Article by Tim Storey

As you know my new book Utmost Living was released this past year and wow, what a positive response we’ve gotten!  I thought I would give you a sneak peak into the book this week, and if you haven’t ordered it yet, I think it would be a great blessing to you. Enjoy!

It is time to design the life that feeds the real you, the person with a dream craving to be fulfilled. By opening this book, you have started on the path to your utmost life. Some people ask me what I mean by that, and it’s really very simple. An utmost life is the opposite of an “almost” life—you know, the life of people who almost take advantage of the abilities and skills they were given. An utmost life reaches beyond a “mostly” life: the world of those people who mostly have what they want and achieve what they can—but don’t really jump up to being as outstanding as they could be.

You are one of the people who wants to live an utmost life—a life in which you achieve everything you’ve hoped for, realize all the dreams you can dream, and give back to the world as much as you’ve been given—and remain richer than ever. I know you can do it. I want to help. My life and my work are based on the principle that we should always be looking for ways to nourish our spirit as well as we nourish our bodies. The search for the ingredients, the tools, and the techniques that can harvest life’s abundant riches has always been an important part of my life. In this book, I have tried to combine and distill my studies of the spirit and of the world, the lives of profound thinkers, great benefactors, and strong leaders, my experiences in helping people overcome challenges and fears both large and small. In this book, I will share some of the principles I have learned that will unlock the doors to a better tomorrow for you.

This book offers clear and specific recipes to help you make decisions that will empower you to live a rewarding, productive, “no regrets” life. As a life coach to many well-known athletes and entertainment celebrities, I have seen a similar longing in everyone I counsel, and I would guess that you have it too. You may have come to this book because of a specific objective you want to accomplish—quitting smoking or getting a better job. I can help there. You may have a troubling problem in your life that you want to solve—something that is ruining your health or damaging your relationships. I can help there too. You may have come to this book because of a general feeling that your life is lacking something, a belief that there must be something better to do with your time. I can help you there.

Even if you’ve accomplished those goals and overcome those problems, there is still something more that this book can do for you. For this is a book about utmost living—creating a life that does honor not only to yourself but also to the people and the world around you. It’s a book about a life that is constantly growing and giving back. It’s about an utmost life. It’s a book that you may never finish—no more than your life is ever finished. It’s about a marvelous journey through a rich and rewarding country that is called your life.

 Article by Tim Storey

In the dictionary the word smart means: bright, brilliant, gifted, and keen.  You gotta be that way to run with Oprah Winfrey. 

What would it take to hang out with the world’s only black, billion dollar woman?  I’d say you gotta be pretty quick.  Gayle King is just that.  She’s a good conversationalist and gave me a great interview (http://www.oprah.com/media/20080724_oaf_20080724_oaf_gk). 

I always enjoy my conversations with Gayle, because like my sisters… she gets straight to the point.

What I learned from Gayle King is, smart women rise to the top because wisdom still goes a long way.

Article by Tim Storey

In my day it was the Jackson 5 and for some the Partridge Family.  Today for many, it’s the Jonas Brothers.  A little while back, I was invited to a party by my friend, Stevie Wonder and his wife, Kai.  They said the Jonas Brothers would be there singing “Happy Birthday” to their son. 

At the time, I was more excited about the chocolate cake because I love chocolate cake.  After meeting the brothers and talking to their dad…who is nice as well…I realized that one reason they’ve made it is that these boys are really nice.

The word nice in the dictionary means:  pleasing, agreeable, and delightful.  And that’s what these guys are.  They agreed to sing at a little guy’s birthday party (of course it was Stevie Wonder’s kid), but they were nice enough to shake everyone’s hand and make them feel like they were best friends.

Good going guys.  It’ll be nice for an old guy like me to sit back and see if one of the Jonas Brothers will someday be the new Justin Timberlake.

 Article by Tim Storey

An architect carefully draws up a blueprint, making sure that everything is perfect, drafted to scale. Satisfied that it’s his best work, he proudly hands it over to the contractor. It all looks great on paper, but now it’s up to the contractor to make sure that the virtual blueprint becomes a tangible reality. Nothing will happen without his involvement. It will take time, resources, delegation, and hard work, but if he follows those blueprints faithfully, the project will be completed.

God is your architect. He has given you an amazing blueprint for your life, and now you know what you want to do, what you want your life to look like eventually. But like that contractor, you have to roll up your sleeves and start the hard work of making it happen in real time.

This is the stage that can be the most challenging. The initial excitement may have passed, and the enormity of the challenge now looms before you. You know that this is the life you want. But can it really happen for you? Can you walk this out until your dream is realized?

