Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 67 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Creating Results in Life

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 67 of our Trek, and now that we have learned how to overcome our self-limiting beliefs during the last two days, we are shifting our focus to “Creating Results in Life.”

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We have plenty to accomplish this week before heading back to Charlotte on Sunday. Just so that you realize that we are just simple ordinary folks dealing with the same issues as you do, this week we have had to spray and knock down a large hornets nest under the eve in the front of our house, discovered the ice maker in a fairly new refrigerator is not making ice, and realized the lawn mower is not functioning properly which prevented me from mowing this week.

I am sure all will be taken care of, but if I had my choice, I would prefer not having to deal with any of these issues. But, that is the stuff that life is made of, and I am very thankful that the issues will be resolved. In the middle of this we are finalizing our plans for the family gathering this weekend and are looking forward to it. Please feel free to share with us through email or in the comments on the daily journals, so that we can help each other along life’s trails.

Over the past two days, we have conquered the trails of self-limiting beliefs in our lives. Now that we recognize and are in the process of overcoming those limitations, we will now head up the trail with vigor and explore the possibility of creating great results in life.  This does not imply that it will be easy, but we are not going to allow any limitations to hold us back.

Creating Results in Life

There are some basic principles that you will need to adopt to achieve success and happiness in life. Additionally, there are some fundamental processes that will shape your reality, and you have the power to use and control those processes to create happiness, success, and peace, at least on a daily basis. There is a chart in today’s journal that shows the flow that I will discuss on Day 67. Here is how I believe your reality and the results you get in life are shaped.

 In life, we receive endless information input, or what we sense with our bodies. These inputs have massive influence on our thoughts and on how we perceive reality. This perception of reality shapes our attitudes, or how we feel about and relate to reality. Our attitudes have a huge influence on our actions, or what we do in the world, which ultimately drive the results and shape our reality. This reality then becomes input which perpetuates the cycle. (This cycle is adapted from Joel Gardner, Ph.D.)

Using The Cycle for Success and Happiness 

We have the power to take advantage of this cycle and use it to achieve goals of happiness, success, and peace. Each of these elements – inputs, thoughts, attitudes, and actions – can be used to our advantage.

Inputs – We can choose to place information that is positive and true into our minds. It should be positive and provide motivation to act in a proactive manner. It should be true or based on what is real and useful.Here are a few tips.

Do:

• Read motivational, empowering books by authors such as Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, and Jim Rohn.
• Read sacred literature – the Bible.
• Surround yourself with positive people who have similar goals and ambitions in life.
• Listen to music and spoken words that are positive and uplifting.

Don’t:

• Spend time with people who are negative or who complain excessively.
• Watch mindless television or waste time excessively on the internet.

Thoughts – While our thoughts are heavily influenced by inputs, we can still choose what we think about. We are constantly “talking to ourselves” in our minds. Our minds are always thinking, and we can choose what we think about and how we think about it.  Tips for creating empowering thoughts include:

Do:

• Choose thoughts and beliefs that empower you.
• Choose thoughts that bring success and happiness to you and to others.
• Choose thoughts that are positive, true, and hopeful.

Don’t:

• Dwell on negative things.
• Ignore negative things, but live proactively to overcome them.
• Focus your thoughts on the things you cannot control.
• Focus your thoughts on things that will bring negative results.

Attitudes – Although attitudes are heavily influenced by our thoughts, we have the capacity to consciously choose a positive, self-sustaining attitude. By controlling attitudes through consistent efforts (and trial and error), we will find that our actions are more proactive and bring greater results.

Do:

• Have a positive attitude about life.
• Have a positive attitude about yourself.
• Expose your mind to people and media that infuse a healthy, positive attitude into your mind.

Don’t:

• Focus on the negative or on things that you cannot control.
• Watch too much news or be exposed to people and media that are overtly negative.

Disciplined Action – Our actions are the most vital component to success and happiness in life. We must align our actions and habits with the results we want and realize we have the power to control our actions and habits. Habits are the vehicle through which success is attained.

Do:

• Focus your actions on those that will bring you positive, lasting results in your life. This usually entails work of some kind.

Don’t:

• Waste time or energy on habits that limit personal success, growth, and happiness.
• Include addictive habits and gross time-wasters such as mindless television or internet.

By taking control of each of these components in our lives, we have the power to create the results we desire – success, happiness, peace, or whatever outcome we desire.

We don’t always have control over the inputs in our lives, but we do have control over our thoughts. From our thoughts come our attitudes and from our attitudes our actions, which will eventually affect the input in our lives.   That is why it is important to “Fix our thoughts” and follow the encouragement in Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

This view certainly isn’t absolute. Input from the environment and people we are in and around greatly affect our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. But, viewing the world according to the process described above focuses our energy on the things that we can control. It enables us to take control of our personal habits and to begin to move forward toward our desired goals.  I welcome any input or feedback that you desire to share.

We don’t always have control over the inputs in our lives, but we do have control over our thoughts.

Tweet This

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. Tomorrow we will look at “The Essentials of a Good Life.”

So, please join us at our “camp” tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to take the time to invest yourself.

1. Invest in improving Wisdom-Trek by leaving your name, email address, and a comment on our website, so we can provide you with wisdom and insights that best fit your needs.
2. Invest in yourself by listening to our 7 minutes of wisdom each day.
3. Invest in the lives of others by encouraging your family and friends to journey with us on our Wisdom-Trek.

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!