LifeLift

Jesus has been far more successful than you and I were taught— and what most of us have experienced.

⭐️

We’re all emotional.

Our feelings are a vital part of who we are. If we don’t find healthy ways to express our emotions they’ll “leak” in unhealthy ways.

⭐️

In this video we open Scripture and discover how soul health is part of the overall health Jesus offers us.

Here are three main points to listen for.

1. Redemption = freedom.

2. Jesus is our Redeemer, the One who sets us free.

3. Jesus redeems (frees) our whole self, our total being.

We can only be as healthy as the weakest part of us— be it our bodies, our minds, our spirits, or (yes!) our emotions. A more emotionally whole you is a healthier you.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✅✅✅ Register for the 5-Week Intensive at www.Jenkins.tv/freedom 

Success. 

What is it?

If you line 17 people up and start taking answers, you’ll find 13 or 14 different ones. A few of the people will agree, but most of them will share their unique angle. That’s what makes defining success more more akin to stapling jello to the wall than actually drafting a life plan. 

So, let’s define it like this, something which leaves some flex and interpretation for all of us. Something which requires some soul-searching, too. 

Success = living up to your God-given potential in each area of life.

How’s that?

I like that statement— 

Now that we have a working definition, let’s talk about achieving that success… 

Second, notice a theme you're going to hear a few times.

Most success is created by doing small things consistently well, over time— not by doing one single big thing once.  

Most people look for some huge disrupter when seeking success. Yet, there are probably a few minor adjustments you can make with what you're doing now to reach your destiny. 

The issues with these “small things” are two-fold:

In other words, doing the wrong things won't help. You’ll just be “busy.” There's a big difference between being busy and being productive. Furthermore, even if you do the right actions, if don't do them long enough, you won't reap the result.

Notice:

Why? 

Because both time and effort are important. And…

If you’re not willing to endure the struggle, it might indicate this just isn’t your dream. 

Success requires time and it requires effort.  If you do the “right things” for only a short period of time, your chance of success diminishes drastically. If, on other hand, you take  long period of time but don’t do anything… well, success requires both.

Success isn’t just a matter of doing the right things (effort), it’s a matter of doing the right things consistently over the long haul (time). 

Both are important. A little time doing the right things is as ineffective as a lot of time doing the wrong things!

Third, here’s another theme: success is more like following a recipe rather than finding the right lottery ticket.

Follow me on a tangent here and let's keep developing the idea…

Let's say you and I decide to bake a chocolate cake. Most cakes have the same ingredients and cook for about 20 minutes at about 350 degrees. Notice…

Very few people— unless they have some amazing tools or other factors which come into play— can pull a legit cake out of the oven in 5 minutes. The recipe includes BOTH the ingredients and the actual time (endurance) + pressure (temperature) required. 

It's actually difficult to shortcut a chocolate cake, isn't it?

Most dreams are just like that cake. Sure, sometimes we find exceptions to the norm, but it's easier to plan around the norms rather than bank on an exception.  Plus, if something amazing happens and your case turns out to be an exception, you’re that much farther ahead!

A lot of people presume that success is like winning the lottery instead of like cooking our cake.  They presume success is based on luck, that it’s a matter of being at the right place at the right time— or some other set of factors outside our control. 

They also presume you either win or you don’t.

And they believe if someone else wins, you can’t. After all, the winning ticket was cashed— and it wasn't yours. 

Success is entirely different. Success is a recipe, not a lottery ticket. 

Let me explain…

First, success is a proven process.  You can look at what others do and you can follow along, getting similar results. In other words, most of the guesswork is taken out of attaining it.

You know how to succeed— even if there are multiple ways to do it. 

There’s a recipe of ingredients people with great marriages do AND don’t do…

Again, proven methods which work are readily available.

You get the idea. Unless you're inventing something new, there are clues you can follow, breadcrumbs that have been left on the trail by others who've gone before you. (Even if you are blazing new territory, you'll find huge hints other explorers have left for you, as well!) Success always leaves clues.

