Wisdom-Trek ©

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 194 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Rationalize or Rational Lies? Part 1

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 194 of our Trek, and yesterday we learned the importance of collecting the dots on your trail of life so that you can connect the dots as you move forward in your trek of life. Today and tomorrow we are going to hike Rationalize Mountain and determine some of the reasons why we rationalize all sorts of actions and behaviors in our lives. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Paula and I are looking forward to a “date-night” on Friday as we were gifted tickets to a performance of Charles Dickens, The Christmas Carol.  It is one of our favorite stories of the Christmas season.

Let’s begin our Trek for today to see how far we can hike, and then we will finish up the hike tomorrow. As we view Rationalize Mountain from the foothills, we start to come up with reasons why we just might not want to move forward. We might not want to face the fact that when we start to rationalize our actions in life, most of the time we are just telling ourselves “rational” lies to justify the actions that we take. So our Trek today will be called…

Rationalize or Rational Lies – which is it? #1

Are you rationalizing your decisions? Let me answer that for you real quick. Yes, you are. We all do. I do and so do you.  Even the very first two humans Adam and Eve rationalized their choice in the Garden of Eden as is written in Genesis 3:11-13, “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

Let’s move forward on our hike and we will discover:

Why we humans rationalize our decisions

The difference between what we think influences our decisions, and what really influences our decisions

How being aware of this can help you make better decisions

How it can help you influence others by appealing to the right motives

1. Why We Rationalize

We humans rationalize our decisions. All of us. Every day. But I can show you how to spot when you’re rationalizing your decisions and how to discover the real reasons behind your decisions. Then, I will show you how to use this to start making rational decisions.

Let’s say you go to an electronics store and a salesperson talks you into buying the newest gadget that has dozens of features you don’t need. Then you get home, and someone asks you why you bought it. You might well answer, “Well it does this and that, and it has this really cool feature, and look how useful this little feature is!”

The problem is that you find out that you really don’t end up using many of those features ever again after the first time you try them. This shows you that you didn’t really buy the gadget for those features. You bought it because you had a rush of emotions and you really wanted that gadget at the store. And when someone points out you made a silly decision there, you rationalize with all the features to show you actually made a good decision. So there’s your first reason why we humans rationalize...

· We rationalize to protect our egos.

But that’s not the only reason. Another reason is that we like to think we act rationally.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 193 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Collecting and Connecting the Dots

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 193 of our Trek, and yesterday we hiked the “Ink It” Trail where we learned how to “Ink it when we think it.” Today we are going to collect the dots on our trail so that we can connect the dots as we move forward on our trek of life. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As I got up this morning at 5:30 as I usually do, I was really tired after a couple of nights of sleep that were way too short and a very busy workday yesterday.  I was dragging a bit and not real enthused about a fast run on the treadmill...but I did push through and started on the first of two 5k maps that were next on my list of pre-programmed runs. As a side note, having Google Maps built into the treadmill through a wireless internet connection is really neat. I went ahead and set out at a fast pace. The front room where the treadmill is located in Home2 faces east, and as I looked out the window, I saw a sliver of moon and to the right of it, the bright and morning star. It was a beautiful picture. (Yes, I do realize that is actually the planet of Venus).

Seeing this was encouraging as I thought of how Christ is referred to as the morning star in 2 Peter 2:19, “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.” It certainly made running the remainder of the 10k easier and more enjoyable. I want to encourage you to look for those special moments that are part of each day.  Those moments are happening all around us, so make it a habit to collect them as we see how they connect to our lives.

On today’s Trek, we want to make a habit of collecting the dots in life so that we can connect them to see how God is working through us each day. It is then that we will achieve true success and live the rich and satisfying life that we should. We will call our trek today…

Connecting the Dots

In 2011, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer and Pixar gave a commencement address to the graduating class at Stanford University. He talked about creating passion, life, and death, and “connecting the dots.”  The dots were events in his life, many challenging and many positive, which led to his many successes. He shared with the audience that being fired from Apple Computer, the computer company he founded, he was able to step back and develop the idea for Pixar Animation Studios. By achieving the great success at Pixar, he was eventually asked to come back to lead Apple Computer. This eventually led him to spearhead the launching of one of the most revolutionary products of the 21st century…the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. He explained that he felt that he would never have achieved his successes without his failures and setbacks. He was able to connect the dots to see how it all added up.

