Being Joshua- Where have all of the men gone?

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9

Every time I read this verse, I feel an intense surge of power and confidence in my Lord and the work he has put before me. Which leads me to the title of the blog and a question. Where have all of the men gone?

You may be asking, "What in the world is this knucklehead talking about? There are men every where." I would answer back, there are males every where, but men are getting harder to find. Joshua is someone I would call a "true" man and why I picked a verse from his chapter. He is God's example of strength, courage, honor, passion, character, discipline, obedience and confidence and in my opinion, the gold standard on how to be a real man.

In today's society, men are loosing ground. Here is why I say this:
We have a nascissist in the White House who has absolutely no belief system, but says he does and goes out of his way to rebuke Christians. Mr President actions speak way louder than words that have been written for you by a professional speech writer.
We have a congress out of control displaying very little sound judgement or morals.
We have an educational system that promotes a progressive socialist agenda. Where is it better to be a victim than it is to be a victor.
We have a little league sports system that is based on participation and trophies, instead of results.
We have the top 10 shows in America belittling men on a weekly basis.
AND we have way too many single mothers having to the work of two people with very little support and way too little love.
yes I only provided a very short list, but you get the idea.

So I ask again, "where have all of the men gone?"

Men it is time to step up and take back our country, our families, our schools and our faith. Please join me today in this fight, because the Lord has already provided the victory.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

What do you want to be when you grow up? I remember sitting in Mrs. Hoge's room in first grade and hearing that question for the first time. I had several answers for her. Here is my first grade list:
Batman (I loved comic books and still do)
A professional football player
James T. Kirk ( Star Trek rocks)
A man like my grandfather Bob Earnhardt

It's fun to sit and think about those carefree days of endless dreams and possibilities. When I ask the preceding question, people normally answer by saying," I still haven't grown up"? The reality is that we all grow up and and we have our currently lives because of our past thoughts and attitudes. No we can't all be Peter Pan, but we can dream endless dreams and develop plans to accomplish all of those endless dreams.

What are you doing today that will allow you to be everything you dreamed of as a child? It's time to get started.

I have to go now, my new edition of Batman is calling.

God is in control

The last few days I've been thinking about how lucky I am to be an American citizen and how God has truly blessed our nation over the last 200 hundred years. Since our last presidential election, our country has experienced a national anxiety attack over various issues with the mainstream media leading the charge. To hear the media put it, Doom is always on the way, but nothing to could be further from the truth. God is still in control and nothing happens without his consent.

Which leads me to the words of my pastor Dr. Charles Stanley. The following is a message from Dr. Stanley. The scripture passage is 2 Timothy 2:11-13

"All of us experience times when circumstances feel unbearable, prayers appear to go unanswered, and God seems distant. When that happens, we may wonder if He is the same as we once believed him to be."

"The key is simply one's understanding of trust in God's faithfulness. This term means that the Lord never changes - He always does what is right, remains true to His promises, and is 100 percent reliable. In other words, we can trust our almighty God, regardless of our situation or attitude."

My goal in quoting Dr. Stanley is to help put everyone's fears at ease. Our risen Savior has conquered the world and that is timeless. May God bless you throughout your day today.

What Do You Want?

What do you want seems like an easy question, but it is not. When I ask people this question, most people say, what do I want with what, when , where, how? Everyone I speak with on a coaching level and in life says they want to be successful. There is always one major problem with their desires to be successful, they don't know what they want.

Are you a person who wants to be successful, but can't figure out what it is you truly want out of life? Good, I was just like you once and I finally decided to sit down in a quiet place and examine the desires of my heart. I sat down for hours and wrote out all of the endless possibilities of my life and why I wanted to fulfill my heart felt desires.

Now it is your turn. Get a pen, some paper and go find a quiet place to dream, examine and compose your "Life Dream Statement".

It is said that action conquers fear, so get moving.

Making Boundaries Work in Our Lives

Right before I got out of bed this morning,I was thinking about boundaries. I was thinking about the self-discipline boundaries we put around ourselves. I need lots of self-discipline when it comes to sweets. I only allow myself one day a week to eat the sweet things I love. Sure I could eat sweets everyday and really enjoy them for awhile, but within a few weeks I would notice my pants getting smaller and me getting bigger.