If we look at people who’ve succeeded in the areas in which we want to achieve something, we can take cues from them. In other words, we can evaluate WHAT THEY DID and we can clock HOW MUCH TIME it took them, leading us back to the time + effort = success equation. 

Second, there’s no shortage of success to go around. Think about the last lottery number you heard called. If someone else wins, that means you didn’t. It means you CAN’T, in fact… winning in this scenario is IMPOSSIBLE. 

(Full disclosure: I’ve never played the lottery. This is just an example we can all understand!)

Lotteries are zero-sum events. If I win, it means everyone else loses— including you. If you win, that means I, by default, lose.

Cakes are different. Everyone can bake a cake at the exact same time. Just like everyone can live up to their God-given potential, whatever that is. 

Furthermore, my successful bake doesn’t diminish your success at all. In fact, we might learn something from each other in the process. 

Success is never a zero-sum game. Everyone can… 

There’s enough goodness to go around. We're not in competition. In fact, success actually gets easier the more people that embrace it, as it shifts the entire environment.

The issue is not “they've succeeded and beat me to it.” We often look at things like that. But success doesn't work that way. There's always enough for everyone.

The real question is “will we invest the time and effort they invested" to be successful?

In other words, we're back (again) to that time + effort = success equation. 

++++++++++++++++++++

Links for the show = 

Download the Advance Planner free at www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF

Download the LifeLift app = 

For the past few months I’ve been working on my app— to provide Faith-Driven Life-Coaching = move from where you are to where you're designed to be, experience life at the next level

In this episode I talk about one aspect of the project, a new app.

By the way, before we get started, go ahead and download it—

++++++

I was sitting at a coffee shop with a friend, telling him about this project, when he asked, “What’s unique about it? How does it differ from other faith-driven, life-coaching resources out there…?”

I began to describe it.

And, in doing so, I realized that part of the approach here involves pulling things TOGETHER which we often (wrongly) separate.

For instance…

✅ God & You

Scripture teaches us that God is working on our behalf… and we are also responsible for working.

Paul encouraged us to “work out our salvation…” (notice, we do it) “… because God works in us” (that is, He does it… Philippians 2:12).

In another verse, Paul said that he “worked harder than all the other apostles.” Then, he added, “Yet, not I… but the Lord working through me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

In other words, BOTH are important. We work in partnership with the Holy Spirit— as He express Himself through us, supernaturally doing things we can’t do on our own.

✅ Heaven & Here

Jesus told us to pray that the Kingdom would come… and that God’s will would be done, on earth. Here. Now. In the present.

And, He told us that we shouldn’t look OUTSIDE at externals for the presence of that Kingdom. Primary, we should look INSIDE…

“The Kingdom of God is within you,” He said (Luke 17:21).

That is, the work of the Kingdom is largely an “inside job.” And, the energy we expend in the world should be an overflow of what God is doing in us… enabling Him to then do something incredible through us.

Eternal life, then, isn’t about “going to Heaven when you die.” Though that happens, it’s about an ongoing experience which begins now…

… something to which we invite others to participate.

✅ Head & Heart

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day knew Scripture intimately. But, on more than one occasion that missed the fact that the very text they studied actually described— the prophesied— the Jesus standing before them.

“You search those words because you think that in them you have life,” Jesus observed, “but those all point to Me…”

Then— “But you refuse to come to Me so that you can experience that life.”

Should we study?

Yes, we’re told to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, MIND, and strength (See Matthew 22:37). This, includes our body (strength / fitness), as well as our intellectual capacity… and our emotions….

In other words, this outlines total wholeness— a wholistic encounter with the Creator.

And, in the end, God is better encountered than merely (only) explained…

✅ Spiritual & Practical

Psalm 78:72 informs us that David led with BOTH skill and the Holy Spirit. Many times, people think these two extremes are at odds— that we should just “wait” and “let God do it.” Other people think that we should just do it all ourselves… and maybe, perhaps, God will show up.

But the Bible shows us that we can always expect both…

… and we see throughout the written text that God routinely shows up and empowers people to do everything in life.

