Wisdom-Trek © - Archive 2

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 307 of our trek, and yesterday headed to new heights and discovered what it takes to live your dreams.  We discovered that we need to commit, plan, and act so that dreams will become reality as part of creating and living our legacy. Today we have some steep terrain to cover as we traverse the 7 steps to destroy bad habits.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. On Thursday evening of this week, we were blessed to be able to attend a retirement dinner for a long time employee of one of our clients. Paula made a quilt for him and his wife, which we were able to present to them at the dinner. This employee made it a habit of showing up each day and working hard, and now he can enjoy the fruits of his labor. We form a close relationship with our clients and employees, which is how we like to conduct business.  We consider them friends, just as I consider you my friend as you come along on our Wisdom-Trek each day.

As we think about habits, I think we all understand that habits can be good or bad. In order to make room for good habits in our lives, we do need to rid ourselves of the bad habits, so let’ head out for today as we hike our own trail and discover the…

Is it simple to destroy bad habits? Certainly not, sometimes it is very hard—but it’s far from impossible if you follow the right action plan.

Ok, let’s admit it, everybody has bad habits. Everybody. Now granted, some people have less than others and some people’s bad habits are more grating than those of others, but we all have them.

What is great is that we don’t have to continue in these habits. We’re all capable of change, so as Captain Picard of Star Trek would say, “Make it so.”

There are two kinds of bad habits: (1.) The ones you know you have but others may not notice and (2.) those you don’t know you have but everybody else is keenly aware of.

How do you get rid of a bad habit if you don’t know you have it? The answer is simple but hard…Ask somebody to be brutally honest with you. You might be afraid of being embarrassed, but would you rather everyone talk behind your back? Get up the courage and ask. Ask somebody who loves you and has your best interest in mind. Be gracious and don’t defend yourself. Just accept it and work on it.

What about the ones we know about? Those are the tough ones. Why? They must be tough if you know about them and yet you still have them. If they weren’t tough, they would be former bad habits.

How do you boot a bad habit out of your life? How can you destroy it and have victory over those bad habits? Here are 7 steps that must be a part of the plan:

In truth, some people actually want their bad habits to stick around. So, the first thing is to go deep into the recesses of your heart and ask, “Do I really want to give this up?” 

You do? Good. Then on to the next step…

Make them positive. Make the list long. Start with the really powerful and dramatic if you need to. Now, memorize the reasons. Put them in your mind.

You are making connections between stopping the bad behavior with what good things you will get from doing so. If you want to lose weight, then picture yourself slim with a lot more energy. If you want to stop smoking, picture your spouse actually kissing you rather than sending you to the bathroom to brush your teeth.

Once you have the information, this comes down to one thing: an act of the will. Choose to destroy those habits that you have identified as bad. Say to yourself throughout the day, I am choosing to destroy ________ habit. Eisenhower rightly said, “The history of free men is written not by chance but by choice, their choice.” Your decision to destroy bad habits is your choice. You can write your own history.

This is tricky because there are two philosophies about it. One theory is that you must take massive action—you must go all or nothing. Using the weight loss example, this person would go spend $500 to join a gym, rework their schedule, and hit the treadmill every day for a year. They will get rid of all fat in the house. They go all out, and that works for some.

Others would burn out on that, feel like failures, and be worse off than before. They should start out slow, taking baby steps but working diligently toward a planned goal. This person would decide to start walking three days a week. They would decide to limit dessert to two nights a week instead of seven.

Either way is okay as long as you get to the goal eventually. Which one are you?

This is your accountability partner. Tell them your goal and tell them your plan. Write it down for them, and have them ask you on regular intervals about your progress. This will prove invaluable.

Inevitably most people will have setbacks. The key is to have them be setbacks and not turn backs. Pick yourself up and get going again. Some people may want to lose 30 pounds and after losing 15, they eat a gallon of ice cream. Then they feel bad and give up. Don’t stop now! Reset your goal for another two weeks, and get going again. Chalk it up to experience! Say to yourself, “Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.”

You should regularly congratulate yourself by rewarding yourself with a gift. Start small with small victories and plan a big one when you are finally and for sure over the habit.

Bad habits are those undesirable actions that we continue to repeat, let us not be foolish by continuing in those habits that are undesirable and harmful, or we will end up like what is described in Proverbs 26:11, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.”

Is it that simple? Most of the time, no. Habits are hard to break. Your “why” for destroying that habit must be larger than your desire to keep it. There are so many intangibles that it would be hard to cover them all. But, this is a simple and workable plan that will help you make great strides if you just apply the principles.

