Category Archives: Assets

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LTP 10- The Spiritual Practice of Gratitude

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We’re suspicious that one of the primary reasons God urges us hundreds of times in the Bible to be thankful is because He knows how beneficial it is to our true, created identity and how detrimental it can be to our compulsive one, that never feels like it has enough of anything.

It’s also fascinating when we realize gratitude is the healthiest emotion to have.  It leads to emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and relational well being.

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Here is a brief summary of today’s episode of “The Live True Podcast.”  You can use this as a reference or reminder of key things you feel like you need to pay attention to or pass on to others, in the next 7 days of your life.

Very often, we hate that we don’t have what we think we want. We think we need more or deserve more and it drives us crazy that we don’t have it in the moment.

The transformational practice of gratitude is to: Love what you have, instead of struggling with what you don’t have.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Banking On the Benefits

Thoughts on gratitude

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Gratitude

sees the good in things

and drops it’s anchor there.

 

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Like muscle

gratitude grows

when it’s put to work.

 

It is active

not passive

moving mountains

to find diamonds in the rock.

 

Gratitude is vocal

it speaks to what is working-

it always says the kind thing.

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If You’re Running On Empty

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Things seem to go empty just when you need them most.

Like, you’re making a turkey sandwich, you reach in the frig and the mayonnaise jar is empty.  Or, you’re twenty minutes late for an appointment across town and you look down and your fuel gauge reads “empty.” Or you’re hiking in the desert, in August, and you open your canteen but …it’s empty.

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Empty things are a problem for us.

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Seeing The Possible In The Impossible

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Here are three questions I’ve asked myself a lot, over the years. See if you relate: 

  • Do I have ‘enough’ to successfully live the life I think is possible?
  • Do I have ‘enough’ to successfully love, the most significant people in my life?
  • Do I have ‘enough’ to successfully lead, the business or ministry initiatives I think might be possible?”

As I asked myself these questions many times I answered, “No. Not enough.“  Depending on the situation, it seemed  I didn’t have enough energy… time… finances…compassion…wisdom… understanding… talent… opportunities, power, you name it.

Some part of a plan or dream I was working on

seemed impossible. 

And that’s when I started learning:

To do the impossible,

we must access the invisible.

It seems most of our impossible situations involve either :  

Relationships: 

Where most of the emphasis seems to be on things like:

* Doing more for our significant others

* Getting the communication right

*  Working more on being selfless

* ETC.

OR

Responsibilities: 

Where most of the emphasis seems to be on:

* Making things happen

* Getting the right things done right

* Developing strategic plans

* Building great teams

* Taking the next hill

* Having enough money

 

When we’re challenged in relational loving or responsible leading,

we initially see the impossible. 

But we are designed to look into the invisible.

1.  Face the impossible but don’t focus on it

Back in the ’70’s I was a member of the USF Sky Diving Club.  I remember the first time I jumped, out of an airplane.  (Even now as I write this, this doesn’t sound like such a smart thing to do.)

I had been given the following instructions: 1st-  jump when you are told; 2nd- count to 10 and pull the ripcord; 3rd- in the unlikely event that it doesn’t open, pull the reserve chute open; and 4th- when you hit the ground, a truck will take you back to the jump center.

So jump day came and after the plane ascended to the proper height, I jumped when I was told. I counted to 10 and pulled the cord, but the chute failed to open. I then proceeded to the backup plan. The reserve chute also failed to open & at that point I said. “Oh boy, When I hit the ground, I bet the truck won’t be there either.”  

 Yes. I really did skydive and thankfully the chute actually opened.

But, sometimes, when we think a situation looks totally impossible it’s because we’ve limited our focus to us, our circumstances or the other people involved.  

Jesus knew we would do this and He taught us a better way, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ( Matthew 19) 

 Right now, what is your “this is impossible?” 

2.  Focus on the invisible so you can do what seems impossible

Often our default ‘fixation’ is on what we can actually see… what looks problematic.. .what looks limiting… the problems are plain as day.  God seems to want us  to ‘fix’ our focus on the True solution.   His unseen provision of abundant resources.

Some years ago we took our kids to the Shark Encounter at Sea World.  We were led into a dark, circular room, where a guy stood lecturing on interesting shark facts, the most memorable being that (apparently someone has counted) there are more sharks than there are people on the planet.  He told us sharks are everywhere.

