Wisdom-Trek ©

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 124 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Your Beliefs Create Your Reality (1)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 124 of our Trek. Yesterday we discovered how our beliefs affect our decisions which affect our outcomes. We are going to expand this subject over the next few days and explore how your beliefs actually create your reality. This is why it is so crucial to make sure that your belief system is on a solid foundation. If you have any of your own observations, comments, or questions as we share time together on our daily trek, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio, and this morning I was able to finish coating the woodwork in the dining room. I will put the first coat of polyurethane on the floor tomorrow, so by Saturday morning, I should be able to get the second coat applied. After that, we will allow it to dry over the next couple of weeks while we are in Charlotte before moving the furniture back into the room.

Our client workload continues to keep us busy, and it always seems to be a bit of a balancing act to cover the various and different demands of each client.  I do have to admit that at times we feel like the proverbial plate spinner in the circus making sure that we keep all of the plates spinning without them crashing.  Since we do the work remotely, it does allow us to work the hours needed to make sure we accomplish it all.

As we prepare for our Trek and the dangers that we may face today, we discuss the concern about depth perception on narrow trails that are strewn with loose rocks. This is a particular concern on downhill slopes where a misstep could send us tumbling down the trail or worse yet over a cliff. As we think of this, I am reminded that our perception is our reality in our trek of life.

Perceptions come from your beliefs; therefore, what you believe becomes your reality. As we trek today I want to ask you, "What if some of your beliefs about yourself and your worldview are not true?" What if you have self-limiting beliefs about your world that are restricting you from fulfilling your God-given potential?

We all have the imposter syndrome to some extent. Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident or potential success. Let us not confuse this success with material wealth; that is only one minor measure of a successful life.  As we discovered on yesterday’s trek, what we allow to go into our mind impacts our beliefs.

One of my virtual mentors put it this way, “You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You change what you are and you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”

Remember Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart/mind, for everything you do flows from it."

Since your beliefs are your reality, you need to make sure that your beliefs are based on truth.  You need to make sure what you think about each day is based on Philippians 4:8, "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Even those individuals who may not be coming from a Biblical position understand the importance of what we allow in our minds such as:

"Whatever your mind can conceive and can believe, it can achieve," Napoleon Hill.

"Whatever we think about and thank about we bring about," John Demartini.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 123 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Beliefs -> Decisions -> Outcomes

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 123 of our Trek. Yesterday we continued our commentary of the book of Proverbs and completed Chapter 1 verses 8 through 33. We will be intermixing our Proverbs commentary occasionally throughout the daily treks.

Paula and I have a two trips planned over the next six weeks, so we will be recording some additional Proverbs episodes in advance to air while we are on these trips. As with all of the Wisdom-Trek episodes, if you miss any of the Proverbs episodes, they are located on Wisdom-Trek.com along with the written daily journals.  Today we will be discovering how our beliefs affect our decisions which affect our outcomes.

As you spend time with us on our daily trek, if you have any of your own observations, comments, or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages on Wisom-Trek.com.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio, and this morning I continued to make some progress in our dining room and am still on track to finish it by the end of this week. Our contractors are also in this week to finalize some of the trim work that they needed to complete. So, hopefully we will be able to entirely complete the current projects before we move onto the next room, which will be the library.

As with our daily trek of life, it is important to take time to celebrate the small milestones, victories, and accomplishments. One of these accomplishments is the very positive feedback and gradual increase of trekkers who are joining with us each day on our Wisdom-Trek.  Thank you so much for being part of our wisdom community.  Joining us each day will positively impact your beliefs, which will impact your decisions as well as your outcomes or results. So, let’s head out on our trail for today and learn how to have positive outcomes in our lives.

If you have joined us on previous days, you realize that as a person of faith, I feel there is much wisdom that can be gained through God’s Word. What we allow to impact our beliefs will have a significant impact on the results that we achieve in life. The Bible tells us there are three reasons why what you believe is important. The first reason why you need to know what you believe and why you believe it is because it shapes your life.

Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart/mind, for everything you do flows from it."

The Bible tells us that our beliefs determine our decisions and behavior. If there are things in your life you want to change, you don’t change them from the outside in. You change them from the inside out. You start with your thought life, not by trying to change external things.