Are you currently putting up boundaries in your life? The only way to achieve your dreams and have a successful life is by using boundaries and self-discipline. I used to be the "Guy" that traded what I wanted for what I want right now. It didn't take long for me to learn that I was headed in the wrong direction and needed to change course.

So I ask again, are you putting up boundaries in your life. If not, begin today. Remember, if you change your thoughts, you change your feelings and you change your outcomes.

My last blog was on the topic of dreams and the fact that my 10 year old started his first business. As he started the day I asked him about his sales projections and what he thought he could profit at the end of the day. As I finished my question, he turned around and said" I will make $5.00 profit by the end of the day. Well,he made $9.00 and was a happy boy at day's end.

The reason I start with this today is because I noticed something about the way he conducted business throughout the day. He only sat at his lemonade stand during the peak traffic hours. He figured out that this was more productive to work on other things during non-peak hours of traffic.

Why am I bringing this up? Most business people confuse activity with production. I know lots of people who stay very busy, but get very little done. Are you one of those people? Isn't it time to stop all of the activity and begin to focus on what you truly want and desire. Do you want to be productive instead of being busy? You become productive when you change your thoughts. If you focus on outcomes instead of being busy, you begin to schedule what is necessary in your life and you don't schedule what isn't. All unnecessary activities are replaced with things that bear fruit and bring you closer to your desires. So remember before you put one more thing on your already crowded plate, ask yourself, will this produce the results that get me closer to my dreams?

Today I had a chance to watch our 10 year old become a business owner for the first time. Last night he decided he would open a lemonade stand in our neighborhood. I remember my first business like it was yesterday. My brother and I were going to make it rich with our produce stand. The only problem was that we lived in a farming community and all of the people that drove by our stand also grew all of their own produce. After a few days, we decided to pack it in and try something new.

Why am I writing about this? Good, I'm glad you asked. Just like our 10 year old's dream of lemonade fortune, all of our dreams started with an innocence and expectation that whatever we could dream we could have. The problem is somewhere along the way we got off course and lost our dream. If you are one of the folks I'm talking about, it's not too late to get my your dreams and go live them. The first step is learning to dream again and the rest is a piece of cake.

Here is how you start. You will need a pad, pen or pencil, a relaxing environment and the mind set of that "10 year old" you again. Next sit down and start writing down everything you have always dreamed of having or doing. Common sense, logic and reasoning need to be left at the door. Once you are finished, start putting an action plan to your dreams. Dreams take time to accomplish and really big dreams take more time than small ones. However, the first step in seeing your dreams come true is believing anything is possible. Now go get your pad and pen and begin the life you have always wanted.

Memorial Day Thoughts

When I think of Memorial Day, I think of gratitude.

I'm thankful for all of the past, present and future soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for freedom.

Sometimes we in the United States, we forget that freedom is not free. On this Memorial Day weekend, please take the time to remember our fallen soldiers and to thank the soldiers who are fighting for our freedom today.

I thank God every day I live in the greatest nation in the world. Thank God for the men and women who stand a post.

Have a great weekend!

My New Book "What Men Don't Get About Women" Is Now Available!

I am so excited about my latest project "What Men Don't Get About Women", the latest book I've published.

This book was the culmination of interviews I did with hundreds of women...of all ages, shapes, races, sizes, colors or creeds. You won't find in it a dry, scientific "random sample" type of study, but real-life stories of women and their frustrations in trying to communicate to and live with the opposite sex.

You can get my new book through my website, www.scotferrell.com.

I can promise you, it will be an entertaining and humorous read, whether your a man or woman...perhaps you'll even learn something about how to improve the relationships you currently have and want to keep!

If you're like most people, your definition of true wealth involves a healthy and happy relationship with a companion you enjoy being with, who appreciates you and cares deeply about you. Find out how you can nurture and/or create these relationships in my book...

See you at The Finish Line!

Welcome To My New Blog!

With my new website, I have also begun a new blog!

I look forward to sharing behavioral strategies with you to help you cross your own personal Finish Line!

Be looking for my new blogs on health, finances, controlling and focusing your thoughts to create more power in your life, relationships and other areas of our lives that all add up to what we in the know call wealth (it's not just about money).

See you at The Finish Line,

Scot