Here are five reasons why taking the time to connect the dots will give you a roadmap for success in your life.

1. All dots are good.

Many times we face challenges in our lives that when we are in the middle of them they seem difficult, and making us look like and feel like failures.  This is because we are focused on the imagined “downside” of the challenge. We lose focus on the good that can come out of the situation. Even in difficult times,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 192 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Productivity - Hiking the Ink It Trail

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 192 of our Trek, and yesterday we climbed and conquered Alibi Mountain as we bypassed all of the “If Only” rabbit trails. Today we are going to hike the Ink It Trail where we will learn how to “Ink it when we think it.” If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. What a great time to be alive! Just to think that through our computers, we can communicate with anyone all over the world nearly instantaneously is amazing. The adoption of the internet worldwide, and especially mobile technology, is growing so rapidly. We must not overlook the opportunities that will allow us to impact others.

One area that I will be pursuing going into 2016 is to establish a community of podcasters that are Christ followers to provide them with a platform for services and support. This will be called The Christian Podcasting Network, and if you are interested in receiving additional information about it when we roll it out, email me at [email protected]. The impact that we can have in the faith community has a tremendous potential worldwide.

One word of caution though, with so much information online we can become easily overloaded with more information than we can effectively process if we are not careful. That is why we must put into place a system to capture those great ideas so that we can implement them when the time is right. We can’t possibly act on all of our ideas, so capturing them is essential.

On today’s Trek, we want to dig up some nuggets of wisdom that I discovered from Laura Stack, who refers to herself as “The Productivity Pro.” Playing off her terminology, our hike today will be along the “Ink It” trail. On our hike for today we will learn one of the best ways of…

Increasing Productivity: If You Think It, Ink It!

John Steinbeck said:

Laura Stack’s father had a saying he used to repeat often. He always carried around one of those little Mead spiral notebooks, which he liked to call “his brain,” and whenever an idea would strike him he’d write it down and say, “If you think it, ink it!”

Laura’s dad was correct. You can’t depend on your brain to remember everything, especially when you’re in the middle of another task. Nor is it a good idea to drop the task you’re working on and go wandering off after the new idea. Oh, you can do that…But if you make a habit of it, you’ll never finish anything, and you will waste hours in your day. No wonder so many people feel they are ADHD. With sensory overload today, it so easy to get distracted.

So, when you have a random thought that sounds good, get it down on paper (or electronics) ASAP. You can use a little notebook, a handheld device like a smartphone, a compact voice recorder, 3 x 5 index card, or a standardized planner—whatever works for you.

I personally use Evernote which is loaded on my phone, tablet, and all computers because it syncs the exact information everywhere. For about a year before I started the Wisdom-Trek podcast, I started compiling a list of topics for daily episodes. My list contains nearly 300 topics, with more being added as I check off the ones that I have already completed.  This is all handled within Evernote. No matter what I am doing or where I am, I can record an idea or clip an article and put it in Evernote. This allows me to “Ink it when I think it.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 191 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Conquering Alibi Mountain

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 191 of our Trek, and yesterday we learned how to overcome the obstacles of conflict that may be blocking your trail to success. Today we are going to climb and conquer Alibi Mountain. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. We traveled safely back to Indian Trail arriving late Sunday evening. As always, I am blessed to have Paula drive so that I am able to work on the Wisdom-Trek episodes. Our week is starting out busy as we had anticipated.

We were able to set up our outdoor silhouette Christmas Nativity set, which was made for us by a friend a few years ago. We are also decorating the house for Christmas. It is a little later than usual, but since we were at The Big House since before Thanksgiving, we did not have the prior opportunity. After discussing Christmas with our five grown children, we plan on having our family Christmas celebration on January 9th at our home in Indian Trail. This will allow them to have their own celebrations with their children on Christmas. Since we travel between The Big House and Home2 so often and the fact that The Big House has additional on-going renovations, this was the best solution where everyone could be present. We are looking forward to our delayed celebration.

