Good Monday morning to you. It’s December and there are only four weeks left to our year – which leaves us with four more themes for this year. I decided I wanted to hit on four of the top themes of the past year, those that have made the most impact on people and have received the most feedback. That told me that you really needed it when I wrote it.
This week’s theme was the top one this year. In late March-early April of this year I posted a week about Hope and Change. I started the week with the story of my Dad then finished the week out with the word of people who made it through tough challenges and kept hope alive. These stories were all told from both my side and theirs.
We will do some year end follow up and let you hear what has been going on with our guest bloggers from that week. I will also give you some lessons about hope. As the year winds down, the holidays are that time of year where more people get depressed than during the rest of the year.
Knowing that people are more depressed during the holidays than any other time, I wanted to bring hope to those who read this week. I did a speech last month about time and the fact that in the history of my life so many times I have heard the stories about how the world is going to end. I wanted to bring that up as we close this year out. Yes, I’m sure the world as we know it will end someday. But we must always be planning and looking forward to a brighter future.
I started my speech at last month’s B-Harmony Event here in Dallas with an old SNL favorite: Matt Fowley, Motivational Speaker. In the skit, Matt was always working against himself trying to motivate those he was trying help. So I used him to start off the evening. We need to have hope, but so many of us are always looking towards the gloom and doom part. Right now, more people send me the links how in 2012 the world is going to end. Well, you still need to have hope.
I also tell how over the years I have heard this “end of the world” talk. Have you ever noticed that most of those people who claim to believe the world is about to end still have life insurance? It was the opposite of the picture I took of the church sign that read “Pray for rain and carry an umbrella.” More people tend to pray but seem to not have the faith to be prepared for the event to come to pass – whether good or bad. And I suppose for the people so focused on the end of the world happening, they see it as a good thing.
So, what is our lesson of hope today? No matter what happens we need to have hope in our own future. Your personal hope and faith in your own future is what will make it better. So take these three points today and apply hope to your life as we end this year and prepare for a new one.
1. Hope is personal. I can tell you all the stories about it; in fact, I actually can prove to you where someone had hope in a better life and actually made a plan to make it happen and it did. But, like motivation, it only takes deep root when you apply it yourself. Take a look at your next year and make plans with hope that good things will happen. Don’t rely on what others can do for you. Have hope yourself and faith in yourself to make it happen.
2. It’s not all roses. You are going to face tough times. They’re part of the journey and we live in world that is not perfect, will never be perfect. A year ago while planning my 2011, we has no idea that two months out of my year would be spent in the mountains of PA fixing up things at my mom’s house, helping her sort through those things that belonged to my dad and were no longer needed. When I said “Bye” to him last December, while visiting with him at my brother’s, I did not know the day that I shot that video would be the last time I would see him. But yet I still have hope in my future. This past year I have met so many new friends and new business partners that I did not know. I have worked to spend more time visiting my family members because we won’t all be together forever.
3. You still have a purpose. I believe this: if you are alive on this earth, you still have a purpose and you need to serve. It is one of those things that I have learned in life; we have a purpose and need to be working towards that. Don’t what yours is? Maybe it’s time to schedule a phone coaching session to help find out. But here is a clue: it has something to do with what you are passionate about.
Take these three points and apply them to have hope in your life. We should have hope and that last point alone shows we have a purpose. Or as my childhood preacher used to say, “God is not done with you yet.”
The first blog in our March/April week on Hope and Change was from my mom and myself. You know about my year and where I’ve been since my father passed last December. My mother is now doing missionary work in Korea – something she had longed to do for many years. Even after the very difficult period of losing her husband of so many years and facing dealing with the house and other financial affairs, she is now doing something that has been her passion and her hope for a long time. So what are you still hopeful for in your life? Let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Have hope and always plan for a better tomorrow to be the RockStar in your world.
PS: Do you want to provide a guest post on our blog? We are looking for others who are experts and have something to write about in the following areas : Starting Over, Love and Relationships, Motorcycles, Online Income. If you have something in these areas, contact us for consideration.
