Author Archives: Greg Denning

Learning to Listen

Posted on by
Reply

A couple of years ago I attended a baptism.  One of the speakers shared a wonderful story that really touched me.  He told a story about a man who worked in a place with lots of sawdust.  One day he lost his pocket watch.  It was a very special gift from his grandfather and was a tremendous value to him.  He asked everyone to help him find it.  Nobody could find it.  He stayed after work, feeling really distressed.  As he sat there in the silence, he heard the “tick, tick, tick”  of the watch.  He was able to go right over and uncover it.

Life is like that.  There are so many noises, that we have a very difficult time hearing the things that matter most.  We too need to spend time in silence in order to hear, and find, and discover, and create valuable things in our lives.  God speaks in the silence.  One man said that silence is God’s language.

You remember what the Lord taught us about this in the Old Testament.  1Kings 19:11-12  “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still, small voice.”  We must learn to listen to the still, small voice.

There are two types of noise; external and internal.

It’s possible that it may be silent around you but noisy inside you.  Or it may be silent inside and noisy outside.  The ideal for listening effectively is to have silence both inside yourself and outside yourself.  We know about the things that create noise around us, and we need to make our best efforts to create silence when we are seeking inspiration.  But often we are not aware of the things that create noise inside of us.  Pride, anger, envy, jealousy, ego, judging, doubt, discouragement, fear.

Make time for quiet moments- the Lord whispers.

Yet so few can handle the quiet.  Many can’t or won’t tolerate silence.  Myriad young people especially think they need music and noise constantly.  Phones, iPods, radios, movies- something always in their ear.

If there is something in your life that is making you “hard of hearing;” something you think, see, hear, say, feel or do, then have the courage and the discipline to eliminate it from your life.

“To better hear His voice, it would be wise to turn down the volume control of the worldly noise in our lives. If we ignore or block out the promptings of the Spirit for whatever reason, they become less noticeable until we cannot hear them at all. Let us learn to hearken to the promptings of the Spirit and then be eager to heed them.”  (Dieter Uchtdorf )

We must be able to hear and respond to the voice of the Lord through the midst of all the babble of voices that surround us.  Hearing and heeding this voice will keep us from becoming barbarians!

One of the best habits we could create in ourselves is to set aside a little time each day for silent study, thought and prayer.  I try to do this throughout the day, but I always do it early in the morning.  For me, first thing in the morning, when my mind and body are refreshed, this habit works the very best.  Doing it first thing in the morning also helps remind me to hone in during the day, and guard myself from the noise.

Begin today!  Set aside some quiet time to listen.  Listening is an art the should be developed throughout your entire life.  Practice, practice, practice.

The Ideal Mentor

Posted on by
Reply

The prayer of St. Francis of Assisi is the ideal of an enlightened mentor.

Let me share it with you.  I love this!

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen”

AMAZING!

The man or woman who steps forward and sincerely says, make me an instrument of thy peace, will lead, mentor and make a positive difference in the world!  The best thing you and I can do for God and man is to make the most of ourselves.

As we grow and improve, we can inspire others to live life on purpose.

Where there is a lame, depressing, miserable life, let’s bring happiness, enthusiasm, purpose and success. We need to help people who are living in misery and help them live their life; to live their dream.  Too many are living lives of “quiet desperation.”

Let’s really get out and live, and help others do the same!

And where there’s mediocrity, excellence. To step up and become our very best selves.

Where there is ignorance, learning.  Oh, how the world would be so much better if each of us would consistently seek to expand our reality.

We could all benefit from reading this prayer regularly and striving to apply its principles in our lives and interactions with those around us.

Let’s reach upward and seek to become ideal mentors!

The Sheep and the Lambs

Posted on by
Reply

This wonderful poem by C. C. Miller  illustrates the importance and impact parents have as they influence their children:

“The Echo”
’Twas a sheep not a lamb
That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,
A grown-up sheep that strayed away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.
And why for the sheep should we seek
And earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:
They lead the lambs astray.
Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray.
When sheep go wrong,
It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.
And so with the sheep we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today,
For when the sheep are lost
What a terrible cost
The lambs will have to pay. ”

What an awesome and sobering privilege and responsibility it is to be a parent.  Let’s be wise and cautious in everything we do.

Our children will learn and mimic our words and behaviors.  Be very careful what you are passing on to your kids; your OCD, habits, thoughts, attitudes etc.

I’ve watch sweet little girls, who were pure, empty slates, in a few years acting as completely OCD as their moms about some trivial thing.  A little child doesn’t just come up with things like that- “oh, what a coincidence!  It must be genetic.”  Hogwash!  It’s learned behavior.

Often what we see in our children, reveals us, not them.

