I cant see my feet!

I can’t see my feet!
11-2-2010

It’s true that when you walk you can’t focus on your feet or you will run into things that will hurt you. Living a life of faith in Jesus Christ keeps you from seeing the path that your feet are on sometimes. I like to hunt and spend time in the woods and I have gotten lost on an occasion or three. One memorable time was when a friend of mine was looking at some land and he wanted to show me this great place in the swamp. We crossed the creek and I asked him do you know where you are going? Yes of course I do! 15 minutes later I heard him say that “I don’t know where I am at!” I didn’t pay attention to where we were going because I figured I didn’t need to because he “knew where we were at.” So a couple of hours later we make our way to a paved road and walk up to a mans house and he told us what road were on and we started heading back to the truck. He drove past us a few minutes later and waved. I guess he wanted us to enjoy our country walk and didn’t offer us a ride. We walked 8 miles back to the truck. Nothing like feeling lost in the middle of no where Georgia.

Our walk in life gets that way sometimes, I get a plan and map it out and I know where I am going. But with Jesus in charge of my life, He wants me to trust Him to lead the way and follow His plan that He gave me. He is the greatest leader in history, and a lot of times, like with my friend, I don’t pay any attention to where He is leading and I look up and I am lost. I get lost because I notice I am looking at my feet and then realize I am confused because I hit something. After I recover from the hit I realize I can’t see my leader and I panic. I have to fight off all of those thoughts, I am by my self, what’s going to happen to me, will I ever find my leader, I can’t see Him or hear him. Although I don’t believe it at the time, He knows exactly where I am at and I could probably hear Him if I shut up worrying and listen. When I am in this place I start looking for people who are lost to and enjoy talking about our being lost and how bad it is and complain and have a old fashioned pity party. If I just listen and keep walking in the direction that He told me before I was lost I will begin to see an opening in the swamp to a field, just like with me and my buddy. Although the field was grown up to my head, I kept walking until I got to an old dirt road. I kept walking up that old road until we got to them mans house, and Jesus used him to tell us which direction to go to the truck. I just wished He told him to give us a ride, but Jesus knows there is strength to build in the struggle. No matter what you and I may be going through in our life, when we feel completely lost and helpless and want to give up, remember our leader knows where we are at, stop looking at your feet and look to where you are going. In the words of Joe Dirt, you gotta keep on keeping on!

Tim West
Email your comments
Go West Coaching

We need you!



I am a quote junkie; I love them because they let you tap into wisdom in a short sentence. I read this quote and it got me thinking ("A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him…. The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him…." – Thomas Merton). We are created in Gods image and one person cannot adequately reflect all that God is to people. I am glad that He put so many people on earth because, we need you! When I think of all that I am not good at I panic, but I have noticed God has put others down here to help with my problems in life. Just yesterday I was in a mood and had to go to a networking event. I do okay in those type settings most of the time but yesterday I could not get into the “hello what do you do” game. So my natural talent of sarcasm was fighting to escape when a man asked me what I done and he said he does marketing counseling as a volunteer for small businesses. He went on to comment that he coached people like me and he said “I bet my prices are better than yours” with a little chuckle. Then I said true, but the advice you give is worth what you charge, nothing! Okay I didn’t get that line out; I shoved a Twinkie in my mouth before it escaped. (Yes I was having one of those days.) But none the less he is doing what God made him to do, help others in small business marketing.



Look around at others and look at what they do in their life. Ask yourself would you like to do what they do? If the answer is no, then ask your self what is it that I like to do? What is my passion? What was I put on the earth to accomplish? Does my work just give me money and a place to go everyday? Or is what I do blessing me with fulfilling my passion and rewarding me with money to support my family? “Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” – Rumi; so what is that desire that has been put in your heart? You may ask so, Tim, should I just quit what I am doing and start doing my passion? No, not until you have determined what your passion is and have created a plan to get there and you see it can support you and your family. Hey as you can tell I could probably use some one to coach me in being nice when I am having a bad day. Never let you or anyone else squash those reoccurring dreams. Those dreams could be an indication of what you were put on the earth to fulfill. Remember we need you and what you do!

Keep your eye on the ball!

When I last played softball at church I was the third baseman. You have to pay attention a lot at third base; you don’t have time to day dream because things happen fast. I was reminded of that when a guy hit the ball right down the line and I caught it with my chin. Like Toby Keith said I ain’t as good as I once was. But hey at least I got in front of the ball, and did not get knocked out. I was once again reminded of this when I played brick breaker (a time wasting game on my Blackberry). All of the little things rolling down like guns, lasers and the life one, get you focused on catching them and you focus on the wrong thing, and miss the ball.

