GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY!

‘Nothing is impossible if you get out of your own way’ said Mary Poppins. I sat there, beside my wife, at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Times Square and pondered what this could mean. Nothing is impossible if you can get out of your own way…
How is it that we get in our own way? We were created with all the potential in the world and yet, life falls so short of our goals and aspirations. Inner peace doesn’t live within us as much as we’d like.
The fact is that we do get in our own way. We live with a constant sense of falling short. Falling short in our relationships. Falling short in our career. Falling short in our personal human development. Slipping.
I have a friend, Nevin Eggum. He likes to climb frozen waterfalls in the Rocky Mountains. He climbs with spikes, ropes, helmet… He’s got a lot of gear so that he can survive and succeed. He would not get anywhere without the equipment. He’d simply slip and slide.
We need to be equipped to stop slipping and sliding and to survive the sense of falling short. The equipment is of an attitude that while our past mistakes and falling short cannot be changed, we can move forward.
The challenge of today is too great to meet when dealing with all our yesterdays. There is a terrific life giving word written years ago that says: ‘There is now no condemnation...’(to read it all go to Romans 8:1).
The news is that your maker God wants you to let go of the past. It’s that simple. Let go. Live. And get out of your own way.

Climb Every Mountain

One of my favorite New York stories is about Thomas Edison. He was a possibility thinker, so much so that he held patents for over 1,000 inventions and even applied for a few hundred more that were not granted. But he never was discouraged… In fact, the light bulb was the result of over 300 experiments. He had a dream and pursued it.
In life, we don’t always succeed but with perseverance, we can discover success. Often we must simply try and try again. I truly and passionately believe that nothing is impossible…
One day I was in the Rocky Mountains skiing. It was my first time downhill skiing and decided after just a few practice runs to tackle the mountain and went to the very top with some friends. I was far from prepared for the challenge and realized it quickly with the aid of several bruises! I was a bit shaky and had to collect myself… I took stock of my attributes. A. I had good friends who were experienced skiers with me. B. I was physically fit. C. I was mentally strong. There was no reason I couldn’t manage the challenge before me (about 4, 000 feet of vertical!). We broke down the mountain by sections and discussed how to manage each one. Several falls later – but none over any of the incredible cliffs - we made it down the mountain… and my friends have not let me forget it to this day!!! We still talk about it, laugh and celebrate yet again our successs.
Nothing is impossible when we break down a challenge into its manageable parts, when we have the support / coaching of colleagues and good friends and are blessed with physical strength, mental and spiritual strength. Absolutely nothing is impossible. Nothing! There is no mountain too high. You can succeed; professionally and personally!