Look at yourself honestly, get an outside perspective, and own it.  Then approach your children, apologize for your mistakes and all of you agree to help each other overcome the habits, issues etc.

Brian Tracy said, “The absence of a commitment to excellence is the acceptance of mediocrity.”

Decide today to climb the path of excellence, for when we choose our path we have chosen our destination.  And our children will follow our lead!

Victimville: You do NOT want to be here

Posted on by
Reply

Victimville is a pathetically huge city in the state of mind. It’s residents live all over world. They come from all races and backgrounds. They are rich and poor, educated and ignorant. They come from good homes and broken families. For the most part, they are good people.

Sadly, too many of us maintain a residence there, or at least a summer cottage. But it’s time to leave Victimville for good.

Recognizing Your Residency

Those who live in, or too frequently visit Victimville, have several similarities. They make excuses, blame others, avoid accountability and allow circumstances to rule their life.

Excuses

Our excuses are crafted and formulated in such a way to place us in the position of victim. We want to avoid accountability for weakness, failure and difficulty. Instead, we must take ownership and responsibility for every part of our lives and our outcomes.

Blaming

Blaming is one of the most common weaknesses among mankind. We blame parents, past experiences, genetics, government, society, and circumstances. The truth is that each of us is powerful beyond our imaginations, and therefore we have no one to blame but ourselves. Life truly is what you make of it.

Accountability

Someone wrote, “The quality of a painting is the responsibility of the painter. The quality of a sculpture is the responsibility of the sculptor. No blame is allowed. Similarly, the quality of your life is your responsibility. No blame is allowed.”

Resolve today to accept total and complete accountability for all your actions and circumstances. Refuse to blame anyone or anything. If you are not satisfied about some aspect of your life, resolve to change it. Do whatever you must, for as long as it takes, until you achieve the kind of life you want to live.

Circumstances

George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, “People are always blaming circumstance for what they are. I do not believe in circumstance. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstance they want and if they can’t find them they make them.”

“Man in his weakness is the creature of circumstances; man in his strength is the creator of circumstances. Whether he be victim or victor depends largely on himself.” William George Jordan

Countless men and women have overcome terrible circumstances to climb to places of high achievement and fulfilling lives. Because so many others have done it, you and I know that we can do it too. Do not allow yourself to blame your circumstances. Rather, decide that you will achieve your goals regardless of your circumstances!

Leave Victimville

Life is an absolutely fantastic adventure! Live everyday on purpose. Refuse to settle for mediocrity. Commit to a life of excellence by leaving Victimville and taking complete responsibility for every part of your life.

(Written in British Colombia)

Learning To Be Wherever You Are

Posted on by
3

Life is flying by.  The older we get, the faster life seems to pass.  Being alive is a wonderful privilege and opportunity.  Life is great!

Our challenge is to live every moment to the best of our ability, to really be there. In order to live our life to the fullest, each of us must master the art of being.

For many of us, while we are working our thoughts are about what is going on at home.  When we are home, we are thinking about challenges at work.

Even in our conversations, our thoughts are absorbed in other things.  We may be hearing the words, but very few of us are great listeners, who take in the message and the moment.

As we go through each day, our minds wander in the past, trying to relive those moments.  Or wander into the future, dreaming of things that may be.  Today slips by because we are so distracted by yesterday and tomorrow.

Living in the present moment is the only way to truly cherish life.  Be there! Wherever you are, make a conscious choice to really live in that moment in time. Discipline yourself to control and direct your thoughts; to focus on what is happening now.  Make an effort to get the most out of each day and each interaction with others.  I have found that the best way to get the most, is to give the most.  And truly being in the moment is to give your whole self.

Seek to absorb all the substance and wealth in each experience, and feel all the emotions that it has to offer.  Strive to be reachable, teachable and touchable. Do not allow yourself to become numb to what is going on around you.

Take time to watch the sun rise and set, to study the details of a beautiful flower, to play with a child.  Go to a place where you can listen to silence.  Capture each moment so that it becomes a part of you.  Life is not something we do; it is something we experience.  Feel it, touch it, live it.  Those who have mastered the art of living well, have learned to truly be wherever they are.

REACH UPWARD!

3 Things You Must Do Before Your Next Birthday

Posted on by
1

I recently celebrated my birthday.  It’s a great time to take inventory on your life, to measure how well you are doing.  As I thought about my life and the things I’ve done, and the things I wish I had done, I came to the conclusion that there are three things you must do before your next birthday.   These three things are: 1 Discover Your Purpose.  2 Write Your G.O.A.L. List.  3 Commit To Live

Discover Your Purpose

Every person on this wonderful earth has a special purpose to accomplish while here.  Each of has a song to sing!  Do not go out of this life with your song still in you.