On today’s Trek, we want to climb and conquer Alibi Mountain, which is one of the most difficult hikes that we make in our lives. It is so easy to come up with excuses for why we are not able to do or accomplish certain things in life. In our hearts, though, we realize that it boils down to the fact that we don’t want to pay the price in time, energy, or resources to succeed at a certain task. We all do this, and none of us are exempt although there are certain individuals that are much better at coming up with convincing alibis.

So let’s head out now to…

Conquering Alibi Mountain

People who do not succeed have one distinguishing trait in common. They know all the reasons for failure and have what they believe to be valid alibis that are impossible to overcome. Very few realistic goals or ambitions are unachievable, except for in our minds. Now it is true that at 5’ 4” in height, it would be very difficult for me to become a quarterback in the NFL or a center in the NBA, but we are speaking of realistic opportunities that we have in life.

Our true choices that we have available for this season of life are somewhat controlled by choices that we have made in the past. But be very careful that you do not manufacture alibis that are not true. As we hike up Alibi Mountain, let us destroy all of the “If Only” rabbit trails that we find ourselves going down. I will read off each trail as we pass them, and then we can move beyond each one as we scale to success summit.

The “If Only” Rabbit Trails for not achieving in life are…

If only I had time…

If only times were better…

If only other people understood…

If only conditions around me were different…

If only I could live my life over again…

If only I did not fear what "they" would say…

If only I had been given a chance…

If only I were younger…

If only I were older…

If only I were thinner…

If only I were better looking…

If only I were in better health…

If only I had the talent that some people have…

If only I dared assert myself…

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 190 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Overcoming Conflict

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 190 of our Trek, and yesterday we explored why it is wise to always discuss issues and not argue. Today on our trail to success, we will learn how to overcome the obstacles of conflict that may be blocking your trail. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio.  Saturday I spent over 9 hours taking down acoustical ceiling tiles, trim, and wallpaper.  It required a lot of going up and down on the ladder and removing hundreds of staples that were holding up the tiles using needle nose pliers. Fortunately, the wallpaper came off easily. To say that I was exhausted at the end of the day would be an understatement.  The Marietta grandkids came over for the evening and assisted with some final wallpaper removal, and Paula and her mom were a big help picking up most of the tiles and wallpaper.

 

On Sunday, I spoke at the morning service at Putnam Congregational Church.  The lesson was the 5 Principles of Planting and Harvesting, which compared farming to planting and harvesting in our own personal lives. If you would like to hear a similar lesson, listen to Day 15 of our Wisdom-Trek, which is the outline that I used for the lesson today.

After church, we finished packing up the car and headed to Home2 in Indian Trail, North Carolina. We will remain there until Christmas Eve when we will head back north again. We will be at Home2 for about 2 ½ weeks with much work and many activities already planned.

It is now time to head out on our Trek for today, and it has been reported that there are some major obstacles on our trail. The obstacles seem to be caused by conflicts that we are having with other people as well as conflicts that people are having with us. In both types of conflicts, we need to come up with a solution that will get us around or through these obstacles.

Overcome Conflicts Which Block Success

Anytime you are making ground and moving toward success, there will inevitably be the opportunity for conflict. That is just a fact of life. You put two people or more in a group, and there is potential for conflict. And conflict, improperly handled, can destroy your ability to continue on and achieve your goals.

This is true in many areas of life from home, to work, and even with school. It can happen in marriage, and it can happen to family members, friends, and business associates. And when conflict goes bad, success will be limited. The good news is that conflict, when handled properly, can be healthy and actually move you closer to success. Success is based on relationships and relationships offer the chance of conflict, so to get success, you must master conflict. With that in mind, here are some ideas for handling conflict.

When you are the one who is confronting the problem with someone else:

Don't assume. Don't assume the worst. Don't assume that they meant what you think they did. Don't assume they know any better. Don't assume they did it on purpose. The fact is that most of the time our assumptions are incorrect and all our assumptions do is cause us to get into a deeper hole.

Ask questions. Since you can't assume anything, you must begin your confrontation by finding out the facts as that person sees them. Some questions to ask include What was your intention in saying or doing that? (Maybe they had good but misguided intentions.), What were the thoughts behind those words or actions?

