Live Life With Purpose with Adam Smith

Most people look at fear as something to always avoid, but fear doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I’m not talking about fear as in the fear of heights, but more as in the fear of not making a difference with your life. Seeing some fears as good can be what helps us accomplish more.

Here are three ways that you can deal with your fears differently than you are right now and look at them in a better light:

1. Fear is learned.

Your fears only have the power that you hand over to them, and in most cases, fears aren’t as big as you have made them out to be. Somewhere along the way you picked up the fears that you have, whether people told you up front that you should be scared of these fears or they were put into your subconscious somehow. Whatever the case may be, someone told you that doing what you are doing will hurt you, and you bought in. If you want to do something that you are currently afraid of, then it will take a rewiring of the way you see things before it will get better. But, there is hope. Even though it is more difficult to do, if a fear was learned, then it is most definitely possible to unlearn that same fear. Are you willing to put in the work?

2. Fear does not make you weaker.

Everyone fears so that’s not what makes you weak. Believing the lies that fear tells you is what will make you weak. On the other hand, people who are strong have learned to deal with fear in better ways and tell themselves why they are bigger and better than their fears. It may be time to tell yourself all the reasons that you can, instead of telling yourself all the reasons you can’t. Are you listening to the right voices?

3. Fear lets you know you are onto something good. 

Fear is a part of life that reminds you that you’re alive. Anytime that fear comes in like a tidal wave, it’s a good indication that whatever you are fearing is something you care about. Sometimes, the things we are most called to are the things we fear the most. We all fear something. Learn from these moments and keep pursuing your convictions. You are specifically wired for doing great things in your own way, and it is up to you to go after life with everything you have to make your dreams a reality.

Fear is a deterrent if you allow it to be, but it can also be the force that pushes you to do more in life. Do you fear the fears you are currently facing more than living a mediocre life? That’s a question that only you can decide.

Now go and be brave, today. 

The post #061: Fear Can Be A Good Thing appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

I don’t have the typical writing story of beginning to write in elementary school and being engulfed in reading from childhood.  I don’t know if that’s the typical story actually, but I didn’t enjoy reading until high school and I began writing shortly after that, because it was my introverted way of getting things out of my head. After I had been writing for a few years, I had a college professor tell me that I should focus more on my writing because he saw potential in me. So, I did what anyone should do when they want to focus more on their writing. I sought out the necessary tools to do so in the digital age.

Blogs allow for writers to put their content in digital format for readers to see forever. We are all creating our stories online, whether we realize it or not, and have the opportunity to portray our uniqueness to the world. You have a unique life experience and a story that you have been developing for years, and when you setup your blog, it will be time to let the words begin to spill out.

More than two billion people use the internet right now and your potential audience will only continue to grow. So now that you have a blog, define who it is that you specifically want to target, what they need, and what you can offer them. People want well-written content on a weekly or daily basis, and a blog gives you a chance to speak directly to your audience as often as you see fit.

I started writing with a xanga account, then posterous, then tumblr, then wordpress.com, and then ended up with a self-hosted wordpress blog, and I am so glad I eventually found the best platform to be on. When you register your domain and set it up through wordpress.org, you can have complete control over what your webspace looks like. WordPress allows you to leave your own personal mark where everyone gathers – online. Different themes and plugins are what gives you this control, and there are so many to choose from, so you can bring your personality not only to your content, but to your design as well.

The post #060: Here Are Three Reasons You Should Start A Blog appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

I believe that some people are confused on what the word mentor means. They think it needs to be some elaborate meeting and that it will equal someone else dictating what they will do with their life. If that’s the meaning of mentor, then I don’t want any part of it. Here is the definition of mentor – “An experienced and trusted adviser. To advise or train.” Take it or leave it, that’s what it means. To seek out a mentor means that you want to be advised as what to do with your life.

If you are mentoring or being mentored, then you know how important it is. The reason for being mentored is to have people speak into your life who have been through what you are currently going through or what you will go through in the future. They can help you make less mistakes, because the truth of the matter is that you can either learn from mistakes or from mentors. It’s your choice.

The 2 topics that my mentors help direct me in is my relationships and my businesses. 

These two topics are my biggest concerns. At first, my main issues with being mentored were that I didn’t have enough time to meet with them and that I wanted to just keep some things personal. When I realized that mentoring can sometimes be done by just a phone call  or by checking in weekly or monthly and that life is best lived with others in community, stepping out and seeking advice from people I respect and who I want to speak into my life became much easier.