Obviously, the first thing you need to do is discover your purpose.  If you’ve already done that, then keep working on it everyday; do not let up.  But for the rest of you, discovering your purpose is critical and exciting.

Take a piece of paper and label it.  Then start with a prayer asking for God’s guidance and write.  Just keep writing.  Think about your talents, skills, gifts, and passions.  Think about what positive difference you want to make in the world.  Think about the thing that really gets you going, the one thing that just lights your fire, that you love to work on.  Father in Heaven created you and gave you gifts that will help you fulfill your purpose.  Seek His help and write until you FEEL it.  When the tears flow and the spirit confirms, you’ll know what you’re supposed to do.  Then write out a plan and start working on it immediately.

Do not sell yourself short!  You are so special and so needed.  You have something wonderful to offer that no one else can offer just like you.  Sing your song.

Write Your G.O.A.L. List

G.O.A.L.=Get Out And Live!  Take another sheet of paper and begin writing all the things that you want to do in life that really matter to you.  No excuses!  No doubts!  No fears!  Just write.  Think of every place you’d like to visit, every goal you’d like to accomplish, every adventure you’d like to experience.  Life is meant to be wonderful and exciting and productive.

I’ve found that I continue to add to the list as I go through life.  Keep this list in a place where you can review it regularly and add to it.  Pick a few things that you can start working on immediately and go for it.  Then pick a few things that you would like to accomplish this year and map a plan to do them.  Do not let your fears, doubts and circumstances keep you from living an extraordinary life!  Life is what you make it….so make it AWESOME!

Commit To Live

In order to fulfill your purpose and live your G.O.A.L. list, you have to be alive.  And you have to be healthy enough to live well.  So the third thing you must do before your next birthday is commit to and begin a detailed plan to be healthy for the rest of your life.

Over 480,000 people in the US, die each year from tobacco use.  Over 400,000 die every year because of obesity.  And hundreds of thousands more die each year because of preventable heart disease.  We’re killing ourselves!

Who’s to blame?  When it comes to eating and exercise, you have no one to blame but yourself.  You decide what goes in your mouth and how much.  You also decide how much exercise you will do each day.  Does today matter?  Of course!  Each day, each meal, each snack contributes to your overall health.  You are either getting healthier or you are not.

Decide to be healthier.  Stop using your teeth to commit delayed suicide!  And get off your sit-upon and get exercising.  You’ll love it.  You’ll look better, feel better and live better.  So start today!  For more ideas about improving your health and fitness, listen to The Best Shape of Your Life.

Now don’t just read this and do nothing!  Do all three of things and start one of them right now.  Do something to start, even if it’s just labeling a piece of paper.  Take action.

Once you have done all three, take time to review them regularly throughout the year and to reevaluate them each year.

Reach Upward!

The One Decision That Determines All The Others

Posted on by
1

There comes to each of us, a moment in life when we must decide.  There are only two options, and there is only one choice.

The first option is to become less than what we are capable of becoming.  To live below our potential.  To leave our talents and skills undeveloped.  To leave our personalities and characters rough and unrefined.  To leave self-mastery unattained.  To think and read less.  To earn less.  To serve less.  To try less.  Honestly, to live less.  This options leads to an empty and unfulfilled life.  A life of remorse and regret, void of the remarkable experiences that could have been.  This option leads to the torment one will feel when the person they are meets the person they might have been.

The other option is the higher road, the one less traveled.  This road leads to your full potential, to becoming all that we possibly can be.  To do everything within your power to make the most of yourself.  To make a significant and positive difference in the world.  To read, study and really think.  To give and share as much as we can.  To transcend mediocrity.  To create tremendous value with our talents, skills and abilities.  To really sing the song that we were born to sing.  To work, to play, to truly get out and live.  This thrilling road is open right before us.  No gates, no bars, no guards.  Just a decision!

Shakespeare wrote, “To be or not to be.”  To that we add: to think or not to think, to feel or not to feel, to act or not to act, and ultimately, to live or not to live.  This all-important choice is ours to make today!

Why not do everything within our power to do?   Why not seek to make a huge difference and expand our circle of influence?  Why not strive to become our very best selves, and keep getting better each moment until we leave this life?  Why not stretch and grow each year like a tree, achieving remarkable growth rings, instead of having the same unfulfilling experiences year after year?

To become your very best self should be your major, definite purpose in life.  Settling for less is simply unacceptable!  We were not sent here to fail, nor to merely exist in mediocrity.  We are here to LIVE!

