficult times and be blessed:

 

Blessing

Times are tough.
You are tougher. Face the times.

 

Life is hard.
You are resilient. Keep moving forward.

 

The future is uncertain.
God is already there. Do not be afraid.

 

Hope is a rare commodity.
Hope is within the grasp of your imagination. Let it soar.

 

Money is scarce.
You have all you need in a seed. Plant it and watch it grow.

 

You are discouraged.
There is a great dream within you. Feed it, follow it, fulfill it.

 

You deeply desire a blessing.
Be a blessing.

 

You lack courage.

Encourage someone else.

 

You have nothing left to give.
Give what only God can supply.

 

You are frightened of failure.
Risk everything to be all you can be.

 

These are not idle words. This is how you must live if you will live above your circumstances.

 

Weighing all possible outcomes of the choices you can make right now, to do nothing, risk nothing, and give nothing will insure that nothing will come back to you. You will be a success in the art of failure by default.

 

However, if you risk extending yourself, you may also fail, but you will fail with the satisfaction of trying and with all the lessons you can only learn by climbing out on a limb.

 

But you might also succeed. Out on that limb, when circumstances cut it from under  you, you may discover that you can fly.

 

You'll never find out without taking the big risk.

 

Take the risk, get the big rocks in place, and be blessed.

 

- Tom Sims

Tomsims1@compuserve.com , www.pastortomsims.com , 559-647-2203

© 2008, Thomas B. Sims, all rights reserved

Big Rock Productions and Workshops to Go – www.workshopstogo.com

The Strength of the Wolf = Teamwork

THE WOLF

``Now is the Law of the Jungle---as old and true as the sky;

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back---

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.''

- Rudyard Kipling

Remember that it is all about teamwork.

"Gettin' good players is easy. Gettin' 'em to play together is the hard part." - Casey Stengel
"The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team."- Coach Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls
"Men have never been individually self-sufficient." - Reinhold Niebuhr
" All winning teams are goal-oriented. Teams like these win consistently because everyone connected with them concentrates on specific objectives. They go about their business with blinders on; nothing will distract them from achieving their aims. " - Lou Holtz

Getting Up and Getting Going

You are sitting there, quite possibly stumbling upon this blog by accident because you are surfing the internet via a stream of consciousnesses in dedicated avoidance of whatever it is that you need to be doing right now.

I say this not as a prophet as much as a practitioner.

I can avoid tasks as much as the best of them... as much as you.

I find that avoidance falls into some neat, yet overlapping categories for me. Together, they spell, "avoid." Here they are:

A - Anxiety. There is something irrationally or even legitimately frightening about the task to which we are committed. We are afraid to start.

V - Value. We don't personally value the task. Rather, it is a burden and a duty that has been imposed on us.

O - Obstacles. We have listed as many as we can think of, but we are sure there must be more obstacles to starting - dull pencils, not enough information on hand, bad mood, weariness, no fresh ideas. The list goes on and on.

I - Intimidation. The task is just so big that we cannot wrap our brains around it.

D - Defeatism - We do not believe in our capacity to do what must be done well enough and so our perfectionism is crippling us from doing anything.

What must we do then?

Get up and get going.

Since we are already spelling, let's continue:

GET
G - Growl at yourself. Get your attention somehow. You have lulled yourself to sleep and you can wake yourself up.

E - Energize. Tell your body to move and then, move. After moving around, get a snack and make a decision to start.

T - Terminate this connection (only after bookmarking this page).

UP
U - Unshackle - Free your thinking from fear, intimidation, perfectionism, and obstacles. Get into a different mindset and focus on what you can do with what you do have right now.

P - Proceed. There is no substitute for starting. So start. Do something. The job will organize itself as you go along. Resources will appear or you will realize what you do or do not really need.

GOING
G - Grab - Take hold of your fear. It is your biggest enemy. The worst that can happen is a temporary failure from which you will learn lessons you could not otherwise be taught in any book.

O - Observe - Take another look at the task and observe it in the larger context of why it is important. Find the value in it and do it.

I - Invert  and Innovate- Turn your obstacle thinking into opportunity thinking by of ways you can be innovative with this task and place your own unique mark on it.

N - Nudge - Whatever intimidates you about this job is a bluff. Nudge it. Push back. Don't let it be too big for you. Break it into bite size  pieces.

G - Growl AGAIN! - This time with a shout of victory over defeatism.

Get up and get going.

Be Blessed

Times are tough.
You are tougher. Face the times.

Life is hard.
You are resilient. Keep moving forward.

The future is uncertain.
God is already there. Do not be afraid.

Hope is a rare commodity.
Hope is within the grasp of your imagination. Let it soar.

Money is scarce.
You have all you need in a seed. Plant it and watch it grow.

You are discouraged.
There is a great dream within you. Feed it, follow it, fulfill it.

You deeply desire a blessing.
Be a blessing.

You lack courage.
Encourage someone else.

You have nothing left to give.
Give what only God can supply.

You are frightened of failure.
Risk everything to be all you can be.

These are not idle words. This is how you must live if you will live above your circumstances. Weighing all possible outcomes of the choices you can make right now, to do nothing, risk nothing, and give nothing will insure that nothing will come back to you. You will be a success in the art of failure by default.

