The Powerful Prayer: A Lesson from Ed Red Eagle Sr.

My Dad is one of the wisest men that I know personally. All throughout my life he has taught me and countless others important lessons. So when my Dad has someone he looks up to and learns from, I pay attention. 

One man that my Dad often had the privilege of learning lessons from was Osage Tribal Elder Ed Red Eagle Sr. 

Uncle Ed (as he was known by almost everyone) was a man that had a way of teaching lessons in the middle of casual conversation. Sometimes Ed would stop by the house out of the blue and visit with my Dad. When he was there, I always locked myself on the couch and took in their conversations. Even as a young man I saw the value in listening to these men talk. 

One particular lesson that really impacted my Dad and he has spoken with me about it multiple times is Powerful Prayer. Uncle Ed told my Dad that prayer is powerful, my Dad agreed. Then Uncle Ed said, Powerful Prayer is when your heart and mind come together during prayer!

You see, we are both Spiritual and Physical beings. When we pray, we believe God hears. But, our prayers can become rote memorization, repetitive, and almost mindless actions. On the other hand, when we take what we feel in our heart (passion, emotion, etc) and connect it to our God given minds, then prayer becomes powerful. 

God knows what we want and also what we need. It is our job to bring our heart and our mind together, then present our prayers to God. 

I am not giving you a prescription for prayer. However, I am sharing with you a lesson taught to my Dad by a great man and then passed on to me. So next time you pray, think on the words of Uncle Ed... "Powerful Prayer is when your heart and mind come together."

I-E KA-SHE-NUH E-KI-PSHE KO^-BRA

5 Verbal Traits of a Leader

Let me preface this post by stating that these 5 verbal traits are awesome (pictured below), but I can't take credit for them. 

I was Blessed enough to sit in on a leadership training by a man named Greg Smith. Greg spoke over these 5 traits and I took diligent notes during his training. When I got home, I promptly created the picture below in order to ingrain this information in my mind.

My thoughts on the topic...

Our speech is so powerful and guides our life in the direction of the words we speak. Let's look to the Bible and see what James has to say about this...

"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark." -James 3:3-5

One of my favorite preachers/authors  +Joel Osteen often speaks on the topic of speech. Here is a good quote by Joel:

You can change your world by changing your words... Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.
Joel Osteen 

As a human it's so easy to let our speech take us off the path we desire in life. It's a daily (maybe even minute by minute) practice to use our speech in a positive manner and not the negative. I highly believe in the power of the spoken word to create results either positive or negative. 

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit." -Proverbs 18:21

Take a look at the 5 verbal traits of a leader in the picture below. Think about your speech and how it influences your world and the world of those around you. Then make a decree today to follow these 5 verbal traits and use your speech in a positive manner. 

If you feel up to it, take the challenge put out there by best selling author Keith Cameron Smith. 

Here is the challenge: Go 10 days without complaining about anything. If you complain  even once, you must start over. This could be 8 minutes into the challenge or  8 days into the challenge. Complain= Start over.

I've been trying to complete this challenge longer than I'd like to admit. But, it's a worthy challenge and has helped me to monitor my speech toward the positive!

Failure, Consent, and Perspective

Outright Failure cannot happen without your consent. 

Will you ever fail in life? We all know the answer is a resounding yes.

 The real question should be this... Will you ever fail in life and call it quits? The answer to this question is, only with your consent.

Your perspective on failure will dictate your outcome on the issue. The cool thing is this... You can choose your perspective! 

If you choose to see failure as a road block that stops you in your tracks, then you have consented to fail. On the other hand, if you choose to see failure as hurdle that must be crossed over, then you have consented to endure and grow. 

Today I implore you to choose a positive perspective on failure. Do not consent to give up and quit because you experience a failure. Rather, choose to see failure as a chance to change, grow, and become the best you possible. 

Today, choose to persist without exception in the face of failure. Ultimately, it's up to you and your perspective on the issue!

