LIFE: The fun part is learning how to get up after you fall!

    

LIFE:  The fun part is learning how to get up after you fall!

Life sure can be funny.  One minute I feel as though I can conquer the world and the next I don’t want to get out of bed.  Let’s face it…life is full of highs & lows.  Being a person that comes from a family filled with anxiety and someone who battles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) I tend to experience ups and downs more often than a grown adult attempting to learn how to snowboard. Back in April of 2005 when I took a leap of faith and left the comfort of my well paying job at my family’s business to pursue a career that focused on helping others I was driven, determined, and full of energy towards living my life with purpose.  Two and a half years later I still feel the same way and have made lots of progress but also have days when I wonder what in the world am I doing and feel as though I’m on a ship taking on lots of water.  Well…guess what gets me through my down times?  Faith!  Sounds easy doesn’t it.  Have faith and you will feel fine.  Wrong.  Having faith can be hard work and often requires feeling uncomfortable.  Who said having faith was a piece of cake?  Sure, it can be easy to have faith when everything is going well and life smells like roses.  But let’s face it, as Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you are going to get!” So what do I do when my faith is tested or I feel as though my ship is about to sink?  I pray.  Why…why not?  Life is tough so why go though it feeling alone?  In my opinion, relaying on a power great than you to guide you along the way is the only way to go.  No way am I strong enough or capable enough to succeed on my own.  I need all the help I can get!  So back to praying.  Want to give it a try but don’t know where to begin?  Here is what I recommend.  When you pray, ask God for specifically what you need.  If you need to learn to be patient, ask God for help. If you need strength, ask God for help.  If you need courage, ask God for help.  Then, don’t be completely surprised when God responds in ways that can be difficult to see.  If you pray for patience, look for God to put you in situations where your patience is tested.  If you pray for strength, look for God to provide you with opportunities to be practice being strong.  If you pray for courage, look for God to provide you with opportunities to be courageous.  There is no question each of us have had our share of difficult circumstances in life.  In fact, if one was keeping score (which you should not do) I am sure we could debate for hours who has it worse.  That said, there are lots of people in this world who are battling difficult circumstances that many of us could never imagine. Anyway, I hope my words have helped you in some small way.  If you are at a point in your life where you find yourself experiencing lots of ups & downs try to remember to smile.  Like snowboarding, the fun part of life is learning how to get back up after you fall. Keep the faith! 

Bob Hobbs Jr.

Are you a product of purpose or a product of circumstance?

Are you a product of purpose or a product of circumstance?

This is a pretty powerful question if you really stop and think about it. The reaction I get from people when first posed with this question ranges from joy to anger. Some people cannot wait to tell me all about their purpose in life and the fact they are using their talents to fulfill their dreams. In other words, they are writing the life story they have always wanted. Others get completely silent and realize for the very first time that circumstances in their life have determined the roads they have traveled. Somewhere along their journey though life they lost sight of the dreams they once had for themselves and those around them. They traveled down a road that was already plowed versus creating their own path. I am by no means saying that those that are living lives of circumstance are doing anything wrong. I am simply trying to make people aware of the fact that each of us really is “The Author of Our Life!” There are no co-authors to our individual life stories. We are it!

Although I have many tools for helping others during their quest to find their purpose in life…their “IT”…there is one thing in particular I feel very strongly about. It is crucial to remember that discovering your purpose in life or searching for your “IT” has no actual point of arrival. “IT” is a way of life…a journey. Just when you think you have reached your full potential and have finally arrived your “IT” will change. You will expand your boundaries further than you ever thought possible. Possibly even fail from time to time. But guess what? This is o.k.! It means you are learning and learning is what keeps our minds healthy and keeps us feeling young.  Look at what some of our greatest world leaders have said about failure:

Napoleon Hill
Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

Robert F. Kennedy – Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

Sir Winston Churchill – Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

Nelson Mandela – The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.

As always…to those who have just begun the journey of finding their purpose in life, remember to remain patient.  You will find it!  For those who have already found it, remain faithful.  For the road of life ahead is sure to have unforeseen curves that will attempt to throw us all off course.

Please let me know if I can ever be of any help!

Keep the faith!