MY ROLE MODELS ARE ALL EX-CONS & HINDSIGHT IS 20/20

Joseph, Paul, Peter, John, Daniel, & Jesus

These are the most dangerous men you could ever meet…be such a man.  All of these men healed alone.  Not violent or angry.  Be like these men who rebuilt their lives without fanfare or applause.  Be like these men who faced truths that most cowards avoid.  Many times we lose what we think most defines us, but we who are “shtoykee moozheek” or a stand up guy, we simply get up when knocked down.  This is a lesson that many never learn.

Pick one of the aforementioned men…be that.  Even in the midst of failure, get up, brush yourself off, look to Heaven and trust in God.  Faith is a daily, minute by minute, situation by situation position of ACTION.  Live a life of faith and no evil circumstance will ever destroy you.

HINDSIGHT IS  20/20

READ & THEN READ BACKWARDS

Sin killed Jesus

Lust kills love

Fear kills faith

Anger kills gratitude

Laziness kills purpose

Distraction kills focus

TRUTH

Jesus killed sin

Love kills lust

Faith kills fear

Gratitude kills anger

Purpose kills laziness

Focus kills distraction

BE THE STANDARD

S = Set the example

T = Teach & Train for purpose, with purpose & with intentionality

A = Accountability every day with exactitude

N = Never accept less or substandard from anyone

D = Discipline always overrides comfort

A = Actions over words

R = Respect always Reveals your character

D = Dominate every environment physically, philosophically, mentally, & spiritually—be the most well-informed person in the room

All I have learned from my father & mother, NO matter what…is to be tough.  Toughness is actually the outcome but GRIT is the decision.  Either you have it or you don’t.  No one but my wife will know the hell I have been through.  There is a decision to stay in the fight when it gets boring or motivation fades.  I’d rather throw my hat in the ring every day and fight than sit back in comfort.  The key is grind away physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually when no one is watching.  When you think about it, toughness is not punishment, it is a gift that has been constructed from hitting walls and speed bumps and never distracting you from the objective.  This preparation takes practice and what I mentioned before in grit.  Actual toughness is the standard that you reveal when adversity tests your character.  I elect to be tough.  Romans 5 tells us that trials and tribulations lead to endurance, endurance leads to character, and character aims straight at all of my hope being in Jesus.

What I learned from my parents was to handle everything alone—they did with great strength and resolve.  Stress, fear, pain, nothing changes when you whine or reach out to someone.  I see too many warriors go to some kid with a psych degree on their wall and expect them to understand their personal hell—they just want to get paid.  Life and war are not taught in a text book or some stupid eastern religion.  They showed me that they were the support beam and received nothing…get used to it.  I learned to hide everything from people who really only pretend to care.  Real tough guys don’t speak of the pain, we just joke or change the subject.  They taught me how to absorb the pain and keep my mouth shut.  The few times I have ever let someone inside, I just ended up embarrassing myself.  Only God knows my heart, I’m safe there.  My job for God is to keep pushing, performing at my utmost, and producing as much as I can for His glory.  I will quit when I’m dead and then God will allow me to lay down in green pastures and restore my soul.  Until then, its “STEP UP, ITS GO TIME!”