And just as I started to think, Ok buddy, let’s get a move on. We came to see sharks not to talk about them, someone hit a button and all the panels raised to reveal we were actually standing smack in the middle of a humungous shark tank, with giant sharks swimming all around us. 

They had been around us the entire time and we didn’t realize it.  

That day marked me.  I’ve never forgotten it.  I sensed God saying: “David, this is a picture of Me and all My Resources that constantly surround you in true spiritual reality. Remember, there is always more here than what you can see.” 

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.   

I was sitting on my back porch early this morning, looking up at the trees, sky, and the sun thinking  how most of what we really need, we can’t see.  I couldn’t see the massive amounts of oxygen the trees and plants were producing for me.  I couldn’t see the powerful energy the sun was giving to the earth and to my body.  Yet, I was totally benefiting from their affects.

God has surrounded you with enormous spiritual resources like energy… love peace…joy…strength…hope…power, freedom, wisdom, grace, relationship…blessing… and favor.  These and more are flowing all around you for the taking right now.

 Once you see the invisible you can do the impossible.

3.  Love and lead by faith until you see the possible emerge

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

2Corinthians 5:7

      *  WALK: make your way toward what needs to happen; use whatever opportunity is presenting itself to you right now. Choose the one that gives you the most peace. I’ve found as I continue to walk in the direction I’ve been led to go, something good will always happen. It may not be all I need to accomplish this thing, but it’s enough to go on for now.  

      * WAIT:  know there is probably going to be lag time between the time something is impossible to when it becomes possible.  During that lag, continue to fix, to focus the eyes of your heart on the invisible realm of life where the greatest, truest change happens… and keep walking in full trust that you always have ALL you really need in this moment.

What impossible situation are you currently facing? 

 Where is your focus?

If it remains on you, others, or your circumstances it will always look impossible.

* What unseen resources are you counting on? 

*  Do you need to keep walking until the next good thing happens?

* Or do you need to wait in faith, with trust filled patience, knowing that you’re just simply in the lag time between what is and what surely will be?

To do the impossible,

we must access the invisible.

 And sometimes we need a little help learning  to view our life situations with as much confidence as God does.  That’s why we’re here. 

You can reach me at [email protected]

or

CONTACT US @youlivetrue.com for a FREE CONSULTATION.

SCHEDULE US TO SPEAK youlivetrue.com/schedule-us-to-speak

***THANKS for SHARING THIS BLOG with someone you think may be interested.

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Is Deficit Thinking Kicking Your Butt? Part 2

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AT least once a year for as long as I can remember,  I’ve taken personal inventories of my abilities, opportunities, and money, so I could be more efficient and effective with contributing to both the lives of people I know & don’t know.   

Several months ago, I did this again, but this time, used a different paradigm that has become massively helpful.  When you’ve gone through massive loss, like I have, it’s easy to think that you are operating from a DEFICIT.  But I knew there were not only pre-existing ASSETS still in my life, but new ones as well.

All of us, no matter what our context, regularly have to wrestle with DEFICIT thinking vs ASSET thinking… & it all massively impacts our daily living.

In the innocence of childhood you freely enjoyed, unfiltered, amazing gifts from God- from your super computer brain, to your perfectly engineered body, to your life defining experience of being birthed from the covenantal love, your heavenly Father had toward you.  You were alive with asset thinking. But, as you moved into adolescence and adulthood, you grew concerned that parts of your person and life appeared to be lacking. And you took on deficit thinking. You started living as if you were undercapitalized.

Last week, when we posted Part 1, on this topic, we saw that deficit thinking happens when we focus more on what we don’t have than all we do have. I’ve discovered this simple but impacting truth:

   When you see what you’ve truly got; you’ll know all you have to give.

 

One tool that has helped me get an even better grasp on my own life’s assets is a fresh concept called Five Capitals. (* Awesome book and source of the summary below is “Oikonomics” by our good friends, Mike Breen & Ben Sternke), http://weare3dm-store.3dcartstores.com/Oikonomics_p_259.html

Their ‘capital view’ is a memorable, applicable, and reproducible way of looking at the five ‘talents’ Jesus teaches that have been entrusted to each of us.

The world essentially works as a network of relationships where we invest particular kinds of capital in hopes of a good return.  Jesus teaches us to see ALL of the capital/assets we possess and how to grow and invest them.

There are five primary capitals found in scripture.

