Wisdom-Trek ©

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 84 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Learn to Shut Up (Part 2)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 84 of our Trek. Yesterday and today we are stopping by 10 clearings on our trail and studying practical applications for our lives in order to gain wisdom and incorporate the discernment needed to know when to speak and when not to. To let you in on a little secret, when it comes to talking less is more. When it is necessary to speak, what you say and how you say it are also very important.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We had a very pleasant trip driving up. The weather was nice, and the traffic was not too heavy. As I am creating the journal for this podcast, Paula is driving which allows me to take advantage of the time in the car. We will switch off at our half way point, so that I can drive part of the way. We met Paula’s sister Lois on the way up and Mom Jarvis will be spending a couple of weeks with her. Paula and I have several day trip activities planned for this next week as it is our 36th wedding anniversary week. We are looking forward to a little time away from our usual workload and routine to enjoy some focused time together.

Yesterday on our Trek, we came to an understanding of just how difficult it is to control our tongue. As mentioned in James 3:7-8, "All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."  It has been over 2,000 years since this was written, and still we have not come up with an effective way to tame the tongue.

As part of our Trek, we are focusing on 10 waypoints or clearings that will at least help to minimize the potential negative impact that our tongues may have. Unless you are a ventriloquist it all boils down to the fact that we need to think before opening our mouths to speak. We will continue on to clearing #3 today, and for each of these points we need to know to say "keep your mouth shut when…"

Clearing #3 – You want to gossip.

When you want to say something negative about someone behind their back, don’t. Just don’t. There is almost never a good reason to do this. It makes you look petty, childish and mean-spirited. It might get back to the person you’re slandering. Never gossip, and if someone does something truly terrible, that will significantly harm someone or an organization, you might need to discuss it.  If you are in an appropriate position, discuss it with that person privately first . If it is unresolved then discuss it with an appropriate person to decide what course of action to take.

Clearing #4 – The details of a plan or deal are not complete.

Look to that old adage "Never count your chickens before they’re hatched," or "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  If you’re making plans for some big activity, or making a deal of some kind, never announce it until the crucial details are worked out, or the paperwork is complete. You’ll feel embarrassed or stupid if things fall through.

Clearing #5 – You’re mad or upset with a person or situation.

When someone annoys you, don’t respond right away, as you are likely to blow up and/or say something you will regret. And, you can’t take it back. A word spoken cannot be unspoken. Even if you apologize, people will not forget. You’re weak when you’re angry. Don’t act in a moment of weakness. Even if they’re wrong and you’re right, you won’t come out of it looking good.

Clearing #6 – You have had too much to drink.

While I do not drink alcohol myself, I know that most people do. It’s really hard to keep your mouth shut when you’re dr...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 83 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Learn to Shut Up (Part 1)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 83 of our Trek. Yesterday we determined that all of the magic happens between our comfort zone and the danger zone, which is call the learning zone. In order to gain wisdom, one of the most important habits we need to learn is to know when to not talk, or as I like to refer to it cure the dreaded disease called "diarrhea of the mouth."

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As we come to the end of another day, we have much to be thankful for. We had a good day of work, a positive eye exam, and a small group of friends over for dinner as we celebrate a major victory and blessing in the life of a close friend who has come through a major trial over the past 19 months. Although the trail ahead for our friend still has many twists, turns, steep climbs, and precarious slopes in the next few weeks and months, our celebration together this evening had us praising God for his leading during these many months.

Many of the outcomes of our trek of life are determined by the choices that we make each day. While we cannot always control the path that lies in front of us, as we take one step at a time, we can make choices that will help us to navigate through trails successfully. As we take each step, we can learn the lessons which each new trail brings to us.

One of the most difficult areas of our life to control consistently is the use of our tongue. We need to learn when to keep our mouth closed. Have you ever been with a group of people that you respect and you find yourself saying something completely out of place?  Have you ever spoken to a loved one or associate in a way that cuts them to the core, and as soon as it comes out of your mouth you think to yourself, "How foolish it was to say such hurtful words!"?  Our words can lift someone to the heights of heaven or plunge them into the very depths of hell.