“But chief of all Thy wondrous works,

Supreme of all Thy plan,

Thou hast put an upward reach

Into the heart of man.” (Harry Kemp)

So decide and act now.  Consistently and vigorously seek results.  No excuses.  No rationalization.  No idle words.  Results!   And if those results are less than your best, less than your fullest potential, then strive to become better today than you were yesterday.  Remember, the greatest value we can bring to those around us, is to make the most of ourselves!  Our level of influence will be determined by who and what we have become!

REACH UPWARD!

Shine Wherever You Are

Posted on by
1

“Father, where shall I work today?’
And my love flowed warm and free.
Then he pointed out a tiny spot
And said, ‘Tend that for me.’
I answered quickly, ‘Oh no, not that!
Why, no one would ever see,
No matter how well my work was done.
Not that little place for me.’
And the word he spoke, it was not stern;
He answered me tenderly:
‘Ah, little one, search that heart of thine;
Art thou working for them or for me?
‘Nazareth was a little place,
And so was Galilee.”
—Meade MacGuire

To each of us is given the wonderful privilege and awesome responsibility to make a positive difference in the world.  It may be with a small child or with an entire nation, but shine we must!

Consider the wonderful Old Testament story of Esther.  Ahasuerus is seeking for a new queen.  Mordecai presents Esther and she pleases the king and is chosen as queen.  Mordecai, the Jew, refuses to bow to Haman, who then arranges a decree to kill all the Jews in the kingdom.  Mordecai and the Jews mourn and fast because of the king’s decree.  Mordecai tells Esther to go before the king to plead their cause.  To do this, she would be putting her life at risk, since it was forbidden to go before the king.  The penalty was death unless the king put forth his golden sceptre.  Mordecai then says to her, “and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)  Esther determines to enter the presence of the king, even at the peril of her life. The king receives Esther and she later reveals Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews.  Ahasuerus then reverses the decree calling for the destruction of the Jews.  Consider the enormity of what she accomplished!  Surely, Esther came into the kingdom for “such a time.”  And in our sphere of influence, if we will listen and act, we will have the privilege and opportunity to be a great force for good to those within our circle of influence.  Indeed, you have come “for such a time as this.”  And there are things that you can accomplish that no one else can.

Neal A. Maxwell taught that, “though we live in a failing world, we have not been sent here to fail. Recall the new star that announced the birth at Bethlehem? It was in its precise orbit long before it so shone. We are likewise placed in human orbits to illuminate. Divine correlation functions not only in the cosmos but on this planet, too.”

If you and I are receptive and willing, we can be led to an exact place and purpose. Many times, qualified and prepared individuals have shown up in my life at the precise moment I needed them.  And likewise, it has been humbling for me to be led to help others in their moment of need, with skills and abilities that the Lord has given me.  He is perfectly aware of you and desires to bless and help you.  And He desires to use you as an instrument in His hands to bless others.   “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28(italics added)

So let’s follow Christ’s perfect example and “be about our Father’s business!”  And what is His business?  To comfort, inspire, strengthen and bless each one of His children.  May we become qualified instruments in His hands to assist in His great purpose!

Seeing Yourself Through Others’ Eyes

Posted on by
Reply

Mediocre people only think of themselves. They will not see outside of their reality, but only how things affect them.  A mediocre person wants only to do what he wants to do, without considering how his actions will influence others and he surroundings.

Learning to look at yourself with a bigger perspective will enable you to see things you’ve never seen before, and therefore accomplish things you’ve never been able to accomplish before.  This is an essential skill for anyone who wishes to transcend mediocrity and make a difference in the lives of those around them.

Just take a minute to consider how this one principle would improve your personal relationships. Imagine yourself looking through their eyes before you say or do anything.  Do you think that would make a difference?  Of course!  Start developing this habit today by listening to this audio session.

Listen Now

[powerpress]

The Captain of the soul

Posted on by
1

William Ernest Henley penned these moving, poetic words.

Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

To me this poem speaks of a determination to never give up, to absolutely refuse to acquiesce to circumstance.

In one sense, we are in charge; we decide what our life will be.  And yet, in another sense, there is a Captain with far superior rank.  To Him we all must answer!  He is in charge.

The Soul’s Captain

by Orson F Whitney

Art thou in truth?
Then what of Him who bought thee with His blood?
Who plunged into devouring seas
And snatched thee from the flood,
Who bore for all our fallen race
What none but Him could bear-
That God who died that man might live
And endless glory share.

Of what avail thy vaunted strength
Apart from His vast might?
Pray that His light may pierce the gloom
That thou mayest see aright.

Men are as bubbles on the wave,
As leaves upon the tree,
Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth,
Who gave that place to thee?
Free will is thine-free agency,
To wield for right or wrong;
But thou must answer unto Him
To whom all souls belong.

Bend to the dust that ‘head unbowed, ‘
Small part of life’s great whole,
And see in Him and Him alone,
The captain of thy soul.