The Discipline Of Pressing On (Even When You Feel Uninspired)

I almost skipped today.

I almost didn’t post on my blog today.

Life has been pretty busy lately, and I honestly didn’t feel all that inspired.

At work, I am in the midst of closing down our fiscal year which means I’ve been busy closing projects and making sure our financials are in order by September 30th.  At home, I am just as busy.  Our kids are very active (which is a good thing), but it often means I’m on the road at a cross-country meet, a football game, or a marching band show.  I’m also helping my wife as she works on building her life coaching business.

All these things are great, but I sometimes feel drained.  And there are times when I leave little margin for reflection and inspiration.

All this to say, I come to the keyboard today feeling a little worn out and a lot uninspired.

And yet, I’m sitting here writing my post for today.  I’m pressing on even when I don’t feel like it.

Why?

Some think I should just skip the day and wait for new inspiration tomorrow.  But I’ve learned that this isn’t necessarily the best choice.  I’ve learned that practicing the discipline of pressing on despite lack of inspiration and motivation is the best way to get the results I want.

I’ve finished three marathons and several half marathons.  In training for these races, I’ve learned to press on when it comes to my daily training runs.  One skipped training day would lead to another and another, and I would have arrived at the starting line unprepared.

I wrote a book.  The book didn’t write itself, and it didn’t come together in one day.  Writing the book took days and weeks of writing.  I had to write even when I didn’t feel like it in order to meet my goal.

My wife and I have raised two children.  We don’t always get it right when it comes to parenting, and they aren’t perfect kids.  But they are pretty good!  This doesn’t happen if we decide to take a break from parenting when we don’t feel like it.

Pressing on inches us closer to “the prize.”  I don’t know what prize you are pursuing, but it won’t happen if you don’t persist.

This is why I am writing today’s post.  I’m pressing on, because I’ve seen the benefit of daily blogging.  And I’m confident I’ll see more results because I decided to press on even when my inspiration wasn’t all there.

What “prize” are you pursuing?  What keeps you going when you don’t feel inspired?

How would your world be different if you made the decision to practice the discipline of pressing on?  How has persistence despite lack of inspiration made a difference in your life?

(Maybe I was a little more inspired than I thought.  I think the inspiration came as a result of pressing on.)

How To Find Ideas To Write About Every Day

If you could ask me any question, what would the question be?  In what area of my experience do you think I could help you?

In response to my question, Shawn Washburn had this to say:

As for your question, I’d probably ask you something blog-related. You’ve already been a huge help for me, have paved the way, encouraged me and given me advice and direction along the way. So, maybe something like “how do you keep coming up with new topics every day?”

I responded to Shawn in the comments with one idea, but I realized I had many other thoughts to help Shawn.  As I dug through my blog archives, I discovered I had already written a response to Shawn’s question a year ago.

Coming up with new topics and content for my blog takes discipline.  When you practice these disciplines, the ideas for your blog come with less effort.  Here’s what I had to share last September:

I’ve been at this blogging thing for over seven years now.  The first few years, I was fairly inconsistent, but now I publish at least five blog posts every week.

How do I find ideas to write about every day?

This is a question I get often from readers and fellow bloggers.  (And to be honest, this is a question I sometimes ask myself.)

Blogging takes effort, and coming up with content for my blog doesn’t happen by accident.

Today, I share my keys to consistently developing content for blogging.  After reading today’s post, I hope you’ll have some fresh ideas for developing your own blog content.  And even if you aren’t a blogger, I think these ideas may help you get a little more out of life.

9 Keys To Developing Consistent Blog Content

To read the rest of this article, click here.

How do you find ideas to write about every day?

What question(s) do you have for me about blogging, leadership, life, or anything else?

The Discipline Of Getting Feedback – 6 Steps For Getting The Feedback You Really Need

It’s impossible to read the label when you are inside the bottle.  You need somebody to speak into your life – someone who will read the label and tell you what is really on the inside.

Do you like getting feedback from others?

What kind of feedback do you like?

What kind of feedback do you really need?

Are you surrounding yourself with people who will tell you what you need to hear instead of what you want to hear?

Stretching can be painful, and getting feedback from others can be a stretching experience.  And yet feedback is what we often need in order to grow – in order to recognize our gifts and shortcomings – and in order to live our life to the fullest.

