At the Movies Pt. 2

Howdy, y'all!  Thanks for joining me.  We're going to get right back into it.  So, let's get it!  Remember, this week we're talking about endurance.  Any guesses on who said this, "What would you have me do, Alfred?"  Alfred says, "Endure, Master Wayne."  Now, come on.  The names make it easy for you.  I'll wait while you think...  You, sir.  You have the answer?  Ok, go ahead.  Good guess, but no, sir.  It's not from Chariots of Fire.  But there may be something coming from that movie in future posts.  So, keep the eyes of your inbox peeled and wide open.  The aforementioned lined comes from The Dark Knight.  Alfred says it to Bruce Wayne after Bruce admits to being perplexed on how to handle the Joker.

"Endure, Master Wayne."  We'd all do well to endure when things look bleak and we'd like to quit.  When hope seems all but lost.  Yes, it's easier to run away.  Yes, it's easier to give up.  But there's no fun in that stuff!  Dear readers, we must learn to smile in the fire.  When things are heating up around us, we must learn to sit still.  It's a bit early for y'all to be talking to me, but go ahead.  "Eric, how on earth am I supposed to sit still in the midst of a fire?!  Have you gone mad, man?!"  No, I'm not..."Well, there's something wrong, because you're talking crazy!"  Actually, I'm...  "And this better be good, because I'm not sure how much more of this fire I can take!"  Wow.  A lot to say?  Ok, now it's my turn.  Here's the thing.  When we're in the fire, it's never without a greater purpose.  A far greater purpose than we can see or know at the time.  In fact, if we knew all that was going on during the times that we're in the fire, many of us would ask for more fire.  Yes, I said it.  We.  Would.  Ask.  For.  More.  

Because we all want to be our best, right?  We want our character to honorable.  Don't we?  Of course we do.  That's why we must endure the fire.  Just as Alfred said to Bruce.  We must "Take it."  The biggest difference between Bruce and us?  We're not relying on ourselves.  Oh.  You are?  Well, that explains a lot.  No wonder you can't figure some things out.  You already know where I'm going.  Your trust should be in the Lord.  You know that, maaaan!  "I know Eric, but..."  No buts!  That's how you get caught up.  It's how you mess up!  Buts will mess you up!  Buts are the reason that you've got to learn to be still.  In fact, peep this.

1. Do not lean on your own understanding.  

2. Stop striving.    

If you will stay in the fire--and I strongly encourage you to do so--you'll come out of it much better off than you were before you went in.  And I know that fires can get pretty nasty.  I also know that there were these three young cats who an evil king ordered to be put in a blazing furnace.  He even ordered it to be heated seven times hotter than normal!  Question?  Sure, go ahead.  "Eric, that sounds awful!  What happened to them?"  Well, let's just say that those three you fellas kept their cool.  "Did they survive?!  C'mon, bud.  Ya gotta tell me!"  You already know that I'll never do your legwork for you.  You can read all about 'em by clicking here.  

Dear readers, when we endure our pains, hurts, and the things that press us, we're better for it.  We're also able to help other folk by way of our painful experiences.  There are many, many reasons that we should endure and do so with a good attitude.  I've given you a few and I'll leave you with this.  When you endure the fire, you become better equipped to Start A Fire.  Because as its been said, "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire."  And that's exactly why you need to endure.  So you can become a fire starter!  Some of you just got too excited!  That's cool.  Keep your level of excitement right where it is and bring it with you as you join me on my new webinar, and I'll teach you all about how to Start A Fire.  

To learn more about what you need to do to start your fire, join me on my new webinar, Start A Fire! on November 10, 2014 at 7.30 PM EST.  During this special call, I'll teach you:

- How to set up your fire
- Tending your fire- Equipment needed for the fire  

You’ll also receive:

 - SPECIAL ACCESS to the EXCLUSIVE RECORDING! 

- LIFE-ENRICHING, insider leadership tips!

- EXCLUSIVE PRICING for January 2015 training: Fit In ‘15!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!  

SPACE IS LIMITED AND GOING FAST!

 

REGISTER NOW!  

BECAUSE IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY OR TOO LATE TO START YOUR FIRE!  


CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHY THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON ON EARTH IS THE HUMAN SOUL ON FIRE! 

   

Webinar: Start A Fire!

Registration: http://startafire14.eventbrite.com

Date(s): Nov 10, 17, 24, & Dec. 1

Time: 7.00 PM—8.30 PM EST

Join me!  It's guaranteed to be a hott time!  (Sorry, with all of the talk about fire, I couldn't resist!)

