Following Your Dream

READY…  “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  ~ Henry David Thoreau

AIM…  Hello, loyal AOI readers!  “Where in the world have you been?”  I heard that a lot during the absence of my weekly messages. Honestly, my radical sabbatical came from a divine order to follow a dream.  One day I’m writing inspiration for you, the next day I get connected with another writer and SHAZAM!  We’re off and writing a book together!  So, all this time I’ve been working on a book with another author and several contributing authors and trudging through the details of getting our book published, etc.  The happy announcement is that our book is published and is available in paperback or online as an e-book!  WOO HOO!  Talk about a labor of love!

Personally, I have been told many times that I would one day write a book…or at least, I should write a book. That dream laid dormant in my heart for many years.  There would be times when I’d walk by the book store and wonder what it would be like to see a book on the shelf with MY name on it. When the opportunity presented itself for me to pursue my dream, it exploded like a firework on the 4^th of July!  So many elements fell right into place.  My co-author and I had never met before and after one connection by a mutual friend, our creative sparks ignited.  Our words and stories flowed into multiple pages of inspiration.  The publisher was able to jump several hurdles she had never encountered before through the process of getting our book in print.  It was all divinely appointed and directed and the evidence is my dream, our dream, come true as the final product to share with you.

So, what are you dreaming about today?  Are there desires deep down in your heart that you would love to see come to pass?  Perhaps, it’s not quite time for them to be fulfilled…yet.  However, what you cannot see are all the preparations that are going on behind the scenes of your life plan.  Maybe you recognize an opportunity to take a leap of faith and jump one step closer to making your dream come true.  Wherever you are on that path and whatever you are thinking about today, may you look to the future with great anticipation.  Exciting things are happening and I simply cannot wait to hear all about them and cheer you on!

FIRE!  Take just a few moments to jot down a couple things you’d like to accomplish in your lifetime.  (Some people call it their personal bucket list; others call it their dreaming list.)  Whatever you call it, commit your desires to paper and put it where you’ll be reminded of your goals on a regular basis.  As your dreams come true, write “VICTORY” on your list and then look forward to your next moment of fabulous success.

Be Excellent!

Lori

 

 

 

What Are You Waiting For?

 
READY… “I've always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you've got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.” ~ Chuck Norris
AIM… The bell rings: “And they’re off!” But wait; you’re left standing at the starting gate. Why? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? C’mon, get moving! But there’s a huge cloud of dust ahead of you, and you cannot see through it, and you cannot see around it, and, so, you’re left standing, motionless, waiting for the dust to settle so you can take a step ahead.

Have you been thinking about where you are in life? Are there personal goals and dreams you want to accomplish? Do you want a promotion at work? Have you been trying to achieve financial success? Are you looking for good grades, a spot on the team or even a scholarship? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Seriously, what is holding you back? Is there a dust cloud in front of you where you cannot see through it to determine what your next step should be? Forget the dust! Take that first step toward making things happen for yourself. No one else can or will take that step for you. Just do it! Once you step out of the gate, the dust that surrounds you will start to settle. Your eyes will acclimate and you’ll be able to gaze beyond the cloud. With every step toward your goal, your vision will become clearer and your movements much easier. Soon you’ll be leaving the starting gate behind you and someone else will be eating your dust. And eventually, you will be able to look back and see that your starting gate is a mere speck in the dust scattered on the ground because YOU will be so far ahead on the path toward achieving greatness. Can you see it? Can you taste it? Can you smell it? Yep, it’s your victory and I can’t wait to celebrate with you at the finish line.

FIRE! Take a moment to visualize yourself in the successful position you desire. You need to see all the details, smell all the scents and hear all the sounds of success. You can do it. If everyone else has told you no, today I am telling you that YOU CAN DO IT! Now, go out there and make it happen. What are you waiting for?

Be Excellent!
Lori

Distraction Detours

READY… "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.” ~ Christopher Columbus

AIM… Have you been distracted from the focus of your life plans or projects? If you don’t think you’ve been distracted, you’re not being honest with yourself. Every day we are faced with multiple opportunities to choose to stay focused on our tasks or to stray from our target. Cell phones, email, Facebook, the internet, video games, food, television, other people – they are ALL distractions we encounter daily. So how can we refocus and detour ourselves from all the distractions?

We need to get honest. Try to determine how much time you are spending checking your email, surfing the web, or creeping on Facebook each day. Look at the minutes you spend vegging in front of the tv or playing apps and games. Once you get an idea of how much time you are truly spending doing things that don’t contribute to the success of your plans, then you are ready for the next step. Plain and simple: Set limits for yourself. We set limits and boundaries for our children, thus we adults need to establish healthy limits for ourselves as well. Choose two times a day when you check your email account. Decide to surf the web or catch up on Facebook statuses once a day. Pick your most favorite television shows and only veg out when you have time to watch just those shows. Will setting limits for yourself be easy? Probably not. Will it help you reclaim your lost time and allow you to have free time to spend making strides toward reaching your goals? You bet. No pain, no gain, right? Let’s do it!