Life is like that, we see all of the cool things that look fun and we go after them. We work extra we spend a lot of time on things that are time burners and we miss the main point of living, which is life more abudantly. We get busy making a living and not a life, and then God sends a hard hit ball down the third base line and smack, you remember what you are doing when your head clears. But if you are not careful you will get scared when another ball is hit your way and you will avoid it altogether and miss the fun in life. Its fun when you make a good play and its fun when you live your life the way God intended, man fully alive. So maybe you are like me, starting a new business, focusing on getting the income to start coming in and you miss the adventure of working and being creative, meeting new people and HELPING them. I love to help people but, when I daydream about making the money that is all I see and I miss out why I love doing what I do, helping people. As Zig Ziglar says “You help enough people get what they want you will get what you want.” So let’s keep our eye on the ball and enjoy making that play and stay in front of the ball (life). Now go have a great game and tell me how you played!

Tim
http://gowestcoaching.com

Stress will get me there?


Stress, why do we do it, what good comes out of stressing out over things? You know there are times and situations in our life that come around that we choose to stress over. Yes, I said choose because we usually do worry about things that never come to pass. If you are thinking that I don’t stress, I do sometimes, and I have come to find out it produces no fruit, grey hair yes, fruit no. Many areas we choose to stress in are work, money, relationships, health and every other area of life you can think about. When we stress we sometimes get busy doing activities to reduce the stress. We get busy because we hope with all of our activities and busyness that we are doing the right thing instead of doing the one thing that we should be doing, having and enjoying life. These activities actually create more stress for us because they take time away from what we should be doing. I saw the title of an article that said “Life is required, stress is optional.” Why does money stress us out? When we don’t have the amount we think we need we worry and stress. What’s going to happen if I can’t pay this or be able to buy this, I know, I will get a loan to buy it and start to stress when the first loan payment is due. So I want to make a suggestion let’s start working on eliminating our stress and living life and enjoying it the way God intended. Start your day out reading or listening to something that builds you up and feeds your spirit. You may want to meditate on scripture or a thought or idea. Remember if you able to worry you are able to meditate. Know what you want to accomplish and how you want to accomplish it through out the day. Use the stress time to plan your day instead of stressing. Executing a clear plan of action will take a lot of stress out of your life. Think about Jesus, anytime you read about Him in the bible do you imagine Him rushing around, or do you see Him speed walking from town to town? No; you remember He was sleeping during the storm. He was calm when Pilate was questioning Him. Jesus had a plan from the Father and He lived out the plan out. I am glad He did, it makes it possible for us to have a plan and a future. So, what is it you want to accomplish, what do you want to see different in your life? Quit stressing over not having it and hoping it happens. Figure out what it is that you were put on the earth to do, create a plan and follow it out. I don’t know about you but I get tired of worrying and stressing out about what MIGHT happen. I want to focus on what can happen and enjoy life and see other people enjoying their lives. It may cost you a something up front like, time you would normally spend stressing out. But, it will be worth it in the long run. Winning in life is fun, living stressed out is not. Remember “Life is required, stress is optional.”

Season of the Harvest

Season of the Harvest 9-29-10

This is my favorite time of the year, the fall, when things cool down and the sky is clear and one of my favorite past times begins, hunting season. We have had a long HOT summer this year, over 118 days at 90 or above. It was way above 90; heck 90 was a cool snap!
Farmers are always busy, but this time of year they kick into over drive, corn, peanuts, soybeans and cotton are ready to be harvested. As I mentioned earlier its also hunting season, the smell of the woods the cooler temps makes me feel alive after all of the energy draining heat of summer. Its time to fill your barns, with the bounty from all of the work you have done through the spring and summer. This whole time of year also makes me ask what will I harvest from the work I have done, and the time and energy I have put in my work. It has been a hard summer heat wise, economy wise and employment wise. I had to change jobs in the middle of summer, and start my own business. I chose to start Go West Coaching and begin to harvest what God put in me and put me on earth to do, which is help people. Your first thought may be ,Tim you haven’t planted much in that area, I have thought the same but as I look back all of the situations and circumstances I have gone through, am going through and will go through has prepared me for a time such as this. Just like the farmer that works the ground, he does different things during the year to prepare it to plant and harvest. This whole hot, dry, long economy has made people look at what they can harvest from their fields. There are a lot of new businesses starting; people want to harvest what has been planted in them. These people, just like the farmer, want to share it with others also, and make a living with the fruit that God has placed in them. They want to manage their resources, their money, in a way that helps them live the life they want to live and not the lack of money telling them how to live.
A farmer also gets picked on for complaining about the weather, there’s not enough rain, or there’s too much rain, it’s too hot, the bugs are eating everything. Well I cannot pick on them because I can have a pity party myself every now and then. But just like the farmer I have to keep on planting and working the soil until it produces. If I want corn I have to plant corn and expect corn to come up. If you want to start a business you have to start planting and keep planting those seeds of success. You cannot harvest where you have not planted. And just like the farmer you have to give it time. Have you ever seen a farmer go out a week later and dig up the soil to see if the seeds have sprouted? You have to plant with faith and expect the harvest. God has planted a great crop in us, we have to work it and nurture it, because He created us to yield abundant fruit! Hey farmer lets work the soil hard even when it’s hot, dry, or to wet. It has fruit in it we just have to get it out.

