Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 453 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Decision Making on Life’s Trek – Philosophy Part 7
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy podcast. This is Day 453 of our trek, and today is Philosophy Friday. Every Friday we ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.
Currently, we are in a multi-week trek as we explore the teachings from some of my virtual mentors, such as Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Earl Nightingale. The core of our current trek is based primarily on Jim Rohn’s book The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. I have learned a considerable amount from reading and re-reading this book on my own trek of life, and I trust that it will benefit you also. Keeping with the continuity of Wisdom-Trek, I will be adapting it to The Five Trails on Life’s Trek.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We are slowly making progress on unpacking and setting up the additional furnishings from Charlotte and are trying to be practical on what we keep and what we choose to give away to others. While many of the furnishings have some family tie or sentimental value, we realize that holding onto stuff that is not going to be used is not wise or prudent.
Although we have accumulated several items passed down through the family for several generations, we do try to be rather minimalistic in our approach to life. We realize that we are just stewards of what we have to take care of while we are alive. This mindset is part of a powerful personal philosophy. As we consider our personal philosophy on our trek for today, we will continue on the first of five trails on life’s trek, which is the Philosophy Trail.
Specifically, we want to continue our exploration of How to Develop a Powerful Personal Philosophy. If you have missed the past few Philosophy Friday treks, it would be good to go back and review them to get caught up on our progress so far. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so let’s break camp and continue on the first trail of this extended trek as we cover…
The Five Trails on Life’s Trek –Philosophy Part 7
As a reminder, our overall extended trek will cover these five trails:
Philosophy
Attitude
Activity
Results
Lifestyle
Last week on our hike we focused on the importance of keeping a journal of your life experiences to use as a guide for future growth. Today we will examine the decision-making process, which is so crucial for creating a powerful personal philosophy.
Whenever a new idea comes your way, you subconsciously place this idea on your mental scales and weigh it to determine what level of action you need to take on the idea. Those ideas that measure high on our scale receive immediate attention; those that measure low on our scale receive only minimal or infrequent notice.
Whatever level of action you determine to be correct will ultimately be decided by your philosophy. If you have failed to gather adequate knowledge or if you have failed to refine or add to the knowledge you possess, then a significant number of your decisions may move you away from success rather than toward it. If you are inclined to invest major time on minor things or even major money on minor things, then it is essential for you to take a closer look at your decision-making process.
The world is filled with people whose decisions are destined to destroy their chances for success. A person who does not operate from a sound philosophy often does that which he should have left undone and leaves undone that which he should have done. He fails to set goals and establish priorities. He vacillates between one decision and another. He senses that he should be doing something but lacks the discipline to convert this awareness into action.
Every day is filled with dozens of personal crossroads — moments when you are called upon to make a decision regarding minor as well as major questions. It is important to remember that each choice you make during these moments of decision charts a path leading to some future destination. Just as the sum total of your past decisions has led you to your current circumstances, the decisions you make today will lead you to the rewards or the regrets of the future.
The decisions you make today will lead you to the rewards or the regrets of the future.
Choices. Decisions. Selections. Each provides you with an opportunity to determine the quality of your future. Each demands that you prepare in advance for the decision that is to be made. In those moments of choice, it is the knowledge you have acquired and the philosophy you have developed from this knowledge that will either serve you or destroy you.
That is why you must constantly be found preparing for the unanticipated confrontation with important choices. Only through careful mental preparation can you consistently make wise choices. What you think determines what you believe; what you believe influences what you choose; what you choose defines what you are; and what you are, attracts what you have. If you are not happy with where your past decisions have led you, then the place to start is with your current thinking process. As you add new knowledge, you will begin to refine your philosophy. As your beliefs change, so too will your choices. From better choices come better results.
The development of a sound philosophy prepares you for making sound decisions. Like the architect, you must learn to see in your mind the result you wish to achieve, and then go to work on building a solid foundation to support this vision. Once the vision is clearly defined and the foundation has been firmly established, then the choices required to complete the structure are easily and wisely made.
A couple of verses to consider today as we conclude are:
Proverbs 22:1 – Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.
Ecclesiastes 10:2 – A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one.
We are deliberately taking our trek slowly as we ponder How to Develop a Powerful Personal Philosophy on our continued hike up the Trail of Philosophy today. This is not an easy hike to make. It requires studying and absorbing new information that may challenge your current philosophy. It requires refining your decision-making ability so that you will build a strong foundation in your life.
Next week on Philosophy Friday, we will explore the trail of failure that you should avoid at all cost and the trail of success that you should take in your pursuit of a powerful personal philosophy. Make sure to join us for the continuation of our trek on the Trail of Philosophy next Friday. I know you will find these insights interesting and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life.
Our next trek will be Motivation Monday as we explore more trails of how to get and stay motivated to bring value to your world. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along on Monday for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. Just as you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person and inviting them to come along with us each day. I would challenge you today to take just one precept that we learn today in Proverbs and commit yourself to applying it to your life.
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.
As we take this trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!