With this in mind, I think it’s time we start practicing the discipline of getting feedback.

Today, I need your feedback, but first I want to give you some advice on practicing the discipline of getting feedback.  By using these six steps, you will keep stretching in a worthwhile direction.

6 Steps For Getting The Feedback You Really Need

1. Open up your mind and heart.  Do you really want to stretch and grow?  Are you really willing to listen to feedback even when it is hard to hear?  Before you even ask for feedback, you have to decide to be open to what you will hear from others.  Some feedback will be easy to hear.  And some feedback will be very difficult to process.
2. Ask people you trust.  Asking foolish people for feedback is like inviting people to throw tomatoes at you for the fun of throwing tomatoes.  But there is wisdom to be gained from those you can trust.
3. Examine the feedback.  Once you’ve received feedback from others, it’s important to evaluate the feedback.  Run it by others to see if the feedback is on target.  What feedback deserves attention, and what feedback should you ignore?
4. Filter out any off base feedback.  Once you’ve examined the feedback, get rid of the off base feedback.  Feedback that misses the mark will lead you to the wrong target if you decide to listen to it.
5. Take action on justified feedback.  Whatever is pure, trustworthy, and just deserves our attention.  Take corrective action on constructive feedback.  Continue to act on the things you are doing well, and stop doing the things you need to stop.  Make the necessary changes based on the feedback you receive (otherwise, you are wasting the time of those giving feedback).
6. Repeat the process.  Asking for feedback is not a once and done event.  Getting feedback is an endless process that should be followed again and again.  So go back to step one and start it all over.

Now that I’ve laid out these six steps for getting the feedback you really need, it’s my turn to ask for your feedback.

I’m in the process of evaluating my writing focus and I really need your help.  I am going through this exercise to help me stretch and to help others stretch.  I started this process by asking myself to write down the names of 20 people who I think could truly, genuinely benefit from what I have to say.  I filled a page in my journal with these names.  Then I spent time considering the most common questions people ask me.  Here are a few of the questions that came to my mind:

• How do you have time to do everything you do?  (And when do you sleep?)
• When are you going back to Guatemala?  (And can I come?)
• How did you and your wife raise such great kids?
• When is your next book coming out?
• How did you get into that (home-brewing, chicken-farming, blog-writing, etc.)?
• Do you have any advice for long distance running?
• How do you stay so positive all the time?
• Can you be my mentor?
• How do you stay so consistent?
• What have you done to get to where you are now (and what do I need to do to get there myself)?
• How do you live out your faith in a faithless, fallen world?

To confirm I’m on the right track (or to add to the list), I have been intentionally asking the 20 people on my life (and a few other people) to give me feedback.  I’ve been asking them this question:  “If you could ask me any question, what would the question be?  In what area of my experience do you think I could help you?”

It’s a little scary to ask these questions, but it’s an experience I need to have.  I need this feedback to make sure I am on the right track.  I need this feedback to help me see what is on the inside of my bottle.

And it’s feedback I need from you as well.  I value your feedback as a reader and participant in The Stretched Community.  And so, I leave you with this question, and I hope you will take time to leave me a comment.  I need you to help read the label on my bottle.

If you could ask me any question, what would the question be?  In what area of my experience do you think I could help you? 

Please take time to leave your response in the comments.

Keep On Struggling

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.
Napoleon Hill

My posting recently has been sporadic to say the least.  I don’t know if you noticed, but this is how I feel lately.  I’ve struggled with inspiration, with time, with intentionality, and with motivation to keep writing.

I don’t want to fall into the pattern of posting just because it’s what I’m supposed to do – to keep the streak alive.  (Although, I think there is something good about pushing through it even when you don’t feel like it.  For all my posts about discipline, I think this may fall into the discipline of showing up.)

I don’t want to post garbage content.  I want my content to mean something to me and to those (few or many) who read it.

I don’t want to write simply to chase traffic.  This is a trap I see many getting themselves into.  They follow the “formulas” of other “popular”, “more successful” bloggers in an effort to grow their lists, to sell their latest product or book, or to get their name out there for the whole world to see.  I get it that this is almost required in order to make a name for yourself and to get published.  It just seems like there are too many people pulling others into their funnel with promises of wealth, fame, and success if they just try the next greatest webinar, seminar, book, or mastermind group.  I can understand how these things may work, but it also seems to border on using people.  Please don’t take this as criticism.  It’s really just me reanalyzing my writing and how I approach my writing pursuits.

