To Your Success Part 4 - "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” ~Swedish Proverb In other words, it's better to spend your energy creating resolutions than to spend it nursing your worries. In steps 6&7 it explains this very thing. 6. Realize that God is still running the Show- I remember when I use to laugh at myself. I use to also hear myself say, well, there is nothing else for me to do; so I guess I have to pray. Then I think about the person whom I pray. I pray to God of the universe, the one who can do anything, who is the alpha omega, who is the hosanna, and who is the king of all kings. I pray to someone who is so powerful that he can erase a problem in one thousandth of a second. Why didn’t I make this my first thought to pray? “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete”. ~ John16:24. It helped me remind myself that God is still in control. He can take care of any of my problems. 7. Improve on your Possibilities- I use to worry about being overweight; then I decided that being overweight, for me, was a reality and that worrying over being this way would not change it. I knew what I could do was take action to prevent possible medical side effects of the disease. I decided to turn from worry to action, and that action worked for me. I’m now 200lbs lighter than I was over 2yrs ago, and I’m free of diabetes, no high blood pressure, cholesterol level is normal, and without side effects. I will tell you more about my story in full in the next chapter called “Inspiration”. In fact God used my obesity to help me develop discipline, which allowed me to help other with their weight loss struggles. Furthermore, quite often future events are not inevitable but just good possibilities. In some cases it may help not only to prepare to accept to what is possible but try to improve on it as well. You see good can come from the apparent bad. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have called according to his purpose”. ~ Romans8:28. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will present steps 8&9 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 3- "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them". ~ George Bernard Shaw In other words, constant worry is one of those unproductive habits that should be replaced with positive action. You see steps 4&5 will help you call for postive action. 4. A Plan of Action – One thing that helped me when I want to worry and that is formulate a plan of action to attack the problems that confront me. First, I write down the problems and many options to solve them. Second, I pick a few good options and start to implement these plans. By doing so, it allows me to get my mind off worrying and begins the process to something that may make a difference. I believe this one healthy approach to problem solving and overcoming worry. 5. Share with a close Friend- Throughout my personal experiences in dealing with worry I found out that sharing with others is one the most powerful techniques for dealing with worry. I would recommend building a few good friendships and, on a regular basis, sharing with those friends your worries. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity”. ~ Proverbs17: 17. I believe the best friend you can ever have is Christ. The reason is because he loves for us to come to share our worries with him. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” ~ Proverbs18:24. You see he wants us to become less worry oriented and become more heaven oriented. By doing so, these days of worry will no longer exist. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will present steps 6&7 at later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 2 - "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.” ~ John Newton. I chose this quote for this blog because Steps 2&3 talk about this in more depth. 2. Seeing the Big Picture- There are plenty of times we worry over issues, which are considered being the big picture, however, are really quite minor. I believe the big picture is really of life and death, and also a life to live for Christ. I want you to think about this for a moment. When we think about life and death what really matters? Furthermore, if we had one week to live, would we spend time worrying about things that matter the least? 3. Living One day at a Time- One of my biggest challenges use to be reminding myself to work at living one day at a time. I use to always tell myself, no one knows the future. I had to learn how to enjoy Christ in the present and focus on today. Bill Keane says it best: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” You see people who worry extensively tends to live in the future, worrying about a tomorrow that never happens. When people become obsessive they tend to live in the worry of the past. God always holds tomorrow, and he forgives the past. Matthew 6:34 says it best: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will about it self. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Always remember, the future is not here, and the past is gone forever. We can only live in the present. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will share steps 4&5 at a later time with you. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 1- "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is:“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” ~Mark Twain. Here it is my new series about how to overcome worry and pursue calmness. One of the biggest obstacles in achieving success is overcoming worry and pursuing calmness. The reason is because when we worry we are troubled or we experience some type of mental uneasiness. It’s also a disturbance to our peace of mind. You see worry is one component of anxiety, with anxiety being used as a much broader term. This also plays a major role when it comes to stress. I believe stress is a close relative like a cousin to worry and anxiety. The reason is because worry and anxiety describes your internal fretting, and stress is considered the external factors causing the worry or anxiety you may have. Most importantly, stress is a state of physical, mental, or emotional tensions caused by these external conditions. No worries. You see every since I’ve been going to Christ I learned ten precious ways to deal with worry. 1.) You must have the desire to Overcome Worry- One thing I learned about worry and that is it’s not easily abated, however, for healthy living it’s definitely a must. You see when you worry about things too much it can play a factor in many medical conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, some cancers, and even physiological changes that results in depression and anxiety. Even though, the Lord forgives us for our sins, but our nervous system in our bodies never does. One thing I experienced was my doctor helping cure my body but not my mind; yet your body and mind are considered as being one and should not be treated separately. I believe Thessaloians1 5:23 says it best: “may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Also, worry leads to early aging, and it also may be related to an infection that tends to the lymphocytes which fight off disease. Furthermore, when we tend to worry extremely it can trigger our nervous system, which can be a factor in the disease of many organs. Worry can also kill in another way. For example, the loss of a loved one, can lead to extreme stress and worry. If you’ve lost a first-degree relative, one’s chances of dying at any point in time within the next year is increased sevenfold. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will post Step 2 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 6

