Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 106 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Life is Like Starring in a Movie

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 106 of our Trek. Yesterday we enjoyed some humble pie while we explored the reasoning why all trails eventually end, specifically the trails of success and failure. Today we will investigate why life is like starring in a movie.

In celebration of our 100^th 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 5^th.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  After speaking at Putnam Church this morning, we headed back south. We stopped by Cracker Barrel for lunch with our friends from Charlotte, Bev and Katie, who came up for a short visit during the Marietta Sternwheel Festival. The fireworks last night at the Sternwheel Festival were spectacular, and the displays that we launched from the bridge over the Ohio River made it extra special.

We made a stop in Covington, Virginia, on our way back to Charlotte to pick up Mom Jarvis. She was able to spend the past three weeks with Paula’s sister Lois to see the grandkids and great grandkids who came in for a Labor Day weekend get-together. Time spent with family and friends during this trek of life is so important. We need to make sure that we never become so busy living life that we forget this.

As we break camp and head up the trail today, let us ponder how important making the most of every moment really is. On our hike today we come across an outdoor theater, and we discuss if our lives were a movie, what would they be like.

Each of us is the screenwriter, director, and leading character in our movie of life. Our family, friends, associates, and everyone with whom we come in contact are cast members in our movie. Some of these people will be our co-stars and supporting actors while others will just be walk-ons.

Each of us is the screen writer, director, and leading character in our movie of life.

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The important concept to grasp is that there are no practice days, and there is no dress rehearsal.  Each day is an impromptu performance. Once we understand this, it may help us to perform at our best. With all impromptu performances, we must realize that we will miss ques, flub up lines, and draw cheers and boos from those watching our performance. We won’t perform perfectly every day, but the show must go on…

All too often we get so consumed with our “star role” that we lose site of the importance of our overall, lifelong movie and the crucial role that all the supporting cast members play. We miss the things that really matter in life. Before we know it, the seconds have become minutes, the days have become weeks, and the months have become years. And, when we finally take time to catch our breath, we look back in retrospect and think, “My performance is nearing the end, where did all the time go?”

It’s so easy to be blinded by our own performance, ambition, power, and success that we miss including the simple pleasures of life into our script. For example, did your children’s birthday parties, Little League games, or dance recitals make it into your movie? Did you include the scenes where you were available to counsel your friend in need? Did you make the time to help your kids with their homework, to attend back-to-school nights, or to put down your newspaper/telephone/iPad when your family wanted to tell you about their day?

Or, were there more important plot lines that you included in your movie of life?

Now, I realize that your movie includes hectic scenes of life and that you’re getting pulled in a million different directions. The truth is, it’s not that you don’t have enough time to include the things that matter to you into your script — but rather, you allowed other priorities to become part of your movie.

It goes without saying that every time you decide to focus on one thing in your life, you’ve also decided not to spend that time on something else.

Unfortunately, once opportunities are lost, they’re often lost forever — life doesn’t come with a dress rehearsal. So, if you think you may regret the script that you are writing, it may be time to change who will be the most important supporting characters in your life’s movie.

Life doesn’t come with a dress rehearsal.

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Here are some guideposts to help you as you continue to write your script. 

Priorities

Have you ever stopped to think about what matters most to you? Will you include these supporting characters and plot lines in your movie? Or do trivial issues sidetrack you from doing the things that you should care about the most?

Agenda

Do you let other people write your script for you? How much time do you spend reacting to other people’s plots and drama versus writing your own and doing things that matter? Are you asking your loved ones to take minor roles in your movie, while allowing others free rein over your priorities, making them strong supporting characters?

Time Management

How much of your day is spent on autopilot? Do you show up on the set of life and allow someone else’s agenda to control your role in your movie? Do you devote more time to thinking about what you’re going to do or actually doing it? When was the last time you identified and eliminated wasteful tasks and routines – that is wasteful scenes and lines?

Quality

How much of your day is spent worrying about problems in your script versus appreciating the moment, or the current scene? What percentage of your time do you spend being physically present reciting your lines but mentally absent? Does trying to be in multiple scenes at once – that is multitasking – damage your ability to give your undivided attention to your current scene that is most important?

Inner Peace

Do you care more about what you want out of life or about what others think about your performance? Do you value creating wonderful memories as much as you value material rewards? Are you investing in your supporting characters – that is your family and friends – or taking them for granted? When was the last time you felt comfortable in your “star role”?

[spp-tweet tweet=”No one else can be the leading character in your movie – you must play it and play it well.

The Decision is Yours

It’s so easy to get so caught up in the day-to-day minutiae that we lose sight of the big picture. You must take time to pause, reflect, and enjoy your movie.

Even if your life movie becomes a blockbuster and you secure the enviable positions of power and material wealth, understand that all decisions come with real costs — in relationships and precious moments that can’t be replaced. Make sure that your stardom does not come at a price that is too high to pay.

The script you write, the movie you direct, and the role you play in your movie is your decision and yours alone. It is never too late to rewrite the script and make the most important people in your life your supporting characters.  It is your life movie, make it a great one for you, your supporting characters, and the scenes that matter most.

A successful life movie is achieved by spending time and attention on scenes that really matter to you. No matter how young or old you are, you still have time to write a great script and direct your movie from this point forward. Are you spending your precious time in the areas that matter most to you? It’s your choice.

As recorded in James 3:13, “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.”

Now that you realize you are the star of “This is Your Life Movie,” what role will we play as supporting characters? Please join us tomorrow and let us know as we continue on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. Tomorrow we will learn why life is like a bell.

That will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, YouTube, or Wisdom-Trek.com.

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Thank you!

The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day. 

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!