And I’m not alone in these feelings.  I see it in the writing of some other bloggers like Larry Carter who wrote last week about his own wrestling in a post titled Changes In Blogging.  Chad Jones wrote about it the week before in a post titled Things Forgotten:  The Work Is Its Own Reward.  And earlier in May, Dan Erickson expressed reasons he was cutting back on the blogging in a post titled Why I’m Putting Less Emphasis On Blogging.

Maybe it’s the approaching “laziness” of summer, or maybe others are facing the need to reanalyze their priorities, their prizes, and their perspectives.

First and foremost, I want my writing pursuits and all my other pursuits to bring glory to God.  If I can get this right, I think the rest will take care of itself.  It’s too easy to get distracted – to divert our eyes to “prizes” that won’t last.  I want to chase the prize that will last forever.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.  I Corinthians 9:24-27

I will keep writing.  But I may be a little sporadic for a bit as I continue to let God shape my heart, my thoughts, and my overall being.  I hope you’ll stick with me as I continue on this journey.  I believe God has given me a voice.  I just want to make sure I’m using it wisely.

Have you ever struggled with something like writing?  What steps did you take to overcome this struggle?

Ask An Author With Jon Stolpe

This week, I have the privilege of answering questions for students at Fairview Christian School in Seattle, Washington.  A college friend is a teacher at Fairview, and she contacted me and another classmate (Cindy Starr Stewart) about being part of the schools Ask An Author program.  The kids from kindergarten through middle school sent me a list of questions for me to answer.  Since I couldn’t be there in person, I created this video to answer some of the kids’ questions.

Even though I wrote and published the book over a year ago, it was fun to look back on my journey to becoming an author.

After you watch the video, answer the questions I asked the kids by leaving your thoughts in the comments.

If you were going to write a book, what would your write about?  How do you think writing a book would change your life?

How Do I Come Up With Ideas For My Blog Posts

I was on a retreat this weekend for high school youth leaders from my church.  As part of the weekend, we participating in a rock wall team building activity.  It was so much fun to climb the wall and to cheer each other on.  Some of the leaders in our group climbed up the wall without any problems.  Others struggled as they overcame some of their fears and anxieties to put the harness on and take their feet off the ground.

My height certainly helped me out initially, but I struggled for a while as I approached the top of the wall where the hand holds where smaller and spread out more.  The activity stretched me to reach higher and to trust my belayer down below.

As I was sitting down on the bench at the bottom of the wall waiting for my turn to climb the wall, one of the leaders came over to me and asked if this was going up on the blog.  To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it.  Her comment though made me think.

Life is going on all around us all the time.  She had clearly seen on my past blog posts a pattern of capturing life’s moments and turning them into posts.  It’s true.  My blog is an effort to capture life’s stretch marks and to reflect on them.  My memory doesn’t work as well as it used to, and the blog helps me remember life.

There is inspiration happening all around us.  Are you capturing it?  Are you enjoying it?  Are you living it?

In order to capture these moments, I have developed the habit of keeping a journal.  I also appreciate my smart phone where I can capture a photo, a video, or a thought to reflect on later.

How do you capture the moments of life?

Yes.  I will continue to ponder what is going on around me.  And don’t be surprised if these ponderings become part of the blog.

What happened in your life this weekend worth capturing, pondering, and writing down?  Tell us about it in the comments.

7 Ways To Live An Inspired Life

I’m going to let you in on a little secret about my writing.

I typically write my posts the night before it actually goes live.  I often ponder the post throughout the day, and I sit down and write out the thoughts sometime between 8 and 10 PM.  When I’m happy with the post, I schedule it to go “live” at 5 AM the next day.

After a busy weekend, I did that last night after I came home from youth group shortly after 9 PM.  When I arrived home, I honestly didn’t have any thoughts about what my post for today.  Honestly, I felt very uninspired.  I sat down at the computer and pulled together a less than stellar post, and I headed up to bed.  I was weary, and I was a little disappointed I hadn’t put more thought into my post earlier in the day.

As I woke up this morning, I started thinking a little more about inspiration.  We all need inspiration in our lives, but too often we live uninspired lives.  Why?