Relationships

My biggest prioritized relationship is the one with my wife, Jasmine. My second highest priority in relationships is with my kids. When these are in sync, life is great. When they aren’t, chaos abounds. Since these relationships are so important to me, we have finally set up ways to ensure that they don’t lower from our single top focus. How did we do this? We now enforce the top three rules of marriage – constant communication, honesty, and show each other our individual love languages. [Book] (Jasmine’s love language is quality time and mine is words of affirmation.)

Mentors of mine who direct me in the relationships department with my family need to have been married for at least fifteen years and have grown children. There are just so many issues that are dealt with inside of marriage that people who are single don’t deal with. Of course there are plenty of things that I take away from people who aren’t married, but what I cannot take for myself from them is time management. The main difference between people who are married and those who aren’t is the way that time is scheduled, and for me that is a huge deal.

For those who are married, there should be time set aside every day for family time. For people who don’t have a family, then this time can be used for other things. So, to say that I should be able to keep up with people who are not married in my work would be a ridiculous goal if life’s priorities are correct. Yes, everyone has the same amount of hours in a day, but the way we use it is completely different depending on where we are at in life. My best advice is to research the background of people who you are reading about or letting speak into your life, because they might not have the same responsibilities as you and that drastically changes things.

This is the best criteria I can give you for selecting a mentor.  If there are people who are married who have a great relationship with their spouse and children and accomplish a lot in their day, then I am all ears to hear their secrets as to what they do to get it all done. These are the people that I want to learn from.

Business

In business, I look to other successful entrepreneurs for mentoring. My measures of successful entrepreneurs include their influence through innovation, continual growth, a great company culture, close relationships with employees and customers, and an extremely profitable bottom line. With younger entrepreneurs and CEOs in the picture than ever, age is definitely not a factor for me in guidance with successful business mentoring. While I typically look for older people to direct me in relationships with my family, a higher priority for me in business is to evaluate the valuable perspective of business people, regardless of age. To dismiss the Mark Zuckerbergs of the world would be stupid on my part. In business, it is more about the life experiences that possible mentors have been through more than any other factor out there.

Who already has a handle on the target market I am pursuing and how can I improve on what they are offering?

It is innovation that got successful business people to where they are at, and it is innovation that will also help my businesses to continue to grow. Innovation is the key to growth in this day and age of business, so a top priority of mine when talking about mentors in business is to find those who have a grasp on cutting edge innovation and what people will want tomorrow, so I can seek out wisdom there.

When someone achieves greatness any of these areas, then I know I want to become closer to them, because we have common ground that can be built upon. If these friendships turn into mentoring relationships, then great. If not, then we have something and common and I know there won’t ever be that awkward quiet space in conversation.

Of course, there is a difference with my relationships with mentors and friends. This isn’t to say that I am this selective with people I have friendships with, but I am very selective when choosing mentors. If I want to become better, then I believe that the people who I allow to speak into my life on a mentoring level will ultimately have a huge impact on who I am as a person. This being said, my goal in surrounding myself with better people is that I become better myself.

I hope this podcast has sparked an interest in you to step out and become mentored yourself. I can promise that being mentored will only help you find success in your endeavors.

Now, go and find a mentor, today.

The post #059: What I Look For In A Mentor appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

Growing an audience begins with this question –

What matters most?

Say it with me.

This is something I had to define for myself three years ago when I rebranded my online presence. I answered this question with “caring about people” and built my entire brand on that. This is why I begin each week’s blog topics with relationships, and then fill the rest of the week with other topics to equip people with the tools they need to lead in life. Relationship with people is the foundation for what each and every one of us contribute to this world. I don’t care what job you have, the Why? behind what you do should always be that it will impact people. It is when we lose sight of the Why? that we begin losing focus of our own importance in carrying out the mission.

Right before I did this online rebranding, I read Patrick Lencioni’s The Three Signs of A Miserable Job and remembered that one of the three points he made was that jobs are miserable if you don’t know why they matter. We can apply this concept not only to our jobs, but anything we do. When you put people on the receiving end of what you do, you then know why you and your company exists. Introverted or extroverted, at the very core of us all is the desire to impact people, whether we realize it or not.