Second, if you have a faulty worldview, it’s going to cause all kinds of unnecessary problems in your life. Proverbs 29:18 says, "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful."

When you don’t have God’s truth and a correct worldview, you stumble all over yourself. But when you pay attention to God’s revelation, then you are blessed.

Do you want your life to be blessed? Just attend to the truth. Pay attention, and get your worldview in line with truth, not popular opinion.

The third reason is found in 1 Peter 3:15, "Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it."

God expects you to not only know what you believe and why you believe it but also to be able to explain it to ot...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 122 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Proverbs - Chapter 1:8-33

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 122 of our Trek. Yesterday we began the actual commentary of the book of Proverbs and completed Chapter 1 verses 1 through 7. Today we will continue on with verses 8 through 33. If you miss any of the commentary covering the book of Proverbs, I would suggest that you listen to any missed episodes. Every daily episode can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com along with the written daily journals.

If you have any of your own observations, comments, or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio, and today we worked all day at one of our client locations as we do each month to assist them with processing and printing of their customer billing.  Being onsite also gives us an opportunity to catch up on some of the loose ends that need a little more attention.  It was a good day of work, and overall everything ran smoothly.  It is rewarding to be an integral part of our clients businesses and to bring them added value. In all of our interactions each day, we should nurture value and trust into our relationships.

During our Trek through the book of Proverbs, we will learn the correct trails to take each day. Some days these trails may appear very difficult for us as they will hit points in our lives that need correcting. This knowledge will be gained through the use of clear instructions, great truths, practical stories and experiences, comparisons and contrasts, and imagery and poems, all of which are contained in Proverbs.  Using our skills of observation that we discussed yesterday, let’s head out for our Trek today as we continue on our trail of discovering wisdom in lessons from two different perspectives.

A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom

8 My child, listen when your father corrects you.

Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace

and be a chain of honor around your neck.

In Solomon’s time, both parents educated their children. It is good when children can learn from both parents. If you have children or grandchildren, use every day experiences of life to impart instruction.  Make it enjoyable.

We should listen to wisdom. Wisdom is beautiful, and it is valuable. To possess it is like a crown on your head. Or, it is like a gold chain round your neck. To obtain wisdom, we must study, and we need discipline. Just like our trek of life, we cannot become wise quickly. But, wisdom will improve our lives.

Some people imagine that they know a quicker way to improve their lives. Solomon warns about such people in verses 10-19. These type of people offer friendship (verse 14), but their friendship cannot last because their plan is evil. They offer rich rewards (verse 13), but really they will suffer a terrible fate (verse 19). Wisdom is much better than any evil plan.

· The thieves’ plan

10 My child, if sinners entice you,

turn your back on them!11 They may say, “Come and join us.

Let’s hide and kill someone!

Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!

12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave[b];

let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.

13 Think of the great things we’ll get!

We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.

14 Come, throw in your lot with us;

we’ll all share the loot.”

15 My child, don’t go along with them!

Stay far away from their paths.

16 They rush to commit evil deeds.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 121 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Proverbs - Chapter 1:1-7

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 121 of our Trek. Yesterday we continued with the beginning of our commentary on the book of Proverbs, and we discovered why Proverbs is important in our pursuit of wisdom.  As I mentioned yesterday we won’t go straight through the book of Proverbs consecutively, but we will intermix the commentary with other daily wisdom nuggets. Today we are beginning the actual commentary of the book of Proverbs.

If you are not familiar with the structure of a commentary, I will read each verse or group of related verses and then share a brief observation or comment on that verse or group of verses. This type of study is one of the most effective ways to learn and apply information on a practical basis.

I would like to challenge you, though. You do not have to agree with my observations and comments of the verses. It is my hope that this format will give you an opportunity to think for yourself and grow in insight and discernment and then grow in wisdom. If you have any of your own observations, comments, or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.

Before we get started, I want to remind you of the drawing in celebration of the 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek. We will have a drawing on October 5th when we will be giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts. There are only two more days to register.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. It has been a busy and full day of work activities and the day has rushed by once again.  After some exercising this morning, I made additional progress on the woodwork in the formal dining room. I have it mapped out so I should be able to finish the woodwork and floors by the end of the week at least based on my current plans. I so enjoy the view from the office here, as I have the opportunity to observe the leaves just starting to change in colors.