• Lack of inspiration happens when we are too tired.  As a result, we lack the energy to put thought into our days.
• Lack of inspiration happens when we are too busy.  As a result, we lack the time to soak in what is going on around us.
• Lack of inspiration happens when we aren’t intentional with how we mentally feed ourselves.  As a result, we fail to fill our minds with good things – things that inspire us in a good way.
• Lack of inspiration happens when we hang out with people who drag us down.

How do we combat this problem?  Deep down inside, we all want to live inspired lives not just to have a blog post idea for the next day.  We want to live inspired lives to help us live lives that have meaning and matter.  Today, instead of the uninspired post I wrote last night, I want to leave you with seven ways you can live an inspired life.

7 Ways To Live An Inspired Life

1. Journal daily.  This may take some practice, but it’s an excellent discipline for capturing thoughts on your day.  When you develop the habit of writing a daily journal, you will naturally see the sources of inspiration rising up around you.
2. Get sleep and exercise.  You can’t expect to live an inspired life when you are running on fumes.  Make sure you get ample sleep and add regular exercise, and you will begin to see inspirational things around you more often.
3. Intentionally fill your mind with good things.  Read God’s Word.  Listen to podcasts.  Read books.  Listen to music.  When you intentionally fill your mind with good things, you will be inspired to live your life differently.
4. Get outside.  Staying locked up inside your office or home prevents you from getting fresh air and prevents you from seeing the rest of the world outside your “box.”  Getting outside even for short periods of time will lead to more inspiration.
5. Learn to say “No.”  The only way you will open up time in your busy schedule for times of inspiration is by saying “No” to some of the things that are clogging your schedule.
6. Turn off the television.  I don’t know what the statistics are, but I’m pretty sure too many Americans watch too much television.  A little television is okay, but we should learn to limit this time.  By limiting our television time, we will have more opportunity for actually living an inspired life.
7. Hang out with people who lift you up.  I hang out with a group of guys once a week who regularly inspire and lift me up.  I hang out with a group of families twice a month who force me to get out of my comfort zone.  By hanging out with people like this, you will naturally begin to look at life more positively, and you will find yourself living an inspired life.

How have you been inspired lately?  What helps you live an inspired life? 

Not A Regular Post

A regular post is not happening today, unless you consider this a regular post.  I’m prepping for a trip to celebrate Christmas with family, and today has been a day of running around and getting things ready for our trip.  It’s been a good day, but I haven’t had a chance to post.  I would suspect that tomorrow’s post may also be a little late as I ease into the holiday week.

How are you preparing to celebrate Christmas?

Who will you be visiting for Christmas?

And just for kicks, what is your favorite Christmas movie (or top 5 Christmas movies)?  (Mine are 1.  It’s A Wonderful Life, 2.)  A Christmas Story, 3.) Christmas Vacation, 4.) Christmas with the Kranks (the book – Skipping Christmas – is better), and 5.) Home Alone tied with Elf)

7 Steps To Becoming A Professional Speaker

If you are like me, you probably never seriously considered the possibility of becoming a professional speaker.

In addition to my role as an operations manager at a construction company in the Philadelphia area, I consider myself to be a writer. Notice, I said writer and not speaker. I joined Toastmasters in May to help me advance in my job by improving my overall presentation skills. And I secretly hoped it would help me with my writing career.

A few months ago, I received an email from my alma mater, Grove City College, that changed my perspective. My school contacted me about a speaking opportunity this coming February. I get to talk to students about leadership and delegation. What an opportunity! Because of this request, I have recently started to see myself as a speaker.

And I would like to challenge you to start thinking of yourself the same way. You are a speaker, and you have something to say!

Saying that you are a speaker and actually becoming a professional speaker are two different things. In the pursuit of learning more on this topic, I conducted some research which I’d like to share with you today.  In today’s post, I will help you identify some of the steps you will need to consider in order to become a professional speaker. And I hope you will start thinking a little differently about the possibility of making this a reality for you.

Let’s get started!

