What happened to the spark of life we felt as a child? Remember those youthful days when you would jump from bed thrilled with the possibilities that the day would hold, resisting bed time because of the fear you might miss something?
Why is it that as we grow older our first thoughts in the morning tend to be of undone tasks, failures, or other stressful considerations?
Why do we drag ourselves from bed hoping to get through the day rather than excited about the plan we have to squeeze from the day every ounce of life available?
There are two choices that can impact your view of life the very next time you wake up…
1. Determine that you will search your past for evidence of the hand of God actively directing your life to live Fully Alive.
Researching material for my book Fully Alive forced me to review my past and see moments in time where God directed me to the fulfilling life I enjoy today.
Sometimes he was gentle and sometimes he used very difficult circumstances to correct my path. Sometimes I followed him closely and other times I wandered. But my research revealed that nothing was by chance. Even in the darkest hours his hand was always there.
The Hollywood fame that I thought would bring me happiness never materialized. Today, I wouldn’t trade the opportunity he gave me to impact lives for all the fame in the world.
When I was aimlessly stumbling, like the walking dead, God used life experiences to revive me.
- When a high school teacher told me God had given me a gift and forced me enter a speech contest. I felt something in my temple….
It was a pulse.
- When I crossed the finish line after competing in a triathlon at 65 and felt something in my temple….
It was a pulse.
- One day I lunged for a ball on the racquet ball court I felt something in my temple….
It was the floor.
I had hit the wall and knocked myself unconscious. But, I had become a different man. I was active, capable of competing and fully alive.
- When I revisited the spot where my granddaughter Jadyn had been rescued after disappearing in a mountain wilderness, I felt something in my heart….
It was the source of the pulse of hope I had felt throughout my life.
The foundation of living fully alive.
It was a bedrock faith that I knew would sustain me no matter what the circumstances in my life.
Mining your past for signs of life is the first choice that can set you on the path to living fully alive. But there is a second choice you can make today that can change the course of your life.
2. Determine that you will create a life plan that will enable you to live forward for the rest of your life.
My friends, Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy, have written a life changing book entitled Living Forward. It goes a step further than simply reviewing your life to see where God’s hand has guided you in the right direction.
It is a practical plan to stop drifting and get the life you want by planning your life in the right direction from the start. Like TOMORROW.
- Know your life mission and purposely move in that direction.
Too much of my life was lived responding to circumstances rather than determining direction. What if some of those regrets could be eliminated by intentional living. I am so grateful for the correcting hand of God discussed above, but I could have saved Him a lot of trouble by clarifying my mission in the first place and planning every aspect of my life to move toward that mission.
- Take the first step to Implement your plan today!
Please believe the next two sentences because they come from my heart.
This is not a blog post designed to sell Michael’s book or my book. This is a blog post designed to give you the tools that will empower you to plan how you can live an abundant, significant, regret free life.
I know these books will help you do that. We get messages, e-mails and letters on a weekly basis of lives renewed and even saved by reading Fully Alive.
Michael and Daniel’s book Living Forward will impact every person who actually puts the principles in that book to practice. I have not even finished the book yet and it has already profoundly affected how I am shaping the last years of my life.
If you have a better plan for living the rest of your years fully alive, please implement it today! If not, I promise these books will give you a running start on a life without regrets.
If you have read Living Forward or Fully Alive please leave a comment.
If you have another tool that will lead people to life Fully Alive let us know.
Any encouragement your story can give my readers will be appreciated.[reminder]
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Living Forward can be purchased here.
Fully alive is available here.
Don’t forget get the most important resource book of all… The Holy Bible. The apostle Paul said, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14
He lived on purpose.
Every action in his life was designed to accomplish his mission.
His life helped changed the world.
You can do the same!
Comments
I have NOT read Fully Alive [though it is in my stash of books to read] nor have I read [or yet bought] Living Forward, but I plan to. #CreateTheLifeYouWant and #LiveIntentionally are two things I am passionate about and I loved your blog post. A book that I consider one of my top 5 FAV’s is The Slight Edge. Simple disciplines done consistently over time produce results. If you haven’t read it, you should!
I read and reviewed “Fully Alive” on my blog, Ken. It is transformational, encouraging a fresh perspective for how to live in an unpredictable, and sometimes daunting, world. I want to live fully alive!
My husband is going through “Living Forward” now; I will do so when he’s done and then we hope to come together and create a couple/family plan as well. Cannot wait to get more clarity
I highly recommend both books!
Thank you, I needed this right at this moment. I have read Fully Alive and plan to read it again. It is a special book.
I don’t know about Michael’s book, but I sure do know yours. I met you on the comedy cruise last June. I am the lady who was going home to commit suicide on Monday. I will never forget the time I had with you and how it changed my life. Little by little I am writing now. I don’t know if I will ever publish all that God has brought me out of, but I do know this, I am alive because of the God who placed you in my life for His purpose. I will never forget your question about what will they do without me on Tuesday. Every time I feel depressed I think about that question. My closest family and friends who know about what happened and I have a little saying we share, “Happy Tuesday!” So I wanted to say thanks. Thanks for listening to God’s call on your life. Thanks for being there at just the right time. And even though it is Wednesday night I will send you a day old greeting, “Happy Tuesday Ken! Happy Tuesday!”