If you don't push yourself, who do you expect to push you?

Are you pushing yourself to new heights? Do you expect more out of yourself everyday and have a desire to be more, to be better? If you don't push yourself, who do you expect to push you?

I am a motivator and I love helping people get excited about ideas, jobs, life, the Lord, whatever. But I interact with so many people that don't expect more from themselves. They are content with mediocrity, they could care less if their life never changed; going through the motions is a daily occurrence. Its really hard to want to help these people. I can only say so much, and do so much but if they aren't willing to do something for themselves, why should I waste my time trying?

Me, I am always trying to better myself. In fact, I actually get really down on myself when I don't. But I don't just sit around and expect things to change, I work my butt off to get what I want or to be what I want. I sacrifice what some people think is a lot but what they don't know is that what I am gaining far outweighs what I am giving up. I might never get there but I will not quit until I do and for me thats what it is always about. Coach used to say, "You either get better or you get worse, you never stay the same" and this statement is a constant reminder about how I must always expect more from myself or expect to be less.

There is nothing better than talking with someone that works really hard, and pushes themselves to do more each and every day. In fact, its people like this that actually motivate me. I absolutely love spending time and motivating people that are already motivated. Actually those are the people that like to be around me because they appreciate my attitude and my outlook. People that aren't motivated get annoyed with me because they know that what I am speaking will only be something they hear and never use. These people do not want to hear what I have to say, because what I practice takes effort, a lot of effort and it is that effort that they aren't willing to make. They don't push themselves and they shouldn't expect anyone to. Without a desire to be more, you really are wasting a life. And for someone else to waste effort on you would further that waste.

Get motivated and then get motivated...by someone else. Its pretty amazing!

-thinking out loud
EC

Why is it so easy to stray from God?

The last few days I have really been struggling as I have felt away from God. It has not been that I am doing bad things or that my mind is in the gutter but rather that it has been so easy to put him on the "back burner". It's crazy because I have been thinking and talking alot about God but yet I have also felt disconnected and away. Interestingly enough yesterday's sermon was on this exact topic which is an obvious answer from God, saying "Hey Eric, I'm right here with you".

This has really been weighing on my heart because I am 100% sure that I am where I am because of God and if I take two seconds to think back on tough times, I see that God has always been 100% faithful to me, even when I have so many times strayed. But why is it so easy to stray from God? Is it the fact that he is so faithful that we know he will always be there? Or is it because so many things in our world and society are not centered around God, thus we get distracted? Is it that I am just not focused on what God wants for me?

I wrote a post a while ago about how God uses tough times in our lives to pull us closer. But I don't want to be "that guy"! I want God to be #1 in my life at all times and its a shame that I would require God to cause bad things in order for me to remember him and seek him!

It is my prayer, and I hope you will share this prayer with me, that God help me to stay more focused on him, that my eyes are fixed on his plan for my life and that my faith grows stronger than it has ever been. I want, with everything I have, to be exactly what God wants me to be and I want him to use me in every way he sees fit.

-Prayin out loud!
EC

It may be time for some yard work

Its been a few weeks since my last post but I have always felt that if I dont have anything to share, I was not going to force it. I like to wait for the post topics to come to me. This next post was actually inspired by a little project I took on this week to landscape my house. I spent a pretty penny and put in a ton of manual labor to get my house looking fresh. Before I started, I knew it was something I needed to do but I was not so excited about the idea. As I started working I actually started enjoying it and had a lot of fun. So what is the point? The point has nothing to do with my new hobby per say but it has to do with the simple idea that often times we are always wanting more and more, newer, nicer, bigger and when we actually take the time to look, we might see that we already have plenty.

As I started digging holes, planting all sorts of things, spreading mulch and watering I realized that I already have an amazing home, in fact I am lucky to have a home at all. It hit me that rather than always trying to get more, I need to focus on what I already have. Spend some time maintaining, upgrading, or even better, enjoying what is already available to me. I definitely forgot how awesome my house is, and how great the landscaping can be with a little love. This is why I bought the home almost 5 years ago yet in the midst of everything going on, it was like my focus was elsewhere and I was not appreciating.

I really feel that we do this in all aspects of our lives. We want more, desire for something else, just because we don't have it and we often fail to appreciate and maintain what we already have. I am very lucky to be able to live in Austin, Texas and even luckier to live where I do. Yes I work very hard for that, but I am fully aware that it is a blessing from God to be where I am. That being said, I also have a desire for success and its hard because in my business we are constantly exposed to incredible homes and its easy to desire for something more.

Does this idea or situation apply to a relationship you have? How about your job? Do you find yourself wishing you were working somewhere else so much so that you are not putting in good effort into your existing job? Maybe the things you have in your life are plenty but you are not able to fully realize the benefits and the importance because you have not spent the time and effort necessary for them to fully reach their potential.

In my case, spending more time on what I already had actually gave me some serious enjoyment to the point that I have a new hobby. You see I had no idea that yard work could be so enjoyable. It was also fun because I made two new friends at Home Depot that helped me pick out the plants I needed. It was only until I focused on what I have and spent time with it, that I realized just what I have.

Does your yard need some water?

***I know that everything that I consider mine, is not really mine and all belongs to God's Kingdom but you get the point