During my personal research this morning, I was inspired through many of the stats that I came across! Why? Because many of them touched my heart.
In fact, while walking thirty miles, I am going to post many of them on my social media platforms. Below is one stat that really hit close to home…
Terence
Below is the #lovebeyondwalls quote for the day! Embrace transition. Why? Because it provides growth for you!
Terence
I don’t know what to think this morning…
It’s (5AM), and I am literally 7 days away from doing the second most daring thing I have ever done in my life. I have never walked 30 miles before (it will take 12 hours to complete)!
I am literally nervous and excited at the same time. I’m in constant preparation of my mind and body to make this happen!
However, I honestly have three fears:
1) I won’t make it.
2) I won’t make it.
3) I won’t make it.
LOL. I’m going to need every ounce of support I can get–including prayers, and anything else that will help me to get through.
One plus I do have is that I’ll have my personal trainer walking with me… He is going to be there the entire journey. Also, other people will probably join in on the journey as well. Will you?
Today, I am mediating on a scripture found in 2 Corinthians 12… The writer is very transparent in this verse (speaking of his personal limitations), and then is encouraged with a thought from God.
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV)
I am praying that God continues to give #lovebeyondwalls the strength to raise awareness and impact the lives of people!
Terence
Have you ever had the “WHAT IF’S…?”
You know what I mean…
What if this doesn’t work?
What if I don’t make it?
What if I’m crazy?
What if they laugh at me?
What if this is in vain?
What if… what if… what if… (If you have ever attempted to do something beyond yourself, you know what I mean)!
Well, last night it really dawned on me that I only have 10 DAYS left before I attempt to walk 30 miles to raise awareness about homelessness and how difficult it is for homeless people to survive on the streets. I kept thinking, “What if my body shuts down…what if I catch cramps… what if nobody joins in…” I don’t know why, but those “what if’s…” started to change my focus, and cause me to doubt a little.
I literally had to snap myself out of it, and refocus on the main objective which is to give homeless people a voice! I had to tell myself all last night that this is NOT about me… It is about people in this country who have not had a voice about their stories! With that being said, I am going to give my ALL so people can have a voice! Especially my friends who are homeless under the I-20 bridge.
But there is something to be said about the “what if’s…” These negative thoughts have the power to paralyze you and cause you to fear! In fact, if you “what if….” too long, you’ll begin to doubt the mission (your mission), your purpose, and abort it.
Here’s the truth though, we ALL will have these moments! We will ALL have the “what if’s…” But, it is also up to us to respond to them with courage and tenacity. How do you fight your “what it’s….?”
I fight mine with three simple things:
1) A big picture – This is where you keep your eyes on the main thing or main reason for doing it.
2) A little accountability – This is where you make yourself accountable to people who will push you when you feel weak (this also includes accountability to God).
3) A huge memory – This is where you remember the wins, and how far you’ve come. If you forget your wins, you’ll drown when losses are present.
Below is a picture of a box of shoes that were mailed anonymously to #lovebeyondwalls yesterday for our #givemilesaway March campaign! It has fueled #3 on my list above!
“STOP WHAT IF-ING…”
Terence
Yesterday, I was inboxed over Facebook by a mother from a Church I recently interviewed at (West Ridge), and she inquired about our March Campaign to raise 1000 pairs of shoes!
Why? Because I briefly shared that we would focus on shoes in the month of March from stage. In fact, after I shared what we were doing, somebody placed their shoes in an offering bucket, and a few kids came up to me after service and donated their shoes on the spot. How cool is that? VERY!!!! Here is a picture…
Yes, in March #lovebeyondwalls is raising 1000 pairs of shoes to resource those in need in ATL. I briefly mentioned my discovery of homelessness, and how homeless people have to walk tons of miles to survive. In fact, I walked 20+ miles myself when I was homeless for 72 Hours.
What broke my heart though is when I would ask my friends (who sometimes did not have on adequate shoes) how many miles they had to walk per week? Some responded, “30, 50, and even 70 miles per week…”
“With those shoes…they are not in good shape” I said.
“Yes, with those shoes…” they responded.
Therefore, I vowed to walk 30+ miles on behalf of my homeless friends to raise 1000 shoes to give away to any homeless person we encounter in March. Children, women, or men. It doesn’t matter.
Today, I am encouraged though. Why? Because one of the first people to want to raise shoes for us is a six year old girl… We are calling the campaign #givemilesaway! Why? Because shoes are like tires to homeless people.
Here is the inbox message I received….
How can you get involved? Come and join us at our love rally and bring shoes to the finish-line! Below is the flyer for where you can meet us when we finish our #30mile walk!
Terence
Have you ever failed at something?
I mean really failed to the point where you become paralyzed, numb, question your dreams, God’s purpose for your life, and if you’ll ever gain traction again?
I have.
In fact, this happened at the beginning of last year! 2013 was a really hard year for me and a lot of other people (not dwelling in the past at all)…It was so rough, I thought I was a failure. One of my dreams collapsed right in front of my eyes! It was tough, and horrible at the same time. But what I was counting as a failure, God was using as the moment to prepare us for #lovebeyondwalls!
That’s why I love the passage written in Romans where the writer professes that, “All things work together for good to those who love God…” Wait, when you fail, you fail right? Wrong. When I reflect on where we are today (one year later), I can’t help but say “failure is a liar… failure can be used… God has the last say!”
Failure will make you think you should quit, throw in the towel, bury your dream(s), and grab your bat and ball and go home! In fact, if you feel like you are failing, it is the perfect place for you… Why? Because when all is stripped away, there is an opportunity for something new to be born in and through you!
