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Report for Duty: Who Really Benefits from your Charitable Offerings?

This week, I want to challenge you. I will tell you from the outset, I intend to make you uncomfortable and to stretch you beyond where you typically live. Why? Because that is where growth happens, that is where the momentum begins, and that is how you become an unstoppable force for good beyond even your biggest dreams. I can comfortably assure this because I have witnessed it for myself in several areas already this year. 

Today, we’re going to look at charitable giving. My first question for you is, “how much are you giving to benefit other people?” Got your answer ready? Good because that’s not enough. Not even close. You are much more capable than you realize and give yourself credit for, and no, I am not suggesting you make major personal sacrifices and life-changing decisions n order to get there. In fact, it’s easier than you think.

Arrange Your Time into Meaningful Assets Rather than Careless Expenses

To begin this week, let’s start with a little lesson on business. When running a successful business, most people would agree that the way you utilize your assets and control your expenses will in large part determine the ultimate success or failure of your business. Assets are commonly defined as any property owned by a firm. They can be fixed, current, liquid, or intangible and are balanced against liabilities.

I won’t get too technical here, but the most common forms of assets are cash, inventory, property, and equipment. If you have substantially more assets than liabilities, your business will be in a very advantageous position, but the opposite is also true. To quickly move our conversation from business to life, let’s consider the one thing that no matter how successful we are in either sphere, we will never have enough time.

The Most Incredible Spring Break Ever I Spent With Time, Alone

I begin today’s post with a confession. I invested the previous two weeks in restoring my mental, emotional, and spiritual sanity. I decided several weeks ago that after seven months of not venturing more than a few miles from my home, I needed a respite and a retreat. I didn’t have to think long to determine my destination – a beach community in Northwest Florida that my family and I have been going to for over twenty years.

I drove down myself and drove home alone as well, which with eleven and a half hours of windshield time one way is a fair amount of alone time anyway. I also had a few days at the beginning and end of my time there when my wife joined me to spend time alone and rejuvenate. I tell you all of this not to brag about my beach and golfing exploits, nor to brag about my beautiful golfer’s tan. I brought back several thoughts with me from my time that I think you will enjoy reading about.  

Will Your Future Depend on your Dreams? Be Creative and Sure

How in touch are you with your dreams? How often do you intentionally create opportunities to minimize, or better yet, eliminate distractions and dream? If you’re like most people, your answer is likely either a) I don’t or b) I don’t remember the last time. This week, I hope to encourage you to change both of those answers.

For, you see, I believe that not only is dreaming important, but it also helps you create your future. Yes, as John Lennon sang many years ago, “You can say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” In fact, I would argue that most people who achieve any level of success in any area of life make dreaming and visualization an integral part of their routine.