Inspirational Quote for today is:"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's that prevails"~ Proverbs19:21 I chose this one because I believe the final step which is number 9 says it all. 9.) Making sure you Dwell with Christ- I believe the key to reaching your maximum potential doesn’t lie within you. The reason is because Christ expects you to be responsible, but your potential dwells inside of him. The key to reaching your maximum potential is by letting Christ do it through you. It always has to be Christ. There’s no way on this earth we can compare with his power. You see we all have been victims of identity theft. The reason is because we all were told lies about who we are. For instance, lies about your purpose in life. Always remember nothing in your life is random. Everything has a purpose, indeed, a divine purpose. Second, lies about what defines you, that is, what gives your life meaning and significance, and therefore, what makes you a “happy” person. In addition, we’ve been told lies about our future. Of course, your past and present circumstances will stand between you and your future, your destiny. This is why having faith is so essential. Unbelief can’t forget the past and stares at all the problems we face in the present. You see having faith sees the future. Having faith sees God. Marie Stendhal says it best: “Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us.” Once we find our true identity with Christ, it makes our relationship with him the most important part of our life. The more we become like him, the easier it is for him to use as his glory. As long as, God’s hand is with you, you will reach your maximum potential, for he will help you do it. Conclusion- It is definitely possible to overcome discouragement. There are several ways you can do it. For instance, you can try using some of the tools I’ve just shared with you and applying them for one week. You can also rate your discouragement on a scale between 1-10. Always remember you can overcome discouragement. You see often gold lies just beneath the grass. Most importantly, when you overcome these fears and discouragement not only there’s gold waiting you are on right the journey to success. I will be sarting a new series about worry at a later time. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 5

Inspirational quote for today is: "Learn to say 'no' to the good so you can say 'yes' to the best" ~ John C. Maxwell. My question for you is are you ready to Pay the cost to be the boss? Step 8 of my discouragement series discusses this very topic. In other words, are you ready to find the gold in your life. 8.) “Pay the cost to be the Boss”- I found an interesting verse hiding in the book of Luke. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” ~ Luke 14:28. Here’s a story about two miners who searching for gold in a cave. The tour guide escorted them to the where the gold was and he told one of them this is yours for mining if you want to do it. The first person response was he thought “the cost was too high”. Later on that day the tour guide brought the second person in and asked him do you think the cost is too high? The second person response was quite different from the first person. His response was he already counted the cost, and he believed there are nuggets galore. He also believed there are veins of gold, and was so determined to go beneath the surface to find the gold. I pray that you count the cost and then go for the gold in your life. In order to do this, you must understand that reaching the gold is worth the struggle. One way to receiving the gold may come from giving up some sin for peace with God. Also, the gold may come from giving up financial dishonesty for peace of mind. In addition, the gold may come from giving up an affair for a wonderful wife and children. Furthermore, reaching the gold is always worth the cost. I will post step 9 at a later time. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Succes Part 4

Inspirational Quote for today is: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”~John Wooden. I chose this quote because my discussion today is going to be talking about this very thing. In other words, start telling yourself "you can do it" instaed of saying "I can't do it". One way is by focusing on your strengths instaed of weaknesses. The other way is by using step7 in my series of overcoming discouragement. 7. Overcoming the most common phrase “I Can’t Do it”- One of my biggest discouragements use to be I can’t do it. The reason is because of the way I use to look. I will tell you about this story later in the book. The one thing successful people all have in common and that is they believe “they can do it”. They always had positive energy and people always wanted to be around them. One thing that helped me with overcoming this discouragement was when I started to think I can through Christ. When I started to believe in him I started to realize my success is always through Christ. You see there are plenty who never reach their maximum potential because they think they are incapable of doing so. Here’s the reality we can do whatever Christ wants us to do. However, he doesn’t want everybody doing the same thing, but there is something distinctively relevant to each person’s gifts and talents that he or she can accomplish. Moreover, it’s very important to discover what our purpose is so we’re not pursuing an unrealistic goal. Always remember God will help us reach our potential and go from the “I can’t do it to I can do it through Christ”. Some of the common I can’t do it are as follows: 1.) “I can’t do it because I’m not smart enough”. They are plenty of people out there from all walks of life who have overcome this obstacle. You have people like Daniel Webster, Albert Einstein, Adam Clark, Thomas Edison, and etc. They achieve great success because they had a vision they were special and believed they could do what needed to be done. You see in any area of our lives there will be times of failure. You will hit home runs, win NBA championships, NASCAR races, PGA tours, and you will also fail at times. In addition, that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve your goals. Furthermore, you can achieve things through Christ. 2.) “I can’t do it because I’m too poor.” Throughout my life I’ve seen plenty of people who have achieved great success that when they were growing up including I that didn’t have anything, and were single mothers that were living in poverty. Even though they were in these circumstances they didn’t let that stop them from accomplishing great things. I believe the same principle applies to us all. Once I understood it’s not how rich we are in material things that matter. It’s really about how rich we are in Christ. By doing so, it allows him to supply all you need to accomplish all he wants you to do. Most importantly, make sure you use what he gives you. When I started to allow him to do this for me not only did I start achieving success I saw my whole life change right in front of my eyes. 3.) “I can’t do it because my parents told me I couldn’t”. We all heard this cliché plenty of times. I have heard plenty of times parents telling their children you can’t be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, athlete, and etc. To all of the parents out there please make sure you are aware of the powerful influence your prophecies concerning your children can have. In addition, children must remember the most influential person in their life is not their parents (good or bad) but Christ. The reason is because he often helps people do what seemed impossible. I trust you will enjoy reading this blog, and pray that helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will discuss Step 8 at a later time. Best wishes, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success in Life Part 3