The three top things I have learned from failing forward are:
1) Failure is not fatal — Just because you failed at something does not mean it is over… It means that you have gained more experience and insight for your next assignment. Once you think failure is fatal, you’ll give up completely. That’s not an option because “life goes on…”
2) Failure should not be worshipped — There is always a temptation to hang your head for a long period of time, have a “woe is me attitude,” and become a victim. When we assume this posture, we worship what has happened to us, and forfeit the opportunity to see what is happening in us. No bad event deserves that much attention.
3) Failure has oppotunities inside of them — If we are wise, we can glean insights into what we should be doing, how we should grow, or who we are to become through our failures. Every failure or experience can lead you to a clue of what’s next in your life. Although tough, failure has tremendous opportunities imbedded in it.
Watch the video below! It is another piece to the LBW story and how failure was used to help start this organization!
[embedplusvideo height=”500″ width=”500″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1eOyLAw” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/2IWdYY4rxVs?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=2IWdYY4rxVs&width=380&height=380&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=” id=”ep2941″ /]Terence
This morning is bittersweet (4AM)! I am rejoicing, but am still very much reflective about the realities of how much work building an organization takes. LOL. It takes work people…
Why bittersweet? Because I am on day 4 of my juicing, 19 days away from walking #30miles, and it is extremely hard. I have put in almost 31 DAYS so far to transform my health in order to walk to raise awareness for those who are forgotten.
In fact, I am reflecting on a well-known passage in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) “My Grace is sufficient for you, for My Strength is made perfect in weakness.” It has taken focus, accountability, and being honest (God’s strength).
I have tons of days to go on my juicing, a little more “mile prep” to endure, and am praying almost every second. Additionally, I had a few challenges last week that were real, eye opening, and made me rethink some things!
You know… the type of challenge that makes you think about entering back into your comfort zone? Or, the type of challenge that is both unexpected, and catches you totally off guard and whispers “LOOK BACK!”
If you are alive, you can relate. In fact, it seems like challenges (or bumps in the road) come when you are moving forward, and have a desire to overcome. Have you been there? Have you tried to move forward, and something unexpected tried to knock you back? If so, I can relate and want to encourage you to count your wins, not your losses.
Now the sweet part…
Yesterday, my team and I got a chance to interview at West Ridge Church and share the story of #lovebeyondwalls!
The cool thing that really inspired me NOT TO LOOK BACK (even when faced with unexpected challenges) was Robert. Who is Robert? You may remember my homeless friend from a previous blog. I met him under the bridge when I was homeless for three days… Robert attended worship with us, and looks lot better. Is he fully changed? No. But, we are taking small steps forward with him (and, most importantly building a relationship (not giving hand outs).
I have kept in touch with him for almost three months, and we are working hard to give him responsibilities to restore dignity back to him. Below is the before and after picture:
Also, later that evening we visited Relevant Church and found out that this church (pastored by Carl Nichols) had a “LOVEKIT” party and raised 289 “LOVEKITS” for us to distribute this coming Saturday (15th).
Here is that picture:
Here’s the bottom line, when challenges come they will try to break your focus, but you must have a resolve in your heart not to look back.
Terence
Over the last 27 days, I have learned a lot about commitment, devotion, leadership, and discipline! Currently, I am 23 DAYS away from doing one of the most life daring things I have ever done in my life (walking 30 miles), and I still have more weight to lose (23lbs).
It has been hard, but I have stayed the course… It is my hope that I can achieve the goal of 30-35lbs as I continue to change my eating patterns, and excersie every single day. However, along the way I have learned five important lessons about leadership…Here goes:
1) Leadership takes effort — If you want to lead, it will require effort on your end. Leadership is never given, it is earned.
2) Leadership requires discomfort — If you are out in front, there will be times you will be uncomfortable so you may serve others. However, the discomfort will grow you as a leader, not damage you.
3) Leadership is always seen — Even in the gym, random people would ask my trainer and myself what we were doing, and when we told them (people would watch harder). Not because we are great, but because leadership will always become a model for others.
4) Leadership takes sacrifice — At various points and times, a leader must sacrifice his/her time, energy, and talents for the well-being of others.
5) Leadership is intentional — All leaders must have strategies, plans, and accountability systems in place to accomplish the goals they set. If not, it is easy to become distracted and lose focus.
Hope these help!
Terence
Below are the top five things I’m learning about focus and distractions! Why am I sharing this? Because it takes laser focus to complete this task of losing weight and #lovebeyondwalls’ next awareness campaign!
Here goes:
1) You can’t focus if you don’t have a plan — If you are building something great, losing weight, or seeking to reach a goal… you MUST have a plan. Without a plan, you’ll allow life to take you in any direction. When this happens, it is easy to give up completely.
2) Focus can be easily broken if you have options — A mentor of mine once shared, “you can’t give half of yourself to something you want full results from…” In other words, it is important for a person to go ALL in, and cut off ALL options to escape the plan.
3) Focus needs accountability — You can’t achieve anything great alone! Therefore, accountability and support as your strive toward reaching your goal is important. Your accountability system will keep you on track, and challenge you to stay committed to your own commitments.
4) Focusing on the big picture helps one to ignore the small distractions — The big picture will always remind you of why you started in the first place… It is easy to become distracted by the smaller “picture type” experiences that are negative and draining. Focus requires seeing that every experience contributes to the bigger picture!
5) Focus takes sacrifice of immediate gratification and may be uncomfortable — Focus means that you forfeit some things that you enjoy to reach your ultimate goal. Focus is a sacrifice! However, this type of sacrifice will push you outside your comfort zone, and strengthen you as you let go of things temporarily.
All of these points above mean so much to me as I prepare myself for this life daring challenge!
Terence
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