Your Most Successful Year Yet - Consistency, Part 3 of 5
January 30, 2008
In the movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal and friends were burnt out, depressed, lost, and confused. Rather than Wellbutrin, Paxil, Prozac, or painkillers, they sought out the meaning of life the old fashioned way, they ran away from it all -leaving the city and going off to the farm hoping to find the meaning of life. On the farm they found Curly the Cowboy. Curly’s sense of peace and his air of confidence intrigued the over worked, over stressed city folk. When Billy Crystal inquired of the Cowboy how he could find the meaning of life, all Curly said was, "One thing." ……you know what, Curly was right.
The culture you’re living in isn’t working out. It isn’t working out at all. More than 60% are depressed, childhood illness and suicide have skyrocketed to historic, unparalleled measures, and we’re ranked last in the world in nearly all important categories of health. Clearly, we’re at a low point and it’s time to blow this Pop stand! Not the U.S. or South Carolina, get out of this culture that completely isn’t working out if you want to live well, or really, live at all. Where is good place to start? My findings are; there really is one key to life -CONSISTENCY. When I look back at areas in life where I have failed it can almost always be linked in some way to inconsistency. You may ask, if it’s so simple, then why do so many people struggle? Why are only 1 in 1000 healthy by age 60, why do we have such high levels of divorce, overwhelming financial crisis, childhood issues, and over 300 of those 1000 suffering clinical levels of depression. ANSWER: Very, very, few people in your culture are CONSISTENT. CONSISTENCY takes character. CONSISTENCY takes integrity. CONSISTENCY shows your heart and reveals whether or not you’re truly committed to the things of God. The honest, main reason I’m so CONSISTENT with the important things in life; prayer, family, nervous system care (adjustments, neck traction, head weighting), exercise, nutrition, and life purpose is that I’m looking to have a culture of Character and Integrity (CONSISTENCY) in my relationship with and in honoring God.
THE MEANING OF LIFE: HONOR GOD BY REACHING YOUR POTENTIAL.
You don’t want to be a poor steward of your body, your family, your time, or finances. Do that and you take your potential, rip it up, throw it on the ground, and spit on it. CONSISTENT. That one word, when properly applied, is the ONE THING. It makes you a good spouse, parent, bread-winner, and it especially brings you to your God-given health and happiness potential. If you’re inconsistent, thankfully, God has grace. However, you don’t want to shove that in His almighty face and act like He blinks or looks the other way as you ignore the rules of life by being inconsistent.
"Honor God (BE CONSISTENT) with your body" 1 Cor 6:20
Chiropractor Summerville SC
January 30, 2008
If you are experiencing pain from either a recent injury or a lifetime of struggles against a physical condition. I invite you to stop by our office in Summerville, SC. I am a properly trained and licensed chiropractor that looks for ways to do more than to treat your pain. We creates a holistic plan to improve your health and well-being from the ground-up, using the minimum amount of low-impact adjustments to keep your body in line.
Modern medicine is a great blessing, but there are limitations to what it can solve. Some medicines are designed to work for a short period of time in cases where our health is in extreme danger. Most of the others are designed to treat symptoms… symptoms that tell us something is gravely wrong - our body’s warning cry that change is needed.
I will help you make those changes with solid, researched, and tested advice. Ask our patients how their lives have changed when you stop in. Most of our staff are even former patients who have experienced dramatic life change. Chiropractic care could be the most affordable investment you make in your future. Best of all, we have a web-only special running where you can receive a certificate for a free exam and consultation so we can discover if there is a way we may help you or your family.
We hope to hear from you soon
Dr. Justin James and the James Family Chiropractic team.
Your Most Successful Year Yet - learning Focus, Part 2 of 5 - Dr. Ben Lerner
January 28, 2008
Two years ago I sold what was possibly the most successful Chiropractic clinic in the world. More than one person thought I was crazy (including my wife) and after 15 years of putting my blood, sweat, tears, passion, and compassion into the patients and staff; at times I’ve thought they might be right. The reason I moved on was that I’d begun writing books and consulting for hundreds of chiropractors around the world as well as many pastors and corporate people. As a result of this other work, I thought I could no longer be a strong practicing doctor, meet my responsibilities to my patients and staff as well as be there for my most important work as a husband and dad…. I was completely wrong. DO YOU WANT TO BE AN ULTRA-SUCCESS IN ‘07? Then you need to gain a better understanding of your most valuable asset -your ability to FOCUS. Your FOCUS is your edge…it’s worth millions of dollars and a lifetime of great health, a good marriage, and functional children. WHAT IS FOCUS AND HOW DO YOU PULL IT OFF REGULARLY? Understand the term FOCUS TIME. It’s not just time, its FOCUS TIME. If you allot even just a small amount of FOCUS to something, you get mega results. They talk about "Quality time" but what they really mean is FOCUS TIME. FOCUS TIME requires 3 things:
- Preparation: Before I put my hands on even one patient at 3:30pm Monday afternoon when the clinic opens, I spend a minimum of one hour preparing mentally and emotionally. To do this, I stop answering my cell phone, don’t check internet, won’t sign a check, run and errand, deal with a problem, wouldn’t consider radio or T.V., and I will read from the Bible and from inspirational material. I spend 30 minutes reviewing the names and files of patients coming in and have a team meeting before we open to gather our game plan and pray for the office, each other, and our patients…THEN I’M READY/FOCUSED. That’s why Lincoln said, If I had 5 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend 4 hours sharpening the axe"
- Single-mindedness: When it’s family time, it’s family time. There’s a rule that we don’t talk about work, answer phones, or do activities apart from each other. I’m present body, mind, and spirit when it’s time designated to the job that that no one else in the world can do but me -husband and dad to my wife and kids. That’s why the Bible says, "A double minded man is evil in all his ways."
