Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 96 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.
Hiking the Trail of Genius (1)
Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 96 of our Trek. Yesterday we finished the four habits that form habits. On our Trek today and tomorrow, we will explore the four zones, or as we will refer to them as trails, where we can choose to spend most of our time. When we finish this two day hike, we will have a clearly marked map on how we can navigate toward and spend most of our time on our personal trail of genius.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We continue to have full days of client work mixed with planning for changes in our business as we look toward next year.
Today Paula and I were interviewed for another podcast called Together 24/7, which is hosted and produced by Barry and Catherine Cohen. Their podcast focuses on couples that live and work together. It will not be aired until mid to late October, so I will let you know when the interview is available. I am also scheduled for three additional interviews on other podcasts during this next week. It is enjoyable to share our stories on these different shows.
It is time now to break camp and set out to explore the four trails where we spend our time hiking each day. Our Trek today and tomorrow will help you move toward the trail that will best utilize your God-given talents. We are all unique and have a place in the various areas of life that are best suited for us. As King David wrote in Psalms 139:14, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it.”
The trails that we will explore are mapped out in a book called The Big Leap written by Gay Hendricks. In this book Gay plots the zones or trails that will help us to conquer fear and take life’s trek to the next level. This is possible but only if we are willing to make the changes needed.
I realize that there are circumstances and situations in our lives that we have little control over that may limit how high we can hike in this life, but more often than not, our limitations are ones that we place on ourselves. Those choices become weights that we have strapped to our own feet. We all have limiting circumstances that grow out of poor choices or a wrong attitude, but we have the ability to unstrap those weights and to rise above these limitations.
Think about his analogy. In the early days of the steam-powered train, respected scientists urged the engineers to limit the speed to thirty miles per hour because they believed that the human body exploded at speeds faster than that. Finally some brave people risked going beyond that limiting belief and found that they did not explode. The crew of NASA’s Apollo 10 moon mission reached a top speed of 24,791 mph relative to Earth as they rocketed back to our planet on May 26, 1969. Someday we will reach speeds much greater.
Are you limiting your potential of what you can become? Do you have a negative and fearful attitude that restricts your ability to live the rich and satisfying life that Jesus spoke about in John [10:10]?
Think about it this way. As we pass by a tiny acorn on our trail, we realize that under the right conditions this tiny acorn will grow into a mighty oak tree similar to the one it fell from, which can live for hundreds of years and withstand the fieriest of storms. If that is the case, don’t you think that God will provide you what is necessary to reach your full potential since you are made in His image?
You can reach your full potential, but that is tied to the choices you make and your commitment to those choices. You attain your worth and dignity by the multitude of decisions you make each day. The hard decisions require courage. Most of us are content enough with our lives that we never reach our full potential.
There are four trails where we choose to spend every moment of each day. Those trails are
- Trail of Incompetence
- Trail of Competence
- Trail of Excellence
- Trail of Genius
The forth trail is hidden to most of us because it is concealed at the upper limits of the other trails. It can only be reached as we push through the other trails. But, many are too fearful or lack the ambition to hike on the Trail of Genius.
Most of us are content to hike on the trails that are not challenging, and therefore, we are really not engaged. Keep in mind though, one person’s trail of incompetence and competence may be another person’s trail of excellence or genius. So, be careful not to judge another person by the trail you are on.
We will explore the first two trails today, and the final two tomorrow.
Trail #1 – Incompetence
The Trail of Incompetence includes those activities or tasks that you are not very good at. It may be that they are not challenging, so you don’t care enough to be engaged. It may be that it is not something that your personality or skill set is a good match for. You could probably do the task, but is it not your strength. It is better to leave these tasks to someone else with this particular giftedness. As an example for me, while I like to have physical or electronic filing systems structured and detailed so it is easy and convenient to find the information, I would not be the best person to set up and maintain such as system. So, this would be a trail of incompetence for me. Paula on the other hand is very good on this trail, so it would be a different trail for her.
Trail #2 – Competence
The Trail of Competence is a comfortable trail for you. You are able to complete these activities or tasks about as well as others. Since this trail is no longer challenging for you, it may not be a trail that you choose to hike because you have no real desire to do this type of tasks on a long term basis. Some of you may choose to remain on this trail because you do not want to be challenged and you are okay with mediocrity in your life. This trail really does not utilize your God-given talents to their fullest.
As a personal example on this trail of competence, while I can easily maintain a bookkeeping system and do a good job at it, I do not have the insistence or desire to make sure everything is coded exactly the same every single time. Paula, on the other hand, is probably the most detailed bookkeeper that I know. Every penny must be accounted for properly. So for Paula, this task would be a different trial. This example is just one of many reasons why Paula and I are able to work and live together 24/7 and enjoy it. We both recognize and accept our individual strengths.
Today we explored the trails of incompetence and competence. Come along on our hike tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy, and we will explore the trail of excellence and then focus on how to reach the Trail of Genius.
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, Spreaker, YouTube, or Wisdom-Trek.com.
If you enjoy our daily doses of wisdom, I encourage you to take the time to invest yourself.
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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.
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If you are interesting in hiking, check out this great comprehensive article on Top 50 Long Distance Hiking Trails In The USA http://bootbomb.com/info/hiking-trails/top-50-long-distance-hiking-trails-usa/
This link is provided with permission by Brian Bradshaw of http://bootbomb.com
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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:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- 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!