At the Movies Pt. 1

Good people.  My dear readers.  How are you?!  Doing well and feelin' fine?  Yes.  No.  Kind of?  Well, my aim today is to make you feel better, feel good, think better, think good, know better and know good.  Shoot, y'all might even want to do some good by the time I'm through!  Note: You should already be doing good all over the place.  Y'all know that.  Right?  Right.  Y'all also know that I love movies too.  Don't you?  Yep.  I thought so.  They're entertaining and fun.  They're thrilling.  Encouraging and uplifting.  Even sad.  They're also inspiring and have great messages.  Sometimes, God will use a movie or movie line to speak to you.  Can I get an amen?!  Thank you to my blonde-haired sista in the back!  Testify, my sista!  Oh, I didn't mean right now.  No, really.  Will you...  Yes.  I promise you can testify later.  I know.  It's tough to hold it in when you think about all that He's done for you.  I need you to try though.  Just for now.  Ok?  Cool.  Where were we, y'all?  Ahhh, that's right.  At the Movies.  Today's post will be a bit different than what you've read in the past.  I'm going to take a few of my favorite movie lines and expound on them and tell you what they mean to me.  I pray that they'll be a source of encouragement for you.

Note: Because so many folk love movies and movie quotes, and they're easy to digest and fun teaching tools, this is going to be a fun and awesome series! Let's get it, y'all!

First up..."What we do in life echoes in eternity." - Maximus Decimus Meridius

Y'all know this one.  No?  Who's got the answer?  You.  Yes, ma'am.  I'm talking to you.  That's right!  The movie we're looking for is Gladiator.  I could do an entire series about the leadership lessons from that movie, let alone examining this one line.  In fact...  I'll say this much.  Keep the eyes of your inboxes peeled!  What?  You didn't know your inbox could see?  Yep.  Sure can.  Mmm hmm.  Now, back to Maximus.  He's right, ya know.  Do you ever really, truly consider what you do?  Or do you just do anything?  Taking no regard for the impact of what you do.  Y'all know that what we do has lasting impacts on things, right?  On people.  I won't beat this one into the ground.  Just know a few things:

1. Do good.  When you do good or do good things, you will receive good/good things in return.  Doing good is it's own reward.  Don't believe me?  Try it.  Then come back and tell me how you felt after you did your good things.  No, I didn't say come and tell me the person or folk didn't say thank you.  Because if that's what you were in it for, you were doing good for all the wrong reasons.  And don't hit me with, "Well, folk should say thank you."  We know that.  Sometimes, they don't.  Sometimes, we don't.  Get over it.  All you can do is be your best.  You say thank you.  There are far more folk who appreciate it and will acknowledge it than those who don't and won't.

2. Be good.  At something.  You've got a skill.  A talent.  A gift.  Find out what those things are.  Explore.  Search.  Remember, you're a search engine.  And behind the scenes of you are algorithms.  Therefore, when you search yourself for your skills, talents, and gifts, there's going to be a return or returns on what's in you, what's put in you, and what you've put and allowed to enter into you.  So, be sure that only the right and good things enter into you.  Be vigilant about guarding your eyes, ears, and mind.  I know.   You can't keep thoughts from entering your mind, but here's what you can do.  Defenestrate them!  Evict them!  Choose not to allow them to linger in your mind or overpower you.

Also, and most importantly, be good to people.  Do I have to tell you why?  Good.  But y'all know I'm still going to give you something to chew on anyway.  

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right.  That's Matthew 5.10

Give and it will be given to you.  That's Luke 6.38.

A man reaps what he sows.  That's Galatians 6.7.

And know this.  You should be good to people just because.  So, don't think I'm saying that you should be good to people, because you expect to have good done unto you.  Nope.  Because if you know like I know, it doesn't quite happen like that all the time.  And that's all the more reason that we need to be good to each other.  Yep.  I know.  Deep.  Uh huh.  I just said something there.

3. Do more good.  Why?  Why not?  Stevie, tell 'em.

If love and peace you treasure...Oh, sorry y'all.  You caught me jammin'!

I'm back now.  I thought I was going to be able to wrap this up in just a few posts (and I may), but I feel a series comin' on.  A series, comin' on.  If you can name the song I just referenced (no, not the Stevie song), you win the grand prize!  Huh?  What is it?  It's reading the forthcoming posts, maaaan!  But...there may be an opportunity to win things in the future.  What kinds of things?  Good question.
Things like:

- Exclusive invites to groundbreaking webinars about leadership!  

- Special access to the exclusive recordings!

- Life-enriching, insider leadership tips and more!