Below are some of my favorite quotes from successful people that have experienced failure and chosen to persist without exception:

I've come to believe that all my past failure and frustration were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.
Tony Robbins 

Remember that failure is an event, not a person.
Zig Ziglar 

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt 

Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.
C. S. Lewis 
Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
John Wooden 

Lessons from Disney World for your AdvoCare business...

I just returned from 7 days at Disney World with my wife and three children (all 6 years or younger). Now some of you might be like "Dude, that's awesome!" and others might say "Bro, you alright?"

Well, I'm happy to report that the trip and overall experience to Disney World with my family was Awesome!

While we were at Disney I couldn't help but think of the many ways the parks and experience itself related to my AdvoCare business. I'm sure it relates to many other areas as well, but AdvoCare was running through my mind. 

Below I have a list of bullet points that connect Disney and the AdvoCare business as an Independent Distributor. They are in no particular order other than the order that they appeared in my mind. 

Read, think, and use as you see fit...

• This is a great opportunity for an individual or an entire family. It's available, but it takes a decision to seize the opportunity. This is a lesson for the consumer and the distributor.

• Disney World is exciting and welcoming. The people serve you with a smile and do their best to provide a fun, safe, and inviting environment. As an AdvoCare distributor, I should strive to provide these exact things to everyone I come in contact with each day.

• Disney is a World class Company. They have full confidence that people want what they offer and that they can improve lives through their company. As an AdvoCare distributor you should feel the exact same way about what we have to offer and the difference we can make in the lives of others.

• Imagination! Walt Disney was all about Imagination and connecting it with your life. Disney taps into your imagination and emotions with promotion, stories, pictures, etc. Always remember...Facts tell, stories sell. On this topic, do as Disney does!

• Promotion. Disney loves them some Disney (as they should)! They don't promote other brands or companies unless that brand or company is connected with Disney. They promote what matters... Disney. Wear your colors and promote AdvoCare... simple as that. Show some love for our endorsers and there teams because they have that AdvoCare connection. 

• There is an organizational plan in place, but you have to put in some effort to understand. It can seem overwhelming if you are an island and try to figure out everything alone. But, there is plenty of help available, you just have to seek it out. Help will not seek you out. It's best to find an expert and employ them as much as possible.

• Planning.You can get so busy planning that you forget to take action. You also forget to enjoy the journey. Some people treat AdvoCare in this manner as well. They watch all the training videos, go to events, and learn the products inside and out. But, they forget an all so important detail... take action. They also get so caught up in "planning" that they forget to enjoy the journey and or process.

• Stress. Not everything is all rainbows and sunshine at Disney World or in AdvoCare. I know this to be true by watching parents freak out (as one guy did at lunch with his 17 or so kids, it least it seemed like that many to me) on their kids or significant others at Disney. Some people break under the stress and lose their joy. Choose your mental attitude, you have the choice.

• Fun and Easy? Just because it's fun doesn't mean it's easy. Hauling 3 kids under the age of 6 around Disney World is work (as my calves can attest). But it's worth it and we were doing it for a purpose.
  
  AdvoCare is often fun, but not always easy. But guess what? It's worth it when you have a purpose strong enough to keep you going each day!

• Perspective. I sat next to a lady on the plane home who said their experience was horrible and they wouldn't be back. We were at the same place, at the same time. Yet we had two totally different experiences. She told me about watching the Castle show and fireworks at Magic Kingdom and how horrible the experience was for her family. I was thinking "Wow, that same Castle show and fireworks was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced with my family."  It's all about perspective.

• People are everywhere, talk to them! You can create relationships with people in a hurry by talking and asking about them! Women do this very naturally as demonstrated by my wife. I swear she became best friends with about 30 different women during our 7 days at Disney. They would stand by one another and then this weird thing would happen... they would speak! While they did this, us guys (the husbands) would look at one another awkwardly and trying not to make to much eye contact. So, I'd have to get out of my comfort zone and speak to a human  being I didn't really know. Guess what? I lived and I'll also admit, it was pretty cool!

• Last but certainly not least... When going to Disney World, always have spark, catalyst, and post workout recovery on hand! I'm serious it was like 14 hours of working out per day hauling 3 kids around Disney. I loved it!