“Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”
-Song of Solomon 2:15

Most of us have goals, dreams, and visions for our lives. But having a dream is not nearly enough. Living the dream that we have in our possession is the ultimate goal. To do that, we must make choices and take steps that are in alignment with our dream.

It doesn’t happen by accident or by chance. We must train ourselves to do it.

One of our BIGGEST challenges and HARDEST opponent to train for isn’t really that BIG at all.

But if this challenge is not overcome, we can never truly realize our dream.

This challenge comes in multiples and almost always travels in a group.

It is small. It is persistent. It is nagging. It is annoying.

It is Distraction.

Little distractions that steal our time.

Little distractions that drain our energy.

Little distractions that hijack our hope.

Little distractions that break our focus.

An important key to getting to stepping into our dream is keeping our eyes locked on the prize. The prize is the place of our vision and our breakthrough. The prize is the destination that God is leading us to.

But we must keep our eyes on the prize despite the many distractions.

The picture above illustrates this principle perfectly.

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant elevates for a jump shot while Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier plays dogged defense. He attempts to defend by distraction, placing his left hand directly in Bryant’s field of vision.

But look at Bryant’s eyes.

It is as if Battier’s hand doesn’t exist.

His eyes are locked on where the ball is destined to go.

As leaders, creators, and world changers, we must train ourselves to do the same.

Naysayers? Messengers of fear and doubt?

Can’t hear ‘em.

Obstacles? Past history? Giants of failure and defeat?

Can’t see ‘em.

Barriers? Thorns of resistance? Tacklers of depression and circumstance grabbing at me, trying to wrestle me to the ground?

Can’t feel ‘em.

I won’t be distracted.

I am determined to win.

My eyes are locked on the prize that God has for me.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
-John 8:32

“Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.”
-from movie ‘Man who Never Was’

Truth is a challenge for us. We believe in truth on a surface or philosophical level, but we resist truth when it aims to go deeper. When it is time to tell someone a truth that they desperately need to know about themselves, we procrastinate or claim ignorance. When someone else has truth that we desperately need to know about ourselves, we sidestep it or cop an attitude when we get it.

Why do we do this? If truth brings freedom, why wouldn’t we want it?

Why would we much rather embrace an illusion that is false, to reject a reality that is true?

Only the brave have the courage to embrace what is true. Truth demands change. The change truth demands takes effort, energy, and personal investment.

Truth no doubt can be difficult, which is why bravery is a must. But without truth, there can be no freedom. Freedom from mediocrity, limitations, dsyfunctions, pain, bad habits, the negative past, among many other things.

It is only when we have the courage to embrace truth, will we have the power to change and be free.

What makes us creative people? What is the element that allows us innovate and do something in a brand new way?

I was considering this question a few days ago and came up with this answer:

The ability to imagine and perceive things from a different vantage point.

A couple simple examples:

What does music look like?

What does the color red sound like?

What does light feel like?

Each one of these questions forces us to think on a different vantage point.

By shifting the way we see something, we can address old challenges in new ways.

Because we can’t find new paths by thinking old thoughts.

“I don’t sing because I am happy. I am happy because I sing.”
-anonymous

Sometimes the first step on the pathway to breakthrough is looking at the world with the right perspective. In moments of challenge this can be especially difficult. Rainy days test the quality of our voice, while threatening to drown out our song.

But we do have a choice.

We can choose to be silent, waiting for a sunnier day to sing our song; or we can keep singing in spite of the rain.

So the question is:

Will the rain change how we sing, our will our singing change we the way we see the rain?

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
-Michelangelo

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
-James 4:14

We assume a lot of things. We assume that we will get another chance, get a better opportunity, get another tomorrow.

But we only get one chance to live, tomorrow is not promised, and our best opportunity might be staring us in the face right now.

I only get one chance at life, so I had better live one that matters.

I don’t know if tommorrow is coming, so I must live a meaningful today.

I don’t know if this is my last opportunity to make a difference, so I will seize this moment with all my strength.

I only get one shot on this journey called life.

I better make the most of it.

‘Lights, Camera, Action!’ is a phrase made famous by film directors prior to shooting a scene for a movie or television show. This week, on a real world set, with lights on and cameras rolling, strange action was taking place.

On Monday, Reality TV stars Jon and Kate Gosselin of ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8′ announced their divorce after 10 years of marriage. Initial reports said that they had been living seperately for 2 years while filming their show with their 8 children on the TLC network.

Ironically, a series based on healthy family, parenting, and marriage became (or some could say was) a farce. Jon and Kate became engaging characters in a studio production, taking on complicated roles to impersonate themselves.

Reality stopped being reality.

Now it is really easy to criticize and pile on Jon and Kate for a variety of reasons. But in our haste criticize them, we forget about the folks that we need to most concerned about:

Ourselves.

Because it doesn’t require TV cameras, paparazzi, and a large cable company to become an actor or actress. We can do it for far less and for a much smaller audience.

Whenever HOW WE ARE PERCEIVED is of greater importance than WHO WE ARE, we have made the switch from Person to Impersonator. We might as well shout, “Lights, Camera, Action!” to the mirror every morning as we start the day.

Life has then become a live action show produced for the approval of an indifferent audience.

But when WHO WE TRULY ARE becomes our focus, we can fully become WHO GOD HAS DESTINED US TO BE.

A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of the world to study the prospects of expanding the business. One sends a text message back saying:

AMAZING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY! THEY HAVE NO SHOES!

What message would you send? One of optimism and hope? Or one of pessimism and failure?

How we see things can make all the difference.

Links from Spoken Word written by Kyle Gattison and Special Message on Father’s Day about God’s inheritance and legacy. Click here.

“Is the life I am living the life that wants to live in me?”
-Parker Palmer

Question: Are you living the life that you were created to live?

And if not, what are you going to do about it?

Today is the birthday of Tiffany Latrease Newman. I won’t tell you how old she is. But I can tell you this: I love her more than ever and she is better, stronger, prettier, smarter, sexier (can I say that on here?), wiser and more amazing than ever.

Just keeps getting better and better with time.

I still can’t believe that she is with me.

What a lady.