What are you desperate for?



What are you desperate for?



I once heard my former pastor say “when your desperation factor exceeds your embarrassment factor, you will do something about your situation.” You can also put it another way, when you want out of a situation bad enough you will pay the price. No matter what the situation is, when it is painful enough you will try something else. We let things go on in our life that make us uncomfortable that we just tolerate. If it’s our finances, we say, “maybe I can win the lottery” or “maybe the right person will get elected and will make me prosper”, while we go deeper into debt trying to make ourselves happy. If we are in a career that we dislike we say, “maybe I will get a promotion or a new boss”, heck we will pull the lottery in on this one to. If I win the lottery I will quit my job! Then we decide heck things will get better with my money and my job when I retire. We keep putting our life off until this or that happens, by the time we see the light, life is just about over. How bad does it have to get before you try and do something about your situation? Do you have to almost go bankrupt before you realize to pay off some debt and stop spending more than you make, or do you have to start getting physical or mental problems to change your work and money habits? I say the answer to this is no. I believe that we have been created to have an extraordinary life where we can do the work we love and be prosperous; but, we listen to the world tell us “you need to get a good job that pays a lot of money, that will make you happy.” That is true it will make you happy for a little while, until Sunday night, at six p.m., when you realize you have to get up and go to that “good job that pays lots of money ” so you can pay on your car, boat, house, jet ski and your zero turn radius mower.. I am all for the good job that pays a lot, but I am more about having the life you, with the job you want, that also pays great. I don’t think you have to give up one to get the other. If we put that desperate feeling that we get when we dislike something, into energy and effort to find the work we love and manage our finances. Then, we can have both. Life is not about how much stuff you have and how much you make; it’s about life, and a good life. So, I think we should get desperate about our passions and our goals and have fun achieving them and enjoying the fruit that is produced. The world is desperate for what is inside of you! So let’s get about the business of life and start planning the life you want. I know it’s a little scary, but that is the excitement life holds. Don’t wait start your journey now to a life full of passion.

Tim West

Go West Coaching
http://gowestcoaching.com

Security

During this whole recession that we are going through we have lost a lot of financial security. Being a Christian, I know that I do not base my security on money but in Jesus Christ. But being a human, weak in the flesh, I can tend to panic when the whole money scene gets blurred because I look through my worldly eyes and not the ones Christ gave me.;but if we look closely at the recession and what it has produced, I cant say that it is all bad. One way that it has helped people is, we, as Americans have started saving money again. About two years ago statistics said we had a "negative savings rate" but now we are around 3-6% of our pay. We have eliminated the wasteful things in our budgets. That's a good thing. We realize that banks will not lend money because you can fog up a mirror so we use our own money now. Some people have lost jobs or businesses, I have and it has spurred me on to do, what I feel God has called me to do, be a financial and career coach. I have also talked to others who have started their own business or went to work for someone else in a job they enjoy better. This whole recession has also helped us evaluate how we live our lives and re-prioritize them. We have seen what is more important and, because of less money we have more time at home with our families. We have become more creative for vacations and gifts. Hey give me a gift someone made themselves and I will keep it forever over a gadget. One thing we have all noticed is that you cant count on money to help you be secure, it has to come somewhere else, but you can count on God! Hey think about it money is just what we use to get things of value and service. Value and service come from other people, such as family and friends etc. So the bottom line is that people are more important, that is where the real value is and that's what the recession has shown me. What about you?

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is a daring adventure or none at all." Helen Keller