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 189 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Discuss, Never Argue

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 189 of our Trek, and yesterday we studied The Science of Making Wise Decisions. Today we will explore why it is wise to always discuss issues and not argue. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio.  After meeting with our renovation contractor, we decided to go ahead and have the ceilings in the library, parlor and downstairs hallway/foyer all dry walled at the same time since it will save us the additional cost of mobilization and scheduling. Because of this, I will be working on Saturday to remove the acoustical ceiling tiles in the parlor and downstairs hallway/foyer.  This was not part of our plan for this weekend, so I will have to work quickly to get it all completed. We will also be looking at replacing the windows in the library and parlor this spring. The original windows in the house are drafty and not as functional as they should be.

We are looking forward to the Marietta grandkids coming over Saturday evening, and I am sure they will love helping Gramps with additional renovations. I will leave the wallpaper for them to remove.  It is quite old and comes off easily.

Let’s move on to our Trek for today as we set out on our trail to discover why it is wise and prudent to always discuss matters of differences and avoid arguing.  When Paula and I were dating the year before being married, one ground rule that I set between us is that I would not argue with her. I wanted to set the guideline for our marriage and felt that as differences arose, then as intelligent and rational adults we could calmly discuss any issues that we may have. After over 36 years of marriage, I can say that we have kept that commitment and have never had any type of significant arguments between us. It is possible if you are committed to making it work.

Now onto our trail for today, which we will call…

Discuss, Never Argue

There are some personalities that can be labeled as argumentative and that shows in their behavior and relationships. Arguments can be avoided and a lot of heartaches prevented by being a little careful. The best way to win an argument is to avoid it. An argument is one thing you will never win. If you win, you lose; if you lose, you lose. If you win an argument but lose a good job, customer, friend, or marriage, what kind of victory is it? Pretty empty.

Arguments result from an inflated ego. Arguing is like fighting a losing battle. Even if one wins, the cost may be more than the victory is worth. Emotional battles leave a residual ill will, even if you win. In an argument, both people are trying to have the last word. The argument is nothing more than a battle of egos, which results in a yelling contest.

· How do you “Argue” With Your Spouse or Close Friend?

There should be no losers. Do you really want your spouse, whom you love, or friend to lose an argument with you? Think how constantly losing arguments with you plays on your spouse's or friend’s self-esteem. Did you know spouses influence each other’s self-esteem more than any other factor during their married life? Arguments are usually started because one spouse feels that the other is messed up or wrong. The Bible has something to say about how to correct someone when you feel they are wrong.

The Bible teaches that love should be "slow to anger" and that love "covers a multitude of sins" and that we should not think we are better than others (including our spo...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 188 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

The Science of Making Wise Decisions

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 188 of our Trek, and yesterday we hiked the trail of 10 Principles for Gaining Self-Confidence. Today we will study The Science of Making Wise Decisions. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We are making some progress on the library. After removing the ceiling tiles, we have determined that the plaster ceiling that was under them is not suitable to finish, so we will need to have that ceiling dry-walled. Since I am not skilled in installing drywall, we have contacted our renovation contractor to see if he has time in his schedule. We were hoping to avoid the extra expense of the drywall, but it was not to be. These are the joys of renovating an older large home.

Our client work has been extremely brisk this week, but we are making progress. It is my hope that I will be able to do some 2016 planning on Saturday before having our grandkids in for the evening.

It is time to shift now, and make some decisions about our trek today. Every day of our trek of life is filled with decisions.  If we make wise decisions, then the opportunities and choices for our lives are expanded. If we make unwise decisions, then our opportunities and choices for life are limited by those decisions. On today’s trek we will explore…

The Science of Making Wise Decisions

To think we go through our day, every day, making decision after decision without really thinking about how we do it. At least until something challenging pops up, and then we wring our hands and constantly repeat, “I just don’t know what to do.”

Even in those moments, we naturally seek out the opinions and advice of people we love and trust. But still, we hesitate, worry, and procrastinate, putting off the puzzling choice. We fear it will be the wrong choice. We fear the consequences of our perplexing decision. We worry about people getting hurt.