Quick Review from Part 1, of the first three (if you haven’t read it, jump back to our website) 

5. Financial Capital.  This is the money we have available to invest, measured in our nations’ currency. 

4. Intellectual Capital.  This is the creativity and knowledge we have available to invest, measured in concepts and ideas. 

3. Physical Capital.  This is the time and energy we have available to invest, measured in hours and minutes.

These three capitals are VERY important. The last two are PARAMOUNT.

2. Relational Capital  



This is the “relational equity” we have available to invest, measured in family and friends, the quantity and quality of our relationships with others. Having family and friends is extremely valuable, and the amount of relational capital we have accrues to us in many ways, from our overall sense of well-being and happiness to more tangible ways.

Jesus invested his physical capital to grow his relational capital with his disciples. In fact, none of the other capitals can actually grow without a relationship of some kind. Jesus invested quite a bit of time in just a few disciples, deepening his relational capital with them, because he knew they needed it for the relational hunger they were born with, as well as the kingdom mission that they were going to engage in together. (Mark 12:28-31)

1. Spiritual Capital. 
This is the “spiritual equity” we have available to invest, measured in wisdom and faith. We see people astonished at Jesus’ life and teaching because it was filled with a wisdom and faith that they’d never seen before. Jesus was “rich” in spiritual capital. That’s what he had that gave him the resources necessary to carry out his mission, which was to open up the doors of the kingdom of God to everyone.

Jesus urged us to trade in our other forms of capital so we could be rich in spiritual capital. For Jesus this is the ultimate “payoff” of living as his follower.

When Jesus talked about eternal life—he was talking about a rich life overflowing with spiritual capital NOW, that also lasts forever.

You might say Jesus’ whole mission was to help people prosper in spiritual capital that would serve to ENRICH them in EVERY way. His message was that through relationship with him, anyone could become “wealthy” in spiritual capital. I think that’s a fantastic way to think about it. The “good news” Jesus announced to us, the true wealth of a life with God in his kingdom, is the most valuable thing we could ever hope to obtain. It is worth any sacrifice. He said it’s “like a treasure a man found in a field. In his joy, he sold everything he had and bought the field!”  (Matthew 13:44)

3 WAYS TO MOVE

FROM DEFICIT THINKING TO ASSET LIVING:

  • Examine all you have been GIVEN.  I write out in detail what God has entrusted to me in each of the 5 capital categories: experiences, gifts, abilities, blessings, favor He has supplied to me (* False humility is unproductive here.) Then I stop and really give thanks to God- none of these were created by me.
  • Decide how to GROW these further.    After identifying what I’ve got, I develop simple steps of action that help me grow my assets. For example: I plan scheduled times to exercise & eat well. I change it up some days, kayaking instead of biking, but it’s all ‘growing’ my physical capital.  When I schedule regular, meaningful devotional times with Caron each week, I’m growing both my relational and spiritual capital. When I’m in the car listening to podcasts that help further my business & ministry and then make application from my learning, I am intentionally growing my intellectual capital.
  • Decide, with prayer, what you now have to GIVE.  Everything God gives us is intended to bless us AND to be a blessing to others. So this helps me to decide, what I can best contribute to others… in my family; in friendships; in business; and in serving & ministering to others.  Caron and I, are investing some of our assets these days, right here, in you, through this blog.

Next post:  we’ll talk about how to develop a well-lived life, a life of abundance in all five capitals.

When you see what you’ve truly got; you know all you have to give

  • Truthfully, do you think you spend more time in deficit thinking or asset thinking?
  • How might taking an inventory of all your assets help you to really see what you possess and help improve your standard of living?

 If you’re stuck or uncertain about what you have to give and would like someone to help you further identify and grow your asset thinking & living, contact us @ KairosCollective.com.

!!! Another great resource: Check out 5 Capitals Learning Communities led by my good buddy Brandon Schaefer and his team.

http://fivecapitals.3dmovements.com/

Here is pic of Brandon & his wife & kids & us

 

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Is Deficit Thinking Kicking Your Butt? Part 1

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Not long ago, I met with a client to talk over concerns he had about his lagging success and fruitfulness in his organization.  After hearing the details of his situation one of his issues seemed be that he was stuck in “deficit thinking.”  We all think like this from time to time. And sometimes we get trapped there.

With deficit thinking we focus more on what we don’t have than all we do have. (Hang with me. This isn’t “positive thinking.”) For my client, an impoverished view of his assets plagued his self-perception, which dramatically diminished the value he felt he had at his disposal to invest in others. Discouragement set in.

