Timeout For Leadership

Hey, welcome back to Timeout for Leadership. These short videos are an opportunity for you to catch your breath, be encouraged, grab a truth that will move you forward and keep you growing. So thanks for being here and investing in yourself. I'd like to start with a question. Are you a mountain or a beach person? You know, I have to say that I'm a beach person now, but it didn't start that way. When I was younger, I loved the mountains. You know, my first job out of college was a leadership consultant position. And I had the pleasure of working with colleges all along the East Coast. You know, in my travels, I'd often take routes that would put me into the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was beautiful. If you've ever been through the mountains, you know that along the way there are scenic overlooks. Places where you could pull over, get out of your car, and walk over to a built in overlook that would give you this incredible view of the valley and the mountains in the distance. On a clear day, man, you could see for miles. I remember getting excited seeing the sign scenic overlook ahead. It built anticipation and expectation about something amazing that was coming that we would often see for the first time. Do you remember the first time you saw something that took your breath away? I do. It was amazing. You know, as children growing up, high school and college, we often have dreams and aspirations of things we want to do in our lives. Places we want to go, the family we want to have and the money we want to make. We spend much of our lives working hard to achieve those goals and to reach those dreams. But sometimes life has a way of punching us in the gut. Instead of the dreams getting closer to our reach, they seem to get farther away and harder to reach. We begin to let discouragement turn to doubt. Doubt destroys our confidence, which leads us to readjust our dreams and aspirations. You know, we often lower the bar and resign ourselves to the belief that this is as good as it's going to get. We begin to settle and camp out, telling ourselves that we are exactly where we're supposed to be or where we want to be. Yet every once in a while, we experience this pain in our gut and there's a flashback and a remembrance of a distant memory of something greater we once desired. But as life keeps moving, those memories diminish until they're all but forgotten. But I want you to know something. They may be forgotten, but they're not gone. There's a scenic overlook ahead in your life. Something greater. How do I know? I believe we were all created for more. Sometimes we just need a little help getting there and a little help remembering. So how do you know if you're settling? Let me give you three quick, clear warning signs that you might be settling in your life. The first one, you say, I'll do it after instead of I'll do it now. You keep pushing things down the road. The second thing is, as you say, your favorite phrase is yeah, but. But is always followed with excuses to why we can't do something. And the third thing is you criticize people ahead of you instead of commending them and learning from them. So as we wrap up, let me go back to that scenic overlook. If you've ever driven through the mountains and come across a scenic overlook, you enjoy it for a little while. Then you get back in your car and what do you do? You keep moving because there's another scenic overlook coming. Except this one is a little higher up the mountain, and when you get there, you're blown away. It's even more amazing than the last one. But you never would have experienced it if you didn't leave the comfort of the last one to get to the next one. You know, we have a tendency to camp out where we are. We put the mat out, hang some pictures, set up our comfy chair, and we settle in thinking that this is as good as it gets. While all along there's something even more amazing waiting for us around the next bend if we would just keep driving. So how do we do this? You don't eat the elephant in one bite, right? Here's three things you can do to actually start today to help you to get to that next scenic overlook. The first thing is decide to take a risk. This is a mental step where you are choosing your future over fear. What's the worst thing that can happen? If it doesn't work out, you end up right back where you were. But if it does work out, you end up higher with a better view and greater impact. The second thing is dare to dream. Make a dream board. Write out your dreams. All of them, no matter how crazy. When you write them out, you're awakening yourself to the possibility. Third, speak it out loud to yourself and to another person. You know, we're committed to what we confess. This is the beginning of accountability. Well, my friends, that's it for today. Thanks for sharing your time with me. And if these Timeout for Leadership videos are helpful to you, they're an encouragement to you. Would you share them with your friends and check out my created from more private Facebook group. It's a community of engaged leaders just like you. So until next time, I'm Rick Torresen, and I'm believing your best is yet to come. For more resources or to become part of a growing community of transformational leaders, be sure to visit ricktorren.com.