Along our trek for today, we have navigated the 7 steps to destroy bad habits. Tomorrow we will explore the 6 essentials for a satisfying life. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person, so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 306 of our trek, and yesterday we hiked on a power trail called patience. This is a difficult trail for all of us, but it is so important that we conquer it. If you need assistance with being more patient, as most of us do, I have a free PDF Guide called 5 Steps to Become More Patient on the Wisdom-Trek.com website. It can be downloaded from the left sidebar on any page of the site. Today we will be heading to new heights as we discover what it takes to live your dreams.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The days seem to slip by so quickly it is almost like grasping water or embracing the wind. You can see the results and feel the impact, but it is almost impossible to control the flow. That is why it is so important to enjoy each day for what it is to live your dreams each day. We should not wait for some magical moment in the future because when tomorrow arrives it is already today. We also need to stop comparing ourselves to others. You are uniquely you, and your circumstances are different. Comparison will eventually lead to despair because there is always someone who appears to be better in any area of comparison…which is usually just our perception and not reality. To live your dreams, you only need to compare yourself to where you were yesterday and what is your God given ability and purpose for your life. Remember that you are creating and living your legacy each day.

So let’s head out for today as we hike our own trail and discover how to…

As we traverse our trek today and have the opportunity to observe others we can learn from them and allow them to assist us without comparing their lives to ours. Stop looking at other people who seem to live the good life and live your own good life. Commit to your improvement, and let it be you.

Each day, people are living their dreams. Wealth is created. Families form and create tremendous relationships. Individuals get healthier day by day. Life-long learners grow intellectually and improve their lives daily. Let it be you!

The fact is, living the life of your dreams is possible. People prove that every day.

Have you ever looked at someone who has money and wished that it could be you? People think about getting wealthy all of the time, but only a small percentage actually does. But anyone actually can. Someone is going to start a business. Someone is going to make a great investment. Why not let it be you?

Someone is going to decide to improve their relationships. Someone is going to enjoy love with their family. Someone is going to schedule some meaningful time with their friends. Why not let it be you?

Someone is going to become a life-long learner. Someone is going to go back to school. Someone is going to set a goal to read a book each week for the next year. Why not let it be you?

Someone is going to make the decision to become healthy. Someone will run their first marathon. Someone will join an aerobics class. Someone will start eating better. Why not let it be you?

You get the point. Everyday people are improving their lives. It is simply a matter of a decision being made. Let it be you! Make sure that you understand what your dreams are and why. Everything that we pursue has a price associated with it. For every decision we make we are saying yes to one choice, which will automatically mean that we have to say no to other choices. In order to live your dreams, there is a process that must be followed. Drill down on the “why” of your dream, and it will soon be clear whether you are committed to it.

So how can you live your dreams?  By following these very simple actions:

Are you going to improve or stay the same? No matter what you have achieved, you are at a certain point right now. What you have achieved in the past is fine, but it doesn’t make a difference for the future. The decision about what you will become is made each day and every day. Each day someone is making the decision to better him or herself. Let it be you. Proverbs 23:12 tells us, “Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.” So commit yourself to live your dreams.

Once you have decided to become better in any area of life, you will need to have a plan. It doesn’t have to be a long, intricate plan. It can be simple. Save a dollar a day. Walk a mile a day. Read an article a day. That is a simple plan with achievable goals. Someone is going to develop a plan that will take them into the future of their dreams. Let it be you. God desires us to make plans that are congruent with our life purpose. Psalm 20:4 confirms this, “May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.”

All of the great ideas, without action, become stale and useless. The key to turning dreams into reality is action. People who have great ideas are a dime a dozen. People who act on their dreams and ideas are the select few, but they are the ones who gain the wealth, health, and wisdom that is available. Someone will act today. Let it be you.

Stop comparing yourself to others who seem to live the good life, wishing that you were as well, and instead begin to commit to your improvement, develop a plan, and act on it. Someone is going to. Let it be you!

Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians 6:4, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.”

Along our trek today, we learned how important it is not to compare ourselves and our dreams to others. We need to commit, plan, and act so that we can live our dreams each day.

Tomorrow we will climb the 7 steps that destroy bad habits. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 305 of our trek, and yesterday we compared and contrasted the trails of popularity and success with the integrity trail. We determined that it is indeed possible to have both and not compromise your integrity. Today we will hike on a power trail called patience. This is a difficult trail for all of us, but it is so important that we conquer it.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.”  These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. As we look at the client work that needs to be completed in the next few months and some of our projects that we would like to implement, I have to admit that I do become impatient waiting. I would like to accomplish all of these tasks in a much shorter time period than our available time allows. As I have matured and become wiser, I realize that there is no need to rush and that everything that needs to be accomplished will be in its own time. I take encouragement from the practical advice found in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

So let’s head out for today as we navigate a difficult trail and discover the…

To quote an old proverb, “You can’t unring a bell.” Let me ask you this question, “Do you act on impulse and do damage control or manage when and how you ring that bell?” When you practice being patient, you will recognize the benefits immediately both for those that you impact and for yourself. Patience does not always mean inaction. It shows your ability to make wise, well thought out decisions on a timely basis especially when it involves dealing with others. You are always being watched for your actions and reactions in life. Patience is considered a virtue, but most people don’t feel that they have the high moral standards and unwavering maturity required for patience. We need to understand that impatience can lead to poor behavior, anger, and intolerance, which are character traits that are not desirable. So, how do we learn the power and practice of patience? How can we manage our feelings and recognize our triggers that lead to impatience?