On our trails today and tomorrow, we will first explore just how difficult but important it is to control our tongues, and then weave in 10 practical suggestions on when it is best just to shut up.  As mentioned from Day 0 of the Wisdom-Trek podcast, as a Christ follower, much of the wisdom that I have gained throughout my life comes from God’s Word, the Bible. It has much to say about how important it is to choose our words wisely and to limit our words to those that are helpful to others. Christ's half-brother James wrote several paragraphs about how difficult it really is to control our tongues, in his letter to the Jews that were scattered across the Roman Empire. In Chapter 3 verses 1-12 he wrote,

"Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.  Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.

We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 82 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Where the Magic Happens

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 82 of our Trek, and now that we know and understand that we need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, we will expand this concept so that our legacy building will be strengthened and enhanced.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and today finds us making some preparations and finishing up details here as we will be heading back to Marietta and The Big House on Saturday for another three week stay.  In addition to more renovating work that I hope to complete while we are there, we have several other activities planned.

We have a nephew that is getting ordained on Sunday in Lancaster, Ohio, Tuesday is our 36th wedding anniversary for which we have several relaxing day trips planned, and Saturday will be my 59th birthday. Also, I will be speaking at the church we used to attend on September 6th and 13th, and the annual Sternwheel festival is held on the weekend of September 12th. The fireworks display they have at the festival every year is the best we have ever seen, and it draws a lot of people to our small town. It is quite magical.  It will be a busy but enjoyable three weeks, and we are looking forward to it.

As we begin our journey today, we want to continue on the same trail from yesterday but venture out of our comfort zone. When we leave our zone of comfort, although it may appear to be intimidating and less secure, most of the time it proves beneficial for us and our long term growth because outside of our comfort zone is where the magic happens. When we force ourselves outside this comfort zone it allows us to stretch and grow to become all that God has destined us to be.

There are actually three zones where you can live.  However, only one of these zones is optimal for your life in that it will have the most positive impact and allow you to grow and flourish.

Let’s explore these three zones of life in detail.

1. The Comfort Zone

Your comfort zone is a psychological place where you feel safe and in control. You experience low-anxiety, and you’re using a limited set of behaviors. This means you’re not growing or developing any new skills. Essentially you’re stuck on autopilot, and you’re just going through the motions. Clearly this is not the place that fosters growth. It’s in our comfort zone that we feel safe and secure. It’s the zone of routine and the place where we do those things we find safe, comfortable, easy and familiar.

The comfort zone is a place where nothing particularly challenging happens.

Growing up on an apple orchard, I can certainly relate to this quote from Will Rogers,

Scientists have researched the role anxiety plays in performance. They have found that too little anxiety results in poor performance while increasing anxiety increases performance. At the other extreme, too much anxiety reduces performance. The findings from this research show that if we want to maximize our performance, we need to be in a state of optimal anxiety.  Take a look at the visual bell curve example of this below.

The optimal level of anxiety then is found in the learning zone, just outside the comfort zone, but before heading into the danger zone.

Although it may not be very evident, there are significant dangers that lurk in the comfort zone.

Denis Waitley puts it this way, “Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing."

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 81 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 81 of our Trek, and now that we have traveled the 6 trails of overcoming mediocrity, we are in the position to excel at a greater pace on our path as we create and build on our living legacy.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today has been a busy but productive day, and we were able to make some headway on a couple of projects.  We did receive some very good news about a friend that has been going through an extended time of trial, and we are very thankful for that. As we learn additional details and with his permission, I may be able to share his story on a future treks.

The trails of life can be unknown and unpredictable at times. We need to understand that life is not always how we would like it to be, but it is always how it is.  We may become very uncomfortable with the paths that we travel, so we need to choose to enjoy those journeys even in less than ideal conditions. Change makes all of us a bit uncomfortable, even if the outcome of that change is beneficial long term. As our global community rapidly changes, as we eluded to yesterday, we must learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.  That is the trail that we will travel together today.

