Hi wonderful people!!
As many of you, I am saddened by the state of America and the world. I don't want to turn on the news to hear about the political mess we are in. Not to mention our virtually non-existent moral compass. Or to mention the racial tension here or the Syrian Refugee crisis globally. Sometimes it causes despair among me and probably you to see and hear and feel these things!! What are we to do in this situation!?!? Can we have faith and hope when we are seeing these awful situations?
Not only do I feel disheartened by the state of the world, I also am regularly troubled by my own state! How do I keep making the same mistakes over and over again? Will I ever learn? Will I ever be able to go to bed at a reasonable hour on a regular basis (the struggle continues to be real for me)!?!? Will I ever be able to truly change? Can I actually leave my past in the past and become a different person?
I have good news! THE good news. ;) We CAN have peace and joy today even in our situations.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Thursday, August 4, 2016
99% Committed is 100% Not Committed
As I have been more focused lately, I have been reflecting about what it takes to win at anything in life. I have been spending a lot of time with those who have overcome addictions and made life transformations. They have one thing in common - they were willing to do whatever it takes over time. They were hungry! They were 100% committed. I like this quote by Darren Hardy: "Difference between 99% commitment and 100% is 100%. Unless you are 100% you are 0. Try being 99% committed in marriage. Ah, no." He is so right! 99% committed is not committed.
To make it happen, you need to be committed. In bacon and eggs, you have to be like the pig and not the chicken. The pig gave his life! He gave all he had. The chicken however was just casually involved. You have to DECIDE! I love the LATIN root of decide:
You have to cut off the other options! You can't win if there is a Plan B! I love the story of Cortez when he landed in Central America - he torched all of the boats! There was no retreat for his men! They would either become victors or die trying! When choosing your path to success in life, you must GO FOR IT!
Everyone that I have ever heard of or met that has done something with their life worth remembering gave it all for it. So why would we not do that too? Why should we play it safe in life? Nobody gets out alive anyway! You are going to give your life for something no matter what. When are you going to give your life for something that you choose?
This has been a shotgun style post. But I wanted to share it because I have been noticing it a lot in my reading. That's really the difference between 'success and failure.' Successful people just do it over and over and over and over until it works. They have the hunger. They live by the philosophy 'I will until!' They never give up. They never surrender.
I will close with this quote by Will Smith that is probably the best example of what it looks like to be 100% committed:
"The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be out-worked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might be all of those things you got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together, there's two things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple, right? You're not going to out-work me."
To make it happen, you need to be committed. In bacon and eggs, you have to be like the pig and not the chicken. The pig gave his life! He gave all he had. The chicken however was just casually involved. You have to DECIDE! I love the LATIN root of decide:
You have to cut off the other options! You can't win if there is a Plan B! I love the story of Cortez when he landed in Central America - he torched all of the boats! There was no retreat for his men! They would either become victors or die trying! When choosing your path to success in life, you must GO FOR IT!
Everyone that I have ever heard of or met that has done something with their life worth remembering gave it all for it. So why would we not do that too? Why should we play it safe in life? Nobody gets out alive anyway! You are going to give your life for something no matter what. When are you going to give your life for something that you choose?
This has been a shotgun style post. But I wanted to share it because I have been noticing it a lot in my reading. That's really the difference between 'success and failure.' Successful people just do it over and over and over and over until it works. They have the hunger. They live by the philosophy 'I will until!' They never give up. They never surrender.
I will close with this quote by Will Smith that is probably the best example of what it looks like to be 100% committed:
"The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be out-worked, period. You might have more talent than me, you might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me, you might be all of those things you got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together, there's two things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple, right? You're not going to out-work me."
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Back!! (Change & a Good Friend)
After not posting for an exceedingly long time, I wanted to restart by posting some things I have been pondering about recently.
Change is super hard. Haha. I think it is because changing ourselves isn't something that is possible. Change is possible, but doing it to ourselves isn't possible. Because our brains become somewhat hardwired by habits, I feel like it takes supernatural power to REALLY have permanent change. Just by seriously increasing your input of uplifting music, inspiring talks, and helpful books doesn't in and of itself change you. Even when we stop doing a habit, that doesn't mean we have necessarily CHANGED. It takes a lot of humility and prayer and a miracle from God for it to be permanent. At least this is my experience regarding change.
Regularly talking about the good and bad in our lives is critical to sanity and growth. I realized a few weeks ago that for 4 straight years in college, I was part of a faith group where we could talk about how we are really doing and learn/grow together. Wow. I didn't realize how helpful that was at the time to have people I could be REAL with in a safe environment. Now, more than two years removed from that, I am seeking to develop/foster 1-3 true friendships with fellow guys. As for me, I realized that my friendships with girls are super difficult because I'm a guy and she is a girl. Haha. While I'm more naturally gifted at talking with girls, male friendships or brotherhood is a much better long term solution! It has been good overall. I haven't had a peer who I expose my good and bad to on a regular basis. We seek to break through the 'politically correct' stuff and REALLY share what is going on. The one friend of mine I have right now is getting married soon and briefly shared his experience talking with his fiancé about their honeymoon expectations. Dang!! Haha. I didn't think about that before!! Suffice to say it is amazing to have such a good friend who I have been through things with and we are now starting to learn and grow together.