7 Steps To Becoming A Professional Speaker

1. You need to start thinking of yourself as a speaker.  You must grasp the fact that you have something to say. This is a mindset shift you must go through in order to become a professional speaker.
2. You must find your niche.  Business coach, speaker, and author, Jane Atkinson refers to this as “picking a lane.” She recommends choosing “a topic area to focus on, based on your expertise.” Don’t waffle around from one thing to the next. Finding your passion or area of interest is essential to building your speaking career. As a speaker in this area, you will be known as a subject matter expert, so it’s important you do your research and know your stuff.
3. Practice and keep learning. Take advantage of every opportunity to speak. Pay attention to the feedback you receive as a result of these opportunities. And listen and learn from other speakers and the evaluations they receive. Sign up for speaker conferences. Conferences like The SCORRE Conference are great venues for improving your speaking. Volunteer for speaking opportunities at your job, at your church, and in your community. Each of these opportunities will prepare you to become a professional speaker.
4. Set up your business. This sounds scary, but it doesn’t have to be. If you want to launch your speaking business more quickly, you will most likely need to invest time and money to get things off the ground. If you are okay with things moving more slowly, start by setting up a speaking blog or website. Create a landing page on Facebook or another social media platform. You may even want to consider setting up an LLC for your speaking business. Set up a checking account. Print business cards. According to Jane Atkinson, “it takes 3 years to launch a professional speaking career.” If you are serious about becoming a professional speaker, you need to get started now.
5. Build your network. Use your social media platforms to connect with others. Change your profile description to include speaker. Attend conferences, and build relationships with attendees, organizers, and speakers. Get involved in community organizations like your local chamber of commerce. Hand out your business cards. And go to lunch with others. Social media expert and speaker, Chris Brogan, says “showing up at conferences and having decent conversations with people makes it a bit easier to start speaking at events, because then people come to realize and appreciate the kinds of things you’re about, and might want to know more about your ability to speak on stage.” It may take some work, but your network will pay big dividends in the successful launch of your professional speaking career.
6. Market yourself and your speaking business. Many of us don’t like to talk about ourselves, but this is essential to establish ourselves as a speaker. Shoot video of yourself speaking. Post the video on your website, and send it out to potential customers. Speakers want to make big money, but speaking for free may be required for a while to show off your talents and to help you gain credentials in the speaking circuit.
7. Just do it! Speak! You will never become a professional speaker if you don’t take the leap, open your mouth, and share with others. It’s a scary proposition for many of us, but we are all in the right place. Toastmasters can be the launching pad for sending your speaking career into orbit.

According to Forbes, speakers like Chris Widener have built their speaking fees up to $20,000 per talk. You may not make this kind of money ever or for a very long time. Or you may strike it rich as a result of your speaking. Regardless, you have something to say, and becoming a professional speaker is a great way to say it to the world.

What are you waiting for?

If you are already a professional speaker, what steps did you take to get where you are?

If you are thinking about becoming a professional speaker, what is the next step you need to take?

Thanksgiving 2014 – On Track

As I mentioned yesterday, our family Thanksgiving tradition includes tracing our hand prints onto a white tablecloth.  In each of our fingers, we write down something for which we are thankful.  This week, I’m taking time to share something I’ll be writing on the tablecloth this year.  I’m hoping you’ll contribute to the conversation by leaving something for which you are thankful for each day.

Here is the second thing I’ll be writing down this year:

On Track

On Track: Life Lessons from the Track & Field is the name of the book I self-published in April this year.  The book was a project in that it helped me learn more about the writing and self-publishing process, but it was more than just a project or experiment.  It truly became something for which I am very proud.

I’m thankful for the many people who contributed to my project.  There are too many to list here, but there are a few that deserve special mention.  I’m thankful for John Noonan who graciously lent his design talent to create a book cover that captures the essence of my book.  I’m thankful for Anita Comfort who utilized her English experience to edit my book.  I’m thankful for Matt McWilliams, Rob Shepherd, Diane Karchner,  Dan Erickson, and Mark Sieverkropp who read my book ahead of time and offered generous endorsements.  I’m thankful for the people who reviewed the book on Amazon.  These people (and many others) contributed to making the book release process as enjoyable as possible.

I’m thankful for the many people who have purchased the book or given it away for others to read.  I wrote this book for me, but I also wrote it for other people.  And I’m honored that people would take time to read my book.

I’m thankful for writing in general.  As I indicated in the introduction to the book, I haven’t always enjoyed writing, but it has become a part of me through the book, through my blog, and through the writing community I have joined in the past several years.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to stretch and express myself in ways I would not typically explore.

I’m thankful for the hope this book project represents for future personal writing dreams.

What is one thing you would put on your thankful list this year?  Why?