This inspiring principle is actually taken from the Navy SEALS as one of their mantras is "Get comfortable being uncomfortable." Why is this so important? In your businesses and in your life, if you want to learn, grow, and succeed, you will have to go through a process of being uncomfortable to achieve growth. Anyone familiar with farming knows that in order to have a crop, the original seed is destroyed through the growth process.  Also Jesus confirms this principle in John 12:24, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels — a plentiful harvest of new lives."

Let’s look at three practical examples:

If you want to be physically fit, if you want to be healthy, or if you want to be somebody who’s got a lot of energy, what is required?  You must exercise and work out on a regular basis.  Many people go to a gym so that they have the proper equipment and are able to stay focused. But, the gym is not somewhere you go for comfort. It’s somewhere you go to get really uncomfortable for an hour, or a half an hour, or maybe for some of you, a couple of hours. And, you are going to push yourself. You’re going to see how much weight you can lift, how long you can run, or how hard you can push your body. And, during that time it’s going to be wildly uncomfortable. But, on the back side of that discomfort is better health, better energy, and a better physical appearance.

Tied to being physically fit, if you desire to be healthy, you must eat what is good and healthy for you, which will mean preparing your own meals using fresh, healthy, and whole foods. You'll also have to turn away from comfort foods and other food items that may taste good as you are eating them but do major damage to your body, including the horrible side effect of gaining weight. You have to be comfortable with feeling hungry and being uncomfortable until your body adapts to the new types of food that you consume.

To be successful in business requires hard work, dedication, and, at times, long hours with very little reward. You have to stretch yourself and learn. You have to be willing to risk the rejection and receive a lot of "no" in order to get to the potential for a "yes." The success is only going to come after you’ve stepped out of your comfort zo...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 80 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

6 Trails to Overcome Mediocrity

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 80 of our Trek. Yesterday we took the 10 trails to overcome complaining, and today we want to focus on the 6 trails to overcome mediocrity.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. While Paula and I have been working on the front edge of technology for over 30 years and have always been acclimated to rapid changes in the market, it appears to me that we are just on the front end of the most rapid and radical change in world economics than in any time in history. This change will provide a lot of opportunities for individuals and small businesses to compete on a global market. I see a rise in entrepreneurship throughout the world that was unimagined just a few years ago.  There will be a lot of individuals that are very successful, but there will be a lot of casualties also.

The bar to enter the market is becoming lower, but as with any time in business, it will take skill, forward thinking, and dynamic flexibility to survive. Many very large and established businesses and industries will also become casualties to this rapidly changing global economy. We must all be prepared for it both from a consumer and from a business perspective. We are making plans now to pivot our Venture Consulting business to focus on entrepreneurs and small businesses with online tools and training to assist this radical transformation in the market. It is in the early planning stages at this point, but if you would like more information as it becomes available, please email me at [email protected]. And, I will keep you informed as we move forward.

On our trek in life, we need to be prepared to effectively hike through these radical and ever changing landscapes that we will be forced to traverse. None of us can afford to be stuck in the ruts of mediocrity as the rest of the hikers in the world rapidly pass us by. We need wisdom and hope to make the journey. Today we have six trails to hike from the valley of mediocrity to the summit achievement and success as we scale to new heights in our lives .

In order to grow in wisdom and prepare for these changes that will impact all of us, we need to understand that hope is the foundational principle for all change. People change because they have hope for something better, and if you do not have hope, you will not change.

Where does our hope come from?  As a person of faith, my hope comes from the Lord, as is mentioned Psalms 37:34, "Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed."

So, let’s get started on our hike through the six trails out of the valley of mediocrity to the summit of positive change.

Trail #1: Changing your thinking leads to changing your beliefs.

Change begins with the mind. Beliefs are nothing more than a byproduct of what you have thought about long enough or something that you have bought into — always remember that. What you believe and what you think are just a collection of continual thoughts that have formed themselves into a conviction or value. When you break down the process of thinking into a manageable number of steps, you reduce the perceived risk associated with change.

Trail #2: Changing your beliefs leads to changing your expectations.