However, if you risk extending yourself, you may also fail, but you will fail with the satisfaction of trying and with all the lessons you can only learn by climbing out on a limb.

But you might also succeed. Out on that limb, when circumstances cut it from under you, you may discover that you can fly.

You'll never find out without taking the big risk.

Blessings!

Hattie May Wiatt

For those in church Sunday who wanted a copy of the original sermon by Russell H Conwell about Hattie May Wiatt and her gift of 57 cents which has multiplied through the generations, it can be read here beneath a [picture of the little girl: 57 Cents

How to Thrive through Economic Jive

"Jive" can be the music of swing or the language nonsense. It is an apt description of the trends and rhetoric that characterize our current economy.

Like the dips, sways, and slides of a "Dancing with the Stars" episode or the meaningless chatter that fills in the blanks, we are caught up in malaise of shifting realities and inconsistent commentary.

We're standing on the beach during a particularly windy change of tide and it is hard to maintain a foothold.

And yet, some people thrive. It has been historically true and is true today.

We can thrive through the economic jive.

First, we must stop listening to the jive of doomsayers and tune in to a different voice - the voice of the THRIVE.

This voice declares that to thrive, one must make six decisions:

1 - The T is for a commitment to TAP into everything that is positive, opportunistic, wholesome, encouraging, and substantive in the moment. Whatever music the band is playing, dance to the most positive rhythms and melodies that are interwoven into the composition of current events. Great ideas are still emerging; great art is being composed; great products are being manufactured; great lives are emerging. You can be a part of the greatness all around. That which others might mean for evil, Joseph of old learned, God might mean for good. TAP into the positive.

2 - The H is for HOLD and the commitment is to HOLD onto ones noblest, purist, and best values. Think on "whatsoever things are" worthy of your thoughts and maintain your commitments in spite of the obstacles. Too often, we sacrifice what is value on the altar of hardship for the sake of expediency. When we do so, we may survive, but we do not thrive. Your arrival at greatness surpasses survival of difficulty. Hold onto truth, goodwill, compassion, love, integrity, and your core mission in life. Hold on to your values. People who emerge from storms with their values intact build a foundation for lasting success and significance.

3 - The R is for RELEASE. Make a commitment to RELEASE the fear in your life into a vast sea of faith. Just let it go. Do not allow it to overcome, hinder, intimidate, or define you. Find what part of your personality is clinging to fear and release your grip. This is easier said than done because fear becomes ingrained. Start by disallowing any new fears to creep in no matter how reputable or respected their sources. "Fear not." Become a person of hope in the midst of the only context where hope is relevant - difficulty.

4 - The next commitment starts with the letter I and it is INVESTMENT. Invest your resources. Some will say that this is not the time to make investments. It may not be the time for foolish or frivolous investments, but it is the time to invest in yourself, your dreams, and your future. Discover the resources of time, money, energy, and influence that you possess which are available to you and, perhaps of greater value now than they were in boom times. INVEST your resources. Give yourself away. Make it a commitment.

5 - The V is for VISUALIZE. Make a commitment to visualize better times - but beyond that, a positive and glorious outcome to your efforts. Take the risk to see, hear, taste, and imagine a future that exists now only in your dreams. Be a visionary and shape that which is to come in your life and your world. This is called faith and it is a God thing. "For that which is seen is temporal, but that which is unseen is eternal."

6 - The E in THRIVE is for EFFORT. Don't kid yourself; there is some work to be done and you must do it if you will thrive in a time when others merely survive and many do not even do that. Discouragement, despondency, hopelessness, and cynicism will sap your faith and, in turn, your strength. You may not feel like putting forth the effort. Do it anyway. Sometimes you are merely choice or an activity away from a breakthrough when you quit. Don't quit. Keep on keeping on.

Whether or not the circumstances of your life change, you can change, and in that change, you can THRIVE.

The Open Road

My friend, Kirk, from MySpace posed this question after yesterday's post:

Well, maybe i missed the point....if that road to success has all those hazards...i would take another road to success, yes roads to success have these things only if we create them. There are super highways in our own souls that can take us to new destinations ,,,,,,much faster just by feeling how it will feel when reach what we are looking for. Because once you can feel that emotion.....the road becomes shorter and not even a road at all.

Good question, Kirk!

No, you didn't miss the point, Kirk, but you made a good one which I neglected to emphasize. If the dream is visionary, clear, and compelling, it can make all of the obstacles that life brings seem lesser and the goal, greater. Potholes, bumps, and curves become part of the grand adventure and, at times, a genuine joy.

You are right to suggest that we must engage ourselves fully - including our emotions - in the process of moving along the super highways of our souls to a destination that is fulfilling and rewarding.

My objective yesterday was to encourage folks not to let the obstacles, difficulties, and necessary efforts become excuses for quitting or becoming discouraged.

Last Sunday I worked with two verses that introduce the Beatitudes out of Matthew 5 (1-2): "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them ..." (NIV)

In Jesus' ministry, there were multitudes (thousands), crowds (hundreds), smaller crowds of followers (tens and scores), future apostles (12), and an inner circle of 3. When referring to "disciples (learners, followers), Matthew is probably talking about something more than the smaller crowds and less than the crowds. But it may have been an even smaller group.