“Whatever you do,” we read, “do unto the Lord… for it is Him you are really serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

This is why you’ll find, throughout these books + courses + coaching resources, an intentional blend of the supernatural… side-by-side with the radically practical.

+++++++++++++++

Links mentioned in the talk =

✅ Download the new app + review it, and I’ll unlock the new Soul Wholeness audiobook free. Details at www.Jenkins.tv/LL 

✅ Download the free daily planner, mentioned in show = www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF 

✅ Our facebook group, The #HilltopHangout = www.Facebook.com/groups/AndrewEJenkins 

Fanicy Hunter (pronounced like “fancy”) is a therapist AND a yoga instructor. She combines both, in the park, to empower people towards total wholeness…

I asked her how she came up with that combination, so she told me the back story.

“When I was a kid, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to teach dance or if I wanted to be a psychologist. This does both.”

No, there wasn’t a straight line from 9-year old kid, charting her life dream, to where Fanicy is today. As we often say, life is BOTH beautiful and hard… it includes progress and pain alike.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this episode, Fanicy talks about emotional wholeness— from a therapist’s experience. That is, whereas I often write and teach about things I’m exploring, she talks HERE about an area where she already has expertise.

She talks about—

👉 Triggers

👉 How your body often stores pain from your emotional past (remember, everything is connected— body, soul, and spirit)

👉 How to create a healthy response

👉 The reality that we need therapy when we’re in crisis AND when we’re not— just like our body needs exercise / movement when it’s in crisis (and needs to drop 50 pounds) and when it’s not alike (i.e., when we’re physically at a healthy weight).

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I asked Fanicy what she might say to someone who needs help— not necessarily EXTREME help, but someone she bumped into who might be going through something…

She outlined it.

👉 #1 = Have compassion for your self. And take care of yourself. If you’ve been through something, give yourself grace to heal.

(That’s a good point. Don’t give yourself grace to stay in the hurt— but give yourself space to do what you need to do in order to move forward.

👉 #2 = Seek help. Counselors + therapists + other practitioners can assist you.

(I’ve been to a counselor, I’ve taken a psych eval, etc… and Fanicy talks about her ongoing work WITH therapists as a client herself.)

👉 #3 = Give it time. That is, think in terms of progress, not perfection… and continue stepping in the right direction.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

BTW, I loved hearing how Fanicy shared that this was her calling…

… that, as she looks back, she can see a tapestry weaving throughout her story, bringing her to where she is today.

++++++++

Notes for this episode—

Fanicy’s website = www.MyEmotionTherapy.com 

Fanicy on instagram = @MyEmotionTherapy

Episode # = I Took a Psych Eval = https://www.jenkins.tv/podcasts/lifelift/episodes/2147587677 

The Body Keeps the Score book = https://amzn.to/3hhkh2A 

Blues Clues 25th Anniversary video = https://youtu.be/onwuhW8obwo 

Though he never left— by his own admission— his hometown while he was growing up (the annual church trip to Six Flags— less than 2 hours away— seemed liked a big trip), Mark now lives on the other side of the planet. In Japan.

But before that he’d already spread his wings and flapped around the globe, nesting in places as different from Centerpoint, Alabama (where we both grew up, outside of Birmingham) as Tuscaloosa (Roll Tide!), FSU, Vermont, and more…

Now, he’s in Japan— a place he first lived when he taught English years ago post-college.

Mark hosts the Zen Sammich podcast, a project he launched in the past year…

I asked Mark to talk to me about friends— one of those seven key areas of life.

⭐️

First, we’re created for relationships. This seems obvious— we don’t like to be alone, we feel something’s missing when we are, we all crave connection…

(I’ve written + share about this before— https://www.jenkins.tv/blog?tag=relationships)

⭐️

Second, we learn more— and grow— when we’re connected to people who aren’t just like us.

Think about this one for a moment. You already know everything you already know.

(Read it again. Sounds so simple… we miss it.)