A belief is the knowledge that we can do something. It is the inner feeling that what we can undertake, and we can accomplish. For the most part, all of us have the ability to look at something and know whether we can do it.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 79 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

10 Trails to Overcome Complaining

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 79 of our Trek, and the past two days we explored how to perform random acts of kindness each day because each day is unique and we will never have a second chance to live that day. Today we want to focus on the 10 trails to overcome complaining.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As we start out on life’s trek with its uphill slopes and downhill paths for another week, let us be resolute to make the most of every situation that we face. We may encounter smooth or rough trails, but regardless we have a destination to reach for this week and that is to make a positive impact on everyone that we meet. The destination is never as exciting or important as the journey itself. It is on the daily journey that we are creating and building that living legacy that will last for eternity.  Let’s make it a great journey.

As we set out on our trail today, we run into a very rough trail that is narrow and scattered with rocks and loose dirt. It makes getting solid footing very difficult, but we must continue on our 20 mile hike. It certainly will be difficult.

Under the adverse conditions of life, it is very easy for each of us to start grumbling and complaining. We are all tempted to do so. We have to ask ourselves, "Is this grumbling and complaining going to help us along our Trek today?"

This reminds me of a time about 35 years ago when Paula and I would pick up an elderly lady Mrs. Borne every Sunday and take her to church. She was significantly crippled with arthritis, and it was difficult for her to walk and even get in the car. But, she faithfully came each week.  We would ask her how she was doing each time we picked her up, and she would go on about how difficult it was to get around and talk about her husband who had died many years before. But, she would always end her story with, "I’m not complaining, mind ya." Paula and I still jokingly use that phrase when we catch ourselves grumbling or complaining about something. As with most complaining, it is usually over something quite trivial.

Certainly complaining and grumbling are as old as mankind itself. One of the greatest leaders of all time, Moses, had to deal with a nation of complainers as they trekked through the wilderness for over 40 years because of their lack of belief that God would take care of them. This was the case with the children of Israel as indicated in Exodus 16:6-8 when they were complaining to Moses about his leadership and the lacking food and water, "So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, 'By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?' Then Moses added, 'The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.'”

If we are really honest with ourselves, when we find ourselves complaining, we are no different than the Hebrew nation. Ware actually complaining against God because we feel that our lot in life is unfair, which also shows a lack of faith on our part.

As we continue on our rough trail today, let’s look at 10 attitude adjustments that we can make in our thinking.

When you choose to change your attitude you switch your thinking from a defeatist mentality to one of ac...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 78 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

I Shall Not Pass This Way Again (Part 3)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 78 of our Trek. Yesterday we looked at steps 1-6, and today we will explore steps 7-15 of how to perform random acts of kindness each day because we will never be able to relive this day on the trek of life again.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This morning we were able to worship and fellowship at church, which was a blessing. We have been out of town so much this year that we miss the time together with our local fellowship. We have come to appreciate our faith community each week, regardless of where we are on a particular Sunday.

After church Paula and I ate at a restaurant that that we had not tried before. It was a Genghis Grill where they have you select all the ingredients from the serving line, and the cooks grill it on a massive round grill. The food was good, and the staff was very helpful. Paula and I do not eat out very often because we like to prepare and control what we are eating at meals, but we will probably revisit this location on occasion.

After lunch we did a little shopping, including our weekly grocery shopping. We love to spend time together regardless of the activity.  This is a good thing since we work together every day in the same office. We certainly do count this a blessing.

So, let’s continue on our trail today looking for ways that we can show kindness to others. Sometimes the trails of life can be very rough and steep, and we don’t really feel like being kind. I certainly understand that. But, we have to realize that being kind is usually easy, and it benefits both the person that we are being kind to and us as we are kind. Never pass up this opportunity.

Today we will finish with steps 7-15 providing examples of random acts of kindness. Kindness is an essential part of creating a living legacy. As we practice kindness, even when we may not feel like it, we become kind people. It cannot be prevented.

Being kind is a choice that we make. Look for opportunities at all times to be kind. As you practice these acts of kindness with no expectations of return, you will be showing from within that you are kind.

Here are the last 7 steps on our trail for encouraging others with our random acts of kindness.

Step #7

Volunteer by offering helping hands.

Do you ever see homeless people and feel overwhelmed by your inability to make a difference? Even if you can't help them all or change their long-term situation in life, you can do a lot with one small act. Buy a pair of gloves, provide a spare blanket, or make up food parcels for someone who is living on the cold streets, or provide them to any organization that serves the homeless.