But, there is hope!

 

The Study of Making Wise Decisions

People actually study the process of decision making! They develop models for making decisions with algorithms, equations, and even games of chance (flipping a coin). However, most studies agree on the 6 C’s of decision making:

Construct

Compile

Collect

Compare

Consider

Commit

Yet, few take into consideration our access to the God of All – the very creator of the universe.  Learn to make some big decisions using the 6 C’s plus a 7th C, which is Christ!

The 7 C’s of Making Wise Decisions

We must take an active role in the decisions that we make to ensure that they are good and wise, but we also have to realize that our wisdom actually comes from God as is mentioned in Proverbs 16:1-4,

We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer.

 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster. 

As we take the advice from the above passage, let us then weave it into our decision-making model:

Construct – Think of this as drawing a map. You want to know exactly what needs to be decided. Are you deciding to move or drive to a job site ...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 187 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

The 10 Principles of Self-Confidence

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 187 of our Trek, and yesterday we learned the 10 habits to create a better day. Today we will expand this concept as we hike the trail of 10 Principles for Gaining Self-Confidence. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It was a bit of a windy day, and the large wind chimes provided us nature’s music throughout the entire day. Our workload continues very full this week, so it has left little time for focusing on our 2016 business plans so far. As the Christmas holiday approaches, we hope that we will see a bit of a slowdown, and we will take advantage of those opportunities. We will be watching our four Marietta grandkids on Saturday evening while Elizabeth and Nat attend his company Christmas dinner. I also have the privilege of speaking again at Putnam Congregational Church this Sunday, so I am preparing for that as well.

Time to head out on our trek for today as we hike the Self-Confidence trail and search for the 10 principles that we can apply to our lives that will allow us to gain confidence and esteem. Self-confidence is manifested as an opposite of arrogance, which is usually a result of low self-esteem.

As we begin today, consider this quote from Malcolm Forbes, “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” This quote can be linked to a Bible verse that I have used a couple of times in the past week, which is Psalm 139:14, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Another verse that should help us to gain confidence is Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” 

As we meditate on these two verses, it is not arrogance that we should gain but a humble thankfulness to God for who we are in His sight.

Let us focus today on...

The 10 Principles of Self-Confidence

 

1. The importance of self-confidence in our lives cannot be overstated.

It is, after all, a lack of self-confidence that causes our lives to be tossed to and fro by the sway of culture. From the very beginning, we see the harmful effects of low self-confidence on our decision-making process while the fear of rejection becomes an all too common presence in our lives. It causes many to adopt the values of the group and engage in otherwise undesired behavior.

Simply put, the need for love, belonging, and acceptance becomes stronger than the internal compass within us. And many unhealthy life choices begin to emerge.

In adolescence, this need for acceptance begins to show itself in substance-abuse, underage-drinking, dangerous sexual practices, or mischievous behavior. As we get older, some of these habits remain, but new ones also begin to emerge.

The desire to find acceptance by impressing those around me with my possessions begins to motivate aspects of my life. And whether it be a certain home-size, vehicle-model, fashion trend, or latest technology, many of our purchases are made with a simple desire to keep up with the neighbors and not be regarded as “falling behind.” Our need to impress and be accepted becomes more important than wise spending habits.

2. Self-confidence redirects our life.

It begins to realign our desires with the unique heart inside us.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 186 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

10 Habits to Create a Better Day, Every Day

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 186 of our Trek, and yesterday we explored how success is achieved by giving to others. Today we will learn the 10 habits to have a better day. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. I had a steady work day today with much still to do, but I take it a day at a time.  I have so many plans for going into 2016 and would like some dedicated time for planning, so I will have to block it out in our busy schedule. It has been a rainy and cool week here in Marietta, and I am thankful for a work environment where I can enjoy it without having to be out in it.

Let’s start out today as we continue our trek. Whether we are on an actual hike or just hiking through each day of life, there will be some days that are just difficult. On those days, it seems like we are trudging up a steep slope that is strewn with loose rocks and limbs where it is difficult to make any progress. Each of us has those days occasionally, but we do want to keep them as few as possible. How can we overcome the potential of having “bad days”?  On our Trek for today, I will share 10 habits that will help you to create a better day today and every day. 