If you have lost sight of the Why? for your role in your business, here are 3 ways to get back to doing what matters most and get back to growing your audience:

1. Listen to your audience. 

It doesn’t matter what business you own, listening to what your customers, clients, and audience wants and needs is huge when it comes to growing your business. I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs I have met who stick their head in the sand and either just don’t care and want to do their own thing or they are too afraid to listen to constructive feedback from customers. Whether it’s forming a survey or creating some sort of public forum, having a way to hear from the public is essential to see where you may be lacking, or so you can see what you are excelling in, so you can focus more of your attention there.

2. Pinpoint your differences.

To stand out in a world where there are enough products and services to confuse consumers, you need to pinpoint your differences. Why do these things set you apart? What products and services do you offer that your competitors don’t? Why should people care about your offerings? No matter how small it is, you need to make sure that people clearly know what it is that makes you different. Even if you think you have already done this, maybe you haven’t clearly communicated this to your audience and displayed it prominently for people to see.

3. Bring your business back to what it is about – people.

As a business, you are there to offer products and services to an audience, so that they can profit from it. That’s why people will come back time and time again. Maybe you have lost sight of that and have been focused so much on what you are profiting from it that you forgot the reason you began doing what you do. Issues in our own lives are amplified when we are focused on ourselves. When we focus on the lives of others, our own issues become minuscule and we are reminded of the reason we are here on this earth – to touch the lives of others.

Use these three points and return to why you do what you do to grow your audience, today. 

The post #058: How To Grow An Audience appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

If you are a creative, then you know there are some things you have to do to carry out creativity. You have a responsibility to look at the world in a different way. Of course, doing the same things that everyone else is doing will get you the same results that everyone else is achieving. You can and will accomplish more with your life when you adopt creativity for yourself.

The excuse for most people that don’t create outside of their minimum basic contributions to this world is a lack of time. I mean, I get it. But, to do what you truly want to with your life, your view on how you are creative will have to change. When you change your view, you will realize that the creativity you are pursuing won’t complete itself. If you are to become more creative, then you will need to give it some effort, but I can help get you there.

I want to help you get your best jump start on living a more creative life, so here are five tips that you need to live out more creativity with your life:

1. You need to schedule creative time.

This point hits you one of three ways – you either don’t have any more extra time, you feel that creativity should just flow whenever you have a free moment, or structure of any type feels like a constraint on your creativity. The truth is that scheduled time for creativity is what keeps you accountable to the process. It is what keeps you showing up time and time again to get the work done and if there’s anything that you need, it is more commitment to the craft you are pursuing. That’s exactly what this scheduled creative time gives.

2. You need to get alone.

This is the worst part of the process for me. With a wife and two children, the last thing that I want to do is isolate myself. But, being alone is one of the most necessary parts of the creative process. Being alone gives necessary clarity in the midst of a noisy world and when done correctly you are more efficient in the other areas of your life.

Being alone is most effective when you know where you need to be to create. If you work best in a quiet environment, find a library or other quiet environment to create. If you work better in a noisy environment, find a busy coffee shop to be creative in. If you find that you can’t create in your office environment, then it’s time to get out. The right environment can help you be more creative, and the great thing is that you can probably choose where you do your work at some point in your day.

3. You need to take care of things as they happen.

Something has to give when you pick up new things to do, but beginning anew doesn’t always have to mean that other areas of life need to suffer. When we know what our top priorities are, we don’t have to wonder what it is that needs less attention, because we have already streamlined our life in the way it should be. When we take on anything and everything, life quickly becomes chaotic. I’m sorry to break it to you, but you can’t possibly do everything in this world and still do it well. But, when you decide what you need to pour your heart into, you allow yourself to be more creative in these areas and can make a bigger impact as well.

Room to breathe and margin is what helps you get the work done. Now, some people like pressure in the creative process, but I have found that space allows for more time, which allows more tinkering with ideas. Great things happen when there is time to mold ideas into better ones, and that only happens when we give the process of finding solutions more of our time. Rushing creativity gives basic thoughts, but when we have time to ponder these ideas, it is here that we get to push through to find our best possible answers.

4. You need to create more often.

When people say they haven’t done what they have wanted to in life, my first question to them is, “Well, how many times have you shown up?” The process comes down to odds. If you have only shown up five times, then you don’t have that good of a chance to find what you are looking for. But, if you show up 100 times, successful creativity is probably right around the corner. Practice is what makes the process easier and helps ideas flow in more manageable ways. The more you show up to work, the easier it becomes. The more often you create, the easier it is to see what works and what doesn’t.