One of the greatest and most difficult skills that I have to learn to develop is the power of patience. It has helped me personally and professionally more than any courses that I have ever taken.

The people that have the most positive impact on our lives were patient people who took the time to explain concepts to teach us and care for us. The result of learning this important skill is that it can help you develop every relationship in your life both personal and professional.

All of us are leaders in some aspect of life. As a leader, you must be decisive but also show patience as necessary. You will need to know when to be patient and when to immediately take action. In both instances, how you behave is critical to the outcome.

We have all seen the signs of impatience. You can see it in someone’s eyes, their actions, and in what they say. There are also key triggers to create poor behavior in those who easily lose their patience. How do you know when you’re becoming impatient? You will probably experience one of more of the following symptoms: erratic breathing patterns, tension, restlessness, anger, irritability, anxiety, and nervousness. It is also evident because you become susceptible to making quick, knee-jerk, snap decisions which manifest in poor decision-making and poor results.

What is the purpose of building patience abilities? It boils down to setting proper expectations for ourselves, which results in personal happiness. This includes peace of mind, better relationships, and more success. Well worth the effort, I’d say, but it does take effort. There is power in being patient as Proverbs 16:32 explains, “Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.”

Also in Proverbs 25:15, “Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones.”

Consider that while you are acting impatient. Those around you see this. Is this the type of character trait that you desire to pass on as part of your living legacy each day? Those that you impact will learn this behavior from observing you which is not beneficial to them.

When we sort out all of the excuses of why we are impatient, it all boils down to one factor. In a word, it is selfishness. We believe that our desires are more important than other people or situations. Patience should be manifested in all areas of life. Here are some beneficial examples of manifested patience:

1 Corinthians 13:4 – Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud.

Ephesians 4:2 – Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

Hebrews 10:36 – Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Patience is also one of the attributes of a mature Christian life mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23. – But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Are there ever reasons or situations where you should not be patient? Yes there are, especially if someone is being harmed or there is a potential danger to life or limb. However, how you “act” makes all of the difference when dealing with others. You should never lose your patience and get angry, abusive, pushy, or intolerant. I know this sounds easy in theory and is incredibly difficult in practice, but it can be done. We are driven by emotions, and at times impulsive, so we need to learn to practice patience. Patience is a learned skill, and only with practice can we develop skills to cope.

You need to realize and understand that you may never unravel why or how you feel about something. Be willing to acknowledge your triggers towards impatience. Understand the signs of impatience and develop ways to work through and manage them. Since you cannot change others, work on your behavior. Practice patience and it will result in making a positive impact and become part of the legacy that you are living each day. Remember, “You can’t unring a bell.”

Along our trek today, we learned just how powerful patience really is. When we are patient, we will have a more effective and positive impact than when we are impatient. Patience should become an integral part of the legacy that we are living each day. I have a downloadable PDF guide called the 5 Steps to Become More Patient available at https://wisdom-trek.com/resources/ that will walk you through the process of how to be patient.

Tomorrow we will hike the trail of living your dreams. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person, so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 304 of our trek, and yesterday we discovered the 9 signposts that help us to navigate the difficult trails of change. In particular, we discovered that when we come to an end of one trail, it is actually the beginning of a brand new tail. Today’s trail will take us to a place that may not be comfortable as we compare and contrast popularity or success with integrity.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. As we watch spring wake up from its winter sleep, we have spotted at least three different varieties of woodpeckers. The largest one is a pileated woodpecker (think Woody Woodpecker), next a red belly woodpecker, and then a couple of downy woodpeckers. That is an advantage of having very large and mature trees on our property, as they attract a lot of different wildlife. It appears that our pair of red shoulder hawks have laid their eggs or are getting close to doing so. The female is spending most of her time on the nest while the male seeks out food and additional nesting materials.

On Wednesday, we will be onsite with one of our clients locally to assist them with their monthly billing. It is very important to our clients and us that we have the utmost integrity in all of our transactions with them. In a world of moral relativism and situational ethics where success/popularity is more important than keeping your word, it is important that we understand the difference between.

The current election cycle in the United States brings this topic to the forefront of our minds. Although I do not like to generalize, most politicians and political candidates will say and do just about anything to persuade us to support them. The thinly veiled rhetoric leaves us confused as to what the truth really is. Most of the modern news outlets also contribute negatively to what actually is the truth. We should not get caught up in this same cycle in our own lives. The question to ask is, “Are popularity and success mutually exclusive with integrity?”

While it is difficult to see it in many areas of our current world, I would propose that true integrity is the very backbone of true popularity and success. If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this, Popularity and success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose. So, never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.

We live in a world where integrity isn’t talked about nearly enough. We live in a world where “the end justifies the means” has become an acceptable school of thought for far too many. Sales people overpromise and under deliver, all in the name of making their quota for the month. Applicants exaggerate in job interviews because they desperately need a job. CEOs overstate their projected earnings because they don’t want the board of directors to replace them. Entrepreneurs overstate their financial strength because they want the highest valuation possible from an investor. Investors understate a company’s value to negotiate a lower valuation in a deal. Customer service representatives cover up a mistake they made because they are afraid the client will leave them. Employees call in “sick” because they don’t have any more paid time off when they actually just need to get their Christmas shopping done. The list could go on and on, and in each case the person committing the act of dishonesty told themselves they had a perfectly valid reason why the end result justified their lack of integrity.