You see, not everyone wants positive change badly enough to do what it takes to get it.

Matthew said that when it was time to get to the really meaty, life transforming teaching about the "upside-down kingdom" where radical thinking  creates  people who can rejoice in any circumstance and overcome any obstacle, that  Jesus climbed a mountain, assumed the teaching position, and let folks climb to Him who really meant business and wanted the good stuff.

They were the folks who had a glimpse of the vision and imagined the possibilities so vividly that the effort was worth it - in fact, may have seemed like no effort at all. That mountain climb and the time spent listening and learning was an investment in a bright and limitless future.

You have to climb higher to go deeper.

You have to dig deeper to get higher.

Strange, but true.

That climb was one round of their road to success. It was worth it and, thankfully, some folks listened  carefully enough to have preserved what was taught that day so that those of us who want it badly enough can climb high enough and put forth the effort to "get it."

Success is worth the extra effort for those who desire it. But for those who both desire and envision it, the effort seems far less troubling than for those who have only a foggy vision and passing desire for the destination.

That is true of every good thing in life.

- Tom Sims
(c) copyright, 2008, Tom Sims
Visit me at The Dream Factory

Cliches Old and New on the Road to Success

Tonight, I will give a brief talk to a group of ladies on the road to success.

There is actually a road to Success in Central California. Traveling west from Porterville on highway 190, you will soon see signs indicating that you are, in fact, on the road to Success whether you knew it or not.

Life can be like that.

But know these things:

#1 - The road to success is paved with the cobblestones of failure, defeat, disappointment, and loss. We recently rented and viewed, "We Are Marshall." There is a poignant moment in this film set in 1971 about a team, a university, and a city coming back from the loss of an entire football team and many community leaders in one fatal airplane crash. The question arises about whether or not winning is everything and the coach muses that he has always felt that way and will feel that way again in the future. However, in that moment, what counted was getting the team on the field, showing up, risking loss, and playing the game. Once they had achieved that, they could begin to win somewhere down the road. You will never reach your destination if you don't get on the road. Take the risk.

#2 - The road to success has some sharp and unexpected turns. You can't anticipate all of them, but you better be flexible enough to turn with them or you will find yourself stuck in a field or gully or worse. Pay attention to the signs and to the road. Anticipate what you can, but don't rely on predictability. The thing about this road is that it can change in a moment and you need to be ready for change, crisis, and opportunity.

#3 - The road to success has some pit stops. Take them. There used to be only one stop on the West Virginia Turnpike between Princeton and Charleston. If you didn't take it, a little time card would show whether or not you had been speeding. There was no point. People would stop to kill time to cover up their haste. On the road of life you must stop to rest, refresh, and renew. You could press on past the rest places, but you do so to your detriment and the detriment of your cause. You will not be your best. You will not be as productive and efficient in your use of energy. Take the rest stops along the way.

#4 - There are narrow places, slow downs, road blocks, and other forms of frustration along the way that call for attention and intention that may not come naturally to you, but will be necessary to get through to success. You may believe that sitting in stop and go traffic is the most wasteful, useless, and infuriating thing you could ever be doing, but the Designer of the Road who is the Master of All Traffic and the Source, Force, and Course of your dreams and goals knows better. Develop techniques for stilling your restless soul and channeling your energy toward alternate tasks so that no time is lost. There can be and is purpose in every moment.

#5 - There are inclines and declines on the road to success. Sometimes it takes all your power to climb and sometimes you coast. It is all one road and one destination. Just as it is never always easy, it will not always be hard. Keep on keeping on through the difficulties.

#6 - There will be switchbacks - especially if your goals are as lofty as a high mountain peak. In mountain driving, which I love, there are 180 degree reversals - sometimes 360 degree turns around a hill. If you are watching a compass, it can be very confusing. You get the impression you are going away from your goal even though you are making progress. Switchbacks in driving and setbacks in life are part of the process. You can't get there "as the crow flies." You have to follow the flow of the road and it is determined by the topography of your times and circumstances. Keep your map and compass handy, watch the signs, and keep on keeping on.

#6 - There will be speed limits, sped bumps, warning signs, and arbitrary rules along the way. Honor them. They are purposeful. Someone who knows the road far better than you put them there. The Engineer of the Universe knows the science because He invented it and has called you to your purpose. None of these "hindrances" are designed to prevent your ultimate success.

#7 - The road will end or merge with another. I remember riding country roads with my dad at night on vacations and other times knowing that he was lost, but not flustered. He quoted his father with words that made little sense to me at the time. "Son," he said, "my daddy always said that all roads lead somewhere." And he was right. Another old boy just scratched his head when asked for directions at the country filling station, finally muttering, "Mister, you can't get there from here."

But you can. It may take some course corrections, more time than you allotted, more energy, a lot of patience, repairs on your vehicle, multiple vehicles, and change in your own life, but YOU CAN GET THERE.

You are on the road to success, whether or not you know it.

Stay with it and see you there!