So let’s get started on our hike of the...

10 Habits to Have a Better Day Every Day

Wake up 30 minutes early.

Get up 30 minutes before your usual time and take the first half hour for yourself. Once you get busy and into the day, there never seems to be the time for yourself. Take this time to plan to get the most from the day. Start by making this a habit each day and reserve this time for you. For this season of life, I get up at 5:30 each morning so that I can be dressed and ready to exercise at about 5:45.  I spend about 70 minutes exercising, most of which is running on the treadmill.

Read, listen, or watch something uplifting.

Make this a daily habit. Get out of starting the day with no mental food. A great day does not begin with the news or the paper. It begins with ideas or energy that will propel you through the day. What you first hear will stay with you throughout the day. During my time of exercise, I listen to encouraging podcasts, meditations, and Scripture readings.  This helps significantly in setting my mind in the proper thought pattern early.

Eat a good breakfast to start you off right.

Get something good into your body to wake it up and get it going. Think about the energy you will need to perform. Every day we run a marathon. What would you need to eat and drink to win it? After a shower, I usually have a breakfast of a protein drink, some carrots, water, and coffee.  If you do exercise in the morning, it is important that your breakfast contains protein to rebuild your muscles. Stay away from excessive carbs for breakfast as they will be detrimental to your energy levels.

Choose your winning attitude.

There are enough negative issues in the world to go wrong without sabotaging yourself. Your attitude is a choice you make. Don't let it come between you and your success. Be careful to keep it positive all day long – the choice is truly yours.

Be aware of what others are telling you.

The people around us have a profound effect on how we get through life. Our closest friends and family are our greatest environmental influences. Make sure you have the best advisors you can find. Also,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 185 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

7 Stepping Stones to Success

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 185 of our Trek, and yesterday we stopped by the 12 Mile-Markers for building your character, which resulted in 6 character traits that you possess as a result. Today we will explore how success is achieved by giving to others. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. In addition to a full workload, today we were able to have Elizabeth and four of our grandchildren over. Elizabeth and Paula made split pea and ham soup with the ham that was left over from Thanksgiving. Homemade split pea soup is delicious.

On today’s Trek, we are hiking the trail of success. I think that everyone desires to be successful, but what many people do not grasp is that the trail to success is paved by helping others obtain what they desire from us.  One of my virtual mentors, Zig Ziglar, said it best in his famous quote, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

So let’s get started on our hike of the…

7 Stepping Stones to Success

A major part of the process of achieving success and living the kind of life that you dream of is to give. Many people think that to get what you want you have to take it. There is a universal truth, though, that the true trail to get what you want is to give. When you give, you get. What you plant, you will harvest. The Bible mentions this correlation numerous times such as in Galatians 6:7, “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”

If this is true, then what is it we must give? I'll show you the way…

Give others your honesty. The world we live in has a simple rule that most follow: Lie when you have to. Unfortunately, this may make some people wealthy, but it make us humans poor. To achieve success is to become wealthy not only in money but in character. To be successful, truly successful, is to be able to attain your goals and keep your character at the same time

How about you? Are you honest in all things? The problem with little lies is they become big ones. Lies spin out of control. You get caught in one lie and you lie to get out of it, etc. In all things and at all times, give others your honesty.

Give others your respect. Most of the time we give people respect based on what they have done or what they have accomplished. We gauge whether or not they are "worthy" of it based on what we know of what they have achieved or who they know or are related to.

But I believe we should have a higher standard. We respect people not for what they have done or for who they are related to or for what they can do for us. Instead, we respect people for simply being themselves.

Give others your vulnerability. We are taught to "be strong." And yes, we should be strong. But we have also embraced something that I think keeps us from having the kind of life that we long for. It is an idea that keeps us from experiencing the kind of relationships that would bring deep meaning to us. It is the idea of vulnerability.

"But Guthrie, make yourself vulnerable, and people will step all over you!" It is true that this will happen. But I have also seen that most people will be drawn to you. They will help you. They will open up to you. You see, we are all broken people inside. We all have secrets. Yet everyone plays the poser.