5. Share the process and results you find with others.

At some point you need to share your ideas and creations with others. This sort of brainstorming with other people helps you shape your ideas into something that can help them as well. It is always helpful to hear from others to make sure you are heading in the right direction and thinking of all possible ways to produce better outcomes.

You can also build a team of some sorts, either by hiring virtual assistants or other employees, to free yourself to create more often. The more ways you can find to create, share your creativity with others, and empower others to create, the more impact you will have through creativity.

In the comment section, I would love to hear what the creative process looks like for you and what you are working on, today.

The post #057: Do What Is Necessary to Create appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

If you would have asked me five or even ten years ago if I had a plan for my future and if I believed it would unfold perfectly, without hesitation I would have said “yes”. I had no idea how far off base I was on planning, either. While I will tell you how important it is to have a plan, because it will send you in the right direction, what it won’t do is end up perfectly. Sorry if you are a perfectionist. I know this is the last thing that you want to hear right now.

Even though I will make a plan for the next five years this October, what I will not do is solely rely on this plan? Why? Because while you used to be able to make five or ten year plans and things would stick closer to the plan, the truth is that everything is changing at a much more rapid pace, especially with anything related to business goals.

So, here are three things that recovering perfectionists, like myself, can learn about developing plans in 2015:

1. Plans will change, maybe even drastically.

If you are like me, you don’t like this answer. But, plans will always change. Your one-year plans, five-year plans, and ten-year plans will all be different. If you were to ask me ten years ago what I would be doing today, I would have told you that I wanted to be a business owner, but I had no idea what type of business it would be or how it would happen.

If you told me I was going to be a writer twenty or twenty-five years ago, I would have laughed. I don’t have that typical, ” I knew that I wanted to write since I was ten years old” story. I didn’t realize I loved to write until my freshman year of college. At ten years old, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. I landed a long way from that dream, but I now realize that ideas, this world, and our perspective change, and that’s a good thing. In high school, I knew I wanted to own a business, but writing wasn’t even on the radar yet. I am very thankful that my perception changed.

2. Even though we don’t land exactly where we plan, it sure does help us move forward. 

I have lived life both without planning and with planning, and I have to say that that living with a plan of some sorts motivates. No matter who you listen to on how to develop your plan and what you think it should like, a plan is always better than no plan. Why is it important to plan even though it probably won’t turn out exactly how you think it will, then? Because, not only will a plan get you moving in the right direction, it will also get you thinking in the right way.

3. Future plans not only let you dream, but they encourage it.

When people tell me they don’t have a life plan, my next question is always, “When is the last time you dreamed?” This usually takes place in the second or third life coaching session without fail. Planning requires dreaming. I would dare you to dream a five year plan out and pick yourself to be in a completely different spot than you are today. If your plan doesn’t have you growing in any way in the next five years, you need to come up with a different plan. But, if you are willing to dream and take risks, you are well on your way to creating a worthy plan for your life. All you need is a little imagination.

When you dare to dream, even though plans rarely come to pass with perfection and you don’t know where you will end up, doors will open long the way. That’s what the journey gives you. Go and make a huge plan for your future, today.

The post #056: Your Plans Will Change appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

We have all found ourselves at times in life where things could be better. Life looks bleak when we feel we have done everything in our power, and still the results that we see don’t seem to match our efforts. But, we can still press forward and see things differently in these times by developing one thing in our lives – the habit of thankfulness.

Thankfulness is such a huge part of your journey to living out a life of purpose. Most people only look for this thankfulness in the huge events that happen in life, but your perspective changes for the better when you decide to be grateful for everything that happens in life, including the small things. Thankfulness can even be found when life isn’t going well, but this requires you to change your outlook on life.

When you decide to be optimistic and thankful, even when times are rough, it is thankfulness that will get you through these valleys. This outlook causes you to view the world differently and helps you choose to see the good in life once again. You already know that life is better when you let thankfulness have a bigger hold in your life, but what about those times where you just can’t seem to find it? What can you do when the world is crumbling around you and you can’t seem to find a way out? Well, thankfulness is still your best answer.

You may not be able to control your current situation, but you can control your current perception.