We learn the most when we’re stretched by others— when we’re encouraged to think beyond the box we’ve created, look at something from another point-of-view, and even (gasp!) talk through something where there are areas of disagreement.

We’ve almost completely lost the ability to do this today. We take it at a personal affront when someone has a different belief, contrary opinion, or doesn’t fall right in line with our opinion.

And that’s what we most often disagree on…

Opinions.

Mark and his wife have a great approach here…

“I have my opinion and she has hers,” he said. “But when we look at something, we both approach it with the perspective that we’re going to hear each other out… we both admit I realize I might be wrong. You might have better info...”

Think about how differently most things would go if we approached ANY conversation with that type of reference point…

It reminds me of one of Covey’s 7 Habits: “Seek to understand, not to be understood.”

⭐️

Third, we all want to be accepted…

… yet we all wonder if we WILL be.

So, when you embrace someone’s idiosyncracies— or the oddest parts about them, it sets them (and you) at ease.

True freedom comes not when we hide, but we we embrace the differences, flaws and all…

⭐️

Fourth, realize that in the same way you’re accepting them, they’re also accepting you.

You’re not perfect.

We like to think we are, but— in reality— acceptance goes both ways. That is, in relationships we always receive as well as give…

++++++++++

Links to items in this talk include:

Mark’s podcast =

21 Day Challenge = www.Jenkins.tv/21 

Oola Lifestyle Framework = www.Jenkins.tv/webinar 

I met Carol Peters through a strange set of circumstances…

One day I received a message via Calendly, a Zoom request for a meeting. It was from Carol.

Carol is from Kenya. Turns out, he found my book (from an Advance event) in a thrift store in my hometown of Centerpoint, Alabama— outside of Birmingham.

“I followed the link listed in the front of the book,” he said, “and it took me to the Advance website. There, I saw the videos were free— entire workshops… free.”

He reached out to his friend Philip, who still lives in Kenya.

Philip registered for the free course and watched the entire workshop overnight.

“Finish it,” he told Carol. “It’s really good. Finish it.”

They did— and that’s when they reached out…

🚌🚌🚌

Here’s what’s interesting…

A few years ago I stopped leading the Advance events, an event I co-founded, for which I produced the content.

Then Covid came, and the events postponed indefinitely…

I began transferring all of the info from the workbook we used at the events into a book form (see https://www.jenkins.tv/advance for more).

But, I hadn’t marketed it yet. In fact, I’m still editing it as of the recording of this podcast.

I wondered, though, What of the old material?

🚌🚌🚌

When Carol reached out, it showed me that it still had a life of its own…

God talks about repaying the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25).

And Acts 3:21 talks about the restoration of all things.

He makes— He promises— all things beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

🚌🚌🚌

Listen in… and see how our Father connects people, restores hope, and launches us towards our purpose.

___________________

The courses Carol accessed free of charge are all located at www.EatSleepAdvance.com 

(Carol watched Advance 6, direct link)

Find more the Advance book at https://www.jenkins.tv/advance 

Download the free Advance Planer at www.Jenkins.tv/AP or www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF  

In this talk I continue reflecting on what I'm learning from the #75Hard Challenge. WIth just two days to go...

(See the previous talk for lessons 1-5)

#6 = You don’t always “feel like it.”

Sometimes the motivation to do it comes in the actual doing…

Sounds odd, I know. We often think we NEED to get motivated first, and then we can step it up, get going, etc…

Then there’s this…

C.S. Lewis, the famed author of the Chronicles of Narnia said that even when he didn’t feel like praying, he just knelt and prayed…

… it was in those times, he wrote, that the supernatural kicked in, God showed up, and he most felt like it…

We often wait to feel it— anything— before we move, don’t we…?

I’ve learned… some of my best workouts (a la in the #GarageFit gym here at the #Hilltop) happen on those days I don’t actually WANT to get up and get moving…

Then, I rationalize…

What else am I gonna do with the next bit of time? Just lay here in the bed…?

Nah…

So I get up, and get moving…

And those are the days that seem to be the best day.