Another way to volunteer is to clean up trash in public places without being asked. The next time you see someone littering,don't just shake your head and look the other way. Be kind, pick up the litter, and throw it away. While you're at it, look around the street for any other trash that needs to be removed. If you take a walk, take a plastic grocery bag so you can collect the trash that would otherwise just make you unhappy, and know that you're doing a random act of kindness for the people who will come through after you!

Step #8

Shower a coworker with kindness. Offer to take them out to lunch or provide them with money for a dinner they can take home with them after work. Finish off some of their work for them so they can go home early for their kid's birthday party or after school activity.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 77 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

I Shall Not Pass This Way Again (Part 2)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 77 of our Trek, and yesterday we looked at how important it is to make sure that our impact on others through our spoken word is always good, helpful, and encouraging. Today and tomorrow we want to put our words into action through practicing both planned and random acts of kindness.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was nice to be able to sleep in a bit this morning, as this was our first time in several weekends that we have been able to. I am not sure about you, but for me I need to occasionally have a day or two of sleeping in later than usual to recharge my batteries. I realize that it would be best if I got the proper sleep every night, which I am working toward, but sleeping in this morning was greatly needed. Weekends are also good for me to get caught up on some of the miscellaneous work related projects that seem to slip by during the week.

So, let’s start out on our trail today looking for ways that we can show kindness to others.  Kindness, as we looked at way back on Day 6 of our Trek, is such an important attribute that we should have in our lives. Being kind to others is a powerful way to put our talk into actions and is one of the fruits, or outward manifestations, of a loving heart toward others.

Kindness should be planned, when possible, but performing random and unplanned acts of kindness to others each day should also be part of who we are as people. At first, completing random acts of kindness may not be natural for you, but the more times you do it, the easier it will become until it becomes a habit in your life.

So, as we hike on up our trail today and tomorrow, we will explore 15 steps that we can take on our trek of life to set these habits in place. Think about how kindness can be a fundamental part of creating a living legacy. Indeed it needs to be woven into the very fabric of our lives, so it is part of who we are.

Being kind is a choice that we make. Look for opportunities at all times to be kind. This is so important that Proverbs 3:3-4 puts it this way, "Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart.  Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation."

Random acts of kindness are a means by which we make a deliberate attempt to brighten another person's day by doing something thoughtful, nice, and caring. Kindness is a way of showing others that they are special and important. Even when the world is unkind, we need to be known for our kindness to all. Our kindness should not be dependent on if a person deserves it but rather our desire to be kind.

Here are the first 6 steps on our trail for encouraging others with our random acts of kindness.

Step #1:

Be kind. Kindness as an attitude is infectious. When you're willing to share your kindness, others will be inspired by your example and think about doing something kind themselves. Fan that flame by being kind to everyone.

Step #2:

Be thoughtful. Random acts of kindness can be shown through thoughtfulness about the needs of others. How many times do you wish someone could have been more thoughtful before they did or said something? Try to be an example of this for others to follow.

Put someone else first. If you get to the grocery store check-out line at the same time as someone else, smile and wave them through first.

When you're stuck in traffic and the last thing you want to do is let a car get in...

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 76 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

I Shall Not Pass This Way Again (Part 1)

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 76 of our Trek, and yesterday we discovered the true meaning of encouragement. Today we will look at how that ties into the fact that we will not pass this way again, so we have to make life count today.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. As I reflect on life regardless of our individual situations, I realize we have so much to be thankful for.  At best we only have 100 or so years to impact our world.

The impact that we have on others and the generations to follow is what will live into eternity.  We need to make each day count.  I struggle with this as much as anyone – maybe more than most. There are always deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and people to deal with, but let us not confuse the urgent with the important. They are rarely the same.

Although I don’t get outdoors nearly as much as I would like, the analogy of life being a trek is so important and fitting. We slowly go through life one day at a time. This morning was a reminder of how life is so much like hiking or trekking through difficult mountainous terrain. During my regular exercise routine each morning, I usually spend an hour running on our treadmill. Since both Paula and I use the treadmill nearly every day, a couple of years ago we invested in a treadmill that is connected to the internet and has walking, running, and hiking trails from all over the world through the use of Google Maps.  The technology is really neat.