Try this –

In this moment, how many things can you count that you are thankful for with just one minute of your time?

Hopefully, you had so many things to count that you couldn’t stop coming up with things to be thankful for.  But if not, I have three ways to pull more thankfulness out of your life so you can begin using it for positive fuel in your journey:

1. Take the time to pause and reflect on a daily basis.

Busyness will attempt to rob you from thankfulness every chance that it gets. It is the number one thing you need to fight in life, because it is your absolute biggest enemy that will detain you from thankfulness and a life filled with joy.

2. Listen to your language.

Do you want to know the quickest way to see if you are living out thankfulness in your life or not? Listen to the words you are speaking. Are they thankful and positive or unthankful and negative? Listening to your words will let you know your heart’s perspective, because people who are thankful speak thankfulness into their lives and into the lives of others.

3. Fight for unity in your relationships.

It may sound odd to fight for unity, but your relationships will either cause you to want to be thankful or to be ungrateful for where you currently find yourself along your life’s journey. When there isn’t unity in your relationships, it is almost impossible to be thankful for the positivity that is filling other areas of your life, even if everything else is approaching perfection. Once you fix your relationships, you will be able to fix your outlook on life and find more thankfulness on a daily basis.

Take the time to pause and reflect on a daily basis, listen to your language, and fight for unity in your relationships. Try implementing these three thankfulness principles in your life and see the immediate difference, today. 

The post #055: Be Thankful For The Journey appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

I didn’t start off the year with a podcast on goals, but I should have. I believe in the power of goals, and hopefully you do, too. Goals are what gets you looking ahead, making a better impact, and assists you in implementing your best plan. Yes, I am a huge believer in goals, but of course, we need more than a plan to see real success. Without action in your plan, you are all talk.

You can have the best plan in the world, but it takes action and proper execution to obtain the results that you desire. 

This being said, it is the last day in March 2015, and maybe you haven’t began moving on your dreams for this year, yet. That means that one-fourth of this year is already over and you haven’t created the good momentum you need to see results. Your year so far might be the busiest time you have ever experienced in life and you are wondering where the last three months went. Or maybe you are on the other side of this, are already checking your goals off, and you are well on your way to making 2015 your best year ever. If that’s you, I absolutely love that you are seeing your desired results in your life right now!

But, if you are one of the people out there wondering where the last three months have gone and still don’t know quite where to begin to make this year great, I have three awesome tips for you. If you will let me, I want to help you take your foot off the brakes and show you how to begin accelerating immediately.

Here we go…

1. Realize just how much you want to accomplish your goals.

It doesn’t matter if your goals have to do with health in all areas, personal/fun, relationships, finances, or your career, you have to be “bought in” to take the first step. Without buy in, you will never be committed, and without commitment, your goals won’t accomplish themselves. But, when you decide you are in it to win it, your goals will begin to be fun, rather than some duty you sort of want to see happen.

2. Be aware of the magnitude of your goals.

Your goals are big. They are huge. They will impact you. They will impact a magnitude of other people. But, they will only have impact if you see them through.

3. See 2014 for what you gained from it, see 2015 for the opportunity it is, and see 2016 for where you will be.

Maybe 2014 was great for you. That’s awesome. You can continue that momentum into this year and keep building on your success. Or, maybe it wasn’t so great, and you need some big changes in 2015 to get things going in the right direction. Want to know the great news in this situation? You can begin right now!

The great decisions you make right now will change your life forever for the better. 

That’s your answer to see even better results in 2016. When you start making great decisions now, you will reap the benefits immediately, but also in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.

No, the journey to accomplishing your biggest goals is hardly ever easy, but adopting these three tips in your own life will make the journey much easier.

Now, take these tips and apply them to accomplishing your goals, today. Please leave a review on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode.

The post #054: How Are You Doing On Those 2015 Goals? appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

Being fully satisfied within a career was always a journey for me, before I found the life we are currently living out. I can remember that even in the midst of 2006 that I was unhappy with the job I was in, but it would take another six years to finally leave. This time span felt like a never-ending roller coaster that wasn’t ever going to let me off.

By 2009, we were anxious for any type of change that could and would take place, because we were searching for more of something. This “something” couldn’t be figured out by either of us, but we both knew there had to be good momentum found in movement. Jasmine and I wanted more stability than what my job was offering us then. We wanted to plant roots in a place that we loved, and we didn’t want to waste our life sitting on the sidelines. We knew we had to do something about it, so we did.