I am super excited to experience true change of heart. I know it is real and possible. I have experienced it to some degree already!! :) I was reminded today that a commitment today without work tomorrow won't last. I know that change is a process and that by doing what I need to TODAY, I can ultimately be changed! I also excited to experience the fruits of true male friends. I am so pumped to go through life's journey with them. I feel like the friendships will be critical for me and them. We shall see how it goes!!
FYI, I'm planning to write 1x/week. We shall also see how that goes. I desire to become more gifted at writing!! So it's time to write. :)
Have an amazing week. :)
Jeff Campbell
Copying a great friend of mine... I would like to leave you with my first favorite scripture. I love it because it gave me hope that I could change. It gave me hope that my simple desire to change/learn was sufficient to begin my journey. :) It comes from the Book of Mormon in Alma 32:27.
"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
Change is super hard. Haha. I think it is because changing ourselves isn't something that is possible. Change is possible, but doing it to ourselves isn't possible. Because our brains become somewhat hardwired by habits, I feel like it takes supernatural power to REALLY have permanent change. Just by seriously increasing your input of uplifting music, inspiring talks, and helpful books doesn't in and of itself change you. Even when we stop doing a habit, that doesn't mean we have necessarily CHANGED. It takes a lot of humility and prayer and a miracle from God for it to be permanent. At least this is my experience regarding change.
Regularly talking about the good and bad in our lives is critical to sanity and growth. I realized a few weeks ago that for 4 straight years in college, I was part of a faith group where we could talk about how we are really doing and learn/grow together. Wow. I didn't realize how helpful that was at the time to have people I could be REAL with in a safe environment. Now, more than two years removed from that, I am seeking to develop/foster 1-3 true friendships with fellow guys. As for me, I realized that my friendships with girls are super difficult because I'm a guy and she is a girl. Haha. While I'm more naturally gifted at talking with girls, male friendships or brotherhood is a much better long term solution! It has been good overall. I haven't had a peer who I expose my good and bad to on a regular basis. We seek to break through the 'politically correct' stuff and REALLY share what is going on. The one friend of mine I have right now is getting married soon and briefly shared his experience talking with his fiancé about their honeymoon expectations. Dang!! Haha. I didn't think about that before!! Suffice to say it is amazing to have such a good friend who I have been through things with and we are now starting to learn and grow together.
I am super excited to experience true change of heart. I know it is real and possible. I have experienced it to some degree already!! :) I was reminded today that a commitment today without work tomorrow won't last. I know that change is a process and that by doing what I need to TODAY, I can ultimately be changed! I also excited to experience the fruits of true male friends. I am so pumped to go through life's journey with them. I feel like the friendships will be critical for me and them. We shall see how it goes!!
FYI, I'm planning to write 1x/week. We shall also see how that goes. I desire to become more gifted at writing!! So it's time to write. :)
Have an amazing week. :)
Jeff Campbell
Copying a great friend of mine... I would like to leave you with my first favorite scripture. I love it because it gave me hope that I could change. It gave me hope that my simple desire to change/learn was sufficient to begin my journey. :) It comes from the Book of Mormon in Alma 32:27.
"But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."
Saturday, August 24, 2013
The Decision Point: Peter v. Judas
In everyone's life, there are crucial points of decision. For me, this especially has happened when I was stuck in repeatedly making mistakes. At that point I had the option of acknowledging these mistakes and changing or surrendering to the mistakes and giving up.
To illustrate this point, I was just reading an excerpt from a spiritual book that was discussing the denying of Jesus by Peter. For some reason one of the things that I thought of immediately was Judas Iscariot. Interestingly, both of them denied Jesus to a huge degree. Peter denied Jesus to the point of cursing people who accused them of knowing each other. Judas betrayed Jesus and handed him over to his death. Ultimately at the time of Jesus's death, both Judas and Peter had deserted Jesus. Jesus was dead thanks in part to both of them. They had hit a point of decision. Peter and Judas had the decision. Do they own up to their mistakes and turn to Jesus or give up? If you know the story, they made completely different decisions.