It may seem like people can gain popularity and power quickly and easily if they are willing to cut corners and act without the constraints of morality. Dishonesty may provide instant gratification at the moment, but it will never last. I can think of several examples of people without integrity who are successful and who win without ever getting caught, which creates a false perception of the path to success that you should follow. After all, each person in the examples above may have gained the result they wanted at the moment, but unfortunately, that momentary result comes at an incredibly high price with far reaching consequences. That person has lost their ability to be trusted as a person of integrity, which is the most valuable quality anyone can have in life. Financial success, popularity, or power is temporary, but success and popularity among those that you have the greatest impact on is completely lost because your lack of integrity.   

If you retain your integrity at all cost, then every person who trusts you will spread the word of that trust to at least a few of their friends and associates, and word of your character will spread like wildfire. The value of the trust others have in you is far beyond anything that can be measured.

A word of advice to those who are striving for a reputation of integrity, even if a person appears to be popular and/or successful, avoid those who are not trustworthy. Do not associate with them. Do not make excuses for them. Do not allow yourself to get enticed into believing that “while they may be dishonest with others, they would never be dishonest with me.” If someone is dishonest in any aspect of life, you can be guaranteed that he will be dishonest in many aspects of his life. You cannot dismiss even those little acts of dishonesty. This is a clear indicator that they will be dishonest in any areas of life depending on the situation. That is called situational ethics.

It is important to realize that others pay attention to those you have chosen to associate with, and they will inevitably judge your character by the character of your friends. Why is that?  It is best explained by a quote my mom would say when she was reminding me to be careful of the company I was keeping, “When you lie down with dogs, you get fleas.” Inevitably we become more and more like the people we surround ourselves with day to day. If we surround ourselves with people who are dishonest and willing to cut corners to get ahead, then we’ll surely find ourselves following a pattern of first overlooking their behavior, then accepting their behavior, and finally adopting their behavior. If you want to build a reputation as a person of integrity, then surround yourself with people of integrity.

If you desire to live and leave a lasting legacy, you must maintain your integrity above all else.   It could also be said that everyone you impact will receive the blessings of your integrity.

Along our trek today, we have compared popularity versus integrity and have learned that integrity should be maintained, regardless of its cost in popularity and success. Our integrity should never be compromised if we desire to create and live a lasting legacy and impact on our world. Tomorrow we will hike a trail that I believe we all find difficult as we explore the power of patience. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person, so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 303 of our trek, and yesterday we explored 9 ways to stay young. On our trek today, we will be on the lookout for the 9 signposts that will help us to navigate the difficult trails of change.  In particular, we will discover that when we come to an end of one trail, it is actually the beginning of a brand new tail.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. After a relaxing Sunday afternoon, we have many tasks and activities for this week. This includes both client work and tasks around The Big House. The weather has turned a bit cooler this week, and if you hear our wind chimes in the background today on our podcast, it is because the wind is quite brisk today. The extra special blessing is that we are enjoying being able to invest time with our grandson Kip this week as he is staying with us until we return to Charlotte on Sunday.

As we head out on our hike for today, we need to recognize and understand that just as there are different seasons of the year, there are different seasons in our lives. Change is inevitable, and the more we are prepared for these changes, the easier they are to accept and adapt to. As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

Let us look for the…

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

During certain seasons of life, we may choose or be forced to start a new beginning. When you can no longer think of a reason to continue, you must think of a reason to start over. There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction. And, there are three little words that can release you from your past regrets and guide you forward to a positive new beginning.

On our hike today, let’s look for the signpost with these words, “From now on…”

So, from now on…

Along our trek today, we learned for every season that ends in our lives, a new season begins. We located the 9 “From now on…signposts” or lessons that we can learn from during these times of change and transition.

As we hike our trail tomorrow, we will compare popularity and integrity and see if they are mutually exclusive? So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 302 of our trek, and yesterday we explored the 9 different moments each day that will bring us happiness. Today we are going to travel on the Fountain of Youth Trail and learn 9 ways to stay young.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.”  These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on.  If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It was a great weekend of activities. Our three older children and their families were with us Saturday, and we had a family Easter dinner that evening. On Sunday together we worshiped our Risen Savior Jesus Christ. What a great blessing it was.

We also have the blessing of our grandson Kip staying with us for this week. We will continue our renovations and have a full client load, so it will be a challenging week accomplishing all that we would like to complete. We are glad that we are young both mentally and physically for our age, as it gives us the strength to carry on even when we are busy.

There are certain habits or character traits that will help you to feel and stay young. On our trail today we will explore and examine…

Youth is wasted on the young—or at least, that’s what has been declared, but it would be a travesty if it were true. Youth is not only a time of life; it’s also a state of mind.  Paula and I often speak on how we still feel that we are in our 30s.  We do still consider ourselves young—and we intend to stay that way.