Later that year, we moved to Colorado, the state we had dreamed about for years, in search for something new. We moved west with a plan of staying employed with the company I had been with over the years, only until I could find another career in Colorado. That didn’t seem like too far of a stretch, and we were highly optimistic, thinking that I would switch careers in a few weeks or months at the latest. In the meantime, we would also help plant a church in the Denver area along with some friends we came out with from Georgia. Life was exciting, new, and full of adventure.

Well, I ended up staying with that same company for nearly three more years, for a total of ten, before we would leave what was familiar to us. Remember how I said we moved out thinking that I would just find another career shortly after we moved out to Colorado? Well, things didn’t happen the way we planned. It’s funny how time has a way of getting away from you when you let it. At the beginning of 2012, it was finally time to leave my career of ten years with the same company.

The main factor that caused me to leave was that my marriage was falling apart. (You know, it’s funny what choosing to work every hour of the day will do to you and your family. It will create distance. Let my life teach you something. Don’t do it.) My marriage desperately needing my attention and the constant reminder of needing to explore a different career for the past six years were the two driving forces behind me making this much needed transition. Yes, this is me reflecting on this time in life only three years later, so not much time has passed. But, one of the most important lessons I have ever taken away is to be a quick learner of life, especially from those times that have so many valuable takeaways in them that you can’t help but take a step back and take notice. I am thankful to have learned many beautiful life lessons during this season that helped mold me into the person I am today, and they will never leave me.

The process of leaving my job was like nothing I had experienced before. I have to say that I felt like a fish out of water as I searched for what I would be doing next, because after doing something for ten years, it was the only thing I felt comfortable with and qualified to do. I felt trapped in a box of preexisting qualifications that I had bestowed upon myself, without expanding my future horizon. I was only able to see my skills as it applied to working for that company, rather than seeing my full potential within something entirely different.

I was seeing that I needed to go and gather up a bunch of new resources and abilities, and hopefully have something better to offer a future employer. Not that there is anything wrong with gaining new information and developing yourself further – I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that you already have tons of information and potential within you right now waiting to be released. At that time in life I felt inadequate, I was stuck in the past, and the future was still a bit blurry.  I felt “stuck” and thought I needed to gain more in order to be an asset to others. But, when I understood that wanting something more was enough on its own, I began using the curiosity I already had and began creating a better path for the future.

Maybe right now in this moment, you find yourself in a season of transition, and maybe my journey reminds you of your own. The future is difficult to see right now, but it doesn’t have to be. When you have curiosity and pair it with movement, you have more control over what’s ahead than you may think.

Here are three ways to change your future for the better, starting right now with what you already have, in your current situation(s).

1. Treat any new season as a time of opportunity.

When I began moving and gave myself the opportunity to be curious, a whole new world of potential opened up. I didn’t even have to work for another company, if I didn’t want to. At first this was hard to understand, because I had been doing one thing for so long. I only knew the traditional work setting and that was comfortable for me. It took some time to understand that I actually could and would start my own businesses, even though it had never worked out before. Once I grasped onto the fact that I could create my own destiny, it gave me permission to do more with my life.

When you understand that the sky is the limit, it gives you freedom to make bigger and better choices to create a better journey for yourself.  

Even if the season you are currently in seems like all you can do is just wait for the next thing to happen so you can start taking some steps forward, you can begin doing something where you are right now. Stop letting other people tell you that you need to wait, and instead begin looking at your life as an open opportunity, because that’s what it is. When you stop putting your life in a box, and instead give yourself more room to explore, bigger and better things will happen.

2. Know that just because you have dealt with situations poorly in the past, that doesn’t mean you have to do the same now or in the future. See your value and live it out. 

As I reflect on this opportunity season of newness in life, I would approach it much differently, now. I would find what it is that made me valuable to the same company for ten years, and build on those things. I didn’t quickly see what I already had, but rather I saw all of my flaws and what I needed more of in order to become valuable.

When we don’t see our own value, we cannot offer value to others.

Instead of it taking time to see what valuables I already had in my possession, I would instead know them and own them right away, instead of wasting precious time. (But, know that life is a journey for a reason. It is the road that teaches us things like this.) Value is important, because you need to see it in your own life, and you need to live a life that gives value away to others through your relationships. Go and live out your value, and see the difference it makes.

3. Don’t ever forget how much of a role that other people play in your life.

We remember all of the people that rallied around us during that time of transition and helped us move forward, better equipped for what the future would bring us. We are eternally grateful for our friends who helped us and mentored us through that season. We came out of that time with a new understanding on what it means to help people and changed our complete worldview from the entire process.

It was other people who rallied alongside of us that helped us see what a difference we could make in the lives of those around us.

These people have changed us forever, because now we want to go and make that kind of difference in the lives of others. It is during this time where I intentionally changed the entire focus of this online community, because God and people are the only things that are important in this world. Our family now has more close relationships than we have ever had before, because we now understand the importance of building relationship with others, whereas we didn’t take the time to before. When you realize how much people matter, you find the importance of moving ahead with what you already have, rather than standing still, wishing that you had more.

I tell you all of these things to help you through any sort of transition within any future life decision. My best advice to you is to search what you already have in your grasp, instead of solely focusing on what new attributes that you can obtain.

I know that you already have so much to offer, you just need to see it for yourself, today. 

The post #053: What Tools Do You Already Have? appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.

Let’s face it. When you barely have enough time to breathe, you can’t focus on other people, because having too little time only allows you to focus on yourself. And if people are what life is all about, then we need to be aware of what our place is in the world around us and it is also important to be available for listening to what people have to say and filling the needs in their lives.

If the importance of time seems like a great concept, but you are still navigating the concept of time, here are three quotes from people who understood how to use time to their advantage to influence the world around them and beyond.

Steve Jobs said,

My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.

Benjamin Franklin said,

Lost time is never found again.

Nelson Mandela said,

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.

All three of these people understood keys to getting more done with their lives. They realized the power in stopping the complaints about the amount of time they had, and instead relentlessly followed their life’s purpose. As you begin to take the importance of time to heart, you will see that time is the most important resource you have at your fingertips. We all get the same amount of time, but what’s different is how every person spends it.

Are you ready to spend your time in better ways?

Here are three takeaways from these geniuses that we can all use to take back our time and get our lives back to a better pace.

 1. Know What You’re Focusing On All The Time

In an interview with Apple’s head of design, we gain some rare insight into the mind of Steve Jobs and see just how much emphasis he placed on focus. Not only for himself, but for those around him.

Most people refer to focus as what they would like to accomplish right now or within a set time frame, but for Jobs, “focus” was a singular, long-term, and constant obsession. Jobs knew what he was focused on, and that’s all that mattered all the time.

Steve was the most remarkably focused person I’ve ever met in my life. And the thing with focus is, it’s not this thing you aspire to, or you decide on Monday, ‘You know, I’m going to be focused.’ It is an every minute, ‘Why are we talking about this? This is what we’re working on.’ You can achieve so much when you truly focus. (USA Today)

2. Your Daily Routine Will Guide You 

Benjamin Franklin’s daily routine says it all. First, you need to know what you are doing, so if you are just taking life as it comes, take a lesson from Franklin here. As we look at his daily routine, we see just how important a detailed schedule really is and how important it is to use focus to take our time back for what makes the most impact in this world. So, what exactly do I see from his routine?  I see four things from his day.

He never failed to plan, work, examine, and have fun. 

If you implement these four things in your life, you will live out great days, weeks, months, and years. Your life will produce influence when you set your day up for success through a great daily routine.

3. Positivity In the Midst of Life Brings Influence

By just looking at the life of Mandela, I learn a wealth of knowledge that I can use on a daily basis. The fact that he was in prison for 27 years and was able to accomplish all that he did in much less time than the rest of us have, is truly remarkable. He took having a positive outlook on life to a whole new level. I mean, I can’t say that I would have the outlook on life that he did after being in prison for 27 years. Also, the fact that he had enough passion within him to put his life on the line, stand up for what was right and what he believed in, is inspiring to say the least.

The biggest takeaway from Mandela is that positivity paired with passion can accomplish more than we can even dream of if we will just put our minds to it. 

I love to look at the lives of others and learn from them on how they accomplished so much with their lives. When we take the time to take notes from this world, we gain more knowledge and are able to impart even more influence on the world around us.

When you apply these three things to your own life, you will take back your time and have more influence, today.

The post #052: Take Back Your Time and Have More Influence appeared first on Adam Kirk Smith.