Although I usually choose running courses, this morning I chose two hiking trails. The first one was the Sierra Trail in California, which is about 2 miles long, and the second one was the Deer Mountain Trail in Colorado which is about 2.5 miles long.  They were both uphill most of the way. While I usually jog or run, this morning it was only a fast walk at 4 miles per hour. The difficulties of these trails were certainly a stark reminder that some days life is an uphill climb and can be very painful for the moment, but if we keep at it, we will reach our destination…eventually. Sometimes it takes being infused with a little more courage to make it through.

 

As we think about infusing courage into our lives and the lives of others as I mentioned yesterday, it is similar to what happens when a person receives a blood transfusion. The person receives a life-altering experience that will help them to be fully alive. What we say to others and how we treat others each day is either infusing them with life, or death.  This also applies to what we speak into ourselves and how we treat ourselves.

Are you living daily or dying daily?  Each day is a new day. We will never again have a chance at today with its unique situations or circumstances. Although some seasons of life feel like we are on the proverbial treadmill or are reliving the same day over and over like in the movie Groundhog Day that is not the case. We only have one chance to get today correct. As was written by William Penn, “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

Our words alone can have a significant impact on the lives of others either for good or for evil. The old rhyme “Sticks and stoned may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is just not true.   As we looked at yesterday, words have the power of life and death.

All of us have a problem when it comes to controlling our tongues.

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 75 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

What Does Encouragement Mean?

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 75 of our Trek, and yesterday our wisdom nugget was why "Life is not a Spectator Sport." Today we want to consume what the true meaning is when we want to encourage another person.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Today’s work pace moderated somewhat, so it was good to be focused on some of the projects that got pushed back some. Paula was able to take Kip to his first day of orientation at his new pre-school this morning, and we were able to spend the remainder of today with him before returning him home this evening.  I also had a chance to visit a friend in need this afternoon and hopefully encourage him during this difficult time.  His good spirits over these many months certainly have been an encouragement to me.

As we are heading out on our Trek today, it gives me pause to reflect on the word encourage or encouragement.  What does it really mean to be able to encourage another person or have someone encourage us?

 

Certainly, on our life’s trek, there are plenty of obstacles and rough terrain that we encounter each day where it is easy to get discouraged. That is how life rolls some days or even in some extended seasons. While I am generally a positive person and do not become easily discouraged for long periods of time, we are all susceptible to experiencing times where we do not feel, nor do we really desire to be, positive. I think that we can all relate to this.

One of the most common complaints we hear from many people today, especially in the workplace, but too many times also in our homes and places of worship, is that they never receive any feedback, except negative feedback.  All of us like to be encouraged, but I tend not to need a constant dose of it myself. So, I was not always as free to give it as I should have been.

I know early on in my life as an entrepreneur and business owner, I made the same mistake with my team members.  Paula had to remind me several times that encouragement does not come through sarcasm. Unfortunately, at times, this also carried over into my interaction with our kids. I did learn through the years to replace sarcasm with encouragement, but it took a while to make that transition. The good news is that any of us can learn to cultivate the ministry of encouragement in our lives.

But first, we need to understand what it really means to encourage another person and even ourselves.

What is Encouragement?

The word is a compound of the prefix “en,” which literally means to put into or infuse into someone. Think of a blood transfusion during which you are infusing donated blood from one individual into another person who is lacking blood. The second part of the word is “courage,” which means the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, without fear.

So, as we combine these two words, when we encourage someone it is to infuse them with courage that we have, so that another person will have peace of mind to face difficulties, danger, and pain without fear.

 

Just as donating blood to someone else is both permanent and lifesaving, so when we encourage another person we are taking some of our courage and permanently infusing it into another person to help them to live life more fully. If we stick with the analogy of donating blood, encouragement does not have to be reserved to someone we know. Complete strangers may also benefit when we infuse them with courage that we have in abundance.

On the opposite side of this coin,