To illustrate this point, I was just reading an excerpt from a spiritual book that was discussing the denying of Jesus by Peter. For some reason one of the things that I thought of immediately was Judas Iscariot. Interestingly, both of them denied Jesus to a huge degree. Peter denied Jesus to the point of cursing people who accused them of knowing each other. Judas betrayed Jesus and handed him over to his death. Ultimately at the time of Jesus's death, both Judas and Peter had deserted Jesus. Jesus was dead thanks in part to both of them. They had hit a point of decision. Peter and Judas had the decision. Do they own up to their mistakes and turn to Jesus or give up? If you know the story, they made completely different decisions.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Why Succeeding in Anything is Hard
I was reflecting yesterday about the process of succeeding in developing a new skill or habit. This can be in developing the ability to connect with new people, master a move in a sport, learn a new subject in school, or something else. Immediately, I was reminded of a talk I heard in January from author and successful businessman Chris Brady called "LifeSaver" and the subsequent CD recording. He clearly articulated this process in a way I want to relate now. He taught the reason why succeeding in anything is hard via the 3 phases in developing mastery in a new endeavor.
I'll start with a question. Have you ever seen someone demonstrate great skill in a field? For example, a profession sports athlete, an accomplished musician, a great dancer, a brilliant mind in an academic setting, person share a message of spiritual significance, etc. Have you ever thought, "I bet I can do that!" or, "That looks like so much fun!" without having any real experience in that field? Or maybe, we are exposed to a great teacher and they make us feel like anything is possible and help us develop some initial abilities. At that point we decide at age 10, "I want to be a theoretical physicist or a doctor or the president of the United States or something else."In this period, we assume that we have what it takes and will probably be easy to accomplish the thing that we see. This is called the Ignorance Phase.
After we are in that phase,
I'll start with a question. Have you ever seen someone demonstrate great skill in a field? For example, a profession sports athlete, an accomplished musician, a great dancer, a brilliant mind in an academic setting, person share a message of spiritual significance, etc. Have you ever thought, "I bet I can do that!" or, "That looks like so much fun!" without having any real experience in that field? Or maybe, we are exposed to a great teacher and they make us feel like anything is possible and help us develop some initial abilities. At that point we decide at age 10, "I want to be a theoretical physicist or a doctor or the president of the United States or something else."In this period, we assume that we have what it takes and will probably be easy to accomplish the thing that we see. This is called the Ignorance Phase.
After we are in that phase,
Thursday, February 14, 2013
New Day (again)
You know what I love about life? At any moment you have the opportunity to take steps to change it. :) It REALLY doesn't matter where you've been or what you've done. All that matters is that you have a desire to change and make changes. If you feel like you can't make changes, there are people out there (I know of a handful in my life) that genuinely love to help people create life change. If nothing else, contact me! I would love to help. :) Simply by expressing your deep desire to change, they will go out of their way to help and serve you.
I'm so grateful for this knowledge. I kinda knew this for most of my life. For me personally, it is enhanced with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing that He is covering my weaknesses is VERY freeing. He believes in me and has given me the power to change my life to become closer aligned with His will through his atoning sacrifice. I learned yesterday that I don't really understand it at all. However, I know that I have felt the joy knowing it is real.
I say all these things today because... I'M ON TRACK AGAIN! Man it feels good! Have you ever woken up with... 30-60 extra minutes before you have to prepare for the day? Have you ever spent time in purposeful silence to get in touch with yourself? Or visualizing/pre-playing your day? Or expressing gratitude for everything great in your life? Or reading a good improving book? Doing any and all of these things BEFORE the day starts is SOOOO much easier than adding them in later! I have managed to do a couple of those with descent consistency for the last couple weeks. However, right now going through them before the day is so much freeing. It relives my mind from having to find time in my busy schedule later. -- I learned about those actions and how to do it from a book, The Miracle Morning.
To share one last thing, this is my favorite alarm song. It's called New Day! It is quite empowering. I love it. I love to listen to it in the beginning of the day and ponder on the message of the lyrics. AND it's upbeat and lively. Just what I need to start the day!!
Jeff :)
I'm so grateful for this knowledge. I kinda knew this for most of my life. For me personally, it is enhanced with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing that He is covering my weaknesses is VERY freeing. He believes in me and has given me the power to change my life to become closer aligned with His will through his atoning sacrifice. I learned yesterday that I don't really understand it at all. However, I know that I have felt the joy knowing it is real.
I say all these things today because... I'M ON TRACK AGAIN! Man it feels good! Have you ever woken up with... 30-60 extra minutes before you have to prepare for the day? Have you ever spent time in purposeful silence to get in touch with yourself? Or visualizing/pre-playing your day? Or expressing gratitude for everything great in your life? Or reading a good improving book? Doing any and all of these things BEFORE the day starts is SOOOO much easier than adding them in later! I have managed to do a couple of those with descent consistency for the last couple weeks. However, right now going through them before the day is so much freeing. It relives my mind from having to find time in my busy schedule later. -- I learned about those actions and how to do it from a book, The Miracle Morning.
To share one last thing, this is my favorite alarm song. It's called New Day! It is quite empowering. I love it. I love to listen to it in the beginning of the day and ponder on the message of the lyrics. AND it's upbeat and lively. Just what I need to start the day!!
Jeff :)
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