Can’t explain it, it just works…

Then there are the days I don’t feel like writing, but I do…

Or I don’t feel like having that convo, but we step in and push anyway….

And the days I don’t feel like…

… ah, you know what I’m saying.

Sure, sometimes we’re motivated. And that’s great.

But many times… some of the best things happen when we’re not. And we just show up and step into it anyway.

Because a lot of time the motivation to do the thing comes in the actual doing…

🚌🚌🚌

#7 Propensity = to “do it now”

Two workouts a day is a lot.

So is reading 10 pages a day— on top of everything else going on.

And so is drinking the water…

After a few days, I realized that if I put anything off, I was just wasting valuable time that I could be using to DO THE THING that I was going to END UP DOING ANYWAY… just a few moments down the line.

So, I would tell myself, “There’s nothing to do but do it…”

Besides, hitting the snooze button in the morning feels good for a moment— but I’m not better rested 10 or 20 minutes later than I was the first time the alarm went off…

I carried this mentality to other things, too.

I realized that many times I would punt a phone call off one day (in my day-timer) to another day. Mind you, it wasn’t a hard call to make— not difficult conversation involved. It was just, well, I was “mentally tired.”

Turns out, I discovered I spend MORE time writing and rewriting my “to do” list (inking the call or email or task to the next day) than it would require to just DO THE THING!

So, I began developing a “take action now” mindset. Here’s what I mean:

👉 If the task requires less time to do than to write down (i.e., reply to the email, text message, etc.), I just do it right then.

👉 if I’ve already bumped it a few times, I ask myself WHY— and evaluate it if actually needs to be done. No sense in postponing something that could be done NOW, nor putting off something that could just be permanently erased.

#8 = Not just what you give, but what you get…

This one sounds odd, so let me flesh it out a bit…

The #75Hard challenge— and any exercise / personal development process— becomes more about what you GET than what you GIVE..

I get it. A lot of us are busy. And we don’t know when / where / how we’d fit anything else in…

I (generally) wake up around 5:30- 6:00am, take time to exercise, then read, then write… all on my own…

… that 2-hour (or more) window always seems “selfish” when I’ve got a lot going on…

But…

I realize that—

🚀 if I don’t take that time, it just evaporates. It’s not like I use it on anything else…

🚀 What happens in that time radically affects everything else— and everyone else— in my small world.

🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌

And that leads me into the next observation…

#9 = The morning routine sets up the entire day.

I talk about the extensively in video #13 of the Advance Planner Workshop (www.Jenkins.tv/AP). The way I begin my day MARKS THE TONE for the entire day.

(Sure, you can overcome a bad start, but… why risk it?)

Look back at #8…

That morning time…

If I don’t TAKE IT, it’s not like I can “make it up” later.

A few days, I missed the early workout. So, I “made it up” in the middle of the afternoon— and found myself running in the heat of the day. Though I still enjoyed the time, it wasn’t the same. There’s something unique and unhurried about the early hours, something precious about a long pause before anyone else is awake…

… when there’s no talking…

… and I’m just alone.

The mental space which the margin of time offers was shocking. I processed more ideas and crafted more plans WITHOUT trying during that time than any other part of the day. And, it was during those long runs (with no headphones) that my mind began making connections on its own— unforced— about pieces of projects that needed to come together.

#10 = Cross the goal line— and keep going 🏁

Several people asked me if I ever thought about quitting. The answer…

“Yes.”

With about a month to go, though… I began to think about what’s next AFTER #75Hard…

I realized, for me, the key = to keep going. On something. Somehow.

🏈🏈🏈

A few years ago there was a pandemic of college football players DROPPING the ball before the goal line…

… they did ALL the work go getting to the end zone, then began celebrating too early, effectively dropping the ball as they raised their hands in celebration.

It happened MULTIPLE times…

🏈🏈🏈

We do that too— in life. We “drop the ball” rather than bursting through.

Or we achieve something…

But instead of continuing— even if a different or limited capacity— we just stop.

🛑 Ever hit the weight loss goal and then stopped, then gained it back?