I have discovered this simple but impacting truth: when you see what you’ve truly got; you’ll know all you have to give.

 And what I’d like to show you is that you have way more personal assets lying around than you’ve ever given yourself credit for.

In relationships, at work, in every aspect of our life we tend to give away/invest only as much as we perceive we’ve got to offer.  When we think we’ve got little that’s what we give out. But when we assess all our assets– and I’m talking way more than $$$ here—we feel freedom, confidence and see all kinds of new purpose for our lives.

A tool that has helped me get an even better grasp on my own life’s assets is a fresh concept called Five Capitals. (* Awesome book on this concept & source of the below summary is called “Oikonomics” by Mike Breen & Ben Sternke),  http://weare3dm-store.3dcartstores.com/Oikonomics_p_259.html

This ‘capital view’ is a memorable, applicable, and reproducible way of looking at the five ‘talents’ Jesus teaches that have been entrusted to each of us.

The Crux of Five Capitals

Capital refers to the goods or assets we have in our possession to invest. Economies are built on the exchange of capital. We normally think of capital in terms of money, but people trade in sorts of capital. The world essentially works as a network of relationships where we invest particular kinds of capital in hopes of a good return.

 Jesus had a radical way of looking at the various capitals available to us.  He turns our normal way of thinking upside down and teaches us how the assets we possess actually work in the bigger picture of the kingdom of God.

 The five capitals in scripture, from lowest to highest value:

 5. Financial Capital

This is the money we have available to invest, measured in our nations’ currency. We are most familiar with this capital, because we work with it every day. It’s neither good nor bad, it’s simply a resource we have available to spend or invest. Jesus talked about money quite a bit, recognizing its place in the world as a form of capital. We can turn it into an idol, of course, if we are relying on it for significance or security, but when money is in its right place, it’s simply a form of capital that allows us to invest in other capitals that are worth much more. (Matthew 25:14-19)

 4. Intellectual Capital

 This is the creativity and knowledge we have available to invest, measured in concepts and ideas. This is of higher value than financial capital, because you can’t materialize ideas and creativity simply by spending a lot of money. Jesus possessed an astonishing level of intellectual capital, which he used often in his mission. The crowds, his disciples, and even his enemies recognized Jesus as a Rabbi, “teacher” or “master.” Jesus wasn’t just a holy person who prayed a lot—he was a smart person who thought a lot. As Dallas Willard has said, “Jesus wasn’t just nice, he was brilliant!” (Luke 2:46-47)

 3. Physical Capital


 This is the time and energy we have available to invest, measured in hours and minutes. It comprises the time we make available for tasks, projects, and relationships, as well as the capacity we have to use that time. Our overall health comes into play here, because it greatly affects our ability to invest our time and energy. Elements like getting proper rest and living in a rhythm of life that allow us to both work hard and rest are essential if we are going to steward our long-term physical capital. Jesus shows us how to do this when he teaches his disciples how to rest and abide so they can bear fruit. (Mark 6:31)

There are two more capitals-really, the two most important assets we possess. Be looking for a conversation about those in our next post. In the meantime, here are three ways you can begin to move from deficit thinking to asset living: 

  • Examine what you’ve been GIVEN.  I write out in detail what God has entrusted to me in each of the capital categories. (* False humility is unproductive.) Then I stop and really give thanks to God because none of these ‘talents’ were created by me.
  • Determine how you can GROW them.   After identifying what I’ve got, I  develop simple strategies and steps of action that help me grow those assets. For example: every time I exercise & eat well, I am ‘growing’ my physical capital.  Whenever I participate in any learning experience & then make application of my learning, I am ‘growing’ my intellectual capital.
  • Decide, with prayer, what you have been given to GIVE.  Everything God gives us is intended to bless us AND to be a blessing to others. So I regularly think about how I can give and invest each of the 5 capitals into my family, friends, and others. One way, Caron and I, are investing some of our assets these days is in you through this blog.

Matthew 25:20-21  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more. ’”His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

When you see what you’ve truly got; you know all you have to give.

  • Do you spend more time in deficit thinking or asset thinking?
  • How might assessing all your assets improve your standard of living?

 If you’re stuck or uncertain about what you have to give and would like someone to help you further identify and grow your asset thinking & living, contact us @ KairosCollective.com.

!!! Another great resource: Check out 5 Capitals Learning Communities led by a great leader and friend- Brandon Schaefer and his team. http://fivecapitals.3dmovements.com/