You can have a youthful outlook and attitude at an older age, or an old-fogey attitude at a young age. The choice is yours.  Want to stay young at heart and mind? Here are a few ideas to help you:

You can pick your friends, and I like to choose those who are positive and those who challenge me. They make me feel good. They don’t drag me down or make me angry at the world. Negative people see the difficulty in every opportunity while positive people see the opportunity in every difficulty. We need to be choosy of who we become close friends with or spend a lot of time with. 1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us, “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

I think Henry Ford put it best when he said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”  You should consider that you are a disciple all of your life. Never stop learning.

Don’t forget to take the time to enjoy the things that you like to do—go for a walk or to the movies, read a good book, watch a favorite TV show, or spend time with your family. To stay young, you have to have a good balance in life.

Starting your day with a good laugh, or, at least, a big smile, is as beneficial to your health as it is to your mood. Scientific studies have concluded that laughter benefits the heart, lungs, stomach, and other organs. It relaxes tension, changes attitude, and increases the body’s natural painkillers. Plus, it has no harmful side effects.

Exercise is good for your mind as well as your body. Studies show that healthy employees have decreased absenteeism, improved performance, and improved morale. I’ve always felt that a healthy life is a dynamic life.

The human body is the only machine that wears out faster if it is not used. Cherish your health. If you’re healthy, do what you can to preserve it. If your health is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

You are responsible for your own happiness. We sometimes convince ourselves that life will be better after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, or buy a bigger house. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events might not make any difference at all. If you are not happy with the stuff you have now, you will never be happy with more stuff. There is no magic secret to happiness, but it starts in your head.

You can’t escape stress, but you can avoid creating unnecessary anxiety. You just need to find a stress reliever. Mine is running, working on renovating The Big House, and working on the lawn. If the stress just doesn’t go away, then you have to make some changes in your life that might be more stressful in the short term but healthier in the long run. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

I remember a story about the worry tree. At night, an accountant would go home from work and place all his worries on a tree in his front yard. The next morning he would pick up those worries on his way to work, but surprisingly, they weren’t as heavy the next day. Taking trips can be enjoyable, but stay off the guilt trips.

I learned years ago that visualization through life planning is the most powerful means of attaining personal goals. Visionaries can achieve whatever they want by determining a plan to attain it and expecting positive results. Visualization doesn’t do the planning, and it doesn’t anticipate the obstacles. But, it gives you a real idea of what is possible, if you want it bad enough. Vision is not so much what you think as how you think. If you can visualize it, you can make it happen. If you have a vision to build a house, you must take care of the preliminary requirements before beginning as it tells us in Proverbs 24:27, “Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.”

Harvey MacKay put it into perspective, 

Along our trek for today, we learned the 9 ways that will help you stay young. As we hike our trail tomorrow, we will search for the 9 signposts to turn endings into new beginnings. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 301 of our Trek, and yesterday we explored the Wisdom of Silence. Through it, we discovered that there is much to be learned from silence and that it is not necessary to be speaking unless it is both encouraging and relevant.

Today on our trek, we want to search for 9 different moments each day that will bring us happiness. Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.”  These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy.

While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This episode will originally air on Easter Sunday, which is the most special day in the Christian calendar as it is the day that Christ rose from the grave which allowed us access to God through Christ. We should all take some time to reflect on this.

On Saturday, our three oldest kids, their spouses, and their children came over for dinner and a great time of fellowship together. They have other plans for dinner on Easter, so this certainly was a special time for us to get together. Being able to have all six of our grandchildren with us at the same time is always a special treat for Granny and Gramps. Kip will be staying with us here at The Big House again this next week since it is spring break at his preschool. Buddy and Chelimo both have to work during the day, so it gives us an opportunity to invest another week with Kip. This certainly builds on our legacy we desire to live each day and brings happiness and joy into our lives.

Speaking of being happy, it is time to break camp ad head up the trails for us to search for the 9 moments that should bring us happiness every day. Let us discover how we can infuse into our lives the…

Success and happiness aren’t easy to achieve. It takes a lot of time, hard work, and choosing the right attitude to get there. That’s why, along the way, you’ve got to take advantage of moments — those brief periods of time each day when all can be right in your world. As I have said several times, “Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” Throughout our daily trek of life, here are nine moments worth experiencing every day.

William James said, “We don’t laugh because we’re happy – we’re happy because we laugh.” There’s physiological evidence that shows that laughing puts you in a better mood. Take time every day to laugh and you’ll find it’s both contagious and uplifting. Surround yourself with funny people, find opportunities to laugh at yourself, and laugh your way to success in any area of life.

This is how Tony Robbins puts it, “Say to yourself, here is an opportunity for you to celebrate like never before, my own power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary.” We don’t take the time to celebrate small successes enough – or even big successes. At the end of every day take at least one moment per day to celebrate the good in your life. Even if they are small situations.

Marcus Tullius Cicero said, “It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, the force of character, and judgment.” 