🛑 Ever trained for the “couch to 5-K,” run it, and then lost the progress?

🛑 Every made massive strides in marriage, parenting, finances, whatever… but then just quit moving once you hit the goal…?

For sure, you don’t have to “double down” once you hit the goal, but it makes sense to USE the momentum you’ve acquired, and allow it to propel you forward. Somehow…

🚀🚀🚀🚀

++++++++++++

Links

ESPN- goal line drops = https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/11844727

Download the free Advance Planner = www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF

This summer, I did— and am still doing— the #75Hard challenge…

It works like this—

✅ Follow a meal plan of your choice

✅ No cheat days

✅ No alcohol

✅ Two 45-minute workouts each day— one of which must be outside

✅ Take a progress picture each day

✅ Read 10 pages per day (audiobooks don’t count)

✅ Drink 1 gallon of water

That’s it— and it’s supposed to be more of a #MentalChallenge than a #PhysicalChallenge…

⭐️

As of the recording of this talk, I’m 61 days in… so, the light is at the end of the tunnel, for sure. And, so far, here’s what I’ve learned…

(Think of this as my Top 10 lessons. I’ll communicate them in an order that makes sense to me— though not necessarily the order of importance…)

Here’s the first…

#1 = Sometimes, the reason(s) you think you CANNOT do something are precisely the reason(s) why you SHOULD wholeheartedly jump in…

I almost didn’t do the challenge…

… because we’re in the middle of summer…

… because we’re in the middle of launching the new #1B7 project and I’m working crazy hours

… because we’re about to go the lake with friends and the diet will be hard

… because we have MORE friends coming over tonight and I’ll probably want to open up the TWO new bottles of bourbon a friend sent…

… because…

… because…

You get it. There are always reasons why it’s NOT A GOOD TIME.

⭐️

But when it comes to #SelfImprovement, it’s always the #RightTime and #RightPlace, isn’t it?

I mean, think about— really think hard— the reasons we push stuff off, and punt the great actions that lead to the best results down the field…

Those are usually the very reasons we should just jump in, aren’t they?

#2 = Most things in life aren’t “all or nothing.”

Around the 3rd day of the challenge, I began recording my thoughts + reflections as I rounded the hill in front of the house. This is generally where I walk to cool down…

(And, I began posting those short vids to social media, including a new TikTok account… @AndrewEJenkins)

That first week, something struck me—

#75Hard is an “all or nothing” proposition. You either make it all the way, or you fail and you must start over. That is, if you don’t drink the water, if you don’t make the workouts, if you don’t read the pages… if you forget to take your progress pic that day…

… then your gain for the entire journey thus far is considered NOTHING and you begin over at Day 1.

That’s the rule.

And, of course, it makes total sense in a challenge like this.

But most things in life aren’t that way. Yet, oddly enough, we tend to treat them that way.

👉 We mess-up the diet at one meal during the middle of the week, so we toss the entire week out the window.

👉 We lose our temper during an exchange, so we assume we’ll never get our anger under control.

👉 We rank the budget, so we assume we’re not good at managing money…

👉 blah, blah, blah…

It’s easy to treat life as if it’s “all or nothing.” But, life isn’t that way.

Proverbs tells us the righteous fail… and they get right back up (Proverbs 24:16).

(On a social media post I shared a few weeks ago, I said it like this: “Think progress, not perfection… and direction, not distance.”)

#3 = Your time will pass anyway— whether or not you choose to do something with it is up to you…

🗓🗓🗓

One of the biggest obstacles we have... is our perception of TIME, and how much of it we have, or how long the dream will take, how much time might pass for healing comes, before we're able to launch into our next mission, discover our purpose... or whatever it is...

We don't like waiting...

Or, waiting (sometimes) intimidates us.

But, regardless of how long it takes to move from where you are to where you want to be, remember... that time is going to pass anyway. Might as well do something productive with it...

+++

Somebody told me that your checkbook reveals what’s important to you. That is, follow the trail of where your money goes and we can see what truly matters…

Same is true of TIME.