As we head out on our Proverbs trail today, one of the most powerful skills that we can possess while hiking is the skill of observation. If we are going to enjoy and learn from our daily journey in life, it is imperative that we hone our skills of observation so that we do not miss the critical and enjoyable moments of our lives.

During our discussion on our Trek through the book of Proverbs, we will be using the tool of observation. This is equivalent to using a pair of field glasses or binoculars while hiking. It allows us to see the crucial, awe-inspiring, and breathtaking moments of life up close and personal.

As we look at the verses in Proverbs through the binoculars of our mind, we will see the treasures of wisdom in detail so that we will be able to create a legacy of wisdom, seek out discernment and insight, boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before, and live long and prosper.

During our trek through the book of Proverbs, we will learn the correct trails to take each day. This knowledge will be gained through the use of clear instructions, great truths, practical stories, practical experience, comparisons, images and poems, all of which are contained in Proverbs. Let us not delay any further as we start in Chapter 1 of Proverbs.

The Purpose of Proverbs

1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

Solomon wrote both proverbs, or wise words, and songs. In all, he collected 3000 proverbs along with 1005 songs. The Book of Proverbs contains many of them. This book teaches us how we should live. It explains the way of wisdom. It warns us about being foolish.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 120 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Proverbs - The Purpose

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 120 of our Trek. Yesterday we started a commentary on the book of Proverbs with a background introduction of the book.

We won’t go straight through the book of Proverbs all at once, but we will intermix the commentary with other daily wisdom nuggets. Today we will look at why studying the book of Proverbs is so important for wisdom and lay out the six sections within the book.

Before we get started, I want to remind you of the drawing in celebration of the 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek. We will have a drawing on October 5th when we will be giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts. There are only three more days to register, and you can register once per day.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio.  Today we drove to New Castle, Pennsylvania, to see our newest grandchild Evelyn Grace. She is the cutest little girl and her proud parents Barnabas and Leesha are doing well.

Today our campfire is burning brightly, and as we listen to the crackling of the wood, it almost sounds as if is part of our conversation, sharing in the nuggets of wisdom that we are consuming.  As we continue to share more introduction to the book of wisdom, you contemplate "What is the purpose of the Book of Proverbs?" As your mentor and your guide, I strongly believe if you desire to gain wisdom and desire a life built on wisdom, then Proverbs must be the foundation for your life.

I am going to keep our discussion of Proverbs more conversational as if we were literally sitting next to each other. Through the magic of our modern technology I am right there beside you. If you have any comments or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.

As I share the wisdom of Proverbs, I will also weave some related scriptures into our lessons as they apply. So, let’s get started.

1. How do we gain wisdom in our lives?

Since you are on our Wisdom-Trek with us, you have already taken proactive steps to gain wisdom. Congratulations and thank you for trekking with me. If you feel that you are lacking wisdom, as I do in so many areas of life, then all you need to do is ask God for wisdom as instructed by James, the half-brother of Jesus in his letter written to the dipersed believers in the 1st century AD.

James 1:5-8, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

2. Why is Proverbs so important?

Proverbs accomplishes something no other biblical book does. It simply compiles numerous short instructions for living an effective life on earth. While other books articulate profound theological truths, lengthy narratives of triumph and failure, or prophetic preaching to a disobedient people, Proverbs concerns itself completely with instructing people in the path of wisdom. The writers of the book recognized the varied circumstances of a person’s life and provided principles to apply in a variety of situations rather than instructions to follow in only a few specific instances.

3. What's the big idea of Proverbs?

Proverbs states its theme explicitly very early in the book,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 119 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Proverbs - The Background

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 119 of our Trek. For the past three days, we had an extended trek as we explored the reasons we make excuses, which are primarily based in fear. Then, we discovered the types of excuses we make, and yesterday we learned how we can eliminate excuses forever. If you missed any of the past three days, please check out the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal to catch up.