Inspirational Quote for today is: "Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve." ~ Mary Kay Ash Here are steps 5&6 in overcoming discouragement. 5. You Are very Special- I made an amazing discovery. I’m the best in the world at what I do. I may not have 30 years or more experience like some of my counterparts, but as a whole package, however, in God’s eyes I’m the best- and you are too. You are God’s best in the whole world at what he has in store for you. You are very special. 6. Focus on Your Behavior- One of my biggest struggles as most of us is with certain behaviors we like to change and certain goals we like to achieve. I use to feel that it’s impossible to change and move into the direction I like to go, until I figured out there are steps I could follow. The first thing I did was change my behavior. You see I use to feel so bad just like some people that I felt like I couldn’t do anything. Moreover, I started to realize that I had no control over how I feel. However, I did realize I can control what I do, and so can you. You see we are in control of what we do. Second, I had to learn how to be creative. One thing that helped me was I started brainstorming. The reason is because it helped me identify my problems and come up with options to fix them. My suggestion would be list every option you can come up with using that creative mind of yours, no matter how eccentric it may seem. Also, make sure you are specific. One mistake I usually see people do is they don’t follow through on things because they’re not specific enough about what they want to do. I would suggest trying to be more specific and making detailed plans. In addition, when I first started these steps I started small. What I use to do is talk with someone I trusted once a week for encouragement. For example, a mentor, pastor, close friend, and etc. You should also use your time wisely. A big part of success is making sure you continue educate yourself. I believe if you can take about twenty minutes a day and read, then in ten years, you would be better educated than someone who went to Harvard and Yale. By taking advantage of these spare moments can reap great benefits. Twenty minutes a day can make huge difference with your journey to success. In addition, make sure you are committed. Don’t get discouraged if you fail. If you do fail, you can develop a new plan, set some smaller goals, and allow no excuses. Most importantly, start off with what you have. You see once I figured out I had Christ standing besides me and helping me overcome my negative behaviors and reaching my goals I knew I was on my way to success. I hope you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will present steps 7&8 at a later time. Talk with you soon, Gary R. Johnson

To Your Succes- Part 2

Inspirational Quote for today is: “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” ~ Maya Angelou I chose this quote for this blog because in steps 3 and 4 to overcoming discouragement it relates to this very thing. 3. Dream Your Own Dreams – One thing I had to learn throughout my life was learn how to envision what I can do for Christ, in order to make my dreams become reality in my life. By doing so, it allowed him to reveal the gold that was inside of me. You see once I understood this is what God wanted us to do. In other words, dream the dream for him and take advantage of the opportunities he provides to set a new course, or set a chart for the unknown. Also, remember it will take a lifetime of devotion to accomplish everything he wants us to do. Most importantly, once you have the determination of fulfilling your dream for Christ you are strengthen to fight the fight, scale the peaks, and overcome the enemy. “Therefore I run this: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.” Dream the dream, whether big or small, for Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:26. 4. Don’t Let Negativity Defeat you- First and for most never let negative words other people say defeat you, realizing your maximum potential, and prevent you from finding your hidden treasure in your life through Christ. I use have people tell me all the time: “You’re a failure”, “You will never amount to anything”, “and You can’t succeed in life.” Even though these people are wrong for saying things, still, they were said. One thing I’ve learned from this and that is it’s really up to me to let them defeat me. I knew then all I had to be focus on what I knew was true. In other words, stay focus on what your purpose in life is, and reaching your maximum potential. Most importantly, continue to go on for Christ. I will present steps 5 and 6 at later time. Talk to you soon. Best wishes, Gary