The Power of Gratitude

Tale of Two Brains

FINALLY! Someone has articulated the root cause of every problem in my marriage. Perhaps it will help you too!

Safeguarding Your Joy

This week's I Am Joyful lesson came as a result of a conversation with a friend. She asked me to name something specific that she could pray for me about. After a minute or so, I gave her my answer. When I did, she said there are probably a lot of people who struggle with the same thing and that I should write about it. So I did. :)

To read this week's lesson, "Safeguarding Your Joy: Withstanding the Adversary's Onslaught" go to http://www.iamjoyful.com/lessons.php . If you'd care to post your comments, I'd love to hear whether I'm the only one who encounters this challenge.

Everything I Needed to Know About Personality Types I Learned in Little League Basketball

Watching our 9-year-old son play basketball Saturday brought back memories of my many years on the court. I started in 3^rd grade like Nate and played every year until I broke my arm in eleventh grade. I remember what it was like to be an awkward kid, uncertain of where to go and what to do on a basketball court.

As I watched his team play, I noticed the same types of kids that I played with. There really are only about four kinds of basketball players: 

1) The scrappy point guard who knows how to handle the ball and has his favorite players with whom he'll share it. If one of those players isn't open, he keeps the ball for himself until he drives himself into a corner with four opponents fighting him for it.

2) The obedient child strictly follows the coach's orders. "The coach said this was my spot, so this is my spot. No dad, I have to stand right there .. the coach said so." The obedient child is so worried about staying in his little spot that he never runs out to meet the ball and rarely gets open. Yet, he just can't figure out why nobody will throw him the ball.

3) The hustler. This player doesn't hold back. If there's a ball out there, he's diving for it. He's racking up fouls. He's thinking with his heart. He acts first, thinks later and sometimes that means he's diving for a ball that an opponent just tipped out of bounds. He's so busy acting, he doesn't realize that some balls you just have to let go.

4) The natural is the child who makes basketball look effortless. He swishes shots from the outside and drives down the court to score the winning points. Of course, the scrappy point guard loves to pass him the ball. All goes right in the world of the natural. 

These same types of players are the same types of people you'll encounter in life. Particularly I see these players in the business world. 

There's the scrappy leaders who run things, have their favorite people, and rarely "pass the ball" outside their "clique." They're front and center making things happen, but they often forget to delegate until they've worked themselves into a corner with few options. 

Then there's that obedient person who does what he's told, but nothing more. He's going by the book, doing his job by the regulations, but rarely thinks outside the box. Because he won't venture outside his circle, he misses opportunities and gets passed over for promotions. In the entrepreneurial world, this is the person who starts a business, does a few obvious things to promote it and then gives up crying, "I tried, but no one would hire me." 

The hustler is out there making a lot of noise, doing a lot of things, busy, busy, busy. He may or may not be getting anything significant done with all that action, but sometimes his sheer heart for "giving it all he's got" makes him luck up. Then again, he often spends his energy fixing things he's botched while acting first and thinking later. 

We all envy the natural. This is the person who makes life or business look easy. Everything seems to fall into his lap. Few realize that it's the attitude, confidence and consistent effort that the natural has put forth over time that has perfected his craft. He's learned to listen and act on intuition. The natural has learned the delicate balance between doing and thinking. There is no wasted effort with the natural. He's learned the art of acting while he's in a state of flow. He knows if he does, things will get done in half the time with a fraction of the effort. 

Addendum added 1/22/08:

What's the danger for the natural? Ingratitude! The moment he starts thinking how "great and smart" he is and forgets that his ability to be "in the zone" comes from a higher Source, he disconnects himself from that Source.

So which one are you?

Book Recommendation: Stoney Creek, Alabama

I'm a pretty picky reader. I rarely read a book twice or even go out of my way to recommend one, but I am today.

The mother and daughter writing team, Sandra Poole and Jennifer Youngblood, have just released their second novel, Stoney Creek, Alabama. This sleek romantic thriller stands out from the crowd -- holding you spellbound and tugging at your heartstrings while entertaining you with its witty Southern flavor and metaphors. The writing is solid, the story compelling, and the characters believable. This novel captures and conveys the Southern culture in such a way that it takes you down to Alabama and lets you live among its people.

There are very few authors who can capture the South this well, and it's one of those books that I'll gladly read again and again. I read a pre-press copy several months ago, and upon hearing it was in print I got excited and immediately thought, "Oh, I can't wait to read that again." You've heard me talk about this before... books that make you feel something are the ones you want to pick up over and again because you want to feel that way again. Stoney Creek, Alabama is one such novel. I ordered mine yesterday and can't wait to have it in my hot little hands. :)

Self-publishing Secrets and Article Marketing

As part of the CreateAWOW Virtual conference, my friend Nancy Spivey interviewed me about two of my topics of expertise. These interviews would be helpful for you if you're interested in marketing your products or services through article promotion or if you're looking at self-publishing a book.

Create a WOW with Article Marketing
In this interview, you'll learn all about article marketing, syndication, and how to use articles for better search engine positioning.

Insider Secrets to Self-Publishing
If you're one of those people who has a manuscript sitting on your computer or hidden in your closet, and you aren't quite sure what to do with it -- whether to send it to a publisher or self-publish it yourself, whether to print it in paperback or make it available as a downloadable ebook -- then this recorded interview will give you the basics on what you need to know. I talk about the BarnesandNoble. com best seller campaign we did, ebooks vs. print books, fiction vs. non-fiction, viral marketing for books, etc.

You can listen to these by either going to www.CreateAWOW.com or you can listen to our podcast through:

• Your RSS Reader/Podcast Software
• iTunes

If you get a chance to listen, leave a comment here with your questions or thoughts.