Today we are going to deviate a bit from our scripted wisdom lessons and begin an overview and commentary of the ultimate book of wisdom, which is the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs has more nuggets of wisdom condensed into a short, easy to read book, than any other book ever written.  The truths contained in Proverbs are the basis for most other books of wisdom. We won’t go straight through the book of Proverbs all at once, but we will intermix the commentary with other wisdom nuggets.  As we go through the book of Proverbs, we will be assembling a complete commentary that will be available as an eBook in the future. I will also be assembling the Wisdom-Trek journals into a series of quarterly eBook volumes that will be available for downloading.

Before we get started, I want to remind you of the drawing in celebration of the 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek.  There are only four more days to register and you can register once per day. We will have the drawing on October 5th and will be giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. On Saturday, we spent the morning with our four Marietta grandchildren as Elizabeth ran some errands. In the afternoon, we celebrated our granddaughter Hazel’s 1st birthday.  She has just started to walk and is a sweet little redhead with bright eyes and a cute little smile. It was a treat. My dad was also able to attend, so it was really good to spend time together once again as family.

On the days that we spend studying the book of Proverbs, we'll just sit around our campfire, relax, and enjoy the wisdom nuggets that we will consume. These tidbits of wisdom that we will explore are like making s’mores over the fiery coals. They are sweet to our taste and delicious to consume. It also gives us an opportunity to reflect on gaining wisdom.

I am going to keep it more conversational as if we were literally sitting next to each other.  Through the magic of our modern technology I am there right beside you. If you have any comments or questions, please share them in the comment section of our daily journal pages.

As I share the wisdom of Proverbs, I will also weave some related scriptures into our lessons as they apply. So, let’s get started on our time together for today.

Proverbs - The Background

All we will be able to cover today is a background to the book of Proverbs. Most of the book of Proverbs was written or assembled by King Solomon who ruled the nation of Israel for 40 years. He was the third King of Israel after Saul, who was killed in battle, and then his father David who died of old age and chose Solomon as King after him based on God’s direction. Solomon brought peace and wealth to the nation. Solomon’s workmen built palaces, and the great temple which was a permanent house for God in Jerusalem.

When he was young, Solomon obeyed God. He asked God for wisdom, and God gave it to him. The account is found in 1 Kings 3:3-15.

3 "Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of w...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 118 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

How to Eliminate Excuses Forever

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 118 of our Trek. The past two days we explored the reasons we make excuses, which are primarily based in fear, and we discovered the types of excuses we make. Today we will learn how we can eliminate excuses forever. Please make sure you listen to all three episode on excuses to understand the full story.

 

In celebration of our 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek, please check out Wisdom-Trek.com and sign up for our drawing for a free Wisdom-Trek t-shirt that will take place on October 5th.  We are giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Our big news for today is that our sixth grandchild, Evelyn Grace was born at 12:53 am Friday morning.  She is the daughter of our middle son Barnabas and his wife Leesha. All three of them are doing well. We are so thankful and blessed. We now have three grandsons and three granddaughters. Granny and Gramps hope to be able to visit Grace within the next few days after she and Leesha have time to rest.

We drove up to Marietta today and will be up here for about 10 days with several activities planned. Hazel’s 1st birthday is on Saturday and our nephew Caleb Chamberlain is getting married on October 3rd in Lancaster Ohio so we are able to attend his wedding also. In addition, I will be continuing on with our renovations. It is slow, but life is a marathon. And, The Big House will probably be around a lot longer than I will, so there is no real rush. Perseverance and consistency are always on the trail to long-lasting success.

One way to ensure success in our daily trek is to make sure that we eliminate excuses because excuses stifle our results and make us less effective. So, it is time to head out onto the trail today and look for the markers that will teach us to eliminate excuses forever.  The markers are not hidden, but you do need to follow their instructions if you want to successfully navigate the trail of no more excuses.

During the past two days of our Trek, we explored the trails of specific types of excuses and presented some ideas on how to overcome the excuse obstacles on our path. On today’s trail, we will study the markers that will give us some general ideas, suggestions, and techniques we can use to eliminate all excuses forever.

 

As we study these trail markers, it’s important to understand that our excuses lead to stagnation and a life of regrets. Moreover, success in any field of endeavor requires a period of discomfort where we must venture into unfamiliar territories not knowing what to expect.