- Put your head down and work: Don’t be distracted. You’re OFF FOCUS when you either allow issues and concerns to invade your single-mindedness or you listen to critics or worse - that lying voice in your head that says, "I can’t, I won’t, I shouldn’t, I couldn’t, It won’t work, I don’t have to, etc, etc, etc. "That’s why Vince Lombardi said,is the result of caring more than others think is wise."
FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS: Work as hard as you can for as long as you can at ONLY the important things in your life: HEALTH, GOD, FAMILY, AND YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE ……and let God take care of the rest.
Your Most Successful Year - "No Excuses", Part 1 of 5
January 26, 2008
DEFINITION OF SUCCESS: "Optimal wellbeing, satisfaction, and prosperity in the areas of relationships, finances, health, and congruency with purpose."
In the cult classic movie Blues Brothers, John Belushi runs into a woman he left at the altar (Carrie Fischer/Princess Leia) who’s got a gun to his head and wants to shoot him for ruining her life. His excuse, "It wasn’t my fault -I had a flat tire, there was a storm, a terrible flood, bees, and locust, IT WASN’T MY FAULT!" The worst part- she buys it.
During my freshmen year in high school I started on the wrestling team, but sadly lost my first few matches. Each time, I had a very, very good "Reason" why I’d lost until finally, my best friend and the best wrestler on the team said, "Those are just a bunch of excuses!" My reply, of course, was, "Those aren’t excuses, they’re really what happened." He answered, "I know, that’s what an excuse is." Years later, I was late to a 7am winter wrestling practice when I was going to college in Albany, NY. The drifts were 6 feet high and had buried the car we were taking. When we walked into the wrestling room the coach told us we had to start doing stair sprints as punishment for being late. Defending myself I yelled, "But coach, it took us half an hour to unbury our car!" (Everything after "But" is always an excuse by the way) His reply, "Winners don’t make excuses. . .you should’ve gotten started earlier." Next to what I’ve learned in the Bible, these were the 2 greatest life lessons I ever received. The bottom line is, if you want to be a success, you’ve got to develop the ability to MAKE IT HAPPEN . . .NO EXCUSES. Win or lose -IT’S YOUR FAULT! I’ve never met anyone with an easy, overnight success story. Nearly all of those that have accomplished the things we all want in life managed to make it happen in spite of, and not because of, the environment they experienced. They all have had to deal with 10 foot swells, turbulence, hurricanes, high winds, blizzards, and parched ground. The fact is, physical limitations, "bad luck," genetic shortcomings, crazy kids, hectic schedules, tough classes, bad bosses, ex-spouses, impolite neighbors, injustice, etc. are only EXCUSES if you’ve ever used them to explain why you haven’t "succeeded." To plug this office, I hear 20 times a day, "I couldn’t make my appointments because… (Place your favorite "Reason" here). The truth is, you don’t have any other options. If you want to prevent disease and early death, the foundation for that is on-time spinal correction and on-going retention of that correction. Disease accepts no EXCUSES and Health seeks only results! IF YOU STAY WELL OR GET SICK -IT’S YOUR FAULT. Refuse to allow your environment to determine your outcomes. TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY. If you want anything of substance to come into your life, you’ve got to decide at some point to never use outside circumstances as the "Reason" or EXCUSE, for why something is or isn’t happening. ‘WINNERS NEVER DO."
"Some ships sail east, some ships sail west, with the self-same winds that blow, ’tis the set of the sail and not the gale that determines which way they go."
Body by God - Happy New Year by You
January 15, 2008
To Have the Best Year Yet, Resolve Nothing
If you want to be negative, look down on yourself, and set yourself up for failure, the best thing to do is to make a New Year’s resolution. The act of setting a New Year’s resolution is basically to say “I am a big screw up, a bad person, and/or have no discipline so this year I swear to never do it again and to take on a whole new personality with a newer and better behavior.”
Nothing can be accomplished this way. Nothing. It says in the bible “Do not swear at all…Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ If you want to create a new life, start moving in the right direction now and commit, do not resolve, to do anything.
Resolution vs. Commitment
Resolutions were made to be broken;
Commitments must be kept.Resolutions take only interest to make;
Commitments take integrity, courage, character and persistence.Resolutions end during tough or inconvenient times or when you say you are out of time;
Commitments make time, endure hardship and accept no excuses, only results.Resolutions are like tip toeing into a cold pool;
Commitments mean diving right in, taking the leap and going for it.Resolutions change with changing emotions;
Commitments are stronger than a particular feeling at a particular moment.Resolutions are easy to make;
Commitments, like anything worthwhile in life, are never easy.
If you take on a new behavior for 30 days, it will become a habit. Set a plan of action and then commit to executing it at the same time(s) every day. If you mess up, commit to getting back in the raft. DON’T QUIT! And NEVER say you do not have the time or desire. This is like saying you do not have the time or desire to fill your car up with gas when it is empty.
In the story of bacon and eggs…
The chicken resolved to help, but the pig was committed!
BE A PIG THIS YEAR, DON’T BE A CHICKEN.