Inspired by Kristina

10/21/2024

The situation did not look good. Not good at all.

We were on day 3 of a 5 day hike in the Colorado Rockies.

And Trey was beyond exhausted. With sleep deprivation, altitude sickness, carrying 50lbs on his back, and just plain ol' worn out legs, he could not go any longer.

We discussed rescue efforts or just one of us hiking him back down the mountain.

But something else happened. Something extraordinary.

The other 11 guys circled around Trey and dropped their packs. Then, one by one, they each reached inside Trey's 70L pack and retrieved an item to carry for him.

Within 7 minutes, Trey's pack was empty while everyone else had divided up the weight.

I haven't seen grit expressed in a person like I did in Trey that day. He pushed through the pain and summited a 13,200' mountain the next morning.

I'm convinced it was the agape love his brothers showed to Trey that infused a strength in him that he didn't realize he had. That's the kind of love Jesus said to give to your brothers--

--to carry his load.
--to bear his burden.

This was one of my favorite times in the mountains.

This is precisely what men need today.

09/26/2024

I spoke recently at a mastermind gathering on the 5-fold Mindset of a High Sales Performer.

While these are related to sales, they hold true in principle to many other areas in life.

What do you think about these?

1. Be others-oriented.
It’s not about you—it’s about them. It’s about relieving the pain in others. Prospects can smell desperation which comes from a self-centered approach to sales. Be people-centric. Ask questions that peel back the onion to reveal the underlying frustration that you can solve. Genuinely care for others.
*Be honest with yourself: are you others-oriented or self-centered?

2. Know thyself.
There are sales leaders who demand their teams to adopt their skill sets, and then punish their teams when they don’t do well. Then there are leaders who get to know their teams well enough to realize the skill sets already there. And those leaders help them capitalize on those skill sets. Know your skill set and master it.

Also, don’t compare yourself to others, no matter their success or lack of. It only leads to depression or arrogance. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday and ask, “How did I improve?”
*Do you know your skillset? Or are you just trying to adopt the success from another?

3. Perseverance.
No one learns how to be successful except through failure. I asked Joel Gebbia, co-founder of Air BnB, his path to success. His answer: “I failed several times trying to start a business.”

The essence in perseverance is this: The only failure we should fear is the failure to learn from our failures.
*What are you learning from your recent failure?

4. Relationships.
You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You need an inner circle—a cohort. Be intentional on gaining your inner circle. Create an inner circle who can build you up, help you persevere, speak life into you. Never try life on your own, especially in business. Business plays tricks on the mind.
*Who is in your inner circle? Should you replace them?

5. Know your why.
Simon Sinek wrote it. Most people know what they do, and some can explain how. Few know why. When it gets extremely tough, it will be your why that will motivate you to get up and go to work in the morning.

My why? I’m fulfilled the most when I help someone else reach their proverbial mountain summit. I’ve done that literally and figuratively. Seeing their success truly gives me much pleasure.
*What’s your why?

Who wants to add #6?

03/28/2024

Time is an illusion.

We don’t have time.
We have never had time.
Time has us.

We cannot control it.
We cannot adjust it.
And we cannot change it.
It is simply immutable.

We can only monitor it.
We can watch it
and see its effect on everything around us.

How can we use it to our advantage?

We must embrace it.
We must learn to love it.
To see it as our friend
and not our enemy.

To honor it
and to respect it.

As my Dad, the farmer,
has always told me,
“Milk each moment for what it is worth.”

Time is, indeed, an illusion.
But it is also a gift.

01/26/2024

“I don’t think about what I can’t do. Instead, I focus on what I can.”

Battling terminal cancer at 8 years old, my daughter, Kristina, had to give up soccer, gymnastics, and other activities she enjoyed. The surgery to remove the main tumor and bone in her upper right arm limited these things.

One morning, as we sat down together for breakfast, I asked my little girl, “Kristina, most people would complain about these limitations, but you don’t. I’m proud of you for that, but why do you not complain?”

And the first line in this post was her answer.

The next week, she won a swim race against 3 other girls her age doing the breast stroke. She could only use one arm.

We can’t control many things in our lives. But we can control the most important:

1. Self-talk
2. What we believe.
3. Our responses to issues.
4. Mind-set
5. Who we hang around.

I’ve learned a lot from my daughter. My life is different since she passed away almost 10 years ago, but different doesn’t mean “bad.”

Those 5 things we taught Kristina… she taught them back to us.

And they work in every aspect of life!

1. Tell yourself the truth, not lies.
2. Believe the best. Trust God for the rest.
3. Stay positive and optimistic.
4. Maintain a growth mindset.
5. Hang around people who build you up—not tear you down.

Trust me. This works.



Kristina Rae Barrett
May 30, 2002 - June 21, 2014

12/09/2023

It’s true. Gonna be a great day!

11/17/2023

When we relentlessly
trust in God,
we walk securely
each day.
Fear does not
overcome us,
because nothing can
truly harm us.

What is the object of your trust?

10/04/2023

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not why ships are built.”
- John A. Shedd

07/29/2023

Just finished a 4-night/5-day backpacking adventure in the Rockies of Powderhorn, CO with some of the best guys I know! We summitted a 13er which was hard and glorious!

Troy has become one of my best friends and partner in ministry. The way God uses him to influence others to follow Jesus is encouraging and inspiring to me.

Do hard things with your pals. Challenge yourself to go further and higher than you think you can go, and inspire others to go with you!

07/15/2023

Do you realize you talk to yourself more than anyone else does?

That means you are your own greatest influence.

That can be an awful thing when the influence is bad.

Wanna find out how I had this nasty habit of influencing myself with lies but learned to change?

Check out my book, Thrive Not Just Survive! I hope and pray it encourages you!

How does one handle hardship? What does it look like to persevere through a painful trial, especially if that trial never leaves? And how can a man who is riddled with anxiety and depression endure the suffering of watching his young daughter battle a terminal childhood cancer and unable to do an...

07/13/2023

The limbic system of your brain processes anxiety.

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex processes gratitude.

Both of these parts of the brain, the limbic system and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex/the anterior cingulate cortex, cannot process simultaneously.

Only one part can work at a time. Anxiety or gratitude.

Truthfully, expressing gratitude rewires your brain over time to feel happiness. And we have the ability to choose one or the other.

Interesting, huh?

Now read Philippians 4:6-7.

You’re welcome.

06/10/2023

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” - Paul, the Apostle (Romans 8:18)