· Trail Marker #1 – Avoid Making Comparisons

Making comparisons between yourself and others will often make you feel disheartened if you are unable to live up to people’s standards and achievements. Instead, only compare yourself to your “best self.” No other comparisons are necessary. If through your highest efforts you surpass your personal best, then that’s good enough, at least until your next attempt.

· Trail Marker #2 – Avoid Dwelling on the Past

The moment we begin dwelling on past mistakes or failures is the moment we begin experiencing the emotion of regret. Immediately we look to point the finger at someone or something else in order to justify our failures instead of taking responsibility for our decisions and actions. As a result, we begin rationalizing and making excuses for our failed attempts.

If you begin today by focusing on the present moment rather than on the past,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 117 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

The 11 Mountains of Excuses

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 117 of our Trek. Yesterday we explored the reasons we make excuses and realized that it boils down to fear.  Today we want to extend this exploration and discover the types of excuses we make. Tomorrow we will learn how we can eliminate excuses forever. Please make sure you listen to all three episodes.

 

In celebration of our 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek, please check out Wisdom-Trek.com and sign up for our drawing for a free Wisdom-Trek t-shirt that will take place on October 5th.   We are giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  This has been one very exciting day for the Wisdom-Trek team. Our younger daughter Janet turned 30 today, and we were able to celebrate with her and Rowan, our son Fred and Doug, along with a few other family members and friends. I am not sure when Janet passed me in age, but I guess it happened.  It was a nice evening together. We were also able to have our close friend Howard over for an early dinner this evening. It was great to get caught up on his recent activities.

Our niece Sarah Jenkins and husband Andrew also gave birth to their son Bennett today. Plus, I was featured in a podcast interview that was released today on the All In Podcast Show hosted by Dan Giordano.  Take a minute to listen to the show. It was a great experience.

Last, but certainly not least, our middle son Barnabas and his wife Leesha went to the hospital today, and we are waiting for our sixth grandchild, Evelyn Grace to be born. Granny and Gramps are anxious for the news of her arrival.

With all this good news and the activities of the day, it was a bit hard to focus on the work at hand. We did not allow these events to keep us from our tasks that needed accomplished, though. It is so easy to use daily events in our lives, our current situation, or our upbringing as excuses, but we need to take responsibility for the outcomes or results in our lives.  On today’s Trek, we want to examine the 11 most common excuses that we all use at times, and tomorrow we will learn how to overcome them. Our trail today is a longer one, so strap up your hiking boots and come along with me on a fast paced trek over the 11 Mountains of Excuses.

 

The 11 Mountains of Excuses

Excuses come in many forms, and we tend to make them in many different ways.

Even though excuses vary from person to person, there are certain excuses that we all tend to make at one point or another. On our trail today, we will break down these excuses and discuss what they mean and how we can deal with them when they crop up in our lives.

· Excuse Mountain #1: There’s not enough time…

This really means that you’re lacking passion, focus, discipline, and/or direction. Likewise, it suggests that your priorities are out of sorts and that you may be lacking the ability to manage your time effectively.

Alternatively, this excuse could indicate that you simply don’t value your time or just don’t want to take the time to do what you feel you must in order to achieve your desired outcomes. In fact, the causes for this excuse could very well be narrowed down to procrastination or even laziness.

· Excuse Mountain #2: There’s not enough money…

This means that you don’t consider money to be a priority or you are simply looking for an easy way to make money and don’t have the desire, determination, persistence, or patience to work hard to achieve financial security.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 116 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

The Reasons We Make Excuses

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 116 of our Trek. Yesterday we explored the attributes of a person who achieves results. The opposite of results is excuses. All of us fall victim to making excuses in most areas of life.  So, over the next three days, we will look at the reasons we make excuses, the types of excuses we make, and how we can eliminate excuses forever. Please make sure you listen to all three episodes.

In celebration of our 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek, please check out Wisdom-Trek.com and sign up for our drawing for a free Wisdom-Trek t-shirt that will take place on October 5th. We are giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The day just seemed to fly by today as most days do.  I was able to accomplish some of the tasks that needed completed, but there will be some left for another day. I was interviewed for a podcast by a businessman in Australia today which was quite extensive. It will not air until November or December, though, since it is a new podcast that is just getting ready to launch. I will keep you informed as new episodes are released in which I have had the privilege of being interviewed. We should be able to announce several more podcast interviews that will be released over the next few weeks.

