Probably not as much as this guy who was trapped in the McGraw-Hill Building in NYC for more than 40 hours! That’s almost 2 days without food, water, shower, restroom, clean clothes. No bed, no blankets, no pillow. Light but no sun. Air but no breeze. It is a pretty good metaphor, don’t you think?

Where are you at in your life? Have you every thought about this scripture:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” — John 14:6 (NKJV)

I don’t want to oversimplify anyone’s individual situation. I’ve empathized, watched, and been in some pretty rotten scenarios. A great friend of mine told me something in one of the rough times that has always stuck with me. He said, “Look, there’s a point A and a point B. You are at point A. Your job is to make it to point B.”

Sometimes, you know exactly what the next step is - and you haven’t taken it. Pray to Christ for the life, or the courage to move forward.

Sometimes, you are faced with multiple options - and you are confused. Pray to Christ for the truth the be revealed, the best path for you (not necessarily someone else’s).

Sometimes, you have no idea what to do, and no options. Pray to Christ to light the way, and help you find an answer or resolution.

Don’t be surprised if the answer is “wait” or “be patient”. Don’t be surprised if the answer doesn’t come as you expect. Don’t be surprised if the answer doesn’t come all at once. Don’t be surprised if the answer is better than you expect.

Dan

I found this video today on YouTube while evaluating another book.

It is an unbelievable understatement to say that the world is changing - we are all in a constantly accelerating and expanding whirlwind of choices. The funny thing about this is - even amongst all this “connectedness” and “social networking” - there is a gradually impending the feeling that you (as in I - an individual) are a singularity. You can probably feel it now. The questions that mankind have struggled with for millennia are now even more glaring - “What is life’s meaning?” and “Why am I here?”

Two big points. First, the world moves, change happens, shift happens, but ultimately problems are still problems - opportunities in disguise. Second, Christ is still Christ - always was and always will be unchanging. As an educator, a scientist, and a Christian - I firmly believe that your success in this world is NOT in memorizing 10 Trillion Bits of information. You success is determined by your understanding of your core natures and aptitudes and your ability to react to and solve problems that YOU are good at solving.

More profoundly is that as your sense of singularity grows - it gradually sheds light on the vacuum in your life that God wants to fill. That is where 3:9 is different. We recognize that God has given you a unique set of gifts - you were certainly wonderfully made! But as wonderfully as you were made, you are not complete. You are not complete without others in community, and you are not complete without God. God wants you to live in who and how he made you - but he also wants you to call on him for your daily needs.

Find yourself and Find God. Two amazing journeys! Take them with us!

Dan

Kyle and I had a great week.

1. The book has moved along considerably - including a completely re-written, and deeper, table of contents. We are very excited about delving into the content.

2. An introductory seminar powerpoint presentation has been constructed and is ready to be shared.

3. Version 2 of the survey with automated results delivery is being tested and should be ready at the end of the month.

Stay tuned folks - this is getting exciting!

Dan

If I were to walk up to you right now and ask you, “What is your story?” What would you say? Could you answer the 4 W’s and a H? (Who, What, Where, When, and How or 5W1H).

Thinking about this can seem tedious. So much so that most people never bother. They have a dream of something…but never get around to defining Who they are, What do I need to do, Where they want to be, When they want to be there, or How they are going to get there. Try this. Take 10 mins (time yourself) and write down the answers to these 5W1H questions. You’ll be ahead of 75% of the rest of the population. If you take the the first step along the path you’ll be ahead of 95% of the population. If you take two steps, my guess is that you’ll be ahead of 99% of the population in terms of achieving their goals.

Let’s take a simple example. My weight crept up a couple of years ago. One day I looked in the mirror and said, “Hey this isn’t me!” So I answer the questions:

“Who am I?” I am a healthy person - but I’m not feeling very healthy right now.

“What do I need to do?” - I need to get down to at least 170lbs, preferably lower.

“Where do I want to be?” - I want to be in reasonably good shape - I do not need to be in “triathelete” shape. Not feel winded when climbing stairs. Be able to feel more energetic, my for my back and knees not to hurt during normal activity.

“When do I want to get there?” - I’ll give myself 6 months.

“How will I get there?” - Take a daily multivitamin. Workout at 3 days a week, although I give myself permission not to work out when on vacation or travelling. Cut my calories by 20% and eat a greater percentage of protein.

The Result? I acted. Within six months I went from 190 to 160, and now I float around 165. When I hit 170, I crack down on the plan - it’s my feedback mechanism to let me know when I’m off track.

Can you see that this is very much like telling a story? There is setting, character, struggle, climax, and resolution. Think about something in your life that you want to change. Tell yourself a story of how it ends. Right down the 5W1H. Take just 1 step down the road. I bet you’ll want to go the rest of the way!

Dan

I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions lately.  Some of the questions have centered around the 3:9 Principle…

  What makes an idea stand out?
  Why are some ideas more memorable than others?
  What is valuable about an idea?

Now there are certainly a litany of answers to these questions.  Some could say the key lies in how profound the idea is…the “wow” factor.  Some may say that it is about the applicability of the idea…the “makes sense” factor.  Some probably say that the universality of the idea is most important…the “global” factor.  I think these are all correct.   In many ways the very concept of the 3:9 Principle validates these statements concerning ideas; what makes an idea stick with one person versus another is highly dependent on their natural bent - “wow” factors point to Heart-centric people, “makes sense” factor points to Hand-centric people and the “global” factors point to Head-centric people.  Ultimately any idea is going to appeal people based on their perspective.

I think the power of the 3:9 Principle is that it can appeal to people regardless of their perspective…or better yet, because of their perspective.  Heart-centrics find the 3:9 Principle as profound and impactful.  Hand-centrics find it simple and tangible.  Head-centrics find it academic and structured.  This universality of appeal makes the 3:9 Principle extremely transferable - it is easily grasped and internalized by the vast majority of people.

What about you?  As you learn about the 3:9 Principle and begin to explore your own mapping, what factor appeals to you the most?  We would love to hear your thoughts on the matter…

No seriousness here folks.

A good friend of mine sent me this joke. I’m sure it’s well worn, but it was still funny…

A little girl asked her mother, ‘How did the human race appear?’ The
mother answered, ‘God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so was
all mankind made.’

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father
answered, ‘Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race
evolved.’

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, ‘Mom how is it possible
that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they
developed from monkeys?’

The mother answered, ‘Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my
side of the family and your father told you about his.’