Consider Noah from the Bible. God tells him that a great flood is coming, but He has made a way of escape for Noah and his family. He gives Noah specific instructions regarding a boat he is to build for his family and an incredible number of animals. Then Genesis 6:22 goes on to say, “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.”

We often read that without considering just how long it took Noah to do that. Some sources estimate that it took him 100 years to complete such a huge assignment. Can you imagine how Noah must have felt during the process? At first, he must have been elated that he and his family were going to be spared. But how did he feel thirty years later when he looked at the partially-finished boat and realized all the time and work it would still take to finish it?

There were probably times when he felt like quitting, but he must have looked over at his family and remembered why he was doing this in the first place. He realized once again that he was not doing this just for himself. There was a greater purpose attached to it; other people’s lives depended upon it. And a new sense of determination must have come. A confidence that he would finish what he had started. Refusing to quit, he kept his eyes fixed on the eventual reward of his hard work.

Regardless of where you are in the process, take heart. God gave you the blueprint, and He’ll give you everything you need to see your goals accomplished. You aren’t doing this on your own. And you aren’t doing this just for yourself. Keep asking God for His help and wisdom. Continue working by faith, regardless of what you see or feel. And lastly, keep your eyes focused on the great reward that comes from diligence—your dreams fulfilled.

 Article by Tim Storey

If ever there was a model for patience and commitment, the great inventor Thomas A. Edison definitely fits the bill. Along with his history-altering inventions, he uttered volumes of memorable and inspiring phrases including a couple about staying committed. He is the one that said, “A diamond is a piece of coal that stuck to the job.” And, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

From her extensive background as a corporate trainer and management consultant, Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott shares some valuable insight on staying committed in her practical handbook for living at an optimum level, If Life is a Game, These are the Rules.

Commitment means devoting yourself to something or someone and staying with it – no matter what. If you look at anyone who is a good student, you will see a shining example of commitment. He or she is fully devoted to his or her course of study and commits to it all the time and energy that is needed to excel. As you come to embrace your role as a matriculating student, you need to make a commitment to yourself and God to learning and mastering all your lessons.

If you have this lesson in your life path, it will show up as an inability to make choices or to stick to choices already made. It might start with the difficulty in choosing ice cream flavors, grow into a dilemma about how to spend your free time, then get compounded by where to live. If you still haven’t learned the lesson by adulthood, it could manifest in ambivalence about marrying the person you’ve been dating for eight years. If you spend twenty minutes agonizing over whether to order a tuna sandwich on rye or whole wheat, then commitment is definitely a lesson you need to learn. Molly, a widow living in Florida, had been alone for six years when she decided she wanted to find a new partner. So, at the age of seventy-five, she started dating again for the first time in fifty years. But instead of taking the attitude that she didn’t need or want to learn anything new at her age, Molly enthusiastically committed to learning a whole new set of lessons that are essential to anyone who is dating. When a man who she liked never called after their first date, she needed to relearn the lesson of self-esteem. When she met a gentleman who acted rudely toward her, she needed to remember the lesson compassion. When she consistently attracted men who did not want to be in committed relationships, she needed to reexamine the lesson of causality. It was her commitment to continue learning that kept her going and eventually led her to Morty, a seventy-eight-year-old retired insurance salesman who shared her love of golf and Chinese food. I am happy to say that Molly and Morty are currently planning their wedding.

Hey just an invite to let you know that I really enjoy getting your questions, stories, and comments.   Feel free to drop me a line.  As you can imagine I can’t respond to everything…but I love hearing from you !  I will be looking for your e-mails…

Tim

 Article by Tim Storey

You might as well know it now because it’s bound to happen. As soon as the decision is made to get on board with a master plan for life - the moment you try to move into a new phase of living - you will encounter the opportunity to change your mind, turn back and pretend like you never really wanted to do anything different in the first place.

As we are accustomed to most activities moving at microwave speed, we also expect to see immediate results in our newly adopted life plans but often feel let down because things aren’t happening as fast as we’d like them to. In the pursuance of purpose, as well as in just about every other area of life, patience is more than a virtue, it’s a necessity.

Patience helps us to work out our issues as we clarify what exactly it is we are committed to in the assembling of our future. People often say life is short and while that may be true, it seems that life takes a long time, too. A key to remember while pursuing purpose is that building from the ground up is a slow painstaking process. The definition of a process is a systematical series of actions directed toward some end; it is a specific, continuous action or series of changes. We have to be patient in the process. Remaining unswervingly committed to the project known as your “dream come true” requires a belief that it actually will happen along with a dogged determination that many people just can’t seem to muster. As the saying goes, for some it’s “if,” for others it’s “when.”