Many of these discussions bring out our Trek throughout our lives. While we have had our share of "valleys" that we have trekked through, we have also experienced some glorious summits on our way. It would be easy to gloss over some of these valleys and make excuses, but the realization is that all the choices that were made were our choices based on the experience and knowledge that we had at that time.

It is easy to fall into the habit of making excuses when our trek of life does not turn out as we desired.  For the next three days of our Trek, we will examine in detail the subject of excuses. So, let’s put all our excuses aside and head out on the trail. One quote from a very wise man, Benjamin Franklin, reminds us, "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."

 

Do you ever catch yourself making excuses when things don’t turn out as you had expected? Have you ever neglected taking responsibility for the events and circumstances of your life? Or have you ever tried to explain away why you didn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t or simply wouldn’t do something? These are all subtle signs that indicate you are living a life of excuses, which prevents you from living to your full potential.  And, in Jesus's words, your full potential is a rich and satisfying life.

 

1. What Are Excuses?

Excuses are rationalizations we make to ourselves about people, events, and circumstances. They are invented reasons we create to defend our behavior, to neglect taking a particular kind of action, or to simply negate responsibility. Excuses are in essence a means of placing blame of an internal problem on an external condition.  

2. Reasons We Make Excuses

There are many reasons why people make excuses. In fact, everyone has different reasons for making them. However, when it boils down to it, all excuses are based on FEAR. We only make excuses for the following main reasons:

Fear of failure

Fear of embarrassment

Fear of success

Fear of change

Fear of uncertainty

Fear of responsibility

Fear of making mistakes

Fear based on a perceived lack of confidence or resources

To eliminate excuses from our lives,

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 115 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

How to Achieve Greater Results

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 115 of our Trek. Yesterday we learned why the will to prepare is more important than the will to succeed. Today we will explore the attributes of a person that achieves results.

In celebration of our 100th day of our Wisdom-Trek, please check out Wisdom-Trek.com and sign up for our drawing for a free Wisdom-Trek t-shirt that will take place on October 5th.  We are giving away 7 Wisdom-Trek t-shirts.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has been a busy but productive day of client work, an interview, and online training.  I strive to focus on some avenue of learning each day which could be a webinar, online courses, or additional reading. Even when the work load is heavy, I feel that it is important for all of us to have a priority of learning and improving. We should see improving results in each of our lives.

As we head out on our Trek today, this gives us a topic for discussion. So, I will ask you, "Why do some people seem to have the desirable ability to get things done — to get results — while others seem to continually spin their wheels?" This is an interesting point to ponder. Clearly we all have the same amount of time each day. We all have skills and abilities in certain areas. We all have the potential to achieve in our lives in some area.

As we study individuals that seem to achieve more than an average person, there are some common traits that reveal themselves. So, the question arises, "How can you become a high-achiever? If we want to be high-achievers, then we need to emulate, not duplicate, those individuals that are. The result-getters have three common qualities or traits: great self-talk, great alliances, and great ability. The complexity of these three traits is part of the mix.

1. Great Self-Talk

Great self-talk is driven by a number of factors including:

Your personal experiences both positive and negative

Your environment

Your personal goals

The price that you are willing to pay for your success

Your personal desire to continually improve

Your minimal concern for what others say about you

The love that you have for yourself

Together these factors will create in you something that most of us would identify as passion.

The question is can passion be taught or acquired, or does it have to be innate? Many believe that you have to be born with passion. I, on the contrary, do not believe this. There are too many examples today of people who are fanatical and passionate after they have become involved in an organization or movement. Even the conversion experience within a religious organization shows that one can become passionate about his or her cause. This is proof to me that passion can be taught or learned.  If you are not enjoying the results you need or desire, positive self-talk is the first step toward results. What the mind dwells on, the body acts on. Positive self-talk will lead to positivity in your life. Negative self-talk will lead to negativity.

2. Great Alliances

Great alliances appear in many forms: camaraderie, friendship, partnership, networks, collaborative activities, mastermind groups, and mentorships, depending on the situation. The relationships you enjoy will affect your self-talk and also your abilities. Great alliance relationships are the glue between the first and third steps to results.

Building great relationships comes natural to some people; however,