FIRE!   Take a baby step this week in eliminating one distraction from your daily routine. If you cannot eliminate it completely, set a limit for yourself and stick to your limit. You’ll discover a new found freedom and wonder why you didn’t make that change sooner.

Be Excellent!
Lori

Staying On Track

READY… "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

AIM… Alright, we are a few weeks into the new year and I’d love to know what you think. Is 2012 turning out to be a better year for you? Are you on track with your goals, dreams and resolutions? Often times, this is about the point where folks drop off the wagon and simply give up because they haven’t achieved the success they were expecting. I want to encourage you to jump back on the wagon; to keep pressing toward the finish line. Even if you feel like you’ve failed, all you have to do is start again. Tomorrow is a brand new day for a fresh new start. Embrace the opportunity to try again! If you are still on track – yay you!! Keep that momentum rolling and moving forward in a positive direction.

We all have hopes, dreams and aspirations for our futures. Even if you aren’t ready to speak those goals out loud or write them down, you know in your heart the things you want to accomplish in life. Thankfully, God also knows the desires of your heart. Proverbs 16:3 reads “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Even if you simply let God know that you are trusting Him to provide the blocks of the foundation to achieve your goals, He will present the path on which you should follow.

No matter where you are at this stage of the new year, I encourage you to lean on the never-failing power of God to give you strength, guidance and opportunities to make your dreams come true.

FIRE!   Make today count! Do something that takes you one step closer to achieving your dreams. Even if all you can do today is pray to allow God to be in control of your destiny, that’s making one HUGE step in the right direction.

Be Excellent!
Lori

Hitting The Bullseye: 100th Arrow!

READY…  “You can’t hit a target you don’t see and you can’t see a target you don’t have.”  ~ Zig Ziglar

AIM…  WOW!  It’s our 100^th Arrows of Integrity message.  I can hardly believe it!  Little did I expect that two years later, I would still be writing messages of inspiration and encouragement via this email and blog…and loving every minute of it!  I have enjoyed hearing your feedback about how these messages have helped you through a tough time or inspired you to seize the day.  I have appreciated your comments and suggestions for future topics and ideas.  Most of all, I am grateful for your love, continued support and your constant encouragement to press on and keep Arrows of Integrity coming to your inbox each week. 

I felt when I started these messages that God had something big in mind.  I still believe there is something big on the horizon for Arrows of Integrity and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.  Perhaps a book?  I love knowing that I have a larger-than-life goal ahead of me; a target for my future success.  I couldn’t imagine just going through the motions every day without a dream to reach for.  Granted, some days, it’s all we can do to get through the day so we just get by and go through the motions.  However, I challenge you to think about your dreams so you too have a target to aim for every day.  I encourage you, if you’re willing, to share your targets with me so I can cheer you on to victory.  We’re all playing this game called life together so we might as well strategize with each other, right?  Here’s to celebrating another 100 wonderful Arrows of Integrities with YOU!

FIRE!  What is YOUR target?  Surely there is one thing in life you really want to accomplish.  Try this: Write your goal down and place it on something you see every day. Under it, paste these words of encouragement: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."  Matthew 7:7 NIV.

Set your sights on that goal, aim your actions and watch yourself hit the bullseye of success!

Be Excellent!

Lori 

Disappointment

READY… “Reverend Mother always says when the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window." ~ Maria speaking to Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music

AIM… Life doesn’t always go in our expected direction. If you’ve seen the movie or the musical The Sound of Music, Maria doesn’t recognize God’s true calling on her life until well into her assignment with the Von Trapp family and she tries to change directions by making decisions herself. Of course, the movie has a happy ending, but when life throws YOU a curve ball, how do you handle the disappointment?

When we run after the desires of our heart and a metaphorical door gets slammed in our face, it is hard to muster up the strength to stay on that course. Our human nature is to run and hide and feel sorry for ourselves because the situation didn’t turn out the way we expected. However, did you realize that how you handle your disappointment is a direct reflection of your character? Yes, we are going to be disappointed. Yes, there are going to be times of sadness or anger. The true test of your personal integrity is whether you allow yourself to wallow in self-pity over your disappointments or if you choose to get back on your feet and take another step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, we cannot choose how other people act or some of the circumstances we’ll be faced with in life. However, we CAN choose how we REact to our situations and the folks who are involved. Remember, others are always watching our behavior. If we pause long enough to take a breath, and look for perspective, perhaps we’ll actually feel the breeze from the window God is opening around the bend of opportunity. Consider how many times you have had an opportunity pass you by only to be thankful when a better one arrived later.

FIRE! Don’t put a period where God places a comma! Give yourself about 60 seconds to have a little pity party and then stand up, pull your shoulders back, hold your head up and confidently go forward in pursuit of your dreams.

Be Excellent!
Lori