It’s easy to say we value certain things, but… when we turn and look at where the time was invested, the calendar SOMETIMES tells a different story, right?

+++

Push ahead.

In a few days, weeks, whenever you’ll look back in the rear view mirror and be glad you did 🤙🤙🤙

#4 = You can’t do most things all in one sitting…

… so break those goals down into manageable pieces.

🤷‍♂️

One of aspects of the #75Hard Challenge is “drink a gallon of water each day.”

(In fact, I found this to be one of the most difficult parts of the daily list.)

Unless you plan it— or have plan of attack— there’s no way to make it happen. If you wait until 3pm in the afternoon to begin, it’s not gonna happen. Or, if you still have half a gallon to go after 8pm… it’s gonna be a struggle…

So, I found smaller water bottle and broke the gallon down…

128 ounces (a gallon) = 8 of my 16 ounce bottles.

I use rubber bands on the bottle— and move them down— when I drink one.

And, I pace it…

I try to hit 2 before the morning coffee (easy, b/c I drink those before, during, and after exercising… so they go quick…). At least two more before lunch….

… and then finish before drinking anything else (i.e., no afternoon coffee, if at all, before the water is complete).

🤔

Breaking down the big goal makes ANY goal easy.

Pay off $40,000 in student loans? Break it down… how much are you going to pay AHEAD this month…

Lose 30 pounds? I’ve done it… and did it by targeting just 2 pounds per week.

Reading the entire Bible? It’s 10 pages a day for about 4 months…

Making $100K in a year… the same. Incrementally figure out how much you need to increase your income— just a bit— to make the reach.

🔥

You can’t do ANY of it in one sitting. So, often we just assume it CANNOT be done…

But, nothing in life works that way. It all takes time. And consistency.

And the the payoff comes.

#5 = The messy middle… sometimes you need to look back AND look forward at the same time…

I remember hitting day 38. That meant, halfway through THAT day, I was halfway there…

It was what you call the “messy middle”— that phase where I’m too far out from the shore to turn around. And I can’t quit.

But I still have a LONG way to go…

… in fact, I’m only halfway there…

Leads me to this.

👉 Sometimes you need to look back and celebrate how far you’ve come.

👉 If you’re always looking forward, it’s easy to get discouraged. It’s tempting to ponder HOW MUCH FARTHER you’ve got to go until you land the job, reconcile the relationship, move into healing, take care of…

… you get the idea.

That’s why, sometimes- no, a lot of the time- you need to pause. Turn around. And celebrate…

The GAINS you make often seem imperceivable in the moment…

The extra workout.

The shunning the sweets.

The getting up early to push ahead on your dream.

The phone calls, conversations, whatever…

Even though they don’t always SEEM valuable in the moment, they each have something working for them— namely, the momentum and amplification of the other, almost unnoticeable activities…

So, don’t just look at the gap between where you are and where you want to be.,..

Look at the gain.

Notice how far you’ve come.

+++++++++++++++++

Advance Planner = www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF 

My friend Amanda has pink hair… and has lost (almost) half her body weight in the past 2.5 years.

After a series of “no wins” in life, she looked at the person in the mirror. Though she couldn’t blame everything going on in her life on her, she could manage the person in that mirror— and take full responsibility for them.

“I began a diet plan that month,” she told me. “And I committed to sticking to it for just 30 days.”

That was it.

A lot of times people assume we’ve got to eat the entire elephant. Or even commit to eating it.

But, as everyone also knows, “You eat an elephant one bite at a time.”

And, you can always just eat that one bite and THEN decide if you want to go for more…

🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘

She continued her journey.

Part of the “continue” meant doing a 5-K that same month. And, by “doing” I mean finishing. That is, she walked the entire thing…

Which brought another observation— sometimes you just need to commit to starting and finishing something— even if you DO walk the entire time, even if you DO go the slow way…

SLOW still gets you there, right?