We all lead such busy lives. It’s important to be able to take at least one moment each day where we do nothing but think. Put your phone away, get somewhere by yourself, and simply reflect on the day. Take the good from those reflections and determine how they can be applied to decisions in the future.

Yesterday we invested our time on how it is wise to be silent at times. Morgan Freeman put it this way, “Learning how to be still, to really be still and let life happen – that stillness becomes a radiance.” There’s reflection, and then there’s true stillness – the ability to shut off everything, including your mind, and get into a meditative state. The busier your life is, the more valuable it is to practice moments of stillness. Prayer, yoga, and meditation are the most popular ways to get into a state of stillness if only for a moment. Stillness brings us in touch with God as it says in Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

A lot of people associate the word “pride” with something negative. But you have so much to be proud of. God made you special, you are completely unique. King David wrote in Psalms 139:14, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” You can afford to take a least one moment each day where you sit back and appreciate all that you have done and the good person that you were able to bring into the world. Take pride in the little things you’ve accomplished in the last day.

Michael Crichton says, “All your life, other people will try to take your accomplishments away from you. Don’t you take it away from yourself.”

Pride in your accomplishments is great, but so is a moment of humility in which you appreciate your tiny role in the profoundly large universe around you. When we take a moment to appreciate the amazing world around us, it’s hard not to be happy for all that we have. The popular quote by C.S. Lewis sums it up, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” 

Humans are made in God’s image, and we desire fellowship with each other just as God does with us. Take at least one moment a day to connect with the people around you – your spouse, friends, and family. Hold someone’s hand, or give someone a hug, or cuddle with someone. Your happiness isn’t just about you, it’s about others. Dean Ornish said, “The need for connection and community is necessary, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.”

Laughter is great but joy is even more powerful. Take a moment to experience the joy of your kids or family, the joy of your spiritual connections, or the joy you can find in play, or music, or dance, or work. Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians 4:4, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!”

Ralph Marston writes this way, “If you so choose, each day can be filled with even more joy than the one before. If you so choose, even the most seemingly random events can work in your favor.”

Finally, take a moment each day to express gratitude for what you have, for the people in your life, the experiences you’ve had and will have, and the world around you. You can’t physically feel angry or upset and grateful at the same time, so just taking a moment of gratitude will make you happier. Make a habit of writing down all that you are thankful for. Ephesians 5:20 says, “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Along our trek for today, we stopped to ponder 9 moments that will bring us happiness each day if we take the time to consider them. Tomorrow we will hike on the trail and look for the 9 ways to stay young. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 300 of our trek, and yesterday we compared the trails of inheritance versus legacy.  We discovered that although many people think of them as the same, there are distinctive and important differences between the two.

We have crossed over the 300-day milestone, and we are excited as we continue toward completing a full year of Wisdom-Trek.  Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume small “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy.

While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. As we have been observing our pair of hawks, we have settled that they are Red Shouldered Hawks based on their coloring and calls. We do not believe that they have laid their eggs yet as both of them remain very active working on the nest, flying around and eating small rodents. We will keep you updated as we observe more.

It is great as I enjoy watching God’s creation and being able to see spring wake up, all while standing in silence at my computers and doing what I love, including creating these journals for our daily Wisdom-Trek. There is wisdom in being silent and observing.  This brings us to our trek today as we explore…

Today let us discover the art of Learning to Talk Less and Say More.

You know who I really appreciate? Those people who aren’t uncomfortable with silence. Those people with whom you can sit at a table and have a delicious meal and not feel uncomfortable when none of you has anything to say. I love people who can communicate with one another not just with words but also with silence.

As we hike onward today, I will mix some quotes, proverbs, and some good practical “horse sense” about the treasure of silence. I am sure that you have experienced being with someone who just could not stand a moment of silence, so they filled every gap of silence with speaking even if it was not relevant. Some people are convinced that to be a good conversationalist that there has to be a verbal conversation going on.

Life is a series of balances. Extremes on either end of the spectrum are usually not prudent. As a Swedish Proverb says, “Fear less, hope more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Hate less, love more; And all good things are yours.”

I am sure all of us have done the same where we have been in a situation when we have talked too much or have said something that was either inappropriate or irrelevant. There are times we just talk and talk without actually saying anything. Maybe it’s because we want to feel that we’re heard and that people acknowledge our presence and existence. But, is that really the way to go about it? Wouldn’t it be wiser to talk less and say more while at the same time immersing ourselves in those moments of silence and allowing them to just be? Those individuals that habitually talk too much are usually a victim of a low self-image or a puffed up ego, which are two sides of the same coin.

Plato described it this way, “Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”

It seems to me that a lot of times we talk just so we won’t keep quiet, thinking that silence is something to be ashamed about, something to be avoided. But, it’s not. There’s nothing wrong with silence. I don’t know how we got this idea that silence is awkward and that it should be avoided at all costs. In fact, two verses that I enjoy from the book of Proverbs address this issue bluntly. Consider these verses the next time you are ready to open your month.

The first one is, Proverbs 17:28, “Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.”