So ask yourself today…am I an “if” or a “when” person? Once you are a “when” person, look out…your dreams are within reach.

 Article by Tim Storey

We have so many God-given opportunities for great things, but many times we immediately start contemplating all of our inability to actually follow through on that opportunity. In the Bible, the young man Jeremiah did exactly that when God told him that he was set up to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah responded, “Oh God! I can’t even speak because I am so young!” Here was an open invitation to do great things, but as we often do, instead of accepting the invitation, he started listing his own limitations. God then comforted Jeremiah by telling him, “Don’t be afraid, I am with you. I am ready to perform my word.”

The same is true for us – God is ready to perform His word, His plan for our lives. By taking steps to renovate your mind and pursue purpose, old things will lose their luster and new growth will come to the surface while at the same time you will notice fresh opportunities. There are so many built-in benefits to finding and following your life plan, especially if it is a Master plan straight from God, that even if circumstances aren’t great, there are still so many positives to keep in view. We need only to keep our heads up, pay attention and look for them. Leadership guru John Maxwell got it right when he said, “What I perceive determines what I receive, which determines how I achieve.”

A sociological study was conducted with people over the age of 95 in which the openended question was asked of each one of them, “If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?” As you can imagine, there were quite a variety of responses. However, one answer emerged frequently and pervaded the results of the study. The response was, “If I had to do it over again, I would reflect more.”  With all the planning that can sometimes tend to consume us, maintaining a proper perspective appears to be one of the most important aspects of a fulfilling life.

So what is your perspective now?  Do you see only failures and limitations, only future goals…what about God’s plan for you today?  Take a few minutes and reflect…maybe you will find more peace and contentment with where you are than originally thought.

 Article by Tim Storey

Hello worldshakers!  Currently I am on the road promoting my new book Utmost Living, and I’ve decided to take a moment to check my e-mails…as you can imagine my inbox is full of friendly hello’s, business proposals, scheduled appointments…and lots of questions!  I often don’t get a chance to answer every question that comes my way, but today I received one whose answer I thought would benefit everyone…so here you go!!

“What if you know something’s coming, but you’re not sure which way to go…?”

If I could only express to you how often I hear this question.  First of all I’ll refer you back to the previous blog enteries on making choices which I think will give you some great insight as well.  But to keep this sweet and simple I will give you 3 key words that I live my life by; stop, look, and listen.

Stop - Don’t get too busy…slow down your pace.  Direction usually comes during the quiet times, not the hectic ones.

Look - Look to God.  Relying on friends, family, books, TV shows, or whatever isn’t always a “sure” source.

Listen - Take the time to listen to what He says.  Get quiet…look for that still small voice in your heart.

It’s important to remember Luke 12:22 during times like these.  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…”  Don’t be so anxious…learn to be content with where you are.  Trust God that He’s got your best interest at heart, and at just the right time, He will intervene.

 Article by Tim Storey

To build a successful life, one of the most important aspects is determining where to start. With the understanding that a blueprint is basically the plan for all that will be built, deciding on what will be the foundation is crucial to its success and longevity. 

John C. Maxwell, author of more than 25 books and founder of the INJOY Group, is an expert on leadership.  In his book, Your Roadmap for Success, he dispenses timeless advice on some fundamental elements of a plan you can build on.

“I’ve discovered that people often find it hard to define success. But if you don’t know what it is, how will you ever achieve it?  Success is a journey.  Most people have a vague picture of what it means to be a successful person that looks something like this: wealthy, good physique, intelligent, athletic ability, good business mind, great imagination, big heart, etc.  But does all of that really make you a success? 

The picture of success isn’t the same for any 2 people because we’re all created differently as unique individuals. But the process is the same for everyone.  My definition of success is; knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.

You can see by this definition why success is a journey rather than a destination. No matter how long you live or what you decide to do in life, you will never exhaust your capacity to grow toward your potential or run out of opportunities to help others. When you see success as a journey, you’ll never have the problem of trying to “arrive” at an elusive final destination.  And you’ll never find yourself in a position where you have accomplished some final goal, only to discover that you’re still unfulfilled and searching for something else to do.

Another benefit of focusing on the journey of success is that you have the potential to become a success today. The very moment that you make the shift to finding your purpose, growing to your potential, and helping others, successful is something you are right now, not something you vaguely hope one day to be.”

Whether you know it or not, your life has been preparing you for your purpose.   And fulfilling your purpose is what ultimately makes you successful.  So don’t stay frustrated with where you are…because remember, as Maxwell said, success is a journey.