🏁🏁🏁🏁🏁

The “thing” Amanda is now part of is called TRANSFORMATION— a healthy movement people undertake to move from obese to fit…

Her journey includes marathons and pole fitness, which we discuss a bit in this talk.

And it includes a brighter outlook that has affected work relationships, taken an already-good marriage to the next level, and caused to her see things differently…

“There are so many things that I just tolerated before,” she said. “I was sick and didn’t even know how good I could feel.”

In other words, she’s created a new normal, a better level of LIFE.

And—

“This has affected so much more than just the time I spent investing in myself…”



🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I get it.

I (generally) wake up around 5:30- 6:00am, take time to exercise, then read, then write… all on my own…

… that 2-hour (or more) window always seems “selfish” when I’ve got a lot going on…

But…

I realize that—

🚀 if I don’t take that time, it just evaporates. It’s not like I use it on anything else…

🚀 What happens in that time radically affects everything else— and everyone else— in my small world.

🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌

In this talk Amanda reminded me of a few things she’s observed on her journey…

✅ Take the next best step.

A lot of life can be boiled down to that. When you aren’t sure what to do, just do a little…

… a little of the next best thing you CAN do (a la commit to a 30 day run at the diet and then agree to reevaluate after that)

✅ Surround yourself with people who are where you want to be…

No sense in taking advice from someone who’s not, right?

And, there’s no gain in being the smartest one in the room all the time…

So, find people you can help— and find people who can push you, too….

++++++++++++

Links=

Amanda’s Instagram = instagram.com/restoringthetemple2018/ 

Watch Amanda’s “transformation” testimony = https://www.facebook.com/ahicks07/videos/10100380258097275/ 

The weight loss program she mentioned = https://www.myshibboleth.com/sponsor/ahicks07/ 

Join Amanda’s 1B7 team = myoola.oolalife.com/RestoringTheTemple2018

 The Hilltop Hangout Facebook group = www.Facebook.com/groups/AndrewEJenkins 

My men’s mastermind group = www.Jenkins.tv/men 

Beth found Carol via social media. And then learned she lives just a few miles away.

Carol has an interesting story…

A few years ago she began writing a book about diet + fitness. (She’s worked in gyms and— even when we recorded this talk— arrived in cycling shorts, having just come from leading a spin session at the gym down the street.)

Then she had a double mastectomy. She was “grounded” for a while.

Her college-aged daughter saw her journal entires / prayers one day and began counting them…

“Mom, there are 21 of them here…”

She continued, “And they all connect. You need to make this a book, something others can use to walk in their true identity.”

💙💙💙💙💙

Carol is a trainer and nutritionist. Part of her mission is to “demolish the diet culture strongholds of fear, false guilt, and shame so that you experience the fruit of the Spirit in your relationship with food and body image” (see https://www.fuelbodyfeedsoul.com/our-mission).

Yet, she’s more than a trainer. She also writes, “As daughters of the King: we believe God’s grace and the gift of His Holy Spirit empower us to authentically transform. Only through ignited faith in Christ can our minds be renewed and our hearts change. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, His image bearers, and when we seek the Kingdom first we trade in the ashes of willpower for the richness of His power in us.”

In other words, faith and fitness aren’t two separate ideas. They flow together…

💙💙💙💙💙

Carol agreed.

She was editing the diet + nutrition book but set it to the side to release the prayer book…

You are His was released, as a prayer + journal tool (for women) to walk in their true identity…

Then, months later Healthy Breakthrough, the first book, was released. That book empowers women to defeat the strongholds in their life— the unhealthy relationship they have with food.

You’ll love hearing Carol’s heart on this issue. I found myself totally floored by the depth of her ideas, as well as the simplicity with which she communicates them.

After she shared them, they were completely obvious…

… a mark of a powerful teacher, shared with me by a gracious Daughter of the King.

__________________

Website: www.FuelBodyFeedSoul.com 

Blog post referenced in the talk— God is My Mirror— Jesus is My Scale: https://www.fuelbodyfeedsoul.com/blog/2020/8/12/god-is-my-mirror-jesus-is-my-scale