What's that?  Another question?  Oh, a comment.  Sure.  Go ahead.  "YEEEEESSS!  Eric, I knew I liked you, bud!  That is some waaaaaaaayyy cool stuff!  And who doesn't like waaaaaaaayyy cool stuff?!  Eric, you are allllllriiiight!"  Well, thank ya kindly.

Be sure to join me next week when we talk about endurance!

In the meantime, visit my website and keep tuning in for more upcoming details about...

- Wisdom-filled webinars!
- Down-to-earth trainings!
- Real world coaching!

All with immediately applicable and usable takeaways!  And of course, waaaaaaaayyy cool stuff!!!

I appreciate you!  Thanks for reading!

Tap Out To Tap In: WOOOOO!

The term tap out has become a popular phrase in recent years thanks to Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).  If I may be a bit nostalgic here, the term tap out brings to mind the following: The DDT, The Rock Bottom, The Crippler Crossface, The Rock Bottom, The Camel Clutch, and of course, The Figure-Four Leg Lock.  Yes, I was a wrasslin' fan back in the day.  I told, y'all.  I'm deep.  Seriously, some of those finishing moves I just listed were used to make the person's opponent tap out by tapping the mat with their hand or flailing their arm(s) in submission.  Submission.  Giving in.  Often, they did just that.  They'd give in, because the pain was too much for them to handle.  It hurt too much.  Therefore, they had to tap out.  Also, if a wrassler (yes, I'm going to keep spelling it like this) was in a tag-team match (yes, I'm singing the song right now) and he was getting beat down, he could/would tap out and tag his partner--who was outside of the ring--to relieve/save him.  Then he'd climb or crawl out of the ring to recover and rest as his partner entered the ring.  Now, that'll teach.  Y'all remind me to write a post about that too.  For now, here's the point.

It's ok and dare I say good to "tap out."  There are some things we all need to tap out of.  Watch this: There are some folk whom we need to tap out and get away from.   Uh oh.  I just said something.  I'll move from that for now.  There are times which we simply must tap out.  The weight of whatever it is is too much for us to bear.  When we tap out, we get time to recover, re-energize, and refuel, just like the tag-team wrassler.  One of the key things there is we're tagging someone else to help us.  Someone to help us bear the weight.  The burden.  Sometimes, we need to lay down what I call "Every Heavy Thing", because sometimes, even the slightest things can be too heavy.  It's why we need the help and support of other folk, y'all.  We're not meant to do life alone.  So, whatever that situation is that you're dealing with, I've got a bit of advice for you. 

1. Carry each other's burdens...(Gal. 6.2)
2. Go to Jesus and He will give you rest (Matt. 11.28)

Sometimes, you have to tap out so you can tap in and win.  When you do, you'll get to say, "WOOOO!"  And that just may make it all worthwhile.

Restore Your Roar. Restore The Kingdom.

Today's post is going to be short, y'all.  So, let's get right to it.

You've been beaten.  Broken.  Crushed.  Misused.  Abused.  Hurt.  Stalled.  Defeated.  You've been told that you're not enough.  That you never will be.  That you'll never make it.  You're nothing.  A loser in every conceivable way.  It's time to quit.  It's time to give up.  C'mon, admit it.  It's over.  You're finished.  Huh?  What's that?  I can barely hear you through your tears.  See, I told you it was over.  You're not tough enough.  You don't have what it takes to do it.  What's that you say?  Speak up.  "Eric, if you're goal was to depress me and take me back to that place, it worked.  Thanks for nothing, bud.  I thought you were going to uplift and encourage.  Instead, I'm wallowing in my misery thanks to you."   I love it when y'all talk back to me.  I've got something for you too.  So, stay with me.  I'm going somewhere.

Ok, here's the thing.  Do you realize what you said?  Let me remind you.  You called it "...my misery."  Yours.  That's personal.  And it's also wrong.  Here's why.  You don't have to own it.  You choose or in this case, you've chosen to own it.  Want my advice?  You know I'm going to give it to you anyway, so listen up.  Y'all know how I feel about listening to...  "Yes, Eric.  We know.  That Stuff.  Those Things.  Them Folk."  See, that's why I love y'all so!  Y'all pay attention and listen so well!  Thanks!  Ok.  So, here's what you need to do. Restore Your Roar.  That's it.  That's all.  In spite of what it looks like around you.  Dark.  Gloomy.  All hope is gone.  No signs of life to be found.  Until you dig deep down inside of you and find it.  Your life.  Your roar.  In case you need help figuring it out, my friend in the video below is going to show you how it's done.