The next on is Proverbs 10:19, “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”

These two verses should give us pause when we feel compelled to open our mouths and share our “wisdom.”

Silence is a precious gift. In that space between our words is where we find ourselves. When the mind is quiet, when there are no thoughts and no words to be said, we can hear our own heart talking to us. We can hear our own soul and our own intuition. These are the times that God can really communicate with us as Herman Melville explains exactly what I mean, “God’s one and only voice is silence.”

When we allow ourselves to be quiet, to breathe in and breathe out, without the need to force ourselves into saying another word or thinking another thought, that’s when we can hear God’s voice, our inner voice, our heart, and intuition. That’s when we can experience our spirit being united with God’s Spirit. This is where we are able to discover our own beauty and perfection that we are within God’s economy.

I have learned more from being quiet and from embracing silence than I have learned from thinking and from talking. Silence is my greatest teacher, whispering things in my ear and helping me know things that I won’t be able to discover from anywhere else.  Francis Bacon said it this way, “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.”

The reason why so many of us are under so much stress is because we haven’t yet learned how to quiet our minds and embrace silence. We haven’t yet learned to appreciate and see the value and the wisdom that come from being quiet.

Who says that you have to be thinking and you have to be talking all the time? Who says that it’s not okay to have moments when you just don’t have anything to say? Who says that you should be talking nonstop even when you don’t have anything valuable to say?

The Roman poet Ausonius said, “He who does not know how to be silent will not know how to speak.”

Learn to talk less, but say more. When you use your words, use them because they will brighten someone’s day and because they will teach and impact people with something valuable. Don’t just use words for the sake of using them. Use them because you have something to say.

Do you believe that we can only communicate by using words? Do you think silence is something to be avoided? When you are alone with someone, if there are moments when none of you has anything to say, does that silence make you feel uncomfortable?

Some of the most precious times that Paula and I have is the comfort that we can have being together and not saying anything. Knowing that our love for each other is always there, even when nothing is being said. Become comfortable with yourself.

As we continue on our Wisdom-Trek each day, take time to be silent and reflect on life. Remember that God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. Tomorrow we will hike on the trail and look for the 9 moments of happiness. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person, so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 299 of our trek, and yesterday we remained at camp around the campfire and explored the importance of investing time to relax and recharge as part of our life. I do struggle with this on a personal level but am committed to making a little R&R part of my regular schedule.

Today we will head back out and compare the trails of inheritance versus legacy. While there may be some cross over, they are distinctively different. Since we started our trek on day 0, today is our 300th day on the trails of life. Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume small “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy.  If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We have had some real beautiful spring days this week, the daffodils are in full bloom, and watching our pair of hawks outside our office window as been an awesome sight.  I have also included a couple of pictures from the refinished library in today’s journal.  We will have to let the polyurethane on the floor dry solid before moving the furniture back in this weekend.

It is now time to break camp and head out to explore a couple of trails that are similar but can be drastically different. Since one of the objectives on our Wisdom-Trek is to create a living legacy each day, we want to make sure that we have a clear understanding of the difference between:

So often we tend to equate legacy to inheritance, but in fact, they are very different things. Inheritance is about money and possessions but legacy is about the person. Let’s think about it in these two descriptions.

Inheritance is something you leave. Legacy is something you place in them.  An inheritance is something given to a person. A legacy is something done in a person. When you leave something behind as an inheritance, the recipients are temporarily happy and satisfied. But when you leave them a legacy they are permanently transformed.  If you have been on our Wisdom-Trek over the past 300 days, you know that one of our primary focuses is not just to leave a legacy when you die, but to impact everyone each day through a living legacy that will change eternity.

The truth of the matter is that we need to be much more concerned about our legacy each day than the inheritance we will leave some day. Sure, we need to make sure our wills and other financial areas are in place and protected for the next generation. The Bible mentions inheritance nearly 60 times, so it does have an importance in our lives, such as is mentioned in Proverbs 13:22, “Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.”

Even with its importance, legacy goes far beyond the time the money or stuff runs out. Legacy is eternal. Inheritance is gifts received. Legacy is values imparted into someone else. Inheritance is a temporary reward. Legacy is an eternal reward. One day we will all die, and we can’t take anything with us. That is why it is important that we live with our eternal impact in mind. That impact is the one thing that will last forever.

We need to first be sure our eternity is secure and that we have dealt with the reality of sin in our lives. We will stand before God and give account. We need to be sure we are ready for that meeting and that we have dealt with the things that will keep us from an eternity with Him. Then we need to be focused on living our positive legacy that will impact others for eternity. We all will leave a legacy. It isn’t optional. It happens because of the way we live. We need to make sure we are living in such a manner that it is creating the kind of legacy we want to leave. Examine your priorities. God wants to live and leave a legacy through you each day of your life. He wants to put value in your life. He wants to put something that is forever in your life.

As stated, the fact of the matter is that we create a legacy while we live. It isn’t something that magically appears as we pass from this earth through death. It is something we create intentionally while we live. This is why it is important to have a life plan based on your purpose for your life. So our life plan becomes the foundation for our legacy plan. As we live each day, we are putting our legacy in place. The people we touch, the things we teach, the moments we create, the love we share…they all go into creating our legacy.

Inheritance leaves behind a monument, but legacy is a movement that continually perpetuates. An inheritance can help us to expand our legacy, but it is not our legacy. Our living legacy is a success that is continually going on. With a monument, it will be destroyed over time, but with a legacy it is a movement that will never die. The impact of our lives can last if we make sure to do the things that matter most while we are living.

What does your living legacy look like? That is how it will impact eternity. How intentional are you today in creating your legacy for tomorrow? If you died today, what would your legacy look like? I have more work to do, so I’m not ready for that. I doubt you are either. We need to get ready today because we don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we can know who holds tomorrow! Let us use Ephesians 5:1-2 as a basis for creating and living our legacy each day, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

As we hike our 300th day on our Wisdom-Trek, let me read the vision which is on the Wisdom-Trek.com website.  Our vision is that together we will create a legacy of wisdom and seek out discernment and insights to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before and live long and prosper as a result.  Tomorrow we will hike on an interesting trail as we discover the Wisdom of Silence. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 298 of our trek, and yesterday explored our final trail of the total of 18 trails on the trek we call the Principles of Spiritual Growth. It was quite an extensive trek and was a little different than our previous treks that we have taken. I trust that you found this information valuable in your own life, regardless of where you happen to be on your faith trek.

Today we will remain at camp and sit around the campfire as we invest some time exploring ways to relax and recharge. I struggle with this on a personal level, as there are always more projects to work on than there are hours in a day. I do realize that time for proper sleep, rest, and relaxation are an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. I am certainly trying to learn these lessons as we explore them. We have covered many different types of terrain on our nearly 300 daily hikes, so if you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We are making good progress on both our client workload and renovations. I have completed the library woodwork and floors, so we will be able to move the furniture back in this weekend. Paula is going to paint the back wall of the built-in bookshelves in the library before we move all of the books back in. It is the old plaster walls and they could use a good coat of paint. I will post some pictures in the journal later this week. Although it is difficult work doing the renovations, I also find it a relaxing time away from constantly being at my standing desk in front of a computer.

It is time to share 9 tips to relax and recharge around our campfire today. I learned these tips from one of my virtual mentors, Brian Tracy whose courses I have learned much from over my business career so far.

Most of us realize that regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness. The question is, if we know that, why don’t we make it a priority in our lives. I certainly am pointing my finger at myself on this one, so let us digest these nuggets of insight together. Here are some techniques for relaxing physically that are used by the most successful people in our fast-paced society of the western world.

First of all, work only five or six days per week, and rest completely on the seventh day. Every single study in this area shows that you will be far more productive in the five or six days that you work if you take one or two days off completely than you ever would be if you worked straight through for seven days. Of course, God was the original designer of this concept as it declares in Genesis 2:1-3, “So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.”

During this time off, do not catch up on reports, organize your desk, prepare proposals, or do anything else that requires mental effort. Simply let your mind relax completely, and get busy doing things with your family and friends. Maybe work around the house, go for a walk, engage in physical exercise, watch television, go to a movie, or play with your children. Whatever you do, discipline yourself to shut your mental gears off completely for at least one 24-hour period every seven days.

Take one three-day vacation every three months, and during that time, refrain from doing any work. Do not attempt to catch up on even a few small things. If you do, you keep your mental gears in motion, and you end up neither resting nor properly doing work of any quality.

Take at least two full weeks off each year during which you do nothing that is work-related. You can either work or relax; you cannot do both. If you attempt to do a little work while you are on vacation, you never give your mental and emotional batteries a chance to recharge. You’ll come back from your vacation just as tired as you were when you left.

If you are involved in a difficult client relationship or situation at work that is emotionally draining, discipline yourself to take a complete break from it at least once day per week. Put the concern out of your mind. Refuse to think about it. Don’t continually discuss it, make telephone calls about it, or mull it over in your mind. You cannot perform at your best mentally if you are emotionally preoccupied with a person or situation. You have to give yourself a break.

Since a change is as good as a rest, going for a nice long walk is a wonderful way to relax emotionally and mentally. As you put your physical body into motion, your thoughts and feelings seem to relax all by themselves.

Also, remember that the process of digestion consumes an enormous amount of physical energy. Therefore, if you eat lighter foods, you will feel better and more refreshed afterward. If you eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain products, your digestive system will require far less energy to process them.

Since your diet has such an impact on your level of physical energy and through it your levels of mental and emotional energy, the more particular you are about what you put into your mouth, the better you will feel and the more productive you will be. We know now that highly processed foods, carbs, and sugar are not good for your body. The lighter the foods you eat, the more energy you have.

Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

I trust that you see the value and have enjoyed exploring these powerful and yet simple to implement tips that will help you and me to relax and recharge completely. I plan on putting them into practice, what about you? Tomorrow we will hike up an interesting trail to discover the difference between